A thousand years ago, A thousand years ago, the Kirin—scaled guardians with antlers that channeled celestial magic—sacrificed countless of their most powerful mages to help the Archon imprison the Demon Lord in the Dark Abyss. A thousand years later, the Demon Princess idly remarked, "I hear the brain of a Kirin can cure my migraines." And in a single night, my people were slaughtered to the last. I stared at the ruins of my home for a long time. "Mother," I whispered to the ashes, "you always told me the world was at peace, that the Archon was benevolent. You said my own heaven-defying power was a curse upon this realm and you suppressed it for my own good. Well, what about now? Do you still believe that?" 1 The day before my clan was butchered, my little brother, still too young to take his human form, chirped and chattered, begging me to go to the mortal plane and buy him a candy apple. He was getting on my nerves. I was about to kick him away when my mother stopped me with a gentle smile. "Hera," she said, "that's your brother." "He is the one person in all the realms who is closest to you. You can't treat him like some wild beast." Closest to me? Born with dulled senses, I didn't understand the meaning of her words. But I always listened to my mother. I lowered my clawed paw and promised to bring him his candy apple the next day. He was so happy he rolled around on the ground in a fit of glee. I watched him with disgust, muttering, "So noisy." But the next morning, as soon as the sun rose, I rode the clouds down the mountain to buy his treat. 2 And now, here I stood at the gates of my home, candy apple in hand, completely lost. The ground was littered with the corpses of my kin. My brother, who had looked up at me with a smiling face just that morning, now lay in pieces on the ground, his head separated from his body. His skull was cracked open, his brain spilled across the dirt. With trembling paws, I pried open his tightly clenched fist. Inside was the pearl of night I had casually tossed to him on his hundredth birthday. I stared at the pearl for a long time before speaking. "You silly thing. You're dead. Why were you still holding this?" "But… the pearl is warped. It must have hurt a lot, didn't it?" I sat there, from sunrise until the dead of night. 3 When Lord Caelus, the Celestial of Mercy, arrived, he was shocked to see me. Then he shook his head. "Thank the heavens, a survivor. The Kirin are not truly extinct." I looked at him blankly. "What now?" It took him a moment to understand my question. He sighed. "Rest assured, I will protect you. This time, Lord Azureus went too far. To slaughter your entire race for a whim of the Demon Princess… it was reckless." "I have already reprimanded him," he continued. "He won't trouble you again." I couldn't quite follow. "But… Mother told me that murder is a debt paid with life," I said, my voice flat. "Why did you only reprimand him?" Lord Caelus's compassionate expression cracked. A flicker of anger crossed his face. "Insolence! Do you have any idea who you speak of?" "He is the Sovereign of this world! The one who defeated the demons, pacified the monsters, and brought a thousand years of peace to all the realms! How dare you entertain the thought of deicide?" A crushing pressure descended upon me, squeezing the air from my lungs. I opened my mouth to speak, but only a mouthful of blood came out. I gritted my teeth and forced the words out. "You're wrong." "My mother told me. This peace was never his achievement alone. Nine-tenths of the Kirin's greatest mages fell in that war. The Dragon Lords have but a few scions left. That is the price that was paid for this 'glorious peace.' It was not his alone." With every word I spoke, the pressure intensified. Just as I felt my bones turning to dust, my spirit about to be extinguished from the world, the very heavens began to tremble. I felt them—countless of my kind, from every corner of the world, their spirits rushing to my side. "Lord Caelus, show mercy!" "Lord Caelus, show mercy!" "Lord Caelus, show mercy!" The chorus grew louder and louder. I could hear the roar of dragons, the cry of phoenixes, the howl of tigers… A symphony of spectral beasts forming a shield around me. And then, I fell into darkness. 