All around him, there were warcries from both the army he was leading and the army of the country of Kai that they were fighting against. It was going on ever since the sun rose and now, the sun was well on it's way down. The other party's army was almost twenty percent of it's previous number and just a little more, they would win the battle and they could advance further south and a city closer to Kai's capital, Mukuge*.

This person who was leading the army, is the second prince of the Kou Empire, Ren Hakuren; a young man that even with his light-hearted nature has the power to lead the army even at the age of twenty.

He was entrusted with the soldiers for just a week and, already, they were winning a battle everyone thought would last for more than two weeks, not just half a day.

"Prince Hakuren!" a soldier approached him after he had struck down an enemy who had hoped to escape the chaos by blending with his army. He was smart to wear the ragged armor of a soldier he killed but he forgot about the fact that the prince knew which are his soldiers. It was a good try, though (maybe he should try that tactic sometime to slip into the enemy quarters).

The black-haired prince wiped his sweat with the back of his hand before turning his attention at lightly-armored man; a messenger. "Report."

The soldier stood at attention. "General Seiryuu wanted to convey that you can retreat back now. The remaining enemies can be left to the soldiers, sire."

Old man Seiryuu, huh?

"Geez, he's such a worrier." Hakuren let out a huff before laughing lightly. He turned his whole body to the messenger before whipping the Naginata** to hit away the small ball of fire that was aimed at him by an enemy. He spared it no glance and the other man watched it flew away with wide eyes, surprised at what the prince just did.

The second prince pointed at where it flew off and told him with a grin, "He doesn't have to worry, see?"

BOOOOOM!

He sweatdropped at the large explosion he just heard. Everyone, including the enemies, were staring at him in shock. "Uhhh..."

Note: Bombs don't exists in the East Continent.

"Whaa..."

"W-Was that an explosion?"

"..."

There was a collective silence that followed before, one by one, the enemy soldiers started surrendering. The Kou Imperial Soldiers were confused but they all started tying up the enemy with much hesitation on their part.

"One explosion got them to surrender, sire?" The messenger squeaked beside Hakuren and he laughed nervously.

"Apparently, so."

What have I done? He thought with a poorly hidden grimace.

Looking at battle that had now calmed down and officially ended, Hakuren lowered his spear and relaxed, if only slightly. He learned that you shouldn't let your guard down at any costs while you're still at the battlefield. He didn't want to experience another stabbing just because he thought the enemy soldiers were actually giving up.

And he still couldn't believe that their win was even more solidified by the fact that he cause an accidental explosion. He had heard stories that people from the West Continent knew how to create explosions but what were the odds that he would be able to cause one himself? As a guy, that got his spirits up.

That was so cool.

Then, a commotion caught his attention and he looked towards where it came from. There were some of his soldiers congregating around a huge hole surrounded by scorch marks. It only took him a moment to realize that, that was probably the place where the explosion originated.

"This is weird."

"How come there's something like this here?"

"Freaky."

Curious, he went towards them.

"What's wrong?" Hakuren asked and they all gave way to him, bowing.

They all kept their head low and one answered, "It seems you've uncovered a weird cave with markings, Prince."

Said prince blinked, "What? A cave?" He crouched beside the hole and peered in, seeing various symbols on the sides. Those lead a spiral mess downwards, glowing faintly in the light. He tilted his head, now even more curious. What could be possibly down there?

Standing up, he ordered, "Get me a torch. I'm going down there."

"E-Eh!? Prince! You can't! It is much too dangerous!" The soldiers voiced out their thoughts and Hakuren stared at them for a bit until they quieted down but they still didn't follow him.

He tilted his head and then said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "It's an order, you know?" And it was.

Silence followed. The soldiers shared a look, unsure of what to do.

...

"I'll prepare the torch, your Highness."

"I'll handle your supplies, sire!"

"Would you like to have your wounds treated first, my prince?"

