Strongest Among the Heavens
Chapter 478: Life After Death

Chapter 478: Life After Death

All of Yuna’s siblings died.

All of them were taken by Izanami.

Everybody knew. Everybody was told.

When the souls returned and Matsue was populated once more, Izanami ripped up the sky again. A voice echoed like the chill of death. She did not appear in the form of death. She was beautiful with infinitely long silky hair and a red kimono that brightened with the advent of the white space behind her.

"ThE morTaL As KAZI HOSSAIN deFeAted Me and My SoN. But I ProMisEd. One ThousAnd SoulS. One ThouSanD I wiLl taKe for DaRinG tO Go AgaInSt ME."

Awe and fear turned to shrieks and screams. The selected one thousand turned to black smoke that flew into the palm of her hand. Izanami smiled and the Heavenly Tower closed the barrier between them one last time.

Kazi stood in the doorway of the poor servant woman’s home, silent to the scent of blood, incense, and tears. The wooden home was dim, a single candle flickering on a low table, casting long shadows over the room’s occupants—Yuna, kneeling in the center, and the clothes of her siblings, lying beside her. Their souls were gone. Only the material fabric of their existence remained.

Yuna didn’t sob. She had already cried herself into exhaustion. Her small hands, shaking, clutched a string of prayer beads so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. When she noticed him, she forced herself to bow her head.

"...Lord Kazi."

He hated that title. He hated hearing his name from her lips when he knew the truth. He should have never come.

"There will be an event soon," Kazi said quietly, keeping his tone steady, "to help purify the souls who have passed. You don’t have to do this alone."

Yuna’s fingers curled against the beads. "That is kind," she murmured, her voice hollow. "But it won’t change anything. It won’t bring them back."

He knew that well enough.

Kazi stepped further inside. The air was suffocating, thick with grief. She had cleaned the robes. Had she done it alone? Had anyone helped her?

"You saved us," Yuna continued, looking down at her hands. "You saved this land. I am truly... grateful."

Liar.

She wasn’t lying to him. She was lying to herself.

"But without them," Yuna whispered, "I can no longer find it in myself to continue living."

Kazi inhaled slowly, suppressing the cold weight pressing against his ribs. ’This is what you wanted,’ a voice in his head taunted. ’You chose this.’

He kneeled in front of her, keeping his distance. "I won’t pretend to understand your pain," he said. "I won’t insult you by telling you that time will heal this. I don’t know if it will."

She turned her head slightly, listening.

"But I do know this," he continued. "You still have choices. Maybe not the ones you wanted, but they are there."

Yuna swallowed, silent.

"Matsue Palace is in need of female servants," he said. "If you ever want to work, all you need to do is say the word. If you need food, water, a new home—I will be here for you."

Her lips trembled. He was saying all the right things. She was grateful. But she was still hollow.

"...Why are you doing this?" she asked finally. "You...are too kind. Far too kind. You save us despite being a foreigner. You gave me a home despite not having to. You brought laughter and freedom. I just...I don’t...I don’t know what to do."

Because I killed them. Because I stole their souls and traded them for one woman. Because I chose my own selfish desires over the lives of a thousand. Because the hands that I offer you are stained with your family’s blood.

But instead, Kazi only smiled—gentle, warm, practiced. "You are still here. Still alive. The memories of your brothers and sisters, keep remembering them. You may not believe it now, I know it feels like the end, but it isn’t. There will come a day where the world has to offer you more. When you will remember these memories and what they did for you and be happy."

Yuna closed her eyes. "I...I will think about it."

"That’s all I ask."

He stayed with her for a while. Long enough to sit in the silence, long enough to let her breathe. Long enough to let the guilt gnaw through his ribs and fester in his heart.

***

Pauline stirred, her breath shallow as the world slowly pieced itself back together. It felt like she had been underwater—drifting, weightless, with only the faintest whispers of voices pulling her back to the surface. Her body was heavy, limbs sluggish, her head thick with something between sleep and confusion.

She blinked. The ceiling above her was unfamiliar. The scent of incense, faintly sweet, clung to the air. It was warm. Safe.

And then she saw him.

Kazi sat at her bedside, still and silent as a statue. Bright eyes, both of them, yet different in colour. The left one blue and the other hazel. Each equally gorgeous and equally unreadable, watching her with a patience that made her stomach twist. It wasn’t unusual to see him this calm—he always carried himself like a man with absolute control over his emotions. But this was different.

"...You’re awake."

His voice was quiet. Steady.

Pauline parted her lips, but her throat was dry, and her voice barely made it past a whisper. "What... happened?"

Memories flickered in fragments. A battle. Something monstrous. Something godly. Pain, cold, and then—she saw hell. She felt like her skin was slowly being peeled and she could only scream. Her soul, her mind, her body, she saw a black void and the void tore her down like acid.

Kazi exhaled slowly. "You were dead."

The words sent a chill down her spine.

She stared at him. "What?"

"Killed by Izanami," he continued, watching her closely. "But...through fortunate and battle, I managed. Almost everybody was brought back."

"A-almost?"

"...a thousand souls."

She remembered some. Not all but some.

"Yes. That’s right."

"She...Izanami...it was like staring into a void. My voice melting, my skin melting, everything slowly coming apart. She wanted to kill everything and everyone until...she saw a light. She saw the light and its warmth and held herself back."

"She saw a light...?"

"Yes...nngh!" She put a hand to her head—and her eyes widened. Blood started to look from the corners of her vision. "W-we talked! I remember! She said I meant a lot to the light and that...that she wanted to see the light twist. She wanted to see the light, which was as beautiful as her husband, and see it die. But not now. Not today. Then...then..."

She tried to remember. But...

"That’s it."

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