STEEL LOTUS

The Underground River

The tunnels twisted like a dying serpent.

Kaito followed Yuki through the darkness, his hand brushing against damp stone walls. The air smelled of earth and something older—decay, maybe, or the residue of forgotten cultivation.

Behind them, the shouts of the initiates had faded. But Kaito knew they'd be back. Morita wouldn't let two students being attacked go unanswered.

"Where does this lead?" he whispered.

Yuki didn't slow. "To the river. There's a way out through the drainage system."

"The drainage system." Kaito's jaw tightened. "You want me to crawl through sewage."

"I want you to survive." She glanced back at him, her eyes catching the faint glow of luminescent moss. "The Academy's walls are warded. Every gate is watched. The only way out without being detected is beneath."

Kaito swallowed his pride and kept moving.

They emerged into a low-ceilinged chamber where water trickled down the walls in dark rivulets. The river—if you could call it that—was a sluggish channel of murky water that disappeared into a stone grate.

"The grate leads to the outer canal," Yuki said, pointing. "From there, you can reach Crimson Port in three days if you follow the coastline."

Kaito studied the grate. Rusted iron bars, thick as his wrist. He could force them open—but that would leave evidence. Evidence Morita would find.

"You're coming with me," he said.

Yuki shook her head. "I can't. If I disappear, they'll know something's wrong. I need to stay here. Keep an eye on things."

"You expect me to trust you?"

She met his gaze without flinching. "I expect you to survive. Whatever you think of me, I'm the only one who knows the truth about the Palace. If I wanted you dead, you'd already be dead."

The words hung between them. Kaito hated that she was right.

"Three days," he said finally. "I'll be back in three days. Stay alive until then."

"I will." She stepped closer, pressing something into his palm—a small leather pouch. "Cultivation pills. They'll help stabilize your core. Your seal is breaking, but it's not complete yet. You'll need these to survive the journey."

Kaito closed his fingers around the pouch. "Why are you helping me?"

Yuki's expression flickered. For a moment, she looked like the girl he remembered from childhood—the one who'd laugh at his jokes and chase him through the Oda gardens.

"Because you're the only chance we have," she whispered. "Now go."

Kaito turned toward the grate. He gripped the rusted bars, feeling them groan under his weight. A sharp twist, and the iron snapped.

"Kaito." Yuki's voice stopped him. "When you get to Crimson Port, find a woman named Shiori. She'll know what to do."

He didn't ask how Yuki knew Shiori. He just nodded and slipped into the dark water.

The canal was freezing. Kaito forced himself forward, his muscles screaming against the cold. The Testament hummed in his core, feeding on the danger, the adrenaline.

Three days. He had three days to find answers. To find power. To become something more than a ghost.

The grate sealed behind him with a groan of rusted metal. He was alone in the darkness, the weight of his true name pressing down on him.

*Kaito Oda. Last heir of a fallen clan. Wanted dead by the Shogunate. Hunted by the Academy. And the only person who could save the empire from the Sunken Palace.*

He laughed bitterly. The sound echoed through the tunnel.

*Ryu Kenzaki* was dead. Long live the ghost.

The canal opened into a wider channel. Moonlight filtered through the grates above, illuminating the path ahead. Kaito kept moving, his feet finding purchase on the slimy stones.

He was exhausted. Hungry. His clothes were soaked through with filth.

But his core pulsed with forbidden power, growing stronger with every heartbeat.

He found a niche in the tunnel wall, dry enough to rest. He collapsed onto the stone, his breath ragged, and pulled out the pouch Yuki had given him.

The cultivation pills were small, bitter, and hummed with faint energy. He swallowed one and felt warmth spread through his chest.

The Testament stirred. It recognized the power. It wanted more.

Kaito closed his eyes, his hand drifting to his father's scroll. The words were burned into his mind.

*"The Sword Emperor's Testament lives in your blood. Claim it, my son. Burn them all."*

He would claim it. But first, he needed to survive the next three days.

And he needed to understand what the Testament really was.

A sound echoed through the tunnel—footsteps. Multiple sets. Voices, carrying through the darkness.

"Search the canal. Commander Morita wants him alive."

Kaito's eyes snapped open. They'd found his trail.

He pressed himself deeper into the niche, his hand finding his hidden knife. The Testament pulsed, hungry for blood.

Three days.

He'd make them pay for every minute.