The Kaze Estate slowly fell silent as the night deepened.
The laughter from earlier had faded.
The plates had been cleared.
The warm voices that once filled the garden had grown quiet one by one as the family slowly retreated inside.
Outside—
snow continued to fall.
Soft white flakes drifted endlessly from the dark sky, settling across the rooftops, the stone paths, and the tall trees surrounding the estate.
But within the garden—
the wind dome still stood.
A faint, invisible sphere of flowing air surrounded the courtyard, gently pushing the falling snow away before it could enter. Beyond the barrier, the world looked cold and distant.
Inside the dome—
the air was still.
Warm.
Peaceful.
The long table where everyone had eaten earlier now sat empty.
Only a few cups remained, forgotten near the edge.
The lights from the estate windows glowed softly across the snow-covered ground.
Most of the house had already gone dark.
Somewhere deeper inside the estate—
a door slid shut quietly.
Footsteps faded.
Then silence returned.
High above, the branches of the winter trees swayed gently under the slow breath of the wind.
Even the wind within the dome had softened now, flowing in slow, quiet currents.
Inside the estate—
the halls were calm.
Rooms dim.
The household had settled into sleep.
In one room, Hana and Toru rested after the long evening.
In another wing, Aiko had retired after speaking softly with her daughter for some time.
Raiden had finally disappeared down the hall earlier, though not before loudly declaring that someone should make breakfast early tomorrow.
Most of the servants had also gone to their quarters.
Only the night lights remained glowing faintly along the quiet corridors.
Even the garden itself seemed to be resting.
Snow continued to fall outside the barrier in endless silence.
The wind dome hummed gently, its flowing currents maintaining the invisible shield over the courtyard.
Inside one of the servant quarters—
Shinju quietly closed the sliding door to her room.
She stood there for a moment, listening.
The estate was so quiet now.
So different from earlier.
Her eyes moved toward the window.
Beyond the glass, the snow drifted slowly through the night.
For a long moment, she simply stood there.
Then she quietly switched off the llight in the room.
Darkness settled.
And across the vast Kaze Estate—
the night finally took hold.
The estate had fallen completely silent.
Inside—
everything slept.
The wind dome hummed faintly in the distance, its gentle currents flowing endlessly around the estate grounds.
Most of the lights had been turned off.
Doors closed.
Hallways empty.
The entire house rested beneath the calm breath of the night.
But in one room—
someone was still awake.
Kaito lay on his back, staring at the ceiling.
The room was dim, lit only by the pale blue glow of moonlight slipping through the window. The soft light brushed across the white walls and the quiet furniture.
His blanket was pulled halfway over him.
But his eyes were wide open.
Sleep refused to come.
His thoughts were too loud.
The story from earlier kept replaying in his mind.
Raiden's voice.
Slow.
Heavy.
The clan born from the deepest part of existence…
Kaito exhaled quietly.
His eyes shifted toward the window where snow drifted slowly past the glass.
The clan of darkness.
The words lingered in his mind.
Darkness Clan.
Embodiments of darkness itself.
He remembered the way Raiden had described them.
Their power.
Their reputation.
The fear they inspired across the world.
Kaito closed his eyes briefly.
But the thoughts continued.
Members of the darkness clan would sometimes lose control…
A state of pure rage…
A state where they destroyed everything.
He frowned slightly.
That part bothered him.
Not the rage.
Not the destruction.
But the power behind it.
Kaito slowly lifted one arm and rested it over his forehead.
His mind kept circling the same questions.
How powerful were they…
He thought about the list Raiden had mentioned.
Wind.
Water.
Fire.
Ice.
Magma.
Light.
Seven clans.
Seven of the strongest clans in existence.
All of them had been needed to bring the darkness clan down.
Kaito stared quietly at the ceiling.
If they needed that many clans…
His thoughts slowed.
Just how powerful were they?
Snow slid gently past the window outside.
Another thought surfaced.
One that bothered him even more.
He turned slightly onto his side, facing the window now.
If they were that powerful…
His eyes narrowed slightly.
