Ancient King

It was past midnight in the Holy City of Champa.

The dull flickering street lamp shone upon the Parisienne Hotel, casting a golden glow upon its pale cream walls and wrought iron balustrades.

It was an old four story pipe house, built during the French occupation era. It had seen much renovation to maintain its functionality but had managed to retain its old world charm with its overhanging balconies overflowing with lush trailing tropical florals overlooking the street below.

The darkened street in front of the hotel was mostly quiet, with only the occasional vehicle passing by. The watchmen had done their rounds. The entry gates had been closed, and they were back in their guard huts, monitoring the area from behind the comfort of their desks.

On the fourth floor balcony of the Parisienne, an old man dressed in a white cotton traditional Viet outfit sat on a wicker chair smoking his pipe. The smoke wafted from his balcony into the air above the street and dissipated into the night sky.

It did not seem as if he was doing anything other than enjoying the cool midnight air, but Dai Tien Hoang was waiting for his sister Dai Tu Liem to return.

She had taken Dai Tien Ha to the ceremonial site, and if all went well, they would be able to extract the Spirit Skull from old Tong Li.

The two were old adversaries and their feud had run for a very long time.

Dai Tien Hoang had been laying low for a very long time, not because he was afraid of Tong Li but because he wanted Jasmine to have a peaceful life for as long as she could. The girl certainly deserved it.

Unfortunately, the ancient past was starting to catch up to all of them and he could no longer shelter her from what she had to face.

That ancient past was now hovering at eye level, staring at him from beyond the balcony.

"You. Ancient King." He called out into the darkness. "Show yourself."

For a moment, nothing happened. Slowly, a fuzzy edge began to appear in midair.

It began to take the shape of a young man with long dark hair and sparkling amber eyes. His face was beautiful, his nose regal, his lips shapely.

"You can see me." Blake called out to the old man.

"Of course I can see you." Dai Tien Hoang took a deep puff of his pipe. "It has been over seven hundred years and yet, you still look the same as you did back then."

Blake narrowed his eyes. He had no idea what the old man was talking about.

"What do you mean, back then?"

"You were a King, once upon a time. In this life, you chose differently, but a leader cannot choose to not lead. People will follow you, regardless."

Blake sighed.

"I think you got the wrong person. I'm not leading anybody or anything. I'm just a musician living a simple life."

The old man clicked his tongue.

"So says the ghoul who has managed to amass under his lead, eight other ghouls."

Eight? The five army men and Marvin made six. Suddenly, Luis' and Ray's faces popped up in his mind's eye. He hadn't recruited either of them under his system, but it was true that for all intents and purposes, they worked very closely with him on all matters.

"Who are you, old monk?" Blake asked.

The old man smiled.

"It would be easier to answer who I'm not. I have been many things over the course of seven centuries but a monk, I have never been."

"Aren't you and the nun Dai Tu Liem from the same Buddhist sect?"

The old man laughed.

"I am not Buddhist. I was once Hindu, but now I belong to no organized religion. My sister, Dai Tu Liem remains with that Buddhist sect out of expediency, not belief."

"Wait." Blake shook his head. "You say she's your sister, and then you say you've been around for seven hundred years. That makes no sense to me since she's Jasmine's Grandmother, and Jazzie is even younger than me."

"My sister is actually many generations removed from the woman you know of as Jasmine. She is simply called Grandmother for convenience's sake."

Blake's eyes glittered with intensity.

"What does all this have to do with me?"

"Both Jasmine and Tien Ha have been reborn various times throughout the last seven hundred years, but this is the first time that all four of you have been reborn within the same timeframe as each other."

"What do you mean 'all four of us'?"

"You, Jasmine, Vincent, and Tien Ha. Your cycles of lives have intersected again, and this time, you have the chance to right some wrongs."

"I don't understand. Who is Vincent?"

Old Dai Tien Hoang laughed softly as he inhaled deeply, the sweet scented tobacco from his pipe.

"A very long time ago, two Kings from neighboring kingdoms fought one another. One was killed and the winner took over the fallen Kingdom. In the struggle, a Queen escaped, leaving behind her sister to die in her stead."

Old Dai Tien Hoang paused for a moment and closed his eyes.

"All the wheels of fate have turned once again and everything has return once again to its origin. Your destinies have merged once again."

"I still have no idea what you're talking about Old Man." Blake scowled.

Dai Tien Hoang gave a deep sigh.

"Vincent is the man you know of as Anh Hai, the Overlord. He was the King you killed seven hundred years ago. This is his seventh reincarnation, and the first time he has managed to extract his karmic retribution. Your death is a blood payment that needed to be returned to him."

"What about Jasmine?"

"She is innocent. Her death seven hundred years ago was an unfortunate accident. Unfortunately, she keeps getting caught in this web that you and Vincent continue to weave between yourselves." Old Dai Tien Hoang gestured at Blake with a helpless hand.

"How do we escape all this?"

For a moment, Dai Tien Hoang stared at him in stony silence, but then he stood up. Gripping the balcony, he vaulted up onto the balustrade and stood, poised over the edge.

"You are part of the Demon System. Your only course of action is to continue working through the system until you reach endgame. Only then can you escape."

And with that, he leaped into the air.

Blake gasped, expecting the old man to dash to his death. Instead, Dai Tien Hoang flew off towards the distant crags, in the direction of the Holy City of Champa.