Editing The Southern Expedition (section)

==19th Day of Descending Fire: The End and the Beginning==

The door opened.

"It is finished."

Li Jin coughed a laugh.  "They will never bow to you, never compromise.  They are..."

"Your loyalty is sorcerous, and will be broken through like means.  Listen, do not speak."

He closed his mouth.

"Do not worry; you will return to your homeland in due time, and your allies will be at your side.  Though they cast aside their tools, I will redeem them and return them, stronger than ever."

The door closed.  The darkness was complete.  Li Jin shrank back from the bars and huddled in the corner, clutching his knees to his chest.  To the darkness he coughed again through cracked lips, and his coughing turned into hysterical giggles.  "You may break me, but I am not afraid.  Today they've beaten you, no matter how you console yourself with this petty vengeance.  They will save me!"

Three days later, a rat carcass was thrown into the cage.  In a handful of seconds it disappeared, and with the strength it gave him he whispered, "They will save me..."

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[[Heaven's Mandate]]