A throne is a reflection of the one who sits upon it. -An ancient proverb

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I forced my breath into a steady rhythm. It was all I could do. The edges of my mind were fraying under the weight of all my fears. With each one that arose, I shoved it down to the bottom of my consciousness. There, they seemed to fuse and grow, latching onto me and threatening to drag me under.

One by one, I helped Lin climb the steps to the Silver Hall, the throne room where I once held court. If we could just get to the other side, it would be a straight shot to the guardhouse where we could rest. However, to get there, we'd have to cross the most treacherous stretch of open floorplan in the palace.

"You're shaking, Yoru," Lin muttered in a soft voice. "Is everything alright?"

"Fine," I lied.

He eyed me out of the corner of his vision, but I kept mine straight ahead. This was going to be dangerous enough without my frayed nerves making a mess of things.

Silver Hall loomed dark overhead. At my approach, voidlight flames burst to light in the lanterns that hung off the eaves, illuminating the silver wood pillars, dark wood walls, and black-tiled roof of the palace. The door itself was grand, with silver dragons carved into the frame, the kind that only the highest emperors and royalty were allowed to use in their iconography. Their eyes gleamed with white jade that reflected brightly in the qi lanterns.

On either side of the door, silver cloth lay in a pile. Watchers once guarded this entrance, but the qi had faded from these two, and I couldn't decide if I was relieved or saddened to see their demise. Their absence after centuries of living here drove deeper the idea that I was a ghost out of time, no more a part of this world than the shades of the Forgotten.

"There are about fifteen traps between us and the throne," I explained. "Xinya, stay close, follow the exact path I do, and when I say to do something, do it immediately."

"Yes, sir," she answered resolutely. At least one of us was enjoying themselves. If I knew the little girl at all, she was practically preening herself inside for being able to get past the dream maze when neither Lin nor I had been able to.

Not that it had been my fault exactly. I might have underestimated the amount of influence that the Labyrinth had on my mind, and the trap had given it exactly the opening it had needed. That, I could have lived with. The fact that the Guardian had so easily defeated me and reduced me to a completely helpless state…that was something I was less proud of. I was supposed to be stronger than this, yet my hands still shook, and my mind still echoed with its torment.

And it was still there. It followed us up the stairs to the Silver Hall. It took every ounce of my will not to run and cower in some corner, even though I knew full well that hiding from the Labyrinth would never actually succeed. The only way I could be rid of it was to push forward. If we made it back to the Fourteenth District in one piece, then I could be free of it. Until then, I just had to push it all down and keep moving forward.

With a shoulder, I shoved open the heavy silver doors, stepping back immediately before the rain of qi arrows would fire and turn me into a pin cushion. Except, they never did. Gingerly, I peered up at the trap mechanism in an act that truly tempted fate. Above me, the technique that had been carved into the doorframe still shone just as brightly as the day it was created.

I waved a hand over the threshold. Nothing happened. I pulled Lin forward and we stepped into the building. Nothing happened. Xinya followed with a quick hop over the threshold. Still, nothing happened.

"That's a good sign, right?" Xinya said, but she couldn't see the qi I saw. It was still active, yet for some reason, it hadn't triggered.

A wall separated the door from the actual throne room proper, in order to keep out the draft on days when Half-Moon Hearth actually had weather. In the small corridor, four more traps shone with light, yet did not bother us as we passed. It was as if they were frozen, simply glowing rather than pulsing with life like most qi did.

"That's a bit unsettling," muttered Lin as we rounded the corner. "What's that?" He was pointing to a dark pool on the ground that contrasted sharply with the light silver tiles that made up the interior floor. Part of it was dry, little more than a stain so deep into the tiles that it was a part of them now. However, at the threshold, as if it were pooling against an unseen wall, the pool was very much still liquid.

"Blood," was all I could muster for an answer.

A chill began to creep down my spine, and before I even realized I was still walking, I was standing at the edge of the pool, with the full image of my throne room before me. As if reacting to the presence of people for the first time in several eras, the qi in the air shuddered. The blood pooling against the invisible wall seeped across the barrier, and a stiff wind blew through, carrying the last scents of a time long dead.

A wave of nausea and horror froze my very blood as I witnessed the scene within. My back pressed against the wall behind me, even though I couldn't remember stepping back.

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Because the throne room was a war zone suspended in reality.

There was a time when that room was the pride of my kingdom. A throne room is a reflection of the ruler. As such, my throne room was always immaculate, decorated with beautiful silk banners in Lanyue navy and silver. The ceilings were a perfect star chart, with moon stones marking the different constellations as they existed beyond our world. I'd been told several times that the silver tiles were reminiscent of what it might be like to walk on the moon itself, which brought me joy as one of the few of my time who had done exactly that. Behind the throne of silver and navy, a grand mosaic depicting the phases of the moon adorned the wall…or at least it used to.

Memories of madness assaulted me with each aspect of the room that was out of place. The mosaic was shattered, with a gaping black hole at the back. The bottom edge of the hole was covered with blood that hadn't quite finished dripping to the floor to join the corpse that rested there…a body that I had thrown…killing its owner instantly.

