Myriad Rivers to the Sea

The dust settling over the insectoid realm brought a strange unsettling quiet to the neutral zones. The violent energy storms that had painted the horizon for weeks finally faded, leaving behind a clear empty sky.

Li Yu waited a few days after learning of Venrik’s death before making his return trip to Split Rock. Even though he told himself he wouldn’t, curiosity got the better of him yet again. He needed to know the final disposition of the realm. Emperor Xerxis held the keys to the realm now and his next move would dictate the fate of billions.

Li Yu walked into the central tavern and noticed the heavy wooden doors had been replaced with crude iron slabs. The atmosphere inside was no longer frantic or terrified. It was saturated with confusion.

He claimed his dark corner and ordered his bitter root tea. The tavern keeper brought it immediately before rushing back to the counter. Li Yu focused his senses once again.

"It makes zero sense." A sleek dragonfly scout sighed. "We had scouts positioned on the high ridges overlooking the capital. We watched the entire climax. Emperor Xerxis stood in the ruined courtyard. He had Queen Calyptra at his complete mercy."

"And?" A large beetle warrior leaned forward, his massive broadsword resting against the table. "Did he demand a public execution? Did he claim the capital for the Hive?"

"He did nothing." The scout replied with his voice flat with disbelief. "He ordered his Royal Brood to stand down. He approached the injured Moth Queen and they spoke in private for a few minutes. No one could hear the conversation. Then Xerxis turned around, boarded his warship and left."

The mercenaries staring at the scout blinked in unison.

"He left?" A thin mantis rogue asked, tilting his head. "He did not ask for tribute? He did not seize the defensive arrays or empty the royal vaults?"

"He did not take a single grain of spiritual rice." The scout confirmed. "He withdrew his entire army and flew back to the Hive Empire. He left the Eclipse Court and its people completely alone."

The tavern erupted into a chaotic debate.

The mercenaries and scavengers were pragmatic killers. They understood greed, ambition and revenge. They could process Venrik’s multi-layered betrayal and they could respect Xerxis stealing the Aegis Legion. But walking away from total victory without claiming a prize shattered their understanding of the world.

"They were enemies for who knows how long now." An older ant veteran muttered. "The Hive and the Eclipse Court have spilled rivers of each other's blood. You do not just walk away from a blood feud when your boot is on your enemy's neck."

"Unless the feud was a lie." A raspy voice echoed from the end of the bar.

The tavern quieted down. An ancient and hunched over moth kin wearing tattered gray robes took a slow sip of his ale. He possessed the faded aura of a person who had seen too much.

"What do you mean old man?" The beetle warrior grunted.

"There were rumors long, long ago." The lore keeper rasped his cloudy eyes while staring into the distance. "Before the current borders were drawn in blood. Before the grand tournament established the hierarchy. The rumors were dismissed as tavern gossip but recent developments suggest they held the truth."

"Speak plainly." The mantis rogue demanded.

"Emperor Xerxis and Queen Calyptra were not always enemies." The old moth said. The words hung heavy in the silent room. "In their youth, before they claimed their respective thrones they were actually lovers."

A collective scoff echoed through the tavern. The idea of the brutal Hive Emperor and the lethal Moth Queen sharing a romance seemed absurd to the hardened mercenaries.

"Laugh all you want." The lore keeper shrugged. "They traveled together and cultivated together. But something happened. A grand tragedy or a profound disagreement drove them apart. They established their own empires and built their foundations on opposing supreme laws. Perhaps it was because the Queen’s kind naturally used the bodies of the Emperor’s kind to breed and raise the next generation. Whatever be the case, the rumors faded because their public hatred for one another was so intense and absolute."

Li Yu sat in his corner and stared at the dark liquid in his cup. He did not scoff. The pieces did seem to kind of fit together. It explained the illogical tactical decisions that had baffled the entire realm.

Xerxis deployed his most precious hidden army, the Royal Brood, to break Venrik’s siege. He brought Garrick to ensure overwhelming victory. He crushed the usurper and slaughtered the treacherous rogue army without mercy. And then he walked away leaving the Eclipse Court intact. He did gain the Aegis Legion in all this without much work but he could have gained a lot more.

He did not do it for conquest. He did it to save her.

Li Yu let out a slow breath. He commented to himself on how fortunes changed at the drop of a hat. Emperor Xerxis was the ultimate victor in the grand war. He gained control of the Aegis Legion through pure opportunism and he eliminated the greatest threat to the woman he secretly loved.

Venrik was a dangerous and brilliant man. He had brought two supreme empires to their knees using flawless plots, complex schemes and hoarded treasures. But Venrik could not calculate the fickle heart.

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The usurper assumed Xerxis would act out of ancient hatred. He predicted the Hive Emperor would attack the Eclipse Court to finish off his old rival. That single misunderstanding of Xerxis cost Venrik his army, his stolen throne and his life.

The debate in the tavern shifted from ancient romances to the current grim reality of the Eclipse Court.

"Love or not the Moth Empire is bleeding out." The dragonfly scout announced while pulling a stack of parchment bounties from his leather satchel and slapping them onto the table. "Queen Calyptra and the Nine Paths Moth survived but their injuries are beyond severe."

The mercenaries crowded around the table to look at the bounties.

"Venrik’s ambush combined with the supreme soul artifact he used against the guardian beast inflicted terrifying damage." The scout explained. "The royal physicians are failing. The Eclipse Court is desperate. They are broadcasting an open call to the entire realm."

Li Yu listened to the specific details of the bounties.

