1 Prologue - love of the heart and love for the crown

Fyn Arbose was a wise emperor. Under his reign, the Fyn empire was peaceful like the spring and impregnable like the winter ice. But nothing was permanent. He grew old. And his children couldn't stave off the greed for the crown.

In the battle for the crown, the strongest were the first, second and fourth princes. All three were equally deserving of the crown, and so the emperor could only let them battle.

The first prince, Fize, was the spitting image of his father. Tall, broad shouldered, square faced, auburn eyed, curly haired. It wasn't the kind of handsome the books of old gushed over, but the kind of handsome that was made popular by the most beloved emperor Arbose. That love was easily extended toward prince Fize who earned the title of the handsomest bachelor of the kingdom almost too easily.

Fize's biggest support was general Hynes, whose daughter Ev was the childhood friend of Fize and then the lover who would be his only wife. Theirs was a love story known to all of the capital city, and was the envy of all the young men and women. Ev wasn't the prettiest maiden, but she was pretty enough, and of a station high enough to attract the affections of many young nobles. But she had only ever had eyes for Fize. And while her image was that of an innocent maiden, the truth was entirely different.

'Father, general Moir has decided to stand behind the second prince. Doesn't that conclude the initial stage? The lines have been drawn. The battle will begin. We should be the first to strike.'

Hynes was in his study, sitting across the table from his daughter. He had always known his daughter wasn't the girl everyone thought she was. She was bright. She had great aptitude for battles. And she had an insight into people's hearts that wasn't something a person her age should possess. There was a time when he was saddened by the thought that she wasn't his son. But then, his love for her opened his eyes and cleared his heart.

Ev always felt blessed to have been born as her father's daughter. She wasn't sure anyone else would have accepted her as fully and loved her as truly as her father. She loved spending time with her father in his study, discussing subjects that truly interested her. Battle. People. Politics. She was true like this only with one other person, her beloved Fize. She could already see Fize wearing the crown. He would make a wonderful emperor. And she would ensure that happened.

'I disagree,' Hynes replied strongly. 'This isn't a battle on a battleground. The first strike would actually prove disadvantageous. Because the win isn't the only thing that's important, the impression on the people is just as essential. The one to strike first, loses control over people's hearts. Whatever we do, none of it should be overt or evident. This is a battle where politics ranks higher.'

He was sure Ev would understand. If not immediately, then after sleeping over it. He gave her a smile, and she returned it in slightly lesser measure.

That was the end of the discussion. It should have been secret. The study was in the heart of the general's estate. No one should be able to make it in completely avoiding detection. And no one should be able to hear the words from the outside. And yet, that was exactly what happened.

A man in black was lying on the roof. Inseparable from the shadows, invisible to the naked eye. And he had ears strong enough to catch the discussion inside in its entirety. He escaped from the estate just as quietly as he had entered. He rushed back to the prime minister's estate.

The prime minister, Han Lyme, was a man in his forties and looked every bit like it. He had never been handsome. But it wasn't as if he wasn't handsome. Just that his eyes were so remarkable, deep and enticing, they cast a spell of forgetfulness over the looker, and that was all anyone could remember. The prime minister's magical eyes.

The prime minister had aligned himself with the second prince. If asked for a reason, all he could say was that he saw the god of fortune smiling upon the second prince.

The prime minister was lounged in the veranda of his bedroom. A glass of wine in hand, basking in the smoke of green grass, a weak hallucinogenic grass that was an indulgence of nobles, he was looking at the clear sky enjoying the quiet night. There wasn't a change in his expression when a man in black suddenly appeared by his side. He sipped the wine, enjoyed the lingering taste on his tongue, and only then, after a long while, addressed his servant.

'Tell me then. Hear anything good?'

The prime minister's voice was languid and husky, leaving a pleasant impression on the listener. The man in black wasn't taken by it, however. He had been the prime minister's secret guard for long enough to know this wasn't what the prime minister was inside. But he didn't care. He was the servant, and he only had to carry out his master's orders. He recounted what he had overheard. The prime minister nodded while listening to the end, and after another long while of contemplation, replied.

'This is interesting. The little girl is a little too eager. Sure, she'll grow into a fine woman. For now, she's still too inexperienced. Forget about it now. If you aren't too tired, head over to the purple flower monastery. Word's been flying around that tonight's going to be an interesting night. I cannot go over, even though I'd really like to. You can enjoy the show.'

The guard disappeared. The prime minister smiled to himself in satisfaction.