He resisted the urge to laugh at the now willingness of his men to obey him. But they were right, though. He may be risking his life for something at the cave but what? What could be so important that strange symbols akin to seals would be at the place? ...Monsters?

At the prospect of meeting a possible monster, Hakuren hurried the soldiers who were preparing the torch he asked for. Once he got it, he wasted no time in jumping down into the hole, an excited grin on his face. All the while, the men he left behind shouting their various worries for the prince.

The fall wasn't that long but when his feet touched the rocky moss of the ground beneath him, the sounds he could hear above him dwindled. Looking up at the faint silhouettes, it seemed that he would have to shout if he had to contact them.

But no matter, it was time for an adventure.

Swinging the lighted torch around, he found a passageway that seemed to lead deeper into the cave. The symbols had continued their way through the passage, and despite the chill that went up his spine at the darkness he saw, he still forced himself to go forward.

The black-haired prince watched as the glow of the walls followed him and he concluded that his torch might be the reason for it. And having a closer look at them, it seems... familiar somehow. Had he seen them before?

He continued raking his gaze over the symbols before he reached the end of the passage where he was greeted by a large opening. His eyes widened when the light of the symbols that were following him suddenly lighted the opening with a flurry.

Hakuren almost lost ahold of his torch at what he saw.

The place was big. It was a wonder how nobody had found it yet. Especially since above ground was a battlefield.

From what he could see, there was a huge circle of symbols on the floor. In the middle was a cracking rectangular rock; possibly a container of sorts since there were parts that was crumbling away to show a hollow inside. It was also covered by multiple chains and small papers. Just looking at the ominous object sent a shiver up his spine.

It was no doubt creepy and he would rather stay away but he would have to check it out sooner or later.

Shaking his head, he decided to put it off for later and decided to walk around. There was much more he could check out, and he should have contacted his soldiers by now to tell them about what he found, but then he would have no time to see everything for himself.

Curiosity first, safety later.

The place was littered by artifacts he hadn't seen before. Various rusting jewelries, large jars, tables, crumbling textiles, more of those circle made from symbols, and various large metal torches (which he ignited to see more of the place).

The jewelries look like some of them may be salvagable and with the amount he found, that may very well be the case. The large jars were either empty or filled with sand; one even had a strange flower growing on one. The tables were made from stone with more circle of symbols. And the textiles are unfortunately unusable or would not even amount to anything.

All and all, everything seemed normal, if not eerie on it's own. The only thing that was out of place was the stone container in the middle of the place.

Just looking at it was making the prince uncomfortable. If he was right with his assumptions about it being hollow in the inside, then what could it have been hiding? The whole place seemed that it was centuries old but the stone seemed like it was even older than that.

What was it?

Swallowing his own jittery nerves, he continued lighting as much of the torches the place held as possible until he was standing infront of the stone container. By then, the place was well-lit and that somewhat eased him. Taking a deep breath, he unsheathed his sword and proceeded to cut down the chains, one by one by one.

He watched as they fell down on the ground with loud clanging sounds before steeling his nerves and sliding off the cover of the container. It took much effort to do so and the prince only got it to half way open before he had a clear view of what was inside.

A person.

He screamed. "UWAAHHHH!!!"

---

The moment they heard the prince scream, the soldiers in the vicinity did what any sane person would do; they simultaneously jumped down into the hole.

It was much deeper than they thought so they ended up in a pile before they got their bearings and followed the lighted passage. They exited into a huge opening, lighted by symbols on the wall and torches. Some of them took a moment to marvel at the place while the more rational ones ignored the urge to stare and hurried towards the shocked prince.

"Prince Hakuren!"

"A-A-A person-no... a girl!" He managed to say in the midst of his surprise and the soldiers assumed stances of alert. Seeing that, he quickly added, "Don't! I think... I think she's dead."

They all shared a look. Still none of them relaxed.