The Eclipse Court was seeking anyone knowledgeable in exotic poisons, supreme soul mending and high level medical skills. They were offering open access to their royal vaults, prime spiritual veins and immunity from past crimes for anyone who could stabilize their fading pillars.

The news revealed the true sheer desperation of the Moth Empire. A faction built on secrecy and lethalness was publicly admitting its supreme leaders were on the verge of death. Li Yu absorbed the information and stood up. He left some spirit stone on the table and slipped out the iron doors.

He had no intention of answering the bounty. He was a wandering traveler not a savior for dying monarchs. He did have some skill that might be able to help but there was no guarantee that he could actually help. In addition, emotions are high there. Maybe they will turn on everyone that couldn’t solve the problem. Similarly to what Ignis had done with people that came with poor skills.

He activated his movement technique blurring across the jagged peaks to return to his isolated mountain. He pushed the heavy boulder aside, sealed the entrance and sat in the center of his array formation as before. He closed his eyes and pushed the geopolitical drama from his mind. He began focusing on the golden sparks of lightning dancing across his skin.

Two days passed in quiet but rigorous cultivation. On the third day, the deep earth metal plates of his concealment array let out a sharp high pitched whine. Li Yu snapped his eyes open. The air inside the dark cave grew incredibly dense. The ambient Qi vibrating through the solid bedrock froze completely.

A localized spatial tear ripped open the fabric of reality right inside his small sanctuary. The tear bypassed his concealment arrays entirely.

Li Yu grabbed his Star Crusher staff, his muscles coiling with explosive might. He channeled his Void laws and was preparing to fold space and escape the mountain in a fraction of a second. A figure stepped through the spatial tear.

Li Yu froze his grip tightening on his heavy metal staff.

Standing in the center of his cramped scorched cave was Emperor Xerxis. The supreme ruler of the Hive Empire. His immense Domain King aura was suppressed but the physical presence of the man made the stone walls groan under the pressure.

"Young Master!" Xerxis greeted him, his voice thick with a mix of respect and barely contained desperation. "Please forgive this supreme intrusion! I know a being of your unfathomable status wishes to cultivate in peace but I am begging for your assistance."

Li Yu lowered his staff.

"Emperor Xerxis," Li Yu said. "How did you find me here?"

"Garrick helped me, Young Master," Xerxis answered quickly. "Garrick possesses a unique connection to the bone token he gave you. He locked onto your position and tore the spatial pathway open for me."

"Where is Garrick now?" Li Yu asked.

"He returned to the Hive," Xerxis replied. "He claimed he had fought his battle and earned his reward. He is currently back at my palace enjoying the nectar wine and his choice of women."

Li Yu nodded slowly.

"Why are you here, Emperor?" Li Yu asked.

Xerxis looked up and his compound eyes were filled with ancient pain for a moment.

"I need your help, Young Master," Xerxis stated, the words carrying a heavy humility that Li Yu had not heard before. "I need you to accompany me to the Eclipse Court. I need you to see if you can help Queen Calyptra and the Nine Paths Moth."

Li Yu stared at the Emperor. Hearing the tavern gossip was one thing but having the Hive Emperor in a cave and asking for medical assistance on behalf of his supposed rival confirmed everything.

"I heard the rumors in the rogue settlements," Li Yu said to test the waters. "I thought you hated the Moth Queen. You have been fighting border wars for centuries. You even told me you hated each other. Actually, you even said you’d defeat her and take her to me as a maid. You defeated her, why did you not bring her to me as a maid?"

A shadow passed over Xerxis’s face as he remembered his own words.

"It is complicated, Young Master," Xerxis said. "I did not actually mean those words. As for our hatred, the public truth and the private truth are rarely the same. I have brought the greatest physicians in my empire to her bedside secretly and they have all failed."

Xerxis looked directly at Li Yu and the desperation began bleeding into his tone. He didn’t have much confidence in Li Yu being able to help her. He was much too weak. Xerxis was hoping that Li Yu would come and one of his protectors could help out.

"Her soul is poisoned," Xerxis continued. "The poison from Venrik’s artifact is eating her alive. The attack on the Nine Path Moth severely damaged its soul and it is slowly falling apart. I know it is a massive imposition on someone of your incredible lineage but I am out of options. I am begging you to look."

Li Yu looked at the Emperor. He saw a man who had just conquered the realm but was completely powerless to save something he cared about. He dropped everything and risked his Empire to help her during the war as well.

Li Yu let out a long breath. He didn’t know if he could help but he also had to maintain his "Young Master" persona. This required him to occasionally display the unfathomable depth Xerxis believed he possessed.

"I was just kidding about the maid thing, as were you when you said it. I will go take a look," Li Yu said. "I make no promises about healing them. But if I do this, I want the full story from you. I want to know about you and her. That is my price. For my own curiosity."

Xerxis nodded without hesitation, a wave of relief washing over his face.

"I will tell you everything, Young Master," Xerxis agreed eagerly. "I will explain the history after you examine her. Time is of the absolute essence right now. If you can save them, I will give you anything you ask for. Any resource, any supreme treasure and any secret the Hive possesses is yours."

It was a blank check from the most powerful entity in the realm.

"Deal," Li Yu said.

Xerxis stood up and channeled his Qi. A rift expanded, illuminating the dark cave with blinding light.

"Please, after you, Young Master," Xerxis said respectfully while gesturing toward the rift.

Li Yu stepped into the golden light, leaving the neutral zones behind and plunging directly into the heart of the dying Eclipse Court.