The Empress Who Sacrificed Everything for Her Brother

1
My sister, Seraphina, is the Empress of the Celestial Realm, the mother to us all. She is also a woman who would burn the world down for our younger brother.
But it was me she fed to the demons to pay for his crime.
While they flayed my skin and shattered my bones, my sister was weaving a Starlight Mantle for Caelan. Three thousand years passed. Only when Caelan needed my Celestial Core to break through to his next stage of power did she remember I existed.
She summoned a servant, her brow furrowed with impatience. "Has that jinx returned yet? Caelan is waiting for his Celestial Core!"
The answer she received: "We have not seen him in three millennia, Your Majesty…"
And so, the Empress came to my old home. The disgust on her face was plain; she looked as if she couldn't find a clean place to set her foot. After all, if not for Caelan, the supreme ruler of the unified Celestial Realm would never deign to step into a place like this.
Her voice, laced with contempt, echoed through the quiet courtyard. "You cursed wretch, get out here now!"
The door creaked open, but she saw only a one-armed old man. A derisive smile touched her lips.
General Corbin kept his head bowed, his voice a low rumble. "Your Majesty, Lord Orion has been dead for three thousand years. Please, leave."
Seraphina let out a cold, disbelieving laugh. "He's a sinner. Is this another one of his pathetic tricks to steal Caelan's favor? Does he even think he's worthy?" she sneered. "He knows Caelan's aptitude is… delicate. That he needs a superior Celestial Core to advance. And still, he dares to hide himself away?"
Her voice rose with every word, sharp and cruel. "Does he want to see everyone tormented to death before he’s satisfied? If anything happens to Caelan, I swear I will have his hide!"
With that, she unleashed her divine senses, scanning the area for any trace of my aura. She found nothing.
Corbin shuffled forward hesitantly. "I told you, Your Majesty. Lord Orion is dead. His very soul has scattered. Can you not let him rest in peace? He has done more than enough for you!"
Seraphina shoved him aside, her voice dropping to an icy whisper. "Done for me? What has he done? The only thing he should be doing right now is carving out his own Celestial Core, begging for forgiveness, and then dying!"
She fixed Corbin with a glacial stare. "As Empress of this realm, I command you to produce Orion. Do not force me to forget the old loyalties between us."
Corbin's eyes were hollow pits of sorrow. He simply sighed and shook his head. "Dead. He's long dead. Not even ash remains. You will not find him."
Seeing his defiance, Seraphina’s patience snapped. "Hmph! Then you leave me no choice, Corbin. Caelan is waiting."
She gestured to her guards. With a sickening crack, they broke one of the old general's legs. They dragged him into the center of the courtyard, leaving a long, crimson smear on the stone path.
"I will ask one last time," she said, her voice devoid of all warmth. "Where is that spawn of misfortune?"
Corbin, crumpled on the ground and gasping through the agony, was a sight that made my spectral form tremble. Sister… this is Corbin! The man who loved us like his own children. The man who saved our lives from the demons when we were just babes! And now, for Caelan, you do this to him?
"Dead," he choked out. "He's been dead for thousands of years!"
Seraphina's face hardened. She raised a hand, and a shimmering celestial light shot into Corbin's body. Then, she bellowed at the empty air around her.
"Jinx! I know you're not dead! I've planted a Soul-Eater Larva in this old fool. If you don't show yourself within a month, you can watch it devour him until nothing but bone is left!"
Her final words were a poisoned arrow aimed at my heart. "You already caused the death of our father and mother. Do you now intend to bring ruin to everyone who was ever kind to you?"
She turned and swept away, leaving Corbin a broken, bleeding heap on the ground. The pool of his blood stained the earth a deeper shade of red.
I reached for him, a desperate, useless gesture. I was already dead. I had died the moment she handed me over to the demons.
Corbin, with monumental effort, dragged himself to his feet and limped back inside. The Soul-Eater Larva was a ceaseless torment, gnawing at his essence and his physical form, a pain beyond imagination. Yet, he didn't make a sound.
He reached out a trembling hand to touch the old battle standard that had belonged to my father, then gently wiped the dust from my memorial tablet before setting it back in its place.
Finally, he collapsed into a corner and took a long swallow of fiery liquor.
