Where The Gods Sleep

In the twilight hour, as twilight waned and shadows stretched long beneath the heavens, Emperor Qin Shi Huang stood atop his celestial palace, gazing solemnly at the vault of stars above. Lo! A star, blazing fiercely, cast itself from its heavenly throne and fell violently to earth, marking its fiery descent upon the tranquil fields of Dongjun. To the wise and foolish alike, such an event was well known as a portent of dire fate, a harbinger of ruin sent by the displeased heavens.

Fear, like a serpent cold and silent, coiled about the emperor's heart. He paced frantically, muttering to himself in tones hushed yet filled with bitter dread. "Not yet," he lamented, "It cannot be! Only now have I ascended above mortal men. Only now have I crushed my foes beneath my heel and evaded the blades of treacherous assassins. Through toil and battle have I united this realm, grasping Heaven's mandate with these very hands!" His fists clenched tightly, trembling with anguish and fury.

In this moment of dark reflection, a court eunuch entered swiftly, falling to his knees before the troubled sovereign. "Majesty," he spoke, voice quivering, "I bear urgent tidings."

"Speak," commanded the emperor tersely, eyes fixed beyond the mortal plane.

"The fallen star has struck Dongjun," the eunuch reported anxiously. "The common folk whisper that upon the stone brought from the heavens was inscribed an ominous prophecy: 'Qin Shi Huang will perish; his realm shall fracture.' They say further, Majesty, that more stars will soon fall, and with them shall descend monsters and the dread Hundun—demons from the abyss."

A terrible silence enveloped the chamber. The emperor, eyes narrowed in cold fury, murmured a single word: "Kill."

"Majesty?" asked the eunuch cautiously, straining to hear clearly.

"Slaughter every living soul in that accursed place!" cried the emperor, voice frenzied and unhinged. "No mortal creature—not man, woman, child, nor beast—shall escape judgment! By my wrath alone shall this blight be cleansed."

The eunuch hesitated, imploring softly, "But Majesty, such wholesale massacre risks angering the gods."

Qin Shi Huang ceased his pacing abruptly, turning to face the eunuch, eyes darkened with madness and authority absolute. "You have heard my decree! Everyone! Let no living thing survive!" His voice echoed with terrible finality.

Bowing deeply in fearful obedience, the eunuch withdrew, leaving the Emperor alone, wrapped in shadows and paranoia. From those shadows, a sinister voice whispered gently, mocking and sorrowful. "How lamentable indeed, to behold he who claims dominion over heaven reduced to such wretched despair."

Startled, the emperor spun around, demanding furiously, "Who dares speak thus within my chamber? Reveal yourself!" But the shadows answered only with silence, as though mocking him further.

Qin Shi Huang resumed his restless pacing, eyes haunted and distant, mumbling feverishly into the emptiness, "Has madness claimed me? Nay, it cannot be—I am not yet finished! My destiny is not yet fulfilled!" And thus he remained, trapped between dread prophecy and encroaching insanity, his empire poised upon the edge of calamity.