Chapter 9: Corpse Empire
Frost-Flame City was a tangled sprawl of corpses.
Flies buzzed on rotting bodies half-cooked by the summer blaze. Crows cawed overhead. They occasionally dived and ripped off pieces of flesh, before soaring back to the sky.
Women huddled on the corners or steps of ruined buildings. Hair tangled, clothes disheveled, they stared into space with vacant eyes.
Thin bodied infants and kids, barely three years of age, crawled through the sea of corpses, pushing and shoving, fighting over the maggots spilling from the seven orifices of the dead.
There were no men in sight.
No shops or stalls set up for business. No guards patrolling the streets.
A decadent air of death and despair shrouded the city.
When a year-old kid threw a handful of the wriggling worms in his mouth, Xuma's stomach churned again, and this time, bile surged up her throat.
What in the flaming hell was this?
Though warriors of the empire were ruthless and cold-blooded, they managed their home well. They never mistreated their wives, and their kids grew up strong and healthy.
Due to the two extreme seasons, it was difficult for crops to grow on their soil.
However, it wasn't impossible.
With the use of pearl stones, the Stone Emperors and their ministers had found a way to grow wheat and grains. As such, a disaster like famine had never struck the empire before.
So what horror was this?
How did Frost-Flame City become like this?
Could it be…
Her heart sank with dread. She now understood why Joan wanted to marry Minister Maaz's adopted daughter. He had no experience in ruling a nation. And the Stone Empire was a land of ice and heat, where one mishap in management could usher in an era of famine and disease.
As the oldest official of the Stone Emperor, the Prime Minister's knowledge of the land's geography far surpassed Joan's, who until two years ago, had only been an ordinary civilian.
"If he marries her…things will change for the better. They had to…" She whispered with desperation and mortification, tears streaming down her face.
She killed Emperor Ghazeyh.
If she hadn't, Joan wouldn't have become Emperor. If she hadn't…Frost-Flame City wouldn't have fallen to such horrid straits.
It was in this condition. Because of her.
'The Stone Empire…it was probably better under the Stone Emperors' reign.'
With another lurch, she vomited a mouthful of blood, and sunk into darkness.
When she came to, she found herself floating in the throne room.
"Death over dishonor! Men of the Stone Empire don't plead for their lives!"
"Haha! A fucking slave wants to ride over our heads? You want to use us to rule our Empire? In your dreams!"
"Brothers, let's meet on the other side!"
Prime Minister Maaz pulled out a flame dagger from his sleeve. Before the guards or Emperor Joan could react, he, along with over a hundred ministers, stabbed themselves in the chest.
Panicked shrieks reverberated in the room. Servants and maids stepped back in horror, as guards rushed forward to administer first aid.
However, their efforts proved futile. The ministers' eyes had already gone empty by the time they reached their side.
A strangled whimper escaped Xuma's lips.
This couldn't be happening. This couldn't happen. Minister Maaz was supposed to fix everything. He was supposed to help Joan turn everything around. The civilians of the Stone Empire…
'Who would've known? Not only were the warriors of this Empire cold-blooded, but even their ministers had a stone for a heart. If things continue to develop in the current direction, the Stone Empire will be known as Corpse Empire in a matter of three years.'
No. No. NO!
The ministers couldn't do this! They couldn't commit suicide and abandon the civilians of their Empire! They couldn't!
Her mind turned to mush. Her heart pounded in her chest with such aggravating force, she felt her temples throb. But even the splitting headache wasn't enough to pull her from the shock of the ministers' death.
It was over. Everything…was over.
Without the ministers, Joan wouldn't know how to grow crops on the soil of this empire. And without crops...
A violent force descended on her form and yanked her swaying soul from the throne room. When her vision cleared, she found herself back in the endless abyss.
One.
Two.
Three.
She remained stuck in this void of darkness for three years, crying, praying, pleading for it to stop. For whatever force keeping her here to show some mercy and free her from this torture.
It didn't.
Three years. She spent being yanked back and forth between the void of darkness and the soul-shuddering nightmare that was Frost-Flame City.
Hundreds of thousands of bleak eyes narrowed in on her with accusation and resentment. They circled around her huddled form, pointing fingers and calling her a monster, without uttering a single word.
She knew most of the things she saw were a conjuncture of her imagination. An illusion conjured by her guilt-stricken mind.
She knew. However, she was still affected by it.
Her heart shuddered. Tremors shook through her body. She buried her head in her arms, shaking her head in denial and fear, as a wailing shadow engulfed the city that once represented the Frost-Flame Empire.
'It's not true. I didn't push them to the Sha-jins.'
She didn't want to harm the innocent. She had only wanted revenge for her people. She wanted…
Revenge.
That was what she had wanted. Revenge against the Stone Emperor. Against the Empire that destroyed her home. But why? Why were so many suffering? Why were so many miserable?
In the end, was she wrong?
'Live long. Live well.'
'Be happy.'
The voice seemed to come from the depth of the void. Though faint and distant, the tender timbre shook her heart. Xuma unconsciously lowered her hands and listened intently.
'Live long. Live well.'
'Be happy.'
Who was it? Who's voice…
Her eyes squinted as her mind cleared. The voice was familiar. One she had almost forgotten. For a second, Xuma wondered if she was losing her sanity. Why else would she hear the voice of that demon?
She tried to see past the darkness. But in this void of darkness, there was no one else.
A humorless chuckle left her lips.
She was alone. Trapped. Caged in some sort of a dark cell probably meant to torment her soul.
Yes. A punishment. That's what this was. What it had to be. Her sentence for the nightmare she unleashed on Frost-Flame City.
But she couldn't understand. Anyone who experienced what she did would've been driven by a desire for revenge. It was the natural order of things.
So why did her action lead to the suffering of so many? Why did the dark beings from the Sha-ri-jin forest devour the empire? How did they even escape from the forest in the first place?
Xuma felt as if she was wandering in a mist. For the first time in her life, she had so many questions. Yet no one to turn to for answers.
She wanted answers.
She wanted to know what she had done wrong for her to witness the misery of so many souls.
His death, yes. She had killed the Stone Emperor. His death was all it took for the Frost-Flame Empire to turn into a nightmare.
"I want to know. If possible, I want to fix my mistakes." A crystalline tear escaped her eye. Spilling down her check, it slid down her neck towards her chest...before seeping into an emerald fig embedded in her flesh.
"I…"
All of a sudden, blinding light pierced through the void and flooded her vision. Xuma barely had the time to raise up her arms and shield her vision, when excruciating pain akin to a thousand razors slicing her soul ripped through her being.
"AHHH!"
Like buds receiving sunlight, the cherry blossoms of the emerald fig sprouted into full bloom.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Raising_Moon
Raising_Moon Whew! We made through that rollercoaster. What do you think Xuma's going to experience? And what path do you think it'll lead her? Leave comments, and let me know what you anticipate?
Thank you!
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