STEEL LOTUS

The Spider's Web

The Crimson Port rose from the coast like a wound.

Kaito crested the final hill and stared down at the city—a sprawling maze of wooden walkways, rusted ships, and crumbling towers. Smoke rose from a thousand chimneys, mixing with the salt fog that rolled in from the sea. The port was alive with noise: merchants shouting, slaves groaning, the constant clang of shipwrights hammering steel.

It smelled like desperation.

Kaito pulled his hood lower and descended into the city. Three days of hard travel had left him hollow—his clothes torn, his body bruised, his core flickering with barely contained energy. He'd eaten nothing but raw fish and stolen bread. He'd slept in ditches and abandoned barns.

But he'd survived.

Now he needed to find Shiori.

Yuki's journal had been clear: *"When you get to Crimson Port, find a woman named Shiori. She'll know what to do."*

Kaito had no idea what Shiori looked like, where she lived, or whether she could be trusted. But he had a name and a desperate need for answers.

He started in the low quarters, where information was traded as freely as coin. The taverns were packed with sailors, mercenaries, and the kind of people who'd sell their own mothers for a handful of silver.

Kaito approached the first tavern keeper—a fat man with a scarred face and suspicious eyes.

"I'm looking for Shiori," Kaito said quietly.

The tavern keeper's eyes widened. He glanced around nervously, then leaned closer.

"Who's asking?"

"A friend."

The man snorted. "Everyone's a friend until the blade comes out. Get lost, boy. I don't know anyone named Shiori."

Kaito moved on. The next tavern yielded the same response. The third. The fourth.

By midnight, he'd been rebuffed by a dozen people. Some had looked afraid at the mention of Shiori's name. Others had looked hungry—like they saw an opportunity to sell information to the highest bidder.

Kaito was about to give up when a voice stopped him.

"You're looking for the wrong people."

He turned. A thin woman in a grey cloak leaned against a warehouse wall, her face half-hidden in shadow.

"Who are you?" Kaito asked.

"Someone who knows what you want." She stepped forward, her eyes glinting in the moonlight. "You're looking for Shiori, aren't you? The information broker. The woman who trades in secrets."

Kaito's hand drifted to his knife. "How do you know?"

"Because everyone who comes to the port looking for her wears the same expression." The woman smiled. "Desperate. Hungry. Hoping she'll save them."

"Can you take me to her?"

"Maybe." She extended her hand. "But first, you need to prove you're worth her time."

"What kind of proof?"

"The kind that bleeds." She nodded toward a nearby alley. "There's a man in there. He's been hunting Shiori for weeks. He works for the Shogunate. Kill him, and I'll take you to her."

Kaito's blood chilled. Another test. Another death required.

The Testament pulsed in his core, hungry and eager.

He walked into the alley.

The man was waiting for him—a broad-shouldered brute with a sword at his hip and a sneer on his face.

"Another fool," the man said, drawing his blade. "They keep sending them. They keep dying."

Kaito didn't answer. He moved.

The *Sight of Ending* activated, showing him the man's death—a blade through the throat. Kaito ducked under the man's wild swing, drove his knife upward, and felt the steel sink into flesh.

The man collapsed.

Kaito stood over the body, breathing hard. The Testament surged, feeding on the kill. His core pulsed with stolen power.

The woman appeared at the alley's entrance, her smile widening.

"Impressive," she said. "Follow me."

She led him through the city's twisting streets, past brothels and gambling dens, until they reached a nondescript building with a faded sign above the door.

"The Serpent's Rest," the woman announced. "Shiori's home."

Inside, the building was deceptively luxurious—silk curtains, polished wood, the smell of incense and expensive wine. A woman sat at the center of the room, her silver hair cascading over her shoulders, her eyes sharp as blades.

"So," she said, her voice like honey laced with poison. "You're the one who's been asking for me."

Kaito stepped forward. "You're Shiori?"

"I am." She gestured to a chair. "Sit. We have much to discuss."

Kaito didn't sit. "Yuki sent me. She said you could help."

Shiori's eyes flickered with recognition. "Yuki. The little archivist with the visions." She leaned back, studying him. "You're the Oda heir, aren't you? The last one."

Kaito's hand went to his knife. "How do you know that?"

"Because I make it my business to know everything." Shiori's smile was cold. "The Shogunate has put a bounty on your head. A hundred thousand silver. Dead or alive."

"Then why haven't you turned me in?"

"Because I hate the Shogunate more than I love money." She rose, circling him like a predator. "They destroyed my family too. My husband. My children. All of them dead because the Shogunate wanted their land."

Kaito's guard didn't lower. "So you want revenge."

"I want justice." Shiori stopped in front of him, her eyes boring into his. "And you're the weapon I've been waiting for."

She reached into her robe and withdrew a scroll—old, yellowed, sealed with the Oda Clan crest.

"Your father sent this to me the night he died," she said. "He knew the Shogunate was coming. He wanted someone to survive. Someone to carry on the fight."

Kaito took the scroll with trembling hands. He broke the seal.

Inside, his father's handwriting was barely legible—hasty, desperate, written in the final hours of his life.

*"Shiori, protect my son. The Testament is the only way. Teach him what I could not. The Palace must be sealed. The Shogunate must fall. I trust you with everything I have left."*

Kaito's eyes burned. His father had known. He'd planned for this. He'd trusted Shiori with the future of the Oda Clan.

"Why didn't you come for me?" Kaito asked, his voice rough.

"I tried." Shiori's expression softened. "But you'd already disappeared. I searched for years. I thought you were dead."

"Now you know I'm not."

"Now I know." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "And I will help you. But first, you need to understand what you're carrying."

She led him to a hidden room beneath the building. Inside, a massive map covered the wall—the Imperial Dominion in all its glory, marked with trade routes, military posts, and forbidden locations.

"The Sunken Palace is here," Shiori said, pointing to a spot beneath the capital. "The Shogunate has been tunneling toward it for years. They're close to breaking through."

"How close?"

"Months. Weeks. Days, maybe." She turned to face him. "The Testament is the key. But it's also a curse. Every time you kill, it grows stronger. It changes you. If you're not careful, it will consume you."

Kaito met her gaze. "I don't care. I'll do whatever it takes."

"I know you will." She smiled, but there was sadness in her eyes. "That's what makes you so dangerous."