In a small room in the Zao City Medical facility, Hana was suspended in a white fluid. The Light Elemental Essence of her mother was good for the soul but it did little to mend her wounds. The backlash was a mystical effect, sometimes the damage was slight and the potions or treasures could heal them but certain damages were incapable of healing without other means. Kuzunoha stood there for hours on end.
Dissait had returned with the scouting party, there were some losses along the way. Standing next to the Elders in the situations room, he was being scolded by the Patriarch over the fallen team members.
"You had one job, Recon. How did you manage to be discovered?" Patriarch Ooran was pacing back and forth, trying to make sense of the sequence of events.
Dissait was not alone in the party this time, the others defended him. Guzhe had gone along this time and spoke up. "We scouted the area, after a while, we found the entrance to their secret plane. Its covered in a barrier. Once we had located it, we erased all sign of our arrival and hid our presence, we even stayed in the shadows." he shook his head and continued. "It didn't help, for two days we watched and then another figure came through, he was escorted by another. There were only about four seconds before out position was not only discovered but under attack."
Guzhe lowered his head once more, he voice trembled a little bit. "Jo'wei and Minden stayed behind to secure our exit but they were slaughtered like cattle. I was able to use the formation device in time, we escaped. I don't believe they can follow us but with their power, I wouldn't put it past them. Minden was turned into a fog and I didn't even see the attack."
"I've met Minden a few times, such a loss." Patriarch Ooran turned and paced some more. "Ready the Defensive Formations, it might be a worthless gesture but I want all our defenses ready. If the Ultinians have returned to this world, we have much to worry over."
"SIR! SO SAYS.." They were about to start chanting and Patriarch Ooran held his hand up.
"Don't, not right now. Go get your teams ready and await my order. Inform all teams outside of the sect to either return now or go into hiding. I will speak to the Dragon King and try to make contact with Vilagfa and the World Tree Vipers." Zao Ooran looked at a painting of his wife and family, the people he had spent the last twenty years cultivating into a strong force for their future, his face was grim. "GO NOW."
He passed through a set of doors and sat at a desk. Pulling a communication stone from his pocket, he unwrapped it and collected his thoughts. It was difficult for him, Zhan had left in such a way. Abandoning everything in the face of his failure to save Zao Xue, he had hidden in the branches of the World Tree with Khan Ni and lived like a wild beast. A Greater Dragon-Jiao Hybrid, half viper, in memory of his children and the pets who had given their lives to guard them, something Zhan was unable to do at the time. The Guardians of the World Tree, it became their nest and the home of their kin, the World Tree Foil Vipers.
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
A distorted message came across the transmission, Zao Ooran was attempting to reach out to Zao Zhan.
Zhan gave up the secular life, he turned to building his own kingdom, one where he had the strength to protect his children. There, under the World Tree, among its many branches, sat a city.
A Green City, filled with Elves.
The messenger who received the message hadn't expected the communication stone to light up, it had been more than a decade since the Humans decided to contact the World Tree and its tribes. "Vilfaga, Messenger Tohk. State your business."
The answer was something unexpected, an Elven voice came across the communication and it alerted the Patriarch to a startling conclusion. Zhan had abandoned his previous life, the Patriarch introduced himself and asked a few questions, soon, another communication stone broke. The Elves were in a fluster, unable to contain themselves. The World Tree Foil Vipers were quite disinterested in the meddling and politics of other cultures, they stuck to themselves, captivating the top most branches of the World Tree.
Zao Zhan and Khan Ni had left their possessions, including the communication stones with the Elves. Zhan had to have been nearby for the stone to have activated, this gave the Patriarch some sense of hope for his son. 'At least he still breathes.' "Anst, bring me another bag of communication stones. I need to contact our special teams in Greensong."
When his attendant returned with a pile of stones, Ooran contacted a few people beforehand. The Dragon King had created his own kingdom, given to him by the Emperor himself. There were a lot of things that the Patriarch didn't want to do and one of them was to involve people outside of the Sect. The Dragon King had left the sect long ago, he had matters of his own to attend to. Ooran was never the type to desire a debt, let alone ask for help. Stubborn, confident in his ability and family to pull through usually served to keep his spirits afloat. "Go down to main storage and get me some more stones, this may take a bit more." Anst quickly ran off, weary of the troubles that were happening, there was little cause to delay his action.
