The gates of the Inner Sector loomed before them like something carved from myth—towering structures of obsidian and silversteel, etched with imperial crests that shimmered under the morning sun. Soldiers in black armor lined the entry path, their expressions sharp and unreadable, halberds gleaming in perfect symmetry.
Astra stared at the fortress-like gateway, her throat dry.
"…Shion," she muttered, eyes wide, "are you sure we'll be allowed inside?"
Shion didn't even glance at her. "Oh, I'm sure," he said, hands in his sleeves.
"…Yeah?"
He tilted his head. "I'm sure they won't."
Astra choked on her breath. "You—what?!"
Seirou sighed, brushing hair from his face as he stepped beside them. "The Inner Sector's security is… well, let's just say even nobles can't waltz in without bloodline verification or personal summons. Outsiders? Never." He paused, gaze drifting to the immaculate towers rising in the distance, cloaked in mist and sun.
"They say people here live like gods—connections, wealth, luxury you can't even imagine. If the Outer Sector is survival, and the Middle is ambition… then this place is heaven behind walls."
"And we're knocking on the gates of heaven with a stick," Astra muttered.
"So… what now?" Seiya asked, arms crossed.
Shion shrugged and casually stepped to the side. "I don't know. Maybe…you pray."
Astra blinked and was about to follow him when a loud commotion broke the stillness.
"Move! Clear the path!" a guard shouted from horseback.
The group turned—an ornate palanquin draped in silk and gold-thread embroidery was approaching, escorted by ten mounted guards. The horses' hooves pounded the stone path as they forced travelers and onlookers aside.
Astra barely had time to react before a horse veered dangerously close to her. Just as its flank threatened to clip her, a firm hand grabbed her collar and yanked her back. She stumbled into Ryoma's arms.
The rider reined his horse with a curse. "Watch where you're walking, girl! Are your eyes just for decoration? You blind or just brainless?"
Astra's brows twitched. She yanked herself upright and snapped, "Hard to see with horses flying at my face. Want to lend me your eyes? Pretty sure they're useless on you."
The guard's eyes narrowed. "What did you say, you—"
He raised his voice, reaching for his weapon but then Ryoma took a single step forward. His eyes gleamed—cold, slow, and deliberate like an ancient predator remembering hunger.
The guard froze mid-sentence. A shiver crept up his spine.
"…Tch," the soldier muttered and backed off without another word.
"Is there a problem?" A voice rang out from inside the palanquin, cool and laced with command.
Astra's breath hitched.
That voice…?
The silk curtain of the palanquin was drawn aside with a delicate sweep. From within, a young woman emerged—elegant, composed, and cruelly familiar. Her lips curled into a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
Maihime.
Her sharp gaze scanned the group until it landed on Astra and paused. Astra's nose twitched like something unpleasant had just brushed past her. She squinted, trying to place the memory.
Shion, recognizing the woman, immediately took two quiet steps back and angled himself slightly behind Kaen.
Maihime stepped down gracefully from the palanquin, fanning herself with leisurely disdain. The guards moved hastily, one calling out, "Lady Kogane! You shouldn't step out—this is just a minor—"
"Oh… you," Mahima interrupted coolly, snapping her fan shut with a flick.
At that moment, two other girls descended from the palanquin behind her—Miaomiao and Meimei. Their matching expressions of shock sharpened at the sight of Astra.
In perfect sync, they gasped. "You!"
Astra blinked. "Yeah. Me?" she replied, expression flat.
Maihime's voice was laced with sharp disbelief. "What are you doing here in the imperial capital?" She scoffed. "Isn't the capital only open to commoners like you only during the Crown Prince's birthday?" Her eyes narrowed. "Why is it open now so early? I haven't heard of any such decree." She paused, suspicion sharpening her tone. "Don't tell me… you broke in. Did you trespass into the capital?"
Astra tilted her head slightly, genuinely pondering. Then, with a furrowed brow, "Sorry… who are you again?"
A collective gasp rippled through the guards and the girls. Even the horses seemed to twitch in stunned silence.
Miaomiao stepped forward, scandalized. "How dare you ask that! Have you forgotten our leader just because your little brain took a hit?"
Astra glanced at Kaen. His response was a relaxed, unfazed smile. She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "You're probably right. My memory's been kind of a mess lately."
Maihime scoffed, snapping her fan open again with an audible flick. "Tch. Just as I thought. I was warned some pests might have made it into the capital… but to meet you right before stepping into the Inner Sector? What rotten luck. The heavens must be testing me."
Astra's jaw clenched slightly. Her fists trembled at her sides. Maihime's tone turned colder, sharper. "Anyway… what are you wanderers doing here at the gates of the Inner Sector? Let me guess, Commoner dreams, right? The moment they heard that outsiders were temporarily allowed into the capital for the ceremony, they came running chasing their once-in-a-lifetime fantasy."
Maihime laughed lightly. "But tell me how did these street dogs even make it this far? Did someone accidentally leave the back gate open?" Her voice dropped to a venomous murmur. "Dreaming of entering here? The Inner Sector isn't a circus for strays. It's a miracle they weren't stopped sooner… or maybe they just slithered in like rats." Her words sparked murmurs among the nearby guards and onlookers. A few whispered insults. Others just stared.
Just then, a palace official dressed in ivory robes trimmed with gold approached, eyes narrowed at the growing crowd. His pace was brisk, voice clipped with authority.
