To be human, live your life with convictions to guide you through the world.

To be Emperor, live your life with convictions so strong the world bends to your will.

To be a Hero, live your life with convictions that break the world.

— Excerpt from Meditations, by the Red Emperor

----------------------------------------

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting Agytha to be hosting rowdy guests while I was away." The Tempest's green eyes scanned the group from behind her fan, lingering on Agytha's bound form. "As it seems Agytha is unable to play host any longer, I believe a bothersome duty falls to me now."

Though their group wasn't small, every single person's movements had abruptly halted at the Tempest's words. Though each individual's expression of fear was uniquely their own, one aspect was shared among all of them: wide, open eyes, unwilling to look away from what their mind had justly determined was death.

For a brief moment, instinct ran rampant and tethered Molam with those around him as they all grappled with the inevitable decision staring down at them: fight or flee?

Shurra launched towards the stairs at a surprising speed; she moved as though she had no injuries, her sword flashing in the light of his torch. In a mere two bounds, she had almost reached the top of the stairs when the fan swiped downward through the air.

A green gust arced through the air and met Shurra mid-leap. It looked as though the Northern Warrior collided with an invisible wall and was promptly thrown through the stair's railing, the force hurtling her into a stone beam, snapping out a large section of it.

Molam's heart leapt into his throat as he feared for Shurra's life. Physically reinforced or not, could someone even survive that?

But his mind forced him to retain his gaze at the enemy. Their opponent's face wasn't illuminated in the darkness of the second floor, but her eyes were visible. Then the Tempest's gaze locked straight onto Molam.

"You." The eyes glowed green and Molam felt his navel lurch. "That's quite the color."

He had been wrong. The memory of GloomSire's neutral look and casual interest had caused him to freeze, had caused him to forget to breathe — but the Tempest's piercing gaze and the weight of her aura filled his lungs with the clammy dread of fear. All of his instincts urged him to run, to be anywhere but standing here in her presence.

The weight of that gaze shifted away — flicking to the side as Shurra launched into view. The brief respite from that heavy gaze felt compounded by the relief flooding Molam's entire body — Shurra was alive. Yet again the fan twisted and directed a blast of green air, sending Shurra flying straight over their group and colliding in a sickening thud against the wall. A series of cracks briefly formed like a crater and the wall crumbled all over the Northern Warrior, the rocks rolling haphazardly onto the lush carpet of the Mansion and the dust joining the snow that fell outside.

All was silent except for the rumbling of rocks as they settled, a small mound where a giant wall had been. The itching feeling of being watched made Molam double back as he realized his mistake. Those glowing green eyes were trained on him and he had looked away.

The weight of responsibility crushed down on him, far more than the reminder of GloomSire's oppressive presence. The situation was quickly spiraling out of control and a clash with the Titled One seemed inevitable. The members of the Dao surrounding him were beginning to ready their weapons and even Primrose was struggling to move despite the lingering effects of the drowsiflora.

Yet the Tempest had not attacked their group yet, only responding to Shurra's moves.

Why? The chill of Winter's Sorrow blew into the desolate Mansion but he barely registered it as he tried to think. This couldn't be the extent of the Tempest's strength, especially while Shurra was attacking. Why was the Tempest holding back?

"What can you tell me?" he murmured.

Her Domain, while established, is not extending this far.

The green eyes never left him as he returned their piercing gaze. He made his decision, throwing his left arm out; a ring of flame burst into existence and encircled his wrist.

"Everyone stop!"

His shout barely echoed in the Mansion now that it had gained a giant hole in the roof and the crumbled walls. But still, people heard and the group around him looked at him with furtive eyes, seeing the flames around his left wrist and the torch that he carried to shed light.

The rubble shifted and Shurra emerged again, shaking off the excess dust and gravel from her form. Bits of dust clung to her damp skin and clothes.

"Shurra." Molam peeled his eyes away from the green ones that looked down upon him from atop the stairs. Catching Shurra's eye, he flicked his eyes towards what he wanted her to see, then stared hard at her until she nodded. "I will speak with the Tempest."

"Are you the representative of these destructive guests?" With a snap, the fan closed against the Tempest's palm. Her voice had changed, almost imperceptibly from her earlier tone of lax indifference. It now seemed more focused, more wary. Not enough proof, but enough for him to feel emboldened at his decision. And if he was wrong, the worst that could happen was they were all dead; so nothing changed.

"I am." Molam paused to control his voice and breathing as he stepped up in front of the members of the Dao, his limbs and knees threatening to shake uncontrollably and his stomach churning without end. "And we are called the Dao."

He did not pause to give himself time to second-guess the decision and stepped onto the stairs, walking slowly up to the Tempest with the torch held high.

An ill-boding gust pushed against him as he took the next step. "You do not have permission to come up here."

