Katsumasa assigned Kotori what he called an Imperial-backed operation against Reckoners. Inside the target building she found Jukai defenders instead. Her attacks killed a bonded woman, and a teammate then prepared to kill the woman's bereaved river kami.
Shorikai fired without Kotori's order. The response exposed what her synchronization had hidden: a kami was bound inside the machine. Katsumasa's silence and lies no longer looked like technical imperfections. Returning the mech would mean surrendering the spirit to another prison or dismantling.
Kotori yielded control to Shorikai. Its attack killed the remaining team, and the conflict left a dangerous disturbance between the material and spirit realms. They departed together, choosing their own path. Their new understanding did not make the deaths bloodless or establish that every consequence of the experiment was repaired.