For the Kingdom

The king had asked Shen and Lina to start their journey to the secret home in the woods. Shen had decided to stay by his wife's side every minute of the last few weeks before the birth. As they rode, the wind framed Lina's face, which was a picture of peaceful happiness. But Shen was hiding a growing knot of worry behind his calm exterior. The king's special invitation was a way to say thank you to the Takeda family for all they had done for him. The kingdom's admiration was clear, and it was a welcome change after years of fighting. But Shen had learned to be wary of gestures that seemed too simple or too good.

The house was just as beautiful as the stories said it would be when they finally got there. The old king had built it with his own hands from the heartwood of the forest. But as night fell and the air got cold, something about the situation made Shen uneasy. The light from inside was weak, like a single pulse in the darkening gloom. Shen took Lina's hand and stroked her knuckles with his thumb to comfort her, even though he didn't really feel that way. There was no point in staying outside because the place was a well-kept secret. They walked toward the heavy oak door, not paying attention to the strange quiet that hung over the clearing.

As soon as they opened it, a strange, sickening smell filled the air. It had a sharp, sickening taste of copper and metal, along with the sweetness of spilled wine and something else that smelled like herbs and was very strong. Shen's instincts kicked in as he tried to figure out where the smell was coming from, but Lina, who was pregnant, physically pulled away. She put a hand over her mouth, and her face showed how uncomfortable she was right away.

Shen squeezed her hand, a silent promise to keep her safe, even though he felt like something was very wrong in his gut. They carefully walked into the big living room together. The only light came from a big, roaring fireplace. Its flames made long, dancing shadows that moved on the walls. Shen's heart raced as he saw the tables and chairs set up around the hearth. He stood still, his feet stuck to the floor, as his mind tried to make sense of what was happening.

There were a lot of people sitting around the big table, including his closest friends, his most trusted admirals and sergeants, and even the king. But they didn't move or make any noise. They were frozen in a terrifying stillness. Shen stumbled forward in fear. He reached out with a shaking hand and touched Admiral Kai's face, which was frozen in a silent laugh. The skin was cold, and there was no life left. Shen moved from one thing to the next, feeling more and more scared and disbelieving as he searched in vain for a spark that had gone out. He was trying to turn a nightmare into a dream.

"No," he whispered, his voice shaky. "This can't be." A deep, cold fear began to rise from the bottom of his stomach. He could feel Lina's fear behind him, which was like his own weakness and shock as she looked at the gruesome scene. At that moment, when Shen took a rough breath, he saw something move in the corner of the room. His head turned quickly, and his brother Geno stepped out of the deeper shadows. He looked like a ghost coming out of the dark.

Geno stepped into the firelight slowly and heavily. Shen's head spun as he tried to make sense of this cold, distant person and the brother he knew. Geno walked over to the fireplace and held his hands out to the warmth. He spoke into the silence.

"What needed to happen has happened," he said, his voice steady and calm in a way that made people uneasy.

Shen felt like he had been hit by a physical blow. He had never once doubted his brother's honor. "What's going on?" Shen yelled, his voice shaking. "Did you do this, Geno?"

Geno's eyes stayed on the flames. "It wasn't easy," he said, and there was no hint of regret in his voice. "But it had to be done. For the good of the country.

Shen's mind was a storm of sadness and confusion. "Sir? What do you mean? What's going on?

Geno finally took a deep breath and looked away from the fire to his brother. "With all the other kingdoms in chaos, I saw the perfect chance to take over and get real power. But these guys were in the way. They didn't agree with Takeda's vision.

Shen's chest felt cold and empty at that moment. How could I have been so stupid? He remembered betrayals from the past and the scary meeting with the Night Duke, a memory he had tried to forget.

Shen saw it all again: a big hall full of dead nobles sitting around a feast, each one wearing a sash with a single, horrible word on it: Pride, Greed, Lust, Wrath, Envy, Gluttony, or Sloth. The Night Duke had given a speech that sent chills down their spines, and their power was on display like that of heartless puppeteers:

"What do you think?" He could still hear the Duke's voice in his head. "The remains of an army that was left behind in the middle of a war tell their own stories out of ignorance. Your victory parades and made-up stories of heroism drown out the screams of people who are being used for someone else's gain. You are brave for these dead people, but you are fighting a war for your own reasons, just like they did. Are you really sure that we are different?

