It started with a tremor.
Not an earthquake. Not magic.
Footsteps.
Hundreds of them.
Marching.
Deliberate. Precise. Echoing across the forest hills like the heartbeat of something ancient — and angry.
Kai stood at the edge of camp, fists clenched, watching dust rise in the distance.
The others stood with him.
Elira's blade was drawn.
Yulia had already cast her scanning wards.
Lira melted into the trees, a shadow in waiting.
Virela… smiled.
"Looks like your past finally caught up," she whispered.
[System Alert: Arrival Imminent – Hana Kuriyama]
Escort Force Detected: 103 Signatures
Affiliation: Unregistered
Magic Presence: Mixed — Divine / Null / Corrupted
Status: High Risk Encounter
Kai's throat was dry.
He couldn't look away from the crest that shimmered above the leading banner — an unfamiliar sigil of gold and red flame surrounding a black star.
Not a known kingdom.
Not a demon clan.
Something else.
And at the center of it all, riding a midnight-gray warhorse like a goddess on a battlefield…
Was Hana.
She wore silver-trimmed armor, cracked with red light at the seams, pulsing like veins. Her long black hair flowed behind her like a banner. A sword rested across her back — a jagged thing made of obsidian and glass.
She looked at him.
And smiled.
But it wasn't soft.
It wasn't warm.
It was final.
[System Recognition: Hana Kuriyama – Recovered]
Class: Reclaimer
Alignment: Unknown
Power Rank: A-Tempest
Emotional Link: Fractured
Relationship Status: She remembers everything.
"Hi, Kai," Hana called out, voice carrying like thunder through the trees. "Miss me?"
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Until Kai stepped forward.
Slowly.
Then stopped about twenty feet from her, heart threatening to crack open inside his chest.
"You came," he said softly.
"I told you I would."
"I didn't think you'd bring a small army."
Hana tilted her head. "After what I've seen? You don't walk alone anymore."
Elira stepped forward, sword ready.
"State your purpose."
Hana glanced at her.
"Ah. The princess." She smirked. "You're prettier than I expected."
"And you're more dangerous than I hoped," Elira said flatly.
Yulia spoke next. "Who do you serve?"
"No one," Hana replied. "Not anymore."
That answer set everyone on edge.
Even Kai.
Lira returned from the trees and whispered in Kai's ear, "They're not mercenaries. They're oath-bound. Their magic cores are tethered — to her."
Kai's blood ran cold.
"You're leading them," he said.
"I am them," Hana replied. "We were all summoned. Broken. Tossed aside. I just… built something out of it."
Virela chuckled. "Delicious."
Elira ignored her. "What do you want?"
Hana looked at Kai.
And her voice softened, just for a moment.
"I want to talk."
Ten Minutes Later — Temporary Truce
The two groups formed a tense ring around a hastily cleared space in the forest.
Weapons stayed sheathed, but fingers hovered near hilts.
Kai and Hana sat across from each other on old stumps, a circle of wards pulsing between them.
The others listened — but said nothing.
"I thought you died," Kai began.
"I did," Hana said. "Just not all at once."
He swallowed. "Why come now?"
"Because I heard the gods chose you. I saw what they were making you into. I had to see if there was anything left of you in there."
"There is."
"Prove it."
He stared at her.
And saw it — behind the armor, the soldiers, the hardened stare.
The girl with ramen cups.
The girl who once told him to chase dreams.
The girl who waited too long.
He reached out.
And Hana… flinched.
Only for a second.
But enough.
[System Notice: Emotional Sync Failed]
Link Status: Incompatible
Warning: Trust deterioration accelerating.
Kai pulled back.
"Hana… what did they do to you?"
She looked down.
Then up.
"Nothing I didn't let them."
Then she stood.
"I'm not here to fight you, Kai. Not yet. But the world's breaking faster than you think. And you…"
Her eyes narrowed.
"You're either going to save it — or set it on fire."
She turned, walking back to her soldiers.
"But just in case," she called over her shoulder, "I brought water."
And with that, she rode off into the woods, her army disappearing behind her like smoke in the wind.
Silence.
Then Elira snapped, "She's a threat."
"She's complicated," Kai replied.
"She's preparing for war," Yulia added. "Her troops are magically tethered. That kind of bond only works if they're prepared to die for her."
Lira said nothing.
Because she was thinking the same thing Kai was thinking.
Hana didn't come to see him.
She came to warn him.
Back at camp, Kai sat alone beneath the stars again.
He stared at the spot where Hana had stood.
And whispered, "I remember you."
But he didn't know if that would be enough.
[System Update: New Faction Introduced – "The Reclaimed"]
Leader: Hana Kuriyama
Alignment: ???
Relationship to Hero: Catalyst / Unknown
Countdown to Divergence: 6 days
One of your companions is watching Hana too closely.
Kai turned.
But no one was there.
Just rustling leaves.
And the sense that his harem was no longer on the same page.