Chapter 386 - The True Emperor
The once bustling and joyful streets of the capital of Shyako was now filled with gloom. All the people that used to litter the streets, the band that filled the city with life, and all the bright lanterns were now gone.
It was void of life and barren with joy.
In this lonely city centre, a cloaked man was roaming around the streets. His cloak was made from fleece that was dyed with a dark blue color. His face was covered with a hood, hiding his light brown locks.
"What happened here?" he asked himself.
He looked around to try and find anyone but he was met with two armored guards. They wore the same clothing as the guards in the palace, but they havea different helmet.
While the palace guards wore helms that had wings curling up from their temple, these guards had beetle-like helmet. They have horns that erected from the middle and split up at the tip, forming a Y shape.
Apart from the helm, their build were vastly different too. The palace guards were nowhere near the muscles of these guards. The ones in the street were large, almost two times the size of an average human.
"Who are you and why are you here?!" one of the guards said but had a voice that was deep and strong that it sounded like he was screaming. "No one is allowed to go outside. You must be an intruder."
The cloaked man was silent. He didn't respond nor move after facing the guards. A few moments later, however, he sighed and suddenly vanished.
"What?!" the second guards growled. "Find him!"
The bells were rang from across the city. More and more beetle guards came out and roamed the streets the find the cloaked man. They held their long and sharp spears while they were running while the communication device were strapped on their waist.
As the guards sought out for the cloaked man, the man in question sighed in relief as he laid his body flatly on the wall. He had found himself a dark alley behind a dumpster where he used his skill to hide himself in the shadows.
"What in the hell just happened?" Lance asked himself, peeking his head above the dumpster to try and look at what was happening outside. "This place used to be joyful."
"This place was never joyful."
All the hair in his body stood in shock after hearing someone talk behind him. Lance brandished his swords and crossed them to the person's neck, but immediately backed down when he saw a weak old man there.
"You must have not known," the old man croaked with his fragile voice. "Let us not talk here. Come with me."
Lance followed the old man to a metal door that was in one of the buildings of the alley. He was still raising his sword agaisnt the man to be sure that he won't try and pull a trick. He can't be too trusting especially in a foreign country where nobody knows who he was.
"You can put the sword down you know," the old man said. Lance was about to protest when the old man flicked a switch on and turned the lights inside the room. "We won't harm you."
In front of Lance were people in poor condition. Every one of them wore ripped and dirty clothes while soot, dirt, and other filth littered their bodies. It's not just grown ups there too. There were children, old people, and even infants who were being carried and fed by their mothers.
"W-What is happening here?" Lance gasped. "Just a few hours ago, everyone was so happy. All the people in the street–"
"Were all illusions," the old man cut him off, making Lance cover his mouth with his hands. "You just didn't notice, but the General Sayu had been putting up those illusions. Nobody was ever in the streets since she arrived years ago. There were only chaos, destruction and despair in these streets."
"But she brought us to places," Lance argued. "The hotsprings, the food… h-how?"
"The Amethyst Maiden holds limitless powers," the old man spoke. "Sayu held on to that weapon for so long and absorbed a lot of its powers that an illusion with that scale was almost nothing to her."
"Oh, my god," Lance gasped. "All this time… I didn't even knew."
"Well now you do," the old man spoke. "But looking at you, you're not Shyakan. You seem to have a Western blood and your eyes aren't really like ours."
"What do you mean?" Lance asked. "Easterners have different set of looks? But I thought everyone was just pale with narrow eyes and dark hair?"
"There are several kingdoms in the East, my boy," the old man sighed. "How would we all look alike if we're from different kingdoms?"
"Welcome to the West," Lance joked, but his humor was throw instantly to the window. No one laughed, or even bothered to smile. They just stared at him with blank eyes and disappointed looks in their faces. "I'm so sorry."
"Mister," the old man called out. "I am the emperor before Yamato took over. I am Emperor Seitan and Yamato was my right hand. When Sayu came and took over the kingdom, Yamato was given a choice. Whether he choose to sacrifice his life and save the kingdom, or sacrifice his kingdom for his life."
"And he chose his life over you?" Lance asked, but Seitan shook his head.
"He chose the kingdom," the old man replied, sighing as he continued. "But Sayu still took siege of the kingdom. That was when we knew that she wasn't just a villain. She was a notorious evil who knew nothing but despair and murder."
"She's been corrupted by the Abyss," Lance said. "But I don't know if this is just how she is, but her powers. They're not just from the Amethyst Maiden. It's from the darkness below our realm."
"What do you intend to do, young lad?" Seitan asked. "Why were you in the middle of the streets if you knew this? Were you trying to get yourself killed?"
"No," Lance said. "I was trying to find a map to get back to the West."
The rest of the people around the room heard this. They looked at each other before running berserk to get to Lance.
"Take us with you!"
"Please! I cannot stand to be here anymore."
"Sir, take my children with you in the West."
…
The people were panicking and they all were trying to get to Lance. Seitan and some people tried to hold them off but the mob overpowered their barrier.
Lance shook his head as he watched the pleading eyes in front of him. There was nothing but desperation in their eyes. Everyone wanted to leave, but Lance can't possibly take them all.
"What are all of you doing?" Seitan growled. "If you make such loud noises, they will find us."
Lance opened his mouth to say something when the metal door they came in was suddenly slammed open. The light from the outside entered the room, showing the people who had terrifying expressions on their faces.
"And where is the intruder?!" Sayu growled.