The Night Without Reflections
The new moon rose above the Imperial Palace like a closed eye.
The entire sky seemed to hold its breath, hiding stars, as if the gods had withdrawn to observe in silence.
Torches flickered in the corridors, casting long shadows that stretched like claws.
But Suwei walked without fear.
Each of his steps resonated firmly against the stone slabs, as if his very walk challenged darkness itself.
He had summoned the council...
But deep down he knew not everyone would arrive.
Betrayals had already left their scar on the Empire, and not all oaths were worth what it cost to pronounce them.
In the Throne Room, Jin Long was alone.
His hands, tense and wounded, clung to the back of the golden dragon carved in gold.
Betrayal weighed on his shoulders like an iron crown, but there was something more.
A presence crawled along the walls, cold, invisible, like poison.
