Chapter 1 – Proofread by FireFistasce

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Men wrapped in the guise of demons had breached the palace's gates and were now slaughtering their way in without an inkling of mercy. Soul piercing screams echoed in the palace’s every corner as ash-colored smoke rose in the sky. In the inner area of the palace, two parents stood towering above an infant who lay in deep sleep, unknowing about the tragedy currently happening. Tears crawled down from their faces, love radiating from their eyes, as they hurriedly told him about what he needed to know about life.

“Always be kind to women.” the man said. He was handsome and his face gave the impression of being straightforward about everything in life. He had an angular nose, golden irises and brows as sharp as a divine sword. Even his hair was straight and combed, golden as the sun. “If there’s a girl you like, don’t hesitate! Women us men brave!"

“Your father is right, but not about everything! You can’t just tell her your intentions directly! You must get to know her first. Know what she likes to eat, to wear and even what she thinks about when she sees the moon crawl out on a crispy night. Only then you can pursue her!” the woman added. Just like the man, her hair was also golden. Her facial features were gentler, and she carried the motherly charm that some women possessed.

She turned to the man. “Just because you succeeded with me once doesn’t mean it’s the best way. You know that I was this close of slapping you.” she gestured with her jade-like hands. “Luckily for you, you were the patriarch’s son, so I didn't dare.”

“Heh– you fell for my charm. That’s all.” the man replied.

“Humph.” the women snorted.

A sudden voice transmission lit up before them. Their faces greatly changed although they knew this would happen eventually. The man looked at his wife with determination. “We need to send him away. Now.”

“I know. I just can’t let go.” the woman said, starting to cry again.

“Me neither, but we must. Or neither our child nor our clan will survive!”

“Can I kiss him one last time?” the woman asked her husband.

“Quickly. We don’t have much time,” he said.

The woman bent over and kissed the infant’s forehead. “I know this won’t be your name in the future, but your father and I still named you. Peace, that’s your name. I hope you can fulfill our dream, to create a world where killing doesn’t exist. Remember, Peace, no one’s completely evil. We are all like a coin, having two sides that are both good and bad. Everyone has faults. Even your father and I have them. What matters is if you can bring out the good qualities of yourself and others. Only then can you begin to change the world. Even the demons that will soon destroy our clan aren’t evil. They have only strayed their path. I know this might be hard to understand, but I believe there will come a time when you will.”

“Zen. I’ve decided. I want his bloodline to be complete.” the woman told her husband.

“Are you out of your mind!? Your soul will disperse! There won’t be any chance of reincarnation!”

“So what?” she said.

“B–but....” her husband tried to refute.

“I know what you mean. And yes, I won’t be able to enter the cycle of reincarnation and be reborn. But so what? I don’t care about a life without you or our child.” she said. “So I want to help Peace as much as I can.”

Zen stayed silent for a while. Then he nodded. “I will watch over the two of you during the transfer.”

“I know this is a lot to ask of you. Having to see your wife…”

“My duty as the patriarch cannot be failed,” Zen said with a smile that was anything but a smile. “I would love to give our son my bloodline power as well, but there has to be someone to send him off and watch the ending of our clan.”

“It’s not the ending, husband. Like a forest after a wildfire, new life will sprout, more tenacious and vigorous than the last.” She said. “The clan will rise once more, and our dream will be, at long last, achieved.”

“How can you be so sure?” Zen asked with doubt. “That path is far from easy to walk. Not even our clan with a history of thousands of years and roots deeper than the current royal family could achieve it.”

“How… you ask?” The woman said quietly. She turned to her son and caressed his cheek. “A mother's intuition, perhaps.”

“Or her blind faith,” Zen replied.

The woman snickered. “Well, this is the least I can give him. Even if he doesn’t become who we hoped he would, he will still be able to protect himself and live a fulfilling life.

“You think it’s that easy?” Zen snorted. “The blood that runs through him… If they find out who his true identity, they will hunt him down an–!”

She frowned as she cut him off. “What are you implying? That we should kill our son so that he will be spared that suffering?”

Zen was silent. He looked at his wife with sadness filling his eyes. “Aurora, I love my son. I really do. But I don’t want to see him alone in this world. I don’t want to know that when we send him away, his life will contain suffering beyond what you and I can foresee. If we let him die painlessly now…”

A slap resounded in the palace hall. Aurora broke out in tears again. “H-how dare you! He’s your own son…”

Zen took his wife’s hand within his own. He also began to cry. “I just… I can’t imagine a good future for him. I just can’t. I’m sorry… please don’t be mad at me.”

“I- I can’t be mad at you… of course I can’t be mad at you. You are my everything. The light in my darkness. You and Peace.” she said. “So promise me something.”

“Anything.” he replied, still holding her hand.

“Defend this place when I leave. Show them the power of our kin, the power of the five-clawed dragon clan.”

Zen nodded and hugged her tightly. “I will. I promise.”

“But remember to not kill.” she continued.” “Let us do as we tell, preach as we dream. Alright?”

Zen was startled. “But… they deserve it!” he stuttered. “Just as we speak, they are slaughtering our friends and family and everyone we care about!”

“So we should slaughter theirs?” she asked.

“Of course we should!”

“No.” she shook her head. “If we do that, we can’t end the current state of the martial world. We need to show mercy. Only then can we learn others to do the same. Do you understand what I mean?”

“No, I don’t!” Zen snorted.

“I know you will do the right thing. You always do.” Aurora chuckled. “I will be leaving before you and I won't forgive you even in death if you fail to send away our son properly.”

“Aurora...”

Aurora smiled and turned to her son, putting her palm over his chest, right above his heart. “Never forget these words I'm about to tell you.” The infant was still soundly sleeping, but she continued nonetheless. “Hatred grows hatred, and mercy grows mercy. Selfishness grows selfishness, and generosity grows generosity, animosity grows animosity, and kindness grows kindness. Always grow what you seek in return. Be merciful, be generous and be kind– and that is what you shall expect and receive from others.”

A golden light suffused from her hand and covered the infant's body in a gentle, golden shine. Countless of small aura butterflies flew out of his body and chattered happily around him. His two parents loved him. The world loved him. The aura butterflies were proof of that; only the most righteous people in the world were surrounded with this natural phenomena, but it was unheard for an infant to be, and so it must be a result of the extremely pure bloodline he possessed.

The woman turned to Zen, her body slowly dissipating and fading away. She moved her lips. Time seemed to come to a standstill. Zen understood the three words she wanted to relay to him. He removed his tears with the sleeve of his white robe, I love you too, Aurora, and nodded with determination as he grabbed a blue-shining stone from under his robe.

“My son, do your best to achieve your mother's dream, okay?” Zen said and took the pendant around his own neck and placed it around the infant's neck. “This is the token of the five-clawed dragon. It means you are the 72nd patriarch of the clan, a force that even the imperial family has to reckon with. So never satisfy for less. Never ever stop striving for the peak. I infused my aura within and made sure it will suppress your bloodline to a certain extent until you reach a level of power where you can protect yourself.”

Zen smiled and injected his aura into the rock, watching the dazzling blue light envelop his son and bring him somewhere else. Seeing that the teleportation was successful, he grabbed the sword from his waist and calmly left the room. Before he could join his wife, he had to properly show the world the true power of the five-clawed dragon clan. He would make sure the world never forgot them before his own flesh and blood son rose to prominence. And after that, he would destroy his own soul and join his wife in the nothingness of dissipation.