Under The Emperor's Eye

The three soldiers gritted their teeth and stood back up while entering a fighting stance. The first soldier roared and dashed towards Lance.

Lance dashed toward the soldier with an even faster speed, quickly ducked under the soldier's sword swing, and stabbed him right in the abdomen. He then kicked the soldier towards the side, looked at the last two, and said "Next" in a cold tone.

The soldiers knew that they messed with someone they couldn't offend but they also knew they had no way of escaping either. They looked at each other solemnly and then both charged at Lance at the same time. 

The emperor's eye activated and after the vision, Lance smirks and then lunges towards the first enemy. The enemy parries it and as the other enemy tries to attack him from a blindspot, Lance quickly turns around and ends his life. In a normal situation, it would be impossible to counterattack an enemy you can't even see but Lance is far from a normal person. Lance looked over the final enemy and saw the unbelievable look on his face. 

Lance dashes towards him and quickly slashes before the soldier can resist and ends his life as well. With all the enemies gone, he then turns towards Selena who is still stuck on the floor in a daze, and helps her up. 

There were so many things he wanted to say but what he ended up saying was, "Are you okay?" he said in a gentle tone.

Selena smiles and says, "I am thanks to you, I mean it, thank you so much," she says with a face radiating with happiness.

They then heard movements approaching them and instantly went on guard. They slowly see the figure of Viscount Parson show up.

"Madame, you are here. I was looking for..." and before he could finish, he saw Commander Lance.

Parson instantly freezes and cold sweat begins to form all over his body.

"C-Commander, It is good to see you here," Parson says in a tone full of fear.

Lance sneered, "So you abandoned your post and now I see you have the cheek to be running around the forest. And why are you calling her madame" Lance says in a tone full of frost.

Parson froze on the spot, he was trapped. On one hand, disobeying military orders might get him killed if things go bad but disobeying the boss will not only get him killed but his family as well. He simply had no choice.

Parson smiles bitterly, "I have sinned Commander, I will follow any punishment you give".

Lance stared at him, "You have no choice but to follow the orders of your superior, go back to the campsite, and await your punishment".

"Yes commanded,r" Parson says with a sigh and heads back onto the path.

"Why are you so cold to him?" Selena asks, he only left his post because he told me he finished doing his duty of clearing the path so I told him to show me the lake. Don't be too hard on him, if anything, it's my fault" Selena says while pleading for him.

"Don't trust that man, Parson, I can tell a snake when I see one. He pretends to be loyal to me and the military but I don't feel any sense of sincere loyalty in him. I don't know if he's following his own personal ambition or if there is another person he serves but that man is not a good person" Lance says with a disapproving shake of his head.

Selena froze, She automatically assumed that the "boss" coming from Parson's mouth was either Lance or someone from the military. If it wasn't and he truly does serve an outsider, then Lance's deduction was completely correct. What puzzles Selena the most is why Parson holds her in such high regard and treats her so respectfully. She should have nothing to do with him, right?

Selena then hears a voice that interrupts her thoughts.

"So why did you do to the Lake?" Lance asks in confusion.

"To cure it. It's done now so there should be no problem drinking it" She says calmly.

There was a short pause of silence.

"WHAT? You cured the lake" Lance says in astonishment.

"This is big, our original plans would waste so much time but it would at least be safer and more practical. If we could save resources by using the lake, we could safely use plans that usually carry more risk and burden". He says excitedly.

"I knew there was something special about you, thank you so much, Selena!" He says with a happy smile.

"Let's go back and tell the others," he says while heading towards the path that leads to the camp.

Selena follows behind him with a slight blush on her face. As scary as the campaign has been for her so far, she has never felt so validated in her pursuit in non-offensive magic as she did in this little time spent on the campaign.

With a little skip in her step, they both headed back to the camp.

The battle in the camp was over a while ago, this was why Lance had the time to notice Parson and Selena were gone and thus followed them on the path.

The casualties were many and the deaths among the soldiers were kept to below a dozen and none of the mages in the class were killed.

It was far less severe than he saw in his vision and as harsh as it sounds, he was quite happy that the deaths were only among the commoner soldiers than the mages with noble blood. He wouldn't be able to explain if these mages of noble blood were killed under his command.

They held a quick funeral for the fallen soldiers and while everyone's mood was terrible due to what they just experienced, Lance explained to them how great of a feat it was to survive with this many people. He complimented the skilled mages that supported the battle and turned, what seemed to be a death sentence for the entire graduating class of mages, into a battle that wiped out all enemy soldiers while causing less than a dozen deaths. He then also explained that thanks to Selena, the lake can be used again and this nearly guarantees their success in this campaign.

Under so many moves made by Lance, everyone's moves picked back up quickly and they began to fill their bodies with confidence.

Lance also sent Allen and Damien to alert Commander Zenat and Commander Flamor that the Lake can now be used.

The night slowly falls and Selena just finished talking with the class about their recent achievements and their potential future. As she heads back into the tent, she notices Lance nearby, a little bit drunk.

She stops by and he notices her.

