The Silent Horizon

"Beyond the silence, the horizon waits—empty, vast, and unforgiving."

— Letter from Hotaru no Yakusha

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The world stretched before Shindō like a breath held too long,

a silent horizon painted in muted grays and fading light.

No birds sang. No wind whispered. Only the heavy quiet of a land drained of hope.

He stood alone on the ridge, nodachi resting against his shoulder,

watching as the last rays of sun bled out into the creeping night.

---

Yuuki's voice was a soft thread in the silence,

"Sometimes, silence is not peace, but the calm before the storm.

The horizon waits—for the next move, the next breath, the next fall."

Her blind eyes seemed to see far beyond the empty plains,

piercing the veil of stillness with a fierce clarity.

---

Shindō tightened his grip on his sword.

The war was far from over,

and the silent horizon was not a promise of rest—but a warning.

---

He stepped forward, into the unknown,

ready to meet whatever waited beyond the edge of silence.