Chapter 9 :
False Faces
The room fell completely silent.
"I had a very hard time finding any information about it," Balder said. "Most records that mentioned it were either incomplete, damaged, or deliberately erased. It was as if someone did not want this realm to be known.The records are fragmented. I still need time to piece them together."
He let out a long, low sigh.
"I thought… it would be best to tell you as soon as possible," Balder said, his voice steady but carrying a trace of gravity. "I will fill in the details later, once I have fully understood them myself. Until then… you must remember this — whatever I have told you so far is only the beginning."
They all stood up to leave Arata's residence.
The discussion was over, but the mood remained heavy. Balder stretched lazily as he walked toward the door, while Loki quietly adjusted his sleeves and followed behind him.
Luka was the last to step out, but just as he reached the doorway, he suddenly stopped.
"…Ah," Luka said, as if he had just remembered something. He turned back and looked at Arata. "I almost forgot."
Arata looked at him but did not speak.
"On my way here, I met one of the Emperor's attendants," Luka said as he took out a scroll. "His Majesty wants to see you. I think it's about your visit to the Mortal World."
He handed the scroll to Arata.
"Here."
Arata took the scroll and nodded once. Luka didn't stay any longer and soon left, following Loki and Balder. The sound of their footsteps gradually faded, and the residence became quiet again.
Now, Arata was alone.
He looked at the scroll in his hand. The seal was unbroken, the parchment cold and smooth under his fingers.
He did not know what was written inside.
For a long moment, he simply stood there, staring at it as if lost in thought.
Then he took a deep breath.
"…Troublesome," he muttered under his breath.
But in the end, he did not open it.
After some time, Arata changed his clothes and left his residence.
A carriage was already waiting outside. It was his carriage — dark wood, unadorned but finely crafted, with subtle patterns carved along the edges. It was neither overly luxurious nor simple; it was the kind of carriage that did not attract attention, yet no one would dare to block its path.
Arata stepped inside, and the carriage began moving toward the palace.
The streets were calm, and the rhythmic sound of the wheels against the stone road echoed softly in the air.
Inside the carriage, Arata sat quietly, the unopened scroll still in his hand.
He looked at it once, then looked away, his expression calm but distant.
When the carriage arrived at the palace gates, the guards immediately recognized it.
And more importantly, they recognized the man inside.
The guards straightened at once and stepped aside, lowering their heads respectfully. No one stopped him. No one asked questions.
The gates opened.
The carriage passed through smoothly.
Just like always.
Arata arrived at the palace without any obstruction.
The carriage came to a slow halt before the palace steps.
Arata stepped out without hesitation.
The moment his boots touched the ground, an attendant who had been waiting nearby immediately stepped forward and bowed slightly.
"This way, Lord Arata."
Arata said nothing and followed.
They ascended the long stone stairs together, their footsteps echoing faintly in the quiet surroundings. The palace gates opened without obstruction, and the guards lowered their heads respectfully as he passed.
However—
When Arata entered, he immediately noticed something.
Tian Jun was not in t
he Grand Hall.
The vast space felt unusually empty.
The attendant stopped a few steps ahead and turned toward him. "Please wait here. I will inform His Majesty of your arrival."
Arata gave a slight nod.
The attendant bowed once more before turning and leaving swiftly.
Silence fell.
The Grand Hall, which once echoed with voices and authority, now felt distant and still. The faint flicker of torchlight danced along the pillars, casting long shadows across the polished floor.
Arata did not sit.
He simply stood there, calm and unmoving, his posture straight, his presence quiet yet firm.
Time passed.
One moment… two… then longer.
Half an hour went by.
Finally—
Footsteps echoed from the distance.
Arata lifted his gaze slightly.
Emperor Tian Jun appeared at the entrance, walking in with unhurried steps, the attendant following behind him. His robes flowed lightly with each movement, his expression as composed as ever.
When he reached the center of the hall, Tian Jun raised his hand slightly.
"You may leave."
The attendant bowed and withdrew immediately, leaving the two of them alone.
Silence lingered for a brief moment.
Then Tian Jun smiled faintly as he looked at Arata.
"Shadow Controller," he said casually, "what brings you here?"
Arata didn't respond immediately.
Instead, he stared at Tian Jun.
His expression… was strange.