Her Domain extends halfway up these stairs. This feather is soon out of aura.

Certain Titled Ones were said to be able to attack from any direction within their Domain, and judging by the way the Tempest had played with Shurra earlier Molam was certainly not eager to experience it himself.

"We are no longer looking for more fighting. You are here to salvage the situation." Molam paused, then lowered his arm slowly and the flames went out. "This… is my gesture of goodwill. I would like to talk."

Molam continued his slow ascent, each step heavier than the last. He fought the urge to blink and look away as he focused his gaze on the Titled One above him, his knees threatening to buckle the second he stopped walking. And so he didn't allow himself to stop. He took another step. "There is nothing for either of our sides to gain from further fighting, is there?"

The fan snapped open and with a twist of her wrist, the Tempest made a pulling movement — a gust of wind blew past Molam. But not from Tempest's direction, no. It was the opposite; the air was being pulled towards her. A burst of wind came from behind him, almost knocking him down if he didn't grab onto the railing of the stairs to stabilize himself and his chest heaved as he struggled to suck in air.

Before he had time to comprehend the situation, he heard choking sounds from behind him. Looking behind at the Dao group quickly, he saw that most every member had fallen onto their knees and was clutching at their throat. Kalle and Shurra were the only exceptions, the two of them milling about and tending to each fallen member.

At first, Molam didn't understand why he was spared. But then he remembered: the jade talisman. Clearly it mitigated the Tempest's effect on him as the rest of the members fought to breathe.

That wouldn't do.

Molam pressed his palms together, pretending to focus.

I thought you disliked humans.

"We'll need them." Molam replied simply. He couldn't move the World Tree's elderwood to ZhiXia by himself.

Flames erupted around him, expanding into the spirit's red Domain. It spread out behind him to cover the Dao members and the choking coughs ceased. He heard a fit of raspy gasps from behind him accompanied by the greedy sucking of air, but did not turn around.

Directly in front of him, red spread out only to meet green, and it moved no further.

End this quickly. The aura reserves are low.

Molam looked up at the Tempest and then took another step up the stairs, forcing himself to speak as normally as possible. "I won't respond to that further as a show of good faith, Tempest. But surely you won't begrudge me keeping them alive."

Molam took another step.

The fan wavered, then snapped shut again. The invisible pressure abated, and the spirit's Domain vanished as well, no doubt to conserve aura. The palm of his hand that gripped the railings almost slipped from how much moisture had collected in that moment, but he kept his eyes on the Tempest and continued walking upwards.

Stop. The spirit's voice had rarely held this much urgency. Any further and you are walking into her Domain.

Molam took a deep breath to buy himself time, but there was no chance to respond to the spirit as he looked up.

"I thought you wanted to come up here." Those green eyes stared down from the darkness, the closed fan pressed to the bottom of her chin as her tone taunted him to take another step.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

There was no time to hesitate. He tilted his head with a wry smile. "... is a clash of our Domains conducive to an environment for talking?"

The green eyes narrowed — then she swept an arm outwards and the overwhelming feeling of trepidation lessened on his shoulders. Molam didn't need the spirit's reminder to know what the gesture meant.

Molam kept the torch held high as he walked up the stairs. Had there been this many when he first went up? He didn't remember. But then again, when he and the others had first walked up this set of stairs, they had been the hunters.

Now, he was walking up alone to one who could hunt all of them.

He didn't bother counting the steps, but also fought the urge to hurry up his cadence or even slow it down. Time seemed to slow down for him as he walked, the glowing eyes with the piercing gaze looking down upon him as he approached and the wind whispering death into his ears. His mind raced and he fought to keep his facial expression neutral so as to not betray himself. He'd seen the speed at which Lyka and Primrose clashed and the aftermath of the duel between Agytha and Shurra; now he was walking straight into the range of the Domain of a Titled One that could dominate. Unprotected and with only the vestiges of the spirit's help to rely upon.

The thump of his heartbeat roared in his ears as his mind raced with one question: What… could he do?

Before he had an answer, he found himself crossing the final step.

Now that he stood in front of her, the torchlight illuminated the woman's relatively young face. Up close, she was even shorter than expected, standing half a head shorter than Molam himself, who himself was barely of average height.

He spoke first, attempting to dictate the conversation. "How was your subjugation of GloomSire and the Unseen?"

But she did not respond. "So you speak for this rabble?"

"It must have been quite a fight between two Titled Ones, even if one has significantly less reputation."

"What is your relation to the Oracle?"

"You had to retreat in the middle of the battle, didn't you? When you saw Agytha's signal fire."

"Are you a Titled One?"

"It would be in our best interest to avoid further fighting." Molam put a tone of finality into his voice. That she spoke right past his questions with her own told him enough that she did not want him to control the conversation, but her hesitation was the only response he needed. "After all, if you didn't want to negotiate you wouldn't have allowed me this close."

