The Head closed the door behind him, setting Joon's dead body on the bed. The Head inspected him, saying, "You think you're going to go down that easy? I don't know how you managed to even kill a god in your state, that's more proof the essence of Xiahou Anara resides in you. You won't live any longer, but your heart is still in good condition. So I will take it."
The Head put his hand down at Joon's chest, and his chest opened, spiraling slowly; The Head was using the force of his qi to make the skin cells around and slowly open the skin up. He reached in to grab his heart, and pulled it out.
"Finished."
Then, the Head picked up Joon once more, and walked through another door in his room, and it was like a dark abyss, it was pitch black, and The Head's footsteps seemed to echo loudly from the room, detailing that the room was indeed big, and deep. But it had a bottom. A place where he disposed of blood sect members, he didn't believe in burying them. "We were all born from darkness, and into darkness we return.." is what he had idolized in his own ideals.
"Sorry it had to end this way, but I would've gotten your power nonetheless. The Head tossed Joon in the room, and shut the door.
Back outside, everyone was in their dorms, but it was silent. No one said a word, everyone stayed to themselves.
Elara was in her own room, sitting in the corner, sobbing silently, her breaths rapid.
'What if this is all my fault…? If only I told them everything I knew about the Black Lotus…this wouldn't have happened, would it? No, it would've. We would have still been forced to kill Yu Baozhai. Here I am blaming myself again, Joon would be pissed at me. He risked his life to save us, and even did everything he could to save me.'
Her cheeks went red, continuing to think, 'You were too good to be true, Joon. I swear I'll remember you every mission. I feel so alone now…I just wish you were with me. I wanted to talk more, you were really interesting. What if we grew up together? Even got married—whoa whoa whoa. What the hell is wrong with me? Why did I think that? Tch. Everyone thought I liked you anyway. But if I was to like you, did you even like me back—?'
Elara stood up, pacing back and forth, hitting herself in the head.
"Shut up. Elara. Shut up, Elara. Shut up, Elara."
Outside, in Caelan's room, he was working out. He was doing push-ups, sit-ups, and even cultivating. Imagining his qi swirling into parts of his body, the flames twisting naturally as he imagined himself dishing out loads of flaming waves, he imagined himself in a sea of flames, drowning himself in it.
His body was covered in a flaming aura, but then he heard Joon's voice, saying, "Weak ass."
Caelan gasped, knowing that's exactly what Joon would say. He stood up, and continued to work on his core, cultivating in different stances.
'I never even liked you Joon. Get out of my head.'
Caelan stood solitary. The air was cool and crisp, bearing the faint scent of pine from the surrounding forest. As a member of the renowned Baihu sect, known for their mastery of the fire affinity through Qi cultivation, Caelan had devoted himself to the arduous path of mastering the elemental force within him.
Caelan continued with the basics, the fundamental stance that every practitioner of the Baihu sect learned from their early days—**The Stance of the Awakening Flame**. Feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, he raised his arms before him, palms facing each other as if holding an invisible sphere. His breathing deepened, each inhale slow and deliberate, each exhale releasing more of the mundane world around him.
Joon keep appearing in his head, over and over.
Caelan said, "I never like you. You saved someone who didn't like you."
This distraction was tampering with his cultivation, but he continued to do it. As his heart rate steadied, Caelan visualized the first of the flaming beasts—the Fire Tiger. He imagined its fierce eyes and powerful, lean frame, the stripes along its body blazing with a brilliant, scorching light. The air around him seemed to heat as he vividly conjured the tiger's roar in his mind, a sound echoing through the chasms of his inner spirit. With a sudden shift in stance, Caelan's arms swept outward, mimicking the powerful paws of the tiger striking its prey. The temperature in the room rose noticeably, a testament to the successful channeling of his Qi.
Joon appeared again. This time, Caelan has vivid memories of Joon sacrificing himself to fight the Lust Deity Venrix, and how Caelan left him there.
'Tch! Even if I did stay, it wouldn't have made a difference!'
