The great doors of the High Council chamber closed behind Kenji with a solemn groan, the sound echoed down the marble corridors like a dying bell.
He did not wait for the retainers who trailed behind him nor the courtiers who where busy whispering.
His boots thudded against the floor as he proceeded towards the exit.
Kenji ascended the winding staircase of his palace, higher and higher until he reached his private chamber.
The balcony doors were open, the cool night wind waiting in as if the heavens were trying to distract him from his boiling thoughts.
He stepped outside towards the balcony, resting his hand on the stone railing. Below, the Huang Kingdom stretched far, it's lantern lit streets winding like arteries from the heart of the citadel, the sky above vast and starless. And yet, none of it brought peace.
Xun Yu's words echoed relentlessly in Kenji's mind, 'He was made to ascend as a demon…forcibly..'
Kenji's jaw tensed.
He had watched Xun Yu get dragged away in silence. Not a trial. Not a debate. The superior guardian had issued the execution decree the moment the confession was uttered. No consideration for Xun Yu's knowledge, no interest in the finer truth.
And what disturbed Kenji most was not the decree itself but the speed.
Why so fast? Why silence a man who might have held the key to Liuxing's undoing? A demon who is the subject of interest for the whole of heaven, even the slightest and useles information about him peaks the interest of heaven's and superior guardian in order to catch his weak point and find a proper and perfect way to end him, his reign and seal him forever.
He clenched the railing until his knuckles whitened.
'You dare lie in my court.' Superior Guardian's voice echoed in Kenji's voice. Yet even then, something had flickered in superior guardian's eyes, fury combined with fear. A personal fury.
Kenji had seen many traitors in his time. He had executed spies, saboteurs, even former allies. But Xun Yu ….he did not look like a man loyal to darkness.
And he had not yet finished speaking about Liuxing.
He was going to say more…something about his origin.
Kenji turned his eyes skyward, watching the clouds gather like phantoms overhead. What if Xun Yu had discovered something that challenged everything they believed ? Who made Liuxing to ascend as a demon if not he himself through his cultivation efforts?
Years ago, when Kenji met Liuxing, he remembered him as a boy with gloom, innocence and deprivation of care in his eyes, begging for freedom, begging for protection, begging for relief and a normal life…right…a normal life.
Kenji's mind raced. He thought of the history scrolls…how many had been edited by the high scribes, appointed directly from superior guardian's court. He thought of the records sealed in the Temple of Golden Glass, none of it was made available to the other memebers, is there no true account of Liuxing's cultivation practises ?
Only doctrine. Only edict. Censorship.
He felt as if the night itself pressed against his shoulders.
Was Liuxing shaped into a demon forcibly? Then by whom? And why?
Kenji closed his eyes, breathing deeply. He could feel the tug of decision forming within him, heavier than any sword he had ever lifted. If superior guardian really had something to hide…..then Xun Yu is not the traitor but the witness.
A knock sounded softly at his door. A familiar pattern.
"Enter," Kenji said without turning.
The door creaked open, and Kai stepped through, "My lord tomorrow is the execution but superior guardian has ordered for us to carry out the eradication of west territory."
Kenji nodded slowly, "Good"
"So....we won't be attending the execution tomorrow my lord…." Kai spoke again.
Kenji hummed in response.
Kai hesitated but then spoke again, "My lord, you don't truly believe that he is fallen?"
"I do not know what to believe," Kenji muttered, "But I do know this, superior guardian silenced him too quickly. Xun Yu was about to reveal something, and superior guardian shut it down smoothly like it was fire. As if she feared the truth."
"My lord….you mean-"
"Prepare a secret chamber. No record. I will speak to Xun Yu myself before sunrise. I want to hear what he truly knows, about Liuxing and everything else that superior guardian did not let him speak."
A moment of silence prevailed, the wind shisoerimg against Kenji's ears like a ghost from the past.
Kai hesitated a bit before nodding.
"My lord….if superior guardian-"
"I am anyways known as the rebellion of rules. It would make no difference."
"And if you found something against superior guardian like you suppose to….then?"
"Then this heavenly realm, known for its righteousness and justice is not just at war with darkness," Kenji said, "it is ruled by it."
Kai gazed towards Kenji for a moment, in contemplation but then he bowed and retreated.
'Are you okay?' Kenji thought, the moment when Liuxing fell down, separating him from his sword felt vivid enough to feel the pain again, 'You found solace in me once, why not now?...If you were made to ascend forcibly as a demon, as the cruel figure that you are now then I will seek justice for you, because I still see myself in you, just like I did back then, in your eyes full of innocence and skin shaped with torment.' Kenji sighed. His thoughts felt like stabs. He loosened his hair to let the wind flow through every strand.
'When will I meet you again? Where are you right now?' Kenji felt his eyes burn with tears as he thought about Liuxing.
He lifted his hands and gazed at them with tears in his eyes, as if they were someone he wished he could slaughter but could not.
'I am sorry....I am sorry Liuxing. Please forgive me.' A sob escaped, 'I had no choice…I am sorry Lee, I wish I did not hurt you.'