2 In Death, There May Still Be Life

"Leader of the New Dawn Sect, Heavenly Martial Candidate, and the man revered as 'The White Dragon'," a wisened voice spoke from behind me as I gazed out at the nation I had built with the help of my brothers. "It is the wish of the Martial Coalition's three Sect Leaders that we execute you here."

"And for what reason?" I inquired, mot looking away from my palace. The gold shimmered so nicely in the dawn's red light that it would be a shame to miss a second of it, after all. "I have never meddled in the affairs of your sect."

"But you have, sir," the man replied with haste. I recognised the voice now. It was hard to maintain composure when the man who ordered the slaughter of a village we had taken as our own. "You have refused several invitations to the Coalition, as well as thievery."

"Thievery?" I repeated, rubbing the stolen item that I had in my pocket. I knew exactly what they meant, but thievery was a small payback in comparison to the slaughter of my citizens and my brothers. "I must admit that your accusations both amuse me and bore me, Miné Teppon."

"Recently, the Martial Coalition has had its most prized possession stolen from it. There is no other man with the skills nor the motive to pull off such a stunt," Miné explained. I heard some leaves rustling further back. Some loyalist subordinates taking issue with my lax approach to the situation, I supposed. "And so we ask you to be gracious enough to return the Pill before we execute you."

"Let me ask you one- no, two things," I responded, finally turning to face the bastard who had ordered such misery on our sect. "You are much more disgusting than I had imagined," I voiced my thoughts- if I were to die anyway, why not die with my honest opinions out in the open?

"Your words humble me, sir," he responded, feigning respect. "What may your questions be? I will answer them to the best of my ability."

"Why, after half a year of the thievery occurring, are you only coming after me now?" I asked, gently fondling the pill in my pocket. It was a rather odd one, much different from any other I had consumed in my lifetime.

"The Sect Leaders deemed it an impossible task for our forces at the time to take you on," Minté admitted. "The White Dragon moniker is not one given to someone without the power to back it up. Your accomplishments are legend, even after several years."

"I see. So my moniker was reason enough to stop you from attacking me personally, but my affiliates were free reign?" I asked, putting my hands by my side loosely. I sensed that someone within the tree-line was itching to attack me from the buildup of qi in their fists and feet. "And that is my second question."

"Not a lot is known about your true character outside of your sect, Yuron," Miné informed me. I couldn't deny that. Whether it was hopefulness or ignorance, I had never made any attempts to establish relations with any other sects. They all seemed… like they couldn't be family. Perhaps because I never gave them the chance to share alcohol with me? "So we assumed the leader of a make-shift sect would be somewhat arrogant towards his subjects."

"Subjects," I repeated, thinking about the word in its entirety. "Do you know what those subjects called me? Even back when I was a spry youngster with not a wrinkle on my face?" I asked, the memories bringing a smile to my face.

"I am not aware," Miné replied. I was surprised at the calmness and patience of this war-mangled veteran. "Enlighten me."

"They called me Grandfather. Not Sect Leader, Great Ruler, or Wise King," I said, knowing fine well this would be the final straw for the impatient brat who wanted to fight with me. These were the names that the three Sect Leaders of the Martial Coalition used. "Such immature names have nowhere near as much meaning to me as Grandfather did."

"You bastard! Just shut up and die!" A young man, no older than twenty-five leapt from the bushes behind Miné, sword drawn and coated in a rough sword aura. It was far too jagged, and the way he wielded his sword was no different from how Frak's child played with a training sword.

"Let an old man give his goodbyes," I stated, swiftly drawing my sword. Using sword aura wasn't worth it for a puny third-rate member of some branch family's secret unit. I simply carved through him and his blade with the weapon that had stayed by my side since I could remember.

The boy's body landed- both parts- to my left, the life leaving his eyes long before he landed.It was only then that I realised how stupid I was being. An old man? I wasn't even thirty, yet I had wrinkles from sorrow, and spoke like I was in my eighties. I sheathed my blade with a chuckle. With an attitude like this, it was no wonder we were deemed a Calamity Cult.

"My apologies for his impudence, sir," Miné said, gritting his teeth as he tried his hardest to adhere to the meaningless teachings of the Pure Path that the Coalition preached so much. "If there is anything else you wish to say, please do. We will hear your final words, retrieve the Pill from you, then send you to the afterlife with your brothers in arms."

"I see. Allow me to say a prayer, then?" I asked. I could see the confusion in Miné's face at my request. He shook his head- almost feverishly- and I took to my knees as I looked out over my legacy. "But before that, another question. What is the name of the pill that I stole from your Coalition?"

"The Sect Leaders call it the Pill of Righteous Guidance. The reason why is beyond me," Miné confided, which brought a smile to my face. Telling Sect secrets to someone condemned to death almost seemed like he wanted to get the weight off of his shoulders.

"Then join me in this prayer, if you would. You can do so from where you're standing. You have my word that I will accept my death after I try to make peace with the Gods I have ignored my whole life," I said, clasping my hands at my chest. Despite not being able to see him, I could sense Miné's qi move into a praying position as I did so.

"Please begin any time you wish," he said, also taking to his knees. These Pure Path assholes really had their priorities backwards when it came to reverence. Slaughtering innocent villagers was going to be overlooked by the Gods if they helped one non-believer convert in his last moments? Bullshit.

"I pray to all Gods. Any that may take refuge in Heaven, or Hell for that matter. My life has been by the path of strength, and strength alone. Of that, I have no regrets. I met the greatest people that you allowed to grace this world. I hope you forgive my transgressions and selfish hunt for power as a mortal, and allow me to take my place by your side. On top of that, it is my final selfish request that this was fucking worth it," I finished, rapidly chucking the pill from my pocket into my mouth. I felt it evaporate and merge with my core just as several blades plunged into my body.

No regrets. I had none. Well, I had one. Why had I never taken a wife? Even that muscle-brain Frak had a child of his own. And his wife wasn't too bad either, I guess. In my last moments, I hoped that they were at least all together… wherever they were.