He smiles again, "Selena, this is all thanks to you. You really are my lucky star. My life has never been that good but I feel like things are getting better and better, Thank you once more" He says in a very happy mood.

Selena sat down beside him and let his words marinate inside her mind for a bit. She never thought, that the majestic prince, blessed with the emperor's eye, would not have a good life.

"Could you tell me what you've been through then? As thanks for my meritorious service?" Selena says in a joking but curious tone. 

"Are you that curious about me?" Lance says in an amused tone.

A slight blush appeared on Selena's face once again. How could she not be curious about the man her mother set her up to marry? But her pride won't allow her to admit this completely.

Just a little bit, don't think too much, she says in a bit of a shy tone. 

He smiles and hands her a drink, "it might take awhile so have a drink" 

He then looked at the sky and started his story.

As a young child, I was born in the Palace as if I was being hidden from the world. I hardly met other people so in my world, there was only my mother. She made sure I had everything, from toys to food, I relied on her for everything. She would read me books when I was bored and accommodated me no matter what my request was. Over time, my mother became the strongest pillar in my world.

Time passed by slowly and I was approaching my 10th birthday. My mother told me that it's almost time and soon, my whole life might change if things go well. She reminded me that I should stay hidden and she would make sure I live a bright and shining life in the future. I was touched but I didn't always want to be hiding behind my mother, I wanted to at least start understanding how I could help my mother out when she needed it. Going against my mother's orders, I started being a bit more active and snuck around the palace.

I then realized that my mother was not treated very well. I heard rumors that she had a baby with an unknown man and ruined the prestige of the palace. Due to this, the people of the palace always found reasons to treat my mother badly. They were all small pranks that wouldn't be serious even if it's reported but if everyone is doing it and it's been going on for many years, it's easy to break someone's will.

I realized that I was the reason why my mother was going through this and I felt a strong urge of regret and helplessness. My mother always looked so strong in front of me but I could tell that recently, she has been looking more haggard. That was why I tried to sneak out in the first place. 

There was nothing a small child could do in this situation, I could only grit my teeth and pray for my mother to overcome these difficulties. I started showing my mother even more love when she met with me after a hard day of enduring the bullying. I vowed that if I became stronger, I would show everyone that I was not a mistake and my mother would not regret giving birth to me.

Slowly my 10th birthday approached and when I woke up, I felt some stinging in my eyes. As I let out a soft groan due to the pain, my mother noticed and when she came to check, she saw my eyes and became excited. She explained to me that it was time and told me my identity.

That was the first time I was ever told that I was a prince and I had the emperor's eye, the eyes that made me destined to rule this empire. 

I couldn't get over the shock, This was too much to take in. I had so many questions and before I knew it, I was dragged by my mother to a banquet. At the banquet, for the first time, I saw the person who was meant to be my father, emperor Judiah.

I looked at him with very conflicting emotions. This man was supposed to be my father but he also left me and my mother alone to suffer in the palace. Before I could react, my mother squeezed my hand and then bowed to the emperor before revealing my identity. This shocked everyone present at the banquet and even the emperor stood up in shock.

He stood up and approached me, I slowly backed away in fear. I wasn't sure what he wanted to do and I felt his hand on my shoulder. My eyes then activated and I saw my first vision. A vision I will never forget in my lifetime.

He then stares at Selena, do you know what it was?

Selena, who was still in a daze from the immense amount of information she heard, answered subconsciously, "No, what was it?"

Lance turned his head back towards the sky and took another sip from his cup. I saw a direct vision of the future of myself on the throne, many years in the future, as the emperor of this country.

Ever since that day, I knew this was my destiny. Ever since I vowed to become stronger for my mother, I wanted to become as strong as possible, no matter what path that may be. I never imagined it would be the path of becoming the emperor but with that vision as my confidence, I would never back down from this challenge.

My father, who saw the emperor's eyes appear on my pupils, slowly took his hand away from my shoulder and said softly "So it really is you..."

He then announced the end of the banquet and then took me into the office. He told me about the emperor's eye and said that according to tradition and destiny, I am to take the throne in the future but my path would be incredibly difficult. He didn't give many details but he told me the situation is very complicated and it's hard to offer his support openly but he will put some reliable people in charge of me and help me in the background. I was unsure of what he meant exactly but I was happy that I now have a father who will support me.

As much as I loved my mother, I would never hate having a supportive father. I was scared that because I never knew him before, he would either not acknowledge me or even worse, be against me but I'm glad it didn't turn out that way, Lance says while smiling.

Selena looked at him carefully and knew Lance was genuinely happy about the emperor being on his side. She kept her many questions to herself and listened patiently as Lance continued.

A few days later, I then realized why my father said the path may be difficult. When I got back into the room, I saw my mother's corpse lying cold on the bed with her blood spread on the floor to spell out, "Her Majesty reigns supreme".

I will never forget that day and even now, I vow to kill that woman when I get the chance, Lance says with his eyes turning cold and his voice sounding murderous.

