Darian found himself in a familiar state. He was dreaming, lucid and aware that he was dreaming, but unable to do anything or change the course of the dream.

In this one, Darian found himself walking behind a man wearing flowing robes made of red silk with gold trimmings. The color reminded Darian of his own outfits. The man’s back was to Darian, or the person whose body he occupied, but he guessed that the man was a cultivator. It was the way he carried himself, the way the crowd parted before him, that clued Darian in.

The man had light brown skin and dark hair. That was all Darian could tell about the man’s features from this angle. A bag hung from the man’s hip. It looked like a holding bag.

The man walked through a town of some kind. No, it was a city. The buildings were tall, even taller than the ones in Valeheart, with many of them being four or five stories tall. Thankfully, the stone street he walked on was wide, otherwise he would have felt claustrophobic.

Based on the lighting, Darian guessed it was early morning. It was hard to tell, however. The sun was stronger here. Harsher.

The buildings here were all made from stone, instead of wood like in Valeheart. Most were made from some kind of sand-colored stone, though Darian saw a few that were built with granite, or even marble. The buildings were all decorated with elaborate carvings, with geometric patterns being the most common design.

This city also smelled dirtier than Valeheart. A stench made from a mix of smoke, animal droppings, and body odor assaulted his nostrils. The person whose body he occupied wrinkled their nose in disgust. The stench did nothing to hide the strong smell of alcohol that pervaded the air.

What caught Darian’s attention the most, however, were the people. There were so many of them, packed together in dense crowds. Even in Valeheart, there hadn’t been this many people in such a small amount of space. Like the man, they all wore flowing robes, though most were made from linen, not silk. Also like the man, they had light brown skin and dark hair. Darian found it odd, since he was used to the pale skin and light hair of Silverwood Vale.

Traffic flowed like a two-way current made of people and animals. However, people parted before the man in front of Darian, moving out of his way, easing his passage. Some even stopped to bow. The man paid them little mind, though he didn’t ignore them entirely.

Up above, Darian saw vehicles of all shapes and sizes flying through the air. Immortal boats? Darian had heard about them, but had never seen one before. They were forbidden in Silverwood Vale, if he remembered correctly, though flying swords were not.

Vendors occupied stalls that lined the street, hawking their wares. Musicians played instruments, with bowls or hats filled with coins sitting on the ground in front of them. There were several beautiful men and women lounging in front of one building, offering their services to people passing by.

Darian’s eyes lingered on them for a long time.

This was all background noise, however, to the lecture the red-robed man gave to Darian, or at least the person whose body he occupied.

“What were you thinking, Carina?” the man said, glancing back. The man had a rough face, but warm brown eyes. Those eyes were narrowed in displeasure. “Assaulting the Magistrate’s wife like that?”

The man’s voice sounded familiar, though it took Darian a moment to place it. It was the same voice he had heard at the end of the last dream. Then did that mean…?

“She attacked me first, Master Solaris!” Darian heard a woman say in protest. Her voice sounded like an older version of the girl’s from the last dream. “I was merely defending myself!”

Based on these clues, Darian guessed he was in the body of the same girl from the last dream, except she was older now. He was glad that she survived.

“That’s because she caught you in bed with her husband!” Master Solaris said. “Again, I ask you. What were you thinking, Carina? Why did you think it was a good idea to sleep with the Magistrate? What did you hope to gain?”

Carina, whose body Darian occupied, shrugged. Despite that, Darian felt her shame and regret.

“I met him at the brothel last night,” she said. “He mistook me for one of the prostitutes, and I didn’t correct him. We had some fun together for a bit, before he decided to bring me back to his palace to continue the festivities. The Magistrate then brought out a bottle of immortal wine.” She frowned. “Things get a little hazy after that. I do remember the wife showing up and screeching at me like some kind of harpy, but that’s it. My next clear memory is waking up in jail and you coming along to free me.”

The man shook his head in exasperation.

“Then let me remind you of what happened,” he said. “After you assaulted the Magistrate’s wife, the Magistrate himself and his guards attacked you. You fought back, defeating most of them, before they managed to subdue you with some Enforcer’s Rope they happened to have.” He stopped and turned to face Carina fully. The crowd flowed around them, as if they were stones jutting up in the middle of a river. “You’re lucky they didn’t kill you. You’re even luckier that I arrived before the Imperial Guard came to take you away. Otherwise, it might have taken me much longer to free you. The name of my sect carries weight, but there are limits to our influence.”