"My Lord, my Empress," he whispered to the ghosts of the past. "Your humble servant has failed to protect the young master. I am coming to answer for my sins…"
With my sister's silent consent, the entire Celestial Realm had been allowed to scorn me. Only Corbin had ever shown me kindness, insisting that none of it was my fault. I had promised him I would become the realm's greatest champion, that I would crush the demons, subdue the Fae, and protect both the mortal and celestial worlds.
But I had broken my promise.

2
Seven days later, my sister returned.
Her love for Caelan was a desperate, all-consuming thing. She was frantic to get my Celestial Core for him, to bind them together forever in their shared future. The more she pushed, the deeper the phantom knife twisted in my gut.
Her purpose today was terrifyingly clear. She had brought the imperial physicians with her, their instruments gleaming, ready to harvest me like a crop.
When she saw the life force draining from Corbin, a confident smirk touched her lips. "That selfish wretch. As I thought, he'll abandon anyone to save his own skin."
She knelt beside the ailing general. "Corbin, help me, and I will remove the larva. You can live out your days in peace. But if you wait much longer, you truly will be nothing but a skeleton. Give him to me, and I will still honor you as General Corbin. What do you say?"
She then gently activated the larva. Veins bulged on Corbin's forehead, and a sheen of cold sweat drenched his back in an instant. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and glared past her at Caelan, who hid behind her skirts.
"You and Lord Orion are siblings of the same blood," Corbin forced the words through gritted teeth. "Is this how you honor the Emperor and Empress's wish for you to care for your brother?"
Seraphina tenderly straightened Caelan's robes. "I have only one brother," she said softly, "and that is Caelan. As you can see, I am taking very good care of him." Her gaze hardened as she looked back at Corbin. "Does Orion think he can just hide and wait for this to blow over? If he jeopardizes Caelan's ascension, I will issue a decree to the entire realm, stripping him of his title and casting him out forever!"
At this, Caelan began his performance. "Sister, please, you mustn't! It is all my fault. My talents are too poor, nothing compared to Lord Orion's. I should not have been so presumptuous as to ask for his aid…"
Sister. That familiar, yet alien word. I was only ever allowed to call her "Your Majesty." The one time I had dared to call her "sister," she had me pinned to the Executioner's Spire to endure ten thousand lashes of celestial lightning.
But at Caelan's self-reproach, her voice softened to a melodic whisper. "Don't worry, my love. I will find him, even if I have to tear this realm apart. Nothing will stand in the way of your ascension. You are the only family I have left."
Caelan nodded obediently, his hand gently stroking hers in a display of cloying intimacy.
"Orion is your true brother!" Corbin roared, summoning the last of his strength. The outburst startled Caelan, who flinched and hid further behind Seraphina.
She merely signaled her guards, who strode forward and slammed a fist into Corbin's gut, knocking him to the floor.
"Don't you worry, Caelan," she cooed. "As long as we have this old relic, he'll show himself eventually." She gave another nod, and the guards began to beat and kick the defenseless old man.
From behind Seraphina's back, Caelan watched Corbin vomit blood. A faint smile ghosted across his lips as he mouthed silent words at the general: Old fool. This is what you get for defying me.
I stood there, a powerless specter, screaming for her to stop, begging her to see that Corbin couldn't survive this.
But she couldn't see me.
Three thousand years ago, Caelan, emboldened by Seraphina's favor, had been gallivanting across the realms. His recklessness provoked a conflict with the demons. An army of them amassed at our borders, demanding his head.
To preserve the peace, my sister chose to hand someone over.
She sent a message, luring me from the front lines where I was holding back the demonic tide. She said an old friend wished to see me in the Aetherium Vault. There, she sprung her trap. She activated the Vault's power, suppressing my cultivation, and bound my body and soul with celestial chains.
The look in her eyes told me everything. I understood her plan, and terror seized me. "The one Caelan injured was the Demon King's favorite son!" I cried out. "And I have been fighting the demons for years! I've slain countless of their champions! If you send me, they will kill me!"
For a moment, she hesitated. But then Caelan began to weep, whispering a few heartbroken words of farewell, and her resolve hardened into steel.
"You are strong," she said, her voice flat. "You can endure a little suffering. Caelan's cultivation is weaker than yours, his constitution fragile. To send him would be a certain death sentence."
