Little is known about the fifth Demon of Devastation. Every era has its own demon rise to prominence. The Demon of Tyranny is the last to arise. Once they do, the Prophecy of Voidfall will be primed, and the world will meet its end. -A passage of The Analysis of Voidfall, by Mu Qiran

Pharyx pulled his lance free of the corpse at his feet. It was the last of the most recent wave of assassins sent to end his life and those of Pollen and Suzume. With a sigh, he flicked the blood from his lance and turned away.

"Clean up this mess, please," he instructed the hive. Three hornet groomers zipped in, dragging the bodies away and cleaning the throne room floor. Soon, it was as if nothing had ever happened.

Pharyx sighed and sat upon his throne. He would need to scold the scouts again for letting the attackers into the heart of Hanai. It wouldn't be the first time, and in truth, he wasn't sure there was much they could do to stop them. These weren't the glorified bandits who controlled the Moon-Soaked Shore before Shen Tori's defeat. These were trained killers, the kind which only came from a sect designed for that purpose.

"Is it done?" Suzume asked, peering in from the side room.

Pharyx nodded. "It is. The attackers will feed the hive."

Suzume's shoulders released their tension as she stepped into the room. Her arms wrapped around her brother, holding him tight for a moment before she released him to massage his weary shoulders. Pharyx bowed his head, letting her attention soothe him.

"Any word from Saikan?" she asked.

"Shen Taihua is handling things as best he can," Pharyx answered, "though, if I'm being honest, I suspect that Zumi is doing more than he is. He actually has experience running a town, and running a war isn't much different."

Suzume laughed, which made Pharyx relax even further. He liked it when his sister was happy, something which was in very short supply these days.

"It's a blessing, I suppose, that the boy has no cultivation to speak of," she said. "Imagine if Governor Hong had realized the potential of his skills from the start."

"He really has flourished since his cousin left," Pharyx mused sadly.

Despite the fact that Zumi had done an excellent job filling Administrator Tenri's role, the High Queen of Hanai wished dearly that his friends hadn't had to flee as they had. No one had seen them since that fateful day, and Pharyx could only hope that the worst had not happened to them.

He held himself responsible for the way things had happened. After all, if he'd kept faith in his friend, if he hadn't let his mother's words crack his armor so that the void had a chance to twist him into a version of himself that was unrecognizable… Maybe…just maybe…they could have killed Shen Tori before he ever raised the Tide Serpent. Then, he never would have kidnapped Xinya, and Tsuyuki would never have been at the Hunting Lodge and in Governor Hong's way.

What kind of awful friend was he to let all of that happen under his watch? Pollen was right to say everything she'd said. Even now, he knew that he didn't deserve the Queen Bee's friendship.

For now, they were allies of circumstance, bonded by a common enemy in Governor Hong. Pollen held her ground in the east, bolstering the human lands from Saikan on the coast to Dongtian in the north. Pharyx, meanwhile, held the line from Heimian to the western border of Hanai.

Once that alliance was done though…would Queen Pollen still wish for an alliance between their peoples? And if she didn't…what would that mean for Pharyx?

He made a promise once. If the Honeybees didn't ally with the Hanai Hornets, then he would conquer them. But, that was before he had put so much effort into trying to befriend them instead! If he failed to keep that friendship now, he would be forced to make good on that promise in order to save face for both himself and his Ascendent mother. He would have to march on the honeybees, and the only one amongst them who could put up any measure of a fight was Pollen herself…and he'd have to face her.

Even just the idea of it made Pharyx's blood boil with the heat of the sun. His stripes flared with solar qi, and he leapt from his throne, choosing to pace instead.

"Any word from Pemai and Laozhen?" he asked his sister.

"None yet," she answered.

"They still cling to the coattails of the Governor?" he seethed. "While that very same governor had them beat and their children murdered by the Lunar Hunt for years?! Don't they realize who I am? Who mother is? We have an Ascendent backing us, and they choose Governor Hong over me?"

"Pharyx, be calm. They may just be delayed in sending messengers. That's all."