Molam rarely had the opportunity to physically look down upon someone, and wondered if this was how Shurra and Kalle saw him. He smiled, doing his best to make it look full of confidence while he felt the heavy weight on his stomach lighten just a bit.

"How bold." A gust accompanied her response, causing the flame of his torch to flicker as a wind lifted her upwards until she looked down upon him. The gesture made his smile become more genuine as he met her gaze. She had risen to his baiting and responded first. It wasn't the topic he wanted to start with, but concessions were necessary to gain control over the conversation with someone who could easily kill him. "An unknown auramaster thinks he can negotiate with me on even grounds after walking so leisurely into the range of my Domain."

"Perhaps if you weren't already exhausted from fighting GloomSire. But now, you must contend with several auramasters, including the Northern Warrior that won't stay down."

"Several? I only count you, the Northern Warrior, and that red-haired woman with the waning aura." she pressed her lips, "Your definition of 'several' is… expansive."

"By all means, believe in what you've Seen." Molam took a step forward and met her gaze. "If it is as you say, then I've walked into your Domain without any hope and you can end us all right here. Is this not what you want?"

The fan snapped open again and Molam mentally braced himself, unwilling to let her see him flinch — but it was only to cover the Tempest's face as her eyes pondered him. Now that he stood up close, he could see the design painted on the fan. Blue clouds and green wind surrounded a central burning red Sun. The colors seemed alive, layered onto the metal plates with vivid hues that made the objects they depicted swirl.

"What I want doesn't matter now, does it? This is the Empire's city of JiangXi, and I am the defending Titled One." The eyes glowed from above the fan's edges. "Bothersome as it is, I think you understand I have the Empire's reputation to consider."

"It truly is devastating for Oasis to lose a city… especially damning for them if it's something the Empire gifted to them." Molam continued looking up at the Tempest but did not shift any closer. "But if the Empire loses a Titled One without Oasis' request for help, that would be…" he paused for emphasis, "Quite the news indeed."

The air stilled — hushed, like the quiet before a storm.

Then the Tempest narrowed her eyes. "Is that a threat?"

"Only weighing the consequences if either of us acts rashly."

"Rashly, is it?" The green eyes narrowed and her eyebrows furrowed. "Are you not afraid of death?"

"Quite frankly, dying is the easiest thing I've ever done. It took no effort on my part."

The Tempest let out a low series of chuckles which quickly turned into coughing laughter.

"I did not expect such an answer," she finally said, closing the fan against her palm again.

"There is wisdom in avoiding fighting when you can simply come to an agreement, wouldn't you agree?" Molam added.

"The Prince would like you." The Tempest descended from her height and touched the ground. She approached while keeping the closed fan in hand and then crossed her arms, her glowing green eyes contemplating his own. "What is your name, leader of this… Dao group?"

Molam considered lying, but met her gaze and thought better of it. "Molam."

"Molam. Molam. Molam?" She murmured to herself. "Not a name among the Titled Ones I know of, and I can hardly bother myself to remember each insignificant auramaster. So, Molam." She leaned in close. "You are proposing I leave this as Oasis' loss?"

"Less proposing and merely stating what happened." Molam tilted his head to indicate to the group behind him and their hostage. "Agytha answers to the Lord of Sands Ragnyr, yes? The Empire has already washed its hands of this matter. You were simply here to oversee the transfer and while subjugating the UnSeen, arrived far too late to prevent Oasis' loss. All perfectly understandable events, given that GloomSire is a Titled One in his own right."

"And…" her green eyes lingered on him, "if I insist on putting your group of rebels into the ground now? Why should the Empire wait for a small problem to become bigger?"

"Perhaps if you weren't tired out by GloomSire, there would be no contest." Molam fought the instinct to back away at her steely tone. "But I'm afraid right now, we would put up quite a fight. Are you hinting that the Empire cannot deal with a bigger problem at a later date?"

She raised an eyebrow, seemingly unphased by the taunt. "Besides your curious method of using red auramancy without me being able to See it, I don't see any other person here aside from the Northern Warrior that can be a problem. Are you truly not extending your Domain to stay, as you say, cordial?" Her eyes lingered on his disheveled clothes and bruises, then she made a gesture towards the destroyed Mansion, "Or are you exhausted yourself?"

"If you can admit to not Seeing one thing, what makes you think that's all you are unable to See right now?"

Her smile became frigid. "Agytha. Surely you can give her to me?"

He returned an equally chilly grimace. "Unfortunately, my companion captured her fairly. It is rude to ask for the spoils of another's hunt."

"I thought you spoke for this rabble. Am I talking to the wrong person?"

Molam paused, then raised his chin. "The answer is no."

"Even if it means this negotiation is off?"

