Wai smiled, tapping ash from her pipe. "Good. Seems like being in a squad hasn't dulled your mind."
"Never," Rin said, nonchalant.
That made her laugh. "Good, good."
"So that must've been Kishimoto's Eidolon?" Titi asked.
"Nobody knows for sure," Wai said. "This story was written centuries after the fact. But if I had to say — most likely it was his Eidolon." She looked at her granddaughter. "Now, Titi, listen well, girl. The family connection is coming up."
Titi leaned on the counter next to Rin. Wai took another puff and continued.
"Kishimoto destroyed Chang'kyō walking out of it, his father in both hands. His Eidolon towered over the city at a hundred feet — and the tallest building in the capital was only seventy. All Fatiha's army heard, at first, was massive debris flying up over the wall. Then blood started pouring from under the front gates, scaring half of them out of their wits. It spilled all over the capital, turned the rivers red for months.
"Kishimoto's Eidolon pushed the front gates open. As he walked through the smoke, his brothers and sisters saw him and rushed to him — all of them crying, raging, sobbing, screaming. And every single one of them activated their Viatras, right then, under the weight of seeing their father dead.
"That day, Kishimoto became Emperor Shènjī Zhiyuan. Founded the Shènjī Dynasty."
She let that sit.
"Which would later be known as the Black Clan."
Titi's mouth fell open. "Woah. I knew I was related to great people, but I didn't know the Black Clan history was that deep. That complex."
Wai smiled, repacking her pipe. "You haven't heard nothing yet."
She went on.
"Emperor Shènjī moved the capital near their father's home. Built a new one — called it Zhu. It'd later be called Zhushen. He buried his father nearby, close enough to walk to.
"For the next nine hundred years, the Great Chi Empire went on a war of expansion, the Viatras passing down through every generation of the Shènjī Clan. They defeated most of the hordes in western Chi, united the entire continent, pushed into central Rajputana and beat back the gold-tusk elephanti riders there. At the same time, they pushed into northern Africanus and beat back the relic warriors.
"The Emperor lived long enough to see his empire stretch across three continents. The whole world knew the name Shènjī.
"After he passed, his son Tezuka took the throne. Pushed the Great Chi Empire to its greatest peak. History remembers him as Tezuka the Great.
"He started a war with the Greater Britannia Empire — their greatest enemy — freshly united under King Maximillian's Sun Knights banner. Two of the greatest warriors Margerina has ever seen. An Emperor who fought on the battlefield himself, and a King who knew nothing but battle and war. Maximillian was seen as the light of the world, defending it from the encroaching empire of Chi.
"The two men never once met on the battlefield — only commanded their armies from a distance. A hundred years of war. Britannia repelled every push, every time, because their ship-building and warfare were simply better. Cut off Chi's important trade routes while bombarding coastal cities with Muti explosive arrows — aura weighting the arrowhead like an anchor, fire Muti set to ignite on impact — thousands of bowmen letting loose on a single city or town at once. Complete destruction. And the Great Chi Empire had nothing in its arsenal to counter it.
"They came to terms more than once. In one message, King Maximillian wrote to Emperor Tezuka — from the lives you kill so meaninglessly, I can tell you and your family came from a black clan.
"That was the first time the phrase was ever spoken. Ever written. Tezuka flew into a rage, massacred every Britannia prisoner he held. Britannia remembers it as the Black Day.
"Revolts started breaking out among the hordes in western Chi. Tezuka came to terms to halt the war with Britannia — but died of sickness during his western campaign before it was finished.
"The empire passed to Emperor Miura. He spent his reign defending the massive empire instead of expanding it — building walls around Chi called The Celestial Divide against the Rajputana elephanti riders pushing in from the east, the hordes pressing deep from the west, and Britannia's war ships from the sea. One of the greatest leaders the empire ever had."
Wai's voice dropped.
"But even he couldn't stop what was coming."
"What's coming?" Titi asked.
"The Eye Wars," Rin said, low.
Wai smiled and exhaled a slow cloud of smoke.