Shen remembered how he had flinched at what the Night Duke had said, telling himself that they were different and that he was different. Then there was the memory of the disgraced general's painful confession: "Do you think I chose to be the monster they made me?" To stay alive in this world, you need to have complete control. "I will take it all with me to the grave if I can't rule this country!"

As Shen stood in front of Geno, he felt the echoes of those terrible events come together into one heartbreaking truth: men from every kingdom, maybe even his own brother, had been consumed by the same evil greed and chaos.

Geno's voice broke the spell. "Shen, don't look so shocked. You never brought it up again. He spoke softly, with no sign of victory, just deep tiredness. "You always put your honor above everything else, which I used to my advantage. I snuck away to meet with spies, spread rumors of assassination, and let the Empire take the blame while I made sure our future. Whenever you thought something was wrong and asked me about it, I pretended to be angry about the war. And every time, you agreed.

Geno stopped for a moment and looked over the quiet people. "I sent you on rescue missions to build your legend and win the people's trust. I made you hunt down killers and even tried to kill you myself. The Takeda name got stronger every time you came back a hero. But I could see the rot in these kingdoms through it all. They were only motivated by greed, even though they acted like they were united. He pointed to the dead. "You would have understood if you had seen how they drained each other dry. The general was right when he said, "They were already dead when they left us." None of their treaties or alliances were real. If no one else will, I will be the one to fix this world.

Shen's heart raced in his chest. He remembered the Night Duke's claims that he was fighting for his own gain. Was he also fighting for a personal cause while pretending to be doing it for the greater good? Did Geno just follow that same urge to its terrible, final end? It was so heavy that it made him shake.

Shen's mouth tasted bad. He thought, "We're not so different from the men I swore to kill," as memory after memory crashed into the present. The silence that came after was full of unspoken history.

As the conversation took a scary turn, Shen's fear and sadness turned into a hot, rising anger. The last piece fell into place. "You sent the killer," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "The one I was looking for. It wasn't the Empire. You did it. You planned everything from the start.

Geno nodded slowly and on purpose. The flickering light made the cold determination in his eyes stand out as he walked back and forth in front of the fire. "Yes. They were useful tools. An easy enemy. But I didn't think their methods would get so... extreme.

Shen felt like the world he knew was falling apart, and the honor of the brother he had looked up to was turning to dust. "Brother, what about honor? What about loyalty? He yelled, "The ideals we fought for!" and his voice broke.

Geno didn't care about his outburst. "Little brother, you have to make sacrifices to move forward. For our family. He said, "For our future," and his voice was as hard as stone.

Shen's mind raced through a lifetime of memories: training together in the yard, fighting side by side on the battlefield, and all the times he had asked Geno for advice. They were all now dirty. Was this what he had planned all along? The truth hit him like a physical blow, and it was so shocking that he couldn't breathe. I had no idea he was using me as a pawn.

Lina let out a small, scared scream next to him. "Shen," she said quietly, her voice shaking.

He looked at his wife with a mix of fear and fierce love. "Lina," he said in a low, urgent voice, "get on the horse." "Ride and don't look back." Lina knew she couldn't argue with her husband when she saw the iron resolve in his eyes. She looked at the two brothers one last time, terrified, and then ran out of the house. Shen knew that Geno wouldn't chase her. In his brother's new world, a warlord's word was worth more than a former priestess's.

Geno watched her leave, but his face was blank. Then he turned his full attention back to Shen, staring at him with cold, unblinking eyes. "So, little brother?" Are you with me? The question wasn't an invitation; it was a challenge.

Shen was torn between anger and sadness. How can he ask that while standing over the bodies of our friends? Still, a small part of him missed the man his brother used to be, remembering how his behavior had changed over time and how he had become more cynical, which he had thought was just the effects of war.

Shen took a deep breath with a heavy heart. He couldn't deny what had been done, but the idea of fighting his own blood was something he had never thought of before. He made up his mind and slowly moved his hand to the hilt of his sword.

Geno shook his head slowly, as if he were sorry, when he saw the movement. "So be it," he said in a flat voice. He reached into the fire and pulled his own sword out of the ashes. The metal screamed as it met the cool air, the blade glowing with a malevolent, white-hot light.

Shen pulled out his own sword, and the familiar sound of steel scraping against steel was the last sound he heard. He thought of the first training sessions they had together, when Geno patiently taught Shen and was proud of how quickly he was learning. That same brother was now his worst enemy. There was no way to go back.