Rise Of Royal Phantoms And Qixi Festival

Episode 38

The next day, anticipation crackled in the air as we, the newly minted spies, were ushered into the Espionage Hall. The sight that greeted us took my breath away. Gone were the imposing walls and oppressive halls of our training grounds. This was a place designed to inspire, not intimidate.
Sunlight streamed down from an open sky, bathing the space in a warm glow.

There was no roof, only the vast expanse of the blue above, dotted with fluffy white clouds. My gaze swept across the open-air hall, marveling at the details. Lush flowers in vibrant hues bloomed in every corner, their fragrance filling the air with a sweet perfume. A sparkling pond occupied the center of the hall, its surface reflecting the dancing sunlight. The tranquility of the water contrasted beautifully with the vibrant life surrounding it.

This wasn't just a hall; it was an oasis, a haven for the mind and spirit. A place where we could hone our skills, strategize for missions, and perhaps, even find moments of peace amidst the chaos of the espionage life. A life I, for one, was eager to begin.

♤♤♤♤♤♤
Sunlight streamed through the open ceiling of the Espionage Hall, casting an ethereal glow on the newly minted agents. Among them, I stood, basking in the refreshing contrast to the sterile training halls. The air hummed with nervous energy, but also a palpable sense of excitement.

Steward Kael, his face etched with amusement, strode to the center of the hall. "Good morning, everyone," he boomed, his voice echoing in the open space. "𝑶𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚-𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝑬𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔!"

A wave of cheers erupted from the crowd, the sound bouncing off the surrounding stone walls. The weight of the past year's training settled upon me, a mixture of grueling challenges and moments of camaraderie. But now, the real test was about to begin.

"𝑵𝒐𝒘," Steward Kael continued, his voice dropping a notch, "𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔, 𝑰 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒌𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒔." He held aloft a stack of colorful parchments, each one rolled and secured with a wax seal.
The room crackled with anticipation. Each parchment held a mission, a chance to prove our skills and loyalty to the Empire.

"𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒂 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓," he explained, gesturing towards the assembled leaders - Captain Amelia, her usually stern expression softened by a hint of pride; a stoic, battle-scarred veteran named Kuro; and the ever-evasive Kasumi, a smirk playing on his lips.

One by one, the leaders stepped forward, their movements imbued with a quiet confidence. They each selected a parchment, the colors ranging from a regal purple to a vibrant green. A ripple of excitement passed through the crowd as they unfurled their assignments.

"𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚," Steward Kael instructed, his voice laced with a hint of mischief. "𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎'𝒔 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕."

A murmur of awe swept through the hall. Magic? This added a fantastical element to the already thrilling prospect of our first missions.

"𝑺𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔," Steward Kael chuckled, "𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔, 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕, 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕! 𝑵𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔." He paused, scanning the expectant faces. "𝑰 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒖𝒑 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒔𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒉𝒎𝒎𝒎?"

An awkward silence descended upon the room. None of us, in the throes of relentless training, had even considered a team name. A blush crept up my cheeks, a shared feeling of forgetfulness settling over the group.

Steward Kael's shoulders shook with silent laughter.
"𝑶𝒉 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍," he said, his voice tinged with amusement, "𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒎. 𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔. 𝑹𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆, 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅!"

A collective bow rippled through the hall, a gesture of respect for Steward Kael and the responsibility entrusted upon us. One by one, the teams began to disperse, eager to delve into their first missions.

My own team, a mix of unfamiliar faces and a few friendly nods from former training partners, gathered close. Renji, the ever-present grin plastered on his face, broke the ice.

"𝑭𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒔," he declared, his voice brimming with excitement, "𝒍𝒆𝒕'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆, 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒆?"

A ripple of laughter followed his jest, a welcome release of nervous tension. With a final glance at the majestic Espionage Hall, we launched ourselves into the bustling city beyond the Imperial gates.

The weight of the world, or at least a small part of it, now rested on our shoulders. But as we leaped across rooftops, the setting sun painting the sky in hues of orange and gold, a thrill coursed through me. We were finally Espionage agents, and the world beyond the palace walls awaited. Our first mission beckoned, and with it, the promise of adventure.