Three days later, a sea of people gathered in a plaza situated in the northeast of the capital—between the market's and the commoners' area. The square was usually filled with stalls, but on this day, not a single one was in view. What filled the place instead were rowdy discussions filled in anxiety.

"It seems that the Shu Family is going to be executed..."

"What is going to happen to us now that the royal family fell?"

"I heard that the Valhanna Family is planning to take the throne!"

“But what about the other nobles?”

“Most of them submitted, they all took a neutral stance. Really, what will happen to us…?”

Some were aghast, others hug their children, and even the calmest ones felt distressed. While the previous ruler didn’t bring them prosperity, most of them were still able to survive. But what about now? The change of rulers might influence heavily their lives. They feared to be brought to poverty—to lose their homes, their freedom, and their children. To become slaves.

And yet, despite those fears, they knew they had no word on their own destiny. Rebellions were an impossible feat. Even if they were to rally together, many mortals were still mere mortals; they had no hope to defeat cultivators. That was the truth of cultivation worlds, a place where the weak could do nothing but hope to survive. A place where all they could do was to grit their teeth and suffer.

The traveling merchants weren’t any different. While they came from the outside, their travel routes, their profits, and possibly their lifestyles were still subject to change.

Standing over the white stone, their worried gazes aimed at a scaffold in the distance, a scaffold backed up by the wall which surrounded the plaza. It consisted of a raised stone platform with banners of the Valhanna family on the two front corners. Five spots were marked in red. One for each execution. Before the platform were tens of chairs where sat the members of the Valhanna family and the disciples of the Arasura sect. All of them wore smiles on their faces—the coup had succeeded. It was their ‘celebration day’. 

Hundreds of knights were guarding their backs, blocking the perimeters from the rest of the crowd.

At that moment, the noise turned into silence as clangs of chains stirred the attention of the crowd. Five were dragged by a brawny man. Three adults, a young man, and a little girl. They wore their usual extravagant clothes, and none of them was hurt. At least in appearance.

Each of them showed a different expression. Himo's parents were frowning, Hains was calm, Eitha held his usual cold demeanor, and Aria worried over the brother who went missing. Albeit they all felt differently, there was one thing common amongst them. Their steps were confident, sharp, and devoid of fear, even while walking up the stair to the scaffold.

None of them seemed to take the execution seriously.

That sight irked the head of the Valhannas, but he glossed over it. With but a nod, he called the ‘announcer’ for the spectacle, who hastened to the scaffold.

“Thanks for coming here, everyone!” The announcer opened his arms to the crowd. “As you might know, the Arsia Family—the royals—have fallen. Today will be the mark of the new reign, the rule of the Valhanna Family, who brought to us the marvelous show that we are about to assist! Now, let’s welcome our executioners!”

Five men walked to their positions, standing upright before the crowd. They wore a chainmail and a smirk as their hands gripped an axe each. Standing beside their own ‘target’, they raised the axes and awaited the signal.

The announcer kept speaking. “These five are the main members of the Shu Family, the former right-hand of the royals. After an intense battle, they have been captured and will now be executed, right under our eyes!” Planning to spice up the show, the announcer raised two hands. “Let’s start a countdown from ten!”

Pushed more by fear than excitement, the crowd of mortals likewise raised their hands. The seated cultivators, meanwhile, simply enjoyed the scene.

“Ten!”

“Nine! Eight! Seven!”

Accompanying the event, the cheerful music of a violin began to approach from afar. It swept to the ears of the crowd like a lullaby. Its tone hid an underlying trait of anger. But aside from the puzzlement of the cultivators in the front row, no one paid attention to it.

“Six! Five!”

Eitha glanced coldly at the executioners, appearing troubled. But after seeing his father’s nod, he let out a cold sigh. The temperature around him dropped instantly. Yet, before doing anything else, he raised his eyebrows and focused on the violin. The corner of his lips rose slightly.

“Four! Three!”

The violin’s cheerful music turned into a gloomy one.

“Two!” The announcer kept shouting, trying to rile up the crowd. But something he didn’t expect happened just before his eyes. 

The crowd went pale. Men, women, and children began to run, to disperse, to scatter, to go as far away as possible from the scaffold. The cultivators arose from their seats, their expressions aghast. As if they had seen something terrible. Something behind the announcer.

“O-one…” Shuddering, the announcer tried to keep counting, but his instincts got the better of him. He turned back. And froze. Of the executioners, only neck and below remained. Their heads had vanished. But that wasn’t the end. A thunderous ROAR! sounded from behind the wall as scorching air swept up to the plaza. Two massive red claws clenched the wall, the weak stone cracking easily upon their touch. And from behind it arose the red head of a dragon, peering down at the now appalled audience. 

Silence fell on the plaza, accompanied only by the ominous slow tempo of a violin. A violin sounding dread, coming right from the dragon. From over its head. From a kid. Standing over the scaly head, the child kept playing the dark violin on his hands. At his side was a little girl. She giggled as her legs dangled from the dragon’s horns.

“For all of you who dared to attack my family, your only fate is death,” he said. “Feel free to wail at the destiny you brought upon yourselves, and grieve as today shall be the last day of your lives.” Following those words, countless roars resounded from the sky, revealing the presence of hundreds of dragons gazing down. The child smiled.

“Zero.”

That was the last thing the announcer heard before his vision went black.