After hearing the pleasant tinkling of a bell resonate within his mind, Reivan found that the scenery had changed once again.

'It sure feels like this has been happening a whole lot...'

Beneath his feet, the green grass was replaced with paved grey stone while the thin, sword-like trees all around him were gone. What replaced them were trees that had slightly thicker trunks but beautiful pink flowers growing out of the branches. Hundreds of these trees were arranged in a row on both sides of the path, with a few more of them dotting the space beyond.

'Why are there cherry blossom trees here...?'

"Woah..." Despite his confusion at seeing the familiar tree in another world, Reivan was left breathless by the beautiful sight of hundreds of cherry blossoms in full bloom. Even though it wasn't his first time seeing such a sight, he still couldn't help but gawk. He even felt a bit nostalgic. Once upon a time, before that accursed rat ruined his life, he used to admire cherry blossoms with Kyouka whenever spring came around.

'Wait a minute... Spring...? That's right... Cherry blossoms only bloom in spring...!'

However, it was near the end of summer at the moment. As such, it made no sense for these beautiful flowers to be energetically showing themselves off. He would not be Japanese if he didn't know that cherry blossoms only lasted for about two weeks or so.

'Dammit. I'm so curious but I can't ask anything about it.'

From his understanding, they were in the Sword Sanctum at the moment. Although he didn't fully understand its significance and purpose, Reivan could figure out that this was not a place a normal person was allowed entrance to. There was a high possibility that these trees were a unique aspect of the Sanctum, which also meant that no books about it were out there.

So his normal excuse of having read something from a book wouldn't fly this time. If he suddenly seemed to know that these flowers only bloomed in spring, people would be suspicious.

Luckily, it seemed Valter was all too happy to explain, even without any questions.

"Beautiful, aren't they, Your Highness?" Valter smiled softly as he also stood in place while admiring the sight before him. "These trees are apparently called 'Sakura Trees' and they only exist here, in the Sword Sanctum. Nobody really knows where they originated from though — except the first king, who'd given the first seed to the Sword Star before he died of old age. At the very least, I've traveled the continent and have yet to see them in other places... it really makes me wonder where the first king got them..."

'He got them from Earth, Sir Valter.'

Reivan kept his thoughts to himself, though. Since Valter seemed to be in the mood for explaining, Reivan took the chance to steer the conversation in the direction where the questions in his heart would get answered.

"Sakura trees? So does that mean that these flowers are called sakura flowers?"

"Indeed. Although there is another name for them, which is 'Cherry Blossom', most people here refer to them as sakura." Valter held his palm up, letting a sakura flower gently land on it. "These flowers normally only bloom in spring and only last for about two weeks before they perish, Your Highness. According to the first king, among their many meanings was the transcience of life, how beautiful and fleeting it is..."

"I see..." Reivan nodded along with an expression of feigned interest.

'That sounds about right, yeah.'

Even he knew about that particular meaning. Something along the lines of how beautiful things only lasted for a short time, just like how life only lasted for a brief moment.

'Kyouka knew more about these kinds of trivia than I did though... something about getting girls easier by impressing them with the language of flowers? She was really freaking dedicated to wooing girls huh...'

"However..." Valter continued. "That was not a very appropriate symbolism for a place where people who've already released themselves from the bindings of age normally dwell. So, through certain methods, we've made these flowers last all year long."

'Oh. So that's why...'

Reivan smiled in satisfaction at having his curiosities answered. That was when he realized that there were only two of them there. "Hm? Where is..."

Valter raised an eyebrow, apparently having heard his careless mutter. "Ah... if you're wondering about the lack of people, it's because most of them are meditating in their own dwellings, somewhere else. Also, we're currently at the entrance to the Sword Sanctum, which is ironically the area with the least traffic since most of the people who come and go here are Ascendants, and they just fly in from wherever direction they came from. The entrance is for people who walk up the mountain for some other reason."

'That's good to know, but that wasn't really what I was wondering about...'

Smiling wryly, Reivan asked his actual question. "Were we not called here by the Sword Star? He's not here, though."

"Oh... if it's that, then it's most likely because he knew you'd like this view." Valter gestured at his surroundings.

"I see... he was right. I do like it very much." Reivan couldn't help but beam at the scenery again. To him, it felt like he'd never get tired of looking at these beautiful blossoms.

"The Sword Star's dwelling is further in, Your Highness. If you wish, we can take a stroll on our way there."

"I'd like that. Thank you."

As Reivan took a step forward, he was reminded of a pleasant memory from his past life. He and Kyouka would watch the cherry blossoms bloom from their balcony, sometimes laying out a blanket on the grass to have a picnic. His little sister would stuff her face with whatever food Hanzo had prepared, and the old man would just happily smile while watching over the two of them. Soon, little Kyouka would have her fill and become drowsy. Failing to resist the allure of sleep, she would latch onto her big brother and lose consciousness with her face buried in his chest. Shaking his head in exasperation, he would naturally indulge his beloved little sister, soon falling asleep with her in his arms. When the two of them woke up, they'd be in the comfort of their own home, excited for the next time.