Carina looked away.

“I’m sorry, Master. It won’t happen again.”

“Good.”

A warm hand touched her face. Carina turned to find Master Solaris giving her a concerned look.

“I worry about you, Carina,” he said. “The drinking, the violence, the sleeping with random strangers. This self destructive behavior will be the death of you.”

“It’s fine, Master Solaris,” Carina said. “I can control myself. I’ll do better.”

Darian could tell that Carina meant what she said, but she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to keep her word. Master Solaris gave her a reassuring smile.

“See that you do,” he said. “I do not wish to outlive you, my disciple. I wish for us both to become Immortals.”

Carina returned the smile.

The two of them continued on their way. Soon, they arrive at a gate in the city walls. The walls were massive, easily hundreds of feet tall. The gates were massive as well, allowing hundreds of people to pass through at once. Carina and Master Solaris exited the city. An arid landscape stretched out before them. In the distance, to their left, Darian saw a river flowing towards the city. Life grew in abundance along the river, though he didn’t get much time to see it. After all, he wasn’t in control. He was just an observer.

Carina and her master walked along the road for several miles, staying within sight of the city, before they turned right on a dirt path. A few miles distant, in the middle of a flat arid plain, sat a wooden shack.

“I don’t understand why we have to walk all the way there,” Carina grumbled. “Why won’t we just use your flying carpet?”

“Walking is good for you, my disciple,” Master Solaris said with a laugh. “A good walk can clear the mind and soul, even for cultivators like us!”

Carina snorted, but didn’t contradict her master.

“Besides, Carina,” Master Solaris continued. “The time it takes for us to reach our home will help build anticipation for the grand reveal.”

Darian felt Carina’s confusion, before excitement replaced it.

“Does this mean you succeeded in your quest, Master?” she asked, hopping on her toes.

“All in good time, my disciple.”

Throughout the rest of their journey back home, Carina vibrated with giddy excitement. She even ran ahead of her master, but he maintained his steady pace, which just about drove her mad. Her giddiness affected Darian, and he looked forward to finding out what she was excited for.

When Master Solaris finally reached the shack, Carina threw the door open. To Darian’s disappointment, it didn’t contain some kind of secret realm nor was it bigger on the inside. It was just a mundane wooden shack, a spartan and rundown one at that. It had a single room, with a small stove in the corner for cooking. There was little furniture, except for a rickety looking bad and a few ragged carpets on the floor. A wooden chest sat at the foot of the bed.

“Show me, Master!” Carina demanded.

Master Solaris chuckled.

“Very well, my disciple,” he said.

The man reached into his holding bag and pulled out a fruit unlike any Darian had ever seen before. It looked somewhat like an apple and a pear mixed together, at least in shape, except it glowed with swirling reds and blues. The fruit emitted both intense heat and intense cold at the same time, somehow neither one canceled out the other.

“Behold!” Master Solaris said in a dramatic voice. “Thousand Year Firefrost Fruit! An Immortal grade natural treasure. With this as your catalyst, you’ll be able to form a violet dantian and step into the Energy Gathering stage.”

“Yes!” Carina said. “I’ll finally be able to join Master’s sect!”

“While I would have preferred to wait until you reached the Core Shaping stage, the sooner you join the better, given the trouble you get into. There is only so much influence a mere disciple like myself can wield. With the entire sect backing you, you’ll be far more protected.”

Carina couldn’t contain her happiness and pulled Master Solaris into a hug. The man was surprised, but returned the embrace.

“Where did you find it?” Carina demanded after she pulled away. “Did you fight any spirit beasts? Other cultivators?”

Master Solaris chuckled.

“All in good time, Carina. First, I-…”

He stopped talking and looked to the east. His face paled.

“Master?” Carina asked.

“They found me,” Master Solaris whispered.

Moving faster than either Carina or Darian could see, he pulled out a pebble from his holding bag. It looked no different from any other pebble. He shoved the Thousand Year Firefrost Fruit into Carina’s hands. It both burned her and froze her at the same time, but she didn’t drop it.

