Head held high and shoulders back, short hair swaying, his frosty eyes sweep over each of us with analytical derision.

“You dare sit in this Emperor’s presence?”

He seems, not insulted, rather genuinely surprised, as if it was only natural for them to bow on sight. Perhaps because it was only natural.

Cira’xx, Cura’xx and Bia’xx practically jump out of their seats at the oppressive might in his voice. Every word blows out my eardrums all over again.

“Your Majesty!”

“And now you dare to stand?”

At that, he saw it fit to release but a fraction of his spiritual pressure. Even as an Astral Projection, the power of the Heaven Realm isn't even a mere speck in the face of his existence. Distortions in space fill the Sound Barrier, heat irradiating off of the Emperor in visible waves.

Crushing us all from every possible angle; mentally, spiritually, and physically like dense, glowing hot rock is slowly pressing down on us. Even if we could breathe, the air would char the insides of our lungs like meat on a grill.

I stand corrected, this isn’t even his spiritual pressure, just him so graciously showing us his Bloodline Suppression.

Even for me and Anne, who have powerful Bloodlines in our own right, can only cower in instinctive fear at it. It’s been a long since I’ve felt the pressure of someone who has awakened their Bloodline to such a level. Something almost akin to a disgusted nostalgia wells up in my belly. I remember wanting this for myself.

I still do.

Maybe if I had this, my mother and brother would still be around.

Rage and sorrow accompanies my nostalgia.

Thank the Heavens I haven’t been forced to kneel like the others, the Bloodline Suppression not being as severe for me due to my relation to him despite barely a droplet of it having been awakened. If I were to be reduced to kneeling at this man’s feet…

“Does this Emperor’s only son consider himself to be above kneeling?”

His eyes settle on mine and the crushing heat increases two-fold, three-fold, four-fold. A sword hung above my head, a thin string keeping it from slicing through my neck. Do not let your gaze fall. Do not. Focus. Grit your teeth. Bare it. My skin peels and bones crack slowly, excruciatingly, loudly.

“Good, good. One would only expect the progeny of this Emperor to be worthy of standing. Go on. Stand.”

What the hell, is he testing me? Fine, if that’s what he wants…!

I try lifting a finger off the armrest, even an inch is good enough, but I can’t. The mountain on top of me is far too much. Summoning as much energy out of my belly as possible, my Aura erupts and sets fire to the chair beneath me.

It hurts, it hurts bad, enough for me to scream. Releasing my Aura once today was already far too much for the frail me to endure. With much strain, one finger, my arm, both arms. Come on, come on!

His eyes unblinking, face unflinching. Just like how they were on that day. In that stone courtyard, surrounded by cheering crowd. A sword sliced so cleanly through a woman’s accepting neck in front of her son.

My Aura becomes more and more frantic, like a volcano at peak volatility. Slowly, my arms and legs drag my torso out of the chair, and I stand on shaking legs.

All while looking that man in the eyes.

“Well done,” he seems honestly surprised, his voice a slightly higher pitch. “However, this Emperor does not remember telling you to use your Aura.”

Quicker than I can possibly comprehend, an invisible force strikes into my abdomen and my Aura shatters like frail glass, and I too am reduced to a kneeling mess on the floor. Pain struck through me like lightning as blood spewed from my throat, but I could barely open my mouth. Coughing and spluttering on floor, choking on my own blood due to the backlash of my Aura shattering…

Not how I thought I’d die, to be honest. Scraping my forehead on a carpet.

“This Emperor saw your little spar today. For someone bereft of cultivation for most of his life, it wasn’t a half-bad performance. Not bad at all.”

Though his lips formed a smile, his eyes were just as cold as they were on that day. Calculating, almost zombie-like. On the inside, that man was long dead and rotting.

