Chapter Text
45 Years Ago
Sitting alone in his throne room, a man waits.
The doors are thrown open and soldiers dressed in dark robes and armour come running in. They point their weapons at him, but he does not falter. He watches as another man in a dark kimono approaches.
“Emperor Kōrei,” he drawls. “I see that even in the face of death, you do not waver. Does it not pain you that the royal line ends here?“
“My life may end here, but the royal line does not. All of my children were forced to vacate the palace the moment I heard of the Empress and Consorts’ assassinations. The line will live on in my children.” The Emperor then looks into the eyes of the man before him. “It will live on in you, Ōkibi.”
“Do not call me by that name,” the man snarls, taking the Emperor by the throat, pinning him to the ground. “I am not him. I am a man that has found power far beyond yours.”
“You are powerful indeed,” the Emperor wheezes. “But not immortal, and certainly not infallible.”
“I will find a way,” the man sneers, squeezing just a bit tighter.
“You will not,” the Emperor disagrees, gaze unmoving. “The power of demons will fail you one day. There will be someone more powerful and you will fall.”
“Enough of this,” the man snarls. “I will give you the mercy of saying one last thing to me, Emperor Kōrei. Speak wisely.”
“I’m glad I got to see you, brother.”
That night the palace burns to the ground. The embers of the dying fire float up as if trying to join the stars.
The unseeing eyes of the Emperor watch as the night sky fades into the warm colours of the morning before they are plucked out of his severed head by ravenous birds.