The Mortist Empire was once unrivaled—strong and enduring, an eternal power. When Tairyn was a mere child of four, struggling to stabilize her legs, her father, Emperor Gunther von Mortist, emphasized this truth to her.
"We are the Empire, the center of the world."
The emperor wasn't merely sharing the glory of the Empire; he was stating a fact, albeit with a touch of manipulation.
"My daughter, listen. You will inherit the crown from me—no one else, not even God Himself. It is you, my daughter. It is only you."
At that tender age, Tairyn could hardly grasp her father's words. Yet the very next day brought a cruel twist of fate: her father was found dead in his sleep—peacefully resting, entombed within a golden-embroidered coffin.
The emperor was no more.
Grief enveloped everyone. The Benevolence Emperor Gunther, who had led his people to victory after victory, who had steered the Empire away from doom during the Second Great War of Tamala—where nations fell into chaos driven by greed and power—was gone.
This displayed mourning, however, was deceiving. With her special insight, Tairyn perceived a different reality lurking within the castle. She recognized the fake sorrow, the empty tears, the mocking smiles, and the condescending looks. They weren't mourning at all; they were merely acting on behalf of the true, grieving populace devastated by the emperor's death.
Five years later, the Empress—Tairyn's mother and the last remaining member of the previous emperor's lineage—remarried the King of Wellon to solidify the newly established alliance between their nations. The Mortist Empire and the Wellon Kingdom merged, forming a stronger entity known as the Mortist-Wellon Alliance.
In less than seven months, the newly united leaders welcomed the birth of a daughter—the "flower" of their marriage—further strengthening the alliance. As a result, the Mortwell Empire was born, a powerful collaboration arising from the strongest nations that survived the Second Great War. The Mortwell Empire soon earned the title of the Invincible.
Outwardly, Tairyn smiled, adopting her new name, Tairyn von Mortwell, while secretly clinging to her Mortist roots. Her eyes gleamed with a mix of anticipation and cunning as she observed the Empress and Emperor during a grand banquet celebrating their new identity.
Surprisingly, the populace accepted the news with remarkable equanimity, quickly forgetting their benevolent emperor.
"Humans are dirty... and ugly," she muttered under her breath, a greenish glimmer shining in her eyes.
...
Five years passed in an instant. The world transformed—the present turned into history, while the future became the present. The only remnant of the Benevolence Emperor was a six-meter-high copper statue standing in the capital's square.
Tairyn, now nearly a young woman, sat beneath a golden chandelier at a long table, ready to cut the beef on her plate.
"How's the Academy, Tairyn?" the new emperor, Hamshield von Mortwell, inquired from the head of the table.
Taking a moment before responding, Tairyn set down her knife and wiped her lips, straightening her posture and offering a faint smile. "It's wonderful, Your Excellency."
As she spoke, her eyes caught sight of a young boy—his petite figure boasting a mix of her mother's blonde hair and the emperor's blue eyes. Tairyn quickly suppressed her emotions and continued.
"The establishment lives up to its title as the revolution of the age. I am confident the Academy will transform our approach to teaching and learning."
The emperor, known for his revolutionary ideas that surpassed even those of the brightest minds, responded with a modest smile.
"I am glad you liked it. I hope the Academy will lead us to new heights."
Tairyn's eyes sparkled faintly as she nodded. "Of course, Your Excellency."
...
Five more years advanced swiftly. The Empire continued to evolve, erasing any traces of the past. Prosperity blossomed for the people of Mortwell, and no one dared to blame the emperor when he ordered the destruction of the statue of the Benevolent Emperor.
Now an adult, Tairyn had become the most beautiful woman in the Empire. Her marriage proposals from princes across the lands never ceased, filling her life with possibilities.
However, everything changed quickly.
At her birthday ceremony, Tairyn appeared with the severed heads of her brothers, the crown prince and the newborn second prince, their blood staining her pure white dress.
What was meant to be a pleasing and enviable debut transformed into a hysterical event, filled with terrified screams and chaos.
There was no escape. No soldiers or knights to help.
The timing was too perfect to be coincidental. Tairyn successfully killed off the entire imperial lineage, leaving only herself and the nobles who supported them alive.
The birthday celebration quickly morphed into a bloody ceremony signaling the rise of a Nightmare Princess as she ascended to Empress.
This was the Thorn Empress, who even killed the man she had chosen as her fiancé—the one who had offered her his sword and love to accompany her through everything in life.
In his final moments, he yelled at her, blood flowing down his chin. "Why, Tairyn? WHY?!" He raised his voice, filled with grief and anger. "Why do you do all of this madness? I don't understand! What about our love, our promises? What about Isabella? She was your best friend! And you've killed her!"
His expression was one that Tairyn had never imagined a gentleman like him could wear—an anguished look of anger, betrayal, and hope.
Then he laughed bitterly. "Now... maybe I understand why that young boy, Frankly, died suddenly before he could form a relationship with your sister. And the Golden Duke... You were the one who shattered his family, weren't you? Because they had the connections to stop your ambitions!"
His glare was something Tairyn could never forget for the rest of her life. "You could still satisfy your heart's desires, but don't you fear karma? Have you never considered what it would be like to be in the position of those you've trampled upon, those you've cast into despair, and those you've betrayed?"
...
Seventy-six years later.
Tairyn was old.
Her body was weak.
Wrinkles covered her once-flawless skin.
Her youthful self was long gone, replaced by a frail old woman nearing her grave.
The only remnant of the Thorn Empress was her still sharp green eyes, which would gleam faintly from time to time as she breathed weakly in her bed.
No one was around her, not even a servant to help her in her old age. She trusted no one but herself.
The Mortwell, no, the Mortist Empire had reached new heights under her rule. The nobles of the Wellon Kingdom had once raised a rebellion against her tyranny, now commemorated as Wellon Fall Day, but they couldn't even coax a twitch from her lips. They ended up being swallowed and integrated into the Mortist Empire.
The Mortist Empire had become a land of betrayal. There was no one she trusted here, only servants to whom she could issue commands with her wealth and power.
But she wasn't concerned about their loyalty. If anyone tried something funny? Execution—nothing more, nothing less. Just death.
Was she happy with this? She didn't know. She didn't care. Standing above all was what mattered to her.
However, as she approached her final breath, Tairyn realized a critical flaw in her life.
She was alone.
Like a pitiful orphan.
She recalled Ray's face, her dead fiancé.
He could have been with her at this point in her life if she had only been a bit more clever and clean in executing her plans back in those days. They might have had a child or two to cry for them before they, too, passed away.
She remembered Isabella's face, her best friend.
Isabella could have been there, bringing innocent, cheerful smiles, providing companionship until the end. They could have enjoyed peaceful tea parties together while admiring the flower garden she had planted in the castle yard or done things she couldn't even imagine possible. Isabella was such an unpredictable girl.
Did Tairyn regret her actions? Or her choices?
No.
What was done was done.
Tairyn was not someone who would regret her decisions simply because she realized she could have executed them differently.
She had just come to understand that her life was not as perfect as she once believed.
She had no one to accompany her.
That was a significant flaw in her life.
Unfortunately, her time was up.
Darkness and cold engulfed her body and her vision.
And then, she breathed her last breath there, alone in the castle of the country she had ruled for so long.
The story of the Thorn Empress had now reached its end in this world.
Buried in the dark and cold of age and loneliness.
But a new adventure awaited her.