The Winter Festival was celebrated all over Diabolus, even in regions where snow would never fall. That festival's purpose was set according to a poem called "Four Seasons". "When winter falls with its snow, spring will come with its flowers. When comfort fades, hope will arise," that saying meant that the wished might come true when springs began. It was similar to New Year's wishes.
Ashin Temple celebrated that festival too and when it was night, every disciple would let a lantern fly up into the sky with a wish written on it. Where the lanterns would fly nobody knew but no one has ever found one of them ever again.
In the mountains it was always cold but it seemed to have become even colder now. Serena was walking through the icy atmosphere, her breath was visible when she exhaled, and snow fell endlessly before her eyes. She has been in Ashin since a few months now and never had Xuan Jixiang attempted to ask her anything nor did he told her that tryout time was about to end. Serena has kept in touch with Lorely a lot since Lorely had offered her to be her accompanion instead of Simon. Sometimes she saw the latter in company of other disciples, while Ora and Ronan, as well as Xiao and Noya were never seen outside. Which was why Serena was quite stunned when she saw Simon approaching her, along with Noya and Xiao.
"Hey," he said.
"What do you want?" asked Lorely suspiciously.
"Would you two mind coming over to my room after dinner?" whispered Simon as if he didn't want to be heard.
"Alright," replied Serena before Lorely could question Simon any further.
"Why are those two even out?" asked Lorely after the trio had disappeared. "Weren't that zacral and Noya secluded just like Ora and Ronan?"
"Apparently not anymore," said Serena. "We should go. We might be late."
After Serena and Lorely had finished dinner, they went to the mountain where the disciples of the Nation of Zmey resided and went to Simon's room. He even managed to get Ora and Ronan out of their secluded space with huge effort. Only Nile was missing.
"I see that he ditched the invitation," said Simon, who was leaning against a tree. "It was even kindly written but no, he had to feed his dog because he was hungry and exhausted from their mission. Seems like the dog is his only friend!"
"Why are we here?" asked Lorely. She looked like she would have gone anywhere else but here and she only came because Serena did. With her arms crossed, she glanced at Simon in displeasure.
"I still have to finish that paper scroll I started," said Ora.
"Again?" groaned Simon. "Do you have anything else to do?"
"No," replied Ora, dead serious.
"Senior Voronov, please answer the question. Why are we here?" repeated Lorely impatiently. She kept glancing at Serena as if expecting her to say something but Serena was calmly meditating on the floor.
"See, at least she has some manners," countered Xiao.
"Pardon me?! What gives you the right to say that, murder beast?" snapped Lorely.
"Serena," said Simon, considering it the best to talk to her since she didn't seem to be so mad.
A hum from her confirmed that she was listening so he started to tell the reason why he was calling them.
"Although it has been a few months since we last properly interacted with each other, I have something to say. I want to get that amulet one more time and bring it to CaiShen-daren."
Noya didn't look surprised, he was probably already privy to the situation; Xiao rolled his eyes as if it was below him; Ronan and Lorely looked equally confused; Ora nodded understandingly; and Serena stayed silent for a moment. "Did you dream that something would happen if we didn't bring it to CaiShen-daren?" she eventually asked.
It sounded like a wild assumption thrown into the room but Simon's jaw dropped as Serena guessed right. He did have a dream from the outcome if they wouldn't get the amulet.
"I assume that I was right," said Serena, finally opening her eyes.
"But how would we do that? We can't leave Ashin just like that? Don't you know the fog that surrounds this place?" asked Lorely.
"That's why we need Nile," retorted Simon insistently. "But first off, Montclair, is your drone still intact?"
"Are you kidding? Who do you think I am, an amateur? Of course it is," snorted Lorely as a response.
"Good, we need it to fly around and search for the amulet again," nodded Simon.
"The battery will be done for it if you make me let it fly over entire Diabolus. That thing won't even manage to cross the border to Shikibana," remarked Lorely.
Noya, listening to the talk, couldn't hold back to say, "It managed to fly to Zmey and back. I can help you modify it a bit. I have a bit of knowledge on drones."
"Oh? Then let me see what you got, Noya," replied Lorely.
"Perfect," said Noya. "Then we'll inform you guys when anything interesting happens."
"Are you done?" Serena asked Simon, who nodded as an answer.
"Have a good night then," she said and stood up.
Thus, their discussion was over.
Quite quickly, the hands of the clock moved from 5 A.M to 10 A.M, and during that time, Serena had done nothing but to play the guqin[1]. It was something that she had learned as she was growing up and she was considerably good at it. It was an old woman who had taught Serena play that instrument whenever she came into town to buy vegetables. It helped her relax, the woman also said that the music could heal internal wounds. Whether it was true Serena hasn't figured out but it brought her a bit of joy to play the guqin.
However, the music she played often sounded sad but relaxing, and it somehow had a dark theme. Nonetheless, it sounded beautiful and filled the room with music.
It was still dark in her room and Serena let her fingers glide glide over the strings, as the door flew wide open and Qiqi barged in.