…how did they lose so completely?
Raiden had said the darkness clan had been wiped out.
Every last one.
Extinct.
Kaito thought about that.
About power.
About strength.
Even the strongest clans in history rarely vanished completely.
Someone always survived.
Someone always escaped.
Yet the darkness clan—
a clan powerful enough to terrify the world—
had simply disappeared.
His fingers tapped lightly against the blanket.
The thought wouldn't leave his mind.
Something about the story felt… incomplete.
Not wrong.
Just…
unfinished.
Kaito slowly exhaled again.
His gaze drifted back toward the ceiling.
Across the room, another small bed sat quietly near the wall.
A small figure slept there peacefully.
Hina.
She had somehow fallen asleep halfway across her blanket, one arm sticking out and her hair completely messy.
Kaito glanced over at her.
For a moment, his serious expression softened.
Then—
Hina mumbled in her sleep.
"…I will defeat him…"
Kaito blinked.
"…What."
Hina turned slightly in her blanket.
"…Dad is evil…"
Kaito stared at her.
Then quietly sighed.
"…Of course."
He turned his gaze back toward the ceiling again.
The house remained silent.
The wind outside continued its slow song through the winter night.
But sleep still did not come.
And the story of the darkness clan continued to linger inside Kaito's mind.
The night was deep.
The Kaze Estate slept beneath the quiet breath of winter.
Inside the halls, every door was closed. Every light dimmed. The warmth of the home rested peacefully in silence.
But one door opened softly.
Kaito stepped into the corridor.
He moved quietly so the wood beneath his feet barely made a sound. His white robe hung loosely around him, and his white hair shifted slightly as he walked.
The house felt different at night.
Still.
Almost sacred.
He passed through the hall and slid open the door leading outside.
Cold air greeted him.
Snow drifted down from the dark sky in soft, endless flakes.
Beyond the entrance, the garden rested beneath the protection of the wind dome. The invisible barrier curved gently over the estate grounds, guiding the wind in slow, flowing currents that pushed the snow away from the center of the courtyard.
Kaito stepped out.
The cold brushed against his skin, but the wind dome softened it.
The snow outside the barrier swirled gently in the distance while the garden itself remained calm.
Quiet.
He walked slowly across the stone path.
His footsteps echoed faintly in the stillness.
Above him, the night sky stretched endlessly, hidden behind drifting clouds of winter.
Kaito stopped near the center of the garden.
For a moment, he said nothing.
The wind moved gently around him.
The same wind he had trained with earlier.
The same wind Akira had told him to listen to instead of forcing.
Kaito lifted his gaze slightly.
His breath formed faint mist in the cold air.
Raiden's story returned again.
The Darkness Clan.
Their power.
Their madness.
The destruction they left behind when they lost control.
He imagined it.
A clan strong enough to terrify the world.
A clan that forced seven great clans to unite just to stop them.
Kaito's fingers slowly curled.
If I had been there…
The thought appeared quietly.
He looked down at his hand.
The hand of someone who carried two paths.
Wind.
And something else.
Freedom.
He had been told what he was.
A Guardian.
The embodiment of freedom.
But what did that truly mean?
Kaito looked out at the quiet snow beyond the wind dome.
His thoughts moved slowly now.
If I had been there that day…
Would he have been able to stop it?
Would he have been able to change the outcome?
Would power have been enough?
The wind brushed gently across the garden stones.
Kaito closed his eyes for a moment.
Raiden had described the darkness clan as monsters.
But they had once been a clan just like the others.
People.
Families.
Children.
Then they chose power.
And that power destroyed them.
Kaito's eyes opened again.
The wind shifted softly around him, almost like it was listening.
Akira's voice echoed in his memory.
"We do not create wind… because it is our power."
"We create wind because we are wind."
Kaito exhaled slowly.
Then another thought surfaced.
A heavier one.
What exactly is power?
Was power simply strength?
The ability to destroy?
The ability to win?
Or was power something else entirely?
The wind brushed past his hair again.
Kaito lifted his hand slightly.
