Darian sat at Sunset View, his legs dangling over the edge, watching as the sun dipped below the horizon. For a single moment, the world hung in twilight. It hovered between day and night, before night ultimately prevailed and the sky darkened further. It too would end, however, when dawn arrived and day prevailed.
Dusk and dawn.
A small table stood beside him, with a tea pot and a cup atop it. Darian brought the table out a few days ago, for the sake of convenience, and he never brought it back inside. Since the weather remained the same inside his secret realm, he didn't have to worry about it too much.
As he sat there, observing as day changed to night, Darian's thoughts wandered back to the situation with Clan Stone Pillar and the Pit Viper Sect. In the week since Astra had brought up the mortals affected by the conflict between the two powers, it had never left his mind. He pushed them aside when he was busy with something, usually cultivation, training, or his lessons, but they always came back.
While he didn't think he was the key to changing the course of the conflict between Clan Stone Pillar and the Pit Viper Sect, he knew that his decision would have an effect. His actions would decide the course of lives other than his own. It was a terrifying prospect for someone who only had to care about himself, his family, and his friends until recently.
There was also Lucius to consider. While his father, Dominic, was no longer pushing for his son to marry Willow Stone Pillar, that didn't mean that the marriage wasn't on Lucius' mind. Darian's friend had an overdeveloped sense of duty, and would sacrifice his personal happiness for Clan Wind Dance's benefit. Darian wouldn't, he had said as much, but his friend would.
A pair of hands covered Darian's eyes, interrupting his thoughts.
"Guess who," a feminine voice whispered in his ear.
A smile stretched across his lips.
"Hello, lover," he said, grabbing the hands and pulling them away from his eyes.
Ellen stepped into view, a smile on her face. She carried a pair of cushions in her hands.
"I love it when you call me that," she said with a shiver. "Sometimes I think I'm dreaming, and I keep waiting to wake up."
She dropped the cushions on the ground and gestured for Darian to scoot back. He did, pulling his legs away from the edge. Once there was enough room for her, Ellen settled herself on his lap. She leaned back against him, and watched the horizon with him. He wrapped his arms around Ellen and just held her.
They remained like this for several minutes, with neither of them saying a word. The sun disappeared altogether, leaving them in darkness. Yellow lights flickered to life from behind them.
The thoughts that had plagued Darian quieted themselves, until they were little more than murmurs in the back of his mind. They didn't disappear, however.
"What's wrong?" Ellen asked in a quiet voice. "You've been sitting here, in Darian's Brooding Corner, for almost an hour now."
"'Darian's Brooding Corner?'" Darian asked, incredulous.
"That's what everyone is starting to call this spot, since you spend a lot of time brooding here, like some hero from a tragic play."
Darian started to laugh.
"I've been calling it Sunset View, at least in my head," he said. "Since it's the best place to watch the sunset."
"That is a much better name," Ellen said. "You should probably let everyone know, or they're going to keep calling it Darian's Brooding Corner. Pretty soon, it will be too late and that name will stick instead."
"I'll keep that in mind."
He made a mental note to do as she advised, since he really didn't want it to be called Darian's Brooding Corner.
"What is bothering you?" Ellen asked. "Your face gets this little pinched look when you're…brooding."
Darian snorted out a laugh, before his mood dampened again.
"Clan Stone Pillar and the Pit Viper Sect."
"Ah, that. Want to talk about it? It might help to say things aloud."
Darian didn't respond right away. He was afraid of where this conversation would go, and he didn't want to lose Ellen. They had only known each other for a few months, on his end at least, and they had only been together for a little over a week. Yet, despite that, in that short amount of time, she had become one of the most important people in his life. His feelings for her had grown in intensity, almost coming out of nowhere.
No, that wasn't right. His feelings for her had been like a pond. However, when he glimpsed beneath the surface, the pond had turned out to be an underground lake, revealing hidden depths.
Losing Ellen scared Darian more than anything, including even the prospect of being responsible for the lives of others. Selfish, to be sure, but still true.
"People are suffering," Darian said after a long silence. "Mortals, who have no way to defend themselves against the Pit Viper Sect. I have a chance to help them, but in doing so, I would have to marry a stranger and sacrifice my personal happiness." He didn't explain what he meant by that. It was obvious to them both. "I don't want to do that. As selfish as that sounds, I don't want to marry Willow Stone Pillar."
