Chapter Forty-Seven

At the Rose Palace spring, Mikail wields the Water Scepter with precision as Governor Yong arrives with assistants and guards. Declaring himself “Adoros Miat,” Mikail orders them to flee. When they attack, he returns the scepter to the spring and drowns the thirteen men on dry land, killing Governor Yong and his retinue.

Afterward, Mikail sends water skyward and blankets Jeul with falling crystals, making snow on the tropical island. The spectacle stirs cheers from thousands below. Sora notes Mikail’s exhilaration and hunger for adoration, worrying that mere freedom may not secure lasting allegiance.

Moving through the gardens, Mikail recounts Miat traditions and the Fountain of Life. Five palace guards rush in but kneel instead. They pledge loyalty in Gayan; Mikail accepts, orders them to announce the return of Prince Adoros Miat, and keeps two—brothers Teo and Calier—nearby.

Teo and Calier reveal they survived the Festival of Blood in Hallan and vow their swords to Mikail’s cause. Mikail instructs them to burn the bodies but spare the governor for later plans, signaling his intention to rule and expel Yusan from Gaya.

Suddenly, Hana and Tiyung run into the garden. Believing them dead, Sora laughs in disbelief before realizing everyone sees them too. Overwhelmed, Sora collapses as the impossible reunion shatters the group’s assumptions at the moment of Mikail’s ascendancy.