Chapter 219: Eternal Emperor
The Eternal Emperor’s orange robes were thick and heavy and enveloped him in a luxurious swath of divine silk. Atop his head rested the kanmuri, a cap-shaped black lacquered silk hat with a pennon. Kazi had seen it drawn in the history books hundreds of times. It was a symbol of his royal status and connection to the heavens.
It should have been a struggle to walk but the Eternal Emperor glided in the dense clothing like it was nothing, coming close to Kazi’s face and examining him with a big smile.
"Wow...wow!" Emperor Toru reeled back, his smile bright and pearly and mind-bogglingly radiant. His features were strikingly handsome, with high cheekbones, a strong jawline, and piercing yellow-orange eyes like the sun. His complexion was smooth and white like milk, unstained by the world and instead grabbing hold of it.
"His Imperial Majesty the Emperor," Kazi acknowledged. His tone was low and formal, respectful. "It is an honour. Thank you for—"
"No need for that." The Eternal Emperor turned around and began walking. His sumptuous orange robes followed behind him like liquid flame. "Come, come. Oh, and call me Toru."
Kazi followed.
’The rumours about this guy really weren’t exaggerated.’
The courtyard was a breathtaking display of imperial grandeur and the path they followed led them through meticulously tended gardens, where vibrant blooms burst forth in riotous colour with the backdrop of green, lush bushes. Emperor Toru’s presence seemed to imbue mother nature with an added brilliance. His radiant smile was either infusing the greenry and blooms or Kazi’s vision was failing to keep up. As they walked, the servants bowed and greeted the Eternal Emperor. Everyone couldn’t help but be struck by the Emperor’s extraordinary presence. He must have walked through these paths thousands of times, met and encountered the same servants that many times, and still received the same awed reactions. His beauty spread through legend and academia as truly divine in its own right. His eyes, the colour of molten gold, matched the sudden new shift in the sky. It was like the Eternal Emperor was in a whole other world.
It was like he was the closest being to the divine.