Qingchi was blazing, her body heat was able to turn the Tower City purple stone red. Everyone besides the Emperor, Kuzunoha and Ho were quickly driven from the room.
Vira put up a protective shield. "How is she so powerful!?"
Tapestries that hung on the walls burst into flames.
"She's human so why? And more importantly, how is she this strong!?" Vira's shield fluctuated, Prince Tero stood next to her and helped reinforce it.
Tero's energy output was not less than Hanahaksu, but his understanding of his mother's shield designs were well above her own. Several more layers were quickly thrown up with chanting, he spread his wings and planted the bones into the ground, pinning his body to the stonework below. "Does it matter fight this minute. We can figure that out later!"
Vibrations shook the Pagoda, Qu's avatar appeared in the courtyard. "This heat is really too much. What has happened to Ying Qingchi?"
"Qu, Containment Protocol 9." Wu Hai called out from inside.
"Yes, Master." Qu's avatar vanished, all of the avatars in Tower City vanished, appearing as one.
Qu's spiritual body was flickering with his movements. Like afterimages, he wove signs in his hands until a gentle accumulation of green light filled Tower City and its surroundings.
"Master. Ten minutes, Its all I can buy." Qu's spirit vanished, scattered. Sacrificing one of his avatars was not impossible but it was harmful to his core, those slivers of his soul would never recover.
"What is my Father doing?" Tero watched as Qu's spirit forever vanished from the City. Tero pulled out the Tower City Token, it crumbled to ash.
"He's saving her." Ying Ho knew the costs, his throat was too dry to swallow. Qingchi's survival mean more to him than anything else. He had been forced to flee, Qingchi's flames were too outstanding. "Qu is not gone, his spirit is still inside the Pagoda Tower in the Emperor's possession."
Tero dared not second guess his Master and Mentor, he swallowed a healing potion and passed onto to Ho. "Master. Your arm."
Ho smashed the bottle in his hands and smeared it across his forearm, the burn scars vanished.
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
Time was running short. Inside of the Pagoda, the heat was rising to an unbearable state and everything that wasn't made of the purple stone was being scalded like it was sitting in a crucible. The braziers for offerings to Gods were not nearly as hot.
The purple stone ran white with heat.
Qingchi screamed, her body pulsed waves of fire.
"Qingchi, control your breathing and circulate your energies. They are going wild." Wu Hai was having trouble with the fire, his clothes were burned to ash long ago. Thankfully he had learned long ago how to create his own clothes from spiritual manifestation. The spirit robes did nothing to stop the heat from a seven colored flame. The Whitefire protected his body to some degree but the seven colored flames were something more.
She screamed again, her body twisted and her eyes went blank. Qingchi poured out elemental essence like sweat from her skin. It vaporized into clouds of different colors, spreading within the Pagoda.
The clouds grew thick, eroding the shields of the pagoda, drifting into the courtyard.
"What is happening!?" Some of the Truthers who had been in the rear saw the clouds.
"I think something is happening inside." Her friend was still hiding behind a pillar to shield herself from the heat.
"No shit, something's happening but what?" Their argument was cut short by the next incoming wave of flames that washed out of the pagoda like a flood.
The Truthers, even the weakest of them, had managed to escape into the air and flew out of Tower City. The flames seemed confined to the City, so many treasures began to atomize.
"QINGCHI!" Wu Hai was fighting the push from the inferno.
'Wu-aah, Wu-aah, Wu-aah,Wu-aah, aah-aah!' Qingchi Screamed and began to heave while she did her best to control her breathing.
She was heaving, oxygen was flooding her body, her energy levels were spiking and she chose to push.
"Ughhaaah" Her heart burst into flames in that instant.
"Fire consumed her body, get back." Wu Hai pushed Kuzunoha out of the way, she landed behind a pillar. It shielded her from the incoming wave. "Qing-chi!" He screamed, it was like trying to yell over a roar in the storm.
