The Celestial Emperor was less than pleased as he heard the report from his subordinates. These were the agents sent to monitor the Five Winds in case the person possessing the Living Mountain returned. Their reports over the last few years had been sparse at best and non-existent at worst. That in itself wasn’t purely a bad thing. The emperor wasn’t the type that wanted pointless status reports that simply just said nothing new to report. He had better things to do than listen to such routine reports. He gave his agents a certain amount of autonomy in how to deal with changing situations, but these agents had taken that allowance and misused it.

“So let’s see if I understood this correctly. Not only did you fail to convince the owner of the Living Mountain to hand over the mountain to us, or even to come to the Celestial Court to negotiate the matter, you failed to report in when this person returned, which happened a while ago I might add. You delayed the report on something of this importance? I could see a twisted logic in thinking you didn’t want to bother me with a report you think I might consider unimportant, but you not only failed to send a report to me, but you didn’t even pass the information onward to a higher ranking officer, who might actually have enough knowledge to make such decisions. Am I missing something here?” The emperor’s tone was deceptively calm, and the agent giving the report over the communication array knew he was much safer where he currently was. For now that is.

“Your Majesty, there are certain circumstances involved that may shed light on why we decided to delay the report. We felt that this additional information would radically change the nature of our report and the inevitable response that would follow. If I would be permitted to explain, I believe there are certain matters that we should bring to Your attention before judgment is rendered.” The agent replied hastily.

“Please do.” The emperor said a little sarcastically, though the following words were entirely serious. “Currently there’s very little that’s stopping me from ordering your severe punishment if not even execution.”

“The first thing we need to report, and the part Your Majesty rightly condemned us for not reporting immediately is our meeting with the person possessing the Living Mountain.” The agent decided to soften Dee’s words and stance a little for his own safety. “That person was not disrespectful in their refusal, but pointed out that the Living Mountain is an entity with its own mind and the mountain does not wish to return, most likely due to the reason the last owner of the mountain died. Additionally, they claimed that they knew why Your Majesty wanted the mountain and that Xinglong did not leave behind a corpse.”

That gave the emperor a small pause as he considered. The fingers of his right hand tapped the table while his other hand brushed his beard in an unconscious gesture. It was true that Xinglong’s body was the main reason he wanted the mountain. He preferred possessing the mountain as well, but would not really sweat over its loss. He could see how the mountain could carry a grudge if it truly was sentient. Considering the mountain had so much power it might be better if it wasn’t close to the Celestial Court in case it decided revenge was warranted. They would be able to suppress the mountain but it would require great effort.

However, that was a decision for him to make as the Celestial Emperor, not some random person currently possessing the mountain. In actual fact, they didn’t even know where the mountain was currently, or how it was transported out of the first circle. The sudden appearance and disappearance of the mountain during the fight between the Lacademonians and the Spider Cult made it clear that the person possessing the mountain had some way to easily transport it. That implied certain possibilities, but didn’t really confirm anything.

With a gestured command from the emperor, the agent continued. “The individual in question was too powerful just by herself for us to try use force to get our way. In addition, the leader of the Crimson Witches Teresa is also present here at the Five Winds. Considering the currently murky relationship between her and the Celestial Court, we cannot determine if she would interfere if more forceful methods were used.”

“So that’s where Teresa ran off to.” The Celestial Emperor muttered. Teresa was showing him the same sort of disrespect that had caused him to originally seek Xinglong’s death. The difference was that Teresa was smart enough to not flaunt it and was hiding her own pride by keeping away from the first circle. As long as she did, both sides could keep up the pretense of Teresa being unable to pay proper respects due to being away. That said, her wisdom in staying out of sight didn’t mean that the Emperor was forgiving the slight on his honor. That the leader of the Crimson Witches just so happened to pick this exact place to hide was most likely not a coincidence either, though the rumored alliance between the two communities was a convenient excuse.

“I’m assuming there’s more, because just this alone should not be enough for you to delay reporting such important information. In fact, Teresa’s presence just makes this more important.” The Emperor stated, although his thoughts were slightly different from what he said. He had vaguely known where Teresa was from the reports, but the location had not had any real significance before this. Now there seemed to be more to it.

“Your Majesty is aware of the Spider Cult recently being destroyed?” The agent knew the emperor had been informed, but the emperor might, in turn, decide the event to be irrelevant and not pay attention to the details.

“I’m aware of the broad strokes.” In fact, the emperor had quite a bit of interest in the event, though not because the Five Winds had been involved. That had been a quaint little detail before this report. Or at least it had been until he paid more attention to the matter. He was now reaching to various agents to gather more information on the subject, which was the main reason this conversation was even taking place. The agent had simply blurted out his report before the emperor even had the chance to ask anything about the battle.

