Reaper's Crown

Ch. 12 - Where Home Ends

"There's a storm approaching." Shi Hon uttered, his fingers scanning around the top of the throne as if searching for a different answer. He no longer peered through the open hole in the wall, facing the barren lands of Morta.

He closed his eyes, stepping carefully yet blindly towards the middle of the chamber. Reaching his hand out, his nails almost touched the velvet chandelier that hung off the oval ceiling. He felt a sensation and a tinge from the fire on its inside. Its paper-thin walls were waving, repeatedly.

Then, as if to amend for the darkness, his ears picked up the noise of rain crashing down on Mount Aria, yet, far from where he stood. Abruptly opening one eye, he let the dimmed light travel into his pupil, and the sound immediately escaped his grasp.

He stepped to the side, sitting down on the cold, stone ground.

"I know you're here, Lisbeth." Shi Hon said, turning towards the darkness near the entrance. No noise answered his statement. "Even if you're hiding, I'd see you with closed eyes. You're always there, after all, still longing to achieve things out of your reach. Like, that storm. It's not for me to witness, is it?"

"Unless you were to create another hole in the wall." Lisbeth's stern voice came from her pursed lips, and the demon stepped out of the corner, slowly. Shi Hon smiled a little.

"I won't," he answered. "There's not much more to see. It's too small to notice."

Lisbeth leaned against the wall, breathing out. Shi Hon stood up, and circled the chamber, pushing his hands together. His eyes were now kept wide open, as the person in the room seemed to suggest a certain notion. He raised an eyebrow, before taking a step towards his daughter.

"Do you ever wonder what ants look like from up here?" Shi Hon asked.

Lisbeth didn't answer.

"Hm," Shi Hon continued. "When you have all this control, they seem insignificant," he uttered, turning on his bare heel. "I don't see ants from up here. They're too small, I'd even argue they're so tiny that you have to try and notice them in the first place."

"What about people?" Lisbeth continued. "What about us?"

"One could argue that you're those ants as well. So small that it doesn't matter. It's not too big of a threat to me." he tilted his head in her direction, and Lisbeth's gaze shifted further away from his careful gaze. "At the same time, why should the deadliest threats be big? Wouldn't something too small to notice be as threatening as some form of an ancient mutant?"

Lisbeth nodded.

"No, this doesn't make sense." Shi Hon uttered, breathing out. He put his hand on the throne and turned back to her. "Because even if I can't see ants, I still know they're there," he informed. "Much like one can bat an eyelid to differences between people. We want to ignore the things that make us incompatible. We can't achieve a balance."

Shi Hon's piercing glimpse landed on her face.

"...even if I can't reach my family," he spoke, a bit quieter. "I know their plans, schemes. I know they're standing by and eagerly listening to my voice."

Lisbeth looked down, with a neutral expression.

"What people would you consider family?" he asked, now with a pleasant beam.

"My closest."

"Do the closest have to be connected to you by bond, or blood?" he tilted his head.

Lisbeth shook hers. "I don't understand."

"I guess then, you've never felt like this about anyone else. Demons work much like humans, despite those tiny differences." Shi Hon started treading the chamber, putting his hands on the walls and feeling their sharp smoothness. He stuck his tongue out, as it placed itself on his lips. "Brother, mother, sister, father." he recited at the top of his head. "Cousin, friend... sworn sibling. There are certain people in this world that, no matter where they are, we know they're there. We can sense their sorrows, we can feel their hurt. It's like an invisible bond."