“Are you ready?”
Alex couldn’t help smiling, pulled out of the soft downy cocoon of exhaustion’s caress he had been floating in for, well, he couldn’t even guess how long now, only that it was a relief to hear a voice he recognized so well, one that filled him with a sense of brotherhood, kinship, and fondest memories.
Cheng Lei. Alive and well and so full of vibrancy and good cheer, his now jade green eyes gazing Alex’s way with a look of such warmth and concern.
Yet the warm smile of greeting froze on Alex’s lips when he realized that his friend wasn’t looking at him at all, but rather someone right next to him, and all thought left Alex’s speechless countenance when he beheld a vision of tormented beauty that broke his heart to witness. Gone were flawless features and a seven-foot talk statuesque grace. Instead her cheeks were wan, almost gaunt, eyes shadowed by desperation and need. Yet her amber eyes were unmistakable and speared Alex’s heart.
His beloved Hao Chan, a dream, a vision, what he now feared was a wisp of memory countless years old as he drifted like a spirit through history’s vaunted halls. His disciple looked the farthest thing from the immaculate vision of glorious perfection as she had been the moment she had ascended. Now, much to Alex’s horror and dismay, she looked like a girl who had slipped with no one to catch her. One who had indeed stumbled into vice and despair, a bittersweet path from which there was no escape save self-destruction for far too many.
For all that another part of him wanted to scream in outrage, in fury, that fortunes could turn so bitter and cruel after having sacrificed so much… yet the fact that Cheng Lei, his beloved kung fu brother was here, by his beloved’s side, meant that there was hope. There was hope! No matter how bitter or broken her path with so much malevolence thrown their way and Alex no longer there to stop it, at least Cheng Lei had been there to pull her free.
Yet his beloved Hao Chan wasn’t near any house of healing, no peaceful sanctuary where she could rest and heal from torments Alex didn’t even dare guess at. And she clearly wasn’t in the realm she herself had helped to shape, or Alex knew his seneschal would have moved heaven and earth, their heaven and earth, to heal her at once, freeing her mind of bitter memories that were a literal world away forever.
No.
Alex could sense it.
She was about to be judged in the most imperious court imaginable, her exhaustion and vulnerability visible even beneath all the clearly applied makeup. Shadows and gaunt cheeks visible no matter that her wan beauty had been accented by gold tinted lips, cheeks, and mascara, crimson butterflies painted upon each of her sallow cheeks, dressed in layers of silk and lace with her faded mane of ebony locks strung with beads of pearl and gold.
Now forced to enter living nightmare. Soon to be so fiercely judged while still consumed by her own inner demons.
And Cheng Lei would force her to endure this now?
Alex shook his head with dismay. Yet for all he knew, his friend had no choice.
Yet the look in his beloved’s eyes was unmistakable.
Dread.
That’s what it was.
And for all that Cheng Lei was immaculately dressed in azure silks with the air of a prince of the empire, his poor, trembling Hao Chan… it broke Alex’s heart even to think of it, looked like a girl used up and spat out, trying to hide the ugly marks of her shame covered in gaudy finery.
An absolute mockery of who and what Alex knew she truly was.
How?
How did it come to this?
Alex wanted to scream his dismay, rip free of this awful dream he couldn’t shake himself free of as Cheng Lei took her arm and led her past fearsome looking guards who actually radiated the power of half-step Golds, and into a massive gateway gilded in gold and lined with exquisitely carved jade treasures that lead right to the audience hall just beyond.
Already knowing what was in store for them all as they entered a grand hall so stupendous in terms of scope and grandeur, a magnificent showcase of countless works of art, jewelry, and magical treasures that were absolutely blinding to Alex’s spiritual treasures. In truth, it took even Alex’s breath away.
But still, a moment’s admiration couldn’t deny the inevitability of what Hao Chan was being forced to do while in such extremis of her own. It was madness. Cheng Lei should have fled!
But no. They continued down into the grand hall proper.
A clearly broken imperial princess about to be presented before her father.
Alex shuddered at the implications, his own heart pounding for all that he was no more than a spirit, finding himself helplessly floating behind Hao Chan and the two handmaidens covered so completely in silks, faces lowered to such a degree that they were but featureless additions to Hao Chan’s entourage. Her left hand was held in Cheng Lei’s gentle grip as her right was held behind her back. She walked forward with the stumble of a drunkard, the farthest thing from a dancer’s instinctive grace. Yet Cheng Lei’s own supernatural Finesse covered for her perfectly as they sedately made their way along the gold-veined marble walkway, crossing what truly was a magnificent courtier’s hall grand beyond any earthly concept of excess with a dozen tables groaning under the weight of exquisitely ripened fruit, roasted spirit beasts and magnificent tureens of enchanted fish stew to name just a few of the dishes radiating so much potent spiritual energy that it absolutely took Alex’s breath away.
Even as countless dozens of imperial nobles broke off from their whispered conversations and sumptuous repasts to gaze curiously from the silk-lined cushions they all sat upon at the unexpected figure suddenly in their midst.
And Alex could instantly sense the weight of all those stares, the pressure of not just one or two but dozens of Gold-tier cultivators gazing her way pressed down upon Hao Chan’s exhausted form, who seemed to wilt before the measuring stares. Even so, her progress along the spotless walkway between the tables earned even more curious whispers with just an undercurrent of ire from a distant corner of the massive chamber Hao Chan refused even to acknowledge with a glance. Her eyes both forward and lowered, lest she gaze upon the dais elevating the shimmering jade throne upon which the true beating heart of the dining hall and, indeed, the empire itself.
Even Alex hesitated to look too closely, for all that he knew he was lost in dream, yet even so, he could feel the incredible spiritual pressure of one who had actually managed to achieve Jade. A Jade so deep and pure that none in the court dared gaze upon anything save robes saturated with so much spiritual potency that Alex suspected an entire regiment of Gold-tier monsters could unleash God’s Fire upon the emperor’s silk cuff and not even singe the fabric.
