"Even the gods lose their way… when night sings in crimson silk…"
The words fell from his lips without thought that made his eyes widened. He gasped, then slammed the book shut, clutching it to his chest as if it burned. He curled into the bed, back against the wall, breathing hard. His fingers dug into the sheets. He stared at the ceiling, breath held in his throat. Then, almost afraid to give shape to the thought, he murmured, "What am I… doing?"
After sometime he reached again for the book, drawn by the invisible thread tightening in his chest. But just as his fingers brushed the cover—
Footsteps.
His body tensed. Instinct took over.
He snapped the book shut and swiftly tucked it beneath his pillow. His movements were silent, almost too smooth. He lay back down, turning to face the window. Composed his breath. Stilled his limbs.
Pretended to sleep.
A pause. Then—
Knock.
Then another.
A long silence followed… before the door creaked open. The Emperor stepped inside, robes trailing, and shut the door behind him with a soft finality. His gaze moved to the bed frowning when he saw the prince already lying down.
He didn't speak.
The Emperor approached, slow and silent, each step absorbed by the hush that filled the chamber. He came to a halt beside the bed, standing still.
Watching.
The still figure before him didn't move, didn't breathe wrong. But the stillness was too intentional. The Emperor cleared his throat,
"I heard you speaking from the corridor. Don't pretend to sleep when you clearly can't."
Akira sighed. With practiced ease, he sat up on the bed, keeping his face angled downward, his posture composed. "Your Majesty. What brings you here?"
The Emperor didn't sit.
"The guards stationed outside have been hearing your voice nonstop since morning," he said plainly. "They assumed you are possessed. Or perhaps losing your mind."
A pause.
"One of them reported it to me directly."
"…Ah," Akira muttered, color draining from his face. He'd been too immersed so lost in the rhythm of the words, that he'd completely forgotten his habit of reading aloud. Loud enough, apparently, for the guards outside his chamber to hear every word. His ears turned red with quiet horror. The Emperor raised an eyebrow, his presence calm but immovable.
"Well…?" His voice wasn't sharp, but it landed heavy. "What exactly were you doing?"
Akira hesitated, then straightened slightly, gathering the remnants of his pride like loose cloth. " I… I was just reading."
The Emperor's brow lifted a notch higher. "Reading what, exactly? Because the guard who reported it… didn't sound concerned. He sounded terrified."
"It was nothing. Just… an old piece of literature."
"Is that so?" the Emperor murmured, stepping closer. "Because this isn't the first time you've read aloud. Once, you didn't stop for four days straight. They've grown used to it." He leaned in slightly, voice lowering. "But today…" His gaze dropped to Akira, sharp as a blade. "They said they couldn't bear to listen any longer."
Akira didn't respond. The silence between them deepened unspoken, but heavy.
Then the Emperor straightened with a faint sigh, folding his hands behind his back.
"But that's not the reason I came here."
"…What is it, Your Majesty?"
The Emperor stepped forward without answering. He extended a hand, placing it firmly against Akira's chest. His eyes slipped shut. A faint pulse of golden light shimmered between his fingers. Then the light faltered, twitched before suddenly turning dark. A flicker. A pulse.
A violent current surged through the Emperor's arm. With a flash of distorted light, he was hurled backward across the chamber. He struck the ground hard and skidded, boots scraping against the polished stone floor. His momentum halted just before he would've slammed into the wall, cloak whipping in the air behind him.
A sharp breath escaped his lips.
He remained kneeling, one palm braced to the floor. A single bead of sweat traced a slow line down his temple. His eyes widened.
"…That's impossible."
The words left him in a breath low, shaken. He looked up at Akira, disbelieving. "The powers… they're sealed inside you are… awakened?"
The air between them turned brittle, colder.
Akira stood still, his breath unsteady. A shadow passed over his expression.
Then, almost too quietly:
"…Didn't His Majesty already know?"
The Emperor's gaze sharpened. For a moment, neither moved. Then he stood, slowly, the light in his eyes restless.
"The seal… it was meant for the girl. She was the vessel. That's why the order was given. That's why she was to be killed along with the others. To erase the threat before it could awaken again."
Akira's fists clenched at his sides. But he said nothing.
The Emperor turned away, pacing once… twice—his steps uneven. One hand ran through his hair, tense. "Then where did it go wrong?" he muttered under his breath. "Who changed the vessel? Who dared to defy the order?"
He stopped, back to Akira now. His voice dropped more to himself than anyone else, "How—how did the seal end up in you? And all this time… how did I never notice? I never thought—"
Footsteps broke the silence.
Akira stepped down from the bed, barefoot on the cold floor, and slowly approached.
"Lie," he said quietly, but the word struck like iron. "You knew. That's why you've been searching. You were looking for someone, who could carry it instead. Someone you could trade my fate with."
The Emperor's eyes didn't flinch, but a tension rippled through his jaw.
"I was searching…" he said evenly. Then paused something unreadable flickered across his face, and the corner of his lips lifted, bitter. "…Because if I could find another vessel… I could spare you."
"You weren't supposed to survive this long—not if you weren't my son." His voice softened, "I didn't know at first. I refused to see it. But… I realized it along the way. And when I learned the seal had embedded in you… I couldn't undo it. So I searched for a way to shift it."
Akira's expression didn't soften. His voice remained cold. "I don't believe that. You wanted them wiped out. Even after the seal was inside me."
That cracked something.
The Emperor's restraint broke, he stepped forward and grabbed Akira's arm, grip iron-hard.
"Can't you think?" he snapped. "I was told the seal was inside her. That's why I gave the order. That's why I—"
His voice caught. He let go.
"I realized the truth far too late," the Emperor said quietly. "It was the night you turned eighteen… when you lost control."
Akira's breath hitched. A faint tremor ran through his fingers.
The Emperor turned away, pacing once before stopping mid-stride, his shoulders rigid with memory.
"You kept killing. Without hesitation. Without restraint." His voice dropped lower.
"Until your master intervened… and subdued you."
"That's when we knew," he continued, voice hollow. "The seal was in you. But it was weakened—fractured. Something… or someone… had forced it to slumber. But the night you awakened—" He turned back to face his son. "It tried to break free."