At this time of the day, the sun decides to curse the land and spread its flames, burning the crops and its fertile earth. Any method of farming proves useless.

"I thought the heavens would bless us after that wretched empress left."

Mr. Bai leaned over to catch a withered strand of barley. What bought him extreme despair was the dying sound of its crushed life that vanished at his fingers, who traced them affectionately one last time. His eyes were heavy as the bright skies.

What did he do to have such unfortunate fate woven into his life and his family?

"Aiya, my old friend. If this was bestowed upon us because of the ruthless tyrant, then we would have the chance to live a better life." A man in his mid-thirties stood up from the field and ushered around the crippled batch of barley,

"Don't you know? This whole bloodline of hers committed sins and nothing else."

Mr. Bai spat and exhaled, "here I am wondering why the hell I have forgotten the great deeds of the former king."

Mr. Jin laughed and walked over to the other. - "Now you see my point."

"Yeah, yeah I do."

"Ahh...just forget them. Come on, come on. We still have some crops who are hanging onto their sorry lives."

"I'm afraid I'll see their deaths before noon though."

 

"Five thousand fields of barley, two thousand acres of vegetables, fruits, and dry herbs...we've lost them all."

Yan Bojin, the Minister of Agriculture read on about the list of losses that surrendered to the famine. He could not do anything but give burden to his soul feeling restless. There was no sleep, no appetite for he knew very well that his people were famishing. Children were crying out of sheer hunger and women were wrestling with labor they weren't made to handle. All these and the so-called guardian had set off to find traces of a ridiculous myth!

"Above all, Goue ryk stores wheat for their own benefit and does not accept foreign exchange anymore."

SLAM!

"What's the point of bringing these lists? What can I do?!" His angry voice echoed through the large department as he breathed furiously.

Shen Mingshen his heartfelt companion sat beside him, sipping on freshly brewed jasmine tea peacefully indifferent to the raging conflict storming at his internal core. By now, he was getting painfully used to being labeled as a failure in front of the common people.

"The farmers are angry to the point they refuse to see any kind of imperial officer my lord." The messenger stated. " Soon we will face a revolt and the granaries of the nobles will rise in flames."

"Of course, I know the risk that is coming at us." Yan Bojin growled in frustration. "But what in the world can I do when the empress is not here?!"

"Brother Yan." Shen Mingshen rested his cup and looked at his friend. He smiled gently and placed a hand on the stiff shoulder.

"Take it easy." His voice filled with ease, "The situation is indeed full of danger but I'm sure we will find a solution if we look harder."

"Our times are laced with misfortune one after the other, but what we must not forget is the fact that in the absence of the empress...greater things could be done."

 

 

The entire plains were suffering through various issues but the famine in Yulong and the slight hints of an upcoming drought were foreseen to cause hell among the civilians. Of course, each and every living person in Yulong will despise the palace, especially the empress. She was absent at the calls of her own people who yearned for help and a solution. This kind of ruling, they must be used to it but doesn't one wonder why they deserved such punishment in their lives and their children and their children's children?

From this natural cause - nobles, businessmen, pirates, sailors, fishermen, shopkeepers, innkeepers, ministers, musicians, courtesans, and soldiers have been crushed to their worst as their expressions grow in anger. Maeve along with her companions too, felt as if they were crumbling like cracked dried mud under the acidic rays of the sun.

"Shit!" Draugur hissed as he dunked himself with another pail of warm water which was cold a little while ago. His back was festered with rashes from the heat and it itched causing him immense discomfort.

"Go easy on the bubbles." Lu Ting grumbled. She carried a bowl of steaming noodles infused in water and salt.

These days...having such food is a luxury. The imperial kitchen had lost many men as a result of the lack of raw materials and wheat. Now the soldiers had to prepare their own supper as they weren't privileged like the higher-ups who had servants to tend to those needs.

"I swear to heavens Lu Qingling, if I see one speck of that nasty shit, I will personally send you to hell," Maeve growled and moved away from the sickly scented bowl of food.

The other did not care, she shrugged and kept her chapped lips on the rim of the wooden bowl to sip in a mouthful.

"It's better than the rubbish that the green-eyes make."

Diakos stopped munching on his bread and threw a piece at the chuckling girl.

"Shut your hole!" He grumped.

"Kids." Maeve leaned over and grabbed the piece of bread that lay on the dusty ground. Patted it gently and plopped it in her mouth. It tasted like tree sap and yes, she had tried them once in patrol. The sticking sensation was better than the noodles, to be honest. She would rather chew on tree sap until death.

"Just wait until Draugur tends to his wounds, he'll make something edible." She swallowed the food without hesitance as she was used to the gruesome food they had in the East wing.

Maeve did not know how the other battalions were living up with the famine but as she had been a part of the east, her eyes had seen more and enough of young warriors suffering for nothing as they served a hopeless, irresponsible tyrant. What kind of joke could the heavens make choosing such an incompetent soul to rule over an entire plain filled with millions of dying people? And the gods have the guts to give a name to their doom- Chosen heir of the Jade Emperor?