Across the floor, eight bodies lay in various conditions. One had been sliced in half by a lunar blade. Another was half-disintegrated by the void. Several more had sustained critical internal injuries after being casually tossed into a wall by an out-of-control Ascendent.

And the last? The last was the source of the blood that stained the tiles beyond the throne room entrance. Curly brown hair was soaked in the blood of its owner, who'd been stabbed through the stomach before his throat was ripped out by claws. Orange eyes still stared at the ceiling, frozen in their confusion.

"Who are they?" Lin asked softly, seeing my reaction.

"H-his name was Hua Zhen," I breathed. "He was the Captain of the Royal Guard." I closed my eyes, not wanting to look at the horrible scene before me.

"You cannot look away, Yoru," whispered the Labyrinth. "Doesn't your friend deserve better than that after you looked him in the eye and tore the life from his throat?"

It was right. Of course, it was right.

"He tried to stop me," I explained in a shaking voice, but that was all I could get out. I couldn't breathe.

What was he doing here? What were all the other guardsmen still doing here? They clearly had been frozen in a moment of reality, but what I didn't understand was why? Why had they been frozen in this moment from hell? What horrible things did they do to deserve a fate such as this?

"They were your friends. That was their crime."

The Labyrinth didn't even need to lie anymore. It echoed my own thoughts, just as it always did. What earned them this fate? They served me. That was it.

"Yoru? Yoru, calm down." I covered my ears, blocking out Lin's words. They were too much. My frayed nerves finally snapped, and I couldn't stop the tears from falling down my cheeks.

I didn't remember all the details. I remembered pacing in the throne room after the attack that killed Shi Reili. Hua Zhen came to me with the rest of the guard, eight Gemstone artists hand-picked to serve as my honor guard, not that I needed protection from mere Gemstones. He warned me not to retaliate against the perpetrators. He said we could get Chouko back peacefully if we sought help from the Sun Queen.

If I'd just listened to him, I mourned.

But, instead of listening, I went into a fury. I destroyed my throne room, and killed each one who dared defy me… and Hua Zhen? Even as his men died around him, he still tried to talk me down. I killed him for it.

After that, the details became blurry in my memory. I left, but I must have done something to the throne room before I did…shifted it out of phase and locked it in a moment of reality.

"I killed my friend." My voice was wet and broken as I wept the words. I couldn't hold it together anymore. I was done.

Lin's hand was between my chains and my neck, pulling them loose enough for me to breathe. A small hand reached up, pulling one of my clawed hands, one of the same hands that murdered Hua Zhen, away from my ears. Xinya held it, violet eyes wide with concern.

"Yoru, that wasn't you," Lin murmured. "You told me that the voices pushed you to-"

"It doesn't change what I did." I desperately tried to pull myself back together. It was unbecoming of a prince, of a villain, to weep like a child in front of others. I just…couldn't stop. "He tried to stop me, and I killed him. He just wanted to stop me. He just wanted to help people, just like he did the day I met him."

Lin turned, looking at the corpse frozen in a moment of reality. "He looks so young."

"He was four hundred and sixteen years old. I met him on the road. He slew a spirit tiger to save a village in Lanyue."

"I bet he was surprised when the Prince of the kingdom showed up," Lin said. His voice was calm and soothing.

I tried to laugh, but it came out as more of a cough. "He didn't recognize me. Didn't find out until he reached the palace and joined the guard. Whenever we would leave, he'd put a star candle out for us."

"I thought he might have," he answered. I frowned, and he smiled. "His armor. Doesn't it look familiar?"

"Of course it does, it's my design."

"No, we've seen it more recently than here."

I peered around him, rubbing an arm across my eyes to see more clearly. His armor was quite typical of those from the Pearlescent Valley, with small interlocking plates woven together to form a protective shell over his legs, chest, and shoulders. It was decorated in navy with silver moons emblazoned on the front.

Last time I saw it, it wasn't as vibrant as it was here, before me, but it was definitely recognizable. Even transparent and blurred, the sigils were the same. I could have hit myself for not recognizing it sooner.

The Moon Guard wore armor just like that.

"Hua Zhen is still here," I murmured, guilt stabbing even deeper into my heart. Not only did I kill him, but I doomed him for all eternity.

"Perhaps he cannot move on until he's buried."

He was right. It was the least I could do, what I should have done millennia ago. Instead, I somehow banished the whole space, only for it to return once I was imprisoned. Leave it to the insane lunatic monster to consider that a proper burial for a dear friend.

"I'll do it," I said weakly. It was my responsibility, after all.

Lin was at my side immediately, even with his injuries. "I'll help you."

"You don't have to do that."

"You're not alone, Yoru," he said, a hand on my shoulder. "Besides, they sound like very brave cultivators. They deserve the respect of at least one more guest to their funerals."

I didn't argue further. I didn't have the strength to. Lin's presence was more than welcome, as I stepped forward with uncertain steps. It was with a heavy heart that I knelt, ready to lift Hua Zhen's body to carry it beyond the throne room. With the clinking of my own chains, I almost didn't hear Lin speak again, so soft were his words.

"I think you're brave, too, Yoru."

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