A silent hush fell over the room like a heavy blanket. Everyone stared with both fear and shock at the three familiar faces which, in turn, stared back at them. Expressions glazed in both ridicule and contempt. Long pieces of cloth ranging from various colors fluttered like war flags as the small group sauntered towards their seats-- right next to Zoi's throne and across from the Aolans-- before smoothly sliding down to land on the plush cushions with a soft plop. Immediately, servants hurried to their tables and quickly poured warm tea into the cups prepared in front of them, lips tightly pressed together to prevent a single sound from slipping through. One wrong misstep, and it could be their heads flying off the next second. So, it came as a great surprise for them when-- once they'd all finished setting up the table and providing snacks-- the three fearsome figures gave a nod of acknowledgement as well as words of gratitude towards them as they left.
After the servants were gone, though, silence continued to ensue. The only noise that could be heard being the loud slurping of tea in all directions. No one uttered a single word. Not even Calun and Halig who liked to pick fights, nor Aeternius who was the 'diffuser' of all tense situations. No one was willing to crack the frigid air of ice frosting around the Gojins, making it near impossible for anyone to make any light talk.
Even so, as the host of this year's Grand Festival, Zoi possessed the obligated responsibility of making conversation with them in order to uphold his and his kingdom's reputation. Straightening his posture, he put on his best winning smile, pearl-white teeth glinting in the light, and mustered, "Ain! It's been a while. How have you been? We were all thinking you wouldn't be coming this year. Nice of you to join us."
Abrasive and sardonic, a harsh scoff came out of Ain. He turned to Zoi, setting down his teacup. "Nice? Yes, nice indeed. It's been a while since I've seen," he waved his hand, addressing everyone in the room, "such friendly faces. I'd say the last time we saw each other was, what...." Ain leaned back in his chair, tapping his chin thoughtfully before rolling his eyes over to Zoi and continuing while grinning from ear to ear, "On the outskirts of my empire?"
A subtle yet visible flinch went through everyone-- Zoi's the most obvious. It was clear what Ain was getting at. After all, they were all guilty of it.
"'How have I been' you ask. I've been doing horrible. Not only are there random carcasses running around and attacking my fables, but a certain few who are supposedly my 'sworn brothers', weren't being very sworn brotherly and decided to not only invade my territory, but wreak havoc in my lands and try to take what rightfully belongs to me!" He screeched as if heartbroken, a hand covering and pressed over his heart to add into the dramatic effect.
His two companions and all the others looked with disgust at his false display of tears, but, for some reason, getting heated, Zoi raged, "What nonsense it is that you speak!"
"My, nonsense?! You? You of all people, think they have the right to claim nonsense to my words? I'll have you know, Emperor Zoi Silva Eskovan. Out of all the people in this room, you were the worst of them all! You, who was the first to pounce on us upon the rumors of our crystal mines, invaded our sacred lands, killed our innocent people, destroyed our homes, and stole what belongs to us. Never in all the years I've lived have I ever met someone so ridiculous. You even adorned this very room with the spoils you stole from us. Is this what the mere reputation of the Loulou Empire amounts to? I must say, the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree. Like sister like broth-!"
Bam! Before anyone could react to his words, Ain's head was smashed down into the hard wood of the table in front of him. Jaws dropped and eyes bulged out of their sockets as everyone witnessed the absurd sight. The only thing they could see being the tiny crown exposed through the tufts of black and white hair. Wide pupils turned in awe towards the owner of the hand still crushing his lord's face deeper into the shattered, brown pieces. The person himself looked straight ahead expressionlessly. He was an old grandpa, stern in appearance and slender in physique. Unlike others of his age, he stood tall and straight. Not a single warped bone in his spine. Through all the layers of brown, yellow, and white, anyone could discern the heavily packed muscles hidden underneath. Deep wrinkles from countless years of trying periods branched along his solemn face; they whispered of untold and hidden stories not meant for the lily-livered and better left behind closed curtains. There was a sharp glow in his light eyes, possessing a gaze that seemed to slowly peel off all the layers of the human soul until all the deepest, darkest, and ugliest parts were revealed for the whole world to see-- eyes that had seen and beheld far too much of the world's corruption. This elder, here, was the legendary fable, Yaosa, marked as the greatest physician known to history who'd treated everyone from the poorest of the beggars to the wealthiest of kings.
In a low and raspy timbre, he spoke, "Apologies."
"..."
As if expecting him to say more, everyone remained silent-- waiting for the additional few sentences that would advocate for the arrogant Grand Duke's rude behavior towards an emperor. A position far higher than his (though, nothing he said was wrong). Yet, the great physician gave no signs of doing a such thing. Instead, he closed his long, grey eyes and never opened them again, entering a deep state of meditation. Streaks of disbelief struck through all of them like lightning. That was it? Just one word? Nothing more?
