Episode 10 — The Night the Empire Split
War did not announce itself with drums.
It arrived disguised as routine.
Li Wei realized this the moment the palace gates closed an hour earlier than scheduled.
Too smooth. Too quiet.
The kind of silence that existed only when every piece had already been placed on the board.
He stood at the window of his assigned chamber, watching lanterns flicker along the inner courtyard. Soldiers moved with purpose, not panic. Orders passed hand to hand without raised voices. This was not defense.
This was preparation.
Behind him, Shen Zhiyuan was fastening his armor.
The sound of leather tightening and metal settling into place was painfully familiar now. Li Wei had learned to measure his own fear by the rhythm of those movements. Tonight, Shen moved faster.
Sharper.
"You're not attending the council," Shen said without turning.
Li Wei stiffened. "That wasn't a request."
"No," Shen agreed. "It was an order."
Li Wei turned slowly. "Then this is it."
Shen paused.
For a fraction of a second, his hands stilled.
"You knew it would come," Shen said quietly.
"Yes," Li Wei replied. "I didn't expect you to lock me away when it did."
Shen turned then, dark armor half-fastened, sword resting against the table like a promise of violence. His expression was closed—too controlled, too calm.
"You will remain here," Shen said. "By dawn, the Crown Prince will make his move. I won't have you within reach when it happens."
Li Wei's voice was steady, but his chest burned. "You're sending me away."
"I'm keeping you alive."
"That's not the same thing anymore."
Shen crossed the room in three strides.
"You think I don't know that?" he demanded softly. "You think I haven't weighed this a hundred times already?"
Li Wei met his gaze. "Then why does it feel like you're choosing without me?"
Because I am afraid, Shen did not say.
Because if you stand beside me tonight, you may not see morning.
Instead, Shen said, "Because some choices cannot be shared."
Li Wei laughed—quiet, sharp. "You sound like the men you despise."
The insult landed.
Good.
Shen exhaled slowly. "You will be escorted to the southern archives before nightfall. Hidden. Guarded. Untouchable."
"Like a secret," Li Wei said.
"Like a weakness," Shen corrected.
The word cut deeper than intended.
Li Wei stepped closer. "I am not your weakness."
Shen's voice dropped. "You are the only one I cannot afford to lose."
Silence swallowed the room.
Outside, thunder rolled low across the city.
"You said you didn't know how to let me go," Li Wei said quietly. "Is this you trying?"
Shen's jaw tightened.
"This is me refusing to watch you die."
Li Wei studied him—this man who had learned to burn cities without blinking, now standing before him with restraint carved into every line of his body.
"You won't look back," Li Wei said suddenly.
Shen frowned. "What?"
"When you walk out that door," Li Wei continued, "you won't look back at me."
Shen held his gaze. "I don't look back in battle."
"Then look now."
Shen hesitated.
Just long enough.
Then he turned away and finished fastening his armor.
Li Wei felt something inside him fracture quietly.
The escort arrived at dusk.
Elite guards. Silent. Loyal to Shen alone.
Li Wei allowed himself to be led from the chamber without protest. He did not struggle. He did not argue.
He memorized the way Shen stood in the doorway, torchlight catching the edge of his armor, expression unreadable.
He memorized it because something told him this image would hurt later.
As they moved through the palace, chaos bloomed behind closed doors. Shouts rose. Steel rang. Somewhere, a scream cut off abruptly.
The Crown Prince had made his move.
The southern archives were cold and vast, shelves rising like tombstones filled with the empire's memory. Li Wei was led into a hidden chamber and the door sealed behind him.
Safe.
Isolated.
Useless.
He paced.
Counted breaths.
Counted heartbeats.
War bled through stone.
Hours passed.
Then footsteps.
Not guards.
Too light.
The door opened.
Minister Xu Ming stepped inside.
Alive.
Unharmed.
Smiling.
Li Wei's blood turned to ice.
"So this is where he hid you," Xu Ming said softly. "How thoughtful."
Li Wei backed away instinctively. "You shouldn't be here."
"On the contrary," Xu Ming replied. "I am exactly where I planned to be."
"You betrayed him," Li Wei said.
Xu Ming sighed. "I betrayed inevitability."
He stepped closer.
"Shen Zhiyuan will fall tonight," Xu Ming continued calmly. "Not because he is weak—but because he refuses to sacrifice you."
Li Wei's breath hitched.
"That's a lie."
Xu Ming smiled sadly. "Is it?"
Li Wei lunged for the alarm bell.
Xu Ming moved faster.
Guards poured in—not Shen's.
The door slammed shut again.
"You were never meant to be hidden," Xu Ming said quietly. "You were meant to be bait."
Li Wei struggled, but numbers overwhelmed him.
As they dragged him away, the palace shook with the roar of battle.
Shen Zhiyuan fought like a storm unleashed.
He cut through traitors and loyalists alike, blade singing, armor drenched in blood. Orders fell from his lips like executions. He reached the council chamber to find it burning, the Crown Prince already fled.
Victory, bought too late.
When Shen realized Li Wei was gone—
Something inside him snapped.
He abandoned command.
He ran.
By the time Shen reached the southern archives, it was empty.
Only blood.
And a single strip of dark blue silk caught on a broken latch.
Li Wei's.
Shen closed his fist around it.
For the first time since his youth, General Shen Zhiyuan screamed.
Not in rage.
In loss.
And somewhere beyond the palace walls, Li Wei was taken into the dark—alive, breathing, furious—
Knowing with terrifying certainty that the war had only just begun.
Not for the throne.
But for him.