Chapter 27: Heaven Has Seen

Shae, at home with newborn Tia, sees breaking news of an explosion at the Kekon Jade Alliance headquarters. Juen calls, unable to reach Hilo, and mobilizes No Peak to protect family and assist rescue efforts. Shae, panicked and short of breath from recent childbirth complications, refuses to wait and heads to the disaster site.

At the cordoned Financial District, Shae witnesses mass casualties and organized chaos. First Fist Lott Jin directs No Peak search teams to use Perception for survivors, coordinating uneasily alongside the Mountain. He reports the bomb came from a truck with insider knowledge, and witnesses claim Ayt fell from a window before the blast. Shae, weak and reeling, is urged to conserve her strength as bodies and a few survivors are recovered.

Overwhelmed and feeling useless, Shae wanders to the nearby Temple of Divine Return. In the emptied sanctum, she perceives a familiar jade aura and finds Ayt Mada slumped and bleeding from a neck wound, barely alive after Channeling to slow her death. Ayt flatly states Hilo is dead and explains she was thrown across the street by the blast.

Pressed by Shae, Ayt reveals the bombing was orchestrated by Ven Sando’s daughter, seeking retribution for Ayt’s execution of Ven Sando and his sons years earlier. Ayt warns Shae never to show mercy. Shae contemplates killing her enemy to end the feud, but recognizes the wider stakes: with many Pillars likely dead, the Mountain could fall to Koben hardliners, imperiling Kekon’s stability and No Peak’s future.

Rejecting immediate vengeance, Shae sheathes her knife and aids Ayt, applying pressure and Channeling warmth to keep her alive. She chooses survival and political calculus over retribution, even as she dreads being thrust into leadership amid national crisis.