34. When Shadows Weep
Chapter thirty-four
When Shadows Weep
Lei
My father’s sword fell from his grip, clattering uselessly against the dirt.
“My little monster?” Lying on the ground, he clutched the stomach wound as blood seeped through his fingers.
That was the first moment I could finally catch my breath.
It’s almost done.
There, my father lay on the ground, broken and bleeding before me.
Moni got to my side with her gun still raised. Her presence was a balm to my frayed nerves.
Together, we stood over him.
My father looked up at us and his breathing grew shallow.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but he still managed a weak, bitter smile. “Part of me is happy. . .the part that. . .wanted this. . .”
Something else caught my eye.
Two black crows landed on the blood-streaked ground one foot from where my father lay.
My breath hitched.
The way they stared at him gave me chills, like they could see into his soul, like they weren’t just crows.
I blinked, and the edges of my reality rippled.
W-what?
Behind the crows, the faintest shimmer happened, and their shadows lengthened unnaturally, stretching and curling as if alive.
I blinked again.
Then, slowly, those shadows began to rise and shift, taking shape—human shape.
I shivered.
Familiar figures emerged from the darkness their forms outlined in a soft, otherworldly glow.
My heart clenched.
Romeo and Chanel?
Their faces were as vivid as a memory but touched with something ethereal, something that made them more than just the people I once knew. They weren’t just here—they were luminous, glowing faintly as though lit from within.
Ghosts?
Romeo’s sharp, cocky grin was intact but his eyes carried something more profound.
More ancient.
Chanel stood beside him, her soft smile radiating warmth.
They were dressed in deep, elegant red, the fabric flowing like liquid fire, shimmering faintly as if the threads were spun from light itself.
In fact, they looked like they were stepping into a grand ballroom, not standing in the blood-soaked arena.
Time slowed.
My chest heaved as I stared at them, unable to look away.
This isn’t real. It has to be the poison playing tricks on me.
But they were so clear.
Every detail, every line of their faces, every fold in their impossibly elegant clothing—it all felt real.
Romeo’s gaze locked on me and his smirk softened.
Chanel lifted her hand as if to reach out but she stopped short and her fingers hovered just above the air.
My knees felt weak.
My hand gripping the sword shivered.
I wanted to speak, to ask if this was real, but my throat was tight.
Moni whispered, “Lei?”
I turned to her. “Can you see them?”
“See what, Lei?”
Then, behind Moni, other shadows rippled.
More ghosts?
Two figures emerged and my chest tightened further.
“What’s wrong?” Moni widened her eyes. “Do you want me to shoot him, Lei?”
Behind her, a Black man and woman stepped forward from the shadows.
Their forms were no less radiant.
No less surreal.
Their features were achingly familiar, the resemblance to Moni striking and unmistakable.
Her parents.
I swallowed.
They got right next to her and looked down at Leo.
My heart hammered.
This isn’t real.
Yet, every fiber of my being felt their presence.
Moni got closer to me. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
“I-I’m okay.”
“I’ve got a good aim. I can do it.”
“No. It’s just. . .” I put my view back on my father and to my shock the ghostly spirit of my mother knelt beside him.
My eyes burned with tears. “Mommy. . .”
Moni looked at me. “Lei. . .”
“You don’t see anything?”
“No.”
I gazed at my mom. Her long hair fell in waves over her shoulders and her eyes were filled with sorrow. She looked up at me, and for a moment, I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe.
A cold shiver ran through me. “I’m sorry, Mommy. I had to do it.”
“I know you did and I love you, son. Even more because you did it.”
My eyes watered.
She gave me a sad smile. “Use Soaring Precious. He would want it that way and sometimes it is good to show love to a dying man.”
It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. But the warmth in her tone, the way her lips curved into that soft, sad smile—it hit me like a dagger to the heart.
“Okay, Mommy. . .”
Moni moved her gaze to where I was looking.
Behind my mother, another figure stepped forward.
Oh God.
My sister’s eyes—so much like mine—bore into me with a kind of heartbreaking sadness. And then with a steady voice she whispered. “Do it, Lei. We’ll deal with him next.”
“Okay.” I dropped Imperial Lament.
It clattered to the ground.
My father didn’t dare go for it due to Moni having that gun pointed right at his head. Still, Moni’s voice broke through the haze. “Lei, what are you doing?”
“I’ve got it. I’ll kill him.” I went over to Soaring Precious and picked it up. “I’m just. . .”
“What?”
“I’m just. . .seeing ghosts.”
Moni blinked. “Say what?”
“Ghosts.” I came back over with Soaring Precious. “My mother and sister. Your parents. Chanel and Romeo.”
Moni’s voice screeched. “My mom? My dad?”
“Yes. Right next to you.”
She glanced to the side. “I love you, Mom. . .Dad too. . .”
“It might just be the poison.”
“I don’t care.” Her bottom lip quivered. “I just wanted them to know.”
Sadness filled my heart.
Her bottom lip quivered. “Maybe, they are here.”
I turned my attention back to my father and raised Soaring Precious in the air.
A tear slid down his cheek as he looked up at me. “You see your mother and sister?”