What had originally brought the battle to his attention was the fact that the priests of the gods of order had requested that the Celestial Court would look into the matter. The priests had been very tight-lipped about the reason why they sought this information, which had roused the emperor’s curiosity. So he had naturally sought the other temples for a possible explanation almost as soon as the door closed behind the backs of the order priests. The information he had received was not pleasing, as all the temples had been more than happy to mention the birth of two new Champions of opposing elements that worked together to kill a goddess.

The area controlled by the Celestial Court was vast. It was much larger than their position in the first circle would have others assume. In fact, the area they controlled was almost as large as the other areas in the first circle combined, thanks to several mages gifted in spatial magic expanding the area every year. With over a hundred races living in the area controlled by the court, various deities had been given permission to found their temples in the area, and the Celestial Court had a cordial working relationship with the different temples, both light and dark. The emperor, in particular, favored the temples of order mainly because their tenets were similar to his and allowed him to maintain a firm hold over his subjects.

While both of them understood the value of religions to their endeavors, unlike the empress, the emperor had paid a bit more attention to the gods themselves and the politics that went on between them. Or at least as much as he could find out from the priests. The empress had considered them unreliable sources of information at best. The emperor was not a religious man himself, but he understood the power an avatar of the Spider Goddess held, and the implications of two Champions being able to kill the goddess, even when working together.

He had not managed to find out too many details about the battle before this and was a bit unsure of how much he wanted to intervene in that particular mess, no matter how vehemently the priests of order requested an investigation. However, there was an additional reason that his interest was piqued. From the little he had been able to find out, some of the tactics used both in the battles before this one and maneuvers used to form the coalition in the first place felt…familiar. It was like reading a story he had read before a long time ago that he vaguely remembered.

The agent continued. “We overheard some details of the battle from the returning forces of the Five Winds, and two matters especially might be of interest to Your Majesty. The first interesting bit of news is that a powerful Phoenix was seen taking part in the battle. The involvement of the Phoenix was short, but intensive and played an important role. It also seemed to have been factored into the battle plan.”

This caught the emperor’s attention. There weren’t that many Phoenixes in the first place and most of them roosted within the areas controlled by the Celestial Court. His mind immediately went to a particular Phoenix that had been sent to find the empress. That flamboyant bastard was also likely to side with the empress given the opportunity and some encouragement. So if he was there, then it was likely that the empress was present as well.

‘That’s why the actions of the Five Winds felt so familiar!’ He thought to himself. The empress had used similar plots in the distant past when the Celestial Court had still been a rising power.

Assuming that the emperor wanted to hear the other part of their report, the agent continued. “Also, we happened to be close when the holder of the mountain returned from battle. She seemed to have grown in strength a lot… and there’s also something else that is difficult to put into words.”

The emperor noticed the cageyness in the agent’s voice. “It’s alright, you can continue. Judging by the fact that you brought it up, it must be important enough to risk my ire for whatever reason.”

The agent gave a defeated sigh. “The woman gave off a feeling very similar to Your Majesty as she returned.”

The emperor’s eyes narrowed in anger, as he most certainly didn’t appreciate the comparison, but he stilled the anger rising within as he realized the relevance of the words that had just been said. He knew exactly what the agent meant. When he had finished his totem, his Domain had gained perhaps the most important power that had contributed to his rise to his current position. His Domain was based on domination through rule. When he wasn’t concealing his Domain, he radiated a very particular kind of aura, which was the feeling the agent was talking about.

Those that had recognized his rule were incapable of rebelling against that rule, even when not in his presence. It was as if that part of their minds was suppressed. There were some people and beings with a strong enough mind to resist the effect, but even those individuals would not be able to function at full capacity when instigating their rebellion. They would make silly decisions and miss details that they would never miss if they had been capable of using their full faculties. It was a more subtle form of mind control than directly tampering with someone’s mind.

There was a sort of herd mentality to the effect as well. The more his subject saw others bow down to him, the easier and more fully they submitted. If one or two people managed to rebel on the other hand, then others were more likely to shrug off the effects as well, though they would fall firmly under the emperor’s grasp if the first rebel was harshly and quickly dealt with. That was one of the main reasons why people like the empress and the damn Phoenix were so dangerous. They never really accepted the emperor’s rule and thus were not subject to the effects. However, if word about their rebellion spread, then all his other subjects would lose some of the control keeping them in line.

