The Empress Who Sacrificed Everything for Her Brother Chapter 2

Seven days later, my sister returned.

Her love for Caelan was a desperate, all-consuming thing. She was frantic to get my Celestial Core for him, to bind them together forever in their shared future. The more she pushed, the deeper the phantom knife twisted in my gut.

Her purpose today was terrifyingly clear. She had brought the imperial physicians with her, their instruments gleaming, ready to harvest me like a crop.

When she saw the life force draining from Corbin, a confident smirk touched her lips. "That selfish wretch. As I thought, he'll abandon anyone to save his own skin."

She knelt beside the ailing general. "Corbin, help me, and I will remove the larva. You can live out your days in peace. But if you wait much longer, you truly will be nothing but a skeleton. Give him to me, and I will still honor you as General Corbin. What do you say?"

She then gently activated the larva. Veins bulged on Corbin's forehead, and a sheen of cold sweat drenched his back in an instant. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and glared past her at Caelan, who hid behind her skirts.

"You and Lord Orion are siblings of the same blood," Corbin forced the words through gritted teeth. "Is this how you honor the Emperor and Empress's wish for you to care for your brother?"

Seraphina tenderly straightened Caelan's robes. "I have only one brother," she said softly, "and that is Caelan. As you can see, I am taking very good care of him." Her gaze hardened as she looked back at Corbin. "Does Orion think he can just hide and wait for this to blow over? If he jeopardizes Caelan's ascension, I will issue a decree to the entire realm, stripping him of his title and casting him out forever!"

At this, Caelan began his performance. "Sister, please, you mustn't! It is all my fault. My talents are too poor, nothing compared to Lord Orion's. I should not have been so presumptuous as to ask for his aid…"

Sister. That familiar, yet alien word. I was only ever allowed to call her "Your Majesty." The one time I had dared to call her "sister," she had me pinned to the Executioner's Spire to endure ten thousand lashes of celestial lightning.

But at Caelan's self-reproach, her voice softened to a melodic whisper. "Don't worry, my love. I will find him, even if I have to tear this realm apart. Nothing will stand in the way of your ascension. You are the only family I have left."

Caelan nodded obediently, his hand gently stroking hers in a display of cloying intimacy.

"Orion is your true brother!" Corbin roared, summoning the last of his strength. The outburst startled Caelan, who flinched and hid further behind Seraphina.

She merely signaled her guards, who strode forward and slammed a fist into Corbin's gut, knocking him to the floor.

"Don't you worry, Caelan," she cooed. "As long as we have this old relic, he'll show himself eventually." She gave another nod, and the guards began to beat and kick the defenseless old man.

From behind Seraphina's back, Caelan watched Corbin vomit blood. A faint smile ghosted across his lips as he mouthed silent words at the general: Old fool. This is what you get for defying me.

I stood there, a powerless specter, screaming for her to stop, begging her to see that Corbin couldn't survive this.

But she couldn't see me.

Three thousand years ago, Caelan, emboldened by Seraphina's favor, had been gallivanting across the realms. His recklessness provoked a conflict with the demons. An army of them amassed at our borders, demanding his head.

To preserve the peace, my sister chose to hand someone over.

She sent a message, luring me from the front lines where I was holding back the demonic tide. She said an old friend wished to see me in the Aetherium Vault. There, she sprung her trap. She activated the Vault's power, suppressing my cultivation, and bound my body and soul with celestial chains.

The look in her eyes told me everything. I understood her plan, and terror seized me. "The one Caelan injured was the Demon King's favorite son!" I cried out. "And I have been fighting the demons for years! I've slain countless of their champions! If you send me, they will kill me!"

For a moment, she hesitated. But then Caelan began to weep, whispering a few heartbroken words of farewell, and her resolve hardened into steel.

"You are strong," she said, her voice flat. "You can endure a little suffering. Caelan's cultivation is weaker than yours, his constitution fragile. To send him would be a certain death sentence."

And with that, she had me escorted out. The celestial soldiers who witnessed it were stunned into silence. A few of my loyal commanders dared to question her, and she had them executed on the spot.

When I was brought before the demonic army, a hush fell over the battlefield. The demon general sent to receive me couldn't believe his eyes. The Demon King was overjoyed and immediately withdrew his forces.

The demons were creatures of cruelty, and I was their most hated enemy. They subjected me to unimaginable tortures. They tore out my tongue, gouged out my eyes, and flayed the skin from my bones. They drove eighty-one soul-binding nails into my spirit to prolong the agony.

Finally, word reached Corbin, who was guarding the border against the Fae. He ignored the threat at his back and led a desperate charge deep into demonic territory. Carrying our father's imperial standard, he roared at the demonic host, "Release Lord Orion, or I will tear your infernal kingdom asunder!"

The Demon King only laughed. "Wasn't it your new Empress who delivered him to me herself? Having second thoughts?"

He sent his legions to meet Corbin's charge. Shielded by the power of the standard, Corbin fought like a madman, carving a path to my prison and managing to retrieve a single, fading sliver of my soul.

He returned to the Celestial Realm, hoping to beg Seraphina to perform the ritual of soul-gathering, to give me a chance at rebirth.

But the Imperial Palace was awash with festive lanterns and music. My sister was busy organizing a grand birthday celebration for Caelan.

"Do not bother me with anything or anyone related to Orion," she had commanded her court. "It disgusts me."

On that day, Caelan stood in the Jade Pavilion, the center of the universe, showered with blessings.

On that day, my last wisp of spirit shattered, my soul scattered to the winds, denied even the solace of rebirth.

Remembering this, I tried to scream, but without a tongue, only a choked, guttural sound escaped my throat. Sister, do you truly hate me so much? Have you forgotten your promise to our parents to watch over me?

Just then, Caelan coughed weakly, complaining that his foundation was unstable, his celestial energy in turmoil. Seraphina immediately flew into a panic, her senses flaring out again, convinced I had to be nearby.

Corbin watched her frantic search with cold, dead eyes. He watched until she finally found it.

My memorial tablet, standing alone on a dilapidated wooden table.

She froze, her eyes widening as she read the name carved into the wood. Slowly, cautiously, she stepped forward to examine it.