And with that, she had me escorted out. The celestial soldiers who witnessed it were stunned into silence. A few of my loyal commanders dared to question her, and she had them executed on the spot.
When I was brought before the demonic army, a hush fell over the battlefield. The demon general sent to receive me couldn't believe his eyes. The Demon King was overjoyed and immediately withdrew his forces.
The demons were creatures of cruelty, and I was their most hated enemy. They subjected me to unimaginable tortures. They tore out my tongue, gouged out my eyes, and flayed the skin from my bones. They drove eighty-one soul-binding nails into my spirit to prolong the agony.
Finally, word reached Corbin, who was guarding the border against the Fae. He ignored the threat at his back and led a desperate charge deep into demonic territory. Carrying our father's imperial standard, he roared at the demonic host, "Release Lord Orion, or I will tear your infernal kingdom asunder!"
The Demon King only laughed. "Wasn't it your new Empress who delivered him to me herself? Having second thoughts?"
He sent his legions to meet Corbin's charge. Shielded by the power of the standard, Corbin fought like a madman, carving a path to my prison and managing to retrieve a single, fading sliver of my soul.
He returned to the Celestial Realm, hoping to beg Seraphina to perform the ritual of soul-gathering, to give me a chance at rebirth.
But the Imperial Palace was awash with festive lanterns and music. My sister was busy organizing a grand birthday celebration for Caelan.
"Do not bother me with anything or anyone related to Orion," she had commanded her court. "It disgusts me."
On that day, Caelan stood in the Jade Pavilion, the center of the universe, showered with blessings.
On that day, my last wisp of spirit shattered, my soul scattered to the winds, denied even the solace of rebirth.
Remembering this, I tried to scream, but without a tongue, only a choked, guttural sound escaped my throat. Sister, do you truly hate me so much? Have you forgotten your promise to our parents to watch over me?
Just then, Caelan coughed weakly, complaining that his foundation was unstable, his celestial energy in turmoil. Seraphina immediately flew into a panic, her senses flaring out again, convinced I had to be nearby.
Corbin watched her frantic search with cold, dead eyes. He watched until she finally found it.
My memorial tablet, standing alone on a dilapidated wooden table.
She froze, her eyes widening as she read the name carved into the wood. Slowly, cautiously, she stepped forward to examine it.

3
She had seen the memorial tablet. Surely now she would believe. All I wanted was for her to leave Corbin in peace. He had suffered grievous injuries in that last, desperate war and could not endure much more of this torment.
A small, secret hope flickered within me. If she knew I was truly dead, would she, perhaps, seek vengeance for me? Not that it mattered. I just wanted her to live well.
But that flicker of hope was instantly extinguished by Caelan's whining voice. "I know Brother Orion doesn't want to help me, but this kind of joke is just cruel! We're Celestials. What use do we have for such mortal trinkets?"
Seraphina's head snapped up, her expression instantly clearing. "Of course," she said, nodding in agreement. She strode forward, knocked the tablet to the floor, and crushed it under her heel. "Hmph. Trying to fool me with these mortal theatrics?"
A single sentence from Caelan, and she couldn't even tolerate the sight of my memorial.
Seeing this, a raw, guttural roar of fury erupted from Corbin. His eyes bloodshot, he summoned his tiger-striped blade and swung at Caelan, only to be thrown back by a shimmering shield of energy. It was a protective jade amulet, capable of deflecting any physical harm. It was the amulet our mother had left for me.
Seraphina immediately intensified the Soul-Eater Larva's torment. Corbin collapsed, writhing in silent agony.
"Do not think for a second that because you were my father's man, you can act so brazenly," she snarled. "Anyone who dares to harm my Caelan will be executed!"
Caelan had barely been startled, yet she reacted with such ferocious protectiveness. I remembered returning from battle against the demons, my body covered in wounds that went down to the bone, and she had merely complained that I was dirtying her palace floors.
The larva’s bite grew stronger and stronger, but Corbin only clenched his jaw and glared at them with undiluted hatred. Frustrated, Seraphina gave up for the moment. But as they were about to leave, Caelan added one more thing.
"Sister," he asked sweetly, "this little courtyard… does it belong to our Celestial family?"
And so, Seraphina had her guards drag Corbin out and dump him in the street.
