Emperor's Reckoning

Inside the raging stream was a lofty man with his arms crossed whilst holding his breath. His direction was at the mercy of the stream and he hardly made any effort to even come out of the water. His mind slowly dozed off under the serene ambiance of underwater as memories resurfaced once his thought crossed her blue eyes.

…

A bird stroke the sky before unfurling its wings. It hovered over a large kingdom where the festive of the people could be heard from the horizon in the dawn sky.

Everyone inside the kingdom was wearing lavish clothes and the best jewelry they could inside their homes. From the highest strata to the lowest, nobody dared to dress normally. They greeted each other with smiles as the finest liquor was served, for free. There was not a single frown present as they merrily conversed with each other.

“This is perhaps one of the biggest times in the century,” said one man with a grin. “Perhaps we are the witness to a history.”

“Witness? No, no, no, you’re wrong, we are a part of the history, not mere witnesses, looks like you have too much to drink my friend.”

“Hahaha, I guess you’re right. Certainly, this is lavish, but I never thought that the king would bask the entire kingdom with the party, even us common folks can see the bride passing through the main way,” he darted his glance toward the fully decorated main gate. “Our crown prince is not only powerful but his about-to-be wife is also an amazing woman.”

“Yeah, looks like we have a beautiful future ahead of us, hahaha.”

The two of them laugh before they heard the tolls of a bell overhead. All of the people present darted their glance toward the main gate where they saw a carriage being reign by an old man. His white beard reached his belly button but he had a smile and bright face as he basked in the festive.

“Psst, hey, that’s the high elder of the Void Sword School,” said the man from before whilst tugging his friend’s elbow.

“Yeah, he is still wearing a uniform robe— wait a minute! That’s not the high elder, that is the one with the highest authority inside the Void Sword School! They called him Elder Ancient.”

“Pfft, goddamnit! Stop joking around!”

“I’m not, he has not been seen for a while either, perhaps secluded to break through another realm? Or trying to improve that deadly Void Art?”

The man shrugged, “Either way, it will only benefit the two of us, the school will have our protection and vice versa.”

“Yeah,” his friend nodded before his brows furrowed. “Woah, just from the silhouette alone I can tell that she is beautiful.”

“I know right, hahaha…” A wild laugh appeared between the two.

“Eh? Who are you might be?” the man looked at him up and down. The new arrival was wearing decent garb but not decent enough to be welcome into a formal banquet. “Are you a visitor?”

The man smirked, “Me, I’m just a suitor looking for my lost woman.”

“Hah?” both of them looked at each other before they laughed all together.

“You lost your woman?” one of them asked whilst holding their tears, “D-Don’t worry my friend, look at you, you’re sticking out like a sore thumb, I’m sure she will find you in no time.”

“Hehe, that would be the case if she were looking for me, but it is I who is looking for her,” the man laughed.

“Hey man, have you been drinking too much?” said one of the two men. “I don’t think you want to be too drunk just for the day, just saying.”

“Don’t worry, I’m on a strict diet, I can’t drink cheap liquor without being drunk anyway.”

“Cheap? Oooh, are you a wine connoisseur? No offense but you doesn’t seem like one.”

“I only drink the best of the best, the Monkey King’s Wine, other than that, bad things might happen to my surrounding or to me.”

“Man, you should really take care of yourself, that legendary wine is just mere legend,” said one of them before they shook their heads.

“Heh,” the man shrugged. “Looks like I need to attend the banquet as well.”

“Oi, are you serious? With that getup?” asked one of the men.

The man shrugged at their answer before leaving them with a wave. Under his hair, the man smirked as he blend into the crowd.

“What a weird guy, damn, I think I’m going to start eating more than drinking.”

“Y-Yeah, me too, I don’t want to end up like that,” his friend gulped. “Do you think we should tell the guards? He might cause some trouble.”

“Heh, it’s not that I don’t want to do the right thing, but I don’t want to stick my hands in the mud.”

“Y-You’re right, we might get into trouble ourselves.”

“Paradise knows how severe the punishment would be, I mean it’s the crown prince’s marriage.”

His friend rubbed his chest and shook his head as he noticed the man had gone from sight for a while.

Meanwhile, the carriage finally stopped and all guards made a way ascending toward the throne room. The elder smiled before getting down from the main carriage. He shrugged his shoulder and lively went toward the door but paused as he watched his fellow elders from the same school adjacently waiting. He nodded at them before opening the door.

“We have arrived, supreme disciple.”

“En,” the woman inside nodded before she stunned the whole kingdom the moment she stepped outside.

She had her thin sword adorned with a royal scabbard by her waist. Her dark brown eyes glanced over the stunned crowd, some of their jaws were dangling open. Her lips slightly parted before she tightened them. She closed her eyes and darted at the ascending stairs.

The cold breeze fluttered her full dark hair. Her goosebumps rose as she watched the huge double door gradually open to welcome her. She took a cold breath through her nose before the elder that drove her to the kingdom said,

“Supreme disciple, you are the most talented I ever have.”

“Elder Kai…” Selena raised her brows.

“You are the rightful heir of the Void Scripture and you have advanced just two levels below me now. However, I fear that many geniuses died before they can be the eternal sun. I have many bitter experiences.”

“Elder Kai I…”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

Selena tightened her lips before shaking her head and then smiled, “Nothing.”

“Selena, you look really beautiful, hehe, look how many jealous gazes that are churning right now,” an elder woman smiled.

“Elder Ni,” Selena smiled before she darted over to the other three elder men, “Elder Gong, Elder Efron, and Elder Kryst, thank you for coming.”

“The pleasure is all ours, it is sad that the rest of the disciples can’t join,” Elder Gong shook his head.

“Hehe, someone needs to be guarding the school.”

The four elders nodded before the Ancient One smiled and gestured with his hand, “Let’s go, to your new future.”

“Um, before that, can I ask you something?” asked Selena.

“Huh? Hehe, are you having doubts now? This often happens when women get married, hahaha, sure! Fire away! The crown prince can wait,” said Elder Ni.

“Do you remember the disciple who was expelled because he tried to steal the scripture of the Void Blade Art?” asked Selena.

“Oh, I do remember him! Heh, that stupid brat, what was he thinking? Honestly, kids like those will never grow to be proper men,” Elder Ni shook his head.

“Oh, I heard the stories,” the Ancient One nodded. “He deserved to be expelled, he had done nothing but waste our resources! He might already be dead by now.”

The other three elders nodded in agreement.

“Tch!” Selena gritted her teeth silently but remained a smiling front. “Then, this marriage, what does the Void Sword School get out of it?”

All five elders remained silent before the one with the highest authority bespoken, “That is none of your concern, now let’s focus on the matter at hand, the crown prince and the royalties are waiting.”

Selena ascended the stairs with an insurmountable invisible weight on her ankle. She dragged her figure away whilst the Ancient One led. Her head hung down, but even in her sadness, she was radiant. She bit her bottom lip before she heard the door shutting down from behind. Her eyes opened wide as she realized that she had arrived inside the throne room. She didn’t even notice the smile that the elder gave her as she continued to walk on this downtrodden path.

However, under her loom and gloom, a man with an iconic smirk crossed his arms. He raised his chin as he looked at the huge door.