After eight years cultivating his arts atop sacred peaks, where his mastery blurred the lines between human endeavor and natural law, the aging master finally urged him to descend. An ancestral marriage pact demanded fulfillment, while five martial sisters - whose laughter still haunted the mountain springs - had long since carved their legends in the mortal realm. Standing at the stone gate where veils of morning mist parted, he weighed the bridal jade in his left palm against the bloodstained dagger in his right. With dawn's first light, he stepped onto the winding path where duty and vengeance coiled like twin serpents beneath his shadow.
