The four exhausted scouts staggered into the capital just as the sky was turning grey. They didn't stop to rest — emergency ravens went out immediately. Within the hour, the Obsidian Chamber was packed. Clan heads and high-ranking elders rushed in, some still tying their robes, others rubbing sleep from their eyes. The heavy stone doors slammed shut with a deep boom.
Fujiwara no Teika didn't bother sitting. He stood at the head of the long black table, eyes hard. "From the beginning. Every detail. No holding back."
Gojo no Kenji stepped forward, chest still heaving. "On day one she marched on Akatsuki Village with her swarm. We got there first and warned the villagers. Most of them ran into the woods. The ones who stayed… she killed them all. Fed the bodies to her flies."
Kamo no Jiro's voice was raw. "After that she went back to the Sando Estate and slept for almost two full days. When she woke up she'd changed completely. That grotesque multi-armed thing was gone. She looks like an actual queen now — tall, elegant, long black-and-white hair, that spinning crown of black shards, one crimson eye, one silver-black. She sits on her throne like she owns the world."
The Zenin scout picked up the thread. "Three days later she went to an abandoned temple in the northern mountains and recruited the Fly King. They fought hard, but in the end he knelt and became her general."
Gojo no Kenji finished it, tone grim. "Two days ago Kurosawa hit the estate. He landed a real Black Flash on the Fly King — nearly killed him. But right then she awakened her domain. It's incomplete, no barrier. White porcelain spreads out from her and freezes everything it touches while black shard pillars shoot up from the ground. She trapped Kurosawa inside and chained Fracture after Fracture into him until he had to destroy a high-grade cursed tool just to break free."
He took a shaky breath. "And last night, just before sunset, she used it on purpose for the first time. The Fly King asked how she'd beaten Kurosawa. She showed him. He said it felt like something was weighing his soul, judging him. She admitted it's still incomplete and she can only hold it for maybe thirty seconds before it drains her badly."
The chamber went completely silent.
Fujiwara no Teika slowly lowered himself into his seat, face ashen. Someone at the far end of the table whispered it first.
"…The Queen of Curses."
Teika closed his eyes for a long moment, then opened them. "She's earned the name. She slaughtered an entire village, slept for two days and evolved into this regal form, recruited a special-grade as her general, awakened a domain that judges souls, and now she's deliberately training it like it's just another technique."
He looked around the table. "We are no longer dealing with the Porcelain Onryo. We are dealing with the Queen of Curses."
The words hit the room like a stone dropped in still water. Gojo no Michizane, who had brought his ten-year-old son Haruto despite the rules, sat up straighter, all his usual cockiness gone. Haruto stayed quiet on his father's lap, six eyes glowing faintly as he took everything in. Zenin no Takumi's huge fists clenched so hard the obsidian table creaked. Kamo no Yasunori's crimson eyes narrowed to slits. Everyone looked rattled.
Teika exhaled slowly. "Speak. All of you. What are your thoughts?"
Zenin no Takumi slammed his fist on the table, cracking it further. "This is bullshit! We gave her seven days and she used every single one of them. She's got a special-grade general now, she's rebuilding that estate like she's building an empire, and she's training an incomplete domain? Even if it's weaker than a real one, the fact she can use it at all is insane!"
Kamo no Yasunori spoke next, voice cold and precise. "The domain is strange. No barrier — it just spills outward and turns everything to porcelain. The Fly King said it felt like being judged. That sounds like a corrupted mix of her clan's Soul Fracture and the rarer Soul Sentencing. She's taken both techniques and fused them into something new. That alone makes her far more dangerous than any normal special grade."
Gojo no Michizane glanced down at Haruto before speaking. "My boy called it from the start. The Six Eyes tipped the balance too far toward humanity… and the world is correcting itself by creating her. She evolved after just two days of sleep. She recruited the Fly King. She awakened a domain that can judge souls. Even if it's incomplete and drains her fast, the fact she's already training it means she's only going to get stronger."
Yuki no Amaya shook her head, bitter. "We should have killed her the moment we learned she existed. Instead we sat back and watched her turn into a queen. She's earned the title Queen of Curses. If we don't move soon, she'll start collecting more than just flies."
Abe no Hiroki gripped his talisman tightly. "The stars have been screaming warnings for weeks. I thought it was just political trouble, but this? A vengeful spirit turning into a ruler with her own court and a domain? This is the start of something much worse."
Kusakabe no Goro grunted, arms crossed. "We gave her time. She used it. Now we've got a queen with a special-grade general, an incomplete domain that judges souls, and an ego big enough to match her power. The longer we wait, the worse it gets."
The room fell quiet again while everyone let that sink in.
Teika looked around the table, face heavy. "Then the question is simple. Do we declare war on the Queen of Curses now… or do we wait and risk facing something far stronger later?"
