TW⚠️: Strong Language, Major Character Death, Violence (I'll add on as I go) Chapters with extremely specific triggers will have a warning like this on the top (if any).
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Veiled in the purest cloak stood the young, elegant woman. She reeked a royal aura, her cold eyes petrifying as she stood in front of the pit of fire. Despite her cold, chilling image, the infant in her arms peacefully slept, embracing the comfort she received.
The woman looked down at the child, a moment of softness striking her eyes as she watched the child slumber.
I am sorry that it has to come to this.
"What brings you to the Lotus Pier on such a cold evening? That of royal blood like you do not belong here, clearly?" a voice spoke from behind her, dubious in tone.
The male was robed in an inferno of colors, black and red adorning the traditional clothing of the Lotus Pier. He strode closer to the pit of fire surrounded by luxurious silver, tempered to contain the raging flames that defined their residence.
The woman wasn't intimidated in the slightest, standing tall with pride despite the precarious situation she had found herself in.
"Treat me with respect, for I am still that of royal blood."
"And yet you still dare not answer my question under the Lotus territory? I am not a fan of repeating myself, Your Highness."
His mockery rang in her ears, stitching her facial features into a tight glare as she scoffed. However, the slightest movement of the child within her hands didn't go unnoticed, and soon the royal woman found herself calmed. She was there for a reason, after all. It was best not to get distracted by the taunts of the lowly male in front of her.
"An aversion of fate is only possible with a sacrifice if I remember correctly," the woman spoke up, her soft tone echoing within the pier. She turned to face the fire once again as if drawn to the dangerous source of light. "One lifetime may not be enough, however, to fix the magnitude of what I have broken."
The man raised an eyebrow, interested in the words the elder woman spoke. He wondered why someone like her, more powerful than the others around her, would make a decision such as this. She couldn't possibly be weak—she was the epitome of the perfect use of strength. Yet the actions the royal-blood insinuated were anything but brave.
He was more than happy to indulge in such a strange request. "You offer the child's soul for a measly little distortion of fate?"
The woman shook her head, massaging the features of the infant that slept in her arms, unaware of the sacrifice to come. "I never spoke of a distortion—I spoke of an aversion. Tragedy marks my paths, one I cannot avoid. With this sacrifice, I choose to transfer my tragedy to this newborn soul."
"And you've come here to finish the transfer as you call it?"
The woman sighed, extending her arms to rid herself of the child in her arms. Even though her heart broke into pieces, she had to do what she could—for she was more selfish than she was brave.
The male immediately took the child into his hands, checking to make sure the infant was truly deep in its slumber. The cruelty of what was to come was enough—the child didn't need to feel the pain as well.
"Do you have the incense?" he asked gruffly, placing a free hand out in front of him. The woman quietly placed a golden capsule within his palm, steadily retracting her arm soon afterward.
Laying the child on the sculpted flagstones, the man hovered one hand above the heart of the child, watching as wisps of crimson surrounded his hand.
"This is your final warning, Your Highness. The misery of this child will be eternal, as long as the reincarnation cycle spins. Do you not have regrets?"
The woman took a short glance at the child she doted upon, one she'd loved from her first look. A surge of reluctance waved through her, forcing her to tear her eyes away. She had to do this. She had too much to accomplish, much more power to assert.
"I have not an ounce."
The male nodded his head before continuing, watching as the blood-red wisps that silked around his hand expanded toward the child's chest, wrapping on a hazy white ball before pushing it out of the minuscule body. The child's soul was pure and new, one that had not even lived one life to its fullest.
What a shame, the man thought. The child could have brought more glory than any other royal before.
He wasn't one to refuse a client's wishes, however—especially a royal. The enormous pay he was surely promised was more than enough to overlook the morality of the case, as soon his other hand was fiddling with the golden capsule filled with incense that contained her miserable fate.
Dark wisps surrounded the fumes of incense as well, weaving the dark material within the pure white soul, trapping it within eternal gloom. Soon, the soul lowered back into the body of the child, the once bright features now glowing with darkness.
Fate was set in stone, and the job was finished. The man stood up with the child in his arms, gingerly carrying the infant to return to the woman. Although she carried the child with just as much care, she could not bring herself to gaze down, the weight of her finalized decision heavy upon her shoulders.
"The fate of this child lies in this paper, impenetrable to any destruction. May you find solace for your actions within the words that lie on the paper," the male handed her the golden scroll, taking the colossal bag filled with treasures.
He bid the woman goodbye, silently escorting her out before shutting the door of the Lotus Pier as the woman went on her way once again.
When the woman reached a space of privacy on her journey, her fingers gravitated to the scroll. The pads of her fingertips feathered the threaded material before unfurling the parchment. Her eyes widened in shock at the fate destined for her own blood, regret flooding through her as realization dawned.
Her mistakes could not be remedied, and now she had forced her child to a fate far worse than what she once had.
"The most potent of emotion shall brim, yet tragedy shall voiden all to numb. Infinite a number bound within, just as eight severed brought all undone."
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A/N: if you were confused about what just happened—dwdwdw!!!!
what happened in the prologue is more of a foreshadowing/backstory I can explain if you're confused! this is also like centuries prior to the first chapter- so yeah-
there's a lot of characters in this book though, so I kinda wanna know who you're guesses on the child in this is as time goes by.
