Zǎo wanted to die.

  That’s how much pain she was in.

  She and her sisters had been tied and hoisted onto a device and then hung, leaving their naked bodies vulnerable and allowing their diligent administrator to cast [Frost Wall] onto their bruised and beaten bodies.

  They had spent the past week relentlessly training and studying only to be then tortured.

  Zǎo was starting to suspect they weren’t being trained just to wander the lands and collect knowledge.

  She suspected that Haki wanted a special unit to gather information for him while ensuring they wouldn’t be broken if they were ever captured.

  Zǎo didn’t know why but she felt betrayed.

  Why didn’t Haki just say that he wanted a team of spies or assassins?

  Because all she felt was resentment; the very thing he spoke about trying to avoid.

  She wanted to cry but had run out of tears on the second day, the same day when the Kudamen, who had up until then performed well, started to break.

  Now they joined their sisters in dryly weeping as their bodies were frozen.

  Keeping them from dying was the periodic healing that Herald administered.

  Zǎo raised her blackened eyes to him as he sat on a small chair in front of them, his warmly clothed form was clear to see in the room which was brightly lit by several [Orb of Light] spells.

  She searched his eyes; looking for any kind of pity and maybe even remorse but she found nothing.

  Now that she had confirmed that Herald was human, she wondered what it was that broke him.

  What had Haki done or shown him that made him so detached from life and the living?

  During their study sessions, Herald told them to listen to the unspoken and see the hidden.

  She had spent the past couple of days trying to figure out what his words truly meant but couldn’t think properly through the pain-

  “This…” One of the Kudamen, Janda, wheezed.

  “This was his vision from the beginning.” She muttered and this managed to get a reaction from Herald, who’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

  “He… spoke of knowledge and we, in our na?veté and ignorance, ignoring that we were at war, didn’t think of what kind of knowledge he was after. Why… would he invest so deeply, assigning his left hand to some scholars… unless this… our undoing… was part of his vision from the beginning? So that we may hear what he didn’t say… and see what he hasn’t shown.”

  Her words reverberated through Zǎo’s heart and her swollen eyes widened a little.

  A moment passed.

  Then Herald stood, dispelling the ice that bound the sisters before cutting them free.

  Their bodies hit the cold, wet floor but Herald spared them not a comforting word.

  “While Lord Haki never meant to outright deceive you, it was a moment of learning that not all the knowledge you find will be useful. Some of it will even be harmful and so you will need to quickly learn how to recognize what is and isn’t worth knowing or remembering. You may return to your room and rest for the day. I’ll bring food later.” Herald said before leaving.

  Zǎo then felt fresh tears welling in her eyes as one of her sisters, cast [Healing Touch] on the group of five.

  Janda and her fellow Kudamen, Toto, were the first to crawl onto their hooves and they gently helped their sisters up.

  The five silently left the room that was aptly called the Ice Box before making their way to the small communal bathhouse where they cleaned off the dirt and dried blood that stuck to their skin.

  After drying themselves off and changing into their uniform plain beige pyjamas, they made their way to their shared bedroom where they sat in the unfurnished wooden space.

  They sat wordlessly in a silence that made one feel as though they had gone deaf, especially if no one moved.

  Zǎo found her eyes drifting listlessly in their sockets as the minutes passed by.

  She said nothing because she knew exactly what her sisters were feeling.

  The echoes of pain.

  Healing magic could remove the scars of the flesh but nothing could be done about the damage that had been done to the mind.

  Their screams were an endless chorus that rang in their minds.

  However… in this moment after experiencing more pain than ever before, Zǎo found clarity.

  What Haki was doing was natural.

  The Emperor’s seat was vacant and he wanted to take it.

  This was a conquest and the people of Qaya were in the way.

  Zǎo glanced at her sisters and saw that they had reached a similar conclusion.

  One of acceptance.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  They were being moulded into hidden blades for his sake and the sake of his vision.

  Zǎo wondered what she was even fighting for.

  The people?

  They would be much happier if they willingly gave themselves to him.

  Those Haki had taken in were living peacefully in the complex where they lived, worked and even laughed.

  Three thousand of the five thousand had joined Haki’s army while those who remained became farmers and occupied various other domestic jobs.

  But hunger had become a thing they were steadily forgetting.

  Every resident in Massacre was given two meals a day with Zǎo’s group and other special armed units being an exception since they needed to learn how to adapt to extended periods of physical exertion and hunger.

  But Zǎo didn’t mind.

  Not anymore.

  If anything, she was looking forward to helping others come to Massacre so that they could all live together.

  .

  ..

  Haki hadn’t really thought about it before but Maranam was really beautiful.

  Her long black hair flowed like the ink in every word of a passionate letter. Her skin was pale and cold but her touch was always gentle, always soft and even her eyes, the eyes of Death herself promised, in their aching abyss, the sweetest of rest.

  Haki lamented the fact that she was asleep.

  He wanted to tell her all he had planned to do.

  All they could achieve together.

  He gazed wistfully at her face as she lay on her side, her arms crossed beneath her head.

  She was his saviour and his chosen companion.

  One he was most grateful for after a life of loneliness.

  He crawled out of bed and emerged from the veil, idly making his way to the grand table where he strategized his conquest.

  He eyed the map of Qaya.

  The first battle was a complete success because it allowed him to gauge the strength of his forces.

  One Kudamen was worth at least five human soldiers with the undead Kudamen being worth three. The undead knights were worth about three as well and the Dragon Warriors were worth at least a hundred.

  The enemy may have had fifty thousand troops at the time but it had been so long since war scarred the Empire of Mahali that most of them couldn’t even begin to imagine what a proper battle looked like.