Countless Celestials gathered, their faces masks of scorn and amusement. In his prime, Corbin had been my father's fiercest general—an upright man who could not suffer fools or corruption. He had made many enemies. Now, seeing him cast out by the current Empress, those old enemies began to stir.
Within moments, he was surrounded. They beat him until his face was a swollen, bloody mess, stripping him of his last shred of dignity. He curled into a ball in a filthy alleyway, clutching the shattered pieces of my memorial tablet to his chest, his body shaking with silent sobs.
"It is my failure," he wept. "I failed to protect you, my prince!"
Tears I could not shed streamed down my face as I knelt beside him. No, Corbin, no. After our parents died, in all the three realms, you were the only one who was ever good to me. I am the one who failed. But I was nothing now, a disembodied consciousness, a ghost no one could perceive.
Without my Celestial Core, Caelan's foundation grew increasingly unstable. His cultivation regressed, and even his youthful appearance began to fade. He locked himself away, refusing to see anyone. Seraphina, in turn, neglected all matters of state to stay by his side, coaxing him to eat and take his medicine, gathering every spiritual herb in the realm for him, and swearing on her life that she would dig up my core for his use.
For I was the greatest prodigy in the three realms. My power had soared without the aid of a single spiritual treasure. My Celestial Core was the finest in existence.
Finally, in her desperation, Seraphina issued a decree for my capture across all three realms. Wanted: dead or alive. All that mattered was the core.
For a time, the forces of the realms turned every stone, searched every shadow. But they found no trace of me. How could they? My body had been destroyed, my soul dispersed. I no longer had a place in this world.
She considered confronting the Demon King, but he would never give her a straight answer. He merely offered a dismissive reply: he had been rescued by a tiger. That tiger, of course, was Corbin in his true form.
The Demon King had assumed that with even a sliver of my soul saved, the Celestial Realm would have the means to resurrect me, difficult though it might be. He had even been frustrated by it for a time. He could never have predicted that the new Empress, my own sister, would simply leave me to fade into nothingness.
It was for the best. It meant I would see my parents again soon.
As Seraphina's anxiety mounted, she activated the Soul-Eater Larva with increasing frequency, trying to force my hand. Corbin was on the verge of death, his breath a shallow rattle.
"Sister, for the sake of that one boy, you would treat our father's loyal men this way?"
"Sister, have you no shame before the soldiers who defend our realm?"
Dark currents began to stir within the Celestial Realm. But the two at the center of the storm remained oblivious in their gilded palace.
Caelan wept day and night, leaning against his sister's side, spinning his tragic tales. "Sister, to have spent these millennia with you has been the greatest blessing of my life. If you cannot find him, then let it be. I wish to walk the mortal realm for a time. Even if my life ends, I can at least leave with some dignity. I hope that with Brother Orion by your side, you will be able to forget me."
His words tore at Seraphina's heart, her hatred for me deepening with every tear he shed. But as she pulled him into a comforting embrace, a triumphant smirk flickered across Caelan’s face.
These words were his shield, his ultimate weapon.
He had once taunted me in private. "You think you're so talented, Orion? So powerful? What does it matter? In our sister's heart, I am worth so much more than you. Don't you believe me? Watch. All it takes is a few tears from me, and she'll break your legs without a second thought. If I were you, I would have killed myself long ago. You murdered your own parents. How dare you continue to exist? Why won't you just die? Don't you know you're completely redundant? The entire Celestial Realm is waiting for you to drop dead!"

4
Caelan knelt by Seraphina's side, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "I'm just so afraid, sister. Afraid of a future without you."
She soothed him with a gentle touch. "With me here, you will always be safe. As for that jinx… once I have his Celestial Core, I will use it to reforge your own body and spirit, and you will achieve ultimate power. There now, stop your crying. You're like a little puppy, always whimpering, hmm?"
At that, Caelan finally managed a watery smile, rubbing his cheek against her hand like a contented cat. "I'm not a puppy. Sister, you're teasing me again."
I stood beside them, a silent witness to their saccharine display. Suddenly, Seraphina’s head snapped up, her eyes locking onto the space where I stood. A confident, predatory smile spread across her face.
"Found you, you little wretch. Time to answer for your crimes."
My non-existent heart skipped a beat. Could she see me? But what could I do, in this state?