It was then that Alex heard the noise and bustle of the entire court, one voice that filled him with darkest bile immediately ringing discordant upon his inner ear, saying the words that filled Alex with dread and fury.
“So it is clear, Your Imperial Majesty, that Baidushi has been lost to infernal arts and trickery at the hands of infernal Ruidians and treacherous kitsune both! Over fifteen million lives lost, thanks to these godless heathens that our entire pantheon despises, your eminence. Thus I believe our next move is clear. We must purge our lands of these infernally aligned abominations once and for all!”
Alex’s heart lurched, his eyes now locking upon the coolly smiling countenance of Dongfang Hong himself, as he, along with a full half dozen wujen radiating the powers of Deep Gold, presented what looked to be multiple images of the enormous crater that was all that was left of Baidushi and the wildlife for over a hundred miles in all directions.
Alex shivered and looked away despite himself, knowing all too well what his own role in that devastation had been.
The entire court gasped at the display made of Water, Fire, and Air spiritual energy that nonetheless conveyed the image so damned well. Murmurs could be heard spreading through the imperial court like wild fire.
Dongfang Hong flashed a chill smile. “These are true and accurate depictions of Baidushi, taken just days ago! A city that would never have fallen if infernalists had not been allowed to corrupt both the city and the ancient academy watching over it. It is for this reason above all others that our enemies must be wiped from the face of the Golden Realms and never allowed to return!” His disgustingly melodious voice washed over the entirety of the court. Alex’s stomach dropped as a smirk it seemed only Alex could sense grew upon his enemy’s malevolent features, wondering if this was where the purges had begun.
At that very moment Cheng Lei cleared his throat.
And moving so fast it was clear that Dongfang Hong’s lead wujen had at least dabbled in Silver-tier Quickness before achieving Gold as a wujen, then man’s sharp voice barked through the curt.
“Silence, Blue! You know the rules of court! You are permitted to say NOTHING!” His lips curved in a cruel smile and Alex realize he actually recognized that spite filled countenance as one of the twisted Golds who had sworn that he would oversee the Ruidian purges firsthand.
The wujen beside him chimed in. “Your turn has passed, Blue! After us is Yellow, Green, and Black!” The man had the gall to sneer at a stoic-faced Cheng Lei. “The seasons will cycle in full before your lips may utter a single word against us in court!”
Alex’s eyes widened in outrage. Who the fuck were these sneering bastards to insult the emperor’s own grandson right beneath the Jade’s feet?
Yet it seemed, if the lack of outrage was anything to go by, that was indeed per the rules of this ancient imperial court. Yet still, it appeared that the wujen’s bluster wouldn’t prevent Cheng Lei from silently walking forward with a trembling Hao Chan by his side.
It was a sight that, much to Alex’s growing fury, earned little more than a disdainful smirk from Dongfang Hong, eyes glittering cruelly as he peered Hao Chan’s way, the tension in his tightly clenched fists turning to a smug gloat.
As if he knew. Knew what had happened to her and reveled in her destruction.
As if he had never faced her on the arena sands, not even for a few heartbeats, to know what she was truly capable of. Or… had been capable of.
Alex squeezed his eyes which shed no tears in dream, wondering where he had gone wrong in his techniques. His training.
Had the despair been too much? The death of so many? Had Hao Chan retreated to old vices without Alex there to steady her path?
The entire grand court seemed to hold its breath as Hao Chan and Cheng Lei silently strode toward the grand dais forged of bronze, silver, and gold upon which rested the jade throne from which the most powerful figure in the entirety of the Golden Realms viewed the entire feasting hall.
Alex found it almost eerie, even chilling, how the monstrous titan said not a word, just as he ate absolutely nothing. He was far too august a personage for such mortal trifles.
Instead he observed the court and all its intrigues in its entirety. Somehow, Alex could sense that in his dreaming state as well, just as he knew that it would be perilous for even him to dare raise his gaze to meet the imposing presence of… Alex turned his focus away from that terrible pressure and focused instead on his Hao Chan, radiating such shocking vulnerability that it had caught the notice of the entire court. Or so Alex sensed, seeing so many hooded gazes peering her way with everything to cloying pity or a rapt hunger that made his skin crawl, while others gazed coolly on with enigmatic expressions or smiled with what seemed genuine warmth, as if absolutely delighted at the latest entertaining diversion to dare the imperial hall.
Yet the only ones who dared raise their voice beyond softest murmurs were the three men painted in crimson, silver, and gold, who stood like sentinels before the massive dais upon which the imperial throne sat.
“Who dares to approach the imperial throne?” Roared the man dressed in crimson silks, glaring Hao Chan and Cheng Lei’s way with the crushing aura of a Gold.
Hao Chan flinched, lowering her gaze before the red voice of the emperor as Cheng Lei gently squeezed her wrist, and spoke in her steed.
“It is I, Cheng Lei, scion of Lan Tu, who dares approach my grandfather’s throne.”
A hush immediately overtook the entire hall, and even Alex could sense that his friend’s choice of words carried a weight, a significance, that was anything but typical.
A pressure suddenly filled the air that even Alex could sense. As the speaker dressed in crimson eyed Cheng Lei with hard intensity before giving an infinitesimal scowl.
“You know the rules of the court, Cheng Lei of the Blue. So long as your own pieces or progeny are not in immediate peril, you may ask for no succor nor audience until it is your turn once more.”
Alex felt a terrible fury and tension with those words, all the more when each and every wujen by Dongfang Hong’s side smirked their contempt in perfect concert… as if trying to goad Alex’s friend into making the most foolish decision of his life.
Yet Cheng Lei’s gentle smile did not waver. “The matter I wish to speak of transcends the maneuvers of royal princes and has nothing at all to do with the banners of conquest.”
The crowd went silent with that pronouncement, the red and silver attired spokesmen sharing a glance before silver gave Cheng Lei a cautious nod.
“Very well, Cheng Lei, grandson of the Heavenly Emperor who wards and protects us all. To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?”