  This made inflicting mass amounts of fear relatively easy.

  After butchering the scouts that had been sent into the Forest of Briars, Haki had then dragon warriors launch their butchered pieces onto southern Qaya which significantly lowered the enemy’s morale.

  What followed was simply a wave of violence that was washed over all who resisted.

  Helping him plan the conquest were Herald who was the head strategist, Dhreen who was in charge of the Kudamen Corps and the Crescent King who was in charge of logistics.

  The Moon Beetles were instrumental in getting supplies to the front lines, helped with logging activities in the forest and were going to be a useful mode of transport once Haki’s reach expanded since they didn’t get tired and could eat the meat of their dead among many other things.

  Haki’s eyes flicked ahead as the pale light of the rising sun washed into his chamber.

  What followed was the arrival of Herald who carried Haki’s swords in special sheaths on his back.

  “Good morning, my Lord.” He bowed as Haki approached.

  “Good morning, Herald. How goes your little project?” The two stepped out of the chamber and into the cold and quiet streets of Massacre, making their way north as they conversed.

  “They finally figured out their purpose and while they are still frightened and confused, I will educate them on all they need to know to fulfil their roles.”

  “Good. I’m trying to pierce the sun after all. If my strike has to come from behind, then so be it.”

  The two eventually arrived at Massacre’s northern gate where a host of one thousand Kudamen, five hundred undead Kudamen, one thousand Moon Beetles, two Dragon Warriors and three thousand human soldiers who were now clad in the hardened flesh of the ancients. Armour which proved essential in the previous battle since, even with their strength, the Kudamen were still outnumbered meaning that, on countless occasions, being armoured saved their lives meaning that casualties from the battle were not only low, they were negligible.

  Haki hopped onto one of the Moon Beetles and beheld his army as Herald got onto his own Beetle.

  It was here that Haki regretted not having a crest but that was a problem for another day.

  He turned to the city and waited for one last person to arrive.

  Escorted by his usual pair of Undead Knights, Kutsunga exited the city and begrudgingly got onto a Moon Beetle.

  “Good morning, Father.” Haki warmly greeted only to be answered with half-closed and hateful eyes.

  But that was fine.

  Haki wanted to show him the fate that would soon befall Ardania and so he dramatically pointed to the north.

  “March!”

  .

  ..

  She wore the light of the afternoon sun like a veil and her voice was clear for all to hear as they all sat silently in the Prism.

  Unlike what was custom, she sat on a significantly larger marble pedestal that was placed at the fore of the Prism, on top of a few of the older, smaller ones.

  Her body was draped in silk that was so white it resembled the sun’s light.

  “Acceptance, my brothers and sisters. That is the first, the hardest and ultimately the most important step because your ears may hear the words I utter but does your heart accept them? Will you leave these doors when the sermon is over with a contented heart or will you continue to struggle against the irresistible motions of the Cycle? The former will bring peace and understanding to you, regardless of your circumstances and the latter promises a lifetime of restlessness, regret and confusion. Keep that in mind as you lay your head to rest tonight. That is all.” Cyn dismissed the crowd of five hundred people who all left in a neat single file, waiting until they were outside to speak.

  Fern walked up to Cyn with Nhanga at his side.

  The two wore some casual clothing with Nhanga wearing a simple cotton dress and Fern wearing a shirt that was folded up to his elbows, revealing his muscular forearms, and a pair of leather pants.

  “Another wonderful service.” Fern nodded as Cyn stumbled onto her feet. She had been sitting and talking for so long that her legs had fallen asleep.

  “Thank you, sir Fern. Although, if I may be honest, I wish we could have Nhanga or the others take over for me sometimes.” She weakly smiled while following Fern and her sister into the back of the Prism where other blessed sisters could be seen tending to those who had been wounded in that battle.

  “I know it may seem tedious and somewhat strenuous but a single evil has risen. The people need a single good they can focus their attention and hope on and that’s you.”

  Cyn sighed at Fern’s explanation as they made their way to the bedchamber which once belonged to the head priest of the Prism.

  “I'm still surprised he fled to Apollon.” Nhanga hummed as she joined Cyn in entering what was now their room.

  “Likewise. But cowardice tends to make its common in times of strife.” Fern leaned on the doorway as tiredly Cyn fell onto bed.

  “But leaders are supposed to stand for their people even when things get tough, right?” Nhanga asked as she sat by Cyn’s side, rubbing her back afterwards.

  “True and I guess Julian is an example of that. I heard that he is working tirelessly alongside Lord Mashi to bolster the city’s defences. In a grimly positive twist, most of the soldiery that fell to the south were from either Ardania or Apollon so Qaya still has a sizable armed force at twenty-five thousand. Surely the enemy suffered casualties of their own and if they try to siege this city’s walls, they will be met by ballista fire-“

  Fern was interrupted by a massive explosion that sounded like it came from just outside.

  He and the sisters rushed to look out of an east-facing window where they saw, rising from between the grand Prism and the nearby Castle Qaya, a massive plume of dark smoke and dust.

  The smoke eventually cleared revealing a figure that stood unscathed in the centre of a large crater. He was far taller than any man, wore a thin golden gown and wielded two longswords.

  His eyes burnt with a light that hurt to look at and his mere presence made the air in the city feel heavier and hotter by several degrees.

  The figure then spoke and his voice was so powerful, it felt like the tremors that preceded an earthquake.

  [People of Qaya, my name is Qaya, ruler of the army that decimated your voices to the south! Now that you have witnessed what my hand is capable of, I offer you a choice! Bend the knee or face annihilation!]