Chronicles of the Red Sovereign

Sun Wukong was one of the few foreign gods that became my close acquaintance when they defected in Afasia. In his universe, he was known as the Monkey King and was quite a famous figure. We became rather close friends, but he was closer to my sister Elthesia; he was her lover.

He was also one of the few individuals that helped me hide from the celestial king when I was on the run. But of course, I did not stay with him for long since I did not want to drag him into my mess, especially when his status in Afasia was quite shaky because of his origins.

That, and the fact that he mostly stayed in the mortal realm.

Now imagine my surprise when he knew Aunt Zaira and asked me to bring him to the Celestine Manor.

If I was a normal kid, I would probably decline when some random dude wanted me to show him to where my guardian lived since Aunt Zaira was a high-profiled individual. But I wasn’t a normal kid and I knew him personally so I said yes after giving him a scrutinizing look. But of course, I had to satisfy my own curiosity as well.

“So, how did you know her? And how did you know I’m one of her wards?” I asked as we trudged the city streets. The sky was already dark and the streets are beginning to grow bright because of light orbs.

“Hmm? Zaira and I are old comrades. Of course, I met her when she still bore the name of Marii Chrishni, and then I helped her defeat the demon king and seal the demon clan.”

I stopped on my tracks and looked at him skeptically.

Mortals weren’t really made aware of the foreign gods’ existence nor told about the arrival of individuals from another universe. The descendants of those that migrated probably knew it but kept it a secret as part of the deal they made with the local deities. The foreign gods weren’t bound to the ancient laws of Afasia so they could interact with the mortals of this world with no problems, unlike the celestials, but they sometimes chose to stay away from mortals since they knew getting involved with them usually did not go well. A select few tend to not do that though, Sun Wukong being one of them.

I was very surprised when he told me about helping Aunt Zaira more than a hundred years ago though. He got himself involved with a major event that shaped human history!

“As for how I know you, Zaira and I have been in correspondence. She tells me stuff once in a while.”

I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at his response. He was supposedly my sister’s lover, husband in fact, but he was close to a mortal woman since a long time ago? Okay, maybe not so much of a mortal but Aunt Zaira was previously a mortal. And if my estimation was right, the last demon war was just a few mortal years after Elthesia was executed.

Of course, I couldn’t confront him about that. He did not know I was Nyxtriel, I had no plans of telling him and I wasn’t supposed to know who he really was.

“So, you’re one of the heroes?” I asked. “Do you also possess immortality like her?”

“Hmm… you can say that. I ate stuff I wasn’t supposed to eat and did stupid stuff that wasn’t supposed to be done, so I’m stuck with looking this way as well.”

I only nodded my head. “Why did you decide to become one of the heroes?”

His expression suddenly softened. “It’s because I made a promise.”

From his expression and soft voice, I could tell that whoever he made the promise to was important to him.

Was it my sister? I wanted to ask, but I stopped myself. As of the moment nobody, apart from Aunt Zaira knew I was Nyxtriel, so I couldn’t as that outright.

-Wait, Aunt Zaira told me she was blessed by Elthesia years before the demon war? Maybe she told him I was really Nyxtriel? She does know about it. But if she did he wouldn’t call me Luna.

I decided to just drop it and lead him to the Celestine Manor.

-I can always investigate later.

“Hey Wukong, does Aunt Zaira even know you’re visiting her?” I asked once we were near the manor.

“Yep. She was the one who asked me to come. Something about needing my help or something. Well she didn’t exactly phrase it that way but it was what I guessed she meant.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at his response. I could already imagine how she was able to summon him considering the kind of person she was.

“Why would she need your help?” I asked again.

He only flashed a goofy grin. “It’s confidential little red.”

I couldn’t help but freeze at where I stood.

-‘Little red’, that nickname…

“Luna?” he called. I shook my head and sighed.

-Must be a coincidence. I mean I ‘do’ have red hair.

I shrugged and turned to him. “Fine. Grown up stuff, right?”

“No, as in only a handful of people know kind of confidential.”

I shut my mouth at that and we continued walking. We reached the manor minutes later and I showed him inside the house. Mildred told me that Aunt Zaira already knew Sun Wukong was coming and had prepared everything.

“Then I should go.” I said and readied to excuse myself.

“Come tomorrow Luna.” Wukong replied with a smile. “I don’t mind sparring with you.”

I think I beamed, I wasn’t really sure, and agreed to his proposal. I told Mildred to send my regards to Aunt Zaira and went my way. I couldn’t help but be excited for the next day.

***

“You’re late.” Archduchess Zaira Chrishni von Celestine said the moment Sun Wukong crossed the threshold of her office.

“What can I say? I got lost in the way of life.”

Zaira rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Would you like me to send you to a dungeon and seal your ability to sense magic energy?”

“Err… no thanks. Anyway, what’s important is I’m here.” Wukong plopped himself to one of the vacant chairs and ate one of the late night snacks in the coffee table. “By the way, I met her.”

“Luna?”

“Yeah. She showed me the way here. Even as a mortal, little red is still the same as usual.”

“You can’t blame her. She does retain her memories as Nyxtriel.” she paused. “You better not go overboard tomorrow, you hear me?”

“I know. I know. So? When are you going to tell her about you? She has the right to know the truth Elthesia.” he shrugged. “I think she’s suspicious of my relationship with Archduchess Celestine since I’m supposedly Elthesia Wetcheit li Stedus’ husband. She’s probably a bit miffed when she found out I helped out on the last war against the demon clan rather than restore your name and honor.”

“Did she say that?”

“No, but she’s definitely thinking about it. Or at least I can tell from her expressions and how she acts.”

Zaira only sighed. “She’ll know soon, but not today. She’s not ready yet.”

“She’s your sister, Elthesia.”

“And I have the right to protect her and get her ready for what’s to come. Even if that means hiding my real identity from her in the long run.”

Wukong could only shake his head and give a weak smile. He already knew his beloved had made up her mind.

‘And there’s no changing it.’ he thought.

“Very well then. So? Why did you want me to be here this time around?”

********

Author's Note:

I never did get to say it in the last chapter, but the Ice Pillar Destruction Event is something I was inspired from Irregular at Magic High School but I did make a few touches of my own. Just to make it clear.