"Yet you can't stand idly by while people are suffering," Ellen stated.
Darian nodded. His hold on her tightened.
"I can't fix everything that is wrong with this world," he said. "Nor should I. I would drive myself insane trying. However, I have a chance to help fix this one thing." He buried his head in her shoulder. "What do you think? This decision isn't mine alone. It will affect you too."
Ellen took a moment before responding.
"I'm not sure I'm the right person to ask this, Young Master."
"Darian," he said, interrupting her. "When we're alone like this, just call me Darian."
Darian felt her cheeks lift in a smile.
"I'm not sure I'm the right person to ask this, Darian," Ellen said. "The lives of strangers mean nothing to me. They're not my responsibility. The only ones I care about are my family, my fellow disciples of the Dawn and Dusk Sect, and you." She lifted her hand up and pressed it against his cheek. "You are not me, however. You already made your decision, haven't you? You're just afraid to go through with it."
"I don't want to lose you," Darian said.
At that, Ellen laughed.
"Is that what you're afraid of?" she asked.
"I mean, yes?" His cheeks burned. "That's the biggest part. I also don't know anything about this Willow Stone Pillar. She and I might hate each other. Marrying her could end up being the biggest mistake of my life, especially if it means I can't be with you anymore."
Ellen twisted around until she was sitting sideways in his lap. She then wrapped her arms around his neck. Despite the low light, Darian could make out her features with ease.
"You silly fool," she said with a smile. "I'm not going anywhere. You can't get rid of me that easily. Whatever gave you that idea?"
Darian stared at her in silence.
"Darian, I never expected to be the only woman in your life. In fact, I know I won't be. If you're anything like Master Nova, you'll need several women to keep up with your appetites. I won't be enough by myself." Ellen tilted her head. "Whatever gave you the idea that you would lose me if you married Willow Stone Pillar?"
Darian swallowed.
"I just thought…" He trailed off for a moment. "Vera's mother was her father's second wife. It did not end well for her. I guess I just thought that no woman would choose to be…second place."
Elena's words came to mind, though Darian admitted that he hadn't taken them too seriously at the time. A part of him assumed that her feelings for him were a childhood crush. Had that been another mistake on his part?
"If I know anything about you, Darian, and I know a lot," Ellen said. "No woman would be second place in your heart. You don't work like that. Each woman you end up with, however many that might be, will have her own place in your heart. First, second, last. That doesn't apply here. You'll love each of us in your own way."
Darian stared at her again.
"You can't possibly know that," he said. "Whatever gave you the idea that I would have…" He paused, searching for the right word. "…a harem? At most, I would have two or three wives, and that's still pushing it."
Ellen snorted.
"I know because I know you, more than you realize." She tapped his chest, in the spot right over his heart. "You have a need to be loved, Little Demon. You hunger for it, even though you feel that you don't deserve it or that you're unworthy of it. You also have a big heart, and a great capacity to love, as paradoxical as that might sound. It isn't one-sided and selfish. You give as much as you receive." She scoffed, before shaking her head. "Three, he says."
For a brief moment, Darian felt an ache deep inside him, a void.
After she finished speaking, Ellen rested her head in the crook of Darian's shoulder again. He wasn't sure if he believed her words. It sounded too convenient.
Neither one of them said anything for a long time. Darian could hear the faint sound of a harp playing from somewhere within the estate. A voice accompanied it. It sounded like Vera, which meant that Lucius was the one playing.
"So I should marry Willow Stone Pillar," Darian said, breaking the silence between them.
"That is your decision to make, Darian," Ellen said. "Whatever your choice, I will stand by you."
"She and I might end up hating each other."
Ellen snorted.
"Or you two might fall in love. You won't know until you try."
Darian looked up at the stars.
"You're right. If nothing else, I would settle for us becoming friends." He looked back at Ellen. "Regardless, I'm not giving you up. I'd be the biggest fool in existence if I did."
"At least you're aware of it." Ellen grabbed his vest. "Now enough talking. Take me to bed. Neither of us are getting any sleep tonight."
Darian grinned and stood up, lifting her up in the process, and carrying her in his arms. He started back towards the estate, leaving the table and cushions behind, when he felt Ellen stiffen in his arms.
