The Rust Sea welcomed them back with sunshine.
It was strange the sun had been shining more and more over the past three years, as if the world was slowly remembering what warmth felt like. The Scavenger's Market was still there, still desperate, still dangerous. But there was something different in the air. Something like... hope.
When Lee walked through the gates, the crowd parted.
Not in fear. In respect.
"The Light Bringer returns!" someone shouted.
"Lee Zaou! Lee Zaou! LEE ZAOU!"
The chant spread through the market, growing louder, more fervent. People pressed forward to touch him, to thank him, to offer him gifts and food and shelter.
Lee smiled and waved and accepted their gratitude with grace. But his eyes kept drifting to Inyocha to the boy walking behind him, head bowed, shoulders hunched, trying to make himself small.
"He's the Shadow Weaver!" someone screamed.
The crowd froze.
"He's the one who killed our families! He's the one who built the engine! He's the MONSTER!"
The mood shifted. Gratitude turned to anger. Respect turned to rage. People reached for weapons knives, clubs, rusty swords and turned toward Inyocha.
"No," Lee said. His voice was quiet, but it carried through the crowd like thunder. "No. He's my brother. And he's under my protection."
"Your PROTECTION?" A woman stepped forward her face scarred, her eyes blazing. "He killed my husband! He drained my children! And you want to PROTECT him?"
"I want to save him," Lee said. "Just like I saved all of you. Just like I saved the souls of the Sunken City. Just like I saved the Lotus Archipelago."
"You didn't save MY family!" the woman screamed.
Lee looked at her. Really looked. He saw her pain. Her rage. Her grief.
"No," he said softly. "I didn't. And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But killing Inyocha won't bring them back. It won't ease your pain. It will only create more pain. More loss. More orphans like me."
The woman stared at him.
The crowd stared at him.
Inyocha stared at him.
"Let me try something different," Lee said. "Let me try redemption. Let me show you that even the darkest soul can find the light. And if I fail if Inyocha ever hurts another innocent person I will kill him myself. With this sword. In front of all of you."
He drew Onyx Tempest. The golden light blazed from the blade, warm and gentle and true.
"I swear it," Lee said. "On my honor. On my life. On everything I am."
The crowd was silent.
Then, one by one, they lowered their weapons.
The woman with the scarred face stepped forward. She looked at Inyocha really looked and saw not a monster, but a boy. A broken, terrified boy.
"His first task," she said quietly, "is to help rebuild what he destroyed. He will work. He will bleed. He will sweat. And maybe... maybe... someday, I will forgive him."
Inyocha nodded. Tears streamed down his face.
"Thank you," he whispered.
The woman turned and walked away.
The crowd dispersed.
And Lee Zaou the Light Bringer, the Child of the Shattering, the Fool Who Refused to Give Up put his arm around his brother's shoulders.
"See?" Lee said. "Redemption is possible."
Inyocha laughed a real laugh, shaky and uncertain, but real. "You're insane."
"Probably," Lee agreed. "But I'm also right."
They walked into the Rust Sea together.