While they wallowed in their own incredulity, Suwan decided to charge with blinding, hot iron at the man who'd just managed to lift his face and was now picking out small splinters from it with much effort.
"Where is he?"
Eyes teary, Ain paused in his movements as he plucked out the last splinter and turned towards whoever it was talking to him-- his expression immediately falling to the pits of an endless void upon realizing it was the young Yinjilang.
"Where's who?"
"Do not play the fool. You know who it is I speak of."
"Now what nonsense are you saying? How am I supposed to know who you're talking about if you don't tell me who this person is?"
Suwan wrung every word dry through his tight lips, "You. Know. Who. I. Speak. Of."
Sighing heavily at the stubborn wall yapping at him louder than a puny mutt would, Ain took to staring up at the ceiling instead when a recollection suddenly shot through his head. Earlier, as he and his subordinates were entering, the first thing they heard was Aeternius mention that someone was suspecting his dead master of saving someone. It appeared that certain someone was Suwan Yinjilang. Of course it was, especially with the strange rumors spreading all across the continent. A scornful sneer took over Ain's face, a painful pang of sorrow and anger piercing his heart. It was hilarious how the very person who'd accused his own brother of murder, saying he was a cold-blooded monster who only brought death upon others and deserved to die-- eventually driving him to his death-- was now claiming that he saved someone. Truly ironic.
Not wanting to have his face bashed into the hard, wooden table again for speaking out of line, Ain continued to stare up at the ceiling to maintain his inner peace as he responded, "If you're talking about the person from your earlier conversation with Aeternius, then shut your vile mouth and save your worthless breath. I can't believe there's actually an idiot out there who believes in such stupid gossip. Whatever fantasy has been going on inside your head, drop it. It's impossible."
Ain locked eyes with the light blue ones belonging to Suwan, ignoring the two other pairs behind him glowering in his direction. He cocked his head to the side with false child-like enthusiasm and repeated, smiling softly and emphasizing each syllable, "Im-poss-i-ble."
The one to react was not the Aolan Emperor, but his hot-tempered advisor, Ginu, who spat with outrage, "Then who was that man who saved us? Your people rarely come outside of the Gojin bounds unless strictly necessary! With that in mind and all the undead swarming outside your empire, who else do you expect us to suspect? Never mind that traitorous man, he was probably trying to lower our guards by saving us just to kill us all off later!"
Suddenly, Calun broke his silence and jumped into the conversation-- just as Ain lunged forward with a murderous look on his face to wring Ginu's neck in half like butchers do their chickens for consumption, when-- again-- his imposing face was smashed into the pristine wood of the newly replaced table once more. Except this time, instead of Yaosa-- who was still meditating peacefully in his small corner-- it was a woman of stupendous beauty and elegance who tightly gripped a chunk of his hair, keeping his head down and subdued inside the broken material-- the veins of her own slender and well-manicured hands popping out from the strong exertion of force.
"Calm, child," she hissed.
An imperceptible mumbling came in response.
"Silence!"
Watching the spectacle of the Grand Duke's scolding with amusement, Calun spoke, referring to the Aolans, "I assure you the person who saved you was not Daewee at all. He was simply just one of those typical, quiet, Gojin mercenaries who never interact with outsiders unless they really need to, but roam around wherever they want whenever they want."
"How do you know that?" Suwan demanded.
"I saw his face, of course."
"How?"
"He saved me and my men as well. As your attendant said, he was quite suspicious-looking, so we took it upon ourselves to remove that huge cloak off of him. Had to tie him down since he was rushing to escape and resisting against us so much. But I have to say. That was the ugliest face I'd ever seen. How could a person possibly look like that? No wonder he was so desperate to escape. If I'd been him, I'd want to run into a hole as well. The only thing saving his appearance was that sparkly hair trait of the Gojins. At least he was good at fighting, though. I'll give him that. I've never seen someone handle daggers so swiftly."
Suwan slowly nodded, only giving a short, "I see", in response. The tension that had been tightly constricting his body for the past few days finally left his body after hearing Calun's words of confirmation. Calun wasn't the type of person to lie about matters like this. After all, he'd also been subject to the cruelty of that person. Not only had the mysterious man he'd encountered been just a simple nobody, even the Grand Duke of Gojin laughed upon the idea that his master may have been resurrected. If even the loyal dog of utmost devotion looked upon the rumors with ridicule, then there was nothing to be worried about. Daewee Ah was dead and would remain so. Now, the only thing they had to worry about was the situation with the undead. Suwan nodded again-- to himself this time. He finally felt somewhat at peace.
From behind him, though, amidst his contentment, the almost inaudible murmur of Nuanxin flowed into his ears. If not for his heightened senses, he would've surely missed what he said next.
"I see. So he's dead."
