Little Pink Starfish

He walked swiftly across the Lotus Hall. He paid no mind to the voices calling “Sha” and chasing after him. His chest, once cold, now felt as if it were boiling with some indescribable emotion. The fan-bearer couldn’t keep up with Nyne’s pace, so the harsh sunlight poured directly onto his head and body. But Nyne didn’t care.

When he came to his senses, he found himself at the shrine of the lake.

The shrine used for the purification ritual before a Resha enters the Lotus Hall is also used when they leave it. His slowing steps led him into the shrine, full of reliefs carved with lotus patterns. Past memories once again flickered before his eyes.

Resha Zhibaya Iyad was lying neatly on a bed of ice, as if sleeping. A single lotus flower rested on his chest. Perhaps because he was the nephew of Osen Iyad, boxes filled with jewels and clothes for the deceased were piled up around him.

Nyne recalled what Zhibaya had said just two days ago when he had offered Nyne an artificial flower made of gems. He had clearly said he would try to show off his skills again next time—was he referring to something in the afterlife? Is that why he took his own life with such a joyful face?

Or… was he forced to do so?

Dizziness surged again. Nyne only now realized that several stone coffins surrounded Zhibaya. He opened one of the lids and saw a human form wrapped tightly in long strips of linen.

“What is this?”

A priest, bowing behind Nyne in silence, carefully replied.

“Yes, Sha. These are the ones who usually worked for Resha Zhibaya. They will serve as useful tools in the afterlife.”

A laugh escaped him involuntarily. Not only had Zhibaya supposedly ended his life to serve the Sha forever, but even his servants had been killed to accompany him. At a glance, there were more than ten of them.

What kind of madness is this?

Why does everyone commit such acts without hesitation?

Nyne couldn’t understand their hearts any more than he could understand Amon’s. How could they believe in the gods and the afterlife so thoroughly? On what basis did they throw away their lives so meaninglessly? He stood there in dismay for a long time, staring at Zhibaya’s eternally sleeping face.

The heavily made-up face—trying desperately to recreate the liveliness of the living—kept overlapping with familiar faces in his mind.

Returning to the sanctuary, Nyne remained silent all day, secluded. His face steeped in shadow, he retraced memories and brooded over painful moments from the past.

“This is why I never wanted more Resha.”

Every time news came of a new Resha entering the Lotus Hall, his chest had sunk. Even hearing that a Resha he didn’t know by name or face had entered the afterlife caused him anguish, so he had once severed all news from that place.

But now, with people dear to him residing in the Lotus Hall, he couldn’t ignore it. How long did he have to endure this pain and suffering? Each time he tried to sleep, he had nightmares of the priests congratulating Gwen and Rue for entering the eternal afterlife.

He heard that Gwen and Rue requested an audience, but he refused. Even though nothing had happened yet, an uneasy feeling had him pacing his quarters again and again. Weren’t Gwen and Rue both known as the Sha’s favored ones? Even though he knew Gwen was a capable magician, and had warned that Rue would never be a true servant until forgiven, he still feared something might happen to them both.

“How long—how long must I live like this… my whole life?”

Wrapped in deep depression and anger, he obsessively repeated the same thought hundreds, thousands of times. All through the dark night, not even a breeze stirring, the edges of Nyne’s shadow shimmered faintly. Eventually, Nyne gave up even thinking and lay motionless on the bed when Osen Iyad came.

At the name “Osen Iyad,” emotions he thought had subsided surged back. His golden eyes darkened. As Nyne slowly sat up from the bed, Osen Iyad and several priests respectfully greeted him.

“A faithful servant greets Sha Nyne. Sha.”

Nyne said nothing, only stared. Osen spoke again.

“Tonight, the stars align between the northern and southern sky, and the moon waxes. Shall we hold the ritual?”

“Osen Iyad.”

Nyne called the high priest’s name in a flat tone. Osen bowed deeper and answered.

“Yes, Sha. Speak.”

“Your nephew died yesterday. Are you not even sad?”

“Sha, my nephew will now live eternally in happiness in the afterlife. As his family, how could I be sad? I should rejoice.”

There truly was no trace of sorrow on the old man’s face. Seeing that expression, a bitter laugh escaped Nyne. The nephew had supposedly died to become a true servant, yet the uncle lived on just fine. Old and wrinkled, not even young or beautiful.

Suddenly, and without reason, Nyne thought that perhaps Osen Iyad had pushed his nephew to die.

But why? If he had forced a nephew who had lived years peacefully in the Lotus Hall to die, what could the reason be? Nyne’s gaze slowly shifted and stopped on the censer Osen had brought. Could it be—to hold a ritual under the pretense of comforting Nyne’s sadness?

Surely not… over something that trivial?

“If it displeases you, Sha, we can conduct the ritual here in your chamber.”

As Nyne said nothing, Osen signaled with his eyes. The priests cautiously moved to place the censer on the floor. Just as they were about to light the incense, Nyne kicked it with all his might.

Clang! Crash!

An alarmingly loud noise rang out. Fine sand scattered in every direction, and the light metal censer bounced off all the way to the wall. Then Nyne grabbed a ceramic vase beside the bed and hurled it, making the priests pale and immediately fall to the floor.

“Sha! What is the matter!”

At the noise, Seinka Hoan and Iyu, who had been on guard, rushed in. Seeing the wrecked state of the room, they hardened their expressions and reached for their swords. Seinka drew his blade halfway, and Iyu hurried to Nyne’s side.

“Throw out those insolent fools! Acting without my command, doing as they please!”

All the emotions he had repressed burst at once. Unable to hold back his fury, Nyne threw whatever was in reach again. A wine bottle shattered and stained Osen Iyad’s robe. Osen quickly bowed his head in apology.

“This servant has committed a grave sin, Sha.”

Osen lay flat and offered deep bows repeatedly, but Nyne’s anger did not subside.

“Seinka Hoan, did you not hear me? Throw them out—do not let me see them again!”

“I obey, Sha.”

With a hard face, Seinka strode forward. His eyes toward Osen and the priests were not at all friendly. The combat priests forced the others to their feet and dragged them out. Since Osen was the High Priest, he was not treated like a criminal, but simply withdrew silently, his expression unreadable.

Breathing roughly, Nyne collapsed into the nearest chair. While he held his brow, the attending priests entered without even the sound of footsteps and cleaned up the room. Even the sound of picking up broken ceramic shards was nearly inaudible. Before they finished, Nyne gave an order.

“Bring me wine. And everyone, get out.”

The priests hesitated—how could they leave Nyne in such a messy room? But Nyne couldn’t bear having anyone near him.

“Don’t make me say it twice.”

“We obey, Sha.”

As some priests quickly tidied the room, others brought down various bottles of liquor with side dishes. Then they retreated, bowing and stepping backward. Only Iyu stood at the chamber entrance, prepared for any possible mishap.

Alone in his chamber, Nyne poured himself a drink. Combined with the spilled wine on the floor, the room was instantly filled with a fruity scent. He drank one glass, then two, then three. Instead of Osen Iyad’s incense, he hoped this wine would blur his consciousness.

But, as always, no matter how much he drank, Nyne’s mind remained clear. Unlike others, his face didn’t flush, nor did he become giddy—he didn’t even feel warmth. It was nothing more than drinking a sweet beverage tinged with bitterness.