The young soldier did not know about such rubbish.

The day goes on in an agonizing loop. Each hour is laced with trials greater than the former. The soldiers both men and women have toughened up not because of the training but also because they were chained to live in a barren desert where the shade of the mountains was at a reach but never close enough to soothe.

Rarely do they see transparent wisps of clouds float across, at those times the water is cooler and the usually awful food tastes better. But ever since last month, the skies never showed a hint of those clouds. The beaten-up soldiers wished for nothing but better water, weather, and food.

No riches, no prestige.

Just a better life than this...

Draugur returned, and soon the three had a bowl of red curry and boiled bamboo shoots each. The man had a stock of red chilies sold in his hometown and his hometown only. Every month they are given a supply in secret from the time his father had got to know about the famine in Yulong.

"Here." Maeve grinned and stretched the bowl at Diakos who was born with a big appetite.

Standing half the height of Draugur, Diakos could wrestle men with such vigor it amazed Maeve as he was just a playful kid with no sense of general knowledge. In a state of confusion, this boy had managed to survive through harder battles along with the others who were elder than him but still lead a life filled with simplistic action-driven purpose.

The youth was taken away from his defeated kingdom and was enslaved. First, he was sold to a rich family in Goue ryk there, his master had seen great potential in him and had enrolled him to practice their traditional martial arts. Soon the house died in the hands of the empress' frequent attacks and he had to crawl into Yulong. There he joined the military at the age of fifteen.

But his real origin was far away. It was a colder plain, more hostile towards the outer world.

"It's alright." Maeve shook her head and ushered, "I'm done with it and don't want to waste it."

Diakos sighed and grabbed the bowl. With a quick motion, he poured half of it into Lu Ting's bowl and drank the remaining in one gulp.

"You know..." Draugur spoke, "if nobody is doing anything to free us from this hellhole." He leaned forward eyes dry as thick infertile ground.

"Why don't we find a solution ourselves?"

Maeve titled her head. – "Like?"

"I don't know," the other answered. " Maybe we can-"

"Kill the useless empress?"

"She has to be here for us to kill, but no."

Draugur understood the deep hatred Maeve had towards the tyrant. He could never imagine life without his loved ones who once lived but burned into flames at the very edge of sight. Unable to save their lives...a feeling of hopeless defeat ripping at one's heart within every second she is reminded of it.

"There's a river a few miles away from the city." Lu Ting confessed. "I heard it when I was passing by the General's office."

...

She did not know but her utterance was of sudden importance, she grabbed everybody by their necks as they gave attention to her next choice of words.

"The river is filled with some kind of black matter which keeps it going even when the others are drained."

Diakos raised a brow, "some kind of plant?"

"Could be." Lu Ting nodded.

"We'll visit the forest tomorrow?" head filled with numerous possibilities, Maeve looked at her friends for support and to her surprise, they all agreed.

The famine took lives faster than death could. An end of intolerable pain was in store for them, the people, children, and women of Yulong. They have waited for the empress to return in a hurry at the news of her dying kingdom, they watched as the higher-ups give into the famine. Now it was time for the poor and weak to try something for if it is in their fate to die during this drought, then they must die of respect and of trying their best to survive.

 

 

 

The times when the primordial spirits dwelled among the people were now corroded legends. The stories of their heroic deeds were merely passed down by word, not by scrolls nor was it proved to be true. A tale old as the first gods of heaven, Wang Huan had come across this after such hardships...it felt like a dream, walking up to the path of success, Infinite power, and glory.

"Your majesty," Chen Li Qian looked ahead, his eyes catching a cluster of vicious jagged ranges. "The creature you have been searching for..."

Her eyes closed, not bothered to open commanded. "What about it?"

Gu Chao Xing kept quiet for he knew the gravity of this journey that was consisted of a single path. As far as he remembered, this was an abyss of no return. Death is inevitable.

Meeting the creature himself? He would rather die by his own will.

"Is there any proof about its existence? It is said that it was one of the oldest primordial spirits who lived during early ages."

Wang Huan finally focused her eyes on the ring of dark mountains filled with mist and grey clouds up ahead.

"Whatever you are searching for, you will find it as long as you know where to look."

Her dim expression mixed well with the dry eyes. She was exhausted and wanted to travel no more but the haunting words of her wretched past pierced her back, prodding her vulnerability, urging her to walk forward despite any circumstances.

"Millions of years ago, Axar battled an unknown primordial god and fell down in defeat. His refuge was those mountains. It was where he dwelled until the day came for him to return and capture the power he lost to a mere god." Wang Huan replied to the flaming question her general had.

They were nearing the ring of mountains, ones with disfigured cliffs and colossal overcast consuming a larger view of it. It was as if the sky had cast a dark shadow upon it. When the surrounding was bright and usual, those mountains were growling with slight thunder and murky mist. Step by step, it grew larger in sight, more terrifying and at times... appeared to breathe.

When the supreme god crumbled, both flames and piercing shards of frost rose against the wind amidst lightening and ear-bleeding thunder. Hence, the name of these ranges – Shuang Yan. It was the furthest corner of the west. Out of human reach and out of nature's control. Simply this was a place non should even think of trespassing.