The air moved faintly around his fingers.
So small.
So natural.
Yet strong enough to shape storms.
Then another thought followed.
One he had never truly answered.
What exactly is freedom?
If he was the embodiment of freedom…
Then what was he meant to do with it?
Was freedom the absence of chains?
The ability to choose?
Or was it something deeper?
Something even he had yet to understand.
Snow continued falling outside the wind dome.
The world beyond the barrier looked distant and endless.
Kaito stared into that endless white horizon.
A quiet realization settled in his chest.
There was so much he didn't know.
About the world.
About the clans.
About the past.
About himself.
His hand slowly lowered again.
The wind settled.
The garden returned to complete stillness.
Kaito stood alone beneath the night sky.
The questions remained inside him.
Power.
Freedom.
Purpose.
The world felt far bigger tonight than it had before.
And somewhere deep inside that vast, unknown world—
his path was waiting.
He just didn't know where it would lead yet.
The wind shifted softly through the garden.
Kaito stood quietly beneath the winter sky, his thoughts drifting with the slow movement of the air.
Kaito stood alone on the stone path.
Or so he thought.
Then—
a voice came from behind him.
Calm.
Deep.
Amused.
"Couldn't sleep either?"
Kaito turned slightly.
Raiden was already there.
The old man sat comfortably on one of the stone benches near the edge of the garden, one leg crossed over the other as if he had been enjoying the quiet long before Kaito arrived.
A thick white cloak rested over his shoulders, though he didn't seem bothered by the cold at all.
Snow fell just outside the wind dome behind him, swirling endlessly in the dark night.
But inside the barrier, the air remained calm.
Raiden held a small cup in his hand, steam rising slowly from whatever warm drink was inside.
His sharp eyes rested on Kaito.
Kaito blinked once.
"…Grandfather."
Raiden lifted the cup slightly.
"So you did see me."
"I didn't notice you before."
Raiden chuckled.
"That's because you were busy fighting the universe in your head."
Kaito looked away slightly.
Raiden patted the empty space beside him.
"Come sit."
Kaito walked over quietly and sat beside him.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The garden was peaceful.
The snow outside the dome continued to fall in endless silence.
Raiden took another slow sip from his cup.
two of them now sat side by side, looking out toward the snowy night beyond the wind dome.
Raiden crossed his arms.
"Kids your age are supposed to be snoring right now."
Kaito looked forward quietly.
"I tried."
Raiden glanced down at him.
Then he spoke again.
"Story bothering you?"
Kaito didn't answer immediately.
But the silence itself was enough of an answer.
Raiden smiled slightly.
"Thought so."
Kaito looked up at the night sky.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke again.
The garden remained silent except for the soft breathing of winter.
Then Kaito asked quietly,
"…Grandfather."
Raiden raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
Kaito's blue eyes remained fixed on the snowy horizon.
His voice was calm.
But thoughtful.
"Were they really all evil?"
The question lingered in the cold air.
Raiden's eyes shifted toward him.
The old man studied his grandson carefully.
Most children wouldn't ask that question.
Most would simply accept the story.
Darkness clan.
Monsters.
Destroyed.
End of story.
But Kaito wasn't most children.
Raiden slowly exhaled through his nose.
"Hmph."
He looked back out at the snow.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he spoke.
"…History is rarely simple, boy."
The wind moved gently around them.
Raiden's deep voice continued.
"The people who survive a war are the ones who tell the story afterward."
Kaito listened carefully.
Raiden's gaze hardened slightly.
"Were there monsters in the Darkness Clan?"
"…Yes."
His voice was firm.
"No doubt about that."
The old man's eyes narrowed as if remembering something far away.
"But were they all monsters?"
He shook his head slowly.
"…Probably not."
Kaito's eyes shifted slightly.
Raiden continued,
"There were children."
"There were families."
"There were people who were just born into that clan."
The wind brushed past the stone path.
"But…"
Raiden's voice deepened.
"…power without control always ends the same way."
His gaze hardened.
"Destruction."
The word hung heavy in the night.
