Emperor's Reckoning



Under the starry sky, under the clips of the moon, Lyon stood against the insane beggar from yesterday. His brows frowned as he looked at the disheveled man. He smelled the foul but the man's eyes revealed no harm... just... loss...

Lyon was composed despite his sharp eyes. He crossed his arms and asked, "What do you want?"

The insane beggar blinked. His lips opened but no words could come out, as if a baby struggling to say a word. 

Lyon couldn't decipher what the man was mumbling about but the latter turned around and picked up the mallet that the young masters left behind. 

The insane beggar clutched it against its chest before turning to face him. His eyes still looked vacant, but there was a subtle hint of sanity behind the glimmer of his dark pupils.

"Hmm?" Lyon raised his brows trying to question the insane beggar before the latter swiftly held the mallet like one would with a sword. Lyon turned vigilant and Scarlet was in his hand with a thought.

The insane beggar stepped forward but his body turned lithe. He was bending flawlessly, and his steps were followed by the quietest sound. The leaves rustled as he escaped the Moonglow sending even Lyon to a slight jolt. 

"A master..." Rui mentioned as he appeared above Lyon. "Be careful."

Lyon nodded subtly before his nape felt a brisk cold wind. He leaped and turned in mid-air seeing that the insane beggar still dancing with the mallet flawlessly. Lyon's eyes widened, for one moment that he imagined the mallet to be a sword, the man would flawlessly counter a hundred enemies attacking him at once.

"Move like a shadow..." The words suddenly escaped Lyon's mouth without his consent. He gulped as the insane beggar stopped his motion. He straightened his back before he took deliberate soft steps into the moonlight. The beggar was slightly shorter than him now that they faced each other, but the might under his tattered clothes was undeniable.

Lyon who was still in shock muttered his next sentence, "Strike like a phantom... Liu."

The beggar's features contorted in an anguished grimace as if grappling with indescribable torment. His pain seemed to intensify at the mention of his own name. A chilling scream pierced the night, shattering the tranquility.

"AAAAHHH!!!"

The beggar, seemingly unable to bear the pain or the weight of that name, fled from the scene in sheer agony, leaving Lyon standing there, bewildered and stunned. The echoes of that scream still reverberated in the air, leaving a lingering sense of unease. The encounter had left more questions than answers, deepening the enigmatic aura surrounding the gong and the beggar.

Amidst the warmth and camaraderie of the bonfire, laughter and cheerful chatter filled the air. The tranquility of the night shattered when an anguished scream, hauntingly familiar, echoed across the mountain. It cut through the air, freezing the laughter and conversation, replacing it with a collective startle.

Drako, Liam, Elara, and Sylva exchanged quick glances, their expressions shifting from surprise to concern. The scream had a chilling quality, one that made them apprehensive.

Cecile's and Selena's concerns deepened as they couldn't locate Lyon in the midst of the bonfire silence. Their brows furrowed in unison, a shared worry etching itself across their features. Without delay, they called out to Kesya in urgent unison, "Kesya!"

"I know!" Kesya, always alert, swiftly responded to their call. She darted towards the mountain, leaving the bonfire behind in her haste.

Simultaneously, Lyon snapped back to the present, his sense of urgency amplified by the haunting scream. "Ah, Liu, wait!" he called out, reaching for the fleeing figure of the insane beggar, but the man had already blended into the shadows of the nearby forest, eluding his grasp.

"Tch!" Lyon's frustration surged, leaving no room for contemplation. He charged into the forest, calling out the beggar's name urgently, "Liu!"

His voice reverberated through the woods, but there was only silence, broken by the faint rustling of branches as the forest seemed to swallow his cries.

As Lyon plunged into the forest, Kesya arrived at the spot where the gong stood. She looked around, her eyes scanning the area, and then she noticed something odd — the mallet was on the ground, seemingly dropped in haste. Kesya picked it up, her intuition telling her that something wasn't right. The forest was dense with an eerie stillness, the silence amplifying the sense of foreboding.

She turned her head, her eyes darting through the shadows. Something caught her attention — a flicker of movement deeper within the trees. Without a moment's hesitation, Kesya sprinted in that direction, her instincts driving her toward whatever lay hidden within the depths of the woods.

"Liu!!" his voice echoed.

( Liu?! ) Kesya's heart raced as she followed the sound of Lyon's voice calling out a name. It was a name she knew, but it seemed distant, as if from a long-forgotten memory. The urgency in Lyon's voice spurred her on, and she moved faster through the forest, pushing aside branches and leaves in her path. "Could it be?!"

Soon, she caught up with Lyon. His face was etched with concern, and he looked around anxiously. 

"Master!"

Lyon was a bit startled by her sudden appearance but he refocused immediately, "Kesya, great! You're here."

"Master, you're calling out Liu, is he here?" asked Kesya.

Lyon sighed, "He's been in our vicinity the whole time! How come you don't recognize him at first glance? He is the insane beggar!"

"What?!" Kesya was taken aback. "B-But... that's really hard to believe..."

"Wait master," said Kesya as she grabbed Lyon's shoulder.

"Huh?" he turned around before seeing Kesay shaking her head. "What's wrong?"

"There is no way that we could find him if he is Liu, I spread my divine sense throughout the forest and found nothing," said Kesya.

"That means he is out of the forest."

"Not necessarily," Kesya sighed before smirking, "Master, he is traceless, he is the only one out of six of us who are able to fully master that kind of technique—Assid being a close second."

"What if we clean up the entire forest, he needs us Kesya," said Lyon with urgency.

"It won't work," Kesya shook her head, "Even you were having a hard time locating him at your peak, he is the master of the shadow... We call him, Liu The Phantom."