Five Broken Blades

Ty and Sora go to meet Bay Chin, the northern count. As predicted, Bay Chin takes an interest in Sora, who plays the role of a submissive woman and claims to share the count’s interest in tuhko. Deceived by her ploy, the northern count invites her and Ty to his private box to view the upcoming match at the Millennial Celebration.

Euyn worries as he waits alone in his room; he must remain here until he and Aeri are ready to leave together for the arena. As he contemplates his future as a king, he thinks he sees the ghost of his mother and wills her away.

In Qali, Mikail waits on General Salosa. Mikail confirms that there is no change to the assassination plans, and the general reminds him to bring in the traitors. Mikail departs and goes to his office in the eastern wing. He meets with his second-in-command, a woman named Zahara, who reveals that she killed Dal on Joon’s orders. Neither Mikail nor Zahara knows who sent Thorn, the palace assassin who was murdered at the count’s estate. Zahara informs him that more of their agents have died in Wei. After she leaves, Mikail follows suit, taking the bridge over the Idle Lake and watching for the iku, the once-human creatures who lurk in the lake and devour anyone who falls in, particularly murderers and traitors to the crown.

Aeri and Euyn arrive at the King’s Arena, and Euyn is visibly nervous. They meet with Mikail. Ass Aeri leaves to get ready for her part and act as valet to Joon, Mikail tells her to run away if they don’t succeed. Aeri recognizes that Mikail and the others care about her in a way that her father never did. She walks away, making a new decision.

Royo stands guard with the other guardsmiths in Bay Chin’s royal box. He worries about Aeri because he cannot see her, and he also struggles to restrain his anger against Bay Chin because he holds the count responsible for the rampant gangs in Umbria. The tuhko players arrive, and so does Joon. After a grand entry, Joon drops a flag into the arena, and the tuhko game begins.

As Sora watches the violent match next to Bay Chin, she worries that the group will be too late to complete the assassination. Bay Chin only plans to present her to Joon after the first half of the game ends, but she needs to meet Joon at least two minutes before the end of the first half. She plays along but feigns boredom when a penalty is called. Bay Chin takes notice and offers to bring her to Joon right then. Ty invites himself to go with them.

Standing next to Joon, Mikail worries because Sora is late and because Bay Chin, who originally planned this assassination and wanted to keep away from it, is now a center pillar to its success. He plans to destroy the crown once Aeri steals it, even though he knows that Euyn will hate him.

Euyn waits under the arena, hidden from everyone and worrying whether the crown will turn him to ash because he is not from the correct lineage. As he waits for the horns to blow, he feels the tip of a sword at his neck. Weaponless and defenseless, Euyn complies with the palace assassin’s demand to come quietly, knowing that Mikail has betrayed him.

Aeri waits on Joon in the royal box, anxiously waiting for Sora to make her way to the king with Bay Chin. When Sora arrives, she and Joon speak, and Aeri knows that she needs to betray her father. As the game resumes and the horns blow, giving the two-minute warning, Aeri reaches for her amulet—the one she took from Prince Omin’s dead body—and uses it to freeze time and steal the crown. She places the crown in Mikail’s waiting hand, then feels herself age. This is the cost of using the Amulet of the Dragon Lord—a relic that everyone believes to have been lost.

The crown is suddenly gone from Joon’s head, so Sora kisses him with poisoned lips, but Joon does not die. As Mikail destroys the crown, Joon smiles and calls for his guards to seize them. The whole group is captured, and Sora believes that Mikail has betrayed them.

Royo watches from afar as Joon survives the assassination. He then runs to save Aeri, but by the time he arrives, the guards have already captured her. He is held back by Rune, who tells him to live to fight another day. However, Royo lets himself be taken, swearing that he will kill everyone to save Aeri—especially Euyn, who is nowhere to be seen. Royo believes that Euyn has betrayed them.

When Mikail regains consciousness, he finds himself chained to the others in Qali Palace. Joon still has his crown, and Mikail realizes that the one he destroyed was merely a decoy. He watches as Bay Chin receives a pardon for his previous assassination attempt in compensation for playing his part in the current assassination plot. Mikail understands that Bay Chin did not orchestrate the assassination, and he realizes that Joon has plotted the whole scheme from the shadows.

Royo watches as Joon approaches Aeri. When she calls the king “father,” Royo is shocked. When Joon presents Aeri as Naerium Lin Baejkin, Royo feels deeply betrayed. Joon orders his guards to take one of the group to Idle Prison. Aeri believes that he means to imprison Royo and implores him to stop, but his guards take Ty instead. Joon admonishes Aeri for betraying him and tells them that his deal with her is now rescinded. She argues against this ruling, stating that she succeeded in bringing him Soral, Mikail, and Euyn. She also asks for Royo and Ty to be released, but Joon refuses.

Euyn is confused to learn that Aeri is allegedly Joon’s daughter, because Naerium was said to have died in a fire seven years ago due to the actions of their brother, Omin. Given that Naerium was 12 at the time and Aeri has claimed to be 24, their ages don’t align. Joon offers to pardon the group of conspirators and offers to reinstate Euyn as a prince—on one condition.

Mikail privately examines his own hubris when Joon announces that he wants the group to steal the Ring of Khitan from Quilimar, his and Euyn’s sister. The Ring of Kitan is a golden ring that turns anything or anyone into gold. Joon claims that the assassination scheme was merely an audition to allow the group to prove themselves capable of his actual task for them. He offers them appealing deals if they succeed. Sora will be offered the eastern count’s house in Aseyo and will be able to live there with her sister and Ty; Mikail can become regent of Dal’s young son and thus control the country’s capital, Tamneki; Hwan will be freed on Royo’s behalf; and Aeri will be acknowledged as a princess of Yusan while her mother will be posthumously recognized as Joon’s first queen.

Joon delivers his final directive. The group must bring back the ring before the monsoon season is over. This gives them about five weeks to complete the mission. If Quilimar finds out that Joon sent them, Joon promises to kill them and burn their loved ones alive. Euyn watches as Joon turns to Mikail and tells him that he will take good care of Ailor. However, Euyn doesn’t know that Ailor is Mikail’s adoptive father; he realizes that he doesn’t know Mikail at all.

Sora is in shock. She and the others are brought to the armory and equipped for their mission, then taken to a carriage at the front of the palace. They are unchained and forced to set off for Khitan. No one in the group trusts each other any longer. Sora realizes Joon’s fear and shares her insight with the others, telling them that Joon fears Quilimar herself. She proposes to use his fear and befriend Quilimar to enact their revenge.