The emperor had chosen to abdicate the throne in his old age, and the city was in an uproar of activity. The last two weeks had been a non stop festival, with strangers coming and going all the time. And today was the day he passed the title on publicly, a massive crowd gathered to witness the event.

At the old Emperor’s side stood four elite warriors, his royal guard. Among them was the recently graduated Jin Chun, his high grades and impressive skills making him a sure choice for the empty slot that had appeared at the retirement of the last captain.

He wore the uniform of the royal guard, but no longer carried a sword. Despite this, his imposing stature hadn’t diminished a bit. He followed along behind the other guards and Emperor down the stairs from the palace. A crowd had gathered on both sides of the street as they made their way to the plaza. 

The prince had arrived already, and waited for them as they walked to the plaza. The ceremony commenced, and everything went smoothly for a time. As the emperor went to place the crown on his son’s head, tragedy struck.

Like a bolt of lightning, The first three of the royal guard were decapitated, their lifeless bodies falling to the ground. The crowd of civilians screamed and scattered as soon as they noticed what had happened. Jin Chun stood in the back, and he managed to dodge out of the way of a blade aimed for his neck.

“Show yourself, you criminal!” He roared, a phantom blade appearing in his hand. An evolution of his inherited ability, Freezing End. Combining it with his Shimmering Sword Dance, he was able to create a nearly invincible blade of ice, and had surpassed the need to carry a heavy metal blade.

“The great Jin Chun, son of two heroes… star student of the academy.” A female voice chuckled beside him. He leapt away, his instincts taking over and removing him from danger.

A girl his age, with light brown hair in a short high style ponytail, clapped. Her golden armor glittered in the sun as she slowly moved towards the young swordsman. Jin Chun didn’t recognize the woman before her, but her aura was thick and menacing. 

“Who are you?” Jin positioned himself between her and the elderly Emperor. The young, new Emperor had fled already, escaping with the crowd. 

“Meixian, the daughter of the king of the Immortal Black Dragon Emperor.” she replied, circling around Jin and the emperor.

“And who the hell is that? I’ve never heard anyone with such a title!”

“And it wouldn’t matter if you had, since today is the day you and this disgusting empire will die~” The girl rushed in, her sword slamming against Jin’s ice blade. 

“Not a chance! You think you can beat the great Jin Chun?!” he pushed her back, his chi welling up in his body. “I’ll show you the power of the strongest heroes! My three Skills, together as one… Trinity Drive!”

His body was coated in an ice like armor, a ring of blades floated behind him, and his veins popped and pulsated with red energy. His three different Skills, used in combination, created an entirely new ability. He flew towards the attacking woman, carried through the air by an ice storm. His blades danced wildly in a flurry, but unlike in the past, every one of them was real.

The girl deflected every blade, evaded the hail of ice shards, she parried his abilities perfectly, without using any Skill of her own.

“I’ll admit, you’re pretty good… for a woman.” Jin smirked, taking a step back and creating several more blades behind him. “But I’m afraid I’ll have to get serious now.”

The girl yawned, covering her mouth with one hand and resting her sword on her shoulder with the other. In the midday sun, with that lull of combat, Jin was able to get a good look at the sword she held. On it’s side was inscribed the name of the blade.

“T-The Marine Dragon Empress?!” he exclaimed in shock, recognizing the legendary sword. “So you were behind it’s theft two years ago…”

“Not me, but my father, yes. Anyway, if you can’t step up your offense I’m gonna just kill you, this is bo~ring~”

“Y-You insolent fool, if you wish for death so much… I’ll be glad to grant it to you!” The crowning stage below them cracked against the force of his charge, his chi exploding behind him to propel him faster than he could run. 

As he swung his sword, the girl held her blade in front of her, catching his attack and neutralized it easily. Her lips curled into a wicked smile, and she laughed.

“Recording… complete.”

“..?!”

Jin was blown back by an explosion of ice and snow, barely staying on his feet as the frigid winds slammed into him. 

“T-That Skill… impossible!” The Emperor gasped.

“Full Drive, Freezing End… and Shimmering Sword… is this really all it takes to be the top warrior of the capitol? I expected better… Father really didn’t need to hold me back for so many years if this is the best they can do!”

“No way… she has the Platinum Knight’s Skill?” Jin looked noticeably shaken by this revelation, but he was a trained hero… he couldn’t back down from her now.

“Don’t mention that hag to me! That bitch… I’ll tear her guts out and feed them to her for what she’s done to my father and I!” An intense rage flowed out of Meixian, her face contorted and deranged. 

Her aura exploded, shattering the ground at her feet. In that moment she looked just like the Platinum Knight Xuan Yan, and her aura carried the same unbeatable menace to it.

“Trinity Drive… Over Boost!” Jin screamed, his power intensifying. A last ditch effort, he went beyond the limits of his flesh. Even if he survived, it would likely cause lasting damage. 

He charged in, nearly a hundred swords following behind him. They flew like a rain of arrows towards the swordswoman, but she passed through each one like it wasn’t even there, the blades phasing through her body. 

The stolen sword, the legendary royal arm known as the Marine Dragon Empress, pierced through Jin Chun’s chest, easily sliding through his body and out his back. The swordsman spat out blood, clutching at the blade in his body, and then he went still.

