Bow, Your Highness

Chapter 4: Heartless

Current ages:

Xiao: 33

Alhaitham: 29

Scaramouche: 24

Mona: 24

Albedo: 21

Childe: 20

Shogun: 20

Sara: 20

Hu Tao: 17

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Wooden zoris advanced hard and firm along the watery, cherry-petal-strewn path. Scaramouche was staring rabidly at the horizon. He did not bother to look at something as insignificant as what lay at his feet. He considered it a worthy metaphor for what he had become. Likewise, he was capable of trampling anyone and anything if his contribution served to forge his path. All without the slightest care for the crushed.

His vision ceremony was coming up soon, so he had gone into the woods to rehearse the electric magic exactly as he was meant to. He would follow every damn test step by step. In such a perfect way, Celestia's gods could only give him one vision: electro. And with it, it would only be a matter of time before he claimed the throne he rightfully deserved.

Talking things over with his sister vanished as soon as their mother informed them that, eventually, Shogun would be her successor. Needless to say, they were both greedy little shits. She clung to the throne as soon as it was in front of her. All regardless of warnings of doing whatever it took to take it from her. Her brother's rage seemed to feed her ego.

Besides, she did not want the best for Inazuma either. No one in that family did. His sister was just a carbon copy of his mother in ideology, i.e., preserving eternity. Sara, of course, ended up on the side of those ideas as well. The imperial prince still thought it was a big stupid thing. So, destruction was a plausible option. He would become emperor and obliterate his mother's entire legacy. And his aunt's. May she rest in peace.

He could not kill Ei, for Shogun would inherit the throne immediately. Nor could he kill his sister, for he concluded his mother would kill him afterwards. Of course, he thought about it.

So, in the end, there was only one way left for him to do it. Inherit the vision of the element from which the eternal throne was forged, use it against his mother, and win. He had been preparing for it for years. Fifteen, no more, no less. Snatching the crown from her would be a piece of cake. He was convinced that their people would even thank him for it. And he was not even doing it for them.

Restrictions about not leaving and entering the nation changed to permits that were still highly, extremely restrictive. Vision hunting continued as if it would do any good. Resistance to the Shogunate was already being forged, and Scaramouche was so amused that he did not mind letting them continue to believe that they would be able to stand up to them. Hope was the last thing to be lost.

But well, the heirs were not allowed to leave the islands. Not even a single time since the bans were imposed. That farewell in Sumeru was the last, for they had no opportunity to contact the outside world either. They did not know what had happened to the rest of the heirs, not even Mona. Nor after the war of Khaenri'ah, nor anything else.