Zenin no Takumi didn't hesitate. "We hit her tonight. She's still weak. She can only hold that domain for under thirty seconds. Her general's still hurt. Send every Grade 1 we've got, burn the whole estate to the ground, and end this before she gets any stronger."
Kamo no Yasunori shook his head. "Too reckless. She already survived a Black Flash and almost killed Kurosawa. If we rush in and fail, we just hand her more grudge shards. She'll evolve again. We need a real plan."
Gojo no Michizane looked at his son. "Haruto, what do your Six Eyes see?"
The ten-year-old scanned the table, eyes glowing. "She's not finished evolving. The domain she's using now is still incomplete… but it's getting better. If we attack now we might win. But if we wait too long, next time she uses it… it might not be incomplete anymore."
Yuki no Amaya leaned forward. "I agree with the boy. We can't wait. But a blind charge is suicide. We need to lure her out, make her use that domain until she's drained, then hit her."
Teika rubbed his temples, clearly tired. "We're at a crossroads. Strike now while her domain is unstable and her general is wounded… or take the time to build a proper force and risk her becoming unstoppable."
After more back-and-forth, Teika finally raised his hand. "We will not strike tonight. We take the time to assemble a real extermination force. Every clan contributes their strongest. We study her domain, prepare every counter we can, and when we're ready we end her in one decisive blow."
He paused, letting it settle. "The Queen of Curses has earned her title. Now we make sure she doesn't keep it."
The meeting dragged on a little longer as they talked about the Hollow Blade gathering rogue sorcerers, the smaller clans finally being brought into the fold, and the earthquakes rumbling around that dormant volcano to the north. When it finally ended, everyone filed out in heavy silence. The stone doors boomed shut, leaving the chamber dark and empty.
Far away at the Sando Estate, the first light of sunrise was just touching the sky in soft pinks and golds.
Himiko sat perfectly poised on her throne, legs crossed, crown spinning lazily above her head. Across the courtyard Kuro was already up and working. The wound on his chest had healed overnight into a nasty scar, but at least he wasn't leaking green blood anymore.
"Oi, Queen!" he called out, sounding proud of himself. "Stop pretending to read that old scroll and come look at this!"
"A queen does not 'come look'," she answered coolly, not even glancing up. "If it's worth my time, you will bring it to me."
Kuro grumbled but dragged his new creation over anyway. "Behold! Upgraded Swarm Sled, version two. I call it the Royal Freight Hauler!"
Himiko finally lowered her scroll, one eyebrow raised. "You gave it a name. How precious."
He showed her the new bite-bar harnesses he'd carved. "The old ones were garbage — flies kept slipping off and everything crashed. Now each one gets its own groove so their mandibles lock in tight. Twenty spots on the main harness, plus steering ones on the sides. Watch this."
A swarm clamped on in perfect rows. With one loud buzz they lifted the massive sled, loaded with five huge stone blocks, and flew it smoothly across the courtyard.
Himiko actually looked impressed. "Not bad, General. You actually improved it."
Kuro puffed his chest out. "Told you I'm a genius. Soon they'll build the whole palace without me — I'll just sit back and give orders."
She smirked. "So you've made yourself completely useless. How noble of you."
Kuro's wings faltered. "…Wait, that's not what I meant."
Himiko's soft laugh rang out across the courtyard — light and genuinely amused. Kuro groaned and slumped against the half-built wall, covering his face. "I should've stayed in my damn temple…"
When her laughter faded she leaned back, voice regal again. "Enough. Give me a status report."
Kuro straightened up. "Outer walls are about seventy percent done. Main gate and eastern wall are solid. Western side still needs a couple more days. The main hall's coming along faster than I thought — roof's mostly patched, throne platform is good, most of the rubble from the massacre is cleared. Another four or five days and the perimeter should be finished. Maybe a week after that the hall will be livable."
Himiko scanned the low piles of timber and stone near the gate. "We're running low on materials. At this rate we'll run out before the hall is done."
She tapped one porcelain finger on the throne. "Kuro, design a new tool. Something the fly-heads can use by themselves — a gadget they can bite onto to chop trees and mine stone without you watching every single cut. Make it efficient and strong. I want a working prototype by tomorrow."
Kuro stared at her, wings frozen. "…You want me to invent a tree-chopping, stone-mining tool that brainless flies can operate… by tomorrow?"
"Precisely." She smiled, cold and regal. "A proper general should be able to handle such things."
Kuro dragged a hand down his face and let out a long groan. "You're really enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Immensely."
She leaned back, looking thoroughly pleased with herself. "Get to work, General. The Queen expects results."
Kuro muttered something that sounded a lot like "sadistic porcelain tyrant" and shuffled off toward the supply pile, wings drooping. Himiko watched him go, a faint spark of amusement still in her crimson eye as the morning sun climbed higher over the half-rebuilt estate.
The Queen of Curses was building her domain, one sled and one reluctant general at a time.