The sun had set hours ago, but the Imperial Palace did not sleep. Every corner was perfumed with moon flowers, and the corridors vibrated with contained energy, expectant. The following day would mark a new chapter in the history of the empire... and in the emperor's own story.
Jin Long walked alone through the lotus garden, where the wind whispered among the leaves and lanterns floated like fireflies frozen in time. The wedding preparations were finished, everything was ready, but inside him, something still trembled.
He stopped before the Celestial Mirror Lake, a surface so calm it reflected the stars with greater precision than the sky itself. There, in that intimate silence, he encountered his reflection.
"Who am I now...?" he whispered.
