Nobody but her mother knew just how important Heian was to Jiaguo. The ancient grand formation that ran through Yoshika’s soulscape was one of a kind and impossible to replicate, and it required constant maintenance. The soulscape would exist without it—that was part of Yoshika now, and always would be—but it had many crucial functions without which Yoshika would be much more vulnerable.

And it was Heian who took the role of maintaining that formation. The ancient sovereign who designed it had used a construct in his own image to act as the administrator of the soulscape, but it had destroyed itself when Yoshika took control.

Heian’s mother could do the task herself, if she chose to, but it would take up too much of her concentration. Heian, on the other hand, was a spirit. She was made of essence—quite literally lived and breathed essence. Not at all like those glorified rocks pretending to be something bigger. She didn’t just operate and maintain Yoshika’s soulscape—she became it.

Thanks to her, no other spirits could enter Jiaguo without her permission, and any other entities attempting to approach via the spirit world would be in for a rude awakening. And they had attempted.

Sovereign Shen Yu, one of the divine rulers of heaven, had sent his avatars to probe for weaknesses, but Heian didn’t display any. They hadn’t seen much of the cautious overlord since Jiaguo’s founding, but there was no question that he was still out there, biding his time. He’d been doing so for five years, and he could do it for another five hundred for all Heian cared.

It was difficult work, but rewarding. Heian was much stronger than she had been five years ago—perhaps even stronger than her progenitor, a powerful spirit of Shadow that had once made its home on Mount Geumji.

Despite all her newfound power, she was limited by her nature as a spirit. She was inexorably bound to Yoshika and her soulscape, and while Heian was more than happy to remain alongside her mother, it was hard to ignore the longing instinct to achieve true embodiment.

It was also hard to ignore the constant distractions caused by a certain bored young lady.

“Heian! Come on, I know you can hear me! Come out already, you’re making me look stupid!”

Lee Narae was shouting up at the sky in the middle of a park. She wasn’t just using her voice—in fact, she didn’t need to use her voice at all, since it was the call of her essence that drew Heian’s attention. Looking stupid was entirely her own choice.

Heian manifested her preferred form next to Narae. Her human form resembled a half-spirit woman with striking blue eyes and long black hair that fell below her waist in loose messy curls. Her eyelids drooped and there were dark circles under her eyes. That was an affectation—she wasn’t actually physically tired in a way that mortals would understand, but she did miss taking naps all the time.

“What do you want, Narae? I’m busy.”

Lee Narae put her hands on her hips and frowned at Heian.

“Oh, so you can hear me.”

“Yes. You and Princess Haeun are unfortunately impossible for me to ignore—though at least she has the good graces not to abuse that ability.”

Heian wasn’t the only one who’d grown. Narae was taller than her now, and her goat horns had grown out, curling around to just below her ears. She still kept her flaxen hair relatively short, but had allowed it to grow down to around her chin—probably in imitation of her big sister, Lee Jia.

Narae shrugged carelessly.

“We never hang out anymore—you’re always busy.”

“Yes. I am. And that includes right now, Narae.”

“Wanna spar?”

Heian sighed. Narae was a very talented girl, but listening wasn’t exactly her strong suit.

“Why? Don’t you have anyone else to play with?”

“Haeun’s off doing something important with her big sister, and nobody at the academy can give me a challenge.”

“So you’re bothering me about it?”

“Yep!”

Narae’s shameless smile reminded Heian of Yoshika. Somehow she’d managed to learn all of the worst lessons from her big sister. Lee Jung’s efforts to moderate her daughter’s behavior had been completely in vain. Though that gave Heian an idea.

“Go visit your mother instead. I’m sure her partner would be happy to entertain you.”

Narae winced.

“I said I wanted a challenge. Grandmaster Yumi would squish me like a bug if we sparred.”

“That’s the idea.”

“Come on, Heian! Just for a bit? It’ll be fun! Like when we were kids!”

Heian groaned and shook her head.

“Ancestors, Narae. I’m pretty sure you’re still a kid.”

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“Tch, you’re like half my age!”

“I don’t think that’s a point in your favor.”

Narae clasped her hands together and gave Heian a plaintive look, her eyes wide and pleading.

“Please?”

“Ugh, fine! But I want to make a wager.”

“A wager? What could you possibly want from me?”

Heian shrugged.

“Nothing. I’m a sworn companion of the empress herself, and there’s absolutely nothing you could possibly offer for me that I couldn’t more easily attain myself.”

Narae scuffed at the ground with her foot and grumbled.

“She’s my sister too, you know...”

“The point, Narae, is that you will be compelled to make up for my wasted time by wasting some of your own in return. If I win, then you will owe me a favor in compensation. I’ll decide what it is later.”

“And if I win?”

Heian gave her a flippant wave.

“Likewise, you can ask whatever you want of me.”

Narae rubbed her hands together and chuckled ominously. Heian rolled her eyes—it wasn’t like she was in any danger of losing. Narae was strong, but even limited by her lack of a physical form, Heian had access to power well beyond any houtian cultivator.

