Emperor's Reckoning

Lyon closed the door and entered his temporary abode. The dead body was still there and the servants still obediently waiting outside.

The dead man tells no tales, there was no way of extracting memory from a corpse. He let out a sigh before he muttered a spell and a magic brand encapsulated the corpse. The entire figure slowly disintegrated into bits of light until there was no trace of it anymore.

"You two, come inside," said Lyon as he sat cross-legged.

The servants slowly opened the door before entering the room with their heads hung down. Their body was slightly nervous and their voice stuttered.

"Y-yes, master?" said the servants.

"Don't look down, look at me, I want to see your faces as you will see mine," said Lyon.

The two servants had their body shook, their master never allowed them to give their face before. They immediately kowtowed and said, "We are sorry master! Please don't kill us!"

Lyon gave them a wry smile. They were without a doubt an obedient servant but the life of a servant was never enjoyable. Not only their body and mental was at the mercy of the master, they seemingly had no future besides dying and being used.

"Don't kneel in front of me, you two please stand up and give me your names for your old master is dead."

The servants were shocked by his revelation. They thought it was odd that their master's voice was a bit different but in what power did they have to question him. They all knew that the old master was still recuperating, they saw it in their eyes, they were the one who gave him the pill. However, the reality was right in front of them as they saw a new face currently sitting where the old master used to sit.

"You are, twins?" asked Lyon.

He noticed that they had an identical face and it was hard to differentiate one of them without the left having a little mole beside his mouth. They were young, most definitely younger than him and the clothing they wore had grown shabby.

"W-we are but a servant, we have no names, m-master," said the one with a mole.

Lyon furrowed his eyebrows, "Then what about your parents? Didn't they gave you names?"

The right one bit the under lip as his head hung down before the left one answered dejectedly, "The old master, he killed them before they could."

"Was it a contract?" asked Lyon. The pride of an assassin lies in the job they made sure done.

"No, they were a witness."

Lyon let out a sigh once again. They were there at the wrong place and at the wrong time. Only fate could be blamed for their demise.

"By any chance, do you still kept your parents' corpse?"

It was a question that raised many more inside the two servants' minds. Their faces turned so sour and ugly that even with their experience, it was hard to keep a normal appearance. They thought that the new master was a different kind of pervert, a scum of the world.

"Ack! You must be thinking about perverted stuff didn't you!"

Lyon pointed at them both as if he was not the one that raised the suspicion. His face turned smug as if he discovered their secrets. He was unaware that the one who started all their dark thoughts, was him all along.

The two servants became embarrassed as a shade of red appeared on their blossoming cheeks. Living in this place had taught them many unpleasant experiences, they had witnessed some of the most gruesome ways of torturing a cultivator. It was not a surprise that they would always think about the worst outcome.

However, before the two of them could apologize for their natural response. Lyon stood up and opened his arms. "You are now free, bound to no one."

"Give yourself a name," Lyon bellowed, "live yourself a life!"

The two servants looked confused, they were unfamiliar with the words he said. They kept muttering the wisdom they received in front of Lyon's bewildered expression. However, no matter how many times they recite it, they still didn't understand the meaning. To them, freedom was a word made of a dream while life was a word made to serve. The two words contradict inside their simple minds. Their body was trained to be a servant, their whole life was spent perfecting the skills. They had no cultivation nor they needed it. They couldn't defend themselves that's why they stay put. To serve meant to eat, to eat meant to live.

Lyon slowly put his palm on his face. (Man, this is going to be a pain to explain).

"Right, listen up you two, you don't have to serve me, if I ever wanted a servant it would be a woman anyway hahaha! But, with the way you are now, certainly, you two would be dead if I just let you go in the wild."

Lyon hums as he contemplated. (The two of them do not know the concept of freedom, well, it's not that it's necessarily a bad thing but).

"You know what, come with me when I went out of this place, I will make sure your safety throughout our journey. You might learn a thing or two during our slight adventure, but at the end of our destination I want you two to meet a good friend of mine, she will surely teach you how to become a proper servant if you really wanted it."

He suddenly becomes intoxicated by the feeling when he first met the invincible maid. Short purple hair and her wonderful fit figure. The moment she revealed her unhealed scar, all of the memories were coming back.

The two of them looked surprised, "But master, we are but a servant, surely you—"

"What? Ashamed? Please, you don't know the word."

Lyon suddenly recalled how he first got into this cultivation world. His body instinctively shivered.