Morning arrived beneath a calm, bitter wind.

General Hyosei took a deep breath and stood in silence after his morning routine.

Warm eastern light washed over the garden, where hardy plants endured the unforgiving winters of the Northern Lands.

“Seems like I don’t need to remind you to be ready this time.”

A familiar, friendly voice spoke.

“Good morning to you, too, Asatsuyu.” Hyosei greeted with a hint of annoyance.

“Lighten up, Hyosei. It’s going to be another long day.” Asatsuyu giggled.

“I really love this garden of yours. No one would ever think that such a man of your stature is the one behind these beautiful landscapes.”

Asatsuyu smirked, clearly enjoying the chance to tease his friend.

“Alright. What are you really up to, now?” Hyosei asked, seeing through the teasing.

“Sorry about that. I really just want to lighten the mood before I...”

Asatsuyu hesitated.

Hyosei met Asatsuyu's eyes and understood.

“I’m doing fine. You don’t need to worry. It’s been years since that day, so it’s only natural for it to stir a bit of pain here and there.”

Hyosei explained, trying to ease Asatsuyu’s mind.

“We still have the chance to get rid of that curse. We just need to plan—”

“No. This stays secret within our own walls.”

Hyosei paused.

”If the Frost God finds out now, he might think the whole village is corrupted.”

Hyosei turned around and stared at a summit near the village.

“You can only imagine the rest.”

“I really wish things were different,”

Asatsuyu whispered.

Silence took over.

The wind whispered through the garden.

Hyosei patted Asatsuyu’s shoulder.

“Let’s get going. No amount of wallowing will change everything.”

“Right.”

Asatsuyu nodded, though the concern lingered.

…

A few moments later, the training grounds had grown heavy, and the gap between each of them became painfully obvious.

Eiji and the others gasped for air, their muscles screaming and their limbs trembling, while Haruki and a few others moved across the freezing field with effortless grace and speed.

Haruki navigated the frozen terrain as if his very foundation were made of steel and flame, untouched by the cold that threatened to break the rest of them.

While everything seemed normal, Eiji and Haruki noticed subtle changes in their father's movements—a hint of pain, a moment of hesitation that had never been there before.

That night, driven by the desperate need for answers, Eiji crept toward Hyosei’s private chambers.

Eiji stopped in his tracks when he saw Haruki through the crack of the door, posture rigid with tension.

He took a step back into the gloom, holding his breath to listen.

Inside, Haruki’s voice was sharp, direct.

"You can’t hide it from me, Dad. What’s really going on with you?"

Hyosei sighed, a sound like dry leaves skittering on stone.

Haruki sensed the heavy revelation that was about to unfold.

“My blood has been corrupted with miasma.”

Hyosei answered softly.

Silence.

Haruki frowned, confused.

He stood and exposed a wide, deep scar in his back.

“It may have recovered, but the wound never truly healed. The curse has only been kept at bay,” Hyosei held the bladeheart of the sacred odachi.

“By the spirit of this blade.”

Hyosei put his coat back and turned to face his son.

“But it cannot hold the rot back for much longer, and the signs are slowly revealing themselves.”

Hyosei met Haruki’s eyes.

“What? How... How did this happen?”

Haruki's expression crumbled.

Tears welled in his eyes as the realization settled in.

He might not have much time left with his father.

"It all happened when you were just a cub."

Hyosei whispered, remembering a painful memory.

Hyosei spoke of a sky-born beast, a creature of pure malice that had descended upon their village years ago.

The Flowers of Tsutsumi were created to keep creatures of malice at bay.

Malicious thoughts suffocated beneath their magic, and wicked spirits froze where they stood.

For generations, no Phantasima had ever crossed our borders.

Until that day.

The beast was so powerful... the flowers withered in its presence.

And in the ensuing carnage, the Blades of Tsutsumi had fallen in numbers, and along with them, Eiji and Fuyuki’s parents, while saving the voyagers who were returning to the village.

Eiji, huddled in the shadows outside the room, felt the world turn to ice.

The storm that took his parents was a lie.

Eiji covered his mouth; tears welled in his eyes.

Hyosei recounted the final moments of the previous General, struck down by the enemy’s talons.

As the old leader lay dying, he had thrust his great sword, the Edge of the Glacial Vow, into Hyosei’s trembling hands, believing that he could awaken the power of the sacred odachi.

The battle raged until dawn.

At last, Hyosei had defeated the enemy.

Tsutsumi Village had survived the battle, but the victory was a cursed one.

In the chaos of that day, Hyosei’s wife, Haruki’s mother, had fallen in the line of duty, claimed by the same shadow that devastated their village.

The ranks of the Blades of Tsutsumi had been hollowed out, their finest warriors cut down in the defense of their home.

To make matters worse, the beast’s dark miasma had seeped directly into Hyosei’s own wounds, a festering curse that would haunt him for the rest of his days.

And now, only the cold, ancient magic of the sword kept the corruption from consuming his soul.

"We kept this secret," Hyosei said quietly. "To protect the people."

Hyosei's voice was heavy with resignation.

Eiji slipped away into the night. 

He grieved for the truth he had just learned.

He had already lost his parents.

He had already buried his dream.

And now...

He was slowly losing the man who had become his father.