Kazumoto

Every morning, Kazumoto traces the hairline crack in the skull they wear as a helmet. It’s a reminder of the mission deep within the palace dungeons they shouldn't have survived—a task for an Emperor whose gilded promises masked a core of cold stone. They were sent to silence a rival, but the resulting magical backlash should have atomized them. Instead of oblivion, the energy transformed them, burning away their loyalties and gifting them a terrifying power. Like Shinpi, who found a new self behind a mask, Kazumoto was reborn in the moment their old identity was shattered. They left the capital's blinding sunlight behind. The side smile is for strangers; the endless journey is for the ghost they were ordered to create.