“Describe to me in detail what you felt in her presence.” The emperor commanded the agent. If the agent stated that the person gave off a similar feeling to the emperor, then it was possible that the person also had a Domain with a similar effect, and the feeling the agent got might give hints to the exact nature of that Domain. Two Domains were never entirely identical, as there would at the very least be some subtle differences.

“She gives off the impression that fighting against her would be futile. All that we would accomplish is our own death.” The agent summarized. There was a healthy dose of fear involved as well, though he thought it was better not to mention that particular detail. Cowards had an unpleasant end in the service of the Celestial Court.

‘Domination through strength perhaps? Something that prevents those that have recognized her as superior from fighting against her, or at least fighting at full strength?’ The emperor guessed. Then something struck him. “Wait, you said her, right? This is a woman we’re talking about?” He had unconsciously used the same noun, and in fact, he had heard that the holder of the mountain was female. He had simply never considered that to be important as he had already assumed the empress had either taken the mountain or was at least involved.

“Yes, the person is very much female. A beautiful and powerful one at that.” The agent replied in a deferential tone.

Pieces started falling into place in the emperor’s mind. A couple of possibilities jumped at him immediately. The empress had told him before disappearing that there was someone with a Domain even more dominating than him, though she had not specified that the person was female. In retrospect, he could imagine that he would not have taken the information seriously if the empress had mentioned that detail. As it is, he had not really done anything with the information except keep his eyes open in case he saw any sign of a Domain like that. There were also certain other possible reasons the empress might have left that detail out.

‘Did she feel threatened by this new woman? Realistically speaking, a powerful woman with a Domain similar to mine would make an excellent replacement for the cold fish empress that she was. Perhaps she was worried about being replaced? If she managed to poison the mind of this newcomer against the court, then it’s no wonder that the person in question refused to come to us for negotiations.’ This possibility was decidedly more pleasant than the alternatives in the emperor’s mind. He was smart enough to know that just because it was more pleasant, that didn’t mean it was more likely.

‘Another possibility is that this is a trap. The empress knows that I’m likely to react violently to the sort of disrespect this phantom person is showing. Within reason, what would I be up against if I did march in a large group of immortals? The Living Mountain alone is a danger. There’s Teresa and the other immortals of both Five Winds and the Crimson Witches to consider. This mysterious person with a potential Domain, of course. And if the temples are correct, I’d also be facing the Champions of two major goddesses, of which this woman might be one. That sounds like the makings of a trap to me.’ This possibility made the emperor frown in displeasure.

'There’s even a very small and remote possibility that the empress and this phantom person are in fact one and the same. I already suspected her of taking the mountain, and it is a possibility that she was preparing me for the possibility of her being the one with a Domain. That assumes that she managed to hide her Domain all this time though. Normally I’d say that’s damn unlikely, but she has always kept a distance from me, and as a seer, she has many ways of avoiding her abilities being discovered. This possibility seems the least likely one to be true, but it is something to keep in mind.’ The emperor suddenly turned towards the agent. “Have you considered taking more indirect routes towards gaining the mountain?”

Even though he didn’t say it clearly, the implication was there. The emperor was not above using someone’s family against them. He found the practice a little distasteful, but some rare occasions warranted such methods and ends justified the means. “We have, but there’s a problem.” The agent replied.

“A problem?” The emperor asked, his displeasure coming back. The presence of family might actually help determine the validity of his earlier theories. If the phantom person was indeed the empress, then it was unlikely that this person had extensive family ties. The empress was good, but hiding something like that seemed prohibitively difficult, and she had not been gone long enough to form long familial bonds, like having children with some age.

“We overheard the target mention something about meeting family in passing, but have been unable to find any details. Every time we ask questions, the people we’re questioning seem like they have no idea what we’re talking about. It’s not that they’re lying; it’s as if there’s something shielding that information in their mind. It’s like they forget the information as soon as we ask the questions and then remember as soon as we leave. We have tried using intermediaries, but the same thing happens. It’s as if there’s something preventing us from finding out the information we want.” The agent was genuinely frustrated as they had really made an honest effort to find out what was going on, as they knew the emperor would ask.

“It does feel like there’s something seriously wrong here. It also feels like someone knew these questions would be asked.” The emperor happened to know just such a person. The empress knew his methods and knew he would try to find these kinds of things out. She would know to block the information. However, normal mages were incapable of weaving such magic. “I think I might have to ask some of the temples if there’s anything that could be done about this. Keep observing and pass on any information you find out. And don’t sit on the information this time!”

“We thank Your Majesty for this benevolence!” The agent realized they were off the hook for now at least. The emperor’s next words made his elation disappear though.

“Don’t thank me just yet. Your ultimate fate depends on how useful you turn out to be in the end.”