“Now, on to the important things.” The Emperor snaps his fingers, and the cracked Sound Barrier was replaced with a stronger, even more impenetrable one. Other Gods probably wouldn’t be able to hear through it now, not that they would dare try. “This Emperor saw it fit to personally tell you the good news. Anne Vaia of the Vaia Clan. You have been told you are to be married to this Emperor’s son. How do you feel about that?”

He lessens the pressure in the room just enough for us to open our mouths and I relish the opportunity to vomit blood all over the Rei Ui’s nice fancy carpet. At least it’s already red. A different shade to blood though.

Though gritted teeth and tears Anne responds.

“You dare ask me that! The thought of being related to you makes me want to vomit. After what you did—after what all of you have done—”

“Anne Vaia! Do not forget who you are—”

“Silence.” Cira’xx immediately clamps his mouth shut as fast as possible. “This Emperor asked her a question. Continue.”

“All you want to do is use us as cannon fodder for those Northerners! The answer is no!”

Her voice, filled with energy and Emotional Aura fills our ears with the rage of one who’s home was burned to ash and her family’s legacy tarnished. It’s familiar.

“Even if I have to immolate myself—”

“This Emperor understands.”

What? Wasn’t he asking just for show?

“We angels have treated you humans in a regrettable manner. This Emperor would like to apologise for that.”

He bows his head. In his eyes, no matter how shallow, is a layer of sincerity. The Emperor, a God, does not need to bow to anyone, not even other Gods, never mind a human girl. Yet he, of all people, saw it fit to.

“This Emperor’s words have weight, but no more weight than the word of the Imperial Court. In fact, this Emperor’s word is worth slightly less than the Ura Lega and Sra Mura when they go against this Emperor as one. And they have decided that the boot is not to leave your heads. They believe we are fated to stay here. They are weak. A shame the Phoenix saw it fit to limit this Emperor’s Mantle. But no matter.”

Where is he going with this?

“Part of the reason they dare go against this Emperor is because my only possible heirs are either dead,” he looks me right in the eyes. “Or ‘worthless cripples.’”

Don’t smile, you did this to me, don’t forget! I want to say that aloud, but the mere idea of speaking out sends shivers down my spine. To think I was such a coward… to think I hadn’t changed since that day.

“But what if, say, not only was this Emperor’s son to be a talented cultivator, a perfect heir, but also has a spouse from the esteemed Vaia Clan?”

“Why should I care about what benefits you and that man-whore!?”

Hey…

“Because what benefits this Emperor and his son most definitely benefits you.”

“What do you mean by that?” Her voice drops from shrill to inquiring.

“Sra Mura and Ura Lega want to see the humans gone in the coming years. Calin would accept a few, but the rest? Off to the mines or the Whitelands with them. They’d surely die, and if they didn’t die, then they would surely suffer for generations to come. Of course, such a thing is only… likely. But such a prospect becomes much less so if you marry this Emperor’s son.”

I don’t understand what he’s saying. Is he saying…?

“You mean to say we shall be turned into slaves?”

“Indeed,” he speaks with such certainty, as if he already foresees it. “Of course, they wouldn’t take it lying down. We would have widespread rebellion on our hands. Not like they would have a chance of winning, but it would add to the list of excuses as to why they should disappear. That one group… the Dragon Flag, was it? They are smart, spreading their roots to cities with high human populations like that. And this Emperor would like to avoid such eventualities. This Emperor considers you humans… highly valuable; you know?”

“Then why did you kill my family…?”

“Ura Lega killed your family,” he then mutters under his breath. “I kept those two alive for good reason, blubbering old fool.”

At his last few words, the pressure in the room spikes ten-fold, suffocating even the likes of Cira’xx under its severity. Blood stops in my arteries and begins to boil, the cold sweat varnishing my skin disappearing as wisps of vapour. But it quickly goes back to how it was before, maybe even slightly less intense.

“Why even… why even bother?” Anne asks, despondent.

