第2章永恩

    “Theylookatmeandseeonlythemask.Ilookatthemandseeonlytheirfears.”

    ~Yone

    Inlife，Yoneadheredtoastrictcodeofhonorandduty.Evenasachild，hisloveforhisfamilyledhimtoassumethemantleofprotector，motivatedinnosmallwaybythelossofhisfather.Thiswasinstarkcontrasttohishalf-brother，Yasuo，whowasbrashandrecklesswhereYonewaspatientanddisciplined

    Still，thetwowereinseparable—andwhenYonebeganhisstudiesattherenownedswordschoolneartheirvillage，Yasuofollowed

    Astheytrained，Yonewasoftenforcedtotemperhisyoungerbrother’simpulsiveness.However，whenYasuorefusedthepersonaltutelageofElderSouma，masterofthelegendarywindtechnique，Yonegiftedhimamapleseed—asymbolofhumility—asasignofhissupportandencouragement

    Yonewasproudofhisbrother，buthehaddoubtsaboutthewisemaster’sjudgment，fearingthatYasuo’simpulsivenaturewouldmakehimapoorstudent.ButElderSoumawaswellrespected，anddidnotmakecarelessdecisions

    Puttinghisconcernsaside，Yonecontinuedtopracticewithdualblades，hisprowessquicklyearningtherespectandadmirationofhisfellowdisciples.ThoughYone’sskillwasunmatched，Yasuo’suseofthewindtechniquemadetheirsparringsessionsasighttobehold，andajoytothebrothersthemselves

    Butthatjoydidnotlastlong.WarcametoIonia

    Yone，alongwithmanyotherdisciples，lefttodefendagainsttheapproachingNoxianforceswhileYasuoreluctantlystayedbehindtoprotecthismaster.Butonefatefulnight，ElderSoumawasdiscovereddead—slainbytheverywindtechniquethathetaught

    WhenYonereturned，hefoundthatYasuohadfled

    ThisshookYonetohiscore.Hisfearswereproventrue—ElderSoumahadbeenwrong

    Yoneblamedhimself.IfYasuohadmurderedSouma，Yonehadfailedtoteachhimtherighteouspath.IfYasuohadsimplyabandonedhispostandallowedhismastertodie，thenYonehadfailedtoinstillhimwithdiscipline.Eitherway，Yasuohadalreadykilledseveralofthosewhopursuedhim—andtoYone，theirbloodstainedhisownhandsasmuchashisbrother’s

    HetrackedYasuodown.Whentheirswordsfinallycrossed，Yone’ssteelwasunmatched…butYasuo’smasteryofthewindcuthisbrotherdown

    Death，however，wasnottheend.WhenYoneawokewithinthespiritrealm，theweightofhisfailurecrushedhim.Hisfuryflared，andhepoundedhisfistsonthegroundinrage

    Arumblinglaughpiercedhisthoughts.Heturned，andbeheldamonstrous，humanoidspiritwithablood-redblade.Itwasapowerfulazakana，apredatoryentitythathadlongstalkedYonefrombeyondtheveil

    BeforeYonecouldspeak，itstruck

    Hedrewthespiritualechoesofhisbladestohissidejustintimetoblocktheattack.Heonceagainfoundhimselfinaduelwherehisswordsmanshipwasunparalleled，buthewasoverwhelmedbymagic

    Angerconsumedhim.Alifetimeofhonoranddutysnapped.Inonefuriousmoment，Yonewrestedtheazakana’sbladefromitandranthecreaturethrough

    Thelastthingheheardbeforeanewdarknesstookhimwasthatsamerumblinglaughter…

    Ashecameto，Yonefoundhimselfbackinthematerialrealm，thoughitwasagrimshadowofwhatithadbeen.Hestruggledtohisfeet，thespiritrealmhazyinhismind，andablood-redswordinhishand.Uponhishead，amaskhadcoalescedintheformoftheazakana’sface—hecouldnotremoveit，buthecouldnowseeotherazakanathroughitseyes.Theywerenotyettruedemons，contenttofeedonnegativitybeforeeventuallymanifestingtodevourtheirhosts.But，asYonewoulddiscover，ifanazakana’snamewaslearned，theycouldbereducedtoinertmasksofpersonifiedemotion

    Evenso，hecouldnottellif—orwhen—theazakanaheworewouldreawakentoconsumehim.Inlife，Yonehadwornthemaskofprotector，brother，anddiscipleforsolongthatithadbecomehisidentity.Butnow，inmomentsofstillness，heswearshecanfeelthemaskshiftinguponhisface，hisownpastandunresolvedconflictwithYasuonowpalingincomparisontothisnewthreat

    Yonehuntstheseinsidiouscreaturesinanattempttounderstandwhathehasbecome—witheachnamebringinghimastepclosertouncoveringthatoftheonewhoselaughterstillhauntshi

    Nothingelsematters.Thereisonlythechaseoftruth