Hakuren sighed at that, scratching his chin in thought before he stood up and dusted himself (how disgraceful to be found in such a state of weakness). "She's not moving. Nor did she even react at all the noise."

Besides, he had seen what the state of the corpse was. It was... perfectly preserved. As if she had just died recently. But her pale skin and crumbling clothes were more than enough evidence for him to assume that she has been dead for quite awhile. That in itself was surprising. Was her corpse as old as the artifacts in the cave itself?

Impossible... right?

Ending his thoughts with that, he turned to the soldiers that came down with him and ordered them to thoroughly search the cave for anything salvagable. Anything they find would be what they would bring back above ground and potentially back at the capital, Rakushou. Assuming, of course, that what General Seiryuu meant by 'retreating' before is that 'he could go back to the palace already.' He wanted to tell everyone what he had found, especially his older broher, Hakuyuu.

But knowing the Prince's luck, that won't be the case.

A few of the soldiers suggested that he should go climb back and he decided that it was about time that he did so. He still has to monitor what the others did to the war prisoners they got. Added to that was the fact that he also has to report back to General Seiryuu about what went on with the war and his accidental findings.

Hakuren was just a few steps away from the passage where he came from before a surprised voice from one of the soldiers stopped him in his tracks.

"This girl... she's still alive!"

The second prince's eyes widened and he turned around, his gaze zeroing on the soldier who announced it.

What?

---

General Li, an aged man in his sixties yet still working for the army, gave the seated Hakuren before him an unamused look.

"How did one accidental explosion lead to you finding an alive, probably ancient, girl?"

He puffed up his cheeks childishly, something he only dared to do with those he was comfortable with. "It was supposed to be an adventure! I didn't expect to find her either when I went down that cave." He pointed out.

The two of them were inside his tent back at camp with all of the prisoners snug in their bindings and the artifacts from the cave (salvagable or not) all in safe-keeping. The girl they found alive wasn't waking up no matter what they do so they just left her in her stone container and extracted her with it; chains and all. The unnamed girl was examined by the site doctors, saying that she was healthy in every other way. No wounds, no scars, even scratches couldn't be found in her body. Aside from her probably being older than any of them combined and not even conscious, she was just... normal.

Everyone who examined her expressed their worry about her real origins so to appease them, her and the container she was in was currently guarded by a few soldiers to prevent the others from crowding around the place where she was kept. Even so, she still gathered a large number of on-lookers.

The older man sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperaton. He didn't know what to do with his godson. He's almost as troublesome as his other brother and his stubbornness and cheek. If his old friend and Emperor Hakutoku had chosen the older of the two for the expedition, he wondered what else would've happened in his stead.

He probably would've found an ancient city on his own. He thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. It might happen and if that were the case, he didn't want to foretold something so troublesome.

"You would have to go back for this. Report to his Highness." He concluded.

Hakuren visibly brightened. "Really?"

General Li deadpanned. "Yes. You've done your own fair share of warring and even brought us an essential win. Our strategists will agree." He gave a long and heavy sigh. "Besides, the one who is more suited to report to his Highness about your... findings is you. Such artifacts plus that girl you uncovered is sure to bring your father something to amuse himself with for the time bei-"

"I get to go home! Awesome!"

"Don't be so exci-Did you even listen to what I said?"

Hakuren grinned at his irritated Godfather. "Don't worry too much, old man Seiryuu. Father will let you go home soon. Just wait for either him, me, or my brother to come back and we'll take care of your work here." He assured, already standing up to prepare for his journey back to Rakushou.

General Li leaned back in his chair, the back of his hand against his chin. Annoyed, he muttered, "I better. My wife has been missing me and I don't like keeping her waiting."

Hakuren glanced over his shoulder at the other man and smiled sadly. His wife has been waiting for him to go home for the past six months already. And considering he was at his sixties and should be retired already, the woman has all right to worry. Especially since the two of them had grandchildren already.

The second prince laughed, lightening the sour atmosphere. "You'll go home soon. I'm sure Father will let you. Or... maybe he would send General Kokuhyou in our stead!"