Raiden uncrossed his arms and rested one hand on his hip.
"They chased power."
"They fed their rage."
"They lost themselves."
He glanced down at Kaito.
"And when people lose themselves…"
His voice lowered slightly.
"…they eventually lose everything else too."
Silence returned again.
The snow outside the dome continued falling endlessly.
Kaito thought about Raiden's words.
Not simple.
Not pure evil.
But still destroyed.
The world felt even more complicated now.
"…Grandfather."
"Hmm?"
"How powerful were they?"
Raiden tilted his head slightly.
"The Darkness Clan?"
"Yes."
Raiden exhaled slowly.
The breath left his mouth like a cloud of mist.
"…Strong."
"That's not very specific."
Raiden chuckled.
"You're your father's son."
Kaito waited.
Raiden leaned back slightly on the bench.
"If one of them lost control in the berserk state… an entire country could disappear before anyone stopped them."
Kaito's eyes widened slightly.
"…One person?"
"One."
The wind moved faintly through the garden.
Raiden looked toward the snow falling beyond the barrier.
"They were monsters."
He paused.
"…And they knew it."
Kaito frowned slightly.
"Then how did they lose?"
Raiden didn't answer right away.
Instead, he slowly rotated the cup in his hands, watching the steam drift upward.
Then he spoke.
"Greed."
Kaito looked at him.
Raiden continued calmly.
"They thought they could take everything."
"Power."
"Essence."
"Dominion."
"They believed no one could stop them."
His eyes shifted toward Kaito.
"But power has a strange habit."
Kaito waited.
Raiden smiled faintly.
"The moment someone believes they cannot lose…"
"…that's usually when they already have."
The wind brushed past them again.
Kaito looked down at the stone beneath his feet.
"…Grandfather."
"Hmm?"
"What exactly is power?"
Raiden didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at Kaito carefully.
The same way an old warrior studies a young one standing at the beginning of a long road.
Then he chuckled softly.
"That's a dangerous question."
Kaito looked up.
"Why?"
Raiden leaned back slightly, gazing at the sky.
"Because every fool in history thought they knew the answer."
Snow continued falling quietly beyond the wind dome.
Raiden took another sip of his drink.
Then he said calmly—
"But if you want the truth…"
"…power is simple."
Kaito listened carefully.
Raiden's eyes shifted toward him again.
"Power…"
"…is the ability to protect what you refuse to lose."
The wind moved gently through the garden.
The words settled quietly in the air.
Kaito didn't speak.
But something in his chest shifted.
Raiden smirked slightly.
"Of course…"
"…you're still young."
Kaito raised an eyebrow.
"What does that mean?"
Raiden laughed.
"It means tomorrow you'll probably think power is something else."
Kaito looked back toward the snow again.
"…Maybe."
Raiden leaned forward slightly.
"But that's the point."
Kaito glanced at him.
Raiden's eyes were calm now.
Wise.
Ancient in the way only someone who had lived through many battles could be.
"You'll keep asking."
"You'll keep searching."
"And one day…"
"…you'll find your answer."
The wind shifted again.
The garden remained peaceful beneath the quiet winter night.
Grandfather and grandson sat together in silence.
Two generations.
Two different paths.
Under the same sky.
Raiden suddenly grunted again.
"Hmph."
Then he lightly bumped Kaito's shoulder with his large hand.
"You think too much."
Kaito blinked.
Raiden gave a crooked grin.
"You're seven."
"You're supposed to worry about training… and training for the master exam."
Kaito's lips twitched slightly.
Raiden stretched his back slowly.
Bones cracking faintly.
"Come on."
He turned toward the house.
"Get some sleep."
He paused.
Then added without turning around,
"The world's questions aren't going anywhere."
He glanced back at Kaito.
"You've got plenty of years to chase them."
Kaito looked at the quiet garden once more.
The snow.
The wind.
The unanswered questions still drifting in his mind.
Then he nodded slightly.
"…Okay."
And together—
grandfather and grandson walked back toward the warm light of the sleeping estate.