"Wakey, wakey, Serena!" Qiqi exclaimed cheerfully. "Ohhh, the music sounds very beautiful!"
Whistling to the melody thereby ruining the mood, Qiqi turned on the lights and blinded Serena even if her eyes were closed. She stood up walking to Qiqi.
"Couldn't you come in a bit later?" she muttered darkly.
"Nope!" laughed Qiqi. "It's Winter Festival time, the best time of the year and you should stop playing the guqin like a freaking loner! It is time celebrate!"
Qiqi was so thrilled about the day that she was fidgeting around. She was jumping on Serena's bed while waiting for her to get ready. She was even reordering a row in Serena's bookshelf. She was tidying up her room. She just couldn't sit still.
"Ready to go?" asked Serena when she came out of her bathroom.
The face QiQi made was hilarious. The corners of her mouth were pulled down that far that the expression was already looking bizzare.
"Are you for real thinking to go out like this?" she asked staring dumbfounded at the usual robes the disciples were wearing. "That's not how it works, my dear," she said sternly. "Before you let the lanterns fly up you need an outfit and when you let the lanterns fly you need an outfit, got it? Let's see what you have on that closet."
She left Serena standing speechless in the doorframe when she started searching through her closet which Serena hasn't even touched in months. She didn't even know what was inside of it.
"Ew no, what the hell, too bright, too much emo vibe, too sexy, not good at all, too much princess, too revealing, where the hell did she get all these dresses from," she could hear Qiqi muttering. "We need an expert," Qiqi eventually sighed.
After approximately ten minutes, QiQi returned with a bunch of traditional clothing that people in Chuantong wore. All of them had the wrong color but they were indeed very beautiful. Serena believed that she has never seen so many beautiful robes before.
"This one, no this one. You look so good in this one but your hair - no wait....!" Serena was sure that this entire dressing session went on for more than one hour. Fortunately, the rules were less effective when the Winter Festival arrived - otherwise Serena would have already broken five of them and no one has ever broken more than three rules.
Serena was undoubtly relieved when she could finally escape Qiqi's hyperactive enthusiasm, and leave into the snow.
The Winter Festival meant for the disciples that they didn't need to attend any traing sessions in the morning, or classes in the afternoon. They could do whatever they wanted, hanging out with each other for longer than only twenty minutes, or even paticipating in some activities.
Serena saw how a few younger disciples played with snow and threw it at each other, giggling and having fun, while the older disciples mostly sat around and talked to each other or went to a hot spring that was nearby. Even if it was cold, the location of the hotsprings was warm enough.
"Hey," a male voice behind her suddenly said.
Serena spun around and faced Nile, who was wrapped up in a five-layered coat. His skin color barely had any difference to the snow that was falling, and the tip of his nose was reddened due to the cold. Cadejo beside him barked joyfully, playing in the snow and running up to a few disciples to play. He was a lively animal and a very kind one if he wasn't exorcizing devourers.
"Are pets even allowed here?" asked Serena with a tilted head.
"Cadejo is an exception. He was a gift from Caishen-daren," answered Nile, whistling his hellhound back. „Usually, he comes with me on missions but otherwise doesn't leave so far. There is a private place just for him."
Cadejo trudged back to Nile but noticed Serena and approached her with a friendly bark.
Serena kneeled down and stretched out her hand and Cadejo curiously came closer. She stroked his fur that was surprisingly soft and warm, and Cadejo closed his eyes and snuggled eve closer.
"I'm sorry, he really loves people when he isn't doing his job right now!" Nile apologized but Serena gently shook her head. She didn't mind the presence of the hellhound, they weren't even as scary as people said they would be.
"I wonder what that clown told you," Nile suddenly said.
Serena stopped patting Cadejo's head and looked at Nile, her lips curled into a soft smile like she knew something he did not. "He said that he wanted to redo the mission. And we would have major issues without you," she responded.
"Did he really said that?" replied Nile doubtfully.
"Somewhat," said Serena, still with that small smile.
"But what if we fail again? It wasn't as if Caishen-daren wasn't disappointed in us." Nile sounded worried since he cared a lot about how the executive saw him in his eyes. After all it was Xuan Jixiang who saved him as a child.
"Do you know what we did wrong last time?" said Serena.
Nile shook his head but made no attempt to ask. Serena leaned back and faced the grey sky while snowflakes fell on her face.
"I will tell you if you join us."
Serena wasn't exhausted but she was freezing. Although she dressed warm enough she still didn't feel warm. Not after drinking cups and cups of tea. Liquor was prohibited but she had still seen a few disciples smuggling it in - howsoever they did it.
Serena sat down behind her low table were she had put the guqin and was all about to play when Qiqi came into her room, a red lantern in one hand and a brush and ink in the other.
"No time for resting, you have to get ready for the big party - celebration!" shouted Qiqi.
"What if I refuse?" Serena replied like a whiny child.
Chichi pulled her face into a displeased grimace but she sat down on the sofa and let Serena play for a while. However, fifteen minutes before the celebration would begin would start, she couldn't wait anymore.
