Apollo Familia arrived at Hephaestus Weapon Shop like a procession.... which was exactly the kind of thing Apollo enjoyed.
He had never been a god who moved quietly when he could turn even a short walk through Orario into a performance.
He wore a white cloak embroidered with gold thread, his hair shone beneath the morning light, and the members of his Familia followed behind him in neat formation, some proud, some excited, and some simply pleased by the attention they were receiving from the crowd.
Cassandra walked near the back with Daphne beside her, her hands folded tightly in front of her as she tried to keep her breathing steady.
She had barely slept after the dream.
Even after morning came, the images refused to fade the way ordinary nightmares did.
The closer they came to Hephaestus Weapon Shop, the heavier her chest felt.
'We shouldn't go.'
She had thought that again and again since leaving Apollo Familia's home, yet Apollo had already made up his mind, and once he decided that something was beautiful, romantic, or amusing, it became almost impossible to turn him away!
Daphne glanced at her from the side.
"Your face is terrible."
Cassandra lowered her head. "I'm sorry."
"I'm not asking for an apology. I'm asking whether you're going to collapse before we even enter the shop."
"I'll be fine."
"You say that every time."
Cassandra had no answer to that, so she could only look down and continue walking.
Daphne sighed under her breath, but she still moved half a step closer, close enough to catch her if her knees suddenly weakened.
That small gesture made Cassandra's eyes sting more than any scolding would have.
Daphne still did not fully believe her dreams, but she always stayed beside her anyway.
...
The street outside Hephaestus Weapon Shop was even more crowded than the day before, with adventurers gathering in loose groups around the entrance while arguing over the first challenger's failed trial.
Since no one outside the testing room had seen what actually happened, the story had already split into several ridiculous versions.
One rumor claimed the sword had dragged the challenger into hell, another insisted that Yōtōsai had cut open the man's memories and stitched them back together, and a third said the sword asked him to kill the person he loved most.
Daphne heard that last version and clicked her tongue.
"Orario really is hopeless when it comes to rumors."
Cassandra said nothing, because although the stories had clearly been twisted beyond recognition, the fear beneath them was not completely wrong.
The sword truly had shown Ansel something he did not want to face, and she could not shake the feeling that it would do the same again.
When Apollo Familia approached, the crowd opened a path without needing to be told.
Apollo was still Apollo, and even adventurers who disliked him understood that blocking a god's path in public was asking for trouble.
Apollo smiled as if he had arrived at a festival.
"So this is where the famous sword is being displayed."
His eyes moved toward the shop entrance, bright with curiosity.
"A weapon that chooses its wielder... how wonderful! A blade with a heart, waiting for the soul beautiful enough to answer it."
Several members of Apollo Familia immediately praised his words, while Daphne's mouth twitched in a way that suggested she was working very hard not to sigh.
Cassandra lowered her gaze further.
She could feel the sword inside the shop.
Even through walls, seals, glass, and the crowd, something faint brushed against the edge of her awareness.
It did not speak as clearly as it had in the dream, but the sensation was close enough to make her feel as if she were standing at the edge of deep water while something beneath the surface noticed her reflection.
Her fingers tightened around the fabric of her skirt.
Daphne noticed and whispered, "Stay calm."
"I'm trying."
"I know."
That short answer helped more than Cassandra expected.
...
Inside the shop, the manager looked as though his soul had nearly left his body when he saw Apollo walk in.
"Welcome, Apollo-sama."
Apollo smiled warmly.
"No need to be so nervous. I only came to see the sword that has set half of Orario talking."
The manager's expression did not improve, because gods who said things like that were usually the most troublesome customers.
The female clerk from before stood near the display room and did her best to remain professional, though her eyes kept flicking toward Apollo Familia.
She had been told that gods might come, but hearing it and seeing it in person were different matters.
Then Rayleigh came down from the second floor.
The moment he appeared, the noise in the shop lowered by itself.
He wore his usual calm expression, with Senbonzakura and Ruri'iro Kujaku at his waist, and nothing about his posture suggested that he was concerned by Apollo's arrival.
Apollo's eyes brightened.
"Ah, Yōtōsai-kun."
Rayleigh stopped a few steps away.
"Apollo-sama."
"You're more handsome up close than the rumors suggested. No wonder so many children talk about you lately."
"I'm sure most of those rumors are slander."
Apollo laughed lightly.
"Perhaps, but beautiful people are always surrounded by rumors. It can't be helped."
Rayleigh looked at him for a moment before speaking in the same calm tone.
"If you're here to look at the sword, please follow the shop rules. If you're here to make trouble, I'll ask Hephaestus-sama to charge an entrance fee before throwing you out."
The shop manager almost choked, while Daphne's eyebrows rose slightly.
Apollo only laughed again, seemingly amused rather than offended.
"How cold! I came with sincere admiration."
"Then admire sincerely from behind the line."
A few Apollo Familia members frowned at Rayleigh's tone, but none of them stepped forward.
Yōtōsai's current reputation was not something anyone could ignore, especially after the rumors from Rakia had begun spreading through Orario.
