Diviner Sharin hurried up the great stairs that led up to the Emperor's castle. It spoke to the levels of the information she carried that she hadn't even bothered dressing properly before she'd left her home, content to hastily don the nearest dress in reach, which, unfortunately, turned out to be her nightclothes, as she rushed out of the manor.

  As the main Diviner to the Emperor—and for the Empire—her job was to keep the sovereign appraised on the paths most likely to bring glory and prosperity to the Empire. She was also to keep him informed of any growing cause for concern or highly impactful events that were certain to involve or benefit the Empire. And now, it seemed she was to do her job and plot a safe path between this coming calamity.

  When Sharin had first divined the anomaly—an event that had been shrouded even from her sight, with only tiny crumbs to go by— she had at first seen it as a distant possibility. It was common knowledge that the vaguer an event was, the more uncertain it was to happen. All she had to do was lead the Emperor through a path that skirted around the upcoming calamity, and all would be fine.

  Informing the Emperor of the coming event had only served to task her with an assignment which she would have carried out without prompting. Fortunately for her, unlike the cause, divining a solution for the Empire had been surprisingly easy, and it seemed the heavens had been smiling down on them when she, in a great deal of fortune, discovered both the cause and solution in the same location: a small no-name city in the faraway Desolate continent.

  The Emperor's knife, head of the Empire's Hidden Protectors, had swiftly proposed an idea to dispatch a Hidden Protector to said city. They would have sent one of the Empire's pillars, but those were all monitored by the enemies of the Empire. A sudden movement from them was sure to send waves of suspicion rippling across the entire continent and even beyond. A mid-realm hidden protector, on the other hand, was less than a dot in the grand scheme of things. They would certainly go unnoticed. It was a sound idea at the time.

  Everyone in the know had been made to swear a vow of secrecy, with each person's vow linked to an egg that rested solely in her keeping.

  Salin, a former soldier who had been fortunate enough to have discovered a plot aimed at the heir of the Wesan Dukedom, a powerful house with a Spirit lord at their head, had been picked as their eyes and ears. Due to his growing talents, coupled with his successful track record and the virtual obscurity of his reputation in comparison to some of his peers, the Emperor's Knife had nominated him.

  It was said that the man had taken easily to the art of infiltration and assassination, rising quickly in a few short years from the bottom of the barrel to a master hidden protector. He was perfect, so they'd thought.

  Like them, the man had been summoned before the Emperor to be made known of his new task. And just to be safe, he had also been made to swear an oath, though without knowledge of what he had done.

  Ever willing to serve, the man had happily accepted and sworn to see his assignment completed, unknowingly swearing himself into secrecy.

  She didn't blame him, what with all the promises he'd been showered with should the task be successfully completed. And while Sharin knew how wrong it was to leave him in the dark about what he had done, she also recognized the importance of such a decision.

  It had been two weeks since then with a steady supply of information from the master spy. Nothing of note had happened.

  And then came the previous day.

  As usual, Sharin had been expecting the same news about the city and the brewing inconsequential local battle about to happen. What she hadn't been expecting was news that the spy's cover had been blown, surprisingly enough by a random stranger. This had alarmed Sharin enough that she had swiftly sent word back that he uncover the identity of said stranger, and to do it by any means necessary if they proved unwilling.

  It had been hours past the time he was supposed to report in, but they hadn't heard a single word from him aside from the information that he had already tracked down the whereabouts of the stranger.

  On a hunch, Sharin had tried to divine the future again, and what she saw had sent shivers down her whole body.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  The distant and vague possibility was now a single wrong step away from becoming a near future.

  She had rushed out of her mansion, ignoring all propriety on how a female of high status should carry herself as she practically ran up the castle's stairs like a monster on a rampage.

  The guards at the twin great doors leading into the castle proper must have seen her expression because they didn't bother with any of the bowing and scraping she so detested. She passed through the open doors with barely an acknowledgment of their existence.

  Getting into the waiting hall, which was meant for visitors of little importance, Sharin didn't tarry; she moved towards a corridor down her left, which led to an entrance only a few in the castle were allowed near. This was a location exclusive to only the Empire's pillars, except for Sharin.

