Years later when Illya was very near to her eighteenth birthday, a rebellion broke out. It was lead by one of her other brother's, who was not a direct descendant of Yuumei. His name was Li Rong. He was being backed by non other than Judas, whom Illya had developed a deep hatred towards seeing as he was responsible for Raehar's death. By the end of a long, bloody battle, Enmei was executed and Meiyuu and Meihua were exiled to an unknown island. The other princesses, were stripped of their titles and also exiled. Li Rong, would later be so overcome with guilt that not even one month after his accession to the throne, he would abdicate the throne to Li Mei, who would then become Empress.
Li Rong's guilt was worsened when he confessed that the reason he won, was because the screech produced by Sana all those years ago during his duel with Li Mei, actually entranced her and she unknowingly became his spy. Everything she saw, so did he. Everything she heard, so did he and that's how Li Rong was able to come up with a plan that would defeat them, because he already knew what they were planning.
Today, Illya still has the title of a Haan general. She's the only remaining one. Li Mei's first love, having been shattered in the most horrible way possible, swore to never forgive Sana. Yet, with the damage to the Empire already done, she had no choice but to submit to his rule as the Haan Empire became heavily dependent on him. Their poverty rates and debt skyrocketed and with the heavy taxes placed on them by Sindaria, they were trapped in his grasp.
Li Mei was less angry about herself being used and more angry at the fact that Sana continuously tried to do the same thing to Illya, after realizing what great power was housed within her.
Almost everyone knew but no one spoke of it directly to any of the parties involved. While Sana had lead Li Mei on for many years, it was initially Illya that had his heart. Unfortunately for him, he was unable to persuade Illya to come to his side and soon found that she had gone ahead and gotten married and had children. He failed to make her see through his eyes, much like in the way he was failing now.
As if to rub salt into the wound, it was Illya who concocted a plan to make it seem like she and Li Mei had a falling out, leaving Li Mei no one to rely on but Sana. Araht was brought into the picture as a rising Queen when she and Illya had just began to build the Raan Empire. However, Sana didn't know this and when Li Mei introduced her to him he was immediately taken by her uncanny resemblance to the Dragon Queen. He offered to aid her in her venture to build her kingdom and she accepted, asking for large amounts of funds and using his connections to build herself up. It wasn't long after that, that both Li Mei and Araht had amassed enough funds from him that they gave Illya the signal to sever their ties to him. It was already too late when he realized what happened. With the funds and connections they obtained they were able to rebuild the Haan Empire and build the New Xin, not to mention completely drain Sana of his most valuable assets.
Much time has passed since then but he never forgot the humiliation and resentment he had towards Illya because of it. "Illya...I can't change what happened in the past. But we can change the future, but that's only possible if you come with me!"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't agree with what you want to do."
"Why not! Illya! Don't you want to save this imperfect world? War, slavery, tyranny, poverty, even if things improve for a little while, the cycle will repeat over and over again. You've seen this for yourself around the world! But we have a chance to break that cycle! If you come with me, using your power we can go to the place where it all started, the place Enu made for you after he escaped Aruma An! That sacred place houses exactly what we need for change!" Sana argued.
Illya shook her head. "And what would you do when we get there?"
"Re-write destiny of course. If I can amass enough power, I can even win against God. I can re-write the shi and change the flow of destiny so that misfortune will no longer plague humanity. I can create a world that will be eternally blessed! And you can rule along side me. With your power, we create a utopia, ruled by what we decide destiny to be."
"...Sana don't try to deceive me. You're basically saying you want to exhaust my shi, so you can re-write the entire flow of the universe. When all of my shi has been used up what do you think will happen? I'll cease to exist. Then you'll be free to take my children and do the same thing to them. All for the sake of your selfishness. You say you want to create a utopia but I don't think that's entirely true. Just think, if you re-write the shi, whenever you think something's good, you'll let the world live with it. If you think it's bad, little be forbidden for eternity."
Sana, who had been patiently listening, stared at Illya directly. His gaze was unwavering and determined as he answered her.
"Yeah. What's wrong with that?"
Illya huffed in frustration. She knew what this conversation would lead to, but despite being prepared for battle, she still found herself trying everything she could to reason with the arrogant king in an attempt to dissuade him.
"Everything! Why should the world be bound by your values for all of eternity? Why should my family and I be used for you to selfishly force your skewed ideals onto the world? People should be free to decide what is right and wrong for themselves! That's what makes the world what it is Sana! Without that balance we'd be lost!"
"I can't allow that," he stated simply.
She frowned. "Why?" She asked, barely able to hide the irritation in her tone.
"Because I'm the only one who can see the flow of destiny! I've been able to since the day I was born...to feel within my soul the direction in which things should move. It's a power only I posses. Therefore I must be the one to lead the way! Those born with great power must shoulder great responsibility. Illya, hasn't your life been exactly that? I respect you in that regard. Your family's sacrifice will be for a great cause and you will go down in history as the one who made such peace possible!"
Illya was taken aback by his sudden rambling. While he was indeed a strong individual with an abundance of natural instinct and talent and a gift for being a leader that could indeed change the world, she could tell that he had become drunk off his own power and now only deluded visions filled his once genuine heart. She was beginning to believe that his intense belief in these delusions were far too much for her to try and reason with.