The Throne of the Devoured God

The View from the Edge

A single drop of blood can buy a crown, but it takes an ocean of it to keep a tyrant on his throne.

The cold iron of the chains bit deep into Lu Feng's wrists, pinning his arms to the jagged surface of the stone altar. He strained against the heavy metal links, his knuckles turning white as he tried to lift his head. The air in the ritual chamber was thick with the suffocating scent of burning incense and wet copper.

"Look down, lowborn scum," a guard hissed, striking Lu Feng's ribs with the butt of a heavy spear. "Look at the furnace that will forge our new prince."

Lu Feng gasped for air, his vision blurring as he looked past the edge of the altar. The stone platform hung precariously over a massive, yawning chasm that seemed to stretch down into the very heart of the world. Far below, millions of ancient beast bones lay piled in monstrous mounds. They were not dead, silent skeletons. They pulsed with a sickening, rhythmic red light, sending waves of intense heat up the stone walls.

"Wei Xuan," Lu Feng choked out, his voice raw from screaming against his bindings. "Wei Xuan, look at me. You cannot do this. We survived the winter together. We swore an oath."

High above the altar, standing on a grand balcony carved from pure white marble, Wei Xuan looked down. The transformation was already complete. The mud-stained rags of the lower ring were gone, replaced by layers of shimmering white silk embroidered with golden thread. A heavy gold crown rested on his neatly combed hair, and his hands were entirely clean.

"The oath belonged to the boys who starved in the mud, Lu Feng," Wei Xuan replied, his voice echoing perfectly across the vast cavern. "The empire has no use for starving boys. It only respects gods."

"We shared our bread just an hour ago," Lu Feng screamed, twisting his body as the iron cuffs scraped against his raw skin. "I gave you the larger half. I protected you when the market guards came. Is this how you repay me?"

Wei Xuan did not blink. He adjusted his silk sleeves with absolute calm. "You gave me bread because you had nothing else to offer. Today, you offer me the world. You should be proud, my friend. Your life finally has a grand purpose."

"This is madness," Lu Feng cried out, his eyes wide with terror as three high priests stepped out from the shadows of the balcony.

The priests wore long, heavy robes of deep crimson that dragged along the stone floor. Their faces were hidden behind golden masks shaped like the snarling faces of predatory beasts. Each priest held a long, curved silver dagger that caught the eerie red glow from the chasm below.

"The hour of the sun is here," the head priest announced, his voice vibrating with power. "Bring forth the vessel."

"No, get away from me," Lu Feng shouted, kicking his legs wildly as two guards pinned his knees to the altar. "Wei Xuan, stop them. Tell them to stop."

Wei Xuan looked away from Lu Feng, turning his gaze toward the grand high priest. "Is the channel ready to receive the offering?"

"The channels are clean, young master," the priest whispered, raising his dagger high into the air. "The ancient beast bones below are hungry for fresh blood. Once the link is made, your golden core will ignite, and the Sun Titan will wake from its slumber."

"Do it," Wei Xuan said, his voice entirely devoid of emotion.

"Wei Xuan, please," Lu Feng pleaded, tears cutting clean lines through the dirt on his face. "I am your brother. We promised we would rise together."

"We are rising together," Wei Xuan said coldly, staring straight ahead. "You are just the stairs I must climb to reach the top."

The head priest brought the curved silver blade down in a swift, practiced motion. The sharp edge sliced deep into Lu Feng's right forearm, cutting a long, deep line from his wrist to his elbow. Lu Feng shrieked in agony, his body arching off the stone altar as a torrent of hot, dark blood poured from the wound.

"The blood flows," the priest chanted, stepping back as the crimson liquid filled a deep groove carved directly into the stone table. "The furnace accepts the spark."

Lu Feng watched through a haze of blinding pain as his own blood raced down the stone channel. The groove split into three paths, winding around the edges of the altar before merging into a long, vertical silver pipe that ran straight up into the marble balcony where Wei Xuan stood.

"I can feel it," Wei Xuan gasped suddenly, his knees buckling slightly as the silver pipe began to glow with a dark, violent crimson energy. "The power is boiling. It burns."

"Hold steady, young prince," the priest commanded, placing a hand on Wei Xuan's shoulder. "Let the sacrifice wash away your human weakness. Absorb the vitality of the lowborn."

The red light from the chasm below flared up instantly, climbing higher and higher until the entire chamber was bathed in a bloody, blinding radiance. The thousands of beast bones started to grind against each other, creating a deafening roar that shook the very foundations of the mountain.

Lu Feng felt his strength draining rapidly. His head grew incredibly heavy, and his heart fluttered like a dying bird inside his chest. He could see his blood being pulled up the pipe, disappearing directly into a glowing sphere of golden energy that resided inside Wei Xuan's chest. With every pulse of the light, Wei Xuan's aura grew larger, brighter, and more terrifying.

"You are stealing my life," Lu Feng whispered, his voice failing him. "You are killing me."

"The empire needs a savior, Lu Feng," Wei Xuan shouted over the roar of the bone furnace. "A savior cannot care about the price of his crown. Your blood will buy peace for millions. Be content with that."

"I will never forgive you," Lu Feng gasped, spit and blood flying from his lips. "If I die here, my ghost will hunt you down. I will tear that silk robe from your back."

Wei Xuan finally looked down at him again, but there was no fear in his eyes. There was only a cold, detached pity. "Ghosts do not have Titans, Lu Feng. Only the living rule."

"High priest," Wei Xuan called out, turning his back toward the edge of the balcony. "The connection is complete. My core is fully ignited. Clean the altar."

"No, wait," Lu Feng screamed, using the very last bit of his strength to pull against the heavy iron chains. "Do not turn your back on me. Look at me, Wei Xuan. Look at what you did."

The head priest pulled a heavy iron lever mounted on the wall behind the altar.

The heavy iron chains binding Lu Feng's wrists suddenly snapped backward into the stone walls, releasing him. Before he could even realize he was free, a sharp, grinding noise echoed through the chamber. The massive stone slab beneath his back split directly down the center, tilting outward into the open air.

Lu Feng slid off the smooth stone, his fingers desperately clawing at the rough rock edges, but his hands were too slick with his own blood to find any grip.

"Wei Xuan," Lu Feng shrieked as his feet slipped into the empty air.

The young prince did not turn around. He continued walking toward the grand golden doors of the inner palace, his white silk cape billowing softly in the wind created by the roaring furnace.

The floor beneath Lu Feng opens, and as he plummets into the darkness, he hears Wei Xuan whisper that he will use this power well.