The aged man had enough of his antics and shoo'ed him out of the tent.

Now alone, Hakuren smiled to himself and looked up at the dark sky littered with stars as far as the eye could see. He could just feel that something amusing was about to happen and until he goes back to the Palace, he just have to sit tight and wait to know as to what that could be.

Walking away, he started humming to himself.

---

About a week later at the far distance of the capital of Kou Empire, one could see the outlines of a massive incoming parade of the army. The people of the city Rakushou felt their arrival even before they saw them as they entered the city riding horses and carriages.

And the person that was leading it at the head is the second prince of Kou, Ren Hakuren.

He had finally come back to his home.

They slowed their horses down into trots and traversed the city through the main road, leading up to the red palace. The citizens who were at the road when they came all dropped down to one knee and bowed their heads, one hand curled around their closed fist.

All of them knew the reason why the prince had come back and that was because they had won their battle. News usually travelled fast when it came to these kinds of stuff in their militaristic country. And they were all proud because once again, glory has been brought to their motherland Kou.

The sight of them parading aroung the city was something that was the norm already but one particular carriage caught the attention of those that it passed by. It was... out of place no matter how you looked at it with the clear clanging of chains that emenates from its inside. Not only that, there were a few of the royal monks that were riding their horses right alongside it and only there.

It attracted a lot of attention that by the time they finally arrived at the palace, they managed to gather quite the following. They were quickly dispersed by the soldiers but even then, they remained looking.

Hakuren sweatdropped and tried his best to ignore them.

The outside gate opened wide to let them inside and he blinked at the person who went to greet him.

"Yuu!" he said in surprise, unmounting his horse to greet his older brother.

If you see the two of them, you could definitely tell that they are brothers. What with their nearly identical looks, the one thing that solidified the fact was their matching beauty marks located at the left of their chins. Even their two younger siblings had them, especially their mother who they inherited it from.

Hakuyuu smiled. "Welcome back, Ren."

Hakuren grinned, approaching his brother and sharing a hug. "You weren't busy?"

"No, not really." He stepped away from the hug to peek over the other's shoulder at the carriage that was unloading a stone container. "How could I when I heard news that you've brought something interesting?"

The younger prince followed his gaze before scratching his chin, sheepish. "Yeah... Have they mentioned that it was accidental?"

"They have." Hakuyuu approached said container and Hakuren followed him. The soldiers gave way and bowed to him. "But a girl: Sleeping in her coffin, supposedly immortalized, and possibly older than the world itself... This is quite the treasure you've found."

The second prince waved what he said away. "That's what everyone says but I'm still skeptical about it. There's no way there exists someone who's that old."

Hakuyuu tilted his head towards him and smiled slyly. "But you never know. Magic exists and it's not impossible that she actually is, you know? Even her slumber can be easily summed up to be the work of magic." He paused before saying slowly. "Where is she anyway? Still in there?" He gestured to the rectangular stone infront of them.

"That's right. We left her there so that we can easily transport her and that."

"Oh?" Hakuyuu blinked, surprised. "Then shouldn't we bring her to a room then? I imagine a stone coffin is not at all comfortable."

The younger of the two squinted his eyes at the other, suspicious. "You're planning something again, aren't you?"

He innocently tilted his head. "Am I?"

Hakuren puffed his cheeks. Oh, he's definitely up to something.

"Does she have a name?" Hakuyuu suddenly asked.

"Hmm..." Hakuren thought about it. He didn't really give the girl any name. He just... didn't need to? He was more concerned with returning and keeping what he found safe. But, if you were to ask his soldiers, they would surely give you the nickname they gave her: Sleeping Beauty.

To be honest, it was quite brilliant.

"Sleeping Beauty," he announced. Then he shrugged, ignoring the men around them who shuffled, embarrassed that their prince knew the nickname. "The soldiers gave her that since we don't really know what to call her. And it just... stuck, I guess."