"I'm going to kill her for this," Ellen muttered, staring off to the side.
Darian followed her gaze to find Cassandra marching towards the both of them. The servant girl looked terrified, but determined.
"No," Ellen called out to her. "You are not doing this right now."
"What's wrong, snake?" Cassandra said in a snide voice, something Darian had never heard from her before. "This was your idea. I'm just following your suggestion."
"You conniving bitch! I'll cut out your-…"
Before she could even finish her sentence, Cassandra dropped to her hands and knees, prostrating herself before Darian and Ellen.
"Please, spare me!" Cassandra begged. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know, I'll give you whatever you want, just please spare my life!"
Ellen looked like she was ready to murder Cassandra on the spot. Darian looked between the two of them, confused.
What the hell was going on?
***
A little over two hours later, Darian knew what the hell was going on. It made him sick. The three of them had migrated to the training courtyard, to give them all some semblance of privacy while still in an open space, where Astra and Elliot had joined them. Part way through Cassandra's story, Darian had Elliot bring Lucius, Vera, and his father so they could hear it as well.
At first Vera had demanded to know what was going on, and why Darian was interrogating her servant. However, as Cassandra spoke, or the woman who wore her face did, Vera's expression grew murderous. Lucius had to hold her back from striking the spy, though he looked like he was close to losing his composure as well. Darian's father had a grim expression on his face and didn't say anything.
Darian didn't blame them. The tale sounded fantastical. Unbelievable. A spy sent by the Pit Viper Sect to gather information on Clan Wind Dance's alliance with Clan Stone Pillar. A magic mask that stole a person's face and hid one's aura. Mental compulsions that bound one's will, like chains in the mind.
As Darian listened to her speak, his stomach churned.
However, the evidence was before their eyes. The spy wearing Cassandra's face, whose name was Jaime, had brought with her several weapons and poisons that no mortal servant would ever have. While a few were harmless, many were potent enough to harm cultivators. Ellen identified most of them, though there were a few that even she didn't know about.
As Jaime spoke, sitting on her knees while everyone else surrounded her, Darian grew angrier and angrier. The pulsing returned, stronger than before. This time he didn't bother trying to hold it back. Jaime's words stoked Darian's rage, like adding kindling to a fire. It amazed him that he hadn't lost control and killed her himself.
Though that remained to be seen.
"You knew about this?" Darian asked Astra and the snake twins after Jaime had finished. "You knew she was a spy and let her run free? How long have you known? And why didn't you do anything about her?"
Astra, who was in her human form, returned Darian's glare with an impassive gaze.
"I knew what she was the moment I saw her, the day you returned to Mt. Wind Dance and had your reunion with your friends."
The pulsing grew stronger, and the interval between the beats shortened.
"Then why didn't you do anything?" he yelled at her. "She's a spy!" He pointed his finger at Jaime, who stared at the ground and didn't say a word. "Who knows what kind of damage she could have done? Or the damage she already did?"
"Worry not, young Darian," Astra said. "I kept an eye on her during your entire stay at Mt. Wind Dance. If not me, then one of my clones. If she had done anything to threaten you or your interests, I would have intervened."
Darian stared at her in disbelief.
"And Clan Wind Dance's interests?" Lucius asked in a clipped voice. "What about those?"
Astra snorted.
"While I bear no ill will towards Clan Wind Dance, it is not my responsibility to solve their problems for them. As long as she did nothing that endangered Darian himself, I didn't care what she did."
"She admitted that she spied on my conversation with Lucius and Vera!" Darian said. "She knows I'm Master Nova's disciple! That alone makes her a threat. She even admitted that she sent information back to her superiors. While she says she only sent back information regarding the alliance with Clan Stone Pillar, how do we know she's telling the truth?"
At that, Astra pulled a crystal out of thin air. She tossed it to Darian. He caught it, though he was tempted to throw it back at her. It was a recording crystal with a single recording in it.
"Does it matter?" Vera said. "She killed one of my servants! Cassandra was an innocent young girl, and now she's dead!" She tried to launch herself at Jaime again, but Lucius held her back once more. "Let me go! I'll tear her to pieces with my bare hands!"
Coming from Vera, that was no idle threat. With her skills, she could take apart a human body with frightening efficiency.
