The Empress Who Sacrificed Everything for Her Brother Chapter 1

My sister, Seraphina, is the Empress of the Celestial Realm, the mother to us all. She is also a woman who would burn the world down for our younger brother.

But it was me she fed to the demons to pay for his crime.

While they flayed my skin and shattered my bones, my sister was weaving a Starlight Mantle for Caelan. Three thousand years passed. Only when Caelan needed my Celestial Core to break through to his next stage of power did she remember I existed.

She summoned a servant, her brow furrowed with impatience. "Has that jinx returned yet? Caelan is waiting for his Celestial Core!"

The answer she received: "We have not seen him in three millennia, Your Majesty…"

And so, the Empress came to my old home. The disgust on her face was plain; she looked as if she couldn't find a clean place to set her foot. After all, if not for Caelan, the supreme ruler of the unified Celestial Realm would never deign to step into a place like this.

Her voice, laced with contempt, echoed through the quiet courtyard. "You cursed wretch, get out here now!"

The door creaked open, but she saw only a one-armed old man. A derisive smile touched her lips.

General Corbin kept his head bowed, his voice a low rumble. "Your Majesty, Lord Orion has been dead for three thousand years. Please, leave."

Seraphina let out a cold, disbelieving laugh. "He's a sinner. Is this another one of his pathetic tricks to steal Caelan's favor? Does he even think he's worthy?" she sneered. "He knows Caelan's aptitude is… delicate. That he needs a superior Celestial Core to advance. And still, he dares to hide himself away?"

Her voice rose with every word, sharp and cruel. "Does he want to see everyone tormented to death before he’s satisfied? If anything happens to Caelan, I swear I will have his hide!"

With that, she unleashed her divine senses, scanning the area for any trace of my aura. She found nothing.

Corbin shuffled forward hesitantly. "I told you, Your Majesty. Lord Orion is dead. His very soul has scattered. Can you not let him rest in peace? He has done more than enough for you!"

Seraphina shoved him aside, her voice dropping to an icy whisper. "Done for me? What has he done? The only thing he should be doing right now is carving out his own Celestial Core, begging for forgiveness, and then dying!"

She fixed Corbin with a glacial stare. "As Empress of this realm, I command you to produce Orion. Do not force me to forget the old loyalties between us."

Corbin's eyes were hollow pits of sorrow. He simply sighed and shook his head. "Dead. He's long dead. Not even ash remains. You will not find him."

Seeing his defiance, Seraphina’s patience snapped. "Hmph! Then you leave me no choice, Corbin. Caelan is waiting."

She gestured to her guards. With a sickening crack, they broke one of the old general's legs. They dragged him into the center of the courtyard, leaving a long, crimson smear on the stone path.

"I will ask one last time," she said, her voice devoid of all warmth. "Where is that spawn of misfortune?"

Corbin, crumpled on the ground and gasping through the agony, was a sight that made my spectral form tremble. Sister… this is Corbin! The man who loved us like his own children. The man who saved our lives from the demons when we were just babes! And now, for Caelan, you do this to him?

"Dead," he choked out. "He's been dead for thousands of years!"

Seraphina's face hardened. She raised a hand, and a shimmering celestial light shot into Corbin's body. Then, she bellowed at the empty air around her.

"Jinx! I know you're not dead! I've planted a Soul-Eater Larva in this old fool. If you don't show yourself within a month, you can watch it devour him until nothing but bone is left!"

Her final words were a poisoned arrow aimed at my heart. "You already caused the death of our father and mother. Do you now intend to bring ruin to everyone who was ever kind to you?"

She turned and swept away, leaving Corbin a broken, bleeding heap on the ground. The pool of his blood stained the earth a deeper shade of red.

I reached for him, a desperate, useless gesture. I was already dead. I had died the moment she handed me over to the demons.

Corbin, with monumental effort, dragged himself to his feet and limped back inside. The Soul-Eater Larva was a ceaseless torment, gnawing at his essence and his physical form, a pain beyond imagination. Yet, he didn't make a sound.

He reached out a trembling hand to touch the old battle standard that had belonged to my father, then gently wiped the dust from my memorial tablet before setting it back in its place.

Finally, he collapsed into a corner and took a long swallow of fiery liquor.

"My Lord, my Empress," he whispered to the ghosts of the past. "Your humble servant has failed to protect the young master. I am coming to answer for my sins…"

With my sister's silent consent, the entire Celestial Realm had been allowed to scorn me. Only Corbin had ever shown me kindness, insisting that none of it was my fault. I had promised him I would become the realm's greatest champion, that I would crush the demons, subdue the Fae, and protect both the mortal and celestial worlds.

But I had broken my promise.