"Yes." Molam stepped to the side, looking down at the stairs and pointing to show the Tempest. Agytha, still bound and helpless, had Shurra's sword at her neck. "Agytha is our prisoner."

"Do you mean to use her as a hostage?" Rei frowned. "I hardly care for Agytha. It's more of a formality, seeing as she belongs to the Lord of Sands. If you think you can use her life to bargain—"

"You are absolutely correct that she is hardly a hostage worth any leverage over you." Molam kept his voice passive. "I don't think you care about Agytha's life, but you would have quite the aftermath to deal with if Agytha died and then you killed us as well."

Rei narrowed her green eyes. "Elaborate."

"Winter's Sorrow is here. If Agytha dies, are you going to keep JiangXi functioning until Spring's Blessings? We did this with a plan for the aftermath and know how to effectively run the city. But if you killed us after we killed Agytha…" Molam slowed down, letting the implication dawn upon the Tempest. "While I have no doubt of your exemplary fighting strength, maintaining control over JiangXi is an entirely different matter."

"That sounds like another threat."

Molam inclined his head. "Responsibility does seem daunting, yes."

"The Prince would like you, but I like you less now." She fell silent, and the moment dragged as a subtle breeze whirled before she began again. "Is it befitting for the Oracle's chosen vessel to be willing to use a human as a sacrificial piece?"

Molam's cheeks stiffened with his smile. The question burned at his cheeks, at his skin, and it felt as though his torch's flame expanded dangerously. Molam forced himself to swallow his fear, turning a nervous exhaling into a plausibly deep-throated chuckle before he responded. "You'll find that I don't like myself either."

"How curious." The fan unfolded with a snap of the wrist, and Molam clenched his neck muscles to avoid visibly flinching. Gently, the Tempest covered the lower half of her face with the fan and viewed him, her eyes wide and green. "To think the Oracle would extend her protection to one like you?"

"Curious about one like me?"

"Of course," her eyes held his gaze, and her voice seemed different coming from behind the fan. "Growing up, I heard so much about the Frost Saint's battles with the Prince before… well, her current predicament, as the Frozen Saint. The Prince is something else, but the stories —" her eyes gleamed in reminiscence, "—to think a Titled One besides the Submerged Leviathan or Whale of ZhiXia could fight the Prince in single combat? But the Prince won, and now there's a new person chosen by the Oracle as a vessel — right in front of me."

She took a step forward with each pause, maintaining the crushing gaze that forced him to tilt his head down to look at her. Up close, her voice dropped to a mere murmur, emanating from behind that fan. "Allowing me to get this close without extending your Domain? You must be quite…" she lingered for a moment, "...confident."

"I am confident you'll find there's nothing left here for you."

The Tempest lowered her fan, lips curled and showing teeth. "Do you know what threats are?"

Molam blinked at the unexpected question. What was she trying to get at? "When you tell someone what to do or suffer consequences."

"Precisely. You're offering someone a choice that isn't really a choice." The Tempest pointed a finger to Agytha. "But too often, someone makes a threat they aren't ready to enforce and they find themselves forced to make a choice instead. And when that happens, something interesting happens: the positions become reversed. The victim has turned it around and forced the aggressor to carry out their threat." Her eyes didn't leave Molam's as she slid closer, her tone dropping. "I don't believe you'll do it."

Molam could not seem to focus his eyes away from that pair of green eyes. "I'm looking for an agreement, not a threat." Was it his imagination, or was the fan's depiction of the Sun actually moving in his peripheral vision?

"Agreement?" The wind chafed against his exposed skin. "And here I thought you were more intelligent than that. Did you consider why I allowed you to approach?"

The Tempest's words weighed on him even more than the pressure of the wind against his throat. He wanted to look away, but the glowing green eyes held him transfixed in place.

"Still no Domain? Then allow me to tell you something." Her arm brought her fan to the side — a preparation for a forward flick. "Agytha carried her jade talisman around me and I have an inkling of what that feels like."

Molam's eyes darted towards the fan, his entire body on edge. "You insist on fighting?"

"I believe I've uncovered everything you're hiding. Thank you — for satisfying my curiosity."

A coldness touched the back of Molam's neck, but unlike the wind, it lingered. Then, in mere moments, it became wet against his skin. He exhaled slowly, his heart pounding in his chest as he steeled himself for what he needed to do. "No need to thank me. The gratitude is mine."

"Oh? Is it because you think I'll make it quick?"

"No, Rei. I only wanted to spend some time talking, but you also taught me that Titled Ones can also sense jade talismans." The wind became still as more luminous motes fell all about them. "Did you think I gambled everything on the thought that you would let this go so easily?"

He lunged, a hand closing around the Tempest's right wrist in a bid to stop her from flicking the fan as he shoved his shoulder into her smaller frame, shouting in the hopes that Shurra could hear. "Shurra! Kill Agytha!"