How To Hide The Tyrant's Child In The Apocalypse-Chapter 61. Truth about Richard

AT THE SAME TIME

MEI SHEN’S POINT OF VIEW:

I unrolled it slowly, the parchment crackling with an ancient weight, words glowing like embers across the page. My voice was barely a whisper, but every syllable echoed as though the heavens themselves leaned in to listen.

"Jin Voss, denied the throne, not by theft, but by judgment of the divine. His hunger would have consumed the empire. His claim stripped by decree of fate itself." I said.

The courtyard froze. Richard no, Jin Voss stared at me with naked horror. His hand twitched as if to lunge, to rip it away, but he faltered. Because it was undeniable and the god Zeyrith his glowing eyes widened, his voice breaking into something I had never thought possible.

"Impossible... a mortal spawning a scroll from the void? Girl, what are you?"He asked.

The medallion in my hand burned hotter, but not in pain. In recognition. Like it had known this moment would come. I raised my chin, clutching both the scroll and the medalion. My legs trembled, but my voice did not.

"I am Mei Shen. Daughter of Rosalie. And I remember the story you tried to erase."I said.

The parchment unfurled in my trembling hands, golden words spilling across the surface like fire racing through dry brush. And then a boom. A shockwave burst outward as the seal cracked fully, throwing soldiers to their knees, rattling the palace walls, and shaking dust from the carved rafters above. Bella shrieked, Bai He shielded her with his arms, while even the Bai brothers staggered to hold their footing. The torches snuffed out. Only the scroll lit the courtyard now its glow fierce, merciless. Zeyrith’s wings flared, shielding his face.

"This should be impossible!" He roared, voice trembling with something I had never heard before in him fear. "That decree was struck from the heavens themselves!"

But the scroll answered for me, words blazing brighter as though my touch gave them voice.

My throat tightened.

"Jin Voss, heir of the old throne. His ambition blackened by envy, his hunger unchecked. Denied not by men, not by blades, but by divine order. Cast out, for his rise would have drowned nations in blood."I said.

Gasps split the silence. I looked up. Richard no, Jin Voss was shaking. His mask of calm, of twisted superiority, shattered. His hand jerked outward as if to seize me, but the moment he moved, the scroll blazed white hot, lashing back with a whip of golden fire that scorched the ground between us. He hissed, clutching his arm, face twisting in fury and disbelief.

"Lies! That... that cannot be read! That decree was mine to-"Richard said.

"His brother." I read louder, voice now echoing like a bell, steady despite my body’s tremors. "Was chosen in his stead not for strength of arms, but for strength of mercy. For the line of Voss was to be remade through humility, not conquest."

The words slammed into him. Richard staggered as if struck by invisible chains, his knees buckling beneath the weight of truth he could no longer silence. Gasps filled the night. Lianwei’s mother raised a hand to her lips, eyes wide, tears brimming.

"Jin... gods above, it’s true. You-" Her gaze snapped to Richard. "You were never the rightful heir. You were judged unworthy."

Zeyrith hissed, stepping closer, eyes narrowing at me. "Girl... this is beyond mortal memory. Even beyond divine script. You speak truths older than I can hold. What are you anchoring?"He asked.

The medallion in my hand glowed, steady and defiant. Rosalie’s voice echoed in my chest, though I knew she was long gone.

"When you are lost... remember you carry more than blood."She said.

I straightened, ignoring the way my arms shook, ignoring the poison still lingering in my veins.

"I am not just Mei Shen." I said, my voice shaking but unyielding. "I am Rosalie’s daughter. And this scroll proves what you all tried to bury."

Richard snarled, lunging forward, desperation bleeding into rage.

"ENOUGH! I WILL NOT BE ERASED!"Richard shouted.

The scroll flared, the shockwave hitting again, hurling him back across the courtyard. His scream echoed through the night. The guards dropped to their knees. The Bai brothers clutched their blades tighter, eyes wide. Henry stood frozen.

"She... she just invoked a decree of fate itself..."One of them said.

And Zeyrith his eyes locked on me, unreadable, wings trembling.

"This... changes everything."Zeyrith said.

The scroll burned hotter, gold and crimson fire lashing at the night sky. My arms ached holding it steady, but something inside me, something greater kept me upright. Richard clawed at the ground, forcing himself up through the weight of the decree’s chains. His face twisted in fury and desperation, veins pulsing as though even his blood rebelled against him.

"No... no, I am the heir! I was meant to rule! You-" His voice broke. "You cannot take this from me!"

The words tore through the courtyard like shards of glass. The Bai brothers braced themselves, Henry whispered prayers, and even Zeyrith’s wings trembled with restrained power. Then a warmth. Not from the scroll, not from me. Something older. Gentler. The medallion at my chest pulsed once, then cracked with blinding light. Out of it, like dawn spilling over the horizon, she came. Rosalie. Her figure shimmered between mortal and divine, cloaked in silken light, hair flowing as though stirred by an unseen breeze. Her eyes soft, fierce, eternal, met mine, and my heart nearly collapsed beneath the weight of them. She smiled. A mother’s smile. A smile that told me I was enough, that I had never been lost, that every step of this madness had been seen.

"Daughter." Rosalie’s voice rang, carrying across the courtyard, gentle yet unbreakable. "You hold your line higher than even I dreamed. You remind him and them what truth is."

My throat closed.