Progressing further, Caelan transitioned into The Stance of the Phoenix Ascending. This required more than physical movement—it demanded purity of thought and an emotional crescendo that mimicked the legendary bird's resurrection from its own ashes. He straightened, his feet pivoting outward, hands tracing intricate patterns in the air as if weaving flames into wings. With each turn of his wrists, flickers of actual flames appeared, coalescing into a shimmering outline of the phoenix. His breathing fell into rhythm with the mythical creature's rise and fall, a syncopated beat that pulsed with life and fire. The cultivation deepened, sweat beading on Caelan's brow. The final beast awaited—The Dragon of the Blazing Depths. Known for its daunting complexity and the immense control it required, this stance was often reserved for those who had several years of practice. Yet, Caelan felt a draw towards it this evening, an unexplained compulsion that tinged his spirit with anticipation.
He knelt, one hand touching the ground while the other reached skyward, body curving in a majestic arch. Imagining the massive form of the dragon, Caelan focused on the creature's scales, each one a minuscule inferno. As he invoked the image of the dragon's serpentine body undulating through clouds, a wave of heat rolled off him in palpable currents, the air shimmering like the surface of a sun-struck lake.
As the cultivation deepened, Caelan slowed his movements, each stance melting into the next, his breathing returning to the tranquil ebb and flow of a calm sea. The flames that had flickered and roared in his practice now subsided, leaving behind a room filled with warmth and the faint glow of embers in his eyes—a subtle yet clear sign of his growing mastery over the fire affinity. The Baihu sect's teachings lived on within him, each breath and movement a step closer to becoming one with the fiery essence of his spirit.
'I hate all of you, Baihu sect. But you guys have some good techniques.'
He thought of Joon again, and Caelan clenched his fists, saying, "I never liked you, I still don't, and yet, you did all of that shit. It was so foolish of you. Why do that for me? No one likes me, no one has ever done anything like that for me besides my brother Shen Wei who is now dead because of a demon. I told you not to die, so I could kill you, and you didn't listen to me. Fool.."
There was a knock on Caelan's door, and Caelan said, "Go away."
"…It's Zephyr."
'Zephyr? He barely talks to people..what does he want?'
Caelan scoffed, "Come in then. Make it quick."
Zephyr walked into, sitting on the floor, and Caelan sat with him.
"So?" Caelan asked.
Zephyr went along with, "I have just informed Elara of this, but my sect is highly skilled in therapy as well as martial arts and helping others, to a certain extent."
"I don't need any of that."
"Listen. I thrive to help others with their issues, and teach them things. And just by reading your qi, I know your mood."
"Oh yeah? What is it?"
"Anger. Regret. Fear."
Caelan looked away, saying, "What kind of voodoo shit is that?"
"It's not voodoo, but a technique my sect has learned."
"Right…what has your sect done? Have you even traveled with them?"
"I have. We've traveled across the lands, assisting sects not with force, but with understanding. Our sect has touched many corners of the world, unraveling the complexities of inner turbulence."
Zephyr shifted slightly, his gaze thoughtful as he recounted his experiences. "In the high valley of Gyeong-ya, where the Soul Orchid Sect commune, they're known for their cultivation of Dream Blossoms that reveal one's deepest fears and desires through their scents. Yet, they struggled with nightmares until we harmonized their fears."
He paused, allowing the image to settle before continuing. "Further south, in the Sea of The Mist, lies the Ink Binders sect, guardians of the mystical Squid Shrines. They can manipulate the very fibers of memory through their sacred tattoos. But memories can trap as well as liberate; our insight freed them from old binds."
Zephyr's eyes sparkled momentarily with a deeper intensity. "And perhaps most uniquely, in the shifting sands of Jukai, dwell the Sand Dune Sect. Masters of granularity, they shape visions from the sand, predicting potential futures. But sand shifts unexpectedly; our interventions helped them control these unpredictable tides."
He locked eyes with Caelan, a silent acknowledgment of their shared commitment to mastery, albeit of very different arts. "In each place, we helped balance the seen with the unseen, the strength of the body with the resilience of the spirit. What might seem less spectacular than conjuring fire and lightning holds its power in the whispers of the mind, in the shaping of destinies less visible but equally vital."
"I get it now. No wonder you were always quoting random stuff every five seconds. It all makes sense. Any sects that didn't want to talk to you guys?"
"The Hangyang sect, the Baihu sect, the Xuanwu sect, and the Zhuque sect. They were the only ones that refused our aid. So that's why I say, if you need my services, I'll be happy to do it."
