Prologue

Pulled by his hand, he was climbing the stairs.

It was said that the tower was build during the prosperous era of this city. Now it was just one of the abandoned ruins.

The air was stagnant and moldy even though the ceiling had long since collapsed. There were no windows here.

Each time the lamplight in his father’s hands swayed, the darkness that had chained their destination was slowly backing away. Whenever he looked back, their prolonged shadows were painted over with black, making him think that they were waiting for a chance to grab his ankles and drag him to the depth of the night. Regardless, he had no time to cower.

While dragged by his father, he kept climbing the stairs that were too high for a child’s feet.

The stairs, that felt endless, finally showed its peak and a door came in sight at the dead end.

Rust seemed to have colored the metal fittings here and there, an obvious sign of corrosion. Much higher than his head was a round peephole framed by the rotting frame. The iron lattice, fitted oh so carefully, had fallen down, leaving only the roots.

After taking a breath, his father talked.

“It seems to be here.”

A tired voice crossed the spiral stairs that ran through the tower. It seems to here, here, here…

Night leaned down beyond the tall wall. Darkly. Heavily.

The moment his father put a hand on the door handle, he shouted. ‘Stop’.

Or rather, he wanted to.

But his voice seemed to have frozen at the depth of his throat as the door opened, with no resistance whatsoever.

The squeaking sound of the hinges was changed by the sound of dripping water. Moist air suddenly rushed in.

It’s dark.

He desperately squinted in search for light. A mirror was there. Reflected in it was a vague figure. He could slightly discern a white outline. It had a long flowing hair, with a nose bridge and cheekbones slightly peeking out from behind the hair.

Light shone there. It was very weak, even weaker than the light his father was using.

The light source turned out to be a small candle. Whenever the raised hand swayed, hundreds of thousands shadows danced in the room. The overlapping shadows deepened the darkness, making the faint light even weaker.

Reflecting that slight light, gold shone dully. It was a heavy golden ring used to decorate foreheads. A wide ring adorned the hands that were illuminated by the candlelight. Their arms were similarly decorated. The luxurious clothes that covered them from their shoulders to their toes were glaring with the sparkle of the golden thread.

It was as if this person had armored themselves with gold.

“The name of the person who planned the assassination-“

The sound of the water interrupted the man’s words. Was the roof perhaps leaking? However, both the way of arrival and the destination of the water droplets melted in the darkness, hidden from any curious eyes.

A faint voice answered, as if to break up that noise.

“Nestor.”

The man’s eyebrows rose up. The curly hair scattered on his forehead shone golden just as his accessories. Reflecting the light of the lamplight, even his eyes appeared to be dyed in golden color.

“Who’s that?”

“Aristo, Eculé, Torr, Lovest. Those are all the names of assassins. Do you need more?”

“I’m not interested in the names of those who died 100, 200 years ago.”

As he spat out, the golden man restlessly circled the room.

The hem of his clothes grazed the floor, stirring the air. A strong smell, resembling the scent of a burning fragrant tree, reached his nose.

“That is unfortunate.”

“It happened the day before yesterday. I don’t need the name of the assassin. I want to know who the mastermind of the assassination was, who’s the one that wants me dead.“

The shadow in the mirror answered as if sighing.

“If Your Highness wishes to know who would want to wish disaster upon you, there are countless.”

“I’m not interested in worthless trash. There must be somebody who planned it, made the decision and carried out the plan. I don’t care about the assassin, tell me the name of the person who planned the assassination.”

The water resounded. He saw the swaying water surface in the corner of his field of vision. Water slowly dripped into the glassware. Droplets melted away, leaving ripples behind.

The golden man moved around. He didn’t see anything and he heard nothing.

“I must make an example out of them, to show others what happens to those that try to target the emperor’s life.”

“Your Majesty needn’t to soil your hands. They will eventually be crushed by their sins and die.”

For the first time, the emperor laughed. His voice echoed like a bell.

“Where is that prophecy coming from? Or, are you saying that you can see the future?”

“Aristo was a man more proficient at information manipulation than swordsmanship. He built a false image of himself and was killed for it. Eculé doubted his employer before receiving the payment and was killed in retaliation after he tried to assault them. Lovest shot the king and seized his throne. The ones who employed him were the vassals of the killed king. He could only warm up the throne until he opened his mouth to issue his first order. He immediately was turned into a cold corpse and was thrown away. A big crow pecked out his eyeballs when he was hung from the castle walls… “

The white shadow slowly changed their direction. Their face was still hard to see because they were facing down, but the raised corners of their mouth was slightly visible.

They were smiling.

“You seem to be in quite high spirits. Is defying me that fun?”

“Defying?”

Their straight white hair swayed. It stroke their delicate shoulders, falling to their chest.

A heavy sound resounded.

What split the silver hair was a thin arm. Thick shackles were set on their wrist. The hem of the chain that reached the floor melted in the darkness, veiling the whereabouts of the chain.

“I have been tied here at Your Majesty’s command. I can never leave this room. Your Majesty is the only one in possession of the key. How would I be able to defy you? After all, you have taken all my kin hostage.”

The hand moved, making the chains ring. It brushed up the hair that was covering their face.

“Don’t look at me.”

“You must be jesting. Were you not the one who had my eyes crushed because you hated them? What I can see is not Your Majesty’s current self. What I can see is Your Majesty, a year, or perhaps a decade ago. Your Majesty when he was young and strong. The day you picked up the sword and defeated your Father, that night when you ordered the assassination of your younger brother, the foggy valley where you had that assassin killed… Oh, how beautiful Her Majesty the Empress is. How many years ago is her appearance from? Who did her eyes follow? Your Majesty has doubted her, always——“

The air moved faster than the roaring scream. The white shadow collapsed. Blood was dripping from their cheek. Did it get cut by jewel on the ring?

