The Unburned Leaves

"Even amidst the fiercest fire, some leaves remain untouched—bearing witness to what once was."

— Letter from Hotaru no Yakusha

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The battlefield was a scar across the earth, blackened and broken.

But there, among the ash, Shindō found a single cluster of green leaves—unburned, stubborn, alive.

It was a reminder: not all was lost.

Not yet.

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The war was not just of steel and blood—it was a war of wills, of shadows and light locked in eternal struggle.

Shindō pressed his palm against the leaves, feeling the pulse of life beneath his calloused skin.

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"Even in ruin," Yuuki whispered, "there is hope. But hope is a blade that cuts both ways."

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The leaves trembled in the cold wind, a fragile promise in a world set to burn.