"What's going on here?" he demanded.
But Astra didn't turn to him. Her voice trembled, not from fear, but fury.
"You… you don't know anything—!"
Maihime's fan paused mid-air as she met Astra's glare. "Don't I?" Her voice dropped, venomous and low. "I know your kind. No name. No clan. No legacy." Her lips curled. "You don't belong in the here. You're nothing but wandering nomads and you never will be anything more." She scoffed, the sound sharp.
"You should be grateful, you know. Thousands of years ago, after the Great Catastrophe, the Empire showed mercy and took in refugees with nowhere else to go." Her eyes hardened. "I despise that mercy. Even after a hundred centuries, filth like you still exists—without pedigree, without roots." Her gaze dragged Astra up and down.
"Or wait… perhaps you had a background once. But you were such a disaster that even your own abandoned you to rot."
A heavy silence fell.
Seirou's expression darkened like a storm gathering behind calm skies. Seiya's hands curled into fists, knuckles whitening. Kaen remained silent, eyes steady—yet something flickered within them, like embers stirred beneath ash. Ryoma took half a step forward, but Kaen caught his arm at once, stopping him.
Before Maihime could savor the moment, Seirou stepped ahead, arms folding loosely. He smiled but there was no warmth in it. "That hurts," he said lightly. "It really does. Such cruel words." His head tilted, mock-sympathetic. "I fear these poor wanderers you speak of barely surviving as they are might not endure hearing someone so… refined speak like this."
Maihime snapped her fan shut and flicked her hair back. "As if I care."
Seirou nodded, a soft chuckle leaving him. "Of course. You shouldn't care." Then his smile vanished, his eyes turning cold. "But before you insult us for lacking background, grand clans, or divine blood perhaps you should expand your knowledge a little."
Maihime stiffened. "What are you implying?"
Seirou met her gaze without blinking. "I'm implying that your noble bloodline so proudly flaunted was also… an immigrant clan long ago."
The words struck like thunder.
"About nine hundred years ago," Seirou continued calmly, "your ancestors entered Shenghara as refugees after the Catastrophe when half the world lay in ruins. I assumed Lady Kogane would be aware of that, given the teachings preserved within your own clan records."
A collective gasp rippled through the onlookers.
Maihime's face flushed crimson with fury. "How dare you compare my clan to—to you people!" Her voice shook, sharp with rage. "We were chosen. Nobles. Blessed. Recognized and elevated—both before and after the Catastrophe!" She snapped her fan open, eyes blazing. "Never abandoned trash surviving on mercy. We were chosen by the emperor of that era to strengthen the empire itself! Because we are noble and blessed!"
A guard moved instantly, stepping toward Seirou but Seiya was faster. He shoved the man aside, sending him sprawling onto the stone.
Maihime's rage ignited fully. "Insolent worms! Do you know where you stand—"
"Maihime." Astra's voice cut through the chaos like steel drawn from a sheath.
Everyone froze.
Astra stepped forward pushing Seirou aside, eyes cold, unwavering. "How dare you say that?" she said quietly. "I see you still haven't learned to wash that gutter mouth of yours."
Maihime's eyes narrowed. "So you do remember me now?"
Astra raised her chin, her voice calm but biting. "Of course I do. The voice gave it away. You always talk like you're choking on your family name. That made it easy."
Maihime's face twisted. "You ugly piece of—"
Astra tilted her head, a mocking smile curling at the corner of her lips. "Hard not to remember you," she said coolly. "You're the only one I've ever met who bites down on people for fun like a rabid dog pretending to be noble."
Gasps flickered through the crowd. Maihime's face darkened, her fan snapping shut with a sharp clack.
"I always wondered," Astra went on, stepping forward, voice soft but venomous, "if your poison came from your mouth or your bloodline. Guess it doesn't matter—you reek either way."
The words landed like a slap. Ryoma glanced at Kaen. The two didn't speak, but something passed between them in silence.
Meanwhile, Seiya muttered under his breath, "That's exactly what I wanted to say…" His head turned, scanning quickly. "Wait—where's Shion?"
Maihime took a step forward, trembling with rage. "You stray mutt, still pretending you belong?"
Astra leaned in just slightly, voice low and biting. "Better a stray than a pampered mutt that only knows how to attack the weak to feel powerful. Tell me—does your leash tighten every time you lose an argument?"
That did it.
With a furious cry, Maihime lunged and yanked on Astra's braid, twisting it with a vindictive flick of her wrist. The ribbon slipped through her fingers.
A breath caught in every throat.
"Who are they?" someone whispered nearby.
"Isn't that Lady Kogane—daughter of the finance minister?" another murmured.
"She's fighting with… who even is that girl?"
"Wait—look at her—!"
A cascade of hair midnight-dark, river-smooth unfurled in the sunlight like a silk banner caught in a gust.
The crowd audibly gasped.
"By the heavens…"
"She...her hair..it's so long."
"Are those even real?! Aren't they silk?"
"She has the hair of ten women combined!"
Even Maihime froze for a heartbeat, her hand still half-raised, the red ribbon dangling uselessly from her fingers caught off guard by its sheer length and gleaming sheen. Astra blinked as her hair spilled free, cascading past her waist, down over her knees, and brushing the ground. She hadn't intended for this to happen.