CHAPTER 68: KING-GOD, KING SHION

When they arrived at the palace in the afternoon, Haru couldn’t take it anymore. He was the first to rush into the throne room and, spotting Yue standing there deep in thought, he immediately yelled at him:

"Hoshizuma, what did you do to my husband?!" he shouted, his voice shaking with emotion even though he tried hard to hold it back.

Hoshizuma turned toward him.

"Nothing that would bring him more suffering in the long run," he replied with a smile.

That little smirk got under Haru’s skin.

"Nothing that would bring him suffering? He barely made it through the trip!" he shouted, and just as he finished, the rest entered the hall – everyone except Asahi, Shion the Second, Maldie, Gari, and Sayaka.

The boys insisted on going back to their room to finally get some proper sleep, and Yuri wanted to stay with her parents – partly because Lánshuò had asked her to be there for the talk. Gari and Maldie volunteered to watch the kids while they slept, and Sayaka, after asking the royal couple for permission, also went to rest after the journey.

Hoshizuma glanced at Haru, then at Shion, then at Yan Mo and Rouhuo, then at Ayame—who was staring at him with a cold, nearly hateful look – and finally, intrigued, at Yuri and the thing standing by her side.

Ugh, he thought with disgust, glaring at Lánshuò, who stared him down without blinking. So they really brought that failed leftover from the second one? And it just decided on its own to serve their daughter?

Their gazes met. Yuecheng’s body trembled in fear.

Huh? His body is starting to regain his consciousness and shaking because of it? Like I’d ever be afraid of something so pathetic.

No. Yuecheng’s consciousness is silent. My body is still shaking. H-how dare that thing make me feel fear?

Lánshuò looked straight into his eyes again – a brief, unmistakable signal. A warning. Hoshizuma knew that look all too well. It reminded him of a tiger ready to strike, without saying a word, Lánshuò sent one clear message:

I’m calm for now. One wrong move is all it takes.

Just her presence put pressure on Hoshizuma – pressure he hadn’t felt in hundreds of millions of years – irritating him more with every passing second.

"Hoshizuma," Ayame said in an icy, freezing tone, "it’s time for you to give me back my son. I want to take him home. Your consciousness has ruled his body for far too long. You know very well you could end up causing irreversible damage to his mind."

Yuecheng swallowed nervously.

"Before that happens," said Hoshizuma, "I assume you want some explanations, don’t you?"

"Young Hoshigane," Ayame felt Lánshuò’s low whisper on the back of her neck, "I can split their consciousnesses the same way I did with–"

"No," Ayame cut her off firmly.

For some reason, seeing Ayame and Lánshuò whispering to each other made Hoshizuma more and more uneasy.

Haru reached his hand toward Hoshizuma, unable to contain the storm of emotions inside him. A gold-star mist appeared around his palm.

"Say it! Tell me what you did!," he said, on the verge of tears.

"My love," Shion said softly, trying to calm him, "if you attack him, Yue will be the one who gets hurt the most."

Haru’s lips trembled.

Shion’s right. I’m letting my emotions get the better of me again, but I just... I can’t stay calm when it comes to him. He’s suffered so much in his life, and he’s still... still hurting, even though I know deep down he’s happy.

"You made this country breathe again," Lánshuò suddenly said. Haru, Yuri, and Ayame turned toward her in surprise. Rouhuo, unsure what everyone was looking at, glanced that way too, confusion written all over her face. "But you split their consciousnesses. How?"

"For the first time in history, I created my own god. A god that would represent King Shion. I ordered the people to destroy the altars of the gods created by the Fourth and worship their king as the only god. Because of that, the country overflowed with unused magical energy full of faith and hope. Well, I suspected that when Shion returned, something... strange might happen. You’ll need to describe exactly what took place during the trip, because all I know for now is that Shion barely survived it."

King Shion opened his mouth to speak, but Haru spoke first. Still on the verge of crying, he explained how his husband and the god Hoshizuma created had merged, and how much Shion had suffered.

"Hm. Nothing unusual," Hoshizuma said, shrugging.

"No-nothing unusual?!" Haru snapped.

"My goodness," Rouhuo muttered quietly, shocked, "that being inside Master Yue has absolutely no compassion."

"Heal my dad and give Yue back," Yuri – silent until now – cut in. Haru stared at his daughter, surprised and proud at the same time. "Or I’ll make Lánshuò split you apart!"

"To kill both me and Yue?" Hoshizuma said, then laughed, but it wasn’t his usual arrogant laugh. It was nervous. Lánshuò’s intense glare stirred feelings he hadn’t felt in ages, awakening his most primal instincts.