Cheng Lei’s cool, imperious gaze melted into a warm smile as he deliberately looked the way of the speaker dressed completely in gold. “I bring tidings both bitter and sweet, and most important of all… I bring before the Heavenly Emperor, may his reign continue for another 10,000 years, a precious jewel gone missing from our court for far too long. I present for his judgment: Hao Chan Huangfei.”
The entire court froze at those words. Even Alex felt a bolt of alarm at his friend’s choice of words. Judge? Who the hell was anyone to judge the queen of his heart? Yet before confused dismay could turn to furious panic, the speaker in Silver spoke.
“Remove her attire.”
Alex’s alarm spiked at that, before being mollified, somewhat, by the practiced way the pair of handmaidens behind her gently lifted off the silken wimple and scarf that had so elegantly hidden so much, even as another lifted off the voluminous gown of silk and lace to reveal a diminutive cultivator’s robe as sheer as any slip. Covering all that needed to be covered for a cultivator’s modesty, perhaps, yet Hao Chan’s striking figure was now revealed in it’s entirety. Only now, with the sudden deathly hush of the entire hall did Alex appreciate just how much the enchanted silks had done to disguise her personage, as the woman of Alex’s dreams was revealed in all her glory.
It was almost as if the wan, pale-faced girl who had lived far too hard for her tender years had been but an illusion. The Hao Chan before the court now looked to be in perfect health, for all that she stood no taller than Alex’s shoulder. Yet traces of her earlier ascension remained. Amber eyes gazed boldly into the gold-hued spokesperson as if challenging him to deny her claim… for even she was wise enough to keep her gaze lowered from meeting the emperor’s directly.
And it was obvious by the wide-eyed look of outrage on Dongfang Hong’s features that a hale and hearty Hao Chan was the last thing he had expected.
Alex chuckled silently into the ether. It appeared that his friend somehow had access to illusions so strong as to work even in the imperial court. Or perhaps it was every skilled cultivator’s gift to suppress their aura so well that a bit of face powder and grey makeup could make a haggard addict out of the most virile and exceptional warriors? No spiritual treasures needed at all. Yet the minute one allowed the slightest trace of their true aura to show.. the illusion lifted to reveal the warrior within.
Yet Alex still couldn’t quite suppress his troubled frown, for his beloved was radiating the potency of someone who might have achieved Silver and no more.
Then Alex saw it, his heart skipping a beat.
A ring upon her finger whose province he instantly understood.
No matter how much he ached with the centuries’ chasm between them.
For it seemed that his master had made moves that had nothing to do with Alex at all… and he was suddenly forced to accept that he wasn’t always the center of his master’s bittersweet tales.
And perhaps that wasn’t nearly the bad thing that the foolish spike of pride inside him feared.
That it was, in fact, the best of things. That, perhaps, he was finally free.
So long as his beloved wasn’t forced to take his place.
The gold spokesperson stole a glance that Alex suspected few would spot toward a wujen radiating the power of not just a half-step ascension, but a deep, powerful deadly gold. An ageless beauty herself who approached with an expression of awed disbelief on her features. She almost but did not quite dare to look up the emperor’s way even as one exquisitely graceful hand brushed lacquered fingertips against Hao Chan’s brow.
Yet if Hao Chan flinched, the ageless beauty was the one to lurch back with a gasp.
The entire court seemed to freeze, the pressure so great that Alex’s heart was pounding before at last, the woman spoke, a look of unguarded wonder upon her face. “My great, great granddaughter’s only child. Lost to us so many seasons ago. Yet here you now stand.” The woman’s eyes filled with unshed tears. The entire court gazed in awe, wonderment or delight… and in a handful of cases, blind fury.
“May I?”
A question asked so tentatively, causing Hao Chan’s eyes to widen with surprise, as if one so grand and high above her in station would ask for anything at all. Hao Chan solemnly nodded, not resisting at all when the ageless, ancient wujen gently pressed her fingertips to brow.
The ancient beauty sighed. “It is as we had feared. An outsider dared to move against us.”
The entire court radiated a sudden killing fury that left Alex both shocked and profoundly humbled. For as much as the spectators gave off vibes of countless sycophants and nobles to be found in all places and times, it was equally true that they were all Golds of one degree or another and working in concert… Alex shuddered, suddenly profoundly certain that the Golden Realm Empire’s thousand plus year history was no freak accident. There was a fearsome power behind the throne. Yet even the combined killing aura of the entire court paled before the sudden monstrous pressure radiated from the emperor himself.
At that moment the elder wujen’s eyes widened with something close to awe. “But all traces of it have faded. Our dear lost blossom…” She shuddered, suddenly paling. “She has dared to walk beside an immortal, losing herself in tales we know all too well.”
Hao Chan’s beauteous expression transformed to one of shock, hurt, then hard resolve when hear ears caught the sudden furious whispers behind her, all around her, even her supposed ancient ancestor gazing at her with dismay.
“Pray forgive these words,” Cheng Lei interjected softly. “Hao Chan Huangfei and I both crossed paths with living legend and ancient conflict while arriving at or attending cultivation academies. And for all that edicts prohibit rulers from deliberately taking part in matters of religious doctrine, ancient precedent establishes all cultivation academies, sanctuaries, and areas of scholarly learning as being neutral ground.”
“But only if your rank is hidden!” Roared the wujen spokesperson for the sneering Dongfang Hong.
Alex frowned. Clearly Dongfang Hong’s vitriol wasn’t being curbed. Probably because it was still somehow the Red Prince’s turn in a game that Alex halfway wondered might be a derivative of the god’s own.
Cheng Lei grinned. “Then let me assure both the court and my distant cousin’s overly concerned counselors that I entered Rising Phoenix academy as the humblest of students, daring the same golden steps that all who decline the Ruler’s Gate are forced to climb. It was on those steps, in fact, that I had my first brush with an immortal.” He gazed at Hao Chan with gentle warmth. “And my dear aunt had no idea as to her rank and station at all.” His gaze hardened. “Not until the fall of Baidushi, where so many ugly secrets were revealed.”
He slowly turned his head to peer into the shadows, daring to meet the eyes of the prince who was glaring back at Cheng Lei with seething hate.
