The royal messenger arrived under the cover of night. He bowed deeply and offered me a sealed scroll stamped with the imperial dragon symbol.
"The Emperor requests your presence in the capital," he said carefully. His eyes flicked to Yue Zhilan, standing silent behind me, and he swallowed hard before adding, "The invitation is… private."
I nodded, though I already sensed the reason. The Moon Shadow Legion's victory had shaken the world. Even my father—the man who ruled sunrise and thunder from his throne—couldn't rest easy knowing gods now listened to my commands.
After the messenger left, Yue Zhilan stepped forward. "Another trap?"
"Not a trap," I replied quietly. "A father's fear. He believes I've outgrown his empire."
She smirked faintly. "He's not wrong."
Two weeks later, I entered Heaven's Reach City again. This time, the gates opened without question, and the guards averted their eyes as if staring might anger the heavens.
Inside the imperial palace, everything smelled of incense and formality. Yet the silence felt heavy. When I walked into the throne room, everyone else had already been dismissed.
The Emperor sat alone, without his crown or robes of ceremony—just a white mantle and tired eyes that had watched too many dawns.
"Come closer," he said.
I stopped a few steps away and bowed. "You called for me, Father."
He studied me for a long moment. "They say your guardian has the power of heaven and that your soldiers vanish into shadow. The foreign nations are silent, the borders safe… And yet, when I close my eyes, peace brings me no sleep."
"Because you fear me," I said simply.
The words hung between us. For an instant, I saw the faintest flicker of guilt—or maybe regret—in his face. "It is not fear of a son," he murmured. "It is the fear every ruler bears when power gathers beyond his reach."
I said nothing. The man before me was both my father and my emperor. To him, kinship and politics had never been separate things.
He sighed and looked down at a small jade scroll on the table beside him. "When I exiled you, I believed I was cutting off a weak branch to save the tree. Now that the branch has grown roots stronger than the trunk." He gestured to the scroll. "This edict is my answer."
I stepped forward as he spoke. "I have decided to grant you full sovereignty over the north. The twenty cities you rebuilt will form an independent dominion under your rule. No taxes, no oversight, no tribute owed to the capital. You will be the sovereign of your own land."
Even Yue Zhilan, listening from the shadows, stiffened slightly.
The Emperor continued, his voice quieter now. "Think of it as… balance. The empire cannot hold both gods and kings beneath one banner. Better one crown than many daggers."
I bowed my head. "You're giving me independence because you cannot control me."
He smiled thinly. "And because I would rather call you my ally than my enemy."
Silence filled the room again. The sound of rain began outside, soft against the palace roof.
For the first time, I looked at him not as a ruler but as a man worn thin by the weight of his choices.
"Then I will accept," I said slowly. "But know this—I never sought your throne. I only sought a place where corruption couldn't choke the people who trusted me."
He gave a weary nod. "Perhaps your way will bring peace where mine failed."
He pushed the jade edict across the table. "The North Dominion will henceforth answer only to its founder, Duke Ling Chen. The imperial records shall name it 'The Heavenly Domain of Freedom'. You will owe no tax or army to the empire—but you will bear full responsibility for its order and defence."
I took the jade into my hands. A faint hum of energy pulsed through it—the signature binding of imperial law.
"When I was young," I said, looking at him, "I thought power was about sitting on that throne. Now I see it's about serving those who stand beneath it."
The Emperor's gaze softened. "You've grown into the ruler I once hoped you'd become."
When I turned to leave, he called after me, "Qingfeng—" using my childhood name.
I glanced back.
"Whatever the world calls you," he said quietly, "remember that you are still my son. Rule wisely, for one day even gods tire of mortals who forget their hearts."
I bowed once more before stepping through the tall golden doors.
Outside, the palace corridors were empty. Yue Zhilan joined me as we walked toward the courtyard. "So," she said, "you finally have your own country. No emperor above you, no kingdom demanding taxes."
I smiled faintly. "Freedom is just another chain, Zhilan. It's lighter, but the weight is the same."
"You'll bear it well."
Behind us, the morning sun broke through the clouds. Light spilt across the marble floors, touching the edges of the jade edict in my hand.
Outside the palace, crowds gathered quietly as I rode away—peasants, merchants, and even soldiers bowing as word spread: The Fifth Prince had become the Lord of the North.
Later, when I stood again atop my walls in Shadow Gorge, the system finally spoke.
"Ding! Major Quest Completed—'Birth of a Kingdom'. Reward: Full Autonomous Territory Unlocked. System Upgrade Available. Title Granted: "Heavenly Sovereign of the North".
I looked up at the silver clouds drifting above. "So this is how it begins—not rebellion, but independence."
Yue Zhilan gazed northward, where our cities gleamed like jewels across the mountains. "You gave the empire peace," she said. "Now give these people hope."
I nodded. "Then let's build something the heavens themselves will envy."
Behind us, bells rang through the stronghold as the declaration spread. From that day forth, my land was no longer a province of any empire—it was a new nation, born from a rebellion that never happened, ruled by a man who once only wanted a quiet life.
And beneath that sky, even the gods paused to watch what I would build next.