They took their places on opposite sides of a large grassy clearing, and a small crowd started to gather. Duels were fairly common among the academy students, and it was always a spectacle. Lee Narae was a particularly popular duelist, since she had a nearly undefeated record and a flashy fighting style.

“Ready?”

Heian nodded slowly.

“We can begin whenever you like.”

Narae launched herself forward like an arrow. Her signature technique allowed her to freely adjust her own weight, and despite her brash and reckless nature, Narae was a clever duelist. She knew that physical force had no effect on Heian, and had abandoned it entirely so that she could fly as fast as possible.

Heian dodged the opening attack by melting into her own shadow and reforming on the other side of her opponent. She flicked a ball of black fire at Narae and took a few quick steps back to avoid the incoming reprisal.

Narae parried Heian’s Shadowflame with one hand, which should have ended the duel right then and there, but Heian’s eyes widened as the fire failed to catch and the young half-spirit advanced on her unperturbed.

She focused on avoiding Narae’s attacks while she tried to understand what had just happened. Heian had once been a spirit of Shadow, like her progenitor, but had changed her nature after absorbing a portion of the Kumiho’s Soulfire. It had taken her a long time to comprehend her new element, but Heian’s Shadowflame was essentially a deeper concept of twilight. She embodied all things liminal, the strange spaces between life and death, light and dark, physical and immaterial.

Heian’s fire should have burned Narae, body and soul. It was almost impossible to defend completely against it, but she’d just slapped it aside like it was nothing.

There was no time to consider it further. If her fire couldn’t spread, then she just needed to land a direct hit. Heian enveloped herself in Shadowflame. It was harmless to her, but Narae could only touch Heian by surrounding her body with essence—essence that would burn down to her soul if she—

Narae tackled her to the ground, ignoring the fire entirely. Heian was so panicked by the sudden assault that she forgot to dematerialize herself. The window to do so closed as Narae blocked her escape by surrounding them with her domain. The black flames licked harmlessly at Narae’s skin as she grinned down at Heian triumphantly.

“Do you give up? Or are you going to make me break your manifestation?”

“How—how are you doing this?”

“I’ll tell you if you yield!”

Heian growled, struggling fruitlessly against Narae’s grip. It was useless. Narae’s domain blocked her from reaching out to Yoshika’s soul, and it would be cheating anyway. She went slack and groaned.

“Fine! I yield. You win.”

Narae retracted her domain and jumped up to her feet, whooping victoriously.

“Yes! Hahaha! Good fight, Heian—that was fun!”

She reached down to offer Heian a hand, which she took, moping as Narae helped her to her feet.

“What was that? Taking my Shadowflame head on like that should have killed you.”

Narae laughed and nodded.

“Yeah, which is why it was such a stupid way to attack! You’re a spirit, Heian! Your Shadowflame is you, and I know you’d never hurt me.”

“That—that’s...”

That was dirty! How had Heian not thought of that? Narae was like a sister to her—of course she’d hold back without thinking about it. But without a physical form, Heian didn’t have any other ways to attack. Narae had beaten her before the fight had ever started.

“That’s not fair!”

Narae shrugged.

“You should have specified different rules for the spar, then. I’m going to look forward to that favor you owe me!”

“Ugh!”

Heian waved a hand and dematerialized, retreating back to Yoshika’s soulscape. It was embarrassing to lose like that, especially after she’d been so condescending. Narae had a lot more fighting experience, but that was no excuse.

She curled up in her favorite spot next to the fireplace in the heart of her mother’s soul, basking in the comforting warmth of the fire. Nearby, Yoshika’s true body sat in meditation beneath the Sovereign’s Tear, their radiant power washing over Heian in waves.

“Mother, I think I’d like to have my own body.”

Her mother cracked one eye open, a small smile forming as she looked over at Heian fondly.

“After all this time, losing one measly spar with Narae was enough to change your mind?”

“No.”

Yoshika gave her a knowing look, and Heian blushed.

“Not just that. It’s frustrating being so limited in the physical world, but what I really want is the freedom to choose my own path. I love you, and I’m happy here. I wouldn’t change anything, given the choice but I’d like to have that choice.”

“Are you sure? It’s going to be dangerous. The divine seal really doesn’t like it when spirits try to ascend.”

“I know, but I think I need this. Not just because of some ancestral memory or instinct, but because it’s the only way for me to really become myself.”

Heian’s mother stood up and scooped her feline form up into her arms.

“Look at you, finally growing up. Alright—we already promised we’d find a way. We’ll make it a higher priority for you. Making you a body is the easy part, it’s making sure you can survive the process that might be a challenge.”

“That’s fine. I’m not in any hurry. Like I said, I love you, Mother. I don’t want to leave, I just want to choose to stay.”

“Aww! We love you too, sweetie!”

She nuzzled into her mother’s arms and purred softly. The two of them sat together like that for a little while, taking a well-earned break from their endless responsibilities.