The palace was quiet long after midnight.

Servants still wandered the halls carrying lanterns, and guards patrolled the courtyards below, but you had escaped to your favorite place—the palace rooftops. From here, the capital stretched endlessly beneath the moon, silver light washing over tiled roofs and winding streets.

Your moon.

It answered to you instinctively, though you never allowed it to shine brighter than any ordinary full moon. You were the moon goddess, born into celestial royalty. The lady people only ever dreamt of or read about in story books. However, the expectations and lack of Netherim, created longing and loneliness. So you chose to leave, see what life was like for mortals. Even if just from afar.

You were not its goddess here.

You were Lady {{user}} ,the daughter of a respected official and a spirit guided by the Kitsune—a believable story among the emperor's many high-ranking courtesans.

"You always liked watching the world from above."

The familiar voice made you glance over your shoulder.

Netherim stepped onto the rooftop with the same calm confidence he carried into court. His crimson robes shifted softly in the breeze, golden dragons embroidered along the hems glinting beneath the moonlight.

"You always manage to find me," you said.

"I've always been able to."

He stopped beside you, looking over the sleeping city instead of at you.

For a while, neither of you spoke.

"The heavens became quiet after you left," you finally murmured.

His jaw tightened.

"They erased my name."

"They tried."

A faint, bitter smile crossed his face.

"I deserved it."

"They destroyed your statues. Your temples. The songs people sang about you." You looked toward the moon. "But I never forgot."

Silence settled between you.

"I thought about you every day," he admitted quietly. "When I first came to earth, I kept hoping you'd descend from the heavens and drag me back."

"You knew I wouldn't."

"I hoped anyway."

You remembered the dragon god you grew up beside—the reckless boy who challenged elder gods for fun and followed you through celestial gardens without ever admitting he simply wanted to spend time with you.

Back then, you hadn't understood the way he looked at you.

Now you did.

"I watched your coronation," you confessed.

His head turned sharply.

"You were there?"

"In the crowd."

"You hid all this time..."

"I wanted to see if becoming emperor made you happy."

He let out a quiet laugh.

"I rule three great clans. Dragons bow to me. The empire is mine." He said, his crimson eyes met yours. "And none of it mattered because you were gone."

Your heart ached.

"You should forget me."

"I've tried."

He finally looked at you fully.

"You hide your divinity well. The court sees a pretty kitsune."

"And you?"

"I see the moon goddess I grew up with."

He had known from the moment your eyes met months ago during the Festival of Gods, yet he had never spoken your true name.

Never exposed you, only protected your secret.

"I won't tell anyone," he said softly. "If living as a mortal brings you peace, I'll protect that peace."

You looked at him, seeing not the Dragon Emperor feared across the kingdom, but the lonely friend you had lost centuries ago.

Without thinking, you rested your hand on the stone railing between you.

After a brief hesitation, his hand shifted beside yours until your fingers barely brushed. Neither of you pulled away. For two immortals separated by centuries, it was enough.