"The Soul Devouring Clan is gone?" Xing Jue asked, aghast. The way Soul Devouring Seductress had described them, her people had been virtually invincible. How could such a powerful clan simply vanish? And if they were gone… he forced down the icy dread that threatened to consume him.
"It's true," she sighed, her gaze, unreadable, settling on him. "It happened over a century ago, long before your time. It's a miracle any of us survived. You, especially… so young. It doesn't make sense."
"What do you mean? Explain yourself!" Xing Jue demanded, his fear giving way to anger. He deserved answers! So many questions swirled in his mind, but the most pressing by far. "How is it that you're still alive if my clan was destroyed over a hundred years ago?"
The Soul Devouring Seductress shifted uncomfortably, her gaze darting away from his, her eyes filled with an emotion he couldn't quite place. "They were too powerful, Master. Their enemies, powerful clans in their own right, joined forces to oppose them." Her voice lowered to a reverent whisper. "They fought, a battle for the ages. The heavens shook, the very fabric of reality strained at the seams, but the Soul Devouring Clan…. they stood their ground. They were… unstoppable." She paused, lost in the memory.
"But they were still wiped out?" Xing Jue asked, his confusion growing.
"Whispers, rumors… that's all that remained." The Soul Devouring Seductress continued as if he hadn't spoken. "Legends spoke of an outsider. A being of unimaginable power, wielding forces beyond our comprehension. He appeared out of nowhere and laid waste to everything in his path. The Soul Devouring Clan, powerful as they were… they never stood a chance."
"If the Soul Devouring Clan was as strong as you claim, how did anyone, even this… this outsider… manage to destroy them?"
"Their leader, your ancestor… he was said to be the strongest in the land, his power unmatched." The Soul Devouring Seductress drew in a shaky breath. "But even the strongest warrior can fall. So it was with the Soul Devouring Clan… so it was with your ancestor."
"But if the clan was destroyed… how did you escape?"
She hesitated, fear flickering in her eyes, before answering, her voice barely a whisper. "We were but servants, slaves to their will. When the… the outsider attacked… we were tasked with protecting the young, the future of the Soul Devouring Clan… to smuggle them away, to hide them from the slaughter. But there was a traitor in our midst… someone who betrayed us to the enemy. Most of the children perished, hunted down and murdered. I… I was one of the lucky ones. I escaped with my life, but only because they believed us unimportant." Her eyes met his, agonized. "Unworthy. The outsider considered us beneath him, nothing more than weapons to be discarded once their purpose was served. And so… he let us live."
"Are you saying they allowed you to live because you were cursed? " He knew, with a sinking heart, what she was about to say.
"The curse…" she whispered, her voice barely audible. "The Soul Devouring Clan, they were… cautious. To prevent us from turning on them, they placed a seal on our souls, a mark of their ownership. We were bound to them … utterly. Every few decades, the curse had to be renewed, the seal reinforced. If we failed to return… our souls… our very essence… would unravel. We would cease to exist."
"But you're still here," Xing Jue pointed out, an uneasy feeling settling in his stomach.
The Soul Devouring Seductress' gaze darted nervously around the clearing. "There's something you should know… something important," she began, then stopped.
Xing Jue felt a surge of impatience. "What is it? I deserve to know!"
She bowed her head, the very picture of remorse. "The Soul Devouring Clan… they had a secret. A way… a forbidden technique… to circumvent the curse. I… found it, quite by accident. It was never meant for our kind, but... somehow, it worked. "
"And what was this technique?"
" The Soul Devouring Codex," she whispered. "It contained… knowledge. Secrets. Ways to... harness the true potential of our souls. The elders… they used it to … to push themselves beyond their natural limits. To… consume other souls."
Xing Jue's breath caught in his throat. "It was real? You … you can actually do that?"
"Only a true member of the Soul Devouring Clan can unlock its full potential," she said. "For us... there are… consequences. I can only prolong my existence, sustain myself, nothing more."
"And where… where is this Soul Devouring Codex now?"
" It was… taken from me," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Years ago, before I was imprisoned… I ran afoul of the Heavenly Wind Pavilion. Their elders and I… we… disagreed on a matter of some importance. There was… an altercation. They took it from me as a… a trophy."
"Do you know who took it?"
The Soul Devouring Seductress nodded. "The elder, Fang Ming… he was the one who claimed it for his own."
