It is said that with age comes character and wisdom. However, this saying is not always true; for some people, a few heaven-blessed exemptions, are either born with or acquire both character and wisdom, at a pace that far outstrips their peers.

And without fail, when such 'exemptions' make known their existence to the heavens, the world is, without fail, shocked and speechless.

The boy emperor's, Alexandros Centinni the Twelfth, arrogant declaration caused such a reaction amongst the gathered masses.

Without fail, the commoners, the noblemen, the soldiers, and even the dogs and chickens that roamed the earth, were stunned speechless by his declaration.

Alexandros, however, seemed to be nonchalant towards the impact caused by his words. With straight, self-assured steps, he began walking towards the welcoming crowd with a smile on his immaculate face. His steps were short and filled with innocence. However, they unmistakably held within them the majesty of a ruler!

With his two arms calmly folded behind his back, he walked. And soon, he arrived.

Standing at the forefront of the welcoming crowd, was a middle-aged man whom the boy emperor both knew and adored; it was his dear uncle, Rodriguez Centinni.

"Uncle Rodriguez," the boy emperor softly called out to his blood relative.

Snapping out of his foolish gaze, the middle-aged man lowered his gaze towards the short emperor. A brimming smile filled with affection and relief filled his face as he happily replied. "Alexandros! You've made it back safely! I must confess, I was immensely worried when news from you suddenly cut out two weeks ago."

The middle-aged man then bent down, in a bid to lift up and carry his adorable nephew as he did in the past. Alexandros, however, quickly stepped back and evaded his capture.

That was then and now was now. Alexandros was no longer the free, unburdened boy of the past who could happily bask in his favourite uncle's affections.

Alexandros was now the Emperor. And as the emperor, his every action ought to be filled with the grace and majesty of an emperor.

Flashing an apologetic and polite smile, the boy emperor replied. "We are happy to learn of Uncle's worries for Us. We must admit; had it not been for heaven's providence, We might have not made it to the capital city with a single body."

[An: Once again, most dialogues spoken by the emperor or emperor-like figures, in a formal setting, will use capitalized, indirect pronouns. Please direct your complaints to the Oxford Dictionary, James English, or whoever it is that came up with this language.]

Rodriguez Centinni was a smart man. He had to be, for he served as the Regent during the absence of the boy emperor. As a result, he immediately understood what his dear nephew was doing after seeing his actions and listening to his words.

However, he cared not for any of that. For the instant he heard his dear nephew's words, Rodriguez was overcome by anger. "What!? Who dares attack my dear nephew!?"

"Alexandros, tell me that you remember their faces. I shall send out a mandate, this very instant, and have those bastards slaughtered like the pigs they are!!" His eyes saw red as his face trembled with wrath.

The gathered noblemen and generals also nodded their heads in agreement with those words.

The boy emperor, however, softly shook his head. With a calm, even voice, he replied, "Uncle may stay his anger. For the assailants that sought to end Us have already been dealt with."

He then proceeded to warmly smile and said, "We have been blessed enough to have a blessed encounter. We met a saviour during the assault and had Our life, guarded."

Turning around, the boy emperor gestured at the carriage. "We would like to introduce to you saviour, Esteemed Scholar Wuzhi."

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

As if on cue, the doors to the carriage opened and appeared a tall youth. The youth carried on him an old suitcase. He wore a wide-brimmed bamboo hat, a set of full-sleeved clothing that gave him a neat and tidy appearance, and a large overcoat which honestly gave him a comical appearance given the temperature and weather of this region.

Fortunately, compared to when Wuzhi entered this continent at the start, the temperature in his current location was much more agreeable and tolerable.

Performing a full bow that displayed his perfect manners, Wuzhi introduced himself. "This humble scholar is named Wuzhi. This one had the fortune to come across Venerable Emperor when the latter needed assistance and was fortunate enough to rescue Venerable Emperor."

"You must be 'really' fortunate then," Regent Rodriguez, scoffed in disbelief and suspicion, "to come across my nephew with such perfect timing. Perfect to the point, that it feels pre-planned to me."

The middle-aged relative immediately threw a shocking revelation at Wuzhi that shocked both the gathered masses and the young emperor. Just as the young emperor was about to speak up in defence of his teacher, Wuzhi spoke first.

