Chapter Text
The sky was clear.
Not a single cloud dared interrupt the vast expanse of blue stretching above the imperial capital.
From one of the highest points of the city, finally free from the towering walls that had always limited his view, he gazed at the distant mountains. They were the perfect complement to the day's clarity, so beautiful that they seemed like a masterpiece painted by the empire's most talented artists.
Suddenly, a yellow bird fluttered down onto a nearby porcelain vase. It remained there for only a few seconds before taking flight once more. He followed it with his eyes, watching the ease with which the tiny creature disappeared into the horizon, unhindered by anyone or anything.
Birds.
Creatures blessed with wings and the ability to fly.
They were never bound to a single place. They could spend the morning in their nest and the afternoon in the farthest reaches of the Great Ming, yet they would always return home by nightfall. Swift and graceful, moving wherever the wind carried them.
It must be wonderful to breathe the purest air high above the earth, to pass through clouds as though they were the softest pillows in the world, to become part of that endless blue sky.
He loved birds.
He always had.
But no matter how much he admired their ability to fly, he knew perfectly well why they had fascinated him for so many years.
They were free.
Truly free.
They could do whatever they wished.
Travel far away. Explore a world filled with wonders and mysteries that had always been denied to him. Surely it must be beautiful to see new places, meet different people, taste exotic foods, and walk roads his feet had never touched. The thought of it sounded like a wonderful dream.
Yet his reality had always been the same crimson walls, the same lacquered pillars, and the same resentful gazes from people he did not even know. Everything remained unchanged, day after day. Even when he wished with all his heart that something new would happen tomorrow, he knew it never would.
He knew that better than anyone.
A firm squeeze around his hand suddenly pulled his attention away from the world beyond the walls.
The gesture brought him back to the present.
Back to reality.
He glanced sideways at the person standing beside him. Despite holding his hand tightly, the other did not look directly at him. Instead, the grip tightened once more, and he immediately understood what was expected of him.
He smiled as brightly as he could and raised his free hand to greet the crowd gathered below. The people erupted into cheers at the gesture. Even those who disliked him could not help but smile on an occasion such as this.
A pang of nostalgia struck him.
He should have been down there among them, not up here, surrounded by a grandeur that still overwhelmed him. He did not feel as though he had been made for this life.
And yet, at this very moment, he stood above hundreds of people.
Life was ironic.
Painfully ironic.
His gaze drifted once more to the alpha at his side.
The man wore that radiant, charming smile that had always defined him. He loved being the center of attention, loved showing himself off before others. He looked so confident, as though the entire world rested in the palm of his hand and he alone pulled its strings.
That person had been born for greatness.
Not him.
He was a man who obtained everything he desired. Every wish could be fulfilled with a single command. One glance from him was enough to ensure his will was obeyed without question. No one in the empire could deny him anything, and if someone dared commit such an offense, their head would roll beneath the executioner's blade while generations of their family suffered the consequences.
He was a man of absolute power.
No.
The person standing beside him was not merely a man.
He was something more.
Even he could be executed for daring to speak of him as though he were an ordinary mortal.
That person had been destined for greatness.
Unlike him.
And yet, whether out of devotion or simple whim, that being destined for absolute greatness had chosen to share it with him.
Perhaps he would never truly grow accustomed to it.
But as he gazed up at the clear sky and felt the warmth of their intertwined fingers, he knew there was no turning back.
His place was here, with that person.
Forever.