It was a simple happiness, one that he enjoyed every year, and thought he would continue to enjoy for a long time afterward.

For a moment, Reivan's face twisted as if he'd eaten something bitter.

'No... these are happy memories. Happy memories...'

Reivan exhaled before he wrenched his lips into a smile. He did not want to stain his pleasant memories with feelings of bitterness and sorrow. Yes, he should be sad that they were gone, but at the same time, their absence did not degrade the memories they made together.

Happy memories were just that — happy memories. They were supposed to be souvenirs from a pleasant time in one's life. Recalling them should elicit positive feelings.

Although difficult, he tried to keep the negative thoughts away.

"Let's go, Sir Valter."

"Yes, Your Highness."

With conflicting emotions fighting for supremacy within his heart, Reivan walked forward with a smile that could — or could not — have been fake.

 

---

 

"We're here, Your Highness. The Sword Star should be waiting for us there." Valter pointed forward.

Reivan gazed in the direction his guardian knight was pointing at. He had to squint his eyes to see it clearly, but there was a massive tree in the distance. In contrast to the pink cherry blossoms around it, this tree had white flowers growing all over it.

"Sir Valter, what kind of tree is that?"

"That is also a cherry blossom tree, Your Highness."

"Huh." Reivan brows knit and he frowned in confusion while continuing to walk forward. "...But it's white."

Valter chuckled. "Cherry blossoms can also be white."

"Oh..."

'Wait. Really? Why did I not know about this...? I'm fucking Japanese, for fuck's sake!'

"At least, that's what the first king said..." Valter scratched the back of his head in thought. "However, no other white sakura trees exist other than that one. For some reason, even though all sakura trees originated from the first tree that the first king gave to Sir Rolf, no other tree turned out the same as the first one."

'Well, that's weird... What the hell did that guy do with these trees...?'

It really felt like his senior otherworlder has his fingerprints all over this world.

'Too bad he's dead. It would've been cool to talk with him...'

Wanting to change the topic, Reivan asked something he'd been wondering about for a while now. "Sir Valter, I thought that there were a few Ascendants living here, but I don't see any houses. Are they on the other side of the mountain, perhaps?"

"That's not the case." Valter shook his head before pointing at the cherry blossom trees beyond the ones that bordered the stone-paved path. "The Sword Star has carved small dimensions all around throughout the Sword Sanctum. And some of the trees you see serve as doors to these dimensions. The people who attempt to reach the Transcendent realm get access to their own private dimension, where they can partake in meditation to achieve enlightenment."

'Trees again...?'

It felt like his country had a fixation on them.

'Maybe they're just very concerned about global warming and stuff?'

In any case, the fact that the Sword Star could literally make dimensions — no matter how "small" they supposedly were — was mind-boggling to him. In the countless stories he'd read, it didn't matter what kind of power system the world had, manipulating space and creating dimensions was always a pinnacle-level technique.

'The most powerful person in Aizen is here...'

That fact was finally sinking in. Beyond the bright red torii gate that seemingly announced the overwhelming might that the man who lived there possessed, was the person that stood at a height of power that Reivan desperately wanted to reach.

And surpass.

'I wonder what he's like...?'

With anticipation, Reivan walked through the Torii gate.

 

 

 

"Wha...!" He almost stumbled at the strange sensation that came over him as he passed by the crimson pillars. It felt as if the atmosphere, the scent in the air, and even the temperature had all changed the moment he crossed through the gate. When he glanced back to ask Valter what was going on, he found that the man had a smile of satisfaction on his face.

"As expected, it seems like Your Highness' talent is quite high."

"What... haaa.... are you... talking about...?" Reivan knit his eyebrows and frowned in confusion as he tried to calm his breathing. The strange change in the surrounding ambiance made it hard for him to breathe. Goosebumps peppered his body as his clothes started rapidly getting soaked with sweat. Even the beating of his heart had grown erratic, slowing down and speeding up randomly.

Valter crossed his arms as he admired Reivan's suffering. "For one to sense how different this place is from the rest of the world, one needs great perception. Something essential to advance in power. Congratulations, Your Highness, very few people have as intense of a reaction as you when they first come here."

'That is certainly something to celebrate, but I'm dying here, so I can't really be happy about it at the moment.'

Reivan put on a strained smile as he grasped his chest. "That's... haaa.... great. But how... do I... haaa... make it stop...?"

"You get used to it."

"W-what..."

"You get used to it, Your Highness."

The words that came out of his guardian knight's mouth made Reivan's knees give out from under him as he wheezed miserably on the stone floor.

'I heard you the first time! I just wanted you to say something that made sense!'

How in the world did anyone expect to get used to this suffocating feeling?

It was apparent that complaining about it wasn't going to accomplish anything, so Reivan tried his best to pull his heavy body up to a sitting position. In his mind, he was sure that they wouldn't just let him die if he messed up. Since his safety was pretty much assured, he would just have to do his best.

'Whatever. Let's just get this fucking over with and go meet that old guy...'

With his eyes sealed shut, Reivan focused on bringing order to his chaotic breathing.