Chapter 371 - Kingdom Of Shyako
Guan Yin stared at the shocked Elliot. Their eyes met and were locked, not breaking contact until Elliot caught his breath.
"Were you one of the ones that contacted us?" Elliot asked.
She shook her head and placed a finger on her lips, "Don't tell anyone about this. And no, I'm not. The East is currently ruled by two emperors, Diamond Emperor and Emerald Emperor. They are just pretending to still have all eight kingdoms with actors as the fake emperors."
"The ones from the shattered kingdoms were sent underground and created several resistances," Guan Yin continued. "Even I was one of those organizations. I only joined the guarda with the name Huoyi so that my organization has eyes on whatever's happening above."
"So, you're a girl?" Elliot asked. "And how should I address you?"
"After the trauma I received from those usurpers, I lost my own concept of gender. They made me think that I was a man, so much that it broke me," Guan Yin continued. "But then, I still have a body of a female. So, if you really want to address me, I'm a she when we're in private, but he when I'm a escort. I haven't told you my name yet, so don't call me just yet."
"Got that," Elliot nodded in understanding. For some reason, he could feel the pain Guan Yin was feeling. She, along with all the women in their kingdom, had always been treated as useless. They were seen as a burden compared to men.
As for the experiences she experienced, Elliot can only think on how horrifying it was. He's sure that Guan Yin's not the only person who was broken by the treatment, and he could only imagine how bad it was.
"The first kingdom you'll be sent to is Shayko. It is a conservative kingdom ruled by the Emperor Yamato, with the Amethyst Maiden as their guardian," Guan Yin introduced. "But only a fool or a completely blind man could see that it wasn't really the actual Amethyst Maiden."
"What do you mean?" Elliot asked. "What happened to the Maiden?"
"Shattered," Guan Yin replied coldly. The two leading emperors think that the Crystal Maidens were the largest threats to the grasp of the power they owned. Once the people would acknowledge the Crystal Maidens and the maidens would win over their hearts, it will be over for the emperors. They wil lose everything."
"So, they shattered them," Elliot gulpeed. "These emperors cut thr claws that might cut them before it actually could."
"Basically, yeah," Guan Yin agreed. "Plus the Crystal Maidens weren't sentient to words. They only follow commands given to them but they can't speak or anything remotely similar to humans other that fighting."
"Why are they even contenders to the leadership for the kingdoms, then?" Elliot asked. "If they can't be there to rule, why were te emperors even afraid?"
"I don't think you understand, Elliot," Guan Yin sighed. "The Crystal Maidens would only provide influencial powers. They won't exactly rule. People with better intentions could rule the kingdoms."
"Now, I get it," Elliot clapped his hands once. "Why not let's revive the Crystal Maidens? I have a necromancer skill that we can use."
"The Crystal Maidens can't be revived or resurrected without their actual body parts, or the major parts in the gems that were broken from them, she said. "The gems wer probably turned to sand right this moment."
"Okay, now I get it," Elliot sighed. "We will convince them to not attack Avancia and to restore the maidens."
"Never, ever mention them," Guan Yin scoffed. "They will be wary of you and it will be harder for you to move around."
Elliot nodded, "I get it."
"Good," Guan Yin hopped off the windowsill and took her things. "Then I suggest you sleep now. You need energy for tomorrow. And as much as possible, don't let them take the girls with them. If those two were taken, I doubt you can have them back."
"Thank you," Elliot stood and bowed. "I will remember your words."
"Don't thank me," Guan Yin said. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for the kingdom, so don't take all the credit for how I do things."
"But still," Elliot tried to convince her. He remained in a bow position for a few more seconds until he heard Guan Yin's footsteps away. When Elliot looked up, she wasn't there anymore. "Hello?"
He was left alone standing in front of the window, now having a small sense of comfort knowing that he has a known ally. The East might become a huge obstacle to get past through, and he was sure that they will have a lot of hiccups on the way to the top, but at least he's not completely hopeless.
–
The airship reached the East not longer than two days later. Outside was a large city that had spherical red lanterns hanging in the streets, every establishment in the city centre was filled with decorations that screamed prosperity and joy.
What amazed them was that the people didn't look like they were entertaining guests to their kingdom. The loud music of hands, the seemingly unending confetti, and the brightly lit lanterns looked like it was part of their daily lives.
Kids running to chase each other in the streets, mothers buying in the market, and people walking on the pavement with wide smiles on their faces. Their worry of seeing a barren wasteland was gone in an instant.
An enormous balcony-like platform was used as a port for the ships. It was where the ships landed, all twenty one of them. One by one, the ships got on the dock was when people started to gather. The group held their breaths as their ship landed and opened its doors to an even joyous vibes from the kingdom.
"Welcome to the Kingdom of Shyako, home to the Amethyst Maiden," a woman greeted them.
She was wearing a violet rectangular dress that had large sleeves. The sleeves were almost the size of her body, reaching down below her heels. The dress had two sides that were wrapped in front of her while a wide silk belt was tied to her waist.
The woman had her hair wrapped neatly in a bun over her head with a hair pin with an amethyst lotus. Her skin was pale, lips were red and thin, and her eyes had a strikingly beautiful shade of purple.
"My name is Sayu, and I will be your escort from here on," Sayu introduced. "I will take you to our Emperor Yamato to formally welcome you all to our humble kingdom."
Sayu signaled the four men on the ship something. The men nodded and went back inside, flying the ship and disappearing right before their very eyes.
"They will be back in eight weeks to escort you back to your kingdom," Sayu said. "Meanwhile, you shall stay here for eight weeks, one week for each kingdom."
Elliot leaned closer to Lance to whisper something but Sayu's eyes pierced through him. He gulped and stood properly, clearing his throat, "Uhm, we didn't know that we would be staying here for a long time."
Sayu's face was calm and wasn't even shaken for a bit, "The Emperors decided that you should stay here in our kingdoms for a longer time so you can explore everything. After all, the place you call the East has a total of eight domains. It's not always that all eight kingdoms would agree on a decision."
"And one of those being us negotiating a peace treaty?" Lance asked. "I don't think we have eight weeks. There's a threat looming over our kingdom. If that threat strikes suddenly–"
"Then I'm very sorry," Sayu cut him off. "But please also understand that our kingdom is also affected by her movements. It's not just you."
"When can we meet the Emperor so we can get this over with?" Lance asked, sounding more annoyed than he was. He was mildly frustrated. They barely landed and they already encountered their first hiccup. If this goes on, they might never come back at all.
"Do not fret," Sayu said, raising her hand to try and calm the group down. "You shall see and talk to Emperor Yamato, and let us see what we can do from there on."
"That's right," Lance said, sighing. "Sayu, take us to the Emperor."
Sayu smirked and bowed her head. She gracefully turned with her long sleeves flowing behind her like it was in slow motion. "Follow me and we will come to the emperor. He will see what he can do for us."
Sayu walked down the wooden strairs from the airship port. She led the group down to the town to the direction of the castle.
In Elliot's mind, he knew he couldn't– or none of them could convince the emperor. This man was a fake ruler planted by the ones who actually rule over them. Even when they plea and beg as much as they could, this man would not let them do what they please.
With his hope barely hanging by a thread, Elliot took his steps towards the danger.