Yet much to Alex’s surprise, Cheng Lei neither challenged Dongfang Hong, nor roared any accusations. He did nothing to highlight the monster who had caused such strife, pain, and misery within CuiJing Province. Merely turned his head to nod respectfully towards Hao Chan’s ancestor.
Her eyes, still filled with tearful happiness, gazed gently into Hao Chan’s own.
“Forgive me, child. I know this is much to ask, and I sense that you have already endured trials I would wish upon none of my descendants.”
Hao Chan’s smile said it all. “Ask what you will, honored elder. I will do my best to answer.”
The wujen’s gaze was filled with a grandmother’s understanding. “Did Cheng Lei rescue you from a pavilion that must be scored from existence? Does your womb know the weight of motherhood? Does vice still haunt your steps? But tell me the names of those who have profited from you, and steps will be taken to score the very weight of their souls from the pages of history for all time. But let me know the hungers that foulness has inflamed, and our healers can cool those torments forevermore, and they will never be spoken of again.”
Hao Chan froze, her gentle smile turning hard and bitter. “I knew the taste of poppy for less than a week before breaking free. Vice can never touch me again. And I have never known the touch of a man, save for the kiss of the hero who perished for us all.”
The ageless woman froze at those words, a flash of unexpected hope gracing her countenance for a heartbeat as feather-light fingers touched Hao Chan’s belly.
Though her expression remained stoic, the relief the elder radiated was sudden and unmistakable. She gave the gold spokesmen the tiniest of nods. Both the crimson and silver spokesmen seemed to visibly sigh with relief.
The gold attired spokesman gave Hao Chan an ebullient smile, eyes glowing with warmth and heartfelt approval. “His Imperial Majesty welcomes a lost blossom back into the fold of the imperial court!”
The ageless cultivator nodded, now daring to speak before the court in its entirety, turning to face them. “This child is pure. I acknowledge her to be of my line. Her flesh is utterly untouched by corruption. She would make a worthy wife to any king!”
The last earned awed looks and admiring whispers as countless dozens of courtiers gazed almost hungrily upon Hao Chan’s flawless features and form. And if Hao Chan felt at all alarmed by the direction the conversation had taken, she was wise enough to school her features, revealing nothing at all.
Only with a nod from the wujen did Hao Chan’s handmaidens attire her with efficient grace once more, dressed as elegantly as anyone else at court, though Hao Chan’s ancestor coolly shook her head at wimple and veil as if Hao Chan’s exquisite features and healthy glow should be present for all to see.
And for all that Alex’s heart lifted, relieved to find that his beloved’s weakness had been feigned, no doubt so their foe would underestimate them, he wasn’t blind to the fact that only the ancient grandmother on her mother’s side had welcomed Hao Chan as kin. The emperor’s spokesman had given her the court’s welcome, but no more than that. Yet with all the intrigue that must occur in an imperial court, Alex could certainly appreciate that prudence and caution must forever rule the day, or there would be no way that an empire many times the size of Earth could possibly remain intact.
A single empire containing surface area over twenty times that of Earth. The very idea left Alex humbled. To think that he was right now catching the barest half-remembered glimpse of a time when his beloved had successfully arrived at her father’s court where such incredible power was gathered that it defied any earthly comparison.
Yet the look in Dongfang Hong’s eyes, of blind fury and warped desire that his stoic expression somehow hid so well, save from Eric alone, it seemed, was all too human, all too flawed. He was the type of monster that would destroy the ideals of the entire empire and happily let it burn, should it advance his own piece forward a single move.
Hao Chan looked every bit as awed and humbled as Alex felt. When her great grandmother… or at least the woman who claimed to be such, gently claimed Hao Chan’s hand, leading her to sit by her side, she did not resist.
Then it was only a coolly smiling Cheng Lei standing before his grandfather’s heavenly throne as the crimson spokesperson addressed the Blue Prince directly.
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“Cheng Lei, as you have spoken upon one vital topic, reciprocity demands you address another.”
The Blue Prince bowed his head. “Of course.”
“Accusations of foul play by various factions within our great and glorious eternal empire have been made.” The man’s gaze hardened. “Accusations that declare you as playing a pivotal role in the destruction of Baidushi, aiding and abetting of thousands of Ruidian and Kitsune infernalists responsible for the city’s destruction, and the maiming of one of our great generals. How do you respond to these accusations?”
Cheng Lei flashed a smile both serene and genuine. “I deny them fully and completely of course.”
The entire imperial hall froze at the young prince’s words, Alex himself wincing at the sudden escalating tension.
He wanted to scream for frustration.
Why wasn’t his friend explaining exactly what had happened? The depth Dongfang Hong’s hideous manipulations binding so many innocent souls to infernal contracts so that he could have mastery over them in this life alone. The absolute flood of hostile forces preparing to tear through the Golden Realms. The lives already lost to the madman daring to attend that court, even now.
No one was more surprised than Alex, save perhaps a wide-eyed Hao Chan, when the golden speaker abruptly lifted his head and gave an exultant cry.
“Let the historian’s record show that Cheng Lei has denied all accusations of involvement with the destruction of Baidushi! Let none gainsay the words of an imperial prince whose words bespeak a truth as real as the seasons themselves. Rejoice, one and all! For the Blue Prince’s innocence has been proven! None save another prince may gainsay those words!”
The countless nobles and courtiers immediately began clapping with fingertips to palm for a precise count of ten before immediately stopping, allowing the silence to permeate the chamber in its entirety once more.
Then smiles became gasps wide-eyed looks of surprise, everyone looking at the Red Prince with expressions of scorn or disbelief, the man holding aloft a black tile, glaring Chen Lei’s way.
“The Red Prince dares to challenge!” whispered the silver speaker in surprise, the entire court aloft with whispers as Dongfang Hong dared what clearly was almost never done.
Yet all hushed whispers instantly stilled when the silver speaker cleared his throat. “Does Red wish to challenge Blue?”
