Even emperors must answer to the voices of time.
The dawn over Xiyun was unlike any other. The entire sky resembled a tarnished silver mirror: low, dense, heavy clouds that pressed down on the city as if trying to silence it. It wasn't raining, but the thick air burned the lungs. Even the birds had fallen silent.
When the bells of the Temple of the Four Flames began to ring, the entire populace shuddered. These were no ordinary bells; their bronze was mixed with moonstone and celestial brass, forged in an era when dragons still walked among men. Those bronzes vibrated on only two occasions: to announce the end of an emperor... or to summon divine judgment.
That day, the summons was for Jin Long, Emperor of the Golden Dragon.
The advisors turned pale, the generals exchanged glances, unable to decide if this was an omen or a condemnation. But Jin Long did not hesitate.
