A dark green expanse dotted with occasional flashes of brown. Sounds came from all directions, be they the buzzing of insects or the howling of stalking beasts. The air was wet and heavy, it clung to her skin and clothes like mud, each movement made her feel as if she was pushing through a quagmire. And then there was the smell. The scent of dense vegetation, rotting plants, mud that slowly swallowed everything that lingered.
"This… I wish I knew where this was…"
Zun Zhi swallowed down a lungful of heavy air, doing her best to withstand the assault on her senses. She had just gotten through the spatial array that the doctor had prepared for her so she should be relatively close to Big Brother Chen. But other than the fact that this was supposedly on the fringes of something known as the Heaven and Hell Dominion, she had no clue where it was.
"Brother…"
She toyed with the ring on her finger as she muttered, the soft blue colour serving as a brief respite from the suffocating wilderness around her. Truthfully, she was scared. She wanted to cry, she wanted to run, she wanted to hide.
She'd never been this far away from her twin brother, and never before had they been separated for as long as they would now. She wasn't used to being alone, and she was even less used to acting alone.
But Zun Zhao was acting strange, he was slowly heading to a place she couldn't follow him. She had to stop him before he went that far, before he fell that deep. But she couldn't. Gods, how she wished that she could. But she was too weak so he wouldn't listen to her, her hand would never reach him.
"Big Brother Chen… Please."
Their Young Master was dead, their city was ruined, their home was gone. There was only one person left that she could rely on now, only one place where she could rest her hopes.
Zun Zhao still recited some of Big Brother Chen's sayings to this day, the wounded youth that had marched into their lives for that short period of time had left a huge impact on them. If it was him… Surely he could save her brother before it became too late, right? He would drag him out of the darkness and show him that all those killings weren't right, he would show him a better path. He had to, right?
"…I don't have the time to sit around like this, I need to find out where Big Brother is."
The breath that left her lips was heavier than it was when it entered her lungs, the very land itself here seemed to pull at it with all its might. Her throat was cold, but it was one the inside, a dark chill that crept up from the depths of her chest. Afraid, she was afraid. But she had to move.
She quickly scoured the ring that the doctor had given her, she needed to know what she had on hand. The first thing was obviously her own bag, containing enough water for five days and food for three, it was what she had managed to quickly gather up as she prepared to leave. Then there were the contents of the ring.
"Food… Water… Weapons?… And a ring."
Food for two weeks and water for three, a bow with some arrows, two small daggers, and some simple clothes so that she wouldn't have to constantly wear the same thing. And then there was the final item, a simple silver ring covered in sharp triangular carvings. At a glance it looked similar to the ring that Big Brother Chen had gifted them, the ruby ring that her brother had used to protect them shortly after their Young Master died. But the carvings were different so she couldn't tell what sort of use the ring had. She could only hope that it would be as defensive as the one that Big Brother gave them.
"Okay. Now it's time to move."
She carefully traced the ring as she mustered up her courage, another heavy breath sinking into her lungs like smoke. The wilderness was dense and heavy, and she was small and fragile. But she had to move, so she had to brave the darkness. And so, the young girl moved.
——
The spatial array that led to the Rahu universe wasn't one that was publicly available. It had been quite some time, but there were still many who remembered the Sebettu's merciless conquest in ages past, those who lost family to them still lived even to this day. So the array was hidden, tucked away in a place so safe that none would dare to even think about using it to launch an attack.
And in this universe, there was only one place that fit that description. The land of the one who decided to protect the Sebettu in the first place, the undisputed king of this universe. The headquarters of the Nine Star Demon God.
Well, calling it a headquarters was probably a bit too grand. Was it due to the personality of the Nine Star Demon God? The spot itself was excessively plain. A simple city, simple buildings. A few smaller lakes, basically ponds, scattered about in a haphazard manner, weeping willows lining each one while small lilies stretched up from the bottom.
The land around the city was pleasantly green, hills and meadows covered in colourful flowers stretching out as far as the eye could see. But the city itself was covered by a thin layer of snow, soft petals constantly falling despite the clear blue sky that greeted them from above.
