Epilogue IV

  “We missed it! Again! Political machinations and scheming ruined everything again!” Emperor Sasaki raged as he stomped down the hallway. “That stupid betrothed they’ve all tied me to is behind it all. She’s going to lead me to a death of boredom behind a desk. I hate this!”

  Wan trailed behind his friend. He was still processing the news of the failed attack on Shinzou Academy. He couldn’t help but wonder if the attack would have still commenced if Sasaki hadn’t publicized his attendance several weeks ago. And, for once, he actually felt grateful to the scheming nobility for keeping Sasaki in check. They stopped him from leaving the nation.

  “We’re supposed to be out there!” Sasaki gestured, swinging his arm around. “That was the whole point of sealing me away. They block every single opportunity that comes my way. Every time I even suggest the idea of a campaign on Edgeland, they shut me down. Nevermind the fact they all fought the Oozes ten years ago.”

  “The Oozes are a less threatening foe,” Wan said. “I agree with your political opposition in this matter. Caution is the proper way to proceed in these unprecedented times.”

  Sasaki barged into his office and kicked his desk. “Dragons! We missed Dragons!”

  Wan took his usual seat off to the side. His current duty was to act as a sympathetic, but rational, ear to his friend. A balancing act. He considered how to next distract Emperor Sasaki. Over the last few weeks, the politicians and nobles had made it clear that international travel was out of the cards for the Emperor. So the scheduled trip to the Prismatic Archipelago was now off the table. Maybe something locally could entice Sasaki? A yokai hunting trip in the north? They might be able to convince the politicians to let them travel domestically. A few of them were plotting assassination attempts on Sasaki and would likely leap at the chance. They’d utterly fail, of course. But Wan could perhaps use this as an opportunity to expose and remove the traitors from high society. And some time with friends might do Sasaki well. He could invite Aoi, Basil, Kizu, and Ione along for a weekend trip. Maybe even pull Mitsuko out of that dojo in the city she now spent all her time in. Yes. Friends his age. That would be key in improving Sasaki’s mood. They’d recently spent too much time in the palace and arguing in court. If the hunting trip didn’t work out, perhaps Sasaki might be interested in—

  Emperor Sasaki threw something on his desk, shattering Wan’s thoughts.

  “Sasaki…” Wan warned.

  “I’m going to do it. It is my right as the Hon Emperor. At least my predecessors haven’t squandered this power to the snakes.”

  “Likely because they viewed it as too dangerous and put it out of their minds altogether.”

  “You said before that I couldn’t pull a card because it would be a needless risk.”

  “I stand by that statement,” Wan said. “And I remind you, it’s not only our nation you put at risk. Tross is tied to us by our shared Calamity. Whatever you draw will pull more than Hon into chaos.”

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  “The situation has changed! The Dragons have made their move and their intentions known. They intended to invade us. And I doubt those Calamities will allow a single rebuttal to dissuade them.”

  Silently Wan agreed with that assessment. He’d known Dragons back in his youth. They were stubborn with an instinctual drive to prove themselves superior to every other species.

  “We need an edge. And this is it.” Sasaki gestured down at the bound cards at the center of his desk.

  “I still believe caution to be the wisest action. The wrong card could spell the nation’s doom,” Wan warned. He’d been present when one of those cards had previously been drawn, many centuries ago in the age after the Dragon’s imprisonment. The constant incursions from the The Great Labyrinth Sekai that still plagued Edgeland to this day were a result of that card.

  “Caution isn’t a luxury we’re currently in large supply of,” Emperor Sasaki replied.

  Wan hesitated. Sasaki was truly a match for the Dragons in regards to stubborn bullheadedness. Despite Wan’s attempts to pull his attention away from the cards, this was the fifth time Sasaki approached the subject. He was going to pull a card eventually. All it took was a single moment of weakness before the temptation seized him. Maybe it was best to get it over with now. And the odds were in their favor that nothing too disastrous would occur.

  “Draw this century’s card,” Wan said, admitting his defeat in the argument.

  Sasaki blinked at him. Then his face split into a gigantic grin. “Finally! Something exciting!”

  Emperor Sasaki snatched up the cards from the desk and slowly undid its paper packaging before removing the bindings. The glowing threads that sealed the powerful artifact drifted down as Sasaki peeled each layer of protection off. Only the Hon Emperor could release the bindings of the artifact with such ease.

  Then they both stared down at the ancient artifact. If Wan had a heart, he imagined it would be beating rapidly at this moment. Even without bodily tells, anxiety wracked his mind as he processed everything that might go wrong with this outcome.

  Sasaki released a breath. Then he drew a card.

  Magic radiated off the artifact, triggering Wan’s senses. It washed over the room in an instant, though its effects lingered. He felt it expand outward, covering the entire nation. And beyond.

  Sasaki’s hand shook as he read the card. His face now frozen in horror as his eyes scanned it back and forth.

  “It’s bad?” Wan guessed.

  “Horrible,” Sasaki whispered.

  Wan stood and walked to the other side of the desk. Best to read it himself to fully understand what disaster Emperor Sasaki had unleashed upon them.

  The card wasn’t written in the modern day Universal Script. Instead, the words themselves were magical, granting an in-depth understanding of the message.

  This card closed their borders and allowed no living thing to enter or exit for the next year. And during that year, it accelerated both the growth of the inhabitants’ skills as well as the continent’s vegetative growth. It was a phenomenal card. Exactly what they needed to prepare themselves for the outside world.

  “This is fantastic,” Wan said, relieved. “We’ll now be able to bide our time for a year to better prepare our defenses. This offers us a buffer. It will require Hon to be entirely self-sufficient alongside Tross. But it also grants us an agricultural boon. While the effects only last a single year, it may still be the most powerful card drawn in recorded history.”

  “It’s a disaster.” Sasaki slumped in his seat. “It’s created a prison. As if specifically designed to spite me. One entire year of a nightmare.”

  Hon’s borders were now closed.

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