"Nemurihime..." His older brother hummed, testing the way the word rolled off his tongue.

"Wanna look at her?" The second prince suggested and he saw his older brother's eyes light up slightly, even if his smiling facade didn't change. It was something he knew how to pick since he had spent so much time with him.

He turned to the soldiers and gestured for them to open it. The chains were taken off, papers and all, and they fell at the ground with a clang. When that was out of the way, they proceeded to open it.

When the stone cover was properly slid off, Hakuyuu saw what Sleeping Beauty looked like. Indeed was the rumors true. She was a beauty.

He stared before saying lowly, breathless. "She definitely needs a proper room."

Hakuren looked at him suspiciously. "Just so you know, she's never woken up before so if you're planning to do something, she's not gonna be all the wiser to it."

The other raised a delicate brow. "Hm? Are you suggesting I go ahead then?"

"NO! I mean that that's even worse, dammit!"

The first prince laughed. "It's alright, Ren. She just looks like the type to easily cry."

Hakuren resisted the urge to face-palm. Of course. It's because he found someone he wanted to tease.

As princes of the great Kou Empire, there are a lot of things expected of the two of them. One of them was to be entertained by courtesans every night. It's not that they don't like it, but being at it for almost years now, they start to grew bored of the visits. It was only reasonable that one of them would start to cause trouble after all of it.

And of the two brothers, the older one was always notorious for making the girls of the night cry whenever they went home. No one knew but Hakuren himself what the older Haku did to make them shed tears. And that, is simply caused by his sharp tongue.

Hakuyuu was a saint in front of everyone, but behind closed doors, he would come close to becoming the devil himself. Even someone of his status who can have anything he wants can grew jaded and bored.

See, nothing makes him happier than causing a woman's tears. And being sadistic was just one of the many things that kept him from growing too bored.

"Let us go see Father." Hakuyuu passed his brother and the other nodded his head. He forgot that he still needed to report to his father about what went on at north Kai.

"Ah, yeah." He turned towards the soldiers who stood at attention when he looked over. "Bring everything to Ren Koumei's quarters. Tell him that I want everything analyzed for future use. Especially, Nemurihime."

They all bowed their heads.

"Yes, Prince Hakuren."

---

Koumei stared at the soldiers in front of him, who wavered not at the blank expression he was currently giving them. He brushed away a lock of his hair, one of the pigeons perched on his head flying away at the gesture, and he put down the scroll he was reading.

"What is all this?"

When he spoke, the tone of his voice matched the face he was currently making. It unnerved the soldiers but being men under the military for years now, they didn't let it show. Though they were sure the boy in front of them still knew.

It was just one of the things that he had picked up from the lies his brother told him about their biological mother. That was all in the past now, but he had kept the skill and found it useful even now.

A personal retainer of Prince Hakuren accompanied the soldiers and with his head bowed, he explained what the prince had found on north Kai and what he wanted Koumei to do with all of it. He kept the truth about the coffin to himself, waiting to see what the Royal Strategist's reaction to it would be.

Afterwards, Koumei stood up, dusting the birds off of him, before walking towards the items they had brought to look over everything. The artifacts are definitely precious, although old and rusted they may seem. They contained symbols he had never seen before and...

He paused.

"What is with the chains on that?" He asked, staring at the stone container at the very back where he could see chains and papers surrounding the thing. It was giving off such a strange feeling that he couldn't help but just stare.

It was an old one, that much he could tell from the cracks it had but it had a chipping corner where he could see inside it. And for some reason, he saw... a foot?

"That's Nemurihime, sire." Someone elbowed the soldier who piped in. "OW!"

The young Kou stared at the soldier who was rubbing his side and the others who was glaring at him for speaking up. "Nemurihime?"

They all went silent before Hakuren's retainer spoke up.