"Fang Ming... I'll find him. And when I do… I'll take back what is rightfully mine." This Codex, this Soul Devouring Codex… it could be the key to everything. His past, his powers, even his future. He had to find it.
"The Soul Devouring Codex," Xing Jue whispered, an odd sense of longing washing over him. A connection to a past he never knew. "Don't worry. I'll find you."
"Ahhh!" As if on cue, the first rays of dawn pierced through the dense canopy, bathing the clearing in a pale, golden light. The Soul Devouring Seductress cried out, a sound of pure agony, as the light touched her skin. Her flesh smoked, the smell of burning acrid in the air. She thrashed, her body contorting in pain as the fragile illusion of her physical form began to unravel.
Seeing her in so much pain, Xing Jue quickly dragged the Soul Devouring Seductress out of the sunlight into the shade of the trees. As soon as they were out of the direct rays of the sun, she stopped convulsing, the agony slowly fading from her features.
"You're… afraid of the light?" Xing Jue asked, taking in her weakened state.
"It's not just light, exactly," she gasped, her voice thin. "It's the sun… the moon… anything natural, anything pure… it burns me. A cruel reminder of my… condition." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "Though consuming souls grants me a temporary reprieve, the curse… always returns. I am bound to this place, trapped in this wretched wasteland." Despair filled her voice, a stark contrast to the confident, seductive tone she'd used just moments before.
An idea, a possibility, occurred to Xing Jue. "You said that a member of the Soul Devouring Clan could've lifted the curse. Can—can I do it?"
"You… you would do that for me, Master?" She stared at him, hope flickering in her eyes, making her seem younger, somehow, more vulnerable.
"Maybe," Xing Jue shrugged, trying to downplay the sudden surge of protectiveness he felt, the need to shield her from pain. "But first, tell me how."
"It's… simple, really," she murmured, her gaze fixed on Xing Jue's hand. "A single drop of your blood… that's all it would take."
Xing Jue didn't hesitate. He raised his hand, his thumb finding his index finger, biting down until he tasted blood, the metallic tang filling his mouth. He offered his finger to her, a grim smile playing on his lips. "Go on. Don't want me bleeding out now, would we?"
But instead of immediately taking his finger, the Soul Devouring Seductress just stared at him, her eyes wide with a strange mix of emotions he couldn't quite decipher. Finally, she spoke, her voice choked with emotion.
"Thank you," she whispered. Then, gently, she took his finger into her mouth, her lips brushing against his skin. The touch sent a strange jolt through him, a mixture of shock and something else, something he didn't quite understand, something… nice. She released his finger a moment later, her eyes glowing with a newfound strength. She stood, surveying herself, testing her limbs as if for the first time.
"How do you feel?" Xing Jue asked, studying her, watching as color returned to her cheeks, the vibrancy, the life force that had been so noticeably absent, slowly returning.
"I… I need to… test something," she replied, already moving towards the edge of the forest, where the sunlight dappled the ground.
Xing Jue watched as she stepped into a patch of sunlight, holding his breath, bracing himself for the telltale signs of pain, or worse, her form dissolving into dust.
"Master! It's gone! The curse! It's lifted!" She cried out, her laughter echoing through the trees. Relief washed over him, quickly followed by something else… something akin to pride.
He remained silent, a slow smile spreading across his face as he watched her dance. He understood her euphoria. To be freed from a prison, one you'd resigned yourself to for over a century… it was nothing short of a miracle.
"Thank you," she said, suddenly still, her gaze meeting his. She sank gracefully to the ground, bowing low before him once more.
"Please," he sighed, holding out a hand to help her up. He wasn't comfortable with the subservient act– not from her. Not anymore. "You don't have to kneel. We're… equals now. Partners."
"Partners?" she echoed, tilting her head at the unfamiliar term.
He nodded, smiling encouragingly. "Tell me… what should I call you? I can't keep calling you… *that.*" He waved a dismissive hand.
"My previous… master, he called me Qian Ji," she replied.
"Qian Ji, huh…" Xing Jue tested the name on his tongue, then shook his head. "It doesn't really suit you. How about… Xiao Qian?"
"Xiao Qian…." she repeated, a soft smile gracing her lips. And for the first time since he'd met her, Xing Jue believed she might actually be sincere.