Cross and Yun Che arrived at a city, Yun Che said "Woow.. This city is bigger than the Divine Phoenix City!" Cross chuckled and said "By 3 times around." Yun Che let out a breath and shook his head.
Yun Che looked over and gasped, he slapped Cross a bunch and said "Look! Look!" Cross looked over and saw a girl with pointy ears, he was startled and said "Eh?" Jasmine said "Another Elf!" Cross retorted "Luna is an Elf too." Jasmine said "She doesn't count, you made her an Elf..." her voice stopped for a second before turning cold as she added "Which I heard was extremely dangerous and you almost died because of by the way!"
Cross coughed and said "Anyway, another Elf! That's rare!" Jasmine snorted and said "Also, I always wondered.. Why don't you use a bow? Aren't Elves amazing marksmen?" Cross waved and said "Bows aren't domineering. A mace is much better!"
Yun Che and Jasmine were stunned by the reply and their faces gained black lines, Cross made a bow with his strings and pulled the bow, 1 arrow appeared. Cross chuckled and said "Watch this~" as he closed his eyes and spun in a circle, before letting the arrow loose.
The arrow flew through the air like a bullet and curved, going through each of the 3 hooded figures' heads. Cross cheered and said "T-T-T-Triple Kill!" Yun Che clapped and said "9/10 not enough pizazz." Cross scoffed and said "What pizazz?! I just killed 3 people with a single arrow! Are you not entertained!?"
Yun Che chuckled and shrugged, the duo of young man and the little elf girl walked over and bowed saying "Thank you sen-" Cross slapped the guy and said "Oi! How old do I look to you?! Are you cursing me to live a short life?!" The young man was stunned and the girl gasped as she said "Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-You! You're an Elf too!"
Cross pinched the girl's ears as he spoke in Elven "You little girl are you blind? Tell me the truth." the girl said in Elven "Ah! Big brother ah! It hurts!" before gasping and saying normally "I didn't know I could do that!"
Cross tilted his head and let her go as he said "You girl.. You can't speak Elven? What kind of Elves are these? Let me see your blood." the girl looked to be in a tough position and the young man said "Sen- Sir. My name is Yun Xiao thank you for saving me and Seventh Sister."
Cross looked at Yun Che and said "Yun Xiao?" Yun Che shrugged and Yun Xiao nodded. Cross chuckled and said "I think your real name is Xiao Yun... Oh looked someone's coming." Yun Che's eyes widened and he grabbed Yun Xiao saying "Who are you?!" and shaking him silly.
A man with pointy ears landed and said "Ha! What are you shaking him for!?" Cross slapped his forehead and said "This is getting chaotic... You there! Older Elf man! Where are the rest of the Elves in this Realm? Why can't you speak Elven? Where did you come from?"
The older Elf looked at Cross and said "Another Elf?! Who are you?! What have you done to my cute little sister!" Cross' blood boiled in a nameless rage and he slapped him shouting "KNOW YOUR PLACE!" before coughing and looking confused.
Everyone stopped and looked at Cross, who twitched his ears and went silent. Jasmine, Luna, and Feng Xue'er's voices sounded from his necklace "Are you okay?" Cross too a deep breath, calming his blood down as he replied "I'm fine."
He looked at the older boy and said indifferently "Answer me... Now." his tone was very scary and the little elf girl pulled at Cross' clothes gently as she said "Uwu... Savior, please forgive my brother..." Cross rubbed his face and turned around, walking into the city and ignoring them.
He might just kill that guy if he stayed any longer, he needed to calm down.
Yun Che watched him go with a serious face, he heard Jasmine's voice say "I think you should go after him. He.. He's very angry, I can feel it." Yun Che replied "Angry?" Jasmine replied, unsure, "I think... It has something to do with Elf ranks... I'm not sure but I think Cross is special, like a King or Prince. A lower rank Elf just talked back to him, that's a big no-no in Elf culture."