"Mother..."I whispered.

Rosalie turned her gaze then, sharp as a blade, to Richard. And he faltered. The chains of the decree tightened at her presence, their fire burning hotter, and Richard fell to his knees, clutching his chest as if the truth itself was dragging him down.

"Rosalie... no... you-" He coughed blood, eyes wide in horror. "You should not exist. You-"

"You were warned, Jin Voss." Rosalie’s voice cut through like thunder beneath silk. "Mercy was your chance. Humility your path. But you chose envy."

Her smile vanished.

"And envy does not inherit."She said.

Richard screamed, slamming his fists into the earth, cracks splintering across the courtyard stones.

"NO! I WILL NOT YIELD! I-"He shouted.

But his voice broke into a sob as his body trembled, the decree’s chains pulling him lower, lower. His fury shrank into desperation. Into fear. I stepped forward, scroll blazing in my grip, Rosalie’s presence steady at my side.

"Richard your fight is ending. You’re not just losing... you’re being erased."I said.

His eyes snapped to me, wild, defiant and yet, for the first time, truly afraid. The courtyard was silent, save for the hiss of fire and the slow, inevitable crumbling of a man who once thought himself untouchable.

The scroll burned hotter, gold and crimson fire lashing at the night sky. My arms ached holding it steady, but something inside me something greater kept me upright. Richard clawed at the ground, forcing himself up through the weight of the decree’s chains. His face twisted in fury and desperation, veins pulsing as though even his blood rebelled against him.

"No... no, I am the heir! I was meant to rule! You-" His voice broke. "You cannot take this from me!"

The words tore through the courtyard like shards of glass. The Bai brothers braced themselves, Henry whispered prayers, and even Zeyrith’s wings trembled with restrained power. Then a warmth. Not from the scroll, not from me. Something older. Gentler. The medallion at my chest pulsed once then cracked with blinding light. Out of it, like dawn spilling over the horizon, she came. Rosalie. Her figure shimmered between mortal and divine, cloaked in silken light, hair flowing as though stirred by an unseen breeze. Her eyes soft, fierce, eternal met mine, and my heart nearly collapsed beneath the weight of them. She smiled. A mother’s smile. A smile that told me I was enough, that I had never been lost, that every step of this madness had been seen.

"Daughter." Rosalie’s voice rang, carrying across the courtyard, gentle yet unbreakable. "You hold your line higher than even I dreamed. You remind him and them what truth is."

My throat closed.

"Mother..."I whispered.

Rosalie turned her gaze then, sharp as a blade, to Richard. And he faltered. The chains of the decree tightened at her presence, their fire burning hotter, and Richard fell to his knees, clutching his chest as if the truth itself was dragging him down.

"Rosalie... no... you-" He coughed blood, eyes wide in horror. "You should not exist. You-"

"You were warned, Jin Voss." Rosalie’s voice cut through like thunder beneath silk. "Mercy was your chance. Humility your path. But you chose envy."

Her smile vanished.

"And envy does not inherit."She said.

Richard screamed, slamming his fists into the earth, cracks splintering across the courtyard stones.

"NO! I WILL NOT YIELD! I-"He shouted.

But his voice broke into a sob as his body trembled, the decree’s chains pulling him lower, lower. His fury shrank into desperation. Into fear. I stepped forward, scroll blazing in my grip, Rosalie’s presence steady at my side.

"Richard your fight is ending. You’re not just losing... you’re being erased."I said.

His eyes snapped to me, wild, defiant and yet, for the first time, truly afraid. The courtyard was silent, save for the hiss of fire and the slow, inevitable crumbling of a man who once thought himself untouchable. Richard’s body shuddered under the decree’s chains, but then his form began to shift. Wrinkles deepened, his shoulders broadened unnaturally, a sickly aura of borrowed strength coiling around him like smoke. For a moment, he looked less like a man and more like a grotesque caricature of power, an emperor carved out of lies.

The crowd gasped. Even Henry staggered back.

"Impossible..."He whispered.

But Zeyrith’s roar cut through the courtyard like a storm ripping mountains apart.

"ENOUGH!"Zeyrith said.

Wings unfurled in fury, shadows crashing like waves. His divine gaze locked on Richard, glowing like molten suns.

"You dared to bend yourself with another god’s hand? You corrupted flesh, time, and bloodline for vanity?"He shouted.

Richard laughed through his coughing, a ragged, broken sound.

"I had to! To look the part to claim what was mine what your precious decree stole from me!"Richard shouted.

Zeyrith’s expression twisted into wrathful disgust.

"You are no heir, no emperor merely a thief dressed in stolen divinity."He said.

"Power borrowed is never yours. You will collapse beneath it."She said.

"I AM THE TRUE EMPEROR-!"He howled, even as the chains dragged him lower. "They should have bowed to me! Not... not him... not-"

His eyes darted desperately toward Lianwei, hatred and envy tangled into one.

"Do you even know who you are, boy? What bloodline runs through you? You think you’re whole? Think again!"Richard shouted.

The decree’s fire slammed into him before he could finish. But his last words lingered, sharp as daggers in the air. Lianwei stood frozen, jaw clenched, fists trembling. His eyes flicked to me, then to Zeyrith, questions burning like fire behind them and Zeyrith... was silent. His fury had dimmed, replaced by something heavier. Something he had not wanted to reveal.