“I snatched the fruit from the hands of some disciples of the Sand Striker Sect,” Master Solaris said. “I thought I had lost them, but I was wrong. Quick! I’ll put you and the fruit into the Pebble of Hidden Treasures. It should hide you and the fruit long enough for you to escape.”

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Even as he was spoke, Master Solaris began making hand seals at a speed that Darian found dizzying. The pebble started to glow.

“What about you, Master?” Carina asked. “How will you escape?”

Master Solaris shook his head. He didn’t slow down.

“It’s too late for me. I can’t run away fast enough to escape, and there are too many of them for us to fight. If I try to hide with you, they’ll just keep looking until they find us. I’ll distract them so at least one of us survives.”

When Carina realized that her master intended to sacrifice himself for her sake, pain and sorrow and anger pierced her heart. Darian felt her emotions as if they were his own.

“No!” Carina yelled. “I already lost my parents. I can’t lose you too! You’re all I have left in this world. If you have to die, then I will die with you! I would rather die fighting than survive by hiding like a coward.”

Master Solaris gave her a sad smile.

“Goodbye, Carina,” he said. “I loved you as a daughter. I wish we could have become Immortals together.”

He made one final hand seal. The pebble shone with a bright white light and pulled Carina towards it. The sensation of being sucked into the pebble alarmed both Carina and Darian.

“Master, no! Please!”

“Tell the Dawn and Dusk Sect what happened. They will avenge me.”

That was the last thing Carina heard before she was pulled into the pebble. She found herself in a dark space, surrounded by nothingness. After what felt like a second, a force pulled Carina out of this space. However, the scene she found herself in was far different from the one she had left behind.

It was nighttime, and the shack was nowhere in sight. Instead, Carina found herself in the middle of a blackened crater. The sand and dirt had melted into glass. Charred corpses were strewn about the crater. There were perhaps seven or eight of the corpses. It was hard for Darian to count, since Carina didn’t focus on them.

Instead, she focused on the charred corpse in the middle of the crater. Darian didn’t know exactly what happened, but it wasn’t hard to guess. Master Solaris must have used some kind of suicide attack to take his attackers with him to the Underworld. In doing so, he avenged himself and ensured Carina’s survival.

Carina didn’t care about any of that. Still holding the Thousand Year Firefrost Fruit, she knelt beside her master’s corpse. There was little left of him except for a charred skeleton. Her rage and grief cut into Darian like a knife.

Tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision. From the depths of her souls, she mourned the loss of her master.

----------------------------------------

When Darian woke up, his body ached all over. He had never been trampled by a mule before, but he imagined this is what it felt like. It wasn’t an experience he would recommend to anyone. He opened his eyes to find himself staring at his bedroom ceiling.

“You’re awake I see,” Astra's voice said from his side.

Darian turned to find her sitting in a chair beside his bed, still in her human form. She studied him with a serious expression on her face.

“Auntie, what-…?” he started to say while sitting up, but stopped to hiss through his teeth.

His abdomen hurt like, well, like he had been kicked by a Nascent Soul cultivator. Despite the mental state he had been in, Darian remembered last night’s events with clarity. Everything he perceived, felt, and experienced. He remembered it all. Astra had beaten him.

No, that wasn’t quite right. If she wanted to, Astra could have done a lot more damage to him without much trouble on her part. She had…contained him. That seemed like a better word for it. She had contained him after he had lost control last night.

“Sorry about the pain,” Astra said. “I wasn’t sure how a Medicine Pill would affect you, so I refrained from giving you one. Vera wanted to look you over, but I didn’t want her nearby in case you woke up again and you were still out of control. I kept vigil over you the entire night for the same reason.”

Darian had thought about mentioning his dream, and the previous one as well, but he pushed that thought aside. He would ask her later.

“Auntie,” Darian said, pushing through the pain. “What was that last night? Why did I lose control like that?”

He touched his chest, in the spot where he had felt the crack. It wasn’t there anymore, though he still remembered what had leaked out. What had he called it last night? Wrath? Yes, Wrath.

Astra pinched the bridge of her nose.

“It was something I wanted to talk with you about later, when you were less busy and could focus on it, same as with the rat.”

Darian swung his legs so they were on the floor and he faced Astra.