Selena was absolutely shocked, she never heard of such a messy scandal about the imperial family and to think people were even murdered. Even though she has never met the empress, she could feel just how much the loss of his mother hurt Lance and felt pity for this poor man. Luckily, he is still destined to rule this empire and then, he might be able to get his revenge. 

Selena held Lance's hand and squeezed it, showing her support. Lance smiled at her again and continued.

After that day, I tried to report it to my father but the scandal was quickly covered up as if it never happened. Exposing it will also only discredit the imperial family so my father chose to leave it alone. Shortly after, the council of nobles under the empress decided to send me to the battlefield. My father couldn't stop them so he instead sent his right-hand man, Commander Zenat, to carefully raise me up and refine my skills until I was strong enough to stand on my own and fight back.

I was only a 10-year-old kid back then and I was sent off to train for war. Every day was grueling and I was seeing death every week. I knew I couldn't stay weak forever and started practicing and honing my skills every day. The food was far worse than what I used to eat and the work was even more burdening. My muscles will ache every day and I went through so many different trials and tribulations as a young boy in the military. If it wasn't for my Emperor's eye and Commander Zenat, who treats me like his own son, I am not sure if I would even be alive. I owe him so much, Lance says with a smile.

By the time I was 15, I had started earning more and more war feats which expanded my prestige. Then I started noticing that the faction behind the empress started actively trying to kill me while I was on the battlefield. I can't even count the amount of times I was almost poisoned and assassinated. I'm sure they never expected me to last this long but I'm here now and my power is the highest it has ever been, Lance says with a proud smirk.

Selena smiles too, seeing that Lance can still maintain such a good mood despite going through such a difficult period of his life. She felt more and more that this man was truly destined to sit on the throne and lead the empire to a new age.

Lance continues, After a year of failed poisoning and assassination attempts, they started messing with the military campaigns I was assigned to.

At 16, Our food was set to expire in a few days instead of a few weeks. We were at a loss as to what to do but luckily, my emperor's eye figured out that the effects would not kill our soldiers like they should so we barely managed to survive.

At 17, Our weapons delivered were rusted and would normally not last long enough by the end of the war. Luckily, My emperor's eye let me discover a strategy to win the war quicker and the weapons didn't rust as quickly as we imagined so we could barely get through.

At 18, We were given the wrong map which gave us the wrong direction of where the lake was supposed to be. We trusted the map and did not have enough water supply but luckily, through my emperor's eye, I saw that a mysterious bird guided us to the direction where the lake was supposed to be.

At 19, we sent for reinforcements and found out later that our scout had been mysteriously killed before reporting to the palace. If it wasn't for a nearby dispatch of soldiers of the army lending us aid, we would've been wiped out! 

At 20, the Lake was poisoned right when we were about to win the campaign. Without you curing the lake, it would have been far more difficult to secure a triumphant victory for the military faction. I thought it might've been a coincidence but after careful inspection, the poison was very common and popular in our Kadence empire!

Selena's face got worse with every scheme Lance had to suffer and finally, she couldn't stand it. "How could our empire be so corrupt? This is ridiculous!" Selena says with pure anger rising in her voice.

Lance smiles while looking at Selena, seemingly happy with her reaction.

"As you can see, the faction behind the empress is very vicious and I would have died a long time ago. It's either me or them", Lance says with a cold glint shining in his eyes. 

"I don't intend to lose this war at all... but there is only one thing I'm worried about...", Lance says while looking at Selena with a complicated expression.

"What is it?" Selena says while confused at Lance's tone.

"Remember you asked me what I saw when I shook your hand earlier?"

Selena slowly nodded.

"I saw a vision of the parallel future, one where even though I got the throne, the power that should belong to the emperor was completely usurped. All my plans and the nobles that should be under the command of the emperor were rendered useless over and over again. It was like there was an invisible hand in the background slowly ruining everything I had and corroding our empire. I was shocked and scared because I never knew that there would be someone so vicious and dangerous within our empire. If this was a story, this person would be the evil mastermind in the background slowly destroying everything without anyone knowing". Lance says with a cold grimace on his face.

He looks over and sees that Selena's face has hints of fear after hearing about his vision.

"Don't worry, this was just a vision of a parallel future, this means that it shouldn't happen normally unless something changes about a key player causing them to make a major decision. That decision should be something that they normally would not make but it still isn't impossible for them to make it, hence why it appeared in a vision of a parallel future instead of a direct future. The fact that this could happen is still very scary but after I found out who it was, everything made sense", Lance says with the rage inside him almost boiling over.

"Who could be so terrifying?" Selena says with a face full of shock and a bit of fear in her tone.

"My brother," Lance says with a face full of malice.

"Brother?" Selena repeats as her glass falls out of her hands and shatters on the floor.

"What did you just say? You have a brother... As in another Prince?" Selena says as she slowly moves away and a realization begins to dawn in her head.

Lance looks at her with a bit of confusion on his face and replies, "Yes, the son of the empress and my greatest enemy, Prince Jason"

Selena realized that Lance did not misspeak and there truly is another unknown prince named Jason out there.

"This world truly is unpredictable..." she says to herself as her eyes lose all light as she slowly falls into a daze.