The hall of execution was shrouded in the early mist of dawn, it's towering pillars and ancient tunes glowing. Xun Yu was escorted out. All the guardians gathered together to witness the execution.
Superior Gaurdian stood tall. The air was thick with anticipation. A palpable tension wrapped around the gathered guardian's like a cloak. Each pillar of the hall seemed to hum with tension.
Xun Yu, his hands bound head held high was brought forth like a lamb to the slaughter. The whispers of the guardian's grew louder.
"Xun Yu on the grounds of treason, practise of dark cultivation is to be executed infront of the twenty nine guardians present here today in witness of this act of justice." The sentence was announced.
The divine blade held high, hung in the air like claws of a beast attempting to catch it's prey.
Xun Yu reminisced Kenji's promise, he furrowed his eyebrow. Kenji was not even present at the hall. Superior Guardian had sent him to eradicate Xun Yu's territory.
'It does not matter.' Xun Yu thought and closed his eyes, he reminisced his blissful moments with his mother and sister.
The blade struck his neck with a force and Xun Yu's figure disappeared into a mass of black smoke.
The crowd burst into whispers once again,
"This is what the execution of a traitor practising dark cultivation looks like."
"It is good that he was executed."
"Yes he deserved this."
"This is what happens to allies of that cursed being Liuxing."
"Xun Yu always seemed suspicious, him practising dark cultivation was very unexpected but now that I think he was always suspicious."
"Yes he used to be absent most of the time and he even avoided all of us."
"Look now, we know the reason why acted so suspiciously."
"And we thought he was taking inspirations from Lord Kenji…of being arrogant."
"Who knows? Maybe he did take his inspiration from Lord Kenji."
"Afterall lord Kenji himself is known to have that cursed being Liuxing by his side for now, did you see how he was staring at all of us when he brought Lord Kenji injured ?"
"Afterall Lord Kenji was always a rebellion, breaking the divine rules."
"He got banishment for that."
"Served him right."
"It is a pity though, I really thought Xun Yu was just a sincere guardian."
"See his sincerity ? In practising dark cultivation sincerely."
The guardians were always busy criticising. Just like they used to be when Kenji ascended and when Kenji was banished.
Souls rise and fall but criticism echoes through ages. Isn't it?
The critics never understand the truth behind the actions of the one they are criticising. They never consider the person's reality, they only care about their perspective, what they saw, what they feel about it.
They don't know what a grief of never being enough is. They never know what it feels like pull yourself away from the people you want love and care from because you realise they hate you, and you can never be what they expect you to. Everything feels hollow, distant and silent.
The critics never consider the grief a child went through after getting lashed out for something he cannot even control, after getting beaten by chains and bleeding all night and feeling cold on the floor of a lavish palace known to provide warmth and comfort to the tormented, they never know and consider the grief of screaming for help and relief from torment inside the walls which provide relief from torment because those walls become just cement and bricks, merciless and hollow, cold and stiff for you, only for you.
"Get this monster out of my sight." Kenji's mother would say as she would eye him in disgust.
"Mother please..please mother I don't want to go to the dark room, please mother I beg you I am sorry please, mother I am scared please mother please." Kenji's pleas and cries never held any significance for his parents.
"Why were you even born you disgusting creature, destroying me, my life, and your father's kingdom and then you dare say sorry? You don't even have the right to plea for my help or forgiveness. Shut your mouth and get out of my sight, you are nothing but a disgusting destructive monster." She said as she slapped him.
The palace maids would drag him to the dark room, they had to follow the orders afterall. But the child…the child could do nothing except cry for help. The maids locked him in the room, a room with no windows and no lantern. Kenji's cries made the maid's spine shiver, but they would never dare to free Kenji from that room unless and until his father or mother called him out for studies or beating him again and spewing words of hatred towards him, blame him for everything wrong happening in the kingdom and their life.
"Mother let me out. It is too dark in here. Mother I am scared please." Kenji's Thorat went sore, his father hissed in irritation.
"Bring him out it is better to knock that monster out. I am sick of his voice." Kenji's father instructed. The maid gulped in fear for Kenji.
"Go and bring him out. What are you staring at?" Kenji's father glared towards the maid.
When Kenji was fourteen years old, the peak time to cultivate the energy, his father sealed his spiritual power forcefully so that he would not mount on as a guardian,god or even become a cultivator.
"A monster like you, with a destructive energy and fate does not even deserve to be a cultivator." That is what he said, "I would rather have my kingdom be without a leader than letting you, a monster, carry on the lineage."
"Father please don't do this to me. I have been learning swordsmanship, your likes techniques, everything that you like. Please, father I would never disappoint you. I would not even mount on as a guardian or the leader of Huang Kingdom. I will just be a lowly cultivator if you do not even want me to be a grandmaster. But please, do not seal my core father. I beg you." Kenji begged, his knees getting sore from kneeling down. His eyes begged for mercy from his own father.
Kenji's father grabbed his face roughly, "Don't you understand? No matter what you do, you are not even worthy of being a lowly cultivator. I regret having to call you my son. It is you, your energy, your fate. You are a monster. I am so disgusted in you that I chose to announce you as incapable rather than letting you even become a lowly cultivator. It is already a shame to have you as my son."
"Father please please do not do this I beg you, I will never even get out of my room, I will not even practise any cultivation but don't seal my core. Father please I beg you." Kenji begged, crying, his voice cracked.