The Mirror of the Fallen Lotus"What the hell happened? Where did the Supreme Lotus Emperor go?"
The words tore through the shattered silence like a blade. One voice, then another, then a chorus—skepticism, fear, disbelief. The plaza before the Crystal Lotus Mirror trembled with unease, the air thick with shock.
Moments ago, the Emperor had stood there—untouchable, radiant, a god crowned in lotus light. Now? Nothing. Just the eerie hum of the Mirror, its surface rippling like water stained with starlight.
A stir of horror rippled through the gathered crowd. Even Fin Ravyn, the so-called savior of this coup, couldn't hide the tension in his jaw. His shoulder-length jet-black hair swayed in the cold wind as his blue eyes narrowed. The weight of the moment pressed on him like a mountain.
Beside him, Yara froze.
Her silver-white hair flowed behind her like moonlit silk, a sheet of cold radiance. Icy blue eyes faced the now-empty spot where the Emperor vanished. She looked carved of marble—beautiful enough to terrify, a goddess sculpted for war and grief. The slit in her black dress revealed a flash of toned thigh; even that small motion felt like it could start earthquakes.
The crowd swallowed hard. They all knew the truth:
The Supreme Lotus Emperor's cultivation had long breached the Transcendent Realm.
They had only succeeded in sealing him because they ambushed him—because for the first time in millennia, he had been unprepared.
If he escaped the Crystal Lotus Mirror…
He would wipe them out before their next heartbeat. The thought alone made cultivators tremble, armor clinking like chattering teeth.
A chill wind slithered across the lotus-shaped stones of the plaza.
"Rest assured," a voice boomed across the heavens, cold as winter steel. "When the Crystal Lotus Mirror begins refining a person, it will reveal their memories. The Emperor is being refined. His past will be laid bare."
That voice—calm, unshakable—fell like a decree from heaven.
All anxiety seemed to evaporate, replaced by the desperate belief that those words must be true. Heads snapped upward. Knees bent. People bowed.
"Thank you for your guidance, Lord Empress," Fin Ravyn said, his voice steady but reverent.
The crowd mirrored him—thousands of bodies lowering in a wave, a forest of devotion bowing before the sky.
Suspended above them, the Empress remained unseen, an echo of power. A legend from a Secret Realm, her arrival had single-handedly tipped the scales. Without her, no one in the Seven Blue Lotus World would have dared raise a finger against the Emperor.
For generations, his name alone had been enough to silence rebellion.
Now… they had dared. And the heavens held their breath.
Seeing the Emperor helpless, captured within the Mirror, Fin Ravyn allowed the slightest smile to touch his lips. Relief, sharp and terribly human.
He glanced at the Crystal Lotus Mirror, hands resting behind his back. Its surface shimmered, threads of lotus-light swirling like galaxies.
"I didn't expect the Crystal Lotus Mirror to have such a function," Fin said, voice smooth, tinged with curiosity. "Since we're waiting anyway... let's see what kind of evil deeds the Supreme Lotus Emperor has buried in his past."
Yara's breath hitched. Her pretty lips curled in a sneer sharp enough to draw blood.
"Hmph. The Supreme Lotus Emperor has really done many evil deeds in the past. I don't even care to look," she muttered, her tone a cold blade. "He deserves every torment he receives."
Her voice trembled—not with weakness, but with rage honed into a weapon. The Emperor was her blood, her brother. The man she hated most in this world.
A shadow moved beside her.
Travis, black-haired and dark-eyed, sighed. He watched Yara with an expression of guilt carved deep in his bones.
"Sister Yara…" His voice was hoarse. "Your elder brother—no, the Supreme Lotus Emperor—was once a kind man. He changed only later."
He closed his eyes. Memories flickered across his face—loyalty, betrayal, regret. He and the other sworn brothers had once controlled the Emperor's armies. They had been family. Until they weren't.
Yara didn't look at him. Her nails dug into her palms until blood dotted her white skin.
A chill slithered through the crowd.
Another voice cut through the tension—this one like silk drawn over a dagger.
"So, even now you cling to him? Pathetic."
The speaker stepped forward.
Rose.
Crimson hair cascaded down her back like bloodied silk. Embers burned in her eyes. Her curves strained against a slit crimson dress laced with silver lotus motifs, her presence a weapon of beauty and ruin. Even her smile promised destruction.
She was the former Empress. Daughter of the previous Emperor—the man the current Emperor executed to claim the throne.
She had once loved him. Now she wanted nothing but his corpse.
"Travis," she said, voice dripping venom. "Did you forget how he treated you? He stripped your soul, bone by bone, nearly erased your right to reincarnate. You of all people should stop defending him."
Travis flinched. Silence swallowed him whole.
Rose's gaze burned like divine punishment, and beneath it, her thoughts writhed:
I married him to get close. To kill him. To avenge my father. I gave him love, and he fed me betrayal. Today… I finally get to breathe.
She laughed softly—an ugly sound wrapped in a beautiful voice.
"To think… the man I once shared a bed with, the man I once believed in, will finally crumble before me. If the heavens are just, let him suffer for every tear, every corpse, every stolen future."
Anger clung to her like perfume. It made her devastating.
Even Yara, for all her resentment, couldn't fully match that depth of fury.
Tension coiled like a serpent. Silence thickened.
Travis lowered his head. "It's too late," he whispered. He didn't say anything else. There was nothing left to say.
Seeing the air grow heavier, Fin Ravyn exhaled and forced a smile. He stepped forward, a stabilizing force.
"Everyone, stay calm," Fin said, voice carrying strength. "In three days, the Supreme Lotus Emperor will be completely dead. By then, his past will vanish—just smoke on the wind."
Slowly, expressions eased. Shoulders lowered. The pressure strangling the crowd slackened.
All eyes rose to the Crystal Lotus Mirror.
Its glow brightened—white, gold, lotus-purple. A world taking shape within.
Inside the Crystal Lotus Mirror.
A vision bloomed like a memory reborn.
A vast estate. Countless red lanterns. Joy thick in the air like incense. Laughter echoing from every corner. Silk banners fluttering. Fireworks bursting like stars being born.
A family. Whole. Smiling.
A celebration.
A moment frozen in time—untouched by war, hatred, or betrayal.
A beginning… before the fall.