Darian activated the recording crystal, playing back the recording it contained. An image appeared in the air above the crystal. It showed Jaime somewhere in the Silverwood, though Darian didn't recognize which part. In the recording, Jaime held a crystal of her own and spoke into it. She told the person on the other side what she had overheard about the alliance with Clan Stone Pillar, but mentioned nothing about Darian or Master Nova.
After she finished, Jaime put the crystal away and sneaked off. The recording ended there. Darian tossed the crystal back.
"As you can see," Astra said after catching it. "This rat didn't say anything about you or Senior Sister Nova. If she had tried, I would have killed her before she could finish her sentence." She nodded at Jaime, who looked pale. "My guess is that the Pit Viper Set either had a courier on stand by, waiting for a message, or they have a transmission crystal relay network set up. Either way, dealing with her right away could have alerted her compatriots that someone knew about them. Rather than risk that, I decided to keep an eye on her and see if she would lead me to the other rats. Remember, there is another spy on Mt. Wind Dance. You might want to mention that when you report this to your clan elders."
Darian didn't know if he agreed with Astra's logic, and at the moment he was too angry to care. The pulsing was getting more and more difficult to hold back. Ellen looked at him with concern, but he ignored her. He was angry with her too.
"Fine," Darian spat out. "Let's assume that I agree with your reasoning. I don't, but let's say that I do. What about afterwards? What about after her encounter with Stella? What about after she came here? Why keep up the charade then?"
When Darian had heard about Stella's part in Jaime's story, he had felt the urge to throttle his mother. It didn't help that he had to explain to his friends that Stella was in fact Master Nova, something he had planned to tell them about later. They were the only ones surprised by this revelation. Everyone else, including Darian's father, had already guessed the truth by this point. It was clear that Lucius and Vera had plenty of questions, but held back.
"When the time is right, Darian will decide your fate"? What the hell did that even mean?
His anger only worsened when Jaime got to the conversation she had with Ellen, which had led to the current situation. Darian had glared at his lover, who looked regretful and chagrined beneath his gaze.
"Senior Sister Nova wanted to turn this situation into a lesson for you, young Darian," Astra said. "She wanted you to know what it was like to decide someone else's fate." She shook her head. "I waited to tell you because you're already dealing with too much. Your cultivation, your training, your lessons. There is a lot on your plate at the moment. When things slowed down, I would have told you. Of course, someone had to go and ruin it."
Astra gave Ellen a baleful glare. Ellen returned the glare with a defiant look, though it couldn't have been easy to maintain eye contact with someone at Astra's level. Darian didn't care. What mattered to him the most was Astra's first and second sentences.
Senior Sister Nova wanted to turn this situation into a lesson for you, young Darian. She wanted you to know what it was like to decide someone else's fate.
"Another test," Darian muttered. "Of course this is another damned test. You and Master Nova love those, don't you, Auntie?"
Darian walked over to a nearby wall and started hitting it to vent his anger, if only a little bit. His fist matched the tempo of the pulsing. It continued to quicken.
"Of course," Astra said, turning away from Ellen and glancing at him again. "Senior Sister Nova put me in charge of teaching you. Tests are a part of that."
"Why this one?" he asked. "Why now?" He stopped hitting the wall for a moment. "I didn't need this. You should have just killed her and been done with it. This was completely unnecessary."
He resumed hitting the wall, his tempo speeding up.
"I agree with Darian," his father said, speaking up. "Your actions have endangered Clan Wind Dance, Cultivator Astra. We're lucky that things aren't as bad as they could have been."
Astra snorted.
"I knew what I was doing."
"I doubt that."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Careful, Cultivator Darren," Astra said in a low voice. "That almost sounded like an insult."
"Then let me be clear. What you and Immortal Nova did was cruel, reckless, and unnecessary. It was stupid." Darren nodded in Jaime's direction. "You should have just let our clan know about her, so we could have captured her, interrogated her, and then executed her. Instead, you had to play with your food."
Astra gave Darian's father a sharp smile.
"I am a cat. We're famous for that sort of thing."
"Just kill her now and be done with," Vera snarled. "Why are we even talking about this?"
Lucius shook his head.
"No. It's better to interrogate her first and then kill her. Why waste this opportunity to learn more about the Pit Viper Sect?"