4 When I woke, I was in the Celestial Palace. Lord Azureus, the Archon, looked down at me as if I were an ant. "Luria's headaches are much improved," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Your race has proven its use. Your existence was not entirely in vain." "I will issue a decree. You will be named a Saintess. Do not cause any more trouble." Ignoring the dull, grinding pain deep in my bones, I stared back at him defiantly. "My mother told me that murder is a debt paid with life. That is the great law of the mortal world." "I don't want to be a Saintess. I only ask that the Archon respects the great law." Azureus narrowed his eyes, studying me for a long moment before he laughed. "Do you know who Luria is?" "If we are to respect the great law, then healing Luria should be the single most important matter in this world. Luria was an ancient goddess. A thousand years ago, she willingly sacrificed herself to the heavens, her own flesh and blood mending this broken realm. If we speak of debts, every living creature in this world owes her." When he spoke of Luria, his eyes shone with a brilliant light. Just like Father's did when he spoke of Mother. I lowered my head, fell silent, and tried to understand. Was he right? I was never very smart. I thought about it for a long time, but I couldn't figure it out. If only Mother were here. She would know if he was right. Azureus seemed to have lost interest in talking to me. He waved a hand, dismissing me. But I didn't move. I stubbornly believed that the deaths of my parents, my brother, my aunts and uncles… it couldn't just be forgotten. Azureus grew annoyed. "What more do you want?" I thought for a moment, then held to my conviction. "A life for a life." The words had barely left my lips when a bolt of raw magic slammed into me, throwing me to the ground. I coughed up another pool of blood. Azureus's voice dripped with scorn. "Ant. Only the strong have the right to speak their desires. Only the strong hold the power of life and death. The truth… has always been a tool for the powerful." I clutched my chest and staggered to my feet, nodding blankly. So, I have to be stronger than him to kill him. As long as I am stronger, I can kill him. He should have just said so from the start. It would have saved me so much time. A pity Mother never taught me that might makes right. She only ever spoke of reason and compassion. 5 As I stumbled out of the grand hall, I bumped into a woman in a green dress, her face beaming with joy. When she saw me, her eyes lit up. She threw herself at Azureus. "Azureus! There's another Kirin!" "Quick, cut out her brain for me!" she chirped. "It has to be fresh! The last one, the little one with the fire-cloud mark on its head, I ate it while it was still alive. The effect was marvelous!" Hearing this, I couldn't stop myself. I turned and stared at her. Among all the Kirin, only my brother had a fire-cloud mark on his head. Azureus stroked her hair dotingly. "This is the last Kirin in the world. We can't kill her. Otherwise, we'll have nothing left to keep the other beasts in line." Luria pouted. "It's just one animal. What does it matter?" I didn't listen to any more. I limped out of the Celestial Realm. Mother, you used to tell me the Archon loved all his creations. But why… why does it feel so different from what you said? 6 When I returned to the mortal plane, Lord Dragon and Lady Phoenix were waiting for me at my ruined home. Seeing me covered in wounds, they trembled with rage. But their anger quickly gave way to a weary sigh. Lady Phoenix stroked my head. "Hera, don't provoke them anymore. Just live. Please." I looked at her, confused. "Why? Shouldn't a murderer pay with their life?" "No," she said, shaking her head. "Living is what's most important. Hera, you are the last of the Kirin bloodline. Nothing is more important than your survival. Your mother… she probably wouldn't want you to seek revenge. She would only want you to live." I didn't speak again. I found a shovel and started digging a hole by the gate. My parents and my silly little brother… they deserved a proper burial. I held my brother's head in my paws. I suddenly remembered Luria saying she had eaten his brain while he was still alive. It must have hurt. A lot. No wonder the pearl was warped. Just that morning, he had been so full of life. Now, he was as cold as ice. No one would ever chirp "sister" at me again. It was so quiet. Yes, it was quiet, but… it was too quiet. A gust of wind blew, stinging my eyes. They felt dry. Why were they watering? Mother said my senses were dull. It must be the wind. It must be… 7 After burying my family, I leaned against the gravestone. I started talking, my words a rambling whisper. "Mother, you once told me the world was at peace, that the Archon was benevolent." "What about now? Do you still think so?" "Mother, I still believe that a murderer should pay with their life." "Mother, I want to go to the Great Eastern Wilds. I want to take back the other half of my power." "Mother, I don't want to listen to you anymore." "Mother, you can't blame me for this…" "Mother… I just miss you a little. And I miss my brother." "Mother…"
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