Yami opened his mouth to speak, the confusion and conflict in his eyes clear. But Buddha raised a hand sharply, silencing him before he could voice a single word.

"Don't," Buddha said, his voice a low rumble. "There are things you need to understand before you ask anything. Things hidden from you by your own clan—by Totanda Shiyume himself."

Yami's eyes narrowed. This entire ordeal was beginning to unravel stories he thought were set in stone, but the mention of Totanda struck something deeper, as if a key were being turned within him.

Buddha's intense gaze never wavered as he spoke. "Do you know why you bear the power of the Death Deity?" he asked, the weight of his words heavy in the stillness of the room. "That curse wasn't placed upon you by accident. It was Totanda himself who sealed that fate for you, for your clan."

Yami felt a chill run down his spine, his mind reeling at the revelation. "Totanda… did this?"

Buddha nodded slowly, his expression darkening as he continued. "Totanda Shiyume bound your bloodline to the Death Deity, forcing that cursed transformation upon you and every Shiyume to follow. It was his way of preserving his own power, a twisted bid to keep your clan subservient to his legacy, to ensure no Shiyume could ever surpass his will. Totanda wanted you bound to death itself, so that your fate—your very existence—would always be tied to the darkness he created."

Yami clenched his fists, his jaw set in anger as he struggled to accept what he was hearing. The Deity of Death, the very power he had struggled to understand and control, was not a gift but a shackle forged by his own ancestor.

In the corner of the room, Qwana shifted his gaze toward Rei, a glint of curiosity in his eyes. With a cool, almost casual tone, he asked, "And you, Kurozai—what do you know of that fateful battle, the one between Totanda and Gotanga?"

Rei's face tightened, her gaze flickering between Qwana and Buddha. She crossed her arms and looked away, a bitter expression crossing her face. "I don't know, and I don't care," she replied sharply. "After what my clan tried to do to me weeks ago, after how they dragged me back and nearly forced me into a life I didn't want, why should I care about the history they've buried in lies?"

Buddha's mouth curved into a faint, knowing smile. "Ah," he murmured, "even now, they keep secrets from their own blood."

Rei looked up, eyes flashing with defiance, but Buddha's expression remained unfazed. He looked at her with an unsettling calmness, as though he were about to unveil a truth that would shake the very foundations of her understanding.

"The truth is this," Buddha continued, his gaze piercing into her. "Gotanga Kurozai—your ancestor, the very man who stood by Totanda's side—was not as loyal as you might think. Totanda didn't just ally with Gotanga. No… Totanda betrayed him. After Totanda returned victorious from his wars, he saw Gotanga as a liability. He turned on him, assassinating him in secret, eliminating his last rival."

Rei froze, a tremor running through her as the weight of Buddha's words settled in. Yami looked to her, his eyes full of shock, but she was too absorbed in Buddha's revelation to notice.

"Totanda didn't stop there," Buddha said, a grim satisfaction evident in his tone. "He scattered the Kurozai clan, sending them to one of the lesser thirty villages, stripping them of their power and prestige. By reducing them to nothing, Totanda cemented the Shiyume clan's place at the top. To this day, your clan lives under the illusion that they're on equal footing with the Shiyume, but they are nothing more than pawns in the game Totanda crafted to protect his own legacy."

Rei stood rigid, her fists clenched as Buddha's words tore through her, shattering whatever image of her ancestors she had held. She had known her clan had dark secrets, had sensed a shadowy past, but this was beyond anything she had imagined.

Yami, feeling her turmoil, reached out to place a hand on her shoulder, but she stepped away, her gaze fixed on Buddha. "So everything we were told—everything about our clans' unity, their alliance… it was a lie?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Buddha nodded, his expression unyielding. "A lie crafted by Totanda himself, to preserve the illusion of honor and loyalty in the Shiyume clan. Your ancestors, both of them, were sacrificed on the altar of Totanda's ambition. And now, the two of you—descendants of those betrayed—stand here, unwitting victims of that legacy."

The room fell silent, the air thick with tension as Yami and Rei absorbed the revelation, a deep, simmering rage brewing beneath the surface of their disbelief. Buddha watched them both, the faintest hint of satisfaction gleaming in his eyes.