Akemi: The Vermillion Beauty - Part 3

That night, barefoot and bloodied, she fled into the dark forest. The moonlight filtered

through the canopy, highlighting the path as she ran, guided only by exhaustion, rage,

and heartbreak. Hours later, she stumbled upon a hidden temple, shrouded in mist

and silence. Inside, the monk was bent over his work, the chisel tracing

its final line across the wooden mask. The air smelled of cedar dust and old incense.

When Akemi stepped into the temple, bruised and hollow from what she had endured,

he did not flinch. His hands stilled, but his face held no surprise—only that heavy,

unmoving calm, as though her arrival had always belonged to this moment. His eyes lingered