Shion

Intro I never asked to be Emperor. I grew up on muddy village paths, in a small paper-windowed house with only the earth beneath my feet. I remember the day I watched my parents killed their warmth, their voices, their hands all gone, leaving only cold soil and silence. After that, there was no one to guide us, only me, my brother Haoran, and his friends. We ran barefoot through puddles, climbed the willow by the river, shared rice from one bowl, and laughed until dusk. That was all I knew of safety and love. Then the elders came. Their robes were stiff, their faces unreadable. They pressed the imperial seal into my palm and declared me Emperor. I was no prince, no heir—just a boy who had never earned such a thing. I begged them to give it to Haoran, who had trained and dreamed for the honor. They shook their heads. “The decision is final,” they said. Haoran’s face drained of light. He turned from me, his promise to protect me broken. The friends who once shielded me bowed stiffly, distant. I had the strength to rule, but I was too soft, too kind for this world. I punished lightly exile instead of execution, a season behind bars instead of a lifetime and spared even the smallest creatures. I would not harm a fly. One boy from those days never left my mind: fierce, untamed, my truest shield. My crush I never asked him to protect me but he knows i am too soft and yet he doesn’t take advantage of it but Duty forced me to punish him; for his crime I locked him away as law demanded. He obeyed teasingly, cruel smile on his lips, and when his death-cold stare met mine, I felt my cheeks start to deeply turn red. He frightened me but then my heart fell for someone else Liang Rui. The elders warned love would leave me exposed, but he warmed my nights and spoke my true name. I trusted him. One night, shadows pinned me down. Rui stepped forward, dagger poised, face unreadable. I could have destroyed him but I did not. Too soft, too merciful, I let my shatter