In a trance state, Qian Ye sensed that Elder Atuwa below was shouting something at him intensely. The message was clear but concise: Listen carefully, for the Spirit of Holiness speaks in a whisper so feeble that it’s often impossible to catch the words amid its ethereal murmurs.
According to the elder, even ceremonies involving communion with the sacred like spirit channelling or divination have relatively low success rates, so hearing the dictates of the saintly spirit wasn’t guaranteed.
Rising higher and higher in awareness, the mountains below transformed into mere specks. For the ritual wine to have led him thus was truly unexpected.
It wasn’t until his consciousness reached and approached the clouds when once more it regained clarity that he noticed a figure form just before him.
Standing before him was a man of remarkable features and an air of sinister authority within his visage. His long hair flowed like black torrents over his shoulders, his skin pale and porcelain-clear, translucent almost. On the center of his brow was a touch of blue marking—an ornate detail that did nothing to detract from the piercing magnificence of his eyes; eyes that made the very air around them gleam by mere sight of them.
Attired entirely in pitch black robes, his wiry, tall frame exuded a poised serenity that belied the latent tension beneath. And there in the air did he hover, his gaze now tinged by astonishment on seeing Qian Ye.
“Truly, I did not anticipate you’d arrive.”
“Where indeed is this,” Qian Ye looked outward toward the endless expanse, perplexed, “And what is so unique about it? I can easily fly upwards even with my physical body. No struggle, at all.”
Across from Qian Ye, the stranger broke into a wisp of amusement.
“It’s not unusual at all to be here bodily, Qian Ye. But for you to do so only as a spirit makes your passage here no small feat; most uncommon. Hard indeed.”
Sensing Qian was yet unconvinced, the gentleman elaborated calmly:
“Our native mana pulses with innate activity, which exerts an intense force onto wandering spirits, severely constricting the extent they can venture far unless gifted with a spirit of formidable might. To put it simply, without having reached the caliber of a Duke, one simply cannot step away from the sanctity of the altar. To rise this high? To encounter me here—that’s near impossible!”
Indeed, while Qian Ye did experience a haze that clouded him somewhat during elevation, his mind and soul—just like his mortal frame—endured ceaseless trials and tempering, including under the volatile influence of Primordial Forces. Therefore, resisting that ambient pressure was within his reach, and he made it through easily enough.
Given the rare challenge, Qian Ye then asked:
“If reaching here demands qualification, what exactly might have brought me here with my spirit intact?”
The man smirked bitterly, “How much ever more shall I confess? Even for me… It’s likely quite the ordeal to arrive like you have. Some help from Fortune is necessary.”
If even attaining the rank of Duke is necessary just to escape the altar’s immediate reach and being here—flying this aloft—implies capabilities far beyond, then the identity of this being must hold serious weight. The man—clearly an ancestral Atuwan spirit—in itself suggests the rank of Prince.
Qian Ye inquired, “I remain unenlightened on your name.”
Gazing evenly at Qian Ye, the mystery man chuckled mysteriously.
“That my face’s unfamiliar to you does not surprise me; surely you’ve heard my tales though. Further, you might surely recognize this next gesture.”
Without fanfare, he revealed blacked wings that fanned expansively behind him—a display of jet-black feathers shimmering like obsidian under moonlight.
A tremble shook Qian Ye’s heart—“A Black Wing Monarch…? No!—Who Are You?”
Inheritances gained allowed Qian Ye once to feel the echoes of someone like Anduri—glimpsed a form, caught an essence—and though one masters disguising flesh, the intrinsic scent of blood never wavers. The aura of potent blood in presence the stranger radiated indeed marked royalty but bore not the identity of Anduri.
“I am not he,” the man affirmed, “Teacher remains teacher and I… a pupil separate.”
Eyes narrowed contemplatively at Qian Ye then followed, and sigh he finally said.
“I never would have thought that teacher’s legacy—his grand inheritance—ended your way, but it fits: Your aptitudes might stand greater than the legacy I was meant to inherit.”
Suspition flickered at Qian as he replied.
“You should know my energy’s concealed, and that I came solely in awareness-form. That I bear ‘The Primal Wings’ you speak of—I do not broadcast it; by what perception then could one deduce that?”
The man smiled again knowingly.
“Oh, do not trouble yourself with concern. It’s simple really—we, in tutor’s days, have long deciphered bloodline camouflage, thanks to his very invention. After all, we were among the students gifted his tutelage and the legacy his techniques passed through blood to those of us that came after. Knowing is one thing—but actualizing another. Among us, few truly possess mastery of both—I am that rarity.”
A pause. “Another fact: Because I took a hand myself in the forming of *that wing*, the traces upon it breathe my essence still. Recognition is unavoidable.”
Qian Ye stared aghast, asking, “Who… you?”
“Rex. You’ve heard my appellation.”
Instant recognition flared. At once defensive stances over took Qian Ye as his thoughts flitted about, searching—desperately—for the exit, yearning for the link back, longing for reembodiment into form far from here.
Rex remained still, his gaze catching the infinitesimal reaction, a chuckle escaping at length.
“And so, the whispers: Have you been told I—myself—an outcast, betrayer of Master?”
“I heard the claim: yes.”
A long sigh parted lips; eyes shadowed with ghosts not so easily exorcised.
“Indeed, at the beginning, friction existed—concern in no small measure regarding ‘Primordium’s Wing’. To simplify the debate: Where I held conviction as rightful bearer, our tutor saw in me not the promise that I’d bring it fully and finally into being; therefore, he chose instead to leave it in the inheritance vault… To wait, until the ideal bearer would be born—until *you*.”