Yun Che looked at Yun Xiao and thought for a moment before dragging him along as he went after Cross. The elf girl looked at her brother and said "Why are you so rude!" she turned around and shouted "Brother Yun! WAIT!" before chasing after him.
The older Elf man was on the ground groaning, he had been abandoned.
Yun Che caught up with Cross and said "Are you alright? What happened?" the elf girl had caught up and looked at Yun Xiao, who was being dragged on the ground like a sack of potatoes, with a wry smile.
Then she heard Cross' words and was stunned. Cross said "People in my previous Realm called me 'Elven Prince' or 'Elven King'. Usually I don't have a problem with people talking back to me, but this time my blood boiled in rage and I couldn't stop myself."
Cross looked up and sighed "So troublesome..." Yun Che asked in confusion "There are ranks in the Elf race?" Cross nodded and said "There are different races as well. For example, I'm a Blood Elf. The Last Blood Elf, if you will. That little girl.. I need to see her blood first."
The little girl said "Here you go." as she dripped a drop of blood, Cross waved and the blood floated to him, he looked at the light green drop of blood with red tints and said "Hmm... She is what I could call an Impure Forest Elf. Your ancestor was probably a Forest Elf and come to this Realm, either by accident or was forced."
Cross chuckled and said "He didn't abandon the Tree of Life." Yun Che asked "How do you know?" Cross snickered and said "Because, once you betray the Tree of Life... You don't live long enough to talk about it. There has only been one person to betray the Tree and survive..."
The little girl asked "Who?" Cross shook his head and changed the subject "Anyway, Forest Elves were mostly Commoner Elves. Like normal people that live in cities." Yun Che asked "What about Blood Elves?"
Cross sighed and said "We were the defenders of the Tree of Life, as far as I know... I'm the only one left. The rest died to protect the Tree." Yun Che fell silent and the little girl asked "What happened?!" Cross shrugged and said "I don't know. I don't even know where the Tree of Life is."
He stopped talking about it and said "What is the name of the Realm, little girl?" The little girl said "Illusory Demon Realm" Cross chuckled and said "I thought so." he looked at Yun Che, who was shell shocked and said "So were going to the Yun Family I guess?"
Yun Che nodded seriously and said "Yun Xiao, where is your family?" as he straightened him out to his feet. Yun Xiao said "Let me lead the way!"
Cross, Yun Che, and the little girl followed him to the Yun Family manor.
They arrived at the Yun Family manor and a man and woman hugged Yun Xiao saying "Thank god your safe!" Yun Xiao said "Mom..." Yun Che stiffened and Cross chuckled as he walked into the manor, looking around at all the sights, pretty nice place!
Cross was standing around, when a middle aged man said "Who are you? A friend of Xiao'er?" Cross chuckled and said "You're the father of Yun Xiao?" the man nodded and said "Yes." Cross smiled and said "I'm brothers with one of your sons, but not Yun Xiao."
The man stiffened and said coldly "What are you talking about." Cross pointed at Yun Che and said "You don't recognize your own son? Come now... How about your father?" as he waved and Yun Canghai walked out saying "Eh? I was just going to- Qinghong!"
Yun Qinghong froze and mumbled "D-Dad..." before hugging him. Cross chuckled and waved again, Xiao Lie came out and said "Brother Canghai, where is this place?" Canghai patted Xiao Lie's shoulder and said happily "Welcome to the Illusory Demon Realm!"
Yun Qinghong said with tears in his eyes "Little Xiao, Yurou! Come here..." he looked at Yun Che, who had an anxious expression on his face, Yun Qinghong walked over and smiled as he said "Che'er..." Yun Che trembled and tears pooled in his eyes as his fists tightened.
Qinghong hugged Yun Che and said emotionally "I'm sorry." Yun Che hugged him back and cried as he said "Father!" Mu Yurou froze and stuttered "C-Che'er!?"