“They’re next to you.”
“What did they say?” He coughed. The sound was wet and painful.
“Mom isn’t mad that I’m doing this. Yan says she will deal with you later.”
“Then. . .I’ll see them?”
“I think so. . .”
Blood bubbled at the corner of his mouth. His gaze flicked up to the sky. “Thank God. How merciful He is. I do not deserve His love, yet He blesses me. . .”
My vision blurred but I did my best to not cry.
My father put his view on me. “I lost my way.”
The fighting stopped in the stands.
All watched us.
My father continued. “Somewhere. . .the path unwound into darkness.”
I kept the sword steady and began to lower it toward him.
He put his view on Moni. “That happens to heroes in stories, doesn’t it? The second act, or maybe the third act. I’m not sure. . .”
Whispers carried off in the stands.
A few people loudly sobbed.
More crows appeared around us and landed.
“But now I wonder if. . .this may not be my hero’s journey.” He moved his gaze to me. “Instead. . .am I the villain of this story?”
The words hit me like a blow but I didn’t answer.
I couldn’t.
I stood over him and let the tip of Soaring Precious blade get close to his throat.
He watched me. “Did your mother tell you to change swords?”
“Yes.” My throat went tight.
More tears left his eyes. “I don’t deserve her love either.”
For the first time tonight, I saw my father—not as the monster who had haunted my life, but as a man.
A broken, defeated man.
The world narrowed to the sound of my father’s ragged breathing and the weight of Soaring Precious in my hands.
A knot of tension gathered in my shoulders.
“I tried desperately to make you my son and shape you with violence and death, but in the end. . .” My father coughed wetly. More blood bubbled at the corner of his mouth. “You are your mother’s son.”
Those tears finally left my eyes and I gazed at her face as she beamed up at me with so much pride. “I am my mother’s son.”
“Thank God. The East may be better because of it.” He turned his gaze back to the sword. “What will Soaring Precious’s final judgment of me be?”
“We’ll see.” I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat threatening to choke me.
For a moment, silence stretched between us.
Then, he spoke again, and his voice trembled with an unfamiliar vulnerability. “I’m. . . sorry.”
My very soul shivered.
The words hit me like a blow, so unexpected that they knocked the breath from my lungs. I couldn’t think of a moment in my entire life when my father had ever seriously apologized—not to my mother, not to me, not to anyone.
Tears rolled down his bloodied face, mingling with the dirt and grime. “I wanted you to be happy with Monique. . .I did. . .but I think. . .in the end. . .I got so afraid of death. . .and the possibility of hell. . .I figured, why not just try to enjoy heaven on Earth.”
Slowly, Moni lowered the gun and her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
I pressed the blade of Soaring Precious next to my father’s neck but didn’t pierce his skin. “I. . .”
The words caught in my throat, strangled by emotion.
I wanted to tell him that I loved him, that despite everything, some part of me still yearned for his love.
But my heart hurt too much.
He closed his eyes. “I love you too, son.”
Moni sniffled beside me and her presence grounded my soul with what must be done.
Okay. It’s time.
Slowly, I pushed the blade against his skin.
The ghosts disappeared.
To my utter shock. . .Soaring Precious emitted a loud melodious sound.
What the fuck?
I hadn’t even cut an inch into his neck before the sword began to sing even louder and it was a mournful, haunting melody.
Beautiful.
Tragic.
Otherworldly.
The kind of sound that pierced through bone and marrow, embedding itself in the heart and soul of everyone who heard it.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Some clutched their chests.
Others covered their mouths.
Slowly, I moved the blade inch by inch, cutting deeper into his flesh.
Blood welled up around the edge, rich and dark, staining the silver steel.
The mournful song of Soaring Precious only grew louder as if the sword itself grieved for what was being done.
My father’s eyes snapped open. He formed his lips into a deranged smile.
His voice came out scratchy. “H-honn-nnor.”
The word hung in the air.
Yes. Honor. You got what you always wanted. The honorable judgement of a legendary sword.
I looked at Moni and my heart warmed as she cried.
And I finally have what I always wanted. The love of a beautiful woman.
I turned back to him and pressed Soaring Precious forward.
The song crescendoed as the final cut came swift and clean.
There.
My father’s head separated from his body, falling to the blood-soaked ground with a dull thud.
Next, a geyser of crimson blood erupted from his neck, spraying high into the air.
The crowd collectively recoiled.
Still, the sword sang.
My arms ached, my chest burned, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from my father’s lifeless body before me.
It’s over. Finally over.
The song of Soaring Precious faded then ended.
Silence followed.
I let out a long breath.
Then, like the crack of thunder, applause erupted through the arena. It rolled over me in waves.
But none of it mattered.
Not the crowd.
Not their cheers.
I dropped the sword and turned to Moni.
That little gun now lay on the ground. Somewhere between the sword singing and my cutting off his head, she’d dropped it.
Sighing, I took Moni in my arms and her warmth enveloped me. “It’s over. . .”
She cried against me. “You fucking did it, baby.”
“No.” My legs began to lose balance. I did my best to keep up. “ We did it.”
And then darkness swallowed me whole.