The guard dissolved into the shadows as he ran toward the monastery in the east. It wasn't an order, but it sure was something. The prime minister never wasted a word. As the prime minister's guard, he understood that his master's words meant that there was something for him. He arrived outside the monastery just as a large group of bandits broke in. He remained in the distance, however, having noticed many other shadows like himself, looking down at the monastery from a distance. And then, he felt his heart chill as the screams filled the night.

As for why the bandits attacked the monastery, it was a tale of love and fury, ending in tragedy. The bandits' leader was a man from the Jainghu, Fern. Fern was four when his master, an elder from the Cloudless sect found him. Fern had exceptional innate talent, and wasn't a child meant for the secular world. His constitution was also uniquely suited for the cultivation arts of the Cloudless sect. And so, Fu Sha, an elder from the sect, adopted Fern as his personal disciple and took him away. Fern's talent blossomed in the cultivation friendly environment of the sect. He quickly rose in the ranks, and it wasn't long before he was eligible to be an elder. The only prerequisite to be fulfilled was for him to defeat his inner demons. Because those inner demons were born from his time in the secular world, he returned to the secular world to gain a better understanding of the demons. Upon realising that the demons were born from the forgotten memories of his family's death at the hands of the mayor of the town they called home, he realised the way to defeat those demons was by turning into a bandit fighting the imperial government.

Everyone who was a member of the bandit group was someone who had suffered under the evils of the imperial government, and thus bore hatred for everything imperial. And so, they only attacked caravans of the government and servants of the imperial rule. This was also why they had respect among certain sections of the populace.

Fern met Violet while she was returning home from the capital city. She was a student at the imperial academy, studying runic astrology. The bandits surrounded the caravan upon seeing the imperial insignia on the carts. But upon realising that all within were only students, they let the caravans go. Violet bore a favourable impression of Fern.

Over the next couple of years, Fern and Violet had several secret rendezvous, eventually falling in love. The night they professed their love, they hadn't known that they were seen by Mimi. Mimi was the daughter of the minister of rites in the capital city. She was proud and arrogant, but deservedly so. And she would have been happy, if she hadn't fallen in love with Ars, the son of a noble from a city near the border. Ars was in love with Violet. For this reason, Mimi hated Violet. Having discovered Violet's affections, Mimi decided to act on it. She didn't go to Ars. Instead, she went to the office of the capital guards, and told them Fern, the famous bandit, was the lover of Violet, a student of the imperial academy. The captain of the capital guards, greedy for praise and promotion, decided to act on this information without telling his superiors. He brought along a select few of trusted subordinates, grabbed Violet from the streets while she was out shopping, and harshly interrogated her to get her to reveal the hideout of Fern. Their lust blinded them to the identity of Violet. They abused her, assaulted her modesty, even going as far as ruining her permanently. The innocent girl couldn't bear the pain and the humiliation, and her heart gave out.

Violet's death was a shock to all. A student of the imperial academy was treated with such humiliation by capital guards, it was a slap to the institution of the capital guards and to the imperial family itself. The captain and his subordinates directly involved were given the harshest of punishment. They were to be tortured within an inch of their life, then treated until they recovered enough, before continuing with the torture. They would pray for death with all of their being, but wouldn't be granted the boon. They would suffer hundred such cycles before finally being allowed to die. And all of their families would be exiled from the kingdom forever.

Mimi, who was the true cause of the tragedy, was removed from the academy. Because she was so evil, she wouldn't be allowed to remain in the capital. The most her father could do for her, was to exchange her exile from the capital, to being exiled to the purple flower monastery where she would remain a nun for the rest of her life.

The purple leaf monastery was home to the priests and the nuns, and also a school to the children of the capital city who had the talent for reading the stars. Not everyone chose to be a student at the monastery because not everyone could be comfortable with life at the monastery. Zi was comfortable, and she was one of the brightest students of the purple flower monastery. The kind that was the pride of all the priests.

Zi had never interacted with Mimi. In fact, even though she was only a student, Zi had a higher standing than the young nun Mimi. Their lives should have never intersected. But such was the tragedy of fate.

Upon learning of Violet's suffering and death, Fern was consumed by grief and self loathing. But that was the baptism he had to go through. He no longer cared for the secular world. His inner demons were exorcised by his disinterest. He was ready to return to the sect where he truly belonged. The one last thing he had to do first was avenge Violet. Mimi was hiding in the monastery. By mere association, all of the monastery would bear the same fate, death.

That night, the monastery was burned to the ground. The screams of the priests and the nuns and the students filled the night. Fern personally tortured Mimi, breaking her limbs and cutting them off one by one, before finally beheading her and ending her life. Then, after seeing Violet's smile in the flames consuming the monastery, Fern departed. And the rest of the bandits scattered away too. That was the night Fern's bandit group ceased to exist.

