MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

Adam's mind buzzed uncontrollably when he heard Yui's declaration.

"A god?"

"Indeed. The White Tiger is one of the four guardian gods worshiped in all of Asia." [1]

"So you are telling me that you are essentially a demigod?"

"You could say that, yeah..."

Yui was showing clear hesitation as she was revealing those pieces of information about her. There were things she could not say without risking breaking her oath and she seriously didn't want to be struck down by lightning right now so she couldn't help but hesitate.

"My surrogate mother was possessed by Byakko, making it so that my fetus was bathed in the aura of a guardian god. Generally, such an action would have resulted in my premature death."

When a shaman took a god in his or her body, that body was considered to be a sanctuary that could never be desacralized.

For that reason, all shaman women were unable to use their powers when they were pregnant. At least, that was the case as long as they didn't mind killing the incoming baby in exchange, that is.

"I survived... Somehow..."

She did not die and she was born with the blessing and aura of the White Tiger god known as Byakko.

"Not giving me the title of heir is one thing, but imprisoning me? They would never dare to do something like that."

This was why she could still use some of the influence of her two families despite having left them behind. They did not dare completely ostracize her-- the child of a guardian god, in a sense.

"Neither of my biological parents is particularly attached to me. But, it doesn't really matter to me anymore. As for my spiritual and surrogate mothers, well, they are the ones that matter to me now."

Adam could only show a dumbfounded laugh, having heard everything from Yui. He had thought that his birth was weird but Yui was really taking the cake here. Essentially, she technically had three mothers and each of the three participated in her birth in one way or another.

Still, why would someone who could summon a god inside her body be willing to accept becoming a surrogate mother? He could feel that there was a deep secret that was attached to her birth. The fact that Yui was affiliated with the Heavenly Court was also a hint at that secret.

"I was not born with the gift of Abel. But it doesn't matter to me honestly. Even if I was born with something like that, the Feng family wouldn't have taken me as their heiress either."

His respect for Yui went up a crescendo and he could never see her with the same eyes ever again. She might have made everything sound very good and peachy, but he was sure that there were untold miseries hidden within her mind. If Yui had been happy in her home, she would not have been here in the first place.

"Now I have told you nearly everything that there is about me. There are some things I cannot simply talk about due to circumstances. But it's pretty much all there is to me. So now, it's your turn, dear Adam."

Adam couldn't help but be embarrassed when he heard that it was his turn to reveal himself. He couldn't help but feel ashamed.

He had intended to lie partially about many things related to him but now that she had been so open with him about her deepest secrets, he really felt like he would be the greatest bastard in the entirety of creation if he lied to her here and now.

But even so, even if he wished to tell her everything about himself, he still couldn't reveal to him that he was a Primogenitor.

'From what Eve told me about my father, Cain had wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Court alongside Sun Wukong.'

This was one of the reasons why Eve said that obtaining the Peach of Immortality would be nearly impossible for him.

If Cain was the enemy of the Heavenly Court then Yui...

In the end, he could only sigh...

"I don't want to lie to you, you know. So, I will be forthcoming. Yui, there are many things I cannot share about myself. I hope you understand."

The true identity of his father wasn't just his secret alone. It also involved his mother. Once people learned that Cecilia raised the son of Cain, she might be in grave danger.

At her peak, there would be no need to be afraid of others. But now, he was already technically stronger than her as long as she didn't use her weapon and the armor that was given to her by Makarov.

"I understand... I do not need you to share everything with me. I just want to know as much as possible."

"Very well. I still do not know who my father is... But I have inherited some of his power."

He truly didn't know his father. Knowing his name didn't mean that he knew him or could even relate to him for that matter.

"I also discovered the true identity of my mothers and this I can reveal to you, at least."

This was not a particular secret he could hide from her. As long as he spent time with Yui, she would sooner or later discover this secret so it was better to be clear from the beginning.

"My mother's name was Mei Kaminari. She was the previous Lightning Blade."

"..."

"My adoptive mother, Cecilia Gospel, is, in reality, Cecilia Kaminari -- The Vermillion Knight."

"..."

"She is also the big sister of the current Director of LAPPD."

"...."

"So yeah. It seems like I am the heir of the Kamnira family. Hehe."

"Hehe, my ass!"

"You do have a great ass if I say so myself."

"Thanks... But don't try to change the subject."

