Not all memories are buried. Some are just waiting for you to look back.
---
Sakamoto's Age: 6.5
Location: Velduin (ruins)
Ravian's Status: On edge — something feels wrong
Capital Activity: Unknown
Niris' Status: Unstable resonance detected
---
Opening Line:
Most people are scared of dying.
Me?
I'm scared of remembering what I survived.
---
The Memory Trigger
Sakamoto stands by the broken firepit — the same one where he trained as a child.
He places his palm on the cracked stone…
And the world blurs.
Suddenly — a flash. A voice. A battlefield.
> "Don't drop the sword, Aevum!"
Aelira's voice.
But… older.
Sakamoto collapses, gasping.
Niris shrieks inside his mind.
> "STOP. YOU'RE NOT READY."
> "Then when will I be?"
> "When you no longer cry remembering her."
---
Eira Speaks His Name
South of Velduin, Eira stands atop a frozen cliff.
She carves something into the ice with her fingernail.
A sigil. A spiral. And a name.
> "Sakamoto."
Her body glows faintly.
Her soul signature matches Aelira's — but reversed.
She's not just connected.
She's the echo of what was lost.
---
Veyrion Moves
The Shadow Saint enters a village west of Velduin.
He walks through calmly.
Men, women, guards — all freeze.
Their eyes turn black.
And they kneel.
He whispers to one of them:
> "You will tell the Ash Crown that I'm coming."
> "And if he runs?"
> "He won't.
Because I'll be bringing her."
---
Niris Cracks
Later that night, Sakamoto unsheathes Niris.
The blade… pulses.
Then fractures.
Just slightly.
But enough to make him drop it.
> "What's happening to you?" he asks.
> "I'm remembering who I was before I was your weapon."
> "Were you someone I knew?"
> "No," she says.
"I was someone you loved. Once."
---
Final Scene – The Ice Shatters
Far away, Eira steps onto the center of a frozen lake.
The sigil beneath her feet explodes.
And with it, the veil splits open for a second.
Everyone within a mile hears the same name whispered into their minds:
> "Ash Crown."
Sakamoto's eyes snap open.
The next hunt has begun.