Prologue

Kourin tried so hard not to breathe loudly as she hid from the culprit in that small cupboard-like room. She was tired of running and protecting the rectangular chest box that they were looking for. But she didn't want to give up just yet.

This was her mission. Since the whole abduction issue set everything in motion already, she had no way of having to give all her efforts up.

"What are you doing? You can't hide in there forever!" A voice shouted behind the door. "We'll see how well your hiding abilities do after we take it!"

It had been a long time since anyone's voice had made her feel like this. She hadn't known since it felt so long ago. But unlike before, she didn't feel scared or she was shaking in fear or anything similar. Even with the presence of this man chasing after her for the ancient that never belonged to him in the first place, she couldn't feel that fear that she was expecting at all.

Determination... and anger.

'I'm not letting anything from the ancient past repeat itself here again... Not in this castle...' Kourin thought as she gripped the chest box tight. 'This isn't about me getting revenge on those guys. This is about saving my friends. It's about time I do something for them that will allow those people to set things right this time.'

With all the adrenaline going through her veins, she knew she could do anything. And when the opportunity presented itself, she wouldn't think twice.

Her eyes darted around as she realized the walls of the small room were lined in some kind of metal. If she could just get out of the small room with enough of a boost on her power…

There was one problem though...

She couldn't leave without taking the box with her. Carrying it while trying to climb just to get out of that room to reach one of the passageways would be tough.

And even if she did manage to escape, there was no telling what these men had planned next. They seemed crazy enough to kill her, if her suspicions regarding their true intentions weren't false assumptions, anyway.

The man's heavy footsteps echoed as he walked down the corridor. He must have given up on his chase now…

Kourin shook her head. She doubted that. The box she held had kept the treasure of the three clans for centuries. If they kidnapped one of her friends that day just to get ahold of this treasure that was remained completely hidden since it was assumed to have disappeared nearly three centuries ago, then she knew they wouldn't give up looking for her ー a teenage girl who only decided to solve one simple mystery that one ordinary day.

A day she never thought would lead to a chase of a lifetime. At least, one of them. She had experienced those kinds of chase since her family's deaths. This one didn't make any different.

Only this time, it involved an ancient secret that could very well shake the foundation of the Four Families at some point. And she wasn't fool enough to let that happen on her watch.

Taking a deep breath, she finally decided to move. Her plan had failed once, she had no intention of failing again. There was too much she wanted to achieve before the night ended, especially now that her new friends were in trouble. She needed to find her way back home again, and to do that… Well, this was exactly what she'd have to do.

Using her jacket, she placed the chest box there and tied it in a way that it won't fall should she carry it for a long while. She had to climb, after all. And she had to make sure it was secure enough.

Kourin started climbing, keeping herself low until her hands reached the ceiling. Using a little bit of pressure between her hands, she managed to pull herself up. Her feet hit another surface and she climbed higher still until she was able to open the small hole.

'There it is!' she exclaimed in her mind. 'Now to open this properly and get out of the castle grounds alive...'

Kourin took one last glance at the small room, then she turned her attention towards the entrance. There she found the two men who had chased after her and her friends.

If she didn't move now, it would be a matter of seconds before she would be caught by them. But if she moved now...

Kourin swallowed dryly before she jumped out from behind the wall, making sure to keep herself close to the wall.

She landed lightly next to a colored statue of a female tennyo erected beside a gigantic camphor tree.

The statue was familiar to her, of course. It was something that her brother once showed to her. And now... she knew it was the symbol of a woman that she knew very well.

The woman wore a kimono that was dyed red and decorated with beautiful flowers. From the top of her hair, a thin piece of black silk was tied in a knot to form a large ribbon. She carried a flower crown in her hand and stood in front of the lake, waiting patiently for the next person to arrive.

'Please give me your blessing to protect this treasure that they've kept from those thieves all these centuries ago...' Kourin thought, as if uttering a prayer to the woman she recalled who could very well might be watching over her at the moment.

After that, when she made sure no one saw her there, she started running. She still had to make it out of the castle grounds, after all. Her friends were waiting for her.

Her heart skipped a beat at the realization. Her friends who risked their lives just to ensure that a tragedy such as the one she experienced before would not happen on their watch again. That knowledge filled her chest with warmth and she ran with renewed energy to reach them.

But before she got to safety, she felt arms around her shoulders pulling her back into a nearby wall. As she struggled, a handkerchief covered her mouth and her her nose. Soon the world around her became fuzzy as her senses began shutting down one by one. It was as if the only thing she could hear was the sound of blood pulsating against the wall.

It was all so overwhelming. She was struggling to stay conscious when someone pulled her back. That feeling was so strong that her mind started conjuring images of all the events that transpired for everything to lead up to this moment.

Images of an unexpected murder, one of his friends disappearing all of a sudden, a series of killings with clues leading to an ancient secret that she decided to chase to know the truth... This wasn't the kind of summer time that she had in mind, to be honest.

And yet, here it was. Then, a light touch pressed against her forehead. Someone spoke softly into her ear.

"Don't worry..."

And as soon as that voice entered her hearing range, the darkness took her away.