Tian Jun noticed it almost instantly. One of his brows lifted slightly.
"What?" he asked.
Arata finally spoke, his tone flat.
"Weren't you the one who summoned me here… and told me to come immediately?"
As he spoke, he raised a hand and pointed directly at Tian Jun.
Tian Jun blinked once.
Then, with an almost innocent expression, he pointed at himself and tilted his head slightly.
"Me?" he said. "No… I'm quite certain I didn't summon you."
A brief silence followed.
Arata's gaze darkened slightly.
Without another word, he took out the scroll and handed it over.
"Then what is this?" he said. "You always send me things like this. Scrolls. Letters."
Tian Jun accepted it.
"That is true…" he said calmly as he began to open the scroll.
The seal broke with a soft sound.
"But I did not call you here."
As the parchment unfolded in his hands, the faint smile on Tian Jun's lips slowly faded.
Arata noticed the change in Tian Jun's expression.
The faint smile that had been on the Emperor's face had completely disappeared. His eyes were fixed on the scroll, unmoving.
That alone was enough to make Arata step closer.
He moved to Tian Jun's side and looked down at the scroll in his hand.
The moment Arata read what was written—
He stiffened.
The air in the Grand Hall seemed to turn cold.
Neither of them spoke.
Not long after, Luka, Loki, and Balder were urgently summoned to the palace. The three of them arrived quickly, and the moment they stepped into the Grand Hall, they immediately sensed that something was wrong.
The atmosphere was heavy.
Very heavy.
Tian Jun was sitting on the throne, the scroll in his hand. His expression was dark, and an invisible pressure filled the hall.
Arata was already there, standing beside the throne, unusually silent.
Seeing this, Luka frowned slightly and walked closer.
"Arata," Luka asked, his voice lower than usual, "what happened? Why is it so gloomy here?"
Arata opened his mouth slightly, as if he wanted to say something.
But in the end, he said nothing.
Because even he wasn't sure how to explain this.
He only knew one thing—
Something was very wrong.
Just then, Tian Jun spoke.
"Who gave you this?"
His voice was calm, but the moment he spoke, a terrifying aura spread through the Grand Hall. The pressure was so heavy that it felt as if the air itself had become solid.
He raised the scroll slightly in his hand.
The three of them looked at the scroll, then at each other, confused.
"Who gave it to us?" Balder repeated, clearly not understanding the question.
"No one," Loki said calmly. "We didn't receive any scroll."
Luka still said nothing.
But unlike Balder, he had already grasped that something was very wrong.
Tian Jun's gaze moved from Arata to the three of them standing below the throne.
"An attendant gave this scroll to you," Tian Jun said slowly. "And then you gave it to Arata this morning."
His eyes turned sharp.
"Who was it? Which attendant? I will summon everyone in the palace if I must. When that happens, you will point him out."
The three of them looked at each other in confusion.
Then Luka spoke, frowning slightly, "Your Majesty… we didn't receive any scroll from anyone."
Balder nodded. "We didn't give any scroll to Arata either."
Loki spoke calmly, "This morning, we never went to Arata's residence."
Silence.
The moment those words were spoken, the entire hall became deathly quiet.
Tian Jun's fingers slowly tightened on the armrest of the throne.
Arata's eyes darkened slightly.
After a long moment, Arata spoke:
"They're not lying."
Everyone looked at him.
"I'm sure what they're saying is the truth," Arata continued calmly.
Tian Jun nodded slowly. He also felt that something was very wrong.
He handed the scroll to them.
"Read it."
Luka took the scroll. Balder and Loki leaned closer to look.
When they saw what was written, their expressions changed instantly.
There was only one sentence written on the scroll:
"You're trusting the wrong person."
A cold silence filled the Grand Hall.
No one spoke. No one moved. They only looked at each other, but no one had an answer.
After a while, Arata suddenly spoke:
"This morning… the three of you came to my residence."
The trio immediately frowned.
Balder said, "No, we didn't."
Arata continued as if he didn't hear him:
"We talked about Aoba. About Elmeray. About the Hidden Realm."
Loki's calm expression finally changed slightly. "You discussed that… with us?"
Arata nodded once. "Yes."
Their hearts sank. This morning's visitor to Arata had not been them.
Whoever it was…
could imitate anyone.