"Sir, do you remember the negotiations regarding the warriors?" Wester asked.
"The ones that are happening right now?" the Lightning Emperor asked.
"They ended a couple of years ago," Wester corrected.
"Huh, already? That's fast."
"Sir, we negotiated for 20 years," Wester commented.
"Oh, that much? I guess time flies when you're having fun," the Lightning Emperor added.
"The negotiations have been finished, and we have received the warriors today. There was also the warrior amongst them that effectively created all the other warriors in the Twilight Dusk Family's territories."
"Wait, you're not telling me that he died, right?" the Lightning Emperor asked.
"No, sir, he didn't die," Wester answered without any annoyance audible in his voice. "In fact, he is standing near the throne room right now."
The Lightning Emperor blinked a couple of times in surprise. Then, he looked at the throne room and directly at Shang.
Shang didn't feel any of this.
"Oh, wow," the Lightning Emperor said in surprise. "Yes, I can see why you're here now."
"Goodness, that's faster than I expected. Did I accidentally get distracted for 10,000 years again?"
"No, sir, you didn't," Wester calmly answered.
"I wonder how he managed to get a fivefold Spirit Sense without another Empire helping them. That seems almost impossible. Say, Wester, did we have a hand in that?" the Lightning Emperor said.
"He was already like that when he got here, sir," Wester answered. "I can ask him about how he managed to do that."
"No," the Lightning Emperor said with a voice that hid a bit of excitement. "I hadn't had the chance to use this Spell in a long time. Let me have some fun."
"Of course, sir," Wester answered.
Then, the Lightning Emperor closed his eyes, and his mouth very slowly recited complex words.
Nothing seemed to change, but Wester could tell that reality around them was warping.
Small and slow waves extended from the Lightning Emperor's library and extended toward Shang.
Shang didn't notice any of this.
The waves slowly seemed to surround Shang, and a moment later, they traveled back to the Lightning Emperor.
But this time, the waves had different forms and different colors than before.
The majority of waves were either black or white, but there were also very few blue and red waves.
After some seconds, all the waves vanished, and the Lightning Emperor opened his eyes.
Then, the Lightning Emperor frowned.
He put his book away and put his hand on his chin with a troubled expression.
Wester's expression didn't change, but deep inside, he was quite surprised.
There were very few things that could motivate the Lightning Emperor to actually take things seriously. Most of the time, he was very lazy and joked around.
It was rare to see him this serious.
The Lightning Emperor remained silent for several seconds.
"Difficult," he said.
"What do you mean, sir?" Wester asked.
"His personality is nearly unique," the Lightning Emperor said. "He is almost as apathetic as a cold piece of steel, but he is also the most motivated person I have ever seen."
This surprised Wester quite a bit. The Lightning Emperor was over 300,000 years old, and he had seen a lot of people.
Yet, this warrior in the throne room was the most motivated person the Lightning Emperor had ever seen?
"Does that include the Mage God?" Wester asked.
"Naturally," the Lightning Emperor nodded. "Lucius might have been very hardworking, but he also enjoyed talking to his companions."
"This warrior, on the other hand, has zero interest in anything else. Power is the only thing that interests him in any way."
"For what?" Wester asked.
"For power," the Lightning Emperor answered. "Power for power's sake, an empty goal. He is living for walking the path."
"Someone like that does not know loyalty, humanity, happiness, or empathy. If he gets a chance to increase his power in exchange for betraying everyone he considers connected to him, he will do so."
"Assuming he wins the grand tournament and becomes the first Warrior King in 300,000 years, he won't just stop."
"He will continue refining his power, and he will do everything in his power to become a Warrior Emperor."
"If necessary, he will sacrifice the entire world and kill every living being."
The Lightning Emperor took a deep breath. "If he survives, he will one day bring a calamity unto Aterium. In a way, you could also give him the title of Child of Calamity, but for a different reason."
"If we nurture him, he will end up endangering the entire world."
Silence.
"That sounds familiar," Wester said.
The Lightning Emperor nodded with a frown. "Yes, he's almost just like that kid."
"That explains how he became so strong without backing," Wester said.
Silence.
"How will we proceed?" Wester asked after some seconds.
"Under normal circumstances, I would order his execution immediately," the Lightning Emperor said. "Helping him is akin to inviting an Abomination into our home."
"But there are three things that make me hesitate."
"First, I said that he is nearly as cold as a piece of metal, the important word being almost."
"Buried very deep inside is someone crying in pain, loneliness, and regret. Deep inside, he knows that what he is doing is not good for him or others."
"However, that part of him has been suppressed to such an intense degree that it is almost impossible to even touch that suppressed core."
"But there is a chance. If a miracle occurs, he could change into effectively another person."
"He is like this because a mountain of pain is suppressing him. He can't escape or face it, which is why he can only ignore it."
"If we can somehow make him face the mountain, he might change into someone else."
"Someone that values friendship, loyalty, and honesty."
"In that sense, he is different from that kid. That kid can't have these feelings, while this warrior can have them but refuses to have them."
"The second reason for my hesitation is also precisely that kid," the Lightning Emperor added. "The others are still talking about that kid, and if things keep proceeding like this, he will become an Emperor eventually."
"He will most likely become the strongest Emperor, and the entire world will be under his rule."
"I fear that no one can fight him. Us Emperors are old, and we rose at a time when all the spots for Emperors were essentially up for grabs. None of us are on his level because we are not willing to sacrifice everything for power."
"But this warrior might be."
"Of course, this is just a tiny hope."
Silence.
"And the last part?" Wester asked.
The Lightning Emperor looked at Shang.
"He reminds me of Lucius."