"She is a girl found inside that very container. There are mysteries surrounding her very being; even the prince himself believes that she may be just as old as the container she's held in." he explained and Koumei's eyes widened.

"She may be that old?" he turned to the soldiers and ordered them to open the container. Doing so, he watched as they removed the chains and papers before lifting the heavy stone lid.

Gulping he went towards the 'coffin' and peered in, expecting a pungent smell of rotting meat to hit him but instead, a faint fragrance of a flower did. His brows furrowed and he took a closer look at the girl, his eyes widening when he found no signs of postmortem decay.

"Liar. You said she was really old." Koumei could barely keep the squeak from showing in his voice. He stepped away from the coffin, almost fearfully.

The retainer spoke again, this time holding all seriousness in his tone. "Sire, we still do not know a thing about her. She may be dangerous. If you do not want to study her for the benefit of the Kou Empire, then I understood. But..." He met the young one's eyes and held them. "Prince Hakuren chose you for a reason. I am sure that he believes no one is more fitting for this job."

Koumei kept silent, still staring head on at the adult in front of him who seemed adamant with him taking in the girl to study her.

To be honest with himself, scared as he may be, he was actually curious about this... Nemurihime. The thought of her being someone whose age is that old being alive still? It was making him feel the same childish giddiness he felt ever since he first started researching miracles.

His lab had grown since he first started and 'miracles' can now be called works of 'magic'. True, he had nothing compared to the breakthroughs that Magnostadt Academy had achieved over the span of two decades, but it was still a big leap for the Kou Empire who previously believed that magic was nothing more but a miracle.

And if he were to take on this request; find out where she originated from, what was causing her deep sleep, break her from that spell... who knows what the results would bring to Kou?

Coming into a decision, Koumei sighed.

"Fine. I will take her in."

Prince Hakuren's retainer smiled slightly.

"Sorry to trouble you, sire."

---

Nemurihime, as the girl was called, was brought to an isolated room at the back of the north garden. It was far enough away from the main palace rooms that if ever she awakens and was deemed dangerous, she would be close enough to the soldier's quarters that she would be easily contained.

There, she was watched over by the royal monks and doctors, monitoring her every breath and anything that shows signs that she was coming to wake.

There was... nothing they could find out about her that they already didn't know.

She's alive.

But she's not going to wake up.

They left her in the room, heavily guarded outside by soldiers that kept away anyone curious enough to go near, and went to report to their young research leader, Koumei, about their lack of findings.

Perhaps because they are merely normal humans, they didn't know of the signs that the Ruhk was clamoring in the air, warning of something terrible that was to happen in the near future and also of a great miracle.

And that very event, starts its roots as of now.

---

Faint cries of help.

Roars of the monsters that killed any and everyone they saw.

Fire, crackling, burning.

And then...

There was a voice.

Far away but growing ever near.

It was the desperate yell of a mother, reaching out to her as her consciousness faded.

"ESHER!"

---

The girl, slowly opened her eyes to show her blue crystals, shining with life that was once taken from her. It was as if she was a newborn seeing everything for the first time.

"...Arba...?"

---

Gasping, the current Empress of the Kou Empire, Ren Gyokuen, looked away from watching her children playing in the garden below her. She looked up, confused, as the Ruhk suddenly rejoiced.

For what reason, she couldn't pinpoint in their loud cries.

Her retainers, always trailing behind her, asked in concern, "What's wrong, your Majesty?"

She grew quiet.

Then, she chuckled slightly, shaking her head.

"It was nothing. Let us go."

In truth, she knew it wasn't just nothing.

---

A/N: So heya~ The first chapter is finally done!

I managed to get my close friend at school to read the prolouge of this one until she was halfway through the unfinished Chapter 1. Knowing that she doesn't like unfinished stories, I tried my best to finish it for three hours and now here I am~

Hahahahaha! You can thank her for this update.

*Rose of Sharon (Hybiscus syriacus)

**A sword that is treated like a spear. The only difference is that the blade is longer.