She walked straight through me, moving toward the great doors behind, her stride purposeful. Her search ended in a clearing not far from the house, where she found Corbin kneeling before a weapon planted in the earth: a three-pointed war spear.
"Where is he?" Seraphina demanded, her voice a low snarl. "Where is that jinx? I felt his presence right here!" She laughed, a cold, sharp sound. "He couldn't stay away, could he? After all, how could someone like him ever bear to leave the comforts of the Celestial Realm?"
The truth was, the only reason I had never wanted to leave was because of her.
Corbin glanced at her, his expression a mask of indifference. "Have you come to pay your respects to Lord Orion?"
With a flick of her foot, Seraphina kicked over the incense burner at the base of the spear. "Tell him to get out here. I've had enough of his little game of hide-and-seek. Caelan's ascension cannot be delayed." She narrowed her eyes. "You said he was dead? Then I'll use the Soul-Calling Curse and force his spirit to appear before me."
The curse was a forbidden art, reserved for the most vile and malevolent of Celestials. That she would use it on me…
Corbin remained silent. Seraphina began the incantation, but after a long moment, she felt nothing. Not a single wisp of a soul answered her call.
She scoffed, flicking her sleeve in frustration. "I can't sense his soul anywhere. He's alive, just as I suspected!"
I could only shake my head in bitter amusement. Sister, I have no soul left to call. You can search for all eternity and find nothing.
Just then, the three-pointed war spear began to pulse with a faint, ethereal light.
In a flash, Seraphina sealed the surrounding space. She snatched the spear, a triumphant grin on her face. "Running away? What about this old man? Are you going to abandon him too? Just as I thought. A selfish, miserable jinx to the very end!"
She enveloped the spear in her Prismatic Celestial Light, one of the most powerful and destructive forces in the realm. A single touch could injure, a direct blast could annihilate. Not even the Demon King or the Fae Lords would face it willingly.
But no matter how much power she poured into it, the spear remained unchanged.
Corbin watched her, his eyes as still and dead as a winter lake. Seraphina's initial confidence began to waver, replaced by a growing unease. This was the Prismatic Light; it could unmake creation itself. If I were truly hiding within the spear, how could I possibly withstand it?
Slowly, another possibility began to dawn on her. A memory she had long suppressed started to surface.
Three thousand years ago. The day she had cast me out, offered me to the demons as a sacrifice. From that day on, I was never seen again.
I watched her stand there, frozen. Are you finally starting to understand, sister? The greatest champion of the Celestial Realm… he vanished from this world long ago.
But after a moment, she shook her head, violently denying the thought. "He must be here! I can feel his aura. He's trying to trick me!"
She channeled her power again, pouring everything she had into the Prismatic Light. The very space around us began to hum and tremble. But the hand gripping the spear was shaking, betraying the turmoil in her heart.
I stood beside her, a silent phantom.
Sister, please stop.
I really am… long dead.
Ignoring her, Corbin spoke to the spear, his voice a hollow echo of the past. "They tore his soul from his body, stripped the sinew from his bones. They tortured him with a thousand cuts, for three long years, before he finally breathed his last."
"Even as he died," Corbin continued, his voice breaking, "he bore you no ill will. He only worried… who would be left for you, with all your family gone?"
"After his death, they shattered his soul, ensuring he could never be reborn. The proud son of the former Emperor, the mightiest warrior in the Celestial Realm, Lord Orion… and not even a body to bury!"
"I fought with everything I had to bring back a single sliver of his soul. I came to you, begging you to help me re-form his spirit, to give him another chance. And where were you?"
"You were celebrating that impostor's birthday!"
At his words, a memory seemed to strike Seraphina. The color drained from her face.
"You keep asking where he is," Corbin spat, his voice thick with rage. "He is right there, in your hands!"
Seraphina's hand flew back from the spear as if it had been burned. She stumbled backward, her eyes wide with horror.
No wonder she could feel my aura. The three-pointed war spear… Corbin had forged it from my bones.
From the last whole bone left in my body.

5
My sister had loved me once.
Mother told me that when she was pregnant with me, Seraphina would spend hours with her head pressed against her belly, whispering secrets to me. After I was born, she was my constant shadow.
But everything changed after the war.

First, search for and download the MotoNovel app from Google. Then, open the app and use the code "252741" to read the entire book.