Chapter 62: Pillar of Kekon

Jaya rides through the night to reach Hilo but arrives after his death, furious and grieving. She demands vengeance, but Niko, newly Pillar, insists on restraint and honoring his pledge with Ato. When Jaya blames Shae, Shae rebukes her as a first-rank Fist. Jaya storms out, then witnesses Mountain members besiege Iwe Kalundo’s home. Under intense backlash, Iwe pens a final letter and kills himself.

Hilo’s funeral engulfs Janloon. Anden, hollow with grief, helps manage ceremonies and clan outreach. In the study that now belongs to Niko, the young Pillar confides his fear of failing Hilo’s legacy and asks Anden to be his Pillarman. Anden declines to continue his Royal Council run but pledges counsel, recommending Maik Cam as Pillarman. Wen appears and, wordless with sorrow, embraces Niko, steadying him.

As tributes and allegiances arrive, dissent within No Peak remains muted under Shae and Lott’s support for Niko. Ten days later, Ayt Ato arrives with only bodyguards, renouncing the Ayt name to reclaim Koben. Niko and Shae walk him through the Kaul estate as Ato admits the Mountain is shattered—members defecting to No Peak, splinter clans forming, and die-hards regrouping in Gohei as the Spear Carrier clan.

Koben Ato laments a life used as a political pawn and contrasts Niko’s upbringing under Hilo’s protection with his own exploitation. He cannot bring himself to execute Ayt Mada, fearing repetition of her cycle of betrayal. Seeking to end the spiral, Ato offers Ayt Mada—stripped of jade and secretly guarded—to the Kauls as repayment for Hilo saving his life, and asks that No Peak consider its blood debt settled.

Niko consults Shae with a glance, then accepts. He vows under Heaven and jade that the old hatreds are over. Ato acknowledges his inadequacy as a strongman but expresses relief, predicting No Peak’s rise as the foremost clan and urging Niko to be a pillar for all Kekon, effectively confirming a new order.