Chapter Text
The gate of the Kuchiki clan, which once stood proud and tall, was now burnt and completely destroyed. There was nothing left of the once imposing tall and elegant building and gorgeous training grounds that people around the area had seen for centuries.
The place had been recently attacked by monsters and demons, as well as hollows and espadas. After that, the place completely burnt down. How exactly, no one knows. The attack was massive and on a scale no one had ever seen before. It had not been a normal attack at all. They suspected that someone must have orchestrated the whole thing, especially since this was not the only clan that fell in such a short time.
It had not only been the Kuchiki clan, one of the four big clans actually, but the Shihoin clan, also part of the big four, had fallen as well.
The people were whispering about the accident though, wondering how this could have transpired. Two big clans and in such a short time, it was unthinkable.
For centuries, the four big clans had ruled over the lands. The big clan that ruled and was familiar in this area was the Kuchiki clan. The clan was not only in charge of the protection of the common folk, but they were in charge of keeping the history of the country safe as well.
Additionally they helped the smaller clans out as well by training their most promising disciples in the fine arts of cultivation. They would teach them basic knowledge of monsters, demons, spirits, hollows and espadas, teach them how they could draw talismans, how to use kido and hado and how to use their swords and reiatsu.
Whenever a matter came up which could not be fixed by the smaller clans, the cultivators of the Kuchiki clan would help out. And if they could not, the Shihoin clan would. They were the one closest to the Kuchiki clan, even though the clans were miles apart still.
However, now the two nearest clans had fallen, the common folk was afraid of what was to come.
The cultivators of the smaller clans were trying their best to protect everyone. However, they were no match for the monsters that turned up.
The people could actually still hear the horrifying screams and smell the lingering scent of blood if the wind blew into a certain direction. The place was haunted as well. At night, spirits could be seen roaming around crying and screaming.
It scared them since they had no explanation for this. Even the cultivators did not have an explanation. This only fuelled all the rumours that were going around. However, it was indeed best to avoid the place.
People who had been brave enough to explore the place in broad daylight anyway, trying to discover what had actually happened, felt the resentful energy of everything that had transpired. They left shortly after they arrived, feeling sick to their core and having no explanation for it.
People who watched the place from a distance saw a lone cherry blossom tree in front of the gates. The tree should have been burnt to the ground as well since every other cherry blossom tree that had been around the grounds were burnt down as well. It was a miracle that this tree had survived.
They watched how the tree swayed in the wind, the petals slowly falling.
The thing that amazed them the most was the fact that it was not even the season for the tree to carry flowers.
The people could feel the pain of the tree. It was as if the tree was crying, only letting one flower fall at a time.
The story about how the tree came to be had been making its rounds. From one of the Kuchiki’s being cursed because they had been losing approval of the heaven to rule which subsequently led them to their horrifying downfall to the sealing of one of the demons they fought into a cherry blossom tree.
The most popular one, to everyone’s surprise however, was that of a soulmate.
Because of cultivation, people who cultivated were able to get a soulmate mark. It ended in tragedy most of the time because of the nature of the soulmate mark.
The soulmate connection would appear for one as the first sentence their soulmate would ever say to them, tattooed on their skin. The other person would get the last words their soulmate would ever say to them tattooed on their skin.
The people believed that the tree was able to survive because of that soulmate connection. Their love for their soulmate kept them alive and was the reason why they were so sad as well.
Well, things couldn’t be further from the truth...