Do you believe someone could be both a calamity feared by thousands… and a clown at the same time?
Truth to be told, there was once someone who could be considered both. A calamity feared by thousands at the height of her prime. A clown when everything painstakingly achieved was destroyed by no one but her own hands — only to descend into the bottomless pit of the abyss.
"Pfft—" someone spewed out water, nearly soaking the story-teller at the desk. "Who even says about that nonsense these days? Ya know, people might actually believe yo bullshit if you said these 200 years ago. Get up children, go study instead of idling your day away."
The story-teller's expression darkened with displeasure as he slammed his wooden desk. "If you do not want to listen, then you are very much free to leave. Do you really need to ruin people's mood?"
The middle-aged woman did not even budge. "Ay, I'm not the one ruining your mood, troublemakers." She took a handkerchief and wiped away the drops on her dress as she continued. "Do you not worry that Commander Amberfall would drag everyone out and chop off your ears? You sure have the guts to bring up that jinx in public! "
"You there, madam!" The cheerful voice of a young girl sliced through the tension. "Why would you say it's a jinx? After all, the topic is about the former palace lord, wouldn't it be—"
The host master gave a light but a stern cough from behind— almost deliberate. After all, in truth, that certain individual in question was something.
A staff approached the story-teller from behind and quietly placed a new set of papers on the table, snatching the old one and scurried away.
"My apologies, dear audience. Let's say it's our tea house's mishap." The host master emerged from the screen-curtain behind, composed and calm. Then he gave an apologetic look towards the one at the desk — whose expression was with both confusion and annoyance.
Taboo topics were not worth risking the business.
Soon, light music spread through the atmosphere — bright and lively. The tension soon died down. What happened before was forgotten as the breeze of the time.
After all, it had been a piece of tale, nothing more. It had been buried under the dirt for too long. The person had been dead for too long. The nation had been too peaceful for so long. Digging out one's old wound was painful, and some things were meant to be left in the past. That was probably what was best for everybody… right?
Once upon a time, the person in question used to be a frequent customer of the same tea house. Back then, a noble lady from an old respectable clan would sit at the back seat to pass the time. The tea house was once a small two floored building in the middle of a rural area, customers rarely passing by. Naturally, at such time, she was considered an important guest.
With both the fame and the talent, the boundless bright road ahead was certain and smooth. She not only had her clan's full backing but also held the title of senior disciple at the Ethereal Palace. Connections with the great 4 palaces? It was not beyond reach. Wealth or influence within the middle realm? It was more than enough.
"Lady Everheart, are there anything else you'd like to say?"
The once bright voice replied with confidence as stable as the sky. "I came here to make a difference!"
Had she sailed true, she could have soared higher than a tiger with wings.
Only if the boat had sailed correctly.
And the result?
Choosing the wrong path was no different than lifting a tree by the roots.
"Why did you not listen to me? Lillie, dear, come here. You are not a bad child, cease this right now… alright? Come back to grandma… "
But the open arm could not remain open forever.
"You said you would save me! You promised you would never leave! How could you?"
Ah yes, promises.
"You wretch! Return the lives of my comrades! I'll kill you— I will—"
Comrades?
"If you still consider yourself a disciple, do it, right now. This is an order."
…
And the one she would never forget.
"You still dare see me?"
One step wrong… the rest went wrong. Once corrupted with tainted ambition, everything was going down the hill. Crashing everything once meticulously built with one single swoop of the hand. Biting the hands who fed her, betraying the ones who stood beside — anybody close to such particular person was fated to be doomed.
The bright talented heiress of the Everheart clan to the dreaded Abyssal Lord.
What a waste of talent.
In the end of the day, what left was the reputation of a jinx, a knife to oneself and a death without a body. The world hoped this was the end. She also hoped this was the last.
Only if everything ended here…