"Serena," she urged.
"Yes?"
„You need to write down your wish, change your outfit and get out of here. Hell, is this your first Winter Festival?" exclaimed QiQi in hurry.
Serena nodded faintly; it was in fact her first Winter Festival but she didn't tell Qiqi. She only wrote down her wish while Qiqi dramatically looked away, changed her clothes like Qiqi wanted to, and left her room once again.
It was already dark outside, many disciples with shining lanterns in their hand made themselves on the way to a wide meadow where the lanterns would set of. Many disciples have already gathered on the meadow, and Serena could hardly see the wishes written in black ink onto the paper of the lantern. She didn't know what they were wishing for and she didn't care. The wish would only be fullfilled if no one knew it, that was an old tradition after all.
When the countdown has reached zero, Serena let go of her red lantern and watched it rise up into the air in between countless of other lanterns until they became small dots in the sky and penetrated through the fog without any effort.
I wish thatI will find a purpose in life. I wish to find the will to live.
Serena didn't know if two wishes were allowed but Qiqi said she could write as many as it fit on the lantern. If they would be fullfilled only the gods knew, but if they cared was another question.
After the rise of the lanterns, the disciples were invited into the arena to celebrate. Instead of having a big feast in the dining hall, they would eat in the arena and for once liquor was allowed.
Since the arena was far larger than the dining hall and disciples stood around multiple tables far away enough from each other, Serena could get lost way faster. She actually wanted to go back into her room and sleep but Qiqi had urged her to at least eat something and have some fun.
As Serena pushed through a group of disciples, she bumped against a familiar blonde female. She was the one who had fought with Lorely in the Selection Game.
"Hi... Serena, right? I'm Christa Uisce," she introduced herself with a smile.
"Hello," responded Serena with a small nod.
"Aveline is getting some drinks," continued Christa and pointed at table; an inviting gesture to sit with her. Aveline must be Lorely's birth name.
"A rather big table for three people, isn't it" asked Serena when she sat down.
"Well, all the smaller tables were already occupied by a group of seniors," replied Christa.
From her chair, Serena watched the crowd chatting and getting food from the long tables that stood at the side. Everybody seemed to be in a good mood or just drunk.
"I like what you wear!" said Lorely, drinking her fourth drink.
"You look pretty with that," Christa chimed in with a giggle.
She was a kind girl, a bit too kind even, and kept asking if Serena wanted to order anything. She also tried to make Serena drink some of that liquor but Serena refused. The liquor from the United States of Mirvalley wasn't nearly as good as the liquor from the Land of Quanbu or Shikibana - in her opinion.
"By the way, I am from the Water Village in the Ring of Elements. In case you want to know my ability "Below the surface" allows me to control water," said Christa, letting the water in her glass float up in the air. "And Aveline's is called "Silent wings" for whatever reason. It might be because she is and outstanding sniper."
"Stop it, Morag! Don't embarrass me!" called Lorely with a chuckle.
"Oh, c'mon, I'm not like that!" chuckled Christa. "Serena, if you ever need me to heal your or anyone else's wounds, come to me! I won't snitch to anyone!" she offered with a smile.
"Mind if we join you?" Simon's voice suddenly sounded behind them.
He was dragging Xiao and Noya behind him, who both looked like they didn't want to be here.
"Be my guest!" Christa cheerfully replied.
"Are Ronan and Ora still not allowed to go out?" asked Lorely as the three sat down.
Simon let out a sharp hiss, implying Lorely to shut up, while Christa was looking at her rather questioning.
"Why don't we drink?" Simon quickly changed the topic, pouring himself a glass of wine.
"Ummm, okay?" said Christa, obviously still curious but trying to hold back. Eventually she failed and leaned toward Lorely to whisper something in her ear. Lorely listened for a while until she replied as equally quiet.
"Gossip girls," muttered Simon.
"Qianbei," said Xiao, looking at Serena. "Don't you think that this event is a bit boring?"
Serena didn't answer for a moment, staring at the disciples carefreely chatting with each other, before she replied, "I do."
Even though the zacral was obviously older than her, he still called her "senior" and that was sort of odd. He didn't do that to anyone else.
"Doesn't qianbei want to talk with me because she mistrusts me?" asked Xiao with a small pout. It looked fairly pretentious which made Serena reconsider his actions. To be honest, he had never looked like he was serious about anything - perhaps that was why Xuan Jixiang wanted to keep him under supervision. For a zacral, he had traits no other had such as using curses or spells which is actually impossible.
"Alright, shidi[2]. Then let's -."
There was something like a thunderous sound echoing all over the arena. The fog that was before just blue turned into bright red as if setting off an alarm. The ligh-hearted atmosphere from before was blown away, replaced by darkness and the stench of death. Snarling noises where heard from above, such as the sounds of metal clashing against objects and howling from beings that couldn't be described as worthy existing.
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[1] The guqin is a Chinese zithern with seven strings
[2] "Shidi" is either used for younger martial brother or for junior male members of one's sect. In this case, any disciple of Ashin Temple can be referred to as "shidi".