Cold glittering eyes glared Cheng Lei’s way, the malice in the glare matched perfectly by the half dozen Gold-tier wujen Alex recognized all too well, having seen at least half of them participating in trying to force infernal bindings or outright slaughtering countless cultivators and bystanders at Rising Phoenix… before they left in unison swearing to make Alex pay at all costs.
“Red challenges Blue,” Dongfang Hong declared in a clipped, imperious voice.
Eric’s eyes widened. He had no idea how things worked in the imperial court, but he recalled damned well just how deadly Dongfang Hong was with his twisted Silver Core, having earned so many ranks as a Silver. Cheng Lei on the other hand… He had just managed the first rung of Silver, two at most.
Eric grit his teeth.
It was such an obvious setup, yet somehow Alex doubted that imperial princes, even several generations removed from the emperor, would allow themselves to get drawn in to forced duels or no-win power struggles. Which was why he was all the more surprised when Cheng Lei actually acknowledged the challenge.
“Stake and terms,” Cheng Lei said with a sangfroid smile, as if he hadn’t been tortured to within an inch of his life by that very monster, earning a snarl from Dongfang Hong.
“The hand of Liu Li. The surrender of all contested property.”
Cheng Lei paled with unspoken fury, because as they already knew, the monster was never intending to let Liu Li live. Just use her, leverage her, then destroy her.
Dongfang Hong’s cruel smile only grew. “And in return… I will let you lead the campaign.”
Cheng Lei’s eyes widened. “What campaign?”
“Red has revealed his story,” said the silver attired spokesman. “Neither seer nor sage can detect falsehood. The duplicity and treachery of both kitsune and Ruidians has thus been proven according to imperial precedent.”
The Blue Prince’s eyes widened with unmistakable dismay. He flinched as the handmaiden behind him gasped softly, licking his lips as dread turned to fierce resolve. “I will accept a martial duel with standard precedent.”
“I accept!” Dongfang Hong quickly said, gazing at the Blue Prince with a certain dark hunger in his eyes.
Cheng Lei’s flinch was barely visible, yet his smile was plain for all to see. “Excellent. Now you need but wait for me to tell my tale. Should I win, that will be the story that shapes this court’s rulings.”
The air was filled with startled gasps and hushed whispers.
Dongfang Hong’s eyes widened with outrage. “You would dare to question my narration?”
Cheng Lei’s smile was all teeth. “I believe that my tale will speak quite well for itself… Dongfang Hong.”
He turned to the Silver speaker. “If I may begin?”
“We have not fought! It is not your turn! You may not speak until our duel is finished!” Dongfang Hong hissed.
Cheng Lei’s eyes twinkled with darkest mirth. “It was you who agreed to both a martial duel and standard precedent. Precedent is established so that I may speak at least once before I die upon the sands of conflict, should I stand triumphant, my words become truth and law, and speak I shall.”
The silver speaker was positively beaming. “Then speak, Prince of the Blue. Speak and share with this court a tale worthy of a duel between princes!”
And speak Cheng Lei did, carefully not looking a pale-faced and furious Dongfang Hong’s way as he recounted a tale of intrigue, betrayal and horror. A tale where multiple Crown Princesses had been shattered and broken by tyrants. Where thousands of innocent soldiers and aspiring cultivators were bound to infernal contracts that risked dooming their very souls, all so that a madman could consolidate his power while annexing a neighboring territory, shattering countless treaties and accords while doing so.
Yet what really impressed Alex was how every jab he made seemed to strike the now absolutely furious Dongfang Hong like a blow, generating ever greater murmurs, cold looks, and sneers of disdain for the man, all without mentioning the Red Prince’s name at all.
“...And thus the foolish prince fled before a far wiser fool than he, and it is our precious realm that was ultimately forced to pay the bitter cost all rulers incur when daring to use religious contention to further their own ends. Countless miles of territory obliterated, and a city vanished as if it had never been.”
The Red Prince looked ready to explode. “Lies! All of it!” He roared. “The seers themselves were forced to vouch for every word to leave my lips!”
Alex felt a cold chill with those words. He wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out that somehow spiteful immortals were indeed twisting the metaphoric arms of the seers to assure that the man’s words would ring true regardless. Or perhaps it was infernal bindings, or simple greed and corruption. And if the tightening of the eyes of Hao Chan’s ancient relative was anything to go by… perhaps she understood as well.
Cheng Lei refused to rise to the bait, however. Instead he shrugged and smiled. “A very good point, Dongfang Hong. So perhaps I should take the logical step and bind those words to my very foundation. If I’m found to be lying, let my very foundation shatter! Is that acceptable to the court?”
Dongfang Hong crossed his arms, snorting with contempt.
The gold speaker flashed a pleased smile. “It would please the imperial court greatly. Please bind those words to your soul if you dare, Prince Cheng Lei!”
With those words the air turned alive with the whispered murmurs and excited energy as the living drama played out before them all.
Before everyone’s excited murmur dropped to frozen stillness as Cheng Lei calmly withdrew a prize none could deny.
The air was alive with the flashing of ebony jade so pure that the entire room seemed to shimmer with added color and life as Cheng Lei revealed his Jade-tier talisman, held it tightly in one hand, and bowed before the imperial throne. “Upon my cultivation base, upon my life, I, Prince Cheng Lei of Lan Tu nation believe that the account I gave is absolutely and unequivocally true. Names alone I have left out, in deference to the codices of the Imperial Court itself.” He flashed a tight smile.
He then turned to Dongfang Hong. “Tell me, Dongfang Hong, would you be equally willing to give your own oath upon the talisman you yourself received at Royal Phoenix Academy? Proving to the entire court that no seer has been warped, manipulated, or bound by infernal contract so good at slipping past so many countermeasures to serve as your pawns?”
Alex could feel it then, even as a spirit countless thousands of miles and perhaps years away as half the audience groaned and crumpled, even the pair of princes wincing before the crushing weight of a Jade.
A horrified-looking silver spokesman looked on the verge of a pronouncement before Dongfang Hong spoke with surprising speed.
“I accept your duel, Blue! The winner shall be vindicated, and the loser’s cultivation base… shattered!”