Her body turned to ash and winds were still pushing at Wu Hai's body. "QINGCHI!" Wu Hai stretched out his hand but when he touched her, she began to crumble into embers.
Below where she stood, a Child.
The wind was still blowing, it grew more intense. The ashes turned to fire, turned to plasma, turned to something he couldn't understand. It rose into the air behind the baby.
The Baby screamed, Wu Hai grabbed it and ran behind the pillar.
The waves of fire grew more intense.
'Why?' Wu Hai held the small boy in his hands. 'Qingchi!' He tried to look back but the light was so bright it nearly blinded him to see.
There was a figure standing there, It was a hot white, too difficult to lay eyes upon.
It was like time had slowed, Wu Hai called out. "QING-CHI!!"
The white light grew brighter, so intense that the Emperor was forced to look away.
A noise, a Voice carried across the light that penetrated the closed eyes of everyone nearby. The City itself was impossible to stare at, those outside were either blinded or forced to look away in that instant. "I moved the Heavens.. My.. Child.. Mother loves you.." Her image faded and the light collapsed.
Blind or not, everyone could tell that the scene had ended.
"Qingchi... Qingchi!" Ying Ho rushed through the shields when the fire had gone.
When he came inside, he heard the screams of the baby. He looked around, Qingchi was no where to be seen. "Qingchi! Qingchi!"
Ho yelled but no one answered, Wu Hai was crying while holding the baby. "What happened! Where's Qingchi.. QINGCHI!" He yelled out again at the end, unable to accept her disappearance.
"she's gone." Wu Hai said with a sore throat.
Ying Ho didn't hear him properly, or the sentence didn't register, he repeated himself. "QINGCHI!!" Ho was on his knees and tears were streaming down his face. "SHE'S GONE?"
"I don't know. There was a flash, her last words were.." Wu Hai explained and his brother began to break down further. "Your son."
Wu Hai had wrapped him in a cloak, he passed him over.
Ho sniffed hard and wiped his face before taking him into his arms. "My son.." It was hard to keep himself calm, there was a lot to process.
"Find out what happened." Clearing his face once again while he spoke to anyone that was listening, his attentions were elsewhere. Ying Ho stood up and walked to where Qingchi had been.
Burn marks covered the floor and even the ashes had gone. The stonework would never be the same, it had fused in such a way.
"Beloved.. I swear it, if you live, I will find you." Ying Ho looked down at his newborn son.
The baby cried.
"Wu." Ying Ho's eyes trembled and he knelt down, crying.
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
About three days had passed since the group had returned to Shiyan, and now, there had been an incident. Whether she had found some path to power or her way into the Afterlife during her struggle, the fact was, no one knew. All they had was speculation and sorrow.
Ying Ho stood in front of the Truthers still present, he was wearing a new set of clothes and his son was in his arms as he took the stage. "My son, Ying Wu." A Projection of him played over Tower City and across its shield, those outside the City could easily see the happenings from a great distance. "The Matriarch has disappeared, we do not know where." He had considered closing the discussion with that but he felt that it would leave far too many questions and rumor. "Something has happened to her, we do not know. When we last saw her, there was no grief in her eyes. She may return, again, we do not know." The truthers could tell quite easily if he had chosen to conceal anything, no matter if it was a recruit or a veteran among them, all knelt with her in mind.
Qingchi was more than just the Matriarch, she was a spiritual advisor and mentor to many.
There was no memorial, there simply wasn't a reason to consider her dead just yet. Still, Ying Ho's mood was a dark one. He was furious, the medicines had been collected perfectly, then prepared without so much as a hiccup. Everything should have been textbook, no errors should have come to pass and yet, sitting in the nursery beside his child, he was in anguish.
'Qingchi.. I hope you're okay, wherever you are.' He spent time working on his mood and watching Wu sleep.
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
"What?" Hanahaksu put down her teacup. She got her feet slowly and made her way to the Teleportation Steele. Placing her hand upon it, she heard the array spirit's voice. "Where would you like to go, Crimson Queen."