“With taking back our prized native land? The land of our Great Ancestors, the land of the Divine Ancestral Phoenix? Well, this Emperor can say it is for those reasons, however, he does not much care for any of that nonsense. This Emperor believes his predecessor’s desires hold much less weight than the duties of the present, as well as of the future. No, all that nonsense about the homeland and our ancestors matter little compared to our current state. This world is a brutal one. Those who stagnate, those who stop growing, those who trip and stumble on the way to Heaven. They get left behind to rot and die. Us, the Imperial Clan, if we stay in this backwater with Demons constantly on our doorstep, with few resources and treasures, we shall get left behind like the millions, perhaps billions before us, as well as like those millions and billions who may come after us. To our continued survival, there is nothing more important than taking back our homeland for the simple reason that it creates stronger men than here. You should know this, as one who hails from those who so foolishly stumbled.”

Spoken like someone who has power and will do anything to keep it. That doesn’t mean he’s wrong as much as it pains me to say it. This world is brutal. Everyday, men are killed, wives and daughters raped and sold and slaughtered like cattle, all for committing that terrible sin called weakness. Those who dare to be weak in a world like this cannot be called courageous.

Only complete fools would stay weak in a world where that means death or worse. That is why I’ve made the decision to become strong.

“All you need to know is that if you marry my son, you humans will have your freedom back. In mere years, this Emperor can promise you that. You Vaia are useful to have around. Oh, this Emperor almost forgot! Your Bestowment, would you mind granting this Emperor’s unworthy son with such a gift? Unless you already have? I must say, how fortunate you met before this Emperor had to get involved! Then this Emperor would have sent you two to this backwater for nothing!”

Gods, he goes on and on doesn’t he. Does he ever shut up? Hearing his voice alone is enough to make me want to vomit blood again.

“And you, son. How do you feel about it? Is she not to your liking?”

“I would rather suffer 99 days of Nerve Withering and die than conform to your will, you old bast—”

“Jack!” I’m interrupted by an anguished cry, and I crane my head to see a snivelling Anne. “Please… I won’t ask anything of you ever again, just please… just this once. I beg of you.”

Pride and superiority. That is what is expected of a cultivator, one striving for power beyond even the Heavens. Very rarely are they supposed to lower themselves to beg for anything. Not even their life. However, looking into her sorrowful eyes, I understand. Begging for the lives of others is honourable, even if you are reduced to a crying mess.

Nothing irks me more than the idea of playing a role in one of the Dog Emperor’s plans, the utter vexation the idea becoming a reality causes me makes my body grow numb and rigid. But it seems we both have been in the palm of his hands since we arrived at Peya Vaan.

We’ve practically no choice whatsoever in the matter. We either marry, or a genocide will be on our hands. Out of those two options, the right one is clear to see.

“Okay… okay fine, I’ll do it.”

“Thank you… thank you and… I’m sorry.”

There’s nothing to be sorry for.

“Now, unfortunately this Emperor’s son is weak. This Emperor would ask you to train him. Train him… to a level where he will be useful during the upcoming raid on the Dragon Flag’s Branch in Peya Vaan. This Emperor assumes that is fine, Patriarch Cira’xx.”

“Of course, your Imperial Majesty, of course! This lowly one is grateful!”

“Why don’t you take care of them yourself, lazy prick!”

My natural instinct overcomes me, and I end up calling him a ‘lazy prick’, I’m just about ready to piss myself. I should get rid of my tongue. Luckily, he shows no sign of being offended, or even slightly bothered.

“Oh? And why would this Emperor get rid of such perfect whetstones? Good metal is tempered in the hottest of flames, and what better flame than the fire of active combat?”

I already get trained well enough; I don’t need anything more. Especially training from the geriatric bastard who has probably never seen real life-or-death combat in his life.

Dra’xx is plenty enough for me thanks.

“As it happens, this Emperor has other things to take care of. Anne Vaia is to leave with this Emperor’s son and live in the Cal Mira Manor’s quarters. Congratulations, by the way, to the newly engaged.”

As quickly as he arrived, he left, in a flash of blinding light.

…

What the fuck just happened...?