There was encompassing darkness around the earth, the sky casting down an unbearable heavy crash of droplets. Argider Valtirium's capacious chamber situated on the corner of the Imperial Palace was dimly lit by the lantern on the counter, his white blonde hair shimmering upon the slightest touch of light. The night, supposed to be like every other evening where the maids would clean the room from his nightly activities, felt adrift. 

"Goodness gracious," There was a murmur from the distance, their voices barely audible, yet intentionally loud enough for every word to reach Argider. "He's brought another whore to his bed. To think he was crowned as Emperor a week ago is…" 

"It's because of that wretched scheme of his cunning mother, isn't it?" The maid responded in a hushed whisper while her nimble fingers folded the silky, rich fabric of the dress into one. 

"His lust is insatiable. Even the throne could not possibly heal it," The other mocked, eliciting a snicker from her companion. 

At this moment, Argider could only wish the rain blurred out their insensitive gossip. He lay down still, the shivering breeze of the outside air nipping at his pitifully unmanly arms, and his body slightly trembling in return. Even the bedsheets began to feel like a dagger as if all was against him and the feeling of comfort was snatched away. 

His consciousness became detached from his surroundings until there was a loud slam from the bedroom door. It hit the wall almost too loudly and harshly that the maids swore they heard a crack and a faint fall of the stone wall crushed into dust, its particles flowing down like rains of ice. The ambiance became heavier, knotting anxiety in their careless throats.

"Out." A familiar voice spoke that same melodious rhythm that always ushered Argider. But it was cold. Even Argider, while pretending to be asleep and turning away from where the voices were, felt his back frozen. They were mad. His mother's anger was never of burning hot but of burning frost. It'd sap out anyone's heat and warmth.

"Are you the masters in this household? You seem to speak so freely," Meloris, mother of Argider, spoke with disdain. A mere look at her sharp, stern gray eyes sullen the mood of the atmosphere as it glistened in silent rage that maids in the mansion knew not to spark. 

"W-We apologize… We will now leave, your grace," With a bow of their heads, they quickly tiptoed their way outside the room like meek mice. It was an amusing sight - with the way their bodies were lowered and cowered underneath her fiery gaze, just as Meloris wanted. She scoffed, their presence was entirely gone and the oxygen was now devoid of their disrespectful waste of a breath so she could freely inhale. 

She made her way to the curtains and parted it impatiently, the cloth flapping while it opened for the scenery beyond. The rain stopped. Rays of light painfully streamed on his eyes, the sting making him groan. 

"Wake up, you damn fool," Scolded Meloris. "How dense is your mind that the basic comprehension of not bringing whores into your chambers seems so hard to retain?! Mine is surely not stupid, but yours seems to be like a pile of trash just like your father."

Argider sighed and sat up. "Hey. You." He looked at the naked woman beside him, one he took willingly into bed and ignored the consequence. Her face was average at best, one look at her was enough for others to forget it, especially for someone like Argider. At least he chose rather carefully for he had no sense of commitment towards her. "Out."

Once only the two remained in the room, Meloris's jaw tightened from the boiling veins that brisked through her and landed her palm on her son's face with a resounding slap, the cruelty matching the harshness of her anger. 

"The Imperial Family suffered many losses and yet, you're still whoring around and producing more bastards. They think I schemed the death of your father, of his first wife, his other concubines. What more if they found out that you, my son, are sticking his cock in one hole to another?!"

"Then I just have to stick my cock into my wives, right? Produce heirs?" His eyes were downcast while his fingers softly caressed his burning cheek, the sensation urging his instincts to be spiteful.

"Your wives aren't your toys." She refuted, the bones of her knuckles cracking as she clasped her hands together. "They are your wives, women who deserve your love, not lust."

That calmness that she exuded vaguely hinted at the brewing madness within her as she inched closer and closer. She loomed over the pitiful face of Argider and solidly gripped their undirtied cheeks. "Within tomorrow..." She said, her eyes narrowing. "You will bed one of them. You will love them." Then she left.