Cheng Lei visibly blanched at that as Dongfang Hong sneered… before the Blue Prince turned around, gazing almost apologetically toward Hao Chan.
“You don’t have to do this.”
“I must! You know damn well he’ll kill you if you take him on.”
“Cheng Lei!” The last was said in a panicked voice Alex knew all too well, sensing the beautiful kitsune, his very first friend in the world, who had served as Hao Chan’s temporary handmaiden.
Alex decided not to be bothered that he could now sense the panicked thoughts of his friends. All that mattered was the poignant mix of fear and resolve in his beloved’s eyes.
The Red Prince then flashed an avaricious smile. “Come, Blue! A duel you want? A duel you shall get! We shall spar for the emperor’s pleasure! Let the truth of our words be evidenced by the wholeness of our bodies, and the victor’s honor never impugned upon again!”
Cheng Lei sighed, bowing his head, before meeting the gaze of the silver spokesman. “The terms are acceptable. With your permission, however… there is another who would like to duel in my stead.”
The momentary confusion in the man’s gaze was replaced by odd bemusement when Hao Chan, ignoring her grandmother’s hiss, removed her exquisite dress, armaments of silk and guile replaced by the enchanted seafoam-hued triangular scale armor that had served her so well before.
The entire court was breathless as she calmly stepped down from the seating to the heart of the imperial throne room, looking every inch the seven foot tall warrior that she was. Whatever enchantments had been somehow keeping her diminutive form and aura in check had faded entirely, the queen of Alex’s heart now truly looking every inch the seven foot tall battle maiden that she was.
“Gold. That child radiates the might of a Gold!”
“Impossible. She’s not even twenty summers old!”
The gold attired spokesman gave Hao Chan a sad smile and clapped, instantly freezing her where she stood. “Only those of imperial blood may stand in for another in contests of martial might. You have been recognized as a princess of an auxiliary house. Is this not enough for you?”
Hao Chan took a hitched breath, exchanging a pained look with Cheng Lei, as if even this had been discussed, for all that she dreaded the step she must take.
“Every word Cheng Lei uttered is true. With your permission, I would swear it upon my own talisman and allow his imperial majesty to judge whether or not I am fit to duel in my nephew’s steed.”
Her words earned a curious look even as the entire court held its collective breath, as if her presumptuousness was grounds for instant immolation. Yet the gold-attired spokesman’s eyes lit with good humor, indulging her with a nod.
“Your Gold ascension buys you the clemency of excellence, but it will only do so once.” The words were said with gentlest reproof, but Alex couldn’t help shivering along with Hao Chan, even as Dongfang Hong looked on with a curious smirk, as if eager to see the uppity girl blasted apart by lightning from her own sire.
“Very well, child. Make your…”
His words cut off. As did the entire hall when Hao Chan revealed her greatest prize.
“A triple sigil Jade tier talisman!”
“She is the emperor’s daughter! No other could possibly be worthy!”
Hao Chan trembled, though whether it was with the weight of her oath, the realization of what she was doing, or the fact that absolutely everyone’s eyes were now upon her… she still managed to say the words.
“I count as true every last word Cheng Lei uttered regarding the fate of Baidushi, the innocence of the Ruidian and Kitsune peoples, and the malevolence of the mastermind behind the failed coup, who most definitely was channeling the divine malice of a spite-filled tactician who has always hated jesters and fools. My Cultivator’s Oath upon it!”
The last she said in a rush that was almost a roar, trembling as her face grew momentarily wan… before she took a deep breath, somehow looking more whole and vital than she had even moments before.
For all that her words echoed through the vast chamber even now.
As countless stares of wonder became ones of horror and dismay.
Even Cheng Lei blanched.
As if he too feared that Hao Chan had gone to far.
Yet the gold colored spokesman said only: “The imperial hall and all administrative and political halls of power throughout the empire are to have no truck with the divine.”
Hao Chan blushed and lowered her gaze as the spokesman continued. “And should Blue be vindicated… immediate steps will be taken.” This was said with a cold glare to a suddenly blanching Dongfang Hong.
“Is your weapon ring at the ready?”
Alex blinked, thrown off only momentarily by the querry as Hao Chan nodded, raising a mercury-hued ring on her left pinky, a smirking Dongfang Hong doing the same.
“Very well.” The golden spokesman received nods from no less than half a dozen gold tier wujen seated to either side of the emperor. “Your rings have been unlocked! Let the duel commence.”
Artificer skill check made!
You sense disaster!
The words, said so casually, came as a bit of a shock to a still blinking Hao Chan, who suddenly found herself in a sand-filled arena, globes of spiritual energy now giving the entire court an unobstructed view of the tiny portal realm that Hao Chan and Dongfang Hong had somehow been teleported to. Hao Chan clearly needed a second to get her bearings, but a fiercely smiling Dongfang Hong had clearly been expecting it. His lips stretched wide in malicious glee as his ring glowed and the same vile nagamaki he had once used against Alex manifested once more.
A glaring Hao Chan rubbed her ring as well… and nothing happened.
Qi Perception check made!
In a horrifying epiphany as time seemed to stretch and slow, Alex could sense it. The tight spiritual grip that no less than three Deep Gold wujen among Dongfang Hong’s coterie had on Hao Chan’s storage ring.
It was a betrayal that filled Alex with horror and fury in equal measure.
“Hao Chan, look out!”
It was a desperate cry that he knew would do no good against the bulwark of history, yet he cried it out nonetheless, suddenly desperate to flail against the callous hands of time. And it did nothing to stop the inevitability of a cackling Dongfang Hong racing forward, his killing weapon held high, the arena echoing with words so filled with vitriol and hate that the ground itself warped and shook.
“Now you will die by my hand, wanton harlot! As do all pieces of excrement that dare to consort with my eternal foe!”
Alex screamed as he furiously tore at the web of Spiritual energy twisted about Hao Chan’s ring. Pointless. Futile. Clawing against the utter inevitability of ancient history. But he didn’t care as his features twisted into a furious grimace, the warm halcyon haze and dreams of a sweet serene life shattered before the vindictive might of gods and men. All conspiring to hurt his loved ones yet again, all eager to make him suffer as Alex helplessly watching from behind time’s veil which he knew damn well could never be breached.