"No!" Pharyx slammed his lance into the ground. "It has been over a month. Both villages should have received our message and returned it with plenty of time to spare, by now. Instead, they have refused to even give the courtesy of politely declining!"

Suzume didn't flinch at her brother's outburst of passion. Instead, she stepped forward, eyes cool.

"Pharyx, you're getting yourself worked up. You know what will happen if the hive senses your unrest," she advised.

He took a deep breath, heeding his sister's warning. A frenzied swarm of giant hornets might be useful on the front lines, but without him there to direct them, it could lead to more casualties than victories.

"You're right," he admitted. "Any news from the front, then? Has Kansi Ren determined the identities of the Governor's reinforcements?"

The Brood Queen nodded. "It seems they're from a group of sects to the west. So far, Master Kansi has reported members of the Jade Scale Sect, as well as several from the Chained-Demon Sect."

"Lian Liu?" Pharyx asked, recognizing the last name.

"He has been spotted among the enemy ranks, yes."

The High Queen's stripes flashed again. The room grew hot with his qi. He was never one to hide his emotions the way humans did. When a hornet gets angry, everyone knows it.

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"That backstabbing rat!" he seethed. "I will hang him by his tail, burn him alive, and scatter the ashes as far as I am able! We trusted him!" He hadn't known Lian Liu for long, only the few weeks between his return and the rise of the Tide Serpent, but the queen had shared several conversations with the summoner. Pharyx had learned a great deal about the nature of leadership from Lian's treatment of his summons. He had hoped that he'd get the chance to duel with the cultivator at some point.

I guess I'll have that chance sooner or later, Pharyx thought to himself. It was all but guaranteed, being on opposite sides of this war.

"We cannot fight all those cultivators, Pharyx," Suzume continued. "Even with the extra forces from Mother, we'll be overrun before long."

Pharyx knew she was right. If only they could use the towns near the front as supply stations, then they could hold the line. But, the administrators of Pemai, Laozhen, and several other towns refused to speak to the hive. Without their support, everyone Pharyx loved was under threat.

A wave of anger washed over him. His eyes flashed gold as he turned and marched from the throne room.

"Where are you going?" Suzume called.

"I think it's time that I had a conversation with the pathetic cultivators who think they run this land," he answered.

Power roiled in his blood. He had not been gifted with the bloodline of subjugation for nothing. He didn't like using it often, as it made others wary, just knowing that he could steal their will.

However, he was at his breaking point. If Hanai was to hold its ground, it would need solid borders and stable supply chains.

If that meant that a little tyranny was required, then Pharyx would do what was necessary to keep his people, and those who opposed the Governor, safe from harm.

Lihua crept along the edge of the river canal, all the while, mentally complaining. This job would have been so much easier if she had still been a spider with eight legs to grip onto the walls and climb her way to the mansion above. Now, she was forced to sidle along a narrow ledge barely big enough for her human feet.

It didn't help that she was dressed in a full cloak with extra padding to hide her true size. On a good day, Lihua could manage the limited limbs and awkward balance of the human form she'd created to a degree that most would never be able to tell that her body was created, not born. Yet, when dressed in bulky padding that easily made her seem twice her size, and wearing heels that would add several inches to her build to any casual observers, suddenly the practiced grace was not part of the picture.

Just…a little…further… She continued inching along the wall out of sight from the transparent guards who patrolled the riverbank. Her steps were lost amidst the sound of water tumbling past the stones. There was no way they'd find her here.

The Forgotten House, as the mansion was called, was not far. Lihua could see the tumbling water wheel protruding from the side of the building, even in the relative darkness of the Black City.

She crept closer and closer, the spray of the wheel soaking the outer layer of her already heavy clothes. Only once she was close enough to touch it, did she carefully shuffle around until she was facing the wall. With a single jump, she grabbed the top of the wall and pulled herself onto the shore.

From here, she could see the inside of the wide walls and the shades patrolling them. The walls only went to the water, as the great water gates that once prevented thieves and criminals from doing exactly what she'd just done had long since eroded and crumbled under the weight of time. After all, in a city of yokai, walls were often useless, especially to those who dwelled within these specific walls.

The Forgotten.

