Location: Imperial Capital – The Obsidian Pavilion
The sun had not yet risen.
But the Obsidian Pavilion, perched atop the imperial palace's eastern cliffs, blazed with life.
Servants moved in silence, lighting lanterns of spiritual fire that burned without smoke. Veiled courtiers laid flower petals along the black-stone walkways. Musicians tuned their zithers. The Pavilion had not hosted a private banquet in over thirty years.
Today, it did.
And it was all for one man.
Hei Long.
The Empress had made the decree herself: "Let those bound to him be present. Let the truth rise with the sun."
Inside the Pavilion
Hei Long sat alone at the long table.
Not out of modesty.
But because no one dared sit beside him without invitation.
He wore no armor — only a simple black robe lined with blood-red thread. No title marked him, but the servants bowed like he was Emperor.
His gaze was quiet, his hands folded.
But his presence filled the room like a storm waiting to break.