  Grabbing a passing servant, she ordered. "Go to Pillar Samon and inform him that I request his presence immediately." She didn't bother specifying where to meet, Samon would know.

  Turning left down another passage that led towards the Emperor's quarters, this one had fewer servants moving about. Instead of heading straight for the Emperor's room, as would have been expected, she turned down another passage, a dark corridor with no lighting whatsoever, but at her level of power, she didn't need light to see in the dark.

  It took five different turns before she came upon an empty corridor with a single door at the other end. Four guards were stationed at the entrance, discounting those already hidden in secret openings along the walls. All were sworn to secrecy about the room and those who frequented it.

  She approached the wooden door and reached for the handle, channeling a strand of her unique energy. Despite the door's simple design and make, Sharin knew the impossibility of someone below the Spirit lord realm destroying it. And even when faced with the might of a Spirit lord, she was certain in its sturdiness that it wouldn't go down easily.

  With a click echoing through the quiet darkness, the door turned open. Entering, Sharin barely took notice of the bare walls with zero decorations. This room was made for one thing and one thing only: emergency meetings that required swift solutions.

  Mind elsewhere, she moved towards the wall opposite the entrance. She wanted to be aware should anyone enter... which didn't take long as Samon rushed in just a few minutes behind her, striding in with his cloak flaring behind him.

  "Why is the castle aflutter with rumors of the head Diviner barging into the building like a madwoman? You do know that a few of the servants have begun panicking, what with all the world-ending look you seem to have been wearing?..." his voice died down just as Sharin raised her eyes to meet his, a frown replacing it. "I'll send a summons to the rest of the council."

  "Don't bother, I do not have the patience to wait for them," a voice thundered forth just as the Emperor strode into the room, his aura billowing ahead of him with such power that Sharin had to take a deep, steadying breath. "Sharin, I presume you have terrible news?"

  Despite her disheveled look, both in mind and body, Sharin still bowed deeply, with a mirroring gesture from Samon. The Emperor wasn't one to ignore formalities, even from close advisors.

  Emperor Solaris was a man of small stature, a sharp contrast when compared to the others of his realm. But t despite that, he carried himself like a giant before everyone. No one dared contest him, seeing as power-wise, he was the most powerful being in the Empire, even amongst those in the same realm. He was hailed as a genius of the millennia, and while she knew how untrue the claim was, she was wise enough not to gainsay it.

  He was a handsome man, alright; even despite his small stature, the Emperor looked like a being sculpted from golden clay by a master artisan, and not like a naturally born human being. There was not a single shred of unblemished mark on his body, which wasn't that surprising given his realm. His chiseled, handsome, face turned towards Sharin with calm patience.

  She didn't delay. "The egg has broken."

  With a sudden swiftness enough to startle even the blind, the atmosphere turned tense. They all knew what that meant. Despite taking massive steps to protect their secret, it seemed it was all for naught.

  "Who was it?" The Emperor asked.

  "The spy sent towards the desert city."

  There was silence for a few moments as the Emperor stared at her, while she and Samon held their breaths as they awaited his response.

  "Tell me how it happened."

  With a deep breath, Sharin launched into a detailed explanation of how the man had been made and how he had been supposed to report in a few hours before, right after the stranger's questioning, which should have been done hours ago. She explained how she had chosen to divine the future and the result of it. Lastly, she told of how she had come to after her divination and found the oath egg linked to the Master spy broken.

  When she was done, the Emperor simply nodded.

  "This is still salvageable; both the cause and the solution still remain in the city, correct?" At Sharin's nod, the Emperor continued. "Send in two Pillars to that city; I want it razed down and the cause with it. Find the so-called solution and bring it to me."

  Sharin bowed even though she didn't fully agree with the decision. It never paid to argue with the Solarian ruler.

  "Inform me when it is done." And without any more words, the Emperor turned around and left, the scalding grip of his presence loosening as the seconds passed.

  Sharin and Samon stood behind, both wondering about the future of the Empire and what it now entailed.