Cupping his hands, Wuzhi replied to the accusation with a smile. "Wuzhi understands Lord Regent's suspicions. To tell you the truth, the meeting was indeed expected."

The minds of the gathered masses buzzed white. Their minds collectively had the same thought; 'did he just… admit to the accusation of attempting to assassinate the Emperor?'

Just when an outcry was about to occur, Wuzhi followed up with his second statement. "Wuzhi had received a mandate from the Heavens! The Will of the Heavens instructed Wuzhi to rush to Venerable Emperor's rescue!"

"The Will of the Heavens did not want Venerable Emperor, Alexandros Centinni the Twelfth, a 'Blessed of the Heavens' to fall at the hands of traitorous rebels!"

Raising his right hand into the air, in the pose of taking an oath, Wuzhi solemnly declared, "The words spoken by Wuzhi are only the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Should they contain even a shred of falsehood, Wuzhi shall be struck down by the wrath of the heavens!"

Wuzhi's declaration stirred the Natural Energy in the air. A swirl of Energy formed around him as the heavens above trembled in witness. An inky blackness spread within the sky as clouds gathered.

Seconds passed as the gathered masses watched with bated breath. They gazed at the scholarly youth, standing afar with a firm posture and a determined expression. He looked resolved to face death!

Fortunately, Wuzhi was not fated to die today. The inky-black clouds quickly dispersed as they seemingly found no faults with Wuzhi's declaration. By doing so, they had inadvertently admitted the young scholar's words to be true.

"Seems like he was indeed speaking the truth. Still, to dare to summon the wrath of the heavens. The guts of this youth…"

"'A mandate from the heavens to rescue the emperor.' Does this mean that our emperor is a 'Blessed of the Heavens?' That would mean that he is backed and supported by the heavens!"

"Indeed! It seems that our days of suffering are nigh overcome! Our emperor will lead us to victory!"

"When I saw that our emperor was but a small boy, I must admit; I was shaken and unconfident. However, now that I learnt that he is a 'Blessed of the Heavens,' I feel that I will be able to do anything that the emperor orders, so long as they aren't anything ridiculous. Praise be Our Emperor!"

"Praise be Our Emperor!"

"Praise be Our Emperor!"

"Praise be Our Emperor!"

Before long, all the gathered masses had begun chanting those words. Their chants grew unified and echoed, resounding throughout heaven and earth!

Alexandros looked overwhelmed by the sudden shift in the atmosphere.

At first, when he exited the carriage, even though he tried his best to act nonchalant, Alexandros was still more or less affected by the gazes of disappointment, loss, pity, suspicion, and others that were cast his way. Try as he might to be as resolved as he could be, Alexandros was but a young boy of thirteen years; an ignorant and innocent brat until three months ago.

Now, however, after a single oath by Wuzhi which put his very life in danger, all those depreciating gazes had turned supporting and even fanatic! The masses had even begun chanting for him!

Overcome by emotions, Alexandros turned to look at his teacher. He looked just in time to notice his teacher looking at him with a warm smile and an encouraging expression.

The young emperor almost seemed to hear; 'Go ahead! This is your opportunity, Your Majesty.'

Alexandros did not want to let his teacher down. As such, he immediately acted on the opportunity.

"I, Alexandros Centinni the Twelfth and Emperor of all that exist on this continent, hereby vow that I shall not rest; I shall not relent; I shall not forget the duties vested on me by my people!"

"I promise to uphold this sacred duty as have my fathers, and their fathers, and their forefathers upheld during their lifetimes. I promise to protect; to lead; to better the lives of every man, woman, and child on this continent!"

"On this day, I vow to vanquish every traitor plaguing our Empire! I vow to avenge every fallen member! I vow to beat back those despicable foreigners who r*pe our lands, and do unto them the fury of the Centinni Family and every other family native to these lands!"

"They will have their dues, and I will make sure that they pay it!"

"For the Empire!!"

Alexandros finished.

"For the Empire!"

"For the Empire!"

"For the Empire!"

"For the Empire!"

But his words resounded in the lips of every single one of his subjects.