Chapter 3: The First Lesson

The afternoon sun was warm on Ryu Jin's face, but the warmth did not reach the cold knot in his chest. He walked out of the library with the word Seek burning in his mind, and every step felt heavier than the last. The corridors of Azure Peaks were alive with the sounds of students—laughter, arguments, the clatter of practice weapons—but Ryu Jin heard none of it. He saw only the character, carved...