Apollo placed one hand over his chest.
"Of course. Rules make games more elegant, after all."
Rayleigh's expression barely changed.
Cassandra stood behind Daphne and watched him quietly.
That was the young man from her dream.
His black eyes were the same, and so was the calm expression she had seen beside the sword behind glass.
But now that she was looking at him in reality, she noticed something the dream had not fully captured.
He was not calm because he was indifferent.
He was calm because he had already accepted the risk.
For some reason, that frightened her more than open arrogance would have.
...
The display room was opened only after the shop manager confirmed the number of visitors.
Apollo, Daphne, Cassandra, Hyakinthos, and two other Apollo Familia members were allowed inside first, while the rest had to wait outside because the room could not safely hold more people.
The black floral Zanpakutō rested inside the sealed case.
The moment Cassandra saw it, her breath caught.
It was exactly the sword from her dream, from the glossy black scabbard and golden flowers to the elegant fittings and the strange coldness hidden beneath its beauty.
Even though it did not move, Cassandra felt as if it had quietly turned its attention toward her.
She took a small step back.
Daphne immediately noticed.
"Cassandra."
"I'm fine."
"You don't look fine."
Daphne frowned, but before she could say anything else, Apollo approached the display case with open admiration.
"How beautiful."
His voice softened as he looked at the sword.
"It truly is different from ordinary weapons. Even through the case, I can feel its presence."
Rayleigh stood nearby and said nothing.
Apollo turned toward him.
"May I see it drawn?"
"No."
The answer came immediately.
"No one draws it inside the shop," Rayleigh said. "If someone wants to challenge it, they register, sign the documents, notify their Familia, and enter the underground testing room under observation."
"How strict."
"It is a sword, not a theater prop."
Apollo smiled.
"But a sword that chooses its master is already a kind of theater. The soul stands before the blade, the blade gazes back, and destiny decides whether the two are beautiful enough to meet. I can think of few things more poetic."
Rayleigh looked at him.
"Apollo-sama, if you turn the trial into a performance, I'll cancel your Familia's right to challenge it."
The atmosphere tightened at once.
Hyakinthos's expression changed.
"How dare you speak to Apollo-sama like—"
"Hyakinthos."
Apollo lifted one hand and stopped him before he could continue. His smile remained, but his eyes had sharpened with interest.
"You would deny a god?"
"I would deny a customer who risks damaging my product, my shop, or my goddess's reputation."
Apollo stared at Rayleigh for a moment before laughing softly.
"I see why Hephaestus likes you."
Rayleigh did not respond.
Cassandra's gaze moved between the two of them.
Apollo was amused, while Rayleigh-san was not afraid, and the difference between those two attitudes made the room feel unstable!
...
The group moved to the underground testing room soon after.
Apollo had not yet chosen a challenger, but he insisted on seeing the procedure with his own eyes.
Rayleigh allowed it, though only after making Apollo sign as the Familia representative in advance.
Apollo found even that amusing and signed the document with elegant handwriting while smiling as if he were leaving an autograph.
Daphne watched the process with a tired face.
"This is becoming worse."
Cassandra stood beside her with her hands clasped tightly.
"Daphne-san."
"What?"
"I think someone from our Familia will try."
"Of course they will. Apollo-sama didn't come here only to look."
Cassandra's face paled.
Daphne glanced at her and lowered her voice.
"Listen to me. If he chooses Hyakinthos, don't interfere."
"But—"
"Hyakinthos is Level 3, experienced, and stubborn. If you run out and tell him not to touch it because of a dream, he'll only get angry, and Apollo-sama might even find it entertaining enough to push him harder."
Cassandra knew Daphne was right, and that made it worse.
Apollo looked over the members of his Familia, his gaze soon settling on Hyakinthos.
Hyakinthos immediately straightened.
"Apollo-sama, if you wish it, I will challenge the blade."
His voice was filled with devotion, and several Apollo Familia members looked at him with obvious envy.
Cassandra felt the dream press against her chest again.
"Please don't," she whispered.
Her voice was small, but the room had grown quiet enough for the people nearby to hear it.
Hyakinthos turned his head.
"What did you say?"
Cassandra flinched, while Daphne's expression tightened.
Apollo looked interested.
"Cassandra?"
Cassandra lowered her head, but she forced herself to speak.
"That sword is dangerous. If someone touches it with the wrong heart, it will show them something painful."
Hyakinthos frowned.
"That is what makes it a trial."
"No, it's different. If you try to force it, something terrible may happen."
Hyakinthos's expression cooled.
"Are you saying I'm unqualified for it?"
Cassandra shook her head quickly.
"No, I only—"
"Enough."
His voice was not loud, but it made her shrink.
Daphne stepped forward.
"She's only worried about you."
Hyakinthos looked at Daphne, then back at Cassandra.
"Worrying is one thing. Speaking as if Apollo-sama's chosen child will fail before I even touch the sword is another."
Apollo raised a hand to his chin and watched them with a smile, making no move to stop the argument.
