Dancing on the golden ashes

The people around me looked at me with complicated expressions. Their faces revealed a mixture of confusion and uncertainty—some clearly didn't know who I was, while only the guards seemed fully informed. To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure how to solve the problems in this city either.

The poverty here was staggering. People didn't have enough food, and some were even missing limbs. Of course, they could recover those parts as long as they kept leveling up, but how could they do so in this state? They needed proper food, rest, and training. Suddenly, I found myself wishing I'd brought Kim Seong-Hoon along. He seemed to handle things like fighting and training far better than I could. I wasn't built for this—I still didn't know if coming here was the right decision, or if becoming a ruler at all had been a mistake.
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What would my parents say about this?

"Gaon... is that my Gaon?"

Yes, that's exactly what they would say... Wait—what?

I turned my head toward the voice, my body stiffening as if struck by lightning. There, standing in the crowd, was a middle-aged woman. Her face was a painful mix of familiar and alien. She was someone I had loved deeply, someone I thought I would never see again. The same person who had abandoned me when I needed her the most.

That voice... those eyes... that face… It was her. The very first person I'd seen when I came into this world.

"Gaon!" she shouted again, her voice trembling with emotion.

But all I wanted to do was run. I wanted to leave her standing there, just as she had left me when I needed her most. I didn't want to meet her again, not now, not ever. She was dead to me.

Or… was she?

No matter how much I told myself I didn't care, a storm of emotions swirled within me. Did I hate her enough to let her die somewhere in the dirt without a second thought? Did I love her enough to forgive her?

I didn't know.

"Auntie, you should not call the Empress Lee Gaon by her name so casually. Who do you think you are? Even if you know our Empress, you should know how to act properly in front of her," Lee Seo-Yeon said as she stepped forward, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder and gently pushing her back.

I didn't say anything. I couldn't. If I opened my mouth, I wasn't sure what would come out. And if I didn't walk away now, I might never be able to say goodbye again.

"At least if you hate me, you must save your brother," the woman cried desperately, her voice trembling with emotion. "He didn't do anything wrong! It was because of me and your father that he pushed you away. Only because of us did he distance himself from you! My Gaon, please! Please don't walk away like we did!"

Her words struck me like a bucket of ice water poured over my head. I froze mid-step, my heart racing. Slowly, I turned back to her, my eyes burning with anger, hatred, and a storm of confusion.

"How dare you, Mother?" I said, my voice trembling with fury. "How dare you ask me for anything after abandoning me like a dog? How dare you!?"

I stepped closer, my tone rising with each word, emotions bubbling over like a cauldron boiling over a fire. "This fate, this life we're all stuck in right now—it's exactly what you deserve! Where is your family pride now? What's left of it? Where is the family that you cast me out for? Was it worth it? Was it worth kicking me out like some stray cat!?"

My voice echoed through the streets, cutting through the air like a blade. All around us, people stopped and stared, their faces filled with confusion and curiosity. The chatter grew louder as they whispered among themselves, trying to piece together what was happening.

Thankfully, my aides, as sharp as ever, quickly stepped in. They moved through the crowd, gathering people and urging them to leave the area. Somehow, they seemed to understand that this was a deeply personal moment that didn't need an audience.

Moments later, it was just me and my mother standing there on an empty street. She looked at me with tears filling her eyes, hesitation written all over her trembling legs that seemed to want to move toward me. Why now? Why does she suddenly want to play the role of a mother? So even my family is in this world now, huh? Of course that bastard would do this, dragging my family here just to torture me further.

Lately, I've been in a good mood—everything was going well. So why now? Why did my family have to show up out of nowhere, out of all the times?

Fuck! This is just… so infuriating!

"What do you want, Mother?" I asked coldly, my voice sharp as a blade. "So what if I save Lee Nuri? Tell me, what kind of shit did your beloved son cause now? And you think I should be the one to deal with it? Why? Because it's my job to clean up your mess?"

I could see her body tremble at my words, like I had stabbed her in the heart. But after so many years of pain, how could I just walk over, hug her, and say, 'I forgive you?' Maybe that's what she expected. Maybe she thought we could go back to how we were before.

Once, I loved my family so deeply, but now… that love is buried, pushed to the deepest, most unreachable parts of my heart.

"Gaon..." she barely managed to whisper my name through the tears streaming down her face. "Please, he… he really didn't want to do it. I vow to you, your brother is not at fault."

"So what if he's not at fault?" I snapped, my words dripping with venom. "He still chose you over me. It was his own decision to abandon me along with you. If he cared about me as a sister, he would have defended me. He would have stood by my side. But no, he was always afraid of you two. He was your good little son, your obedient puppy, always happy to play by your rules. But not me. You know that yourself."

I turned my back to her, unable to look at the face that used to bring me comfort, now filled with desperation.

"I don't care what kind of mess he got himself into. This world is a survival of the fittest. If he dies, then it's his own fault. Don't drag me into this family's problems anymore. You're the ones who pushed me out of it. There's no going back now."

I started walking toward where the others were waiting for me.

"Sorry, Mother," I said without turning back. "This is my final decision. You're dead to me—all of you. So live your life comfortably in my empire. That's the least I'll give you. As for Lee Nuri… he's not as weak as you think. If he wants to survive, he can handle it himself."

I could feel her presence behind me, her emotions trying to reach out to me, but I couldn't. I simply couldn't. This life… I wanted it to be without them. So why? Why did she have to appear now? This is unfair…

I clenched my fists, my thoughts spinning in turmoil.

"Where is he exactly..." I asked, stopping in my tracks.

I don't know why I asked. Maybe I was still weak, somewhere deep in my heart. Maybe I still had a soft spot for this family, no matter how much they hurt me or how they treated me. Family was family, after all… right?

"Gaon, you…" My mother's trembling voice cracked, and I could hear the shift—her sudden hope, her happiness, bleeding into her tone. "You're really going to save him?"

"Don't make me regret my decision and go back on my words," I said coldly, my voice firm, masking the tears threatening to escape my own eyes. "Just tell me. Quickly."

I still couldn't bring myself to look at her.

"Around seven days ago…" she began, her voice steadier now, almost as if she was grasping onto this moment. "I was rescued by the kind people of this small town. Before that, we were surrounded and attacked by a group of beasts. They were almost humanoid, but not human. Your father and brother fought hard, but in the end, they were captured. I don't know exactly what happened to them, but I can still feel they're alive."

"The people here say those monsters kidnap humans and put them in cages like some kind of… human zoo." Her words came faster now, like a flood breaking free.

I gritted my teeth, my anger bubbling to the surface. She sounded so composed, so willing to share every detail now. Just how fake was she?

"You said it was only my brother," I interrupted, my tone sharp. "When did father—that piece of human garbage—come into this story?"

She faltered, but I didn't give her time to respond.

"Fine. I'll go. Where is that place?" My voice was flat, devoid of emotion.

"A bit north of here. I can lead y—"

"No need," I cut her off sharply. "I don't want your company."

I couldn't stomach the thought of spending more time around her.

"This will be fast," I said, my voice hard. "Just watch as I clean up after you… but know this isn't just for them. I'm going to help everyone else who's trapped too."

Red lightning crackled through my wings as my body blurred, and I shot into the air, leaving my trembling mother behind on the ground.