"Of course the Baihu sect rejected you, we never needed emotional help. But…"
Caelan thought, 'Anger, Fear, regret. I'm mad. I'm mad at the fact Joon killed himself so we could live, and I can't understand why he would even tell me to run, when he's my rival? And we fought seriously before, and I hate that. I'm pissed that he's dead, I can't lie to myself and say I'm disappointed. Disappointed that now that he's gone, what the hell am I gonna do now? I used him as fuel to get stronger, to be stronger than him! Fear, fear of death? Fear of ending up like Shen Wei and Joon? They were stronger than me, and yet, here I am. That scares me into thinking I'm next. And with Joon out of the way, what if the Head tries to take advantage of me? And I need up like Joon? And then regret, what do I truly regret? I regret not saying thank you to Joon? No it can't be..I'm not soft! If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here, it seemed like the Lust Deity only wanted him anyway, but was willing to kill everyone else. I regret the fact that I looked like a lost puppy back there, because I want to live for my parents. Am I that weak? I can't even embrace that shit at all. I'm tired of that. My biggest struggle is myself. If I can beat myself, then I'd be unstoppable, right? That's what Shen Wei told me, but I told him to screw off and go serve the Baihu sect leader like always. Do I have more regrets? Yeah, how I push everyone away, but how I am mentally and based in my experiences with people, trust is hard to give, and pushing people away doesn't leave room to be betrayed. But even then, when I scoffed at Joon over and over and we bickered with one another, he fucking stayed…what is wrong with him? This has never happened to me before.'
Caelan stood up, saying to Zephyr, "Don't worry about me."
"Hm?"
"When I need you, or when I feel like talking about my feelings, I'll let you know."
With a respectful bow, Zephyr prepared to leave. "Remember, Caelan, a flame uncontrolled consumes itself. But guided, understood, respected—it can ignite the darkest of corners with Enlightenment. Have a good night."
Zephyr walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Caelan stood there, shaken up a bit, but calmed down.
'It's like an empty space in me, a dark void. I'm not satisfied, and it all happened when you died, Joon. The feeling of something not being complete, or something missing, it's an uncomfortable feeling. And from here on out, things will never be the same.'
…
(15 minutes later)
Kiera and Jiho were standing side by side on the cliff in the cave, watching over all the hanoks, seeing some of the blood sect members walk around patrolling.
Jiho said, "Good view from up here."
Kiera replied, "It is."
"What happened…?"
"With?"
"You know who."
"I froze up. I panicked, I was scared. Truly. That little girl Elara held onto me, like when I held onto my own daughter. I wanted to comfort her, but the Head was standing there. I can't stop thinking about it. Once you become a mother, it changes your entire mindset. I'm not who I was before. This is why me and Vaelle got along so well."
"Your daughter…is she alright?"
"I've been sneaking out every few days to see her, I left her with my grandmother, she's fine."
"What else happened?"
"The Head…he wants me to kill Vaelle."
Jiho sighed, and started to pull something out of his garnets, lighting it up, then smoking it.
"Why? He can't bring himself to do it?"
"It's not as simple as you think. His reasoning is always complex, Jiho. He doesn't want a rebellion to start. He mentioned if he killed her, then he knows me and you would have tried to help her because he knows how close we are with Vaelle. He said he can beat all of us at once, though it would be troublesome, but he doesn't want to lose us. As you know he sees us as family, he thinks of us as his children, even though he's younger than all of us."
"Oh? What makes him think we won't attack you if you kill her."
"Because I know you and Old Han."
"Haha, you're right. I know you hate me and stuff, but I couldn't bring myself hurt you—."
Kiera punched him in the arm, saying, "Manipulating. Piece. Of. Shit."
"Haha! How?!"
Kiera mocked, "Ohhh I know you hate me and stuff—."
"Seemed like it worked?"
"No! Anyway, after everything that's happened…or before everything that's happened, how your squad?"
"…They're doing horrible right now. Since Joon and Torin are gone, I offered for them to have replacements, but they don't want any. I had one prospect, named Kai. The Head is interested in him also."
"He's kin to the Luminous Vanguard. The Head plans to do things with him, eventually doing things to destroy the Luminous Vanguard altogether."
"Right."
"Also something else that's been on my mind."
"Yo?"
"Everyone seemed to be down when Joon came back dead, but when news broke out of Torin being dead, no one had much of a reaction besides his main squad."
"In all honesty…Joon was the strongest here. And when those kids saw that even Joon came back dead, showed everyone else this is way out of their league. 70% of those kids cried because of the fear they will die soon. Some cried because they felt bad, especially Joon's squad. From here on out, I don't know what's going to happen."