Chapter 16: Stalemate
"I came to seek revenge."
Whispers filled the room. Taehyung stared in shock, and many others around him did the same.
Jin Tong's voice was bitter. From Taehyung's angle, he could see Jin Tong's tensed shoulders and white knuckles.
How did he manage to speak?
The Jade Emperor flew up and within an instant, landed in front of Jin Tong. A huge wave of power rippled through the hall, causing the nearest few to fall from their chairs.
Taehyung's heart leapt into his mouth as he stared in horror.
A thin sword rested lightly against Jin Tong's pale neck, close to his ear. Not hard enough to bleed, but definitely a certain warning. The Jade Emperor narrowed his eyes and tilted the blade slowly until it was angled against Jin Tong's adam's apple.
Jin Tong stared fearlessly back into the Emperor's eyes.
"Are you questioning our authority, our decisions?" the Jade Emperor asked, his tone low and hard.
Jin Tong snickered.
"You are always the same. So obsessed with the idea of power, of everyone being under your control."
The Jade Emperor's face twisted, looking a lot more like a gargoyle rather than the handsome jade sculpture earlier. He drew the sword along Jin Tong's neck, causing a thin stream of golden blood to spill out.
Taehyung panicked, his breathing quickening. He looked around anxiously, for any ways to stop this fiasco. His eyes lingered on Xue Ya's daggers.
He lunged forward, falling on top of Xue Ya and nimbly took the daggers strapped onto her thigh. Xue Ya tried to catch him, but Taehyung expected that and quickly dodged her hands, leaping across the table to where Jin Tong and the Emperor stood.
"Stop!" he cried out, all eyes in the room swiveling towards him.
Taehyung panted, sweat dripping down his forehead.
A stage he had been on before, performing in front of tens of thousands. Live TV shows, he had attended with no fear.
But this, this was a world where death came often in the form of violence.
Taehyung wasn't sure if Jin Tong was a BTS member. His eyes shifted towards Guan Gong, who had woken up sometime during the commotion.
"Don't. Don't hurt Jin Tong."
Jin Tong glared at Taehyung, motioning for him to sit down and be obedient.
Taehyung raised the dagger with one hand and pointed it straight at the Jade Emperor.
The Jade Emperor snarled at him, "And here we thought to give you a reward after the gathering. Would you like that? Fame, riches, and power?"
Taehyung said nothing and continued to look him straight in the eye, chin raised. He tightened his grip onto the handle of the dagger, already slippery from sweat.
Xue Ya tried to rush to Taehyung's side, but Taehyung quickly sent her a glare. She backed down, uncertainty filling her heart.
She looked dazed at his figure.
He was back...
Her Milord, Jin Tai Heng.
The tension in the room escalated. Taehyung took a step closer.
"Leave Jin Tong alone," he said slowly, pronouncing each word carefully.
Jin Tong glared at him. "Sit down. I do not need help in finding my revenge."
Speaking caused even more golden blood to spill from his neck wound. The blood stained his dull servant's clothes, changing the cloth from something plain to a artwork that was beautiful, in a sickly kind of way. The gold shimmered under the bright glowing of the lights.
Before Taehyung could take another step, the Gu Wen stepped out and flew over to Taehyung.
He held out his fan against Taehyung's neck.
At this range, Taehyung noticed all the small grooves and details hidden within the muted green fan. Number one being that the fan was actually made out of some hard material. It felt cold, touching his neck.
The Gu Wen's calm voice sounded out.
"Leave. You do not belong here."
A throb of pain passed through Taehyung's heart. Why did the Gu Wen's words affect him so? A memory shoved it's way to the forefront of his mind: the Gu Wen, and him as a child.
A mentor? A teacher?
An angry whistle sounded out through the air. Guan Gong flew over as well, his dark electric sword in his hand and aimed at the Gu Wen.
"This one doesn't like seeing your face. You are just a brainless puppet of the Emperor's," he said.
The sparks on his sword jumped back and forth across the surface, a purple glow filling the surrounding areas.
Somewhere, in the back of Taehyung's mind, he thought of how hilarious this situation was. The Emperor, holding a sword to Jin Tong's neck. Taehyung holding a dagger, the Gu Wen holding a fan and Guan Gong using that sword of his.
A stalemate.
Taehyung knew he'd be at a disadvantage if this broke out into a fight, he wasn't any good at fighting. But from the memories he received, Jin Tai Heng had a fearsome reputation. Some even speculated that he would become the next God of War.
The Emperor and the Gu Wen were the two most powerful in the room, but Jin Tong's side had the slight advantage of numbers(Taehyung would not be useful if a fight did break out though).
"Do you regret your choice back then now?" said the Emperor.
Jin Tong shook his head, clear determination in his eyes
"I have not regretted anything that I've done for him, and I never will."
Taehyung froze from these words. When Jin Tong said them, he looked pointedly at Taehyung.
The Jade Emperor pressed on, a lazy smirk on his face. He ignored Taehyung despite the fact that Taehyung had a dagger to his throat.
"Yet you still seek revenge."
Jin Tong paused.
"Not for the reasons you think."
At this point, there was no other sounds in the hall. All eyes were on the foursome in the middle of the hall. The cloud spirits had retreated back into the clouds, and those spirits who sat nearby had long ago retreated at the first sign of trouble.
Taehyung could hear his own heartbeat, thumping wildly within his chest. He didn't know what he did. He knew that his actions were insignificant. But if Jin Tong was the person he thought he was, then screw to hell what the Jade Emperor thought.
His love for his family outweighed his love for himself, and trumped the fear of even death itself.
The Jade Emperor raised an eyebrow at Jin Tong, curious.
"Then why?"
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