“How are things with Cassan-…How are things with Jaime? What happened last night, after you knocked me unconscious?”

Astra shrugged.

“She tried to hide, since she can’t leave the secret realm, but it took us little time to find her and contain her. We have her locked in one of the estate’s more secure rooms. Senior Sister Nova didn’t put in any prison cells when she created this place, since she didn’t think you’d need one, I imagine.”

“How shortsighted of her,” Darian said in a dry tone. He gave her a small smile, before it faded away. “What happened to me last night, Auntie? I felt…Ancestors, I don’t know how to describe how I felt. I wanted to kill you. I wanted to kill everyone. Worst of all, I would have enjoyed it. Killing and destroying. It was as if everything about me had been reduced to those two things.”

Last night scared him, more than he let on. What if he had attacked his father, or one of his friends? What if he had attacked Ellen? While Darian knew that she would be able to handle him with ease, given the differences in their strength, it still sickened him to think that he might have attacked her, of all people.

“It’s your innate ability,” Astra said with a sigh. She leaned back in her chair and looked away from him, staring at the ceiling. “Like certain spirit beasts, the children of Immortals are born with innate abilities. This is one of the things that puts them above other cultivators, who have a miniscule chance of gaining an innate ability when they open one of their Apertures.” She gestured in his direction. “I mentioned something like that might happen with your Eye Aperture a while ago.”

Darian thought back to it. Huh. She was right. Astra had mentioned that his eyes might receive a special ability when he opened his Eye Aperture. However, since that hadn’t happened, he hadn’t given it much thought since then. In fact, he had forgotten all about it until she mentioned it just now.

“This innate ability of mine,” he said. “What is it?”

“It’s called ‘Demon’s Wrath,’” Astra said. “As the name suggests, this ability gives its users the strength of a raging demon, at the cost of them falling into a battle rage. They lose the ability to distinguish between friend and foe, as you experienced last night. It’s a rare and powerful ability, but a dangerous one. I just recently learned that you had it.”

Darian stared at her.

“Is…Is there any way to get rid of it?” he asked. “I wanted to kill the people I love last night. That’s something I never want to go through again. I don’t care how powerful this ‘Demon’s Wrath’ makes me.”

Astra looked back down at him and shook her head.

“No,” she said. “Innate abilities are an intrinsic part of one’s being. That’s why they’re called innate abilities. You may never use it again, if that’s your choice, but it will still be a part of you.”

Darian looked at the floor and didn’t say anything for a long time. He didn’t like this. In fact, it was fair to say that he hated this situation. An ability that made him unable to distinguish between friend and foe? An ability that made him want to kill his loved ones? This was an intrinsic part of his being?

What a joke.

“You see why I wanted to wait until you had built your foundation before telling you?” Astra said. “Thankfully, it’s something that you can learn to control.”

Darian’s head snapped up and he opened his mouth to ask her to teach him how to control his Demon’s Wrath ability, but she forestalled him by holding her hand out.

“Not now,” Astra said. “As I said, you’re busy enough. Honestly, that’s my fault. I should have waited before insisting that you focus on your education.”

“But what if I lose control again?”

Astra had been there to suppress him, to keep him in check, but what if she wasn’t there next time? He didn’t want to hurt his loved ones.

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” she said. “One of your Honored Ancestors sealed your ability away when you were young. You should only lose control when you get angry enough. Use the Mind Flame meditation technique when you feel that happening, and you should be fine. It’s a stop gap measure, but one that should last long enough.”

“It’s sealed?” Darian asked. “Is that why I lost control when I felt something crack in me?”

Astra nodded.

“Yes. What you experienced last night was just a taste of what you’re capable of.”

That chilled Darian to his bones.

“Then why didn’t you fix it, like you did the first time?” he asked. “I remember what you did, back when I fought Zayne and almost attacked Lucius, though I didn’t understand it at the time.”

If he had attacked Lucius with those black flames, the ones born from his wrath, his friend wouldn’t have fared as well as Astra.

Astra didn’t respond right away. Her eyes lost focus for a few moments.

“You’ve had several upsets in the last few weeks,” she said. “Returning to Mt. Wind Dance, learning that Senior Sister Nova is your mother, learning that Stella is actually Senior Sister Nova.” She gestured to outside his room. “This situation with the rat. I thought it would be better to let you vent some anger and frustration now, rather than risk you losing control later on, when I’m not around.”