Yui exclaimed, wishing she could punch the smug smile away from Adam's face. She had been somewhat prepared to hear something earth-shattering but this was still shocking news to her ears.

The name Kaminari did not solely belong to one family. It was a rare name, yet it was not uncommon.

But there was only one such family who held someone with the title of Lightning Blade.

The Kaminari was perhaps one of the highest-ranked families in Japan, only below the Imperial Family itself. In fact, the Kaminari had deep ties with the Imperial Family thanks to the contract they signed with Susano, the brother of Amaterasu and Tsukiyomi. [2]

Even the Hanekawa family she came from had to pay their respects to them.

"Why the overreaction? You are literally the daughter of a god."

"Fuck that shit. Do you think just having divine blood gives money nowadays? It isn't like I can go out and be worshiped and showered with endless offerings now, could I?"

She laughed dumbfoundedly but in the end, she just nodded her head.

"Very well. I know your identity and you know mine. I do not care about much else. So now let me ask you one simple question."

All mirth vanished from her face as seriousness colored her face, voice, and mind, "What really happened to you, Adam?"

He quieted down at her question, remembering everything he had to go through in the last few days or rather, from the day that he encountered that accursed being.

"Well. I hope you have enough tea, Yui. It will be a long long talk."

And so Adam spoke. Outside of mentioning Genesis and his many deaths, he did not hide much and told her about his tale. There were of course incongruities in the information he revealed to her. But Yui knew that it was because he was trying to hide some of his secrets, so all she did was listen keenly to everything else he was willing to reveal to her.

At first, she listened with interest evident in her eyes. But her face progressively paled and contorted as the tale continued on and when he mentioned how he had to kill all those people, Yui nearly broke down into tears from the pain she felt for him.

"In the end, I just went through the test, and now... Here I am..."

"Adam..."

Yui opened her mouth but she did not know what to say anymore.

She wanted to ask. How are you still sane? How can you still laugh and smile like that?

What Adam went through in a few weeks would have been enough to break even many battle-hardened men. At the very least, it would have been impossible to keep a smile like this and show no obvious signs of any PTSD.

"Are you... Are you really alright?"

"Well, everything depends on your definition of alright, I suppose. But I think I am doing pretty well, yeah..."

She looked at him intensely in the eyes. Feeling all the changes he went through in just the past three weeks.

She stood up and approached him before hugging him tightly against her chest.

"I am sorry. If that day I didn't make you stay any longer..."

"Don't apologize for something you could have never guessed and look, it isn't all that bad. Now I can do things like this."

He moved his fingers and the objects in the room began floating one after another and then were placed in order on the shelves.

"I can even do this."

He waved his hand and a second Yui appeared next to them and made a funny expression at them before vanishing.

"Finally, I can also do this."

He hugged Yui against his chest and the gravity lowered gradually and before long they started to float.

Giving her a dazzling smile he continued his speech, "It wasn't easy. But hey, you can gain nothing without some suffering, right?"

Yui was without a doubt astonished at the breadth of the skills Adam showed to her but this did not distract her from the reality that Adam must be facing some inner demons right now.

Still, she would not insult him by insisting. She could slowly observe him and make sure that everything was alright with him.

Once they landed, she cleared her throat...

"First things first... If you can fly, you are definitely going to take me out on a spin later on. But now I want to know. Will you continue working for me?"

Adam grinned and made a white mask float until it reached his hand. It was a mask with a wide smile etched on it and the eyes squinted into crescents.

Placing it on his face, Adam made a theatrical bow to her...

"I am at your orders for the entire night, milady."

It was time for him to work on his seduction skills.

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[1]: I am pretty sure everyone here knows the four gods or four Auspicious beasts. Byakko, Suzaku, Gengu, Seyruu. Technically those are Chinese gods or rather symbols from Taoism. They were imported from China to Japan around the 7th century;

[2]: Amaterasu is the goddess of the sun. An embodiment of the rising sun and Japan itself, she is the queen of the gods and ruler of the universe in their myth. The Japanese Imperial Family claims to have descended from her, and this is what gives them the divine right to rule Japan. I like how this is like the Pharaohs in Egypt who also claim to be the children of Ra the sun god. This is something common in many countries. I guess everyone knew how important the sun was.

(AN: I hope you liked the conversation. There are many things both Adam and Yui are hiding from each other. But it is not out of distrust but a simple and basic reality that not all secrets need to be shared.)