The sad and regretful tone Nuanxin spoke in put a frown on Suwan's straight brows, sweeping away his pleasant mood with it. Why did he speak as if it were a bad thing? Daewee was a traitor. A back-stabber. A wicked and sinful being. He'd killed many and left many more with hollowed hearts and empty spaces. He'd tortured others for his own enjoyment and slaughtered those who'd dared defy him. He was an abomination who'd deserved to die and, to this day, brought absolute disgust into his own heart for having been his brother once upon a time.
Just as he was about to reprimand his childhood friend for his attitude, Suwan was abruptly interrupted by Zoi's sudden announcement, "Attention! Friends! Brothers! Apologies for interrupting your conversations at such a crucial moment, but I must inform you that the beginning hour of the Grand Festival has finally arrived!"
Lithely bending his fingers, he signaled towards the two servants standing next to the main entrance of the Viridian Hall. They both received it with a slight bow before grabbing the bear-shaped door handles, and, tugging with all their strength, slowly, little by little, opened the heavy doors which rumbled and grumbled like an ancient fossil with the movement.
From there, rows and rows of servants streamed in-- each carrying some kind of dish in their hands-- and gently placed them in front of their guests, removing the teacups and snacks that had been there prior in the process. Strong wafts of warm food wiggled their way into everyone's expectant nostrils. Bellies hungrily growled. Calun and Nix were already ready to dig into their own meals-- knife and fork in hand, eyes glittering with anticipation, and drool seeping out the corners of their mouths. Even so, they couldn't start eating just yet.
As the servants left the room-- having set up all the tables-- another stream of people glided into the hall. These people were a bit different. They were all elegant, willowy, and clearly pretty-looking, although their faces were covered by a thin veil bordered with gold, hiding the portions under their eyes from sight. The women wore long dresses made of pure silk which barely touched the floor-- just enough to not trip but not expose the bottom of their pointed shoes. Gold and all kinds of other gems lined and detailed the thin bodices, meticulously designed to shimmer with each movement the young ladies made. The men wore silky pants that drooped and sagged down their lean legs before cinching back to their ankles, right above their tight flats. Nothing was worn on top, exposing all the hard and toned muscles of their upper torsos all except for a necklace of sorts-- made up of a thousand thin pieces of gold weaved together-- that covered from the base of their neck down to their shoulders like a bib. The Viridian Hall seemed to shine brighter than it already did before with so many fancily adorned people standing in the room.
Upon entrance, the large group immediately organized themselves in front of all the high figures, entering specific positions and stances individual to each and creating a large circle over the carpet, filling the space inside the U-shape formed by all the desks and tables of the imperials and nobles. It was a quite peculiar circle as it felt like someone or something should be at the center. And it disturbed everyone that there wasn't.
As if knowing that they were disturbed by the strange emptiness, Zoi clapped his hands together with a smirk, grabbing their attention which then again shifted to the open doors when they heard the sharp sound of footsteps approaching in their direction. Like the winds of a cool summer breeze, the waves of a gentle ocean current, and the fields of a thousand fiery roses, two more people entered the hall, and, once they were fully inside, the doors closed behind them with a loud bang.
The duo who walked in were both dressed in a more lavish and strange manner than the others, standing out in stark contrast amidst them. They both wore long, red, and flowy dresses-- though, the attire of one of them appeared more like a robe than a dress-- that fanned out around them like the petals of an amorous flower. There were additional minuscule designs etched into the soft, velvety fabric of their garments, as well as extra appendages of cloth encircling their waists. Their hairs were put up high over their heads and held in place with all kinds of gems and pins. Jewels dripped from the top of those embellishments, down to their toes like cascading waterfalls shimmering under the moonlight. While their peers wore veils that covered half of their faces, these two wore masks that covered their entire face in the shape of forest animals, hiding from the presence of prying eyes. The one who seemed to be wearing a robe sported a fox mask while the other sported an owl mask.
With extreme poise, the two strolled into the circle made by their peers, stopping in the center, and entering their own respective poses: legs perched out, and arms raised over their heads. Overhead, lights died out, and ambient candles lit up around the group, focusing everyone's attention on them only-- the sun had already set outside, making them stand out more in the darkness. Drums began to beat, creating a thrum of apprehension in everyone's blood; instruments began to sing, sending a buzz of excitement through everyone's nerves. It was pretty obvious these people were dancers. And, on that very night, they were about to put on the best show anyone had ever seen in the past ten years. Especially a certain two who warily eyed all the emperors in the room from under the safety of their masks.
"Well, this is gonna be good."
"Whatever. Just shut up and quickly eat your food before I do."
"Jeez. Bon appétit to you, too, bitch."
Laughing at Calun and Nix's hilariousness as they began to bicker and fight, Zoi concluded in a loud, booming voice, sweeping his hand across the room:
"Let the festivals begin!"