They were an organization of shades so ancient that it was said that the elders had all forgotten everything from their names to the essence of the path they'd walked in life. They were stuck in a state of limbo, unable to progress without knowing their path, and unable to move on without resolving whatever business was keeping them. In that way, Lihua pitied them. Her entire clan may be dead at the hands of those pathetic winged wretches calling themselves bees and hornets, but at least, she could remember what was important to her…

Or at least, she would remember if she knew what it was in the first place.

Lihua's thoughts clouded as she sneaked through the mansion's grounds. Her Master had taught her many things. He had saved her life when that good-for-nothing hornet queen had nearly killed her…twice. He'd promised to help her grow, to enhance her path so that she could claim the one thing she wanted. That thing…he was more than just perfect. He was precious.

She would give anything to have that knight at her side. He was beautiful as the moon itself, with eyes like stars glittering in a blackened night. Just recently, Lihua discovered that he had a darker side, too, a form that was even more beautiful than his human one. In that form, the one darkened by the void, she could see a confidence in him that was born of truth, and it made him even more devastatingly handsome.

How many hours had Lihua watched him from afar? How many days had she spent 'surveilling' him for the sake of her Master? He never noticed her. Why would he? She was just a corpse stitched together at the seams, and puppeted by the spirit of a spider. No, the only way to get him and make him hers would be to follow her Master's orders.

Lihua studied the courtyard. Lines of silver light crisscrossed the grass in an intricate array that centered on a house at the center of the estate. This was what she was here for. She had worked hard to earn her Master's faith, and he had finally rewarded her with a mission all her own. She would not fail.

Stepping out of hiding, she approached the main door. Two shades guarded either side of the entrance, and, upon seeing her, they immediately pulled their swords.

"Who goes there? The living aren't allowed within the House," said one. "The Moon Guard didn't mention any inspections today. I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Lihua pulled her fan from the depths of her clothes and flicked it open. She hid herself behind the plum blossom pattern as she continued to giggle. With her face obscured, they'd only be able to focus on her eyes and the fake horns adhered to her forehead as part of her disguise.

"You two really are adorable. Tell me, when did you die? Was it recent? Or have your spirits forgotten how to recognize a tiger when you meet one on the road?" The guards bristled. Everyone knew it was poor manners to ask a shade about their death, even more so the ancient shades who lived among the Forgotten.

The shades gripped their spears, lowering them to point at her chest. Lihua lowered her fan, waving it gently to blow several wisps of ginger hair out of her face.

The first one rushed forward, aiming straight for her chest, but the Witch was ready. A miasma of death qi surged around her, and, with a single bat of her fan, it was blown towards the approaching shade. He coughed and gagged. After a moment, he fell to his knees.

"Whoops. I guess you're not used to taking care of your health anymore, either," she crooned as she knelt next to the shade. "Now, you might not be flesh and blood, but your qi will serve well enough. Serve me." A single strand of death qi connected her to the shade, like a shimmering thread of spider silk hanging off a marionette.

He jerked, the light of life completely gone from his eyes. Even his form began to blur at the edges as what made him a person was slowly suppressed and destroyed.

"Good boy," Lihua praised. "Now, kindly distract your former friend. I have business inside."

"What did you do to him!?" The former friend in question stared at the puppeted shade with horror etched across his face.

"Oh, nothing special. Just a bit of puppetry. Now, be a good boy and enjoy the show."

Lihua's puppet growled and lunged, ghostly spear in hand. His friend yelped in alarm as he defended, and the two became embroiled in a vicious death match.

"Snap out of it! Help! Someone! Help!"

Lihua rolled her eyes and walked forward. The dead could be so dramatic, sometimes.

After closing the grand doors behind her, the witch took in a sharp breath. Her quarry was before her: a white jade sphere covered with qi-powering inscriptions and pulsing with protective energy. On the floor beneath her, that same energy flowed in an intricate array that extended far beyond the confines of the room itself.

With a quick action, she grabbed the sphere and tucked it beneath her cloak. She swiftly left the room, eager to return to her master and complete her mission.

Let them all scurry around like rats in a burning building. In the end, the only ones who mattered were Lihua and her precious knight, Tsuyuki.

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