Worlds’ Apocalypse Online

In the banquet hall, the uplifting music was still being played.

Everyone was happily eating, drinking, dancing, making merry.

A banquet followed by a ball created a joyful and welcoming atmosphere, enough for everyone here to drown in it.

Gu Qing Shan topped off his own glass as well as the young military man's once again.

They were still drinking.

"His Majesty seems to be in high spirits lately" Gu Qing Shan commented.

The military man undid the top button on his shirt and agreed: "That's true, before we came to the palace here, His Majesty managed to catch a lot of prey during the most recent annual hunt. He's been in high spirits since then"

Gu Qing Shan smiled: "He came with all of you, surely?"

The military man looked a bit uncomfortable but still answered: "During that hunt, His Majesty didn't allow us to come with him, saying that too many people will scare away the prey and it wouldn't be fun"

Gu Qing Shan asked: "So His Majesty doesn't like to have people going hunting with him huh?"

"That's not it, only during the most recent time did he suddenly have an impulse and forbid us from following"

"He must've had a great time" Gu Qing Shan commented.

"That's for sure, when he returned he was still smiling"

Gu Qing Shan started contemplating.

"Hmph, not only did you not challenge him, but you're standing here chatting with him as well, huh?" a female voice came.

They turned back to see that it was Her Highness the princess.

The princess angrily glared at the military man, then turned to run away.

"Sorry about this" the young military man apologized.

"No worries" Gu Qing Shan generously waved his hand.

The military man quickly ran after the princess.

"Hunting alone…" Gu Qing Shan muttered in a low voice.

According to Empress Varona's words, the Emperor is currently completely different from before.

Varona herself had to stay up for several nights playing cards just to protect herself.

If the Emperor notices that she has noticed something amiss, he would definitely silence her.

And the problem probably started during the hunt.

Gu Qing Shan sat alone in a corner, slowly sipping his drink.

Of course, whenever the young and mature ladies came to invite him for a dance, he wouldn't refuse them.

Whenever the national celebrities came up to talk, he would accompany them in a few interesting conversations.

He had completely melded into the party, easily becoming part of Fuxi high-society.

He slowly passed the time until the banquet ended.

Midnight.

The music was over, most guests had already left, the banquet had reached its end.

So many people were drunk enough that they had to be carried to a nearby guest room.

Gu Qing Shan was also provided a room to rest.

He stood firmly in the room, releasing his inner sight to cover the entire palace.

Some young aristocrats had gathered into a few living rooms to continue drinking and chatting.

The young military man and the Fuxi princess were also there.

They still had strength to spare and continued to enjoy themselves.

None of them noticed as Gu Qing Shan's inner sight passed through.

The palace conference room, the lights were on.

Despite it being midnight, the Emperor was still discussing some matters with his close aides.

In the gambling room, the ladies were still playing cards.

The Empress played a card: "5 of diamonds"

Another lady smiled: "Five Straight – I win"

The Empress commented: "I can't believe I lost that much today"

It was now that Gu Qing Shan's voice came.

The Empress put down her cards and stood up: "I'm a bit hungry, you ladies can go to the kitchen and pick out your favorite food, let us have a midnight snack before we continue"

"Thank you, Your Highness" the ladies also stood up and bowed.

Usually such a small matter can be left to the maids.

But the fact that the Empress had them go pick out their own favorite food is also a show of closeness and bonding.

Not to mention, it's fine to play cards, but some etiquette and rules must still be followed without fail.

The three ladies were led by the maids to come to the kitchen.

"You're all dismissed as well, let me have a silent moment of my own" the Empress ordered.

Her personal maids also retreated from the room.

The gambling room became silent.

Then came Gu Qing Shan's voice.

"Your Highness, now please tell me the exact situation"

The Empress quickly spoke to thin air: "The other day, after His Majesty returned from the hunt by himself, he was completely different"

"I could tell right away that he wasn't the same, but since he didn't have any wounds, and his power as a top-level fighter didn't wane, I thought nothing of it"

"Does he know that you are aware?" Gu Qing Shan asked.

"I've managed to keep my actions the same as before, not showing anything out of the ordinary"

"But afterwards, when his words and actions became more and more different than how he usually acts, I knew that something was wrong"

"He's even willing to let me play cards like this because this way I won't be able to find out more of his secrets, and I will be temporarily safe"

"Temporarily? You think he'll kill you?" Gu Qing Shan asked.

The Empress showed an expression of firmness, and answered: "After he's finished with his preparations, he will definitely come to kill me"

"But why?"

"As his spouse, I know his secrets better than anyone, I am his only weakness"

"You mean your desires and his are different?"

"That's correct. I simply want to maintain the stability of the Empire, but he wants even more"

The Empress continued: "I will become an obstacle to his ambition"

Gu Qing Shan suddenly asked: "Do you know where the Fuxi crown is?"

The Empress was a bit surprised, asking: "There are three crowns, which one are you asking about"

"The one that is engraved with a jewel from space in the middle"

"Both the Emperor's crown and scepter are managed by me, so of course I know"

"I want the jewel in the crown, bring me the crown, and we'll leave right away"

"You can save me?" the Empress asked.

Her expression was still firm: "Although I've heard from Anna about how miraculous you are, if you aren't truly able to, there is no need to arbitrarily try and save me. Otherwise, once an unexpected situation arises, you will die as well"

"Why care about my life or death?" Gu Qing Shan asked.

"If there was no hope at all, it would be better off that I'm the only one who dies" the Empress' tone was calm, as if she has already thought things through.

"Why?"

"Your death will affect Anna greatly. Right now, she is currently at the most important moment of her life, her mental state absolutely cannot be distorted in any way" the Empress explained, "she is our Medici clan's final hope"

"And so, if you aren't completely sure, there's no need to worry about my life or death, just find a chance to get away and tell her about the truth later"

Gu Qing Shan felt a sense of respect.

"As long as I want to save you, there's no one that can stop me" he answered.

Suddenly, a knock on the door, followed by a maid's voice.

"Come in"

Two maids came in, knelt down to greet her and said: "Your midnight meal has been prepared, the three ladies are waiting for you, sire"

The Empress responded: "I'm suddenly not hungry anymore, let them start eating, after that we'll return to our game"

"Understood"

The maids exchanged looks, then backed down.

The Empress sat there, waited for a while, then stood up and went out of the room using another door.

She kept going until she finally went into another room.

"Return" she ordered.

"Yes, Your Highness" two royal guards responded.

They bowed, carefully backed out and slowly closed the door.

The Empress went to a wall and opened a secret compartment.

Inside, the Sun Moon Bloodgem Fuxi crown silently sat.

Next to it was a scepter.

As the Empress saw the scepter, her eyes showed shock and fear.

The Fuxi Empire's Royal Scepter is forged from pure gold, the head of the Scepter is a human skull, positioned so that it stares forward.

The skull belongs to the first Emperor of the Fuxi Empire.

At the moment of his death, the first Emperor had ordered for his head to be combined with the scepter, cast in pure gold to pass on to every Emperor that followed as the scepter of power.

This is meant to represent that although he's already passed, he's still always watching his descendants, judging if they are ruling as appropriate monarchs.

But now, the pure gold scepter was still here, but the first Emperor's skull was nowhere to be seen.

"Did you know about this?" Gu Qing Shan asked.

"I didn't" the Empress answered.

"Could it be the Emperor took it without telling you?" Gu Qing Shan asked.

"These things have always been under my jurisdiction, he------"

The Empress held down her emotions and took the crown.

She tried to not pay attention to the scepter.

Because this was too eerie.

Why would someone not take the entire scepter, but only the first Emperor's skull?