Among those killed, was Zi. She was sleeping when she was awoken by two bandits. She was dressed in rich clothes and had the bearing of a daughter of a noble house from the capital. The bandits saw Mimi in her. Because they all shared Fern's pain, they treated Zi as they would Mimi. They held her up, tore away her clothes, carved out her flesh, and left her to drown in her own blood.

Zi had never endured such pain. So great was her shock, she shut down. She didn't scream or even make a sound. She couldn't comprehend what was happening, let alone bear any thought toward it. After the bandits left, while she lay breathing her dying breaths, she had momentary clarity. In that moment, all of the pain came crashing down onto her, crushing her throat. As her eyes turned hazy, she saw all of her life. There had been so much joy, so much happiness. The only suffering was at the end. She was struck with realisation. Her life, and life itself in general, was rather simple. It didn't have to be complicated. She had to only revel in the simple joys. Wouldn't that be enough? She smiled in satisfaction as she breathed her last.

Darkness overtook her, before she opened her eyes to a strangely bright world. She was floating. Smiling. Clear headed. Curious, but without anxiousness. Patient. She wasn't surprised when the calm voice filled the world.

'My dear child, you are at peace.'

Sure, the voice sounded majestic. But she wasn't impressed by the words.

'Yeah,' she agreed, with a beaming smile. 'I am. Are you?'

The voice coughed, as if struck dumb, before continuing.

'Upon death, one returns to the cycle of fate. Unless one gains enlightenment in the final moments. Then, they are freed. And they become my angels. You are now an angel.'

'What's an angel?' She asked.

Even though she was a student at the monastery, she wasn't a true believer of the gods the priests spoke of. She was too materialistic, her teachers told her, because she was only concerned with the material world. Her disregard for the spiritual was great.

'An angel is one who looks out for those still not freed from the cycle of fate. An angel can also be one who looks after one specific life. What do you choose?'

'Before that, can I ask about what happened after?'

There was silence, before the world changed. She seemed to be looking down at the capital city and the people in the city.

When morning dawned, shock descended over the city. No one could accept the idea that there could be a reason behind the attack. All of the hate and anger was turned upon the bandits. But with them having disappeared, all of the anger was showered upon the dead Mimi, for she was the cause of it all.

The incident also marked the end of the battle for the crown. Zi was the childhood friend of the second and fourth prince. The fourth prince had a heart as sensitive for those he loved as his mind was ruthless for the rest of the world. Standing over the ashes of Zi, he was heartbroken. It wasn't as if he was blind to the darkness in the world until today, but with Zi gone after such suffering, he gave up. He didn't want to remain in the capital and the kingdom because he knew he would be reminded only of Zi's suffering. And that wasn't how he wanted to remember her. Zi was a girl full of life, filled with boundless cheerfulness. She always made him smile, and he wanted her memory to remain so. For that, he gave up the battle for the throne. He cut off all ties, and became a tireless traveller, seeing all corners of the world, all the wonders of all life, for himself as well as for Zi.

The second prince was broken too, but his determination for the crown multiplied. Upon learning that there were many who were aware that something was to happen in the monastery who could have prevented the tragedy if only they chose to do so, the second prince realised he didn't want a court with such people. He would become the emperor, change the very attitudes of the people in the court. He would ensure that such a tragedy would never occur again. In all the smiles that he protected, he would see Zi.

The first prince was shocked too. The morning after, he met with general Hynes, knowing that the general's men were witnesses to the tragedy. The general could have taken action. The general should have taken action. But didn't. Simply because taking action would affect the battle for the crown. The prince saw that Ev agreed with the general. The prince was disheartened. He realised he didn't want to be the emperor for such people who were able to sit by and watch innocent people die for the sake of greater gains. He gave up the crown. He accepted the standing invitation of a hidden sect to become a student. He asked if Ev would come along. She said yes. The day he left, was the day the second prince earned the crown.

The first prince grew to be an elder in the hidden sect, even ascending to the higher world. He took Ev along. The two were together and happy all through.

The second prince became an emperor eclipsing his father. He achieved all he set out to do. He saved many, many Zi's.

The fourth prince saw more of the world than anyone else before. His journals describing his travels were compiled and published, and would be studied by many, many generations to come.

Zi was revelling in the happiness. Her nonchalance turned into carelessness, and she was swept away into the cycle of fate.

'Huh?' God exclaimed in shock, unable to comprehend what just happened. 'Stupid girl. Why would you go back into the cycle of fate?'

Angels weren't supposed to be tied up with fate. They were an independent existence. But that didn't stop angels from creating trouble. There was nothing that could be done. Zi would reincarnate.

And that was the beginning.