Slowly, the sands of the hourglass drizzled to the other glass bulb. There was a tremor of reluctance inside him before he finally released himself from the coverings of his blanket, upright naked in front of a mirror. Much like his reflection, he was stuck in a title that required everyone to perceive and see him.

Women of the lower class provided little exertion to charm, but Argider's four wives were at the pinnacle of high society. His unchaste reputation for bedding several women would mean more political scheming from his harem. The thought of this alone exhausted him so he immediately wore his robe to go outside.

But there was a hushed creak as the door opened and his legs instantly prepared to flee in a slight, unperceivable motion by instinct.

"W-Who...." He panicked. "Who's there?! A-Answer me right now!"

Silence. Suddenly, armed men rushed towards the defenseless Argider. Their builds were hulky and towered over the smaller emperor whose appearance would pass for a female. He could conquer the bed, but never the battlefield.  

"Do not resist, bastard emperor." The frontman spoke.

Before he knew it, one of them hurled a dagger with speed, piercing his heart and bringing him to a halt. Ah.

He was born a bastard, produced bastards, and died a bastard. The blade sank deep into the muscle of his organ that pumped blood causing his breath to grow short. He was in a state of shock that his body warmth was swept away with a cold flare. "W-Why?..." Argider muttered his last words.

His senses began to fade. The light in his eyes became dim, his scream morphed into a hollow gasp, and the burden on his mind slipped away as he fell onto the granite tiles of the floor. There was still consciousness flickering that he could see the men kicking his body one last time and carrying him. Afterwards, it was all blank.

"...."

"...."

"Ar....""

Death, it seemed, was surprisingly gentle and empty, offering Argider a soft respite from his mortal existence. Strangely, the absence of sound should have accompanied the end of his physical body, yet he could still perceive an echoing murmur. It defied logic. No longer tied to his physical form, he pondered why he could hear echoes in the boundless void.

Somehow, it continued relentlessly, reverberating through the emptiness that embraced Argider hauntingly. But wait - could he truly be dead, if his senses remained intact in this ethereal realm? Death should have brought absolute silence, yet here he was, still able to discern the echoing murmur. 

"Ar...."

The echo again. What is it trying to say?...

"...."

"Ar...."

"ARGIDER! WAKE UP!"

A jolt of life entered him, his gaze instantly fixated skyward, his tunnel of vision having a bluer, subdued appearance. It was blurry and hazy. The weight surrounding him was light and he couldn't decipher where he was until his nostrils felt constricted by liquid. This instantly triggered a reflex to exhale forcefully, resulting in burning irritation.

He was underwater. How was he here? And most of all... why is he alive?

His arms extended to let the waters guide him to the shore. He swam, his arm stroking and leg kicking gently to reach the other side, salvation almost within his reach. 

As the tip of his fingers brushed against the edge of the ground, he jumped from the water and caught it with his bare hands, forcing out a cough and vomited water. His lungs were inflamed, and there was an unbearable discomfort in his nose. 

"Didn't I die?... What joke is this?" He lets out a groan, almost choking out an ugly laughter if not obscured by his pain. This was unbearably amusing to him. Perhaps he was adored by the Gods, he thought. However, those feelings were abruptly interrupted as his hand checked his chest because he remembered that a dagger split his heart into two. A sharp exhale escaped Argider's lips.

Instead of the bumpy and well-trained abs, he spent years cultivating, there was plumpiness that no man would have. Could it be?...

Argider glanced down, his grip tightening to confirm one more time. Boing. Boing. He had breasts, a woman's breasts. Between his legs, the manhood that he proudly carried as a gifted burden could not be sensed. The arm of this man also became more slender and sharp, like a stem of flowers that could be plucked with no haste. Then he looked beyond his big bosoms, seeing his reflection.

It was himself - except his white blonde hair now cascaded over his shoulders as it grew longer and his head smaller. There was only one conclusion.

"I... I became a woman?!" 

How will he bed his wives and fulfill his promise to his mother?!