It was Summer's seventeenth night. The capital was restless from the heat. The palace was unusually silent after the death of Consort Bai Ling. King Xuanwu's discussion chamber was closed and occupied.

“A daughter who crafts a plan to kill her aunt, a plan so meticulous and well timed that even our foresight fails to thwart it despite us being aware of the scheme... Tell me, Si, how do I punish her?”

The king's quiet musing was the loudest sound in the chamber, the second loudest being the ringing in the air made by the coin between his fingers, tossed up time and again in such a quick pace that both sides of it were a blur.

The third loudest noise was being made by the shallow, unsteady breathing of the spy, kneeling on the floor in a show of full subservience.

“This lowly one dares not prescribe such punishments, your majesty,” Si spoke after a long span of silence.

“You dare not?” King Xuanwu's voice dripped mockery. “You dared to betray your master and her clan. You dared to demand a price for selling your disloyal heart to your king. And this is where you draw the line? Would this be your final act of loyalty to the fourth princess? Pathetic!"

Tears burst out of the spy's eyes like two tiny floodstreams. He knocked his head on the floor hard enough to draw fresh red blood, The red flowed into the salty puddle around his head. Gray snot and white spit joined the discharge of distress. All in hope of a word of mercy, and appreciation, if luck favored him.

Amidst the thumping noise of his forehead hitting the mahogany floor, an unfamiliar voice came from an unexpected side.

“His life... should matter for a few days more. Let him show how, and let his performance redeem his fate."

Si paused in his act of self-harm. Who was speaking? He hadn't sensed anyone entering the chamber! He subtly looked in the direction of the voice and froze.

The words had come from a shadowy figure reclined under the widest window of the chamber. A dull red layer of mist surrounded this person like a living shroud. Neither the moonlight, nor the starlamps nearby were able to fully illuminate the vague silhouette due to the mist.

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When or how this person had appeared there, Si didn’t know. But he did know who it was—the Royal Oracle, quite possibly the most mysterious being in the kingdom, excluding the king himself.

With a start, Si realized that the red mist was swiftly retreating inside the oracle's body, tendrils disappearing within her mouth, nose, and ears. Her gaunt face was visible, but the blazing red flames flickering within her left eye took up all attention. It was like a lone star in a lightless sky, so pronounced in its presence that one would ignore the existence of the person accommodating it.

The king stopped playing with the coin, letting it twirl a few times on the wide armrest of his throne until it fell to a side. His brows scrunched together in disgruntlement upon seeing which side was facing up.

“A filthy opportunist, that's what you are, Oracle. Even at a moment like this, you want to make me take risks? Which version of you am I talking to right now? Which timeline?"

Si was absolutely lost. What was the king talking about? What the hell was a timeline? What did he mean while saying that there were multiple versions of the Oracle?

With his confusion, fear struck his heart like a heavy hammer. He was being allowed to listen to secrets far beyond his stature. Would he even be allowed to walk out of this chamber alive?

“You are speaking to the oracle from the ninth timeline, your majesty," the oracle said faintly, raising a hand to reveal a blood-red, twelve sided dice on her palm, as if it carried some proof of her claim.

“Ninth?” The king took in a sharp breath. Si sensed a silver of fear in that one, brief word.

“It had to be the most devious one of you, tcheh! You know you cannot be trusted! I'd rather consult the oracle from the third or the eleventh timeline.”

“I am flattered that you think so highly of my earned wisdom, your majesty. But this time, don't turn down my advice so skeptically. Think about it yourself, and you'll see the benefits of sparing the spy's life. He has a pivotal role to play, that much I guarantee. As long as you take control of him, his role may benefit you."

The doubts and negativity Si was feeling towards the Oracle's mysterious persona disappeared just like that. She was advocating for him! She wanted him to live! The king would listen to the Oracle, wouldn’t he?

He was going to see tomorrow's sun!

“No, no, no,” the king muttered, sitting straighter, eyes growing alert as he stared the oracle down. “You have to give me something more substantial than your meaningless promise. I've been fooled by your manipulations far too many times to trust you. Even the death of my beloved Ling'er was half-orchestrated by your schemes.”

“I could have schemed for a thousand years and it would still not produce the knife that shattered the consort's heart. I did not force you to kill her. I do not control your timeline, my king."

The Oracle's words were like oil being poured down on a healthy fire. The king's face twisted in rage, turning red. But the Oracle paid the warning signs no heed and droned on.

“All eleven of us have selfish motives, that we have never denied. But you are our most successful project, your majesty. None of our kings lasted as long as you on that throne. The longer you survive, the less desire we have to rob your fortune. Right now, you are our sole hope of redemption, don't forget it!”

Si's befuddlement was growing exponentially. He couldn’t understand any implications of the exchange.

The king slammed his hands on his armrests repeatedly as he shouted, “Give! Me! Something! Substantial!”

“...Fine, then. Don't bother me if the revelation backfires on you in the future. Nature is a hateful victim.”

The Oracle's emotionless right eye fell on Si, who was peeking at her while kneeling. “This spy hasn't truly betrayed the Bai Clan. He's using his surrender as a method of sowing misinformation in the palace and masking your daughter's true plans. Call him a triple agent, if you will.”

Si's blood ran cold. Why was the Oracle lying?!