There were no restrictions on the Royal Family, they could go to any of the placements without reservation. They could even the land of the Gods, though it would unavailable to people who didn't make the strength requirements, easily measured by the soul and strength of the individual.
"Demon Region, Tower City." She closed her eyes and opened them to the courtyard.
Her parents were standing next to Ying Ho and her Grandparents. "Where's Qingchi?" They were the first words from her mouth but it brought a sour mood to everyone present. "What happened?"
Calistown took Hana for a walk and explained everything that had happened.
When she heard the news, she smashed a wall with her fist. "But, a son." Hanahaksu looked down at her own belly. "Grandmother.." She hung on her words.
"I don't know what happened fully, for all we know she's fine but out of our reach." Calistown led her back to the group. "You need to confront your father, he's only just found out."
"So, he already knew before I arrived.. I see." She held her stomach and came before him.
"I leave for no time at all and I come back, you're pregnant.." Wu Hai was giving her a hard time, he was somewhat concerned about the birth and the father but any child of the Zao Family was extremely important to him. "I hope the father isn't a bastard, will you marry or not?"
"Marry? Why? I have all the power." Hanahaksu flexed and giggled.
Shaking his head, the Emperor didn't know what to think. "You're my only daughter, I would have thought you to Marry, but."
"I don't need one, I could have a hundred if I so choose." She cringed while she laughed. "Okay.. maybe a little less laughter."
Sitting down she felt cramping. "No.no.no." She did her best to collect her breathing. Hanahaksu was not going into labor but laughing caused some discomfort. "The Baby isn't coming today.. not today."
"How long until you're due?" Kuzunoha came over. "You were early too, I wouldn't put it past you to be ready before we're set to leave."
"Ugh.. don't jinx me. So.. Where's my cousin? Where's he at?" Hana walked over to Ho and saw the baby. There was a prominent aura radiating from his body. "He's a powerful one.." She stretched her fingers out and brushed at his nose. "So, what did you name him?"
"I named him after my Brother, your father. Ying Wu." Ying Ho passed Baby Wu over to Hana. "You look like you wanna hold him."
Ho stretched his arms and made his way to the Table to sit. There was a fresh pot of tea and several types of sweets present, he grabbed a few to chew on and then swallowed the tea in a single sip. "I will find her." Speaking under his breath and to the table, Ho set the cup down and grit his teeth.
"I'm sure you will Brother." Tiancho, Wang and Han and Marcus made their way into the City. "Father gave us a call."
Ooran scratched his head and ignored the blame.
"Its good to see you." Ho exchanged greetings with his twins, though, he looked much younger in comparison. "I can't believe I am gonna look like that." He grabbed Tiancho's face, he had been getting fat.
"Quit it Brother." He sighed, "I heard about Qingchi. If you figure anything out and need our help." He stopped himself there, the others of the Quartet nodded their heads.
"Seven colored flames.. I don't know what happened but even saying it aloud sounds mystical and anything that powerful is .. well, its going to be powerful." Ho waved the distraction off and got down to business. "I don't understand it. That power, where could it have come from?"
Wang flashed away and studied the burn scar on the floor in the Tower.
Han spread his wings and flew toward the Pagoda. "I'll tell you as soon as we know."
"Brother, you need to call Luitian and her mother, they deserve to know and I believe Luitian can help." Tiancho squeezed his expression into discontent.
"No. You're right. I'll do that now." It had only just happened, though there had been a crude assembly after Ying Wu's birth, Ho had little time to think of anything else. Standing once again Ho found himself walking toward the Pagoda slowly with a communication stone in his hand.
Hana was rocking Baby Wu back and forth, she saw Ho disappear into the Pagoda. "Is he going to be okay?" She bounced Wu gently and cringed at her pain, it was something she had to get use to in the future so she bore down against the discomfort and smiled for the Baby.
Calistown sighed when she sat down for some tea. "I don't know."