The Emperor roared in fury, but his voice was swallowed by the fragrance. Kaguya felt her skin turning to bark, her hair spinning into fine, white silk. She wasn't becoming a weapon. She was becoming the bridge.
Instead of a wave of shattering glass, Kaguya let out a soft, low hum. The glass trees didn't explode; they melted. They turned into a thick, luminous mist that smelled of rain and forgotten dreams. The mist didn't kill the soldiers below; it made them drop their swords. It made them remember their homes, their mothers, and the feeling of sun on their skin.
As the sun rose, there were no armies left. There was only a forest of white trees, standing in a perfect circle around the capital. And at the center, where the High Pagoda once stood, was a single, towering Sakura tree with petals that shimmered like pearls.
Kaguya closed her eyes. She reached deep into the place where the glass grew. She didn't find the rage her father wanted. She found the memory of the first Sakura Hime—not a warrior, but a bridge.
But Kaguya spent her nights whispering to the glass petals. They didn't feel like power. They felt like silence. They felt like the end of things.
The night of the Great Bloom arrived. The enemy armies were at the gates, their torches looking like fallen stars against the dark earth. Kaguya stood on the balcony, her kimono trailing behind her like a river of silk. The Emperor stood behind her, his hand heavy on her shoulder. "Bloom," he commanded.