Their colorless lips moved.

“Next time I will just put an end to it by cutting my tongue. As to no longer tarnish Your Majesty’s ears with my voice.”

“Then your power will be wasted.”

“The power to see the past is already useless as it is.”

Raising their upper body, the white shadow talked. Softly, quietly. As if divulging the secret of the world.

“That’s impossible.”

“Why did my kingdom perish? Why am I still alive despite forgetting the boundary between the day and night, along with my name? I can’t even be sure that Your Majesty’s voice I’m hearing right is from the present and not from the past–.”

The chain rang. White hand traced the cheek that was slapped.

“If this pain doesn’t tell, I might even forget that I am here, in this moment. I think of the ruined kingdom from 100, 200 years ago. I hear the dying screams of the kings. They were all strong in their youth, shining brightly and yet – I can only watch as doubt eats away at their heart and betrayal crushes their heart.”

“Power is power. You all have made a mistake in the way you used it! Now that power belongs to me.”

The sound of dripping water resounded faintly.

Nobody moved, yet that smell strongly drifted in the air.

The fragrance that numbed the depth of one’s head. The Emperor once again opened his mouth.

“You must want to convince me that it’s useless. You just want to die. You want to die and put an end to everything instead of helping me. Isn’t that right?”

“You have got me wrong. I want to live…”

The whispering voice sounded as if they were at their wits’ end.

“You mentioned something about cutting your tongue, didn’t you?”

The emperor grabbed the other person’s chin and made them look up. He put his lips on the white cloth that was wrapped around their eyes and whispered.

“Did you take me for a fool who would fall for that kind of provocation? I will have you help me. You can’t lie to me.”

“As you will.”

“You will look at the past as you’re ordered.”

“As you will.”

“Otherwise, I will massacre the people of your kingdom. Is the oath valid?”

After a moment, the voice replied.

“As you will.”

The white shadow collapsed on the ground. The tone of Emperor’s voice, as he was looking down on them, was ominously gentle.

“Curse your birth, and the fact that you were the last one to receive the God’s grace.”

“I must live on desperately. That is the duty of those who have survived the destruction of their kingdom. In order to engrave the last days of the fools in the passage of the time.”

“To be foolish is to be happy at times.”

“Your Majesty and your family have promised me that you would protect and nurture my kin. In exchange for my loyalty and this power—”

“Then, keep your vow,” The emperor rudely interrupted their words.

Dark circles had appeared beneath his bloodshot eyes, showing the exhaustion of the man who had acquired all the glory in the world. Only his tone and the eyes were unnaturally strong.

“Answer me. Who’s the one that planned my assassination?”

“Your hand, please.”

The chain rang.

The white hand that rose slowly. The black chains that left a trail on the floor. A singing, whispering flow of words.

“My power will do as Your Majesty’s heart wills. Let us look as far as we can. When did the assassin visit you? I can see a little before this afternoon… It’s Your Majesty… Is this perhaps the courtyard of the royal palace? This is the scene of when the assassin failed… Well then, let us rewind even further.”

The voice continued talking without stopping.

The assassin invades the royal palace – before the invasion – That morning he ate his last meal, woke up, fell asleep – A way through the secret passage to the imperial palace and the times when the guards become shorthanded are written on a piece of paper – A dirty child delivered the piece of paper – A day passes – the day before that, and even further back.

The Emperor was panting.

The white shadow slowly raised their head. The line from their bent chin to their throat was unreliably trembling. The fingers adorned with the rings and the white fingers were entangled. As if one was trying to stop the other from escaping. Or perhaps, as if one was hanging on to a lifeline. Which one of them actually supported the other?

The Emperor started trembling. He was looking at the mirror behind the white shadow. All that was reflected in it was the darkness that filled the room. What swayed in it as nothing but the Emperor’s vague shadow. ‘Ah’, the Emperor exhaled. It melted not into his voice or words, but rather in the darkness.

“How mysterious the heart of the men is… It transcends losses and gains and overturns any calculating ambitions. Fustor fell madly in love with a woman and tried to assassinate her husband. Even if he was his superior and a benefactor, who favored him-”

“Shut up!”

After shouting those two words, the Emperor tore off that white hand. The voice of water resounded, as if rebuking the other for becoming upset. Quietly, and at specific intervals.

“You must have seen what you wanted to see. You saw who made the specific plan and prepared money to pay the assassins. I do not know who it was. I cannot tell anybody about their identity either. If you are dissatisfied, all Your Majesty need to do is keep it in your heart.”

The chain rang. White shadow slowly leaned at the mirror. And they slid down to the bottom of the darkness just like that.

“It’s a lie!”

“My power does not lie. The power to know the truth is the power of God, and God does not allow falsehood.”

The Emperor opened his mouth and answered with something – but his figure faded and disappeared in the darkness. Only the hazy outline of the white shadow remained chiseled by the darkness. They slightly raised their face and turned towards him.

“The price paid for the truth is far too expensive. You must understand, right? People need lies, as they cannot be as strong as the God.”

The whispering voice mixed with the sound of the water and disappeared.

When he came to, his father was calling his name.

“What’s wrong? Did you see anything?”

As he tried to answer, he was choked by a cough. His coughing didn’t stop, making it hard to breath.

That night, he had a fever. For more than 10 days he couldn’t lift his head from the pillow, wandering between the boundary of death and life.

The opportunity to answer his father’s question never came.

*****

TL Notes:

At first I wanted to use “it” for the white shadow but that came with all sorts of problems so I had to default to they. The reason I’m being vague about the gender is because while I personally think that the shadow is a woman, there is no confirmation for that in the text.