Emperor's Reckoning

Niamh returned to the Burgeon Swan hideout with his smile returned. He addressed the respect he was given accordingly but his feet were on their way toward his lone abode. The moment he stepped inside his room, his smile vanished.

He placed the Returning Jade Stone that he had bought from the black market before he sat down. He looked over the stone that would send him toward a realm where weak cultivators lived. His brows furrowed. "Is this really it? Is it really that easy?"

Despite the confidence that he showed during the meeting, he was pretty cautious about the fellow named Lyon. Heralding from the Mortal World, he took down three of his powerful co-workers in under a week after the first one. It was out of the ordinary, but the result explained why Refl might be in their hands. He wondered if it was a start of a ploy, a scheme so great that he couldn't even remotely touch a sense of imagination of how it would play. A man of that class, born and raised in the Mortal World, it was too absurd.

His fingers tapped adjacently from his pinky to his index whilst he was contemplating. He stood up and then walked back and forth whilst looking at the ticket toward his goal. "Hmm... why... why... this is supposed to be so easy that I can just go right now and be done with it... but why... why do I have this suspenseful feeling?!"

The more he looked at the Returning Jade Stone sitting on the table the more his anxiety grew exponentially. One quick trip was all it took, however, he was shackled by his doubt.

He sat back down, this time his foot tapping as his face grimaced looking at the Returning Jade Stone. Something was holding him down. "Logically speaking, this would be easy, find out who his love one is, capture them, bring them here, and that's it, it's Burgeon Swan for the win, but..."

The door was knocked. His brows raised, "Yes?"

"Boss, the flyers have been sent out," said one bandit from outside the door.

"I see, you may go," said Niamh.

"Thanks, boss!"

Niamh heard the diminishing footsteps before sinking back into contemplation. "He started it, two weeks, the coliseum."

...

Meanwhile, Refl who was still inside the special cell made for him was not hearing any of the updates. His face was solemn with possibilities that he conjured up inside his mind.

He looked at the flame burning as the crown of the torch. The worst that could happen to him was death and he knew it very well. However, he didn't know how, when, let alone where.

His ears perked up. Audible steps were coming toward him. His eyes leered before noticing that it was Ferece. "What's wrong, you don't look so pleased."

Ferece smirked, "Don't start with me."

"Start what, exactly?" asked Refl. "You guys have won."

"Yeah, against you," said Ferece. "But that's not the case anymore, now is it?"

"Heh," Refl smirked. "The great Burgeon Swan finally decided to fly."

"You think this is over for you?" asked Ferece as his chin raised and his arms crossed. His eyes were filled with a slight craze.

Refl furrowed his brows. "What are you talking about?"

"Your fate is sealed," said Ferece. "The captain has decided that you are to be killed."

"...and?" Refl raised his brows.

"I see, that you have your fair share of death threats, didn't even flinch," said Ferece before he clapped once. "However, that is just the tip of the iceberg."

"Oh? Indulge me," said Refl. "What more can you get out of me?"

"Your group," said Ferece. He grinned the moment he saw Refl's glabella bulging out.

"They are innocent."

"As innocent as my ass?" asked Ferece as he raised one of his brows. "You are going to be executed in the coliseum. Imagine this, a legend, a living legend, died under the watchful eyes of his admirers and haters, I wonder how many will show up, how many will try to stop us, and how many graves were made in the end."

"You're using me as bait..."

"Sharp as a needle," said Ferece. "You looking at this the wrong way, take it as a test, a test of loyalty."

"Don't you dare...!" said Refl.

Ferece laughed with a few snorts, "It's not even my idea."

"Drogan..!" Refl gritted his teeth before smashing his head against the bars. The loud thang even caught Ferece by surprise before the latter laughed.

"Hahaha, you're making a nice face," said Ferece. "Too bad I didn't bring any mirror."

"Let me speak to Drogan!" shouted Refl.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, why so agitated?" Ferece raised his shoulders. "How about trying to break out of here? Risk your life in the process? C'mon, I can entertain you, heh, you know I can."

Refl glared at Ferece's condescending proud glance before he closed his and sighed. He breathed out heavily before pulling back.

"Oh? That's it? How boring, my students— ex-students, were a lot more hilarious when they were ambushed," said Ferece before he raised his brows, "You're not thinking about killing yourself, right?"

Refl opened his eyes and showed a sharp glance.

"Heh, hehe, hahahaha!" Ferece laughed till he arched. "You think you can kill yourself that easily? What? You're going to eat yourself? Are you going to bash your head and bleed out? C'mon now, your cultivation level is well beyond that kind of casualty. You know you won't die."

Refl didn't respond and simply looked at Ferece.

"Tch, you're no fun," said Ferece as he noticed that Refl had stopped humoring him. "Two weeks, don't rush it, it will come sooner than you think."

Refl didn't bother with Ferece's shadow gradually leaving the room. He closed his eyes knowing well that what Ferece had just said was true. He couldn't kill himself even if he wanted to. He could only hope for something that even he didn't know what.

...

Drogan was in his room. The place was quite spacious and empty compared to what the people believed. There was not a single glitter in the room that could catch awe. It was plain, it was simple.

The image of Selena cutting him was playing inside his mind. He was caught off guard but the severe blitz of the slash even left him astonished. His soul was wounded as the cause but it was not as severe.

"A hidden expert roaming the Second Heaven but heralding from the Mortal World?" Drogan muttered. His brows furrowed as his menacing eyes wandered. He had seen a glimpse of the capability of one of them, but he had yet to see the man's face. The latter was so confident that he showed his back toward him. The potential threat that Lyon gave just by standing then gave an impression that he was too an expert, a level that he could bet would be more or less the same as the woman that tore his avatar.

Drogan took a deep breath to calm himself down. His eyes filled with a mixture of anticipation and worry. He had set a time and place where Lyon might show up with Refl as the main attraction. However, he felt a little uneasy about whether Lyon and the rest would show up. Refl might be a public figure in Second Heaven, but Lyon didn't learn how to walk here.

His brow twitched, "Have you acquired the Returning Jade Stone?"

"I thought I would be able to surprise you, captain," said Niamh as he entered with a smile on his face.

Drogan turned and took a look at him.

"I have acquired it," said Niamh before showing him the Returning Jade Stone.

Drogan looked at the Returning Jade Stone that would send a cultivator toward the Mortal World realm. "This rare commodity, I'm sure that it's costly."

Niamh sighed, "It is."

"Don't worry about the cost, I will reimburse you," said Drogan. "This is for Burgeon Swan."

"Thank you, captain," Niamh nodded with a smile.

"This task of yours may be arduous considering that Lyon is a possible hidden expert," said Drogan. "But I need you to accomplish this as efficiently and quickly as you can."

"It's either searching a needle in a haystack or looking for sand on the beach," said Niamh, "By quickly, you mean two weeks?"

"I see that you have been informed," said Drogan.

"I have," Niamh nodded. "But two weeks is really a strict deadline."

"It's not a deadline," said Drogan. "It's not two weeks either, in fact, I want you to have results after two weeks."

"And miss the show?" asked Niamh with his brows furrowed.

"Yes," Drogan answered, "Your presence is not needed there, it's not your turn to show up yet."

"Then..?"

Drogan turned around and showed his back. "You don't check the depth of the river with two feet."

"Heh," Niamh smirked. "Alright."

Drogan waved the back of his hand.

Niamh nodded, "I'll see you later captain."

"En," Drogan nodded as he heard his footsteps trailing off.