She slid the sword out of her slain foe, kicking his lifeless body to the ground. She wiped a splash of blood off her face with the back of her hand and turned to face the sound of footsteps running towards her.

“You finally made it to the party… Yi Zen!”

---

The warrior party of myself, the one and only Yi Zen, my best friend Lei, and the bickering trio of ladies behind us, finally arrived in the capitol after about two and a half weeks. We chose to take the main roads this time, as it was much faster, and there was less reason for us to hide.

The amount of traffic as we arrived was staggering, but we quickly learned it was due to the coronation ceremony for the next Emperor. Word of that change hadn’t made it to the remote mountains yet, and likely wouldn’t until it was all over with.

“Zen~”

Crashing through the crowd of people, my mother slammed into me like a cannonball, but her intense hug didn’t hurt me as much as I expected, was it because of my training? It had to be, with my increased strength, the difference in our power was far less, so she no longer overpowered me. 

“Oh my gosh, look how big you’ve grown…” She started to tear up a little bit. “My boy’s become a man!”

“He sure has~” Tatsuko flashes a smug look at Xinyi, making a misleading and inappropriate comment.

My mother looked at the new girl who we hadn’t left with, a hard to read expression on her face.

“Zen… who is this?” she asked, separating from her hug. “What… what does she mean by that?”

“T-This is one of the students at grandfather’s school, a warrior from the east, Sonoda Tatsuko.” I quickly try to smooth things over, but Tatsuko seemed to want to make things worse.

“Zen’s too embarrassed to say it to his mom, I see how it is.” she smiled at me. “I guess most men wouldn’t want to talk to their mothers about their first time either.”

“F-First time?!” Xinyi, Bai Cai, and my mother shouted in unison. I could feel trouble brewing between them, what exactly was here plan here.

“S-Stop it Tatsuko, you’re making a misunderstanding here… we only kissed.”

“I’ll send this harlet to the underworld…” My mother’s eyes burned with an intense fire, her sheer rage palpable. 

A brawl would likely have broken out between them, but a guard ran up behind us and addressed my mother. 

“Lady Xuan Yan! T-There’s been an attack on the emperor, please hurry!” the young guard nervously explained the situation. 

Without needing to think twice, we all rushed through the crowds of people, slipping past the masses we quickly arrived on the scene. But not quick enough, as when the assassin was in sight so was Jin Chun, impaled on her outstretched blade.

“Dammit Jin… we never had our rematch.” I solemnly drew my blade and stepped towards the female assassin. She looked over to me, a crazed look in her eyes.

“You finally made it to the party… Yi Zen!” she smiled, her canine teeth looking like the fangs of a wild beast, more than a human. Her hair was tied in a loose, wild ponytail. I couldn’t help but feel there was something familiar about her, I recognized the features of her face, but only slightly.

At my side, my mother gasped. I wasn’t sure what could possibly shock her, but she was visibly shaken.

“So, it was you who stole the Marine Dragon, who was behind all of this…” Yan gripped the pendant around her neck tightly in her hand. “What have you done, my love?”

“Who the hell are you? Name yourself!” I shouted at the assassin. “Since you already know my name, it’s only fair!”

“My name... “ she slowly walked down the steps from the stage, her hips swaying elegantly under her golden armor. “Is Li Meixian… daughter of the Immortal Black Dragon Emperor...”

“Li..?” I took a step back, glancing over at my still shaken mother. 

“D-Don’t do it… please don’t say it!” she begged the assassin, tears in her eyes. “Don’t force me to accept this reality!”

“I have arrived to claim the blade that rightfully belongs to my father, and to take the lives of the betrayer Xuan Yan and her son… on my father’s orders. Now, will you hand over the sword and surrender your live peacefully, or do you want to drag things out?”

“Who the hell do you think you are anyways? To demand this blade from me, you have no claim to it, it is my father’s sword!” 

“That’s right, and he would like it back.” she smirked, pointing her sword towards me. The brilliantly shining blade could be none only than the Marine Dragon Empress, the sister blade to my father’s. “The Immortal Black Dragon Emperor... Yi Gon, our father wants it back.”

“W-What… are you saying… what the hell does she mean, mom?!” I looked over at my mother, but she was too terrified to speak, an unheard of reaction from the strongest swordswoman.

The girl in golden armor laughed, practically doubling over where she stood. 

“You really don’t know anything, do you?” she smiled, but there was no kindness in her face. “You’ve lived your whole life in the dark, haven’t you? Did whatever she told you, didn’t question anything... did you really think the second strongest hero in the country died in some backwater village, fighting a stray monster?”

“That’s the story I’ve been told my entire life, yes. What bullshit are you gonna spout as the truth now?” 

“That our mother betrayed him, left him for dead… and when he returned, it took everything in his power to escape alive… with me.” she growled, slashing her sword wildly through the air. “Hiding in the shadows, rebuilding his strength… now, we can finally enact our vengeance!”

She rushed at me, her sword bashing against mine with a brutal swing. Her strength was for real, her menacing aura was well deserved. 

“Pay for your mother’s crimes and die for me, little brother!”