Which, of course, made the messages ringing in his head all the more outrageous and unexpected.
Piercing Strike has SUCCESSFULLY disrupted Wujen Curse!
Storage ring is now fully accessible.
Yet even those words were a mockery of hope as a roaring Dongfang Hong struck with such impossible speed that it was beyond even Alex’s ability to counter on his best day, back when he had reached the peak of Silver.
Alex choked back a scream.
Yet even Dongfang Hong lurched back in wide-eyed dismay.
Because as true as it was that Dongfang Hong’s twisted Silver Rank was at least Rank 6, greater than what Alex had once enjoyed on his best day, Hao Chan wasn’t Silver at all.
She had already ascended to Gold.
The Red Prince’s eyes widened with dismay. “No, impossible! There’s no way you could ascend so far! This is more of the fox’s foul tricks!”
Hao Chan’s lips twisted in a snarl. She inhaled as if to shout her outrage and fury at her sneering foe, before immediately darting forward, her ko-naginata cleaving through the air in a furious flurry of cleaving strikes and daring lunges, her blows crackling with the pent fury of the storm.
And how sweet it was to see the unmistakable look of fear in the corrupt prince’s gaze.
For long moments, as a furious Hao Chan overwhelmed her opponent with her furious flurry, it almost seemed like she had a chance.
Yet somehow he had managed to counter every blow, even if Alex had sensed not one but two Gold-tier wards when his beloved had uttered words that made the very air shiver.
“BLACK SWAN!”
Yet still, his wards had protected him, even if a countless fortune in protective treasures, the fortunes of a true prince, had been squandered in their battle already.
Yet what it had brought their foe was time. Time for Hao Chan to embrace the monstrous, the bestial, and reveal to the entire court what a monster he truly was.
Time enough to become that which Alex feared would slaughter even his beloved princess.
his face twisted as his skin turned a fiery ochre, muscles bulging and popping as his customized armor made it painfully clear that he had enjoyed this twisted transformation many times before as he roared and grew before Hao Chan’s dismayed gaze. It dismayed to see his foe moving faster than he ever had before. Stronger than he had been just seconds ago as he roared and beat off Hao Chan’s Gold tier quickness and strength with a single blow of his terrible weapon, his nagamaki now radiating infernal flame to slash open Hao Chan’s left thigh in a spray of blood and despair.
“Cursed. That artifact’s cursed! That monster actually brought tainted artifacts to the imperial court!” Roared none other than Hao Chan’s ancient ancestor, who’s golden arts made sure that her words carried through the entire court.
“It does not matter,” muttered a nearby courtier with a tired sigh. “The trial ends only when one party has fallen. Not even the emperor will interfere with such a trial.”
“Hao Chan!” Eric cried to the pitiless void of time and space, knowing it would do no good as the battle continued playing itself out.
The mad wheezing cackles of a twisted god that should be trapped in torment in a divine tier restoration pod was somehow able to inhabit his former pawns nonetheless, and how that monster glared with twisted glee at the stink of suppurating flesh as Hao Chan groaned from the wound on her leg.
Hao Chan’s desperate winding parries grew ever more frantic as she struggled against Dongfang Hong’s furious assault, her eyes widening with fear as the incensed monster pressed his advantage. “You will fall before me, bitch, as do all mortals that dare to defy me!” Dongfang Hong roared, eyes wild with glee as his nagamaki turned blood red with the twisted power saturating the artifact so utterly that it the very air seemed to twist and bleed.
Alex silently howled when Hao Chan seemed to fold, her crippled leg giving out utterly as her foe charged in, eager for the kill. “You’re stronger than this, Hao! Have you forgotten all that I taught you? Use your abilities to the fullest!”
Of course it didn’t matter what he said. For he understood that he was watching an ancient reel play out the final scenes to a play he wished he could halt forever.
Before his eyes widened with awe, when his beloved was suddenly moving in the one direction her opponent didn’t expect. Straight up with a single powerful heave of her uninjured leg before twisting around to snarl down at Dongfang Hong, who was stumbling in the sands after unleashing a titanic strike Alex knew there would have utterly obliterated anyone below Deep Gold as a massive blast of caustic tainted blood and rot boiled away half the arena, the air shrieking with the howls of the damned.
The Red Prince’s face was beet red with fury, hate, and the weight of divine malice, panting for breath as he wildly searched for his target.
“Impossible! I saw how you limped. Nearly crippled! Your foundation is tainted. Cracked! You cannot escape me! You cannot defy me!”
“Divine tier Eternal Fox trumps the shit out of your curse, you goddamned bastard!” Hao Chan screamed so fast and fierce it was a single surge of feeling and fury that nonetheless conveyed itself to the entire court as the miniature snow-globe like arena filled with lightning, a bolt as wide as Dongfang Hong himself striking the Red Prince as he howled in monstrous fury before disappearing before their eyes.
“STORM STRIKE!”
Hao Chan’s ultimate attack, that which she had once used to send a greater demon spiraling into hell. Yet what seemed most shocking to all present was the sudden disappearance of Dongfang Hong himself.
“How did he escape a Jade-tier dueling ring?”
“Impossible!”
“Very possible. The fool was using a divine tier portal ring.”
“He dares to rule as a pawn of the gods? Such things are forbidden!”
“I know.”
Then a heartbeat later, it registered to all of them what it meant, the brilliant light causing so many of them to squint in awed disbelief.
“She summoned lightning in a pocket realm. How?”
“Imperial Blood. There is no other explanation! She truly is the crown princess!”
The entire court was at a low uproar when a panting Hao Chan manifested before them once more, stumbling to one knee, grimacing for the obvious pain she felt as Cheng Lei raced to her side. “Hao Chan!”
“It’s okay, Lei. I just…” Hao Chan squeezed her eyes shut. “Just let me push the rest of the taint out, okay?”