A silence stretched thin.
“Why not carry it and wield it?” questioned Qian Ye, now wholly absorbed with confusion.
“If this Primal Wing were the caliber beyond the ten legends, what cause would its wielder, the Black King himself, not wield and hold dominion—rather than sequestering such within sacred testament?”
As if seeing *through* him this whole while, Rex answered with scrutiny of his own:
“He fashioned the ‘Primordium Wing’ with purpose singular — to utterly outstrip a rival he loathed—‘Manshuvai.’ Only in the closing act did he discern he’d not succeed… unless a blood of never before seen strength was made manifest. The venerable old lines, insufficient. And this I denied then—for disbelief in his claim, not willingness. Hence… my parting.”
His eyes, now dimmer: “I mistook sincerity for excuses—therefore turned my back on teacher—for a time—though very shortly following I would return.”
His stance eased as if confessing to the truth even deeper.
“Teacher, knowing what my return meant, concealed our renewal behind his testament, all to grant me secrecy required—for a task urgent and vital… yet unseen by the parliament’s sight.”
This Qian Ye mulled slowly.
Credence had to be given, in part. The truth of *How* Anduri’s legacy was unveiled favored first the Dark Races, whose confederate raids seized the vault’s riches. Thus had only Qian Ye, bearing a pure blood of *Monro*—far richer than many scions’—won the testament’s choice. Even then…
He turned questions now outward.
“And this place… what does your meeting me here serve?”
A glance from Rex, a flickered tension that passed briefly like thunder over hills.
“I’ve been cognizant of the Parliament’s passage finally into this Deep-realm—as indeed their envoys already dwell. And you: you are anomaly.” He shrugged, adding, “Yet you carry legacy—unexpected, yes, but welcome still.”
“You and Atuwans… already arrived? In this realm… how long?”
“Eons.” The calm in Rex belied something deeper.
“A millennium or more has elapsed since the Parliament first recognized this world’s whisper—and began sowing their ambitions across its face. In that shaping, deep disputes bloomed… a chasm between Teacher’s dream and the Saint Summit’s doctrine—to break teacher’s unity irrevocably; hence our divergence.”
“After *that* moment—I returned truly—to stay beside tutor once fate made known to me truths too important to turn blind to.”
The rest of the saga—patience would reveal truths, step by step.
“What summons me to seek you now is Parliament’s intent—to command the world. To stop this, I have called our way across shadows.”
“And if stopping Parliament’s hold is the aim…” Qian spoke carefully, “then alliance becomes the path.”
“Imperium? With whom we’ve harbored ancient feuds.”
At this, a hesitation crossed the other’s features—unequivocally there—but slight.
“Human pacts are never effortless for us.”
“You speak,” Qian Ye replied with gravity, “As if the Night Empire’s House was untouched? They have annihilated half its Houses within already—we may number our great bloodhouses fewer than five! If the Dusk-Lands falls, still do you hold to a haughty posture among Man?”
Shock flits across Rex face: “The Dusklands… seized?” He leans in, astonished, “By whom?! — When was it taken?”
Pensively, seeing sincerity written on that disbelief Qian Ye began:
“This came following the Great Rift’s breach, mere breaths past.” His recount was solemn, factual:
“The spawn of magic and spiderkind united, and rallied portions of Fenris kin… suddenly striking bloodlines in mass. So swift, their campaign broke swift, leaving ruin in their wake.”
At the injustice in that truth, Rex exploded, his voice ringing with wrath:
“No! Impossible. We still have Night Sovereign. Even her rest is unbroken—should not both Meidansho and Reno stand watch still?” He gestured, furious passion coursing. “Whatever Reno was—he remains peerless against Everember Flame! Even if… the other was nothing.”
It was calm, measured tone through which Qian Ye finally replied.
“Guarding myself, Night Iris—when treachery struck us both, Reno fought the warlords Palachya and Everember. Then, betrayed by Meidansho, in Reno’s fatal hour—he was shattered utterly.”
A pause—meant only to underline the horror.
“M-e-i-d-a-n-s-h-o.” He saw disbelief etched across the face before him, “Betrayal,” Qian said, voice low, “he was… supposed to be a blood-prince, and our kin, a great noble still. Where *else* does a son run—what does *a traitor ever gain*, except the ruin of kin?”
Qian Ya looked to the expression shift as weight settled upon the shoulders of the listener.
Now Qian Ye’s query bore its final edge of urgency.
“I stand now roughly the strength of high blood-prince of old bloodlines,” he pressed forward. “By your estimation—your strength and mine together; will *that* grant the power even near Everember? Even a duel of parity?”
There was expectation buried deep in those words, the unarticulated prayer—hope. If Rex—once cherished student of Anduri—was the one prodigy, unrivaled, his prowess should teeter at the edge of Blood-King himself, and after so long…
Meeting his gaze in silence, Rex’s expression clouded.
“I reached the strength where I, a prince without equal within House rites unlit, would rank with nobility crowned. But if called into duel, I’d stand my ground—Howard, and Haphazard… I need neither title, nor mercy.”
A relief unfelt, surged within Qian Ya. Such an aid—a rare treasure.
In unity, after the Light & Eclipse became fused in form, he—Qian Ye had wielded Chaotic Primordium-force—rising now past the final stretch as a Duke… yet his capacity had grown fierce strength to approach even royalty of old nobles, even the weakest prince would fail.
Together, against Everember? Perhaps a standoff was attainable. Perhaps a stand worth fighting.
Yet then Qian sensed a nuance—a hesitation. His voice asked the simple, yet heavy question.
“…Do you withhold something, Rex?”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage