Master and disciple sit face to face before a lost game in Mist-Hidden Vale. Seven days of deduction have led …
Master and disciple sit face to face before a lost game in Mist-Hidden Vale.
Seven days of deduction have led to a dead end. The white stones, representing Dragonbend Academy, have been cornered to their final breath.
"Master..." The disciple drops his head, his voice dry as sand, "Dragonbend Academy is a lost cause. We'd only be sending in more sacrifices. The more we send, the greater the loss."
Xie Yun remains silent. She lifts a white stone and strikes it firmly upon the center. The sharp click of stone on board fades into stillness.
Meeting her disciple's bewildered gaze, she says slowly, "This game may be lost... but perhaps itself is but a single stone in a greater game."
She rises, her gaze drifting toward the dense white mist beyond the vale. "The real game is no longer in Hutuo."
After a pause, she picks up the sacrificed white stone from the board and places it gently back into the disciple's hand.
"And that game still needs one more stone."