I the great lord of Quartsel have always been the most esteemed existence. I was born into an esteemed family, with a rich history, second only to the emperor. During my youth my parents feared I might have been a bit spoiled and sent me to a nearby sect of cultivators to train and refine my temperament.
However, that only reinforced my thoughts of superiority, as my talents far outpaced my peers reaching golden core at the young age of 20. I returned to my household and ousted my elderly father from his title and land. I spent the following decade expanding my family's influence as my power grew along with my intellect which was refined through political upheavals. When my power began to rival that of the royal family there was no doubt in my mind that between heaven and earth, I alone am the honored one, but that unviable truth was soon shattered by him, the Dark Lord'. When I first heard of him, I initially brushed it off as some kind of joke. However, that all changed when I attended a banquet held in honor of his 10th birthday. I had heard he was initially sent here as an envoy from a new budding empire from the southeast, however when I met him in person.
"Amazing, the young lord is already about to break through to nascent soul?!"
"At the young age of 10. Such talent is unheard of."
"I once heard he even beat a nascent soul cultivator back when he was still in qi refinement."
"You're kidding!"
"This young master is truly unrivaled under the heavens."
My confidence in my strength was shattered that day. I tried to move on, still believing my intellect and status was still above his, but as the budding empire grew beyond my own, I learned of his true status, and what little confidence I had left was crushed. I felt my mind began to wonder as horrible nightmares of my dead parents began to haunt me. I still sometimes see glimpses of them in the corner of my eye, their disapproving glare sending chills down my spine.
When I heard news of someone sabotaging the young boy's advancement, for the first time this year I felt relief as my nightmares began to fade. Years later when I heard the dark lord had failed another attempt and was wandering helplessly through my territory, I thought this was my chance to get rid of this sinner who ruined my perfect life and restore balance to the world.
However, as the trap was laid and the stage was set, another interloper appeared. Who I first thought was just an insignificant servant boy was actually the devil in disguise. She insulted and mocked me with her crude language and disrespectful attitude. She twisted my beautiful manor into a hellscape, with the ghosts of my servants and long-gone ancestors wandering the hall. Every painting twisted into a distorted version of its former image, every book written in blood describing an ominous future, every wall knocking and bleeding, and when the floor beneath my feet opened and swallowed me whole, I passed out to the sounds of mocking laughter.
…
Later the next day, somewhere between Quartsel and Latnos. A conversation between a certain dark lord and a silver haired mage driving a rundown carriage could be heard.
"So how did you manage to get in."
"I knocked out a servant boy, swapped our clothes and activated the illusion enchantments on my mask to change my appearance."
"And the throne room."
"There was a trap door right in front of the throne. I just opened it then pushed whoever didn't blindly rush at me down into it. As for the decoration. I had some time to kill waiting for the meeting, so I snuck around redecorating the place with some stuff I had lying around then covered it all up with illusions."
"And the ghosts?"
"Mostly smoke and mirrors. I asked some local vengeful spirits to change forms and follow him around, while burning some spirit enhancing incense to make them more visible."
"You seem more talkative than usual today, what happened?"
"Well, I would rather answer your tedious questions than watch you throw another fit and wonder off with another stranger."
"Well, if a certain someone had listened to me from the get-go I wouldn't have done that."
"Whatever."
"Eh… So how did you know the city lord was afraid of ghosts?"
"Simple, I read his diary."
That day I silently vowed in my heart to never let my diary out of my sight when taking it out of storage. Just in case some miscreant discovered its existence.