"Fix the damage you caused, then give me my son back," Ayame said. "Or I’ll make sure you never take over his body again. I’ve let you get away with far too much."

Suddenly, to everyone’s shock, Shion stepped forward.

"Thank you for protecting my country. But it’s time for you to fix the harm you caused along the way as well."

"Shion, are you out of your mind?!" Haru blurted out, completely stunned.

"No. I know what I’m doing," the king replied calmly. "He did it to protect our country from a gods’ invasion. If that moment of suffering was the price I had to pay, then so be it."

"You don’t know whether he did it just for a bit of temporary fun," Ayame said. "You give him too much credit, Shion. As always, you take such an idealistic view of everything."

"Well, at least I have your gratitude," Hoshizuma said, then cleared his throat. "I suggest performing the unification ritual. After that, I’ll return Yuecheng’s body to him. But I must warn you – the unification ritual may have unexpected consequences. The decision is yours, king."

Shion turned toward Haru, remembering exactly where his husband stood. He walked up to him and took his hands.

"Haru... whatever happens, I want to become an even better ruler for our country. And an even better husband for you. I don’t want you to have to watch me suffer. No matter what happens, know that I love you."

"Shion..." Haru whispered shakily, then kissed him. He felt tears sliding down his cheeks. "I don’t want you to risk yourself again, I..."

"Whatever happens, I’ve got a feeling this will turn out for the better."

"Are you sure, brother?" Ayame asked, her voice trembling.

"Yes. I don’t have another choice. I don’t want to be an even bigger burden to all of you. Even Haru would eventually get worn out taking care of me," Shion let out a heavy sigh.

"That’s not true, sweetheart! You know I–"

"Yes, I know. I just don’t want to be a burden to you anymore, or to anyone else," he said with a faint smile.

"Dad..." Yuri whispered, frightened. "What’s going to happen to you?" Her voice shook.

Haru, standing beside her, wrapped her in a hug.

Shion turned toward Hoshizuma.

"I’m ready. Summon your god."

"Since the final decision has been made, allow me to get straight to it," Hoshizuma said, then raised his hand.

A golden circle appeared beside Shion – flashing for a split second before a shining figure stepped out of the wall of light. It was Shion Ginsei Kōjin.

"You called, my lord?" he asked, bowing.

"Today," Hoshizuma declared, "your service ends. You two shall become one – god and man, the human king and the rebel of the heavens."

"If that is your wish," Shion Ginsei Kōjin replied, bowing once again.

"I can’t believe this is real," Haru said, his voice shaking.

"Me neither," Ayame admitted, then turned toward Rouhuo, who was covering her eyes. "Are you alright?"

"F-forgive me, my lady. The glow of that... god is too bright for my eyes."

"Huh?" Ayame looked around at the others. Only Yan Mo, who was standing in the doorway, was also covering his face.

That’s strange. Really strange. Just how powerful is this thing?

Yuri held onto Haru even tighter.

"Mom, do you think Dad’s going to be okay?"

"Let’s hope so," Haru said, then added, "No, we need to believe it." His voice trembled again.

Yuri heard a soft movement of Lánshuò’s lips beside her, like she licked them again, and then Yuri...

...heard Lánshuò’s stomach growl.

Without delaying any longer, Hoshizuma began chanting a long, complicated incantation in an ancient, strange-sounding language none of them recognized. Yuecheng’s eyes darkened into a deep gold, and massive waves of pulsing magical mist appeared around his hands.

Yuecheng’s body started shaking.

"Stop the ritual!" Ayame shouted, panicking. "Yue’s body won’t survive this!" She stared anxiously at what was happening before them.

Shion and his divine counterpart disappeared behind a wall of golden energy streams, and then those streams merged into one.

"Yue!" Ayame screamed at the top of her lungs when she saw Yuecheng’s body filling with the same glowing aura from within. "Yue... sweetheart..."

Haru placed a hand on her shoulder as tears started running down Ayame’s cheeks.

She tried desperately to move toward Hoshizuma, but if not for Haru, she would’ve nearly fallen out of her wheelchair. He had to hold her back as she struggled and screamed that she would kill Hoshizuma.

After a moment, the ritual finally ended. Ayame froze in shock, but the tension in her face slowly went away when she saw Yuecheng’s body whole – except for one arm. The same one that once had the silver and gold finger had turned into a transparent limb, made of a glass-like material.

Shion stepped out of the circle. He was several centimeters taller, his black hair turning golden halfway down, and a silver-gold glow appeared in his purple-black eyes. The astonished king couldn’t believe he could see again. He stared first at his hand, then at Haru – who was looking at him with both shock and wonder.

Shion... the glow in your eyes is so beautiful, Haru thought when their gazes met.