Two Paths Under Heaven
Rain fell steadily as dawn broke over Cheng.
The palace gates stood open, their massive doors groaning softly in the wind. No banners were raised. No announcement was made. Only a small escort waited in silence.
At the foot of the steps, Xiao Xing stood wrapped in a dark cloak, his wounds bound, his expression unreadable. Behind him, Bai Li adjusted the strap of his sword.
The Emperor emerged last.
He stopped several paces away, unable to come closer.
"Beyond this gate," the Emperor said quietly, "you will be known by no name of this dynasty. If you return openly, the court will rise against me."
Xiao Xing nodded.
"I understand."
The Emperor hesitated, then removed a jade token from his sleeve and placed it in Xiao Xing's hand.
"With this," he said, "you may command aid from loyal magistrates and border generals. Use it only when the realm itself is at stake."
Xiao Xing closed his fingers around it.
"…Thank you," he said.
It was the closest he would ever come to calling him Father.
Without another word, Xiao Xing turned and walked through the gates.
The rain swallowed his figure.
The Crown Prince
Within the palace, Xae Rin stood before the ancestral tablets.
He bowed deeply.
"I will rule as Heaven demands," he said aloud. "But I will not become its blade."
From that day forward, he changed.
He rose before dawn, trained with the royal guards, studied military treatises, and summoned ministers late into the night. He listened more than he spoke. When he spoke, men listened.
The court noticed.
Some whispered with hope.
Others with fear.
A new title began to circulate quietly among the officials.
Crown Prince in all but name.
The Road West
Far from Cheng, Xiao Xing traveled westward with Bai Li.
They moved through border towns, ruined villages, and lawless regions where imperial authority barely reached. Xiao Xing fought when needed, negotiated when possible, and protected the weak without mercy for the cruel.
Stories spread.
A young swordsman called IN.
A man who bled for strangers.
A shadow who punished tyrants.
Bai Li watched silently, realizing his student was no longer merely surviving.
He was gathering gravity.
Heaven's Other Servant
In a secluded mountain shrine, Nae Yi knelt before an ancient altar.
The flames before her burned blue.
"You hesitated," she said calmly. "You spared them."
The fire flickered violently.
"Heaven doubts itself," she continued. "That is why the world trembles."
She pressed her palm to the stone.
"Choose one," she whispered. "Give me the sign."
The flames surged — then split.
Two shadows danced across the shrine walls.
Nae Yi's eyes widened.
"…So be it," she murmured. "If Heaven will not choose…"
Her lips curved into a thin smile.
"I will."
Closing Echo
That night, under different skies, the twins dreamed the same dream.
A battlefield.
A broken throne.
A sky cracked by lightning.
Two figures stood facing one another.
One in robes stained with ink and blood.
The other in armor forged by fire.
Neither raised a weapon.
The dream ended the same way for both.
A voice — ancient, distant, undecided.
Only one path may end in peace.
Both brothers woke in silence.
And Heaven watched.