The ruler was a demon, nay, a god of demons. He was an entity that could rule several universes without anyone challenging his dignity, he commanded beings that served as the progenitors of entire lineages. But his home… it was so peaceful. It was quiet and calm, normal to the point of boring.
The people that filled the streets, over two-thirds of them were just normal people who had yet to even cultivate. They ran shops, they grilled meat for their stalls, they made clothes that they put up for sale. It was normal, it was all just normal. Liang Chen had seen sects that wouldn't even reach the Demon God's toes that made themselves look greater than this, more extravagant, more boisterous.
"Paparan, it's not cold! Look, look, touch it!"
A loud voice cut through the quiet calm that descended with the snow, Lan Yun running about the streets. She left small marks in the snow with each step, occasionally stepping back to widen her own footprints. She scooped up a handful of the snow with her bare hands and pushed it towards Liang Chen, hoisting her arms above her head while tiptoeing so that she could get it as close to his face as possible.
She was loud, but it was gentle. A man, a woman, and their three children. Well, calling them children was perhaps a bit of a stretch. One was a winged snake, one was a humanoid Elemental Lotus that looked like a girl close to her twenties, only the last one looked like a child. But then again, that child hatched from an egg and was also some type of Demonic beast so perhaps that description wasn't apt there either.
But well, it was peaceful and calming so he was able to splendidly ignore those things. He picked up Lan Yun and spun her around over his head, seating her on his shoulders. Sadly, this little one was heavily tainted by Yan Ling so all the snow she was holding was swiftly dumped onto Liang Chen's head and rubbed into his hair.
"Oh, you weren't kidding, it really isn't cold."
The melting snow crept its way down his neck, but it really wasn't cold. It felt like a pleasant shower, a slight tinge of warmth that gently caressed his skin. Liang Chen was just about to shake his head to toss away the remaining snow when a hand reached into his hair, combing through it and gently removing the warm snow.
"Come on now, your dad's hair is already so pale and colourless that it doesn't need a touch of white, it already looks dead enough."
Yan Ling's voice was accompanied by a soft chuckle, her hand swiftly but gently cleaning his hair until not a trace of snow was left. It could have been easily done with just a bit of wind, but neither of them felt the need to point that out. For a second, just a single second, Liang Chen felt like smiling. But then he saw the corners of Yan Ling's lips curve ever so slightly.
"His face however, could definitely stand to look a few shades paler."
Her hands moved as quickly as her mouth, the snow quickly forced against his face as she rubbed it in. The taste made its way into his mouth, warm water running down his throat. The sensation of snow against his face wasn't exactly unpleasant since it wasn't cold for once, but with her taking the first move how could he possibly let himself fall behind?
"Fine, I'll be childish with you."
His foot quickly moved, kicking up the snow beneath him and launching it directly at Yan Ling's head. He didn't use any wind to control its trajectory so most of it missed her, only a bit less than half actually hitting her, her chest at that. It was terrible aim, and it was terribly childish. But they had fun, they had peace, so they indulged.
They played in a manner most would find unbefitting, dragging in the three children as they frolicked in the snow. It was peaceful and it was calm. In other places, he was the Scourge King, and he brought death with every step. But here, here they could have some semblance of peace.
"Ah, I guess that's why."
A mutter escaped his lips. He felt like he understood why the Nine Star Demon God made his home a place like this. In the future, once things were done, if he was still around, it would be nice if he could have something like this as well.
"I greet the esteemed Crown Prince and his future wife."
Ah, but before that time could come, there were things in the present for them to deal with. The twinkling of joy in Liang Chen's eyes died down as he turned his head to observe the woman who just called out to him.
Short silver hair, pale grey eyes, tanned skin, a figure covered by a vibrant grey robe. Her waist was slightly bent and her gaze lowered to just below Liang Chen's eyes. He could tell without being told. A Sebettu. They weren't too far from the spatial array so they had probably come to pick him up, to ensure that he actually stayed true to his words. It was a bit… annoying. But he had still given his word, so he would keep it, taking Yan Ling's hand in his own.
"Alright, lead the way."