Patriarch Ooran grabbed the communication stone, it was time. It began to light up and a shaking rattled his desk.
'Wu Hai' Ooran got to his feet, he had only one person on his mind.
When he arrived in the Situation room, the guards were pinned against the walls. "What?!" It caught them all by surprise, they were expecting the Emperor.
Standing in front of them was a man in golden armor, a Cetus in his hands.
He slashed out toward the Patriarch who had appeared around the corner.
Ooran dodged and used a communication stone, it connected. "The Sect is under Attack." The stone broke immediately afterward, a beam of light penetrated Ooran's hand and burn marks seared the edges. Shards of crystal flew across the entryway and scattered across the floor.
The Man in Gold Armor walked forward, crunching across the crystal fragments.
"Found you." He pulled the Cetus back and stabbed the incoming Stealth Corp Lieutenant. Snickering, he made a hand gesture.
"Ahht. ah. Ahh, don't you dare. I'm going to savor this. I can feel it, I can feel my son's life force nearby." He flew into a rage and thrashed the soldiers in the room around, mental energy moved like invisible hands, throwing them around and creating a bloody mess.
He laughed again.
"I.." Ooran opened his mouth but the moment the syllable was made, the golden armored man grabbed Ooran by the cheeks and held him into the air by his jaw.
"You what?" the grin on the intruder became cruel in that instant. "Go on, say it." He shook Ooran by the face and slammed his head against the wall.
"I hope you're dumb enough to keep talking." He coughed a few times and spit blood on the Golden Armor. "%@#$_)S" A phrase came out of Ooran's mouth, a formation plate activated in the middle of the room and thirteen guards were pulled from random spaces. Some in more clothes than others, they turned and saw the scene.
Immediately they jumped into action.
A moment later a crash came into the courtyard, thirteen bodies were thrown out onto the lawn and pinned like sheep to be slaughtered. Pressed to the ground, a series of red hot energy blades fell from the sky, severing limbs from torso.
"Petty Tricks, rubbish. This realm has nothing to offer for opponents, so how did my Son die?" His tone got vicious, he dangled the Patriarch from the precipice.
Shouting, the man called out. "WHO KILLED MY SON!"
Golden light wrapped the Patriarch and his wounds began to heal over, his strength returned. Ooran felt the newfound energy and raised his hands, he struggled for a moment and found himself clasping his hands around the golden armor in front of him. He spit again in the face of his attacker and a cold air drifted in, Ooran dug his fingers into the Golden Armor. More than a hundred ice blades surrounded him, they seemed almost crystal clear and transparent. Patriarch Ooran fired them directly at his opponent's eyes ears and throat, looking for an opportunity to distract him.
Frost started to form on the Golden Plates and the Patriarch was turning into a sculpture. His movements slowed and he bore an expression of victory on his face.
"Tsk." The man let go, releasing Patriarch Ooran's body. "Self destruction? What a waste.." he was about to finish that statement but looked at his arm, it was solidifying. "Impossible!"
Shedding his armor as fast as he could, the blood in his body was slowly freezing. An Icy feeling crept to his heart and the Ultinian had some quick thinking to do, he pulled the Cetus from the dead officer and cut away the rest of his arm to his shoulder, tearing it away in time to have it shatter against the floor.
"Bastard." The Golden Armor did little to protect him from the Patriarch's attack. He held his shoulder in pain, never before had he suffered such a wound. In his hand, the mangled heap, cut by his own blade in a moment of desperation. "I will destroy this place and everyone in it!"
He jumped, breaking through to the next floor, then, he jumped to the rooftop. Debris crashed in his wake, among the debris, several soldiers saw his incoming attacks but were unable to respond in time. He was already enraged and there was little they could do but accept their fates.
At the top of the Castle, a pool of strange energy began to accumulate. A deep bronze colored energy, it grew brighter and began to boil the water in the air, steam rose from the grasses, wilting them. The great mass of energy was a source of compounding heat. Hotter and hotter it burned, the stones on the castle began to run red.
"Seventh Sun" The words escaped his mouth and he released his attack, it fell with the force of gravity and the intruder flashed away, teleporting back to the Wooden City.
He watched from a distance. "For my son.. and the shame you have caused me.. Die!" Closing his fist, he waited for the explosion.