It wasn’t a bad idea, to be fair. Darian felt a little lighter than he had before last night. He hadn’t realized just how stressed he had been, until some of it had been taken away. Did that make him a weak person?

“What now?” Darian asked. “You told me about my Demon’s Wrath ability, and Jaime has been exposed. What happens now?” He voice hardened. “Is there anything else you haven’t mentioned? Anything else that you’re keeping from me?”

Astra arched an eyebrow at him.

“Careful, little Darian. I am still your Auntie. I can tolerate a little disrespect, but don’t take it too far.”

Darian didn’t back down and continued to hold her gaze. This amused Astra, more than anything.

“No, I’m not keeping anything else from you. Everything is out in the open, at least on my end.” She shrugged. “As for what happens, that depends on you. I would recommend dealing with the rat sooner than later. While it’s not urgent, you still need to decide what to do with her. Her fate is in your hands.”

“Why?” Darian snapped out, his temper rising again at the mention of Jaime. “Because Master Nova said so?”

“Yes,” Astra said, nodding. “And because one of your Honored Ancestors said so. While your grandfather is Clan Wind Dance’s Patriarch, your Honored Ancestors are the highest authorities in Clan Wind Dance territory. No one supersedes them. Her life is forfeit, and yours to do with as you please.”

Darian’s anger petered out.

“What do you mean by that?”

He suspected he knew, but the thought disturbed him. He didn’t want to be right.

“It means that you can do whatever you want with her. She is an enemy of your clan, and has killed mortals under your protection. By the rules and laws of your clan, you can punish her however you see fit. Under normal circumstances, she would have been interrogated to find out what she knew, and then executed. You can do that, if you wish, but you don’t have to. Again, you can do whatever you want with her. No one will say or do anything about it.”

Darian stared at her.

“By ‘whatever I want’, you mean…”

He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

“I mean exactly that. You can do whatever you want with her. Kill her. Enslave her. Keep her as a pet. Torture her for your amusement.” Astra nodded at him. “That is the lesson Senior Sister Nova wanted you to learn. She wanted you to know what it was like to hold another person’s life in your hands like this, and she wanted to know what you would do with this opportunity.”

Darian put his face in his hands.

“Why?” he asked. “Why make me go through this?” He pulled his hands away. “Most mothers would never put their children through something like this.”

“I think we can agree that Senior Sister Nova is not like most mothers,” Astra said. “That being the case, I don’t exactly disagree with her here. The world is a dangerous place, and there will be times when you’re the one who has to decide someone else’s fate. It’s better to go through that now, in a relatively controlled manner. That way, you’re more prepared later on.”

Darian let out a bitter laugh.

“What else is there to do?” he asked. “She’s an enemy. We can’t release her, and holding her prisoner would take too much time and resources in the long run.” He grimaced. “Besides, from what she said, death would be a mercy for her.”

The mask Jaime wore, the Mask of the Mortal Face, sounded like a powerful item, but it extracted a terrible price from anyone who used it. Merging one’s soul with the soul of another person? It was like losing oneself and becoming a different person entirely. Darian would hate to go something like that. In Jaime’s shoes, he would choose death as well. Better to die as himself, than be forcibly changed into someone else.

“You could take the mask off,” Astra pointed out. “While it wouldn’t reverse the changes the rat has already gone through, it would prevent any more from occurring.”

“To what end?” Darian asked, resigned. “We still can’t let her go or keep her prisoner. She’s too dangerous. Death is the only option.” He glared at Astra. “I don’t care what you or Master Nova or anyone else says. I won’t debase myself.”

Astra smiled.

“I thought you would say something like. You aren’t the kind of person to deliberately choose cruelty.” She paused, and then tilted her head to the side. “What if you could choose mercy? If you could, would you let her live? Let her go?”

“What’s the point in considering that?” Darian asked. “I can’t. Not without endangering my clan and the people I care about. Jaime is an enemy.”

“What if she didn’t have to be?” Astra asked.

Darian frowned at her. She leaned in closer.

“Thanks to the Mask of the Mortal Face, you have a unique opportunity. This is something else Senior Sister Nova wanted to give you. Let me tell you about soul bindings.”