Cross pulled Yun Xiao to Xiao Lie and said "He's Xiao Yun." Xiao Lie said "Y-You look just like your father..." hugging him as well. Cross looked at everyone hugging and spat before sitting on the side, closing his eyes and mediating on the 'Great Way of the Buddha'.
He had no interest in watching family reunions. He didn't need to be reminded of parents he didn't have. Marcus and Alyssa were great but they weren't his real parents. He sighed and forced the thoughts out of his head.
Jasmin watched him from the Pearl with a sad expression, Luna and Feng Xue'er were the same. All the girls sighed and went to work harder, intending to be his new family. They couldn't replace parents, but they would try their best to make him happy!
A while later
Cross was sitting on the roof with his legs crossed, staring out into the city with a blank expression. Did he have parents? Were they even alive? He looked down at his hands and clenched them before releasing them.
How did he get to his original world? He only remembered waking up on the streets at 10 years old...
He looked up at the stars and stared wordlessly, was he abandoned? or was he sent away to be protected. It it's the latter, why did the Tree call him back to save it? If it's the former then why did he even he inherited memories?
Cross sat by himself and muttered "What's the purpose of my life..." his voice was as soft as a whisper but it could be heard for miles clearly. He looked into the distance and entered a daze. Thinking about the Great Way.
What was he in the grand scheme of the world? What was his purpose? Did he even have one? What is he? His eyes glazed over and he mumbled "My own way is the Great Way, it's path is my path..."
Jasmine appeared in front of him with a shocked expression! A giant golden whirlpool appeared over Cross' head, a golden pagoda appeared and it got brighter and brighter until it was as bright and blinding as the sun!
The pagoda sank back down, going into the eye of the whirlpool. The whirlpool shrank and encased the Pagoda before sinking inside it, turning the pagoda slowly as it entered Cross' body again. Cross muttered "Nothing matters, my path is my path. Anyone who attempts to stop my path will fall at my feet..."
His body lit up with a golden light before dimming. He blinked and let out a black breath of air, his body swelled before contracting again, expelling another bout of grey smoke. He 'woke up' and saw Jasmine staring at him in astonishment, he smiled gently as he said "Jasmine..."
Jasmine muttered "You're incredible, you know that?" Cross smiled warmly and looked into her eyes, before hugging her as he said "Thank you..." Jasmine was confused and said "For what?" Cross replied softly "For being with me." Jasmine swallowed back her words and didn't say anything, her heart felt sweet and she melted into his embrace.
Cross waved and a crack opened, Luna and Feng Xue'er walked out. Cross pulled them in and said softly "All of you... Jasmine, Luna, Xue'er... Thank you.." he looked up and sighed with a smile as he finished "Thank you for being my family."
All the girls felt their hearts throb and they curled up in his embrace, wordlessly. Cross smiled warmly and laid on his back, looking up at the starry sky and feeling blessed and happy.
Another crack opened and Zephyr and Pandora fell out, Cross looked over and smiled. Zephyr scratched his neck and said "Uhh... So..." Cross clicked his tongue and said "Shut up. Come here." Pandora and Zephyr jumped on the 4 and giggled.
Pandora said "Waaah! Now we'll never have cookies..." Zephyr laughed slyly and said "I remember dad saying 'If you have 2 moms, you won't get cookies'" he imitated Cross' voice and chuckled.
Cross coughed, feeling 3 pairs of eyes on him. He closed his eyes and replied shamelessly "Naturally 2 moms gets you no cookies, but 3 moms gets you double!" Pandora clapped and said "What about 4?!" Cross coughed harshly, feeling 3 pinches to his waist, before saying "4 moms and you might not have a dad anymore..."
Zephyr, Pandora, Luna, Jasmine, and Feng Xue'er all laughed and Cross smiled happily, hoping these fun times would last forever. He rested his head on the roof and stared at the stars, letting out a satisfied sigh.