The Kingmaker

Nothing But Dust



 Moon's gentle shower

Light reveals sins in the wind

Whispers of remorse

-

Tetsuya's chamber is dimly illuminated, with the soothing glimmer of moonlight streaming across the polished marble floor. He could have chased the darkness out of his tiny room with candles, but there's something so alluring about the moonlight. It's as if it's speaking to him all the time, especially when he's sleeping. It makes it feel like he can do anything and be whoever he wants to be.

Ogiwara Shigehiro, his only friend in the Palace, once told him that maybe he was born on a full moon. That could be right or wrong; there's no telling since his parents didn't know, or rather, they never bothered to tell him. They said it wasn't their fault they hadn't known how to count and read. Nobody is that uneducated, he wanted to say.

He looks around his room once again. Just like him, it seems, everything is white. He lets the light wash over him, imagining that there is someone else out there who is as enthralled by the moon as he is.

According to the fables, the third God, Kang'e, lives on the moon. They believe she used to grant wishes during full moons, but after the humans of Ha, the old name for the northerners, exploited her benevolence, she vanished. The good news is that if your heart is sincere enough, there is a small chance she might answer your prayer. It should be just one wish, however. So you must speak the truth because once you have made up your mind, there is no going back.

"If you are out there, please save me," he murmurs, his words scarcely more than a breath yet filled with desperation. Instantly, a pang of regret grips him, and he quickly covers his mouth, though he knows full well that no ears but his own have heard the plea. In the Palace, where every whisper is a potential seed for treachery, words must be selected with extreme caution, for within those hallowed halls, even the walls have ears.

Someone is always out there.

Tetsuya whips his head towards the closed door, his heart thumping hard against his rib cage. Well, that was fast.

A note slips through the crack between the floor and the door. This isn't just any note. The note is in red. In a second, he recognises it.

He picks it up with both fascination and dread. His heart, once again, drums in a sinful way. Of course. Only one person would address him by his first name.

🌑

Beneath the dancing fire coming from the torches, ten heavily armed guards stand motionless. With their massive bodies, two of them are enough to block the archway to the Crown Prince's chamber. Their eyes pan from side to side without moving an inch.

The first guard is standing at a spot directly under the entrance, facing outward so he can see all directions around him. But everyone knows that this guard is a sacrifice. If he goes down, the remaining guards will be alerted.

Tetsuya knows he cannot defeat any of them if they catch him. He, can, however, take them one by one if he wants to. He lacks brute strength, but he is full of surprises.

Thankfully, he has no need to do any of his tricks as he is only here for the Crown Prince. Not to take his life, but to take another order.

The pulsing shadow of the crackling fire glides across the weathered features of Murasakibara, known as the highest anointed Highguard of the Crown Prince. His imposing stature dominates the hallway. "Good evening, Kurochin. What brings you here?" he asks with genuine curiosity. A little too much so. Tetsuya has never met a bigger or taller person in their kingdom. Murasakibara is not only the embodiment of strength and force but also a paradoxical figure—one who seems to alternate between childlike innocence and brutal resolution. It is a duality that captivates and disturbs the Dancer.