He gave Jaime a cold glare. Jaime wasn't looking at him. She was looking at Darian, pleading at him with her eyes. Her pleas meant nothing to Darian. He remembered their brief encounters with each other, the second one in particular.
Something in him cracked. It started out small, but it grew bigger and bigger. Wrath, breathtaking in its purity, seeped through, running through Darian's veins. Everyone was too focused on each other to notice.
Fight. Kill. Destroy.
"No," Astra said. "The rat's fate is Darian's to decide."
"Says who?" Lucius shot back. "Immortal Nova? This is Clan Wind Dance territory. She doesn't get to decide what happens to our prisoners. We should bring her to the clan council and let them decide what to do with her."
Astra let out a scornful laugh.
"One of your Honored Ancestors already gave Senior Sister Nova permission to deal with the rat as she saw fit. Is your clan council willing to go against his word?"
"And you expect us to just bel-…"
"Enough!" Darian roared in an inhuman voice.
They all turned to him, stunned.
"There he is," Astra said.
Darian launched himself at Jaime, her eyes wide with fear and horror. However, before he reached her, Astra grabbed him by his vest and flew into the air. Darian snarled and tried to hit her, but found himself at a poor angle to. After they reached a certain height, Astra tossed him towards the back area, where the gardens were located.
Darian hit the ground and rolled several times. Before he even stopped moving, he used his momentum to get back onto his feet, sliding backwards as he did so. He glared at Astra with hate filled eyes.
He would kill her. He would kill all of them.
Astra landed on the ground in front of him. Darian roared again, an inhuman and bestial sound that rang out in the night, before rushing towards Astra. He swung a fist at her. She blocked it with ease, using her palm, and grabbed his fist, preventing him from pulling back. Darian swung at her with his other fist. She blocked and grabbed this one as well.
"I thought about repairing the seal on you again," Astra said. "But I thought it would be better to let this happen. You needed to let loose and vent."
Darian didn't care about her words. All he cared about was killing Astra. He headbutted her, but that had no effect. Astra responded by kicking him in the chest. The blow knocked the wind out of Darian, and sent him flying backwards. He landed on his back.
"Darian!" one of his friends called out.
He didn't know which one. It didn't matter. He would kill them all the same.
"Stay back!" Astra snapped out. "Darian's not himself right now."
Darian jumped to his feet, undeterred. While the others had all gathered at the edge of the garden area, he paid them no mind. Astra was his current target. He would kill her first, and then go for the others.
Once again, Darian charged towards Astra.
"This again?" she muttered.
However, just as he reached her, he made his real move. Drawing on what little spirit energy he had available, and mixing it with the Wrath running through his veins, Darian used the movement technique that he had recently learned but had yet to master.
"Wings of Wind!"
A few black feathers coated Darian's body, not nearly as many as what Lucius or Zayne had created, but they were enough to give him a burst of speed. He rushed past Astra and attacked her from behind.
"Fire Fist!"
Black flames sprang to life, coating Darian's fists and the Flamebound Gauntlets. They were wilder, more chaotic than his usual flames. He only had enough spirit energy left for a single blow, after using Wings of Wind, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was defeating the enemy before him.
Faster than he could see, Astra turned around and blocked his attack with one hand. One moment she faced away from him, the next she looked him right into the eyes. His fist collided with her palm, sending out a shock wave. The area around them exploded with black fire, lighting up the night. Many of the plants around them caught fire, filling the air with smoke. The flames washed over them, burning hotter than anything Darian had ever experienced before. However, they didn't harm him. Instead, they felt comforting. Familiar.
His.
Unfortunately, the flames had no effect on Astra either. She gave Darian a grim look.
"I never wanted to see eyes like those again," she said. "I really hope you don't become another Gavin, young Darian."
Darian just roared in her face. Before he could attack her again, however, she hit him in the abdomen with her palm. She sent a pulse of spirit energy into him, and Darian felt his physical strength desert him. His legs gave out, and he fell towards the ground.
Astra caught him before he hit the floor. Despite that, Darian kept trying to kill her. He couldn't do anything in his current state, but that didn't stop him from trying.
"Stubborn demon," Astra muttered. "Time for you to sleep."
Astra touched Darian's forehead, and his world turned dark.