Wang Huan stopped at the narrow pathway snaking up to her ultimate destination, suddenly the entire surroundings dimmed. She raised her sight and saw the heavy clouds thicken. It was foreshadowing extreme violence; they were showing their displeasure.

Drip...

Splatter!

One by one, Wang Huan felt fat droplets of rain fall on her mask creating loud splats. First a light drizzle and then a hailstorm of painful rain. Now they were caught up in a gradual rainstorm as they witnessed the mountains grow darker in mist and let out a slight groan. They did not want to welcome the chosen one of the Jade Emperor.

Drenched and uncertain of the things ahead, all the horses whined and refused to walk forward. Wang Huan growled and yanked at her horse furiously. Thunder roared at the same instance; a bright zip of lightning blasted the nearby tree.

It was one of the few.

The beginning of an eldritch journey.

"Your majesty!"

Between the howling blizzard, Gu Chao Xing moved away from the lightning. He could not see, no one could see. The storm grew louder and bellowed at the entire group of soldiers and generals who fell down and was blown away. Battle flags ripped into loud pieces, and horses ran wild in absolute alarm, trampling the men and ripping bushes apart.

In the middle of the painful screeches of her horse and the daggering storm hammering down at her head, Wang Huan looked up to see no mountain but a dense cluster of clouds illuminated by the thunder from time to time. At one instance, her eyes narrowed into a sharp sense of dread, for her entire being felt a chill run down her spine.

In those rays of defeating blasts... she saw the shadow of a twisted creature under the wailing crackle.

Tall as the ends of the sky, she saw a set of curved vicious horns in the shadow. Four on each side...or more. Its body appeared to be wearing a ragged armor of some sort for her senses caught the highlighted shoulder blades embedded with a fearful shape of a barbaric silhouette looming over them atop the mountains. On one hand, it seemed to be holding a cruel rapier that could sweep the entire world within one stroke. Everything was so delicately seen yet entirely horrifying for it was merely the shadow of whoever dwelled in those mountains. But what concerned the empress was the instant terror she felt at the first glance of the creature's shadow itself.

Her body was forced to surrender for the first time in her life.

Deep within she wanted to abandon everything despite the contribution and run away from this place. Along with the screaming storm that increased by the minute, her legs shook and her hands flinched. There was no space for choices, nor did she feel any regret in escaping. For she knew very well what her heart wanted. And at some point, in anyone's life, there comes a day when the heart defeats the mind.

So, she did what her body urged,

"YOUR MAJESTY!" Chen Li Qian fell off his horse and crawled onto his feet. Between the blinding attacks, he saw the red figure dissipate as it dashed towards the humongous body of darkness.

He was sure he saw the fading silhouette of a large creature.

Dead trees, their branches crawling on the roadsides with hissing movements synchronized against the hailstorm, tried to wrap around Wang Huan's horse as she urged at its rear to move faster...run into the stranger land without hesitation.

The world was blue yet dark and dim that day. A small child barely at the age of understanding, walked along a blood-scratched corridor under a red roof. The sun shone brighter on the other side. She longed to watch it set. Behind the chained doors, finally free from her prison...she yearned to let go of the shard of glass dripping with fresh blood and walk outside without the dragging shackles pierced onto her knuckles.

Wang Huan felt herself rushing at the mountains that seemed to feel her presence and were roaring in rage. They did not want her here. The narrow path was to end, she saw the dreadful end of a cliff.

The doors opened.

Although the view of the other side was covered in thick fog, her conscious knew very well that this was the greatest leap she should take in order to live.

She stood at the entrance, hundreds of dead bodies behind her. One's with lost limbs, ripped throats, sliced faces, and disfigured guts. A thousand had fallen on her right, she had ended many lives on her way to the gates but the pair of serene amber pupils did not waver even at the dried patches of blood strewn at her face.

A leap for freedom.

A leap consisted of every trial she had passed through.

"HA!"

Amidst the painful splatter, at the crack of horrendous thunder clustered with ear-deafening lightening, the empress hurled herself and her horse over the cliff.

Standing at the brim of freedom, the little child gazed at the vision in front of her. Large buildings encased by the azure skies burning bright red as if the heavens shone upon them day and night. Such splendor...she was desperate to feel and relish.

Alas! The horse fell with a final screech. Wang Huan screamed and held onto a sharp edge from the other side.

What seemed successful shattered and her palm ripped at the rough surface of the rock.

STRIKE!

Unnoticed, His shadow loomed over her, and crossed the majestic view, pushed her into the blood-bathed mansion, and shut the doors lock once again.

Almost magnificent to the eye, in such hectic hail. A set of lightning struck at her back, she lost her grip and fell down to the narrowing abyss of empty darkness thorned with dangers unraveled.

At the wheezing winds, her mask flew off.

All that was seen in her eyes were fear and the withering hope that she once held dear.

On that day, her throat retched blood from screaming. Strong wings that grew out of her bating breath, were ripped off of their roots.