Kirin could feel the forces inside her body roil and attempt to burst forth. When she stopped for just a second it felt as if she would almost slip into nothingness once again as the other 'her' threatened to break free and control her every thought and action.
It was something she was very unwilling to allow, all of this time she has been fighting since that day. Fighting with herself, her destiny, and those that threaten the people she has come to call her family. During the days as she awaited for her brother to return or send another message she delved into training herself with some of the tactics her brother imparted on her. Every time she made a breakthrough she would ask Qing to send a message to her brother for the next step. Obviously Kirin wasn't the only one training during this time. Everyone else was as well. Varick trained with Ji, Ruishi, and Xiezhi as Varick had the least amount of experience than the rest. This of course was to be expected as he came from a world where these things did not take place and magic was nonexistent. Due to this he also progressed quickly and became much more powerful, his goal was to be able to shield Kirin and not make her worry for him. Shou, Akane, Ze and Qing battled together to gain a change of feel for the difference in hand to hand vs a magic user. This also allowed them to train themselves further as well.
Everyday they headed back to the Inn covered in dirt, sweat, and bruises. This didn't dampen their spirits in the least, in fact it only lifted them up more as they felt they had made progress. The field they chose to practice was set up by Xiezhi, He used a sacred technique passed down in his ancient family to create an entire other world. Within this space it was made specifically to train the body and mind of those inside. It could provide all that one needed and boosted the level of difficulty as well.
Xiezhi guided everyone there as well as worked on his own fighting prowess, the knowledge he held when it came to techniques was absolutely astounding. The most shocking was how he knew certain things while guiding Varick as he was a unique variable in this realm.
In a nearby cave
Wei recovered from the intense pain he was in during this time while waiting for an opportunity to take Kirin away. The issue was when? Everyday the entire group would leave then disappear for the entire day and only return at night to rest. There was not a single moment for Kirin to be alone. He discovered that Varick and Kirin slept in the same room nightly, as he would guard Kirin with his life if need be. Although this made him unhappy knowing another man was touching and taking advantage of what should be his, he had to endure this for now as he believed she would be his sooner or later.
As he waited once again the next day, there was suddenly a loud explosion off in the area the group would often disappear at. Suddenly a rush of intense magic flooded the area outside of the protective shield. It instantly made anyone that was caught within the magic to cower and yield to whomever casted such a powerful spell. A figure emerged from the central prism of power, The slender yet undeniably goddess like form floated within the air like a celestial deity with her eyes closed and arms spread wide.
Due to the shock of her sudden appearance, Wei took a moment to come back to himself. He found his chance when everyone was being subdued by the strength of the spell. He swallowed a pill that would allow him to endure and took his chance.
He rushed forward and leaped in mid air while simultaneously casting another spell to teleport away from her once he caught ahold of her. As he wrapped his arm around Kirin they both vanished in front of everyone's gazes. For a long time nobody could speak due to the intense shock of the scene they had just witnessed.
"Ahhhh!!!" An ear piercing scream erupted, causing the dead silence to be broken at that moment. Everyone came out of their dazed expressions and abruptly turned towards the sound of half scream/half sobbing sounds.
Varick crumpled to the floor in that moment staring off into the distance of where he had last seen Kirin. Complete disbelief and shock was written across his face. The scream was sounded out from him and now he was on the floor mumbling and sobbing of how useless he felt at that moment. He promised to protect her, he promised to always be by her side… Now she was gone once again. It was as if no matter how much stronger he would get he was helpless to protect her.
Qing immediately communicated with her master about what had happened and how Varick was taking this latest blow to the group. She could understand how he was feeling at this moment being separated from her master for so long.
She understood why he had gone and there were things he told her to comfort her that she could not utter to anyone else however it seems that preparation didn't matter now. How was she going to salvage the situation to keep the group going? Jun told her no matter what Varick could not break down. He had to continue to train and get stronger and believe that he can protect and save Kirin at all costs or this world would vanish. But seeing the scene before her now… that, to her was now impossible. She was at a complete loss.
Xiezhi ran over to Varick and held him up as he rushed everyone into the Inn in order to further discuss the next plan. He knew he could not allow this group, especially Varick to deteriorate in their morale. It would be detrimental to every plan that was made.
The response Qing received from Jun shocked her at that moment...