And before the entire awe-struck court, her ugly wound, stinking of necrotic filth and infernal taint so badly that a pair of Gold-tier healers rushed to her side… began to heal.
The pair of women froze, gazing at each other in wonder. “We don’t even have to remove the limb. She can heal an infernal taint!” One cried, the falling to her hands and knees, kowtowing before a dazed Hao Chan.
“We beseech you, honored princess. Teach us your art, so that we may better serve the court.”
Hao Chan froze, daring to creek her neck not toward her father… but toward the positively beaming spokesman in Gold. “If it would please his imperial majesty...”
Before she could even finish, all three speakers for the crown spoke as one.
“Blue has been vindicated! His words are declared true!” Then, as one, they turned to glare at Dongfang Hong’s wujen, half of them frozen to speechless dismay… the other half disappearing in the blink of an eye.
And how interesting it was, a cynical Alex noted, that it was the ones he had sensed tampering with his beloved’s ring that were unable to leave, no matter how furiously they twisted the rings on their hand.
Undeterred, the three speakers pointed their fingers at the three wujen who remained, all of them collapsing to their knees. “You have all been found GUILTY in the crucible of combat! For your crimes, there can be only one sentence!”
The entire court froze when triple brilliant bolts of lightning tore through the massive hall, obliterating all three wujen before they could utter a single word of protest. When the blinding flash past, there was no trace of anything save three smoking puddles of darkened ooze that a pair of Silver-tier servants rushed into the chamber to scrub away.
“The Red Prince has been found guilty of trucking with the Divine! The Red Prince has been found guilty of trucking with the infernal! Save for chance encounters along the disciple’s path, no member of the ruling class is permitted to truck with the divine! In no circumstances are those of royal blood permitted to truck with the infernal!”
All three then raised their hands in a splayed formation as the very image shown by the very corrupt wujen so recently banished and slaughtered manifested once more, showing the smoking crater where once a glorious city and countless acres of woodland had once stood.
“Dongfang Hong’s sentence has been commuted. For he has communed with the divine and imperial law holds no weight with the divine. Dongfang Hong and all his progeny are forbidden the mantel of rulership! For he has communed with the divine, and by ancient treaty between emperor and immortal, no immortal will interfere with secular rule! When the General and the Fox make cities and principalities their battlegrounds, civilization itself pays the price!”
The announcer’s voices shifted on a dime from the cold pronouncement of death to the rapture of life reclaimed once more, positively beaming with joy as they gazed upon Hao Chan’s stunned countenance.
“Rejoice one and all! Imperial blood has proven itself in the crucible of combat! A lost princess has been found! Forty days and nights of feasting shall commence at once!”
Alex wanted to shout for joy, heart filled with relief and triumph for the sake of a girl he loved so dearly, now separated by a gulf he feared he’d never be able to bridge.
If only the look of dread in her eyes wasn’t so great as she was quickly whisked away, her ancient wujen grandmother at her heels, immediately lecturing Hao Chan on the hundred and one things she’d have to know and master as an imperial princess.
***
Alex jolted awake with a gasp, heart aching with such a profound bittersweet melancholy that he had no words to describe it. So he closed his eyes, prayed fiercely and fervently to his patron, hoping that the crown of an imperial princess hadn’t stopped her from taking charge of her life and living it to the fullest.
Only then did he force himself to open his eyes, heavy with the weight in his heart, knowing that their worlds were now forever apart.
And that was when he noted the collapsed heap of shattered sandalwood that had been his bed, grateful that at least he hadn’t put too many holes in his mattress as he took in his top tier quarters within Silver Sand’s most luxurious accommodations once more, with Linnea giving him a mock glare from the adjoining bed as the cool light played upon her dusky features.
“So this is why you insist upon separate beds, even though my freedom depends on us being married?”
Alex flashed a pained smile. “Depends on everyone thinking that we’re married, you mean. But considering that Hanz and Lieberman are now most definitely in our corner, as well as the entire city, I don’t think that will be a problem any more.”
Linnea pouted, before giving a rueful chuckle. “You’re right, of course. Still, I’d love it if we could be more than…” Her emerald green eyes widened. “What happened, Alex? You look like you saw a ghost! I mean, more than usual, since you’ve always been pale, but still!”
Alex sighed, flashing his friend a sad smile. “Haunted by dreams that might be memory, or the past… or have never happened at all.” He turned to look out the window, finding solace in the first rays of dawn. “I can only hope that what I had dreamed was true. Someone I cared about triumphed, and a much hated villain got his just comeuppance.” He snorted. “Now that I think about it, it probably was a dream, since life rarely actually works out that way and I think I affected my dream at least once so… history’s right out.”
He rubbed eyes still blurry with the sting of longing before turning to the windows once more, eager to start his day. “Good. The sun’s almost up. No need to deal with any more darkness or dreams. Best of all, I might actually get to class in time today.”
“Because your still determined to live out your dream of a happy, peaceful cultivator’s life,” Linnea teased with a gentle smile.
Alex shrugged. “Maybe. But after foiling what would have been the destruction of Liushi and the purging of countless innocents… I think we’ve earned a chance to just relax and chase our passions… however silly they might be.”
“I quite agree,” Linnea said, giving him a squeeze from behind before sighing. “I’ll join you for class, because what else am I going to do between delves?”
“You don’t have to, Linnea.”
“I want to,” she said, taking his hand. “It doesn’t have to be about beast cores and leveling up, you know.” She blushed as she said it. “I mean… not all the time. I’m happy just to enjoy your company. And even if they swear that the southern rift with its endless deserts is safe now…”
Alex shivered and nodded. “Yeah. I know. If there’s any chance any instructor gets the crazy idea to pull their students into a delve, chasing after the glory of Ice and Water cores themselves… we’ll be able to protect them far better as a team.”
Linnea’s eyes twinkled. “And it’s way more fun than Sulia’s class, where all she does is laugh at your absolute and utter lack of a wujen’s potential.”
Alex winced. “It’s not that bad.”
This earned a snort. “Come on, hero. Let’s go surprise Elder Win by showing him that even you are capable of getting to class on time.”