Cassandra's fingers trembled.
She wanted to retreat and apologize, but the memory of dark water and pale bones remained in her mind, pressing against her fear until she forced out one more sentence.
"Please don't treat it like something beautiful just because it is dangerous."
Hyakinthos's face darkened.
Daphne's eyes widened slightly, perhaps because she had not expected Cassandra to continue.
Rayleigh, who had been standing near the weapon stand, finally looked at her properly.
Apollo's smile deepened.
"What a strange thing to say."
Cassandra lowered her head again.
"I'm sorry."
Daphne quietly moved closer to her.
Hyakinthos exhaled and turned back to Apollo.
"Apollo-sama, please allow me to challenge it."
Apollo smiled.
"Very well."
Cassandra felt her heart sink.
...
The procedure began.
Hyakinthos signed the required documents without hesitation.
Unlike Ansel, he had money, status, Level, and Apollo's direct approval, so he remained composed from beginning to end, as if the trial were merely another stage on which he could prove his worth.
Rayleigh watched him quietly.
"You understand the risk?"
"I do."
"You understand that the sword may reject you regardless of everything?"
Hyakinthos's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I understand."
"Then one last warning. Do not draw the blade unless it gives you permission."
Hyakinthos looked faintly displeased, but he still nodded.
Rayleigh opened the sealed case, and the familiar cold spread through the room.
Cassandra unconsciously held her breath.
The Zanpakutō was placed into Hyakinthos's hands.
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
Hyakinthos looked down at the sword with a calm expression, but his eyes soon began to lose focus.
...
In the vision, Hyakinthos stood inside a sunlit hall where Apollo sat on a white throne beneath golden curtains, smiling at him with the warmth and beauty that had once made him feel chosen.
He lowered his head.
"Apollo-sama."
The god smiled.
"Hyakinthos."
That single word filled him with pride.
Then the hall began to change.
The white pillars cracked, the golden curtains darkened with stains, and the flower petals drifting through the air became scraps of torn paper bearing his own name.
Hyakinthos frowned.
"What is this?"
Apollo was still smiling, but countless people now stood behind him, some familiar and some unknown, all waiting for the god's attention.
Apollo reached out to them one by one, and each person shone beautifully for a brief moment before fading into the crowd behind him.
Hyakinthos tried to move forward, but his feet would not obey him.
"Apollo-sama?"
The god did not look at him.
The scene shifted again, and Hyakinthos found himself standing before a mirror.
In the reflection, he saw himself kneeling with both hands extended, offering the black floral sword to Apollo with a joyful expression, though his eyes were empty and his hands bled from gripping the blade too tightly.
The reflection spoke first.
"If Apollo-sama desires it, then my hands, my blood, and my soul are all his."
Hyakinthos stared at his own face in the mirror, and anger rose in him before fear could.
"What a load of nonsense."
The reflection smiled.
"Is it?"
"Shut up!"
"If Apollo-sama tells you to draw the sword, will you refuse?"
Hyakinthos gritted his teeth.
"That is loyalty."
"If Apollo-sama wants the sword even after it rejects you, will you still let go?"
The question struck him harder than he expected.
He did not answer.
The reflection continued smiling with his own face.
"Will you?"
...
In the testing room, Hyakinthos's fingers tightened around the sword.
Rayleigh's eyes sharpened.
"Hyakinthos."
There was no response.
The Zanpakutō's pressure began to rise, and Cassandra felt the air turn cold enough that her skin prickled.
Daphne immediately grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, while Apollo's smile faded slightly.
Hyakinthos's hand moved toward the hilt.
Rayleigh spoke again, his voice calm but firm.
"Don't draw it."
Hyakinthos's lips moved.
"It belongs..."
The scabbard opened slightly.
"It belongs to Apollo-sama."
Rayleigh vanished from where he stood.
Before the blade could be drawn any farther, he appeared in front of Hyakinthos and struck his wrist with two fingers.
The impact forced Hyakinthos's hand open, and Rayleigh caught the sword as it fell, while his other hand pressed against Hyakinthos's chest.
"Bakudō #1: Sai."
Hyakinthos's arms snapped behind his back as the binding spell took hold, and the cold pressure filling the room disappeared.
Hyakinthos staggered, breathing harshly as his eyes slowly regained focus.
No one spoke for several seconds.
Apollo looked at Rayleigh.
Rayleigh resealed the sword without looking away from Hyakinthos.
"You got rejected."
Hyakinthos's face twisted.
"I was not finished."
"You were about to force the blade open."
"I only—"
"You said it belonged to Apollo-sama."
That sentence made Hyakinthos freeze.
Rayleigh's tone remained even.
"That answer alone disqualifies you."
Hyakinthos's face went pale, then red.
Apollo watched the scene with an unreadable expression.
Cassandra was trembling.
She had seen the edge of the trial, not the full vision, but enough to understand what the sword had asked him.
The sword had not asked whether Hyakinthos was strong.
It had asked whether he could stand before it as himself.
And he could not.