Emperor's Reckoning

The night came along with the mum ambiance from the neighboring waterfalls. The city was not asleep but was not as merry as the day. The marketplace was filled with giggles and chatters despite the starry sky.

"You hear about what happened recently?" asked one cultivator.

"Absolutely! My man Lyon just plummeted a whole tribe of orcs, no mercy!" said one fangirl.

"Your man? Haha, you're super far away from the likes of Empress Cecile."

"I know that! But a girl can dream. Ah~ So dreamy! He summoned godly horses from thin air before marching forward with no fear for the woman he loves."

"From what I've heard, the whole tribe of orcs was butchered. None of them died without missing some organs or limbs."

Meanwhile, inside the grand palace of the Garuda City.

Jugen was sitting by the side of the bed with his legs crossed. His gaze revealed a concern for his sister who lay on the bed. "Sister, why don't you wake up?"

The door of the room was slowly pushed open before Jugen's eyes darted over. He found a familiar figure sticking his head out.

"Is she still asleep?" Lyon asked with his brows raised.

Jugen shrugged and shook his head with the obligatory sigh. "She didn't even bat her eyelids once."

"But, does her breast," Lyon moved his index finger up and down.

"Well the blanket sure is heaving," said Jugen.

"Alright," Lyon nodded before he stepped inside the room and slowly closed the door. He let out a sigh before he stood beside Jugen and crossed his arms as he brood over the blonde woman.

"She saved my life more than I can remember," muttered Lyon before he shook his head, "It's really hard for me to see her like this."

"You did the best possibly could, big brother," Jugen sighed. "The only thing that I can do now is to be with her when she woke up."

"What about your father?" asked Lyon.

"He is on his way," Jugen shook his head. "He probably arrived in two more days or less."

"I see."

"But, thank you, big brother, I can see and hear the despair that the orc felt when he wailed, and especially when you smashed his head against the sealed door," Jugen clenched his jaws as he buried his fist against his palm.

"He still has it light."

"Huh?" Jugen darted over before he saw Lyon's eyes sharpened as sharp as the blade. His brows furrowed before a light gust of wind made Jugen's hair flutter.

Lyon closed his eyes before he took a deep breath through his mouth. "Her hand is kept safe."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"We put her severed forearm in an ice coffin, I asked Assid to take care of the rest," said Lyon.

"Why would you put it there?"

"Because we don't know what method is needed to heal her," Lyon shook his head. "Either reattaching the severed forearm back and connecting the meridians or let her grow a new one."

"You, uh, just said one of the most bizarre things there," Jugen gulped.

"Heh, it's not the first time," Lyon smirked.

Both of them chuckled before Jugen suddenly asked.

"Big brother, can I ask you a question?"

"What?"

"Who are you? I mean, like who are you really? When I first met you, you were weaker than my older sister, but now— and I didn't even know you for a year yet —have become one if not the strongest cultivator in our generation or even prior to that," Jugen furrowed his brows.

Lyon smirked. "Heh, I came to your world naked, Jugen."

"Yeah, everyone in Nostria knows."

"You think that I would be a normal cultivator?"

"No, absolutely not, however, those three that followed your order, and how the cold empress is actually your wife? Those are something that questioned my mind every night."

"Really?"

"Well not every night, but still, not even young masters from First Heaven were able to contend with you."

"Wait, were you in First Heaven? Oh right, you are... oh no, that's Zet, not you."

"What?" Jugen furrowed his brows. "You mean young master Zet? The young genius swordsman?"

"Pretty a farcry for a genius, more like a high-spirited child with a sword."

"Heh, perhaps in this Mortal World, only you can say that without anyone laughing at you, big brother."

Lyon smiled before he nodded, "Of course, you want to know, however, I can't exactly answer you."

"What do you mean?"

"You see," Lyon darted to his palm and had his eyes softened, "I apparently don't know myself either."

"Huh?"

"I can say this to you though," Lyon looked at Jugen. "I seem to have a past I have yet discovered. Something even more bizarre than reattaching arm or regrowing limbs, or even bringing someone back to life."

"What?"

Lyon sighed. "It's really confusing, I mean, I used to be dead and I'm just retracing my skills back and hope I didn't die in the process."

"I don't..."

"So far, I've been lucky," Lyon shook his head before he showed him the two rings stacking on top of each other in his left hand. "These are not just wedding rings."

"Wait, wedding rings? You have two? You're married to two women already? Was it Lady Lumina?"

"Good guess, wrong answer," Lyon smirked. "The first one that gave me this ring is the lady that I'm going to take a visit to."

"You're going somewhere?"

"Yeah, I'm going to Dark Continent."

"Dark Continent?!"

"Yeah."

"Where is that?"

"... huh?"

"I uh, I never heard of it."

"You should keep your ears opened back in the academy."

(You didn't even attend the fucking thing!) Jugen cursed inwardly.

"Yeah, well, I think it's over there," said Lyon as he pointed against the window.

"The east?"

"Yeeeeee, maybe?" Lyon shrugged.

(You didn't just point to that direction because there is a window? Right?) thought Jugen before his lips twitched. (He did).

"This is also why I'm here, I want you to know that I'm going to the Dark Continent, Jugen."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because if she is looking for me, you can answer, and who is the one she trusted the most? You," said Lyon as he crossed his arms. "You are her little brother and you are also my friend."

"Big brother... I uh..."

"Stop it, I don't swing that way."

"Hey me neither!"

Lyon turned before he stood by the window. "I'll be going tonight."

"Tonight? Why so sudden? Why not wait for her to wake up first? She would be delighted to see you if no one else sees the two of you alone."

"What?" Lyon turned.

"Oh c'mon, it's plain as day, and Ryona also talked about it for the longest time."

"Ryona..." Lyon smiled as she remembered how wild that orange-haired woman with her ax was. "I really should visit her one of these days."

"You have a lot of women around you, big brother," Jugen laughed. "Can you keep up with all of them?"

"I think I can, they call me emperor for a reason you know, hahaha!"

"I meant emotionally."

"That's... hmm... that's indeed heavy," Lyon turned and faced the window. "Either way, I will think about those things later, now I wanted to go to the Dark Continent."

"You sure don't want to wait for a little while? She usually wakes up at whatever she wanted."

"Really? I thought she was a hard worker."

"In her younger days? Nah."

"Interesting," Lyon nodded. "However, it is best that I go as soon as I can."

"You don't want her to worry about you?"

"No, it's not that. If I can bring the solution or whatever it is that's needed before she woke up then that would be the best," Lyon sighed. "I can't imagine the shock she would have when she wakes up and realized that she is missing a hand."

Jugen had no words and tightened his upper lips whilst nodding. The emotional pain that her sister would have upon waking up would be tremendously painful. She was a cultivator with arts as her main arsenals.

"Jugen," Lyon lobbed a sharp item at him.

"Huh?" Jugen received it with one hand before realizing it was a dagger. He darted at Lyon with questions on his face.

"That was the dagger used on her, you can see her left breast— where her heart rest beneath —has a stab wound."

Jugen's grip tightened as he clenched his jaws. He saw the engraved dagger with his sharp eyes before he felt a pat on his left shoulder. "Calm down, the culprit is dead."

Jugen let out a sigh, "It's impossible to do that."

"Heh, I know," Lyon smirked before he approached the door of the room. "I'll depart, Jugen. Tell your sister I was here and uh... try to improvise something nice that would leave her smiling, for me," Lyon grinned before exiting the room.

"Heh," Jugen smirked before he shook his head.