“I hope everything is okay,” Fei said. “Lei-Lei is strong, but I still don’t think it was a good choice for her to do something so dangerous all on her own.”
Payuei’s knee bounced as he sat on the moist lake floor. “She has me, doesn’t she? I even told her I would kill the demon myself.”
“Please be serious,” Fei sighed as she traced her finger along the lake’s mud floor.
Moments after Suzaku had left, Lei-Lei properly informed her sister and Payuei of the village’s fate. Kuei and Danei’s suicide had brought tears to Fei, but Payuei held back his to keep face in front of the one he loved. Bickering between Lei-Lei and Payuei broke out when he argued to join the fray, but he eventually gave in and followed her through the forest and to the lake. Lei-Lei parted the waters for them and created a dome of air around them with her ether.
Evening had arrived, and their hopes for the village began to decline. With everything going on, they knew well that a positive outcome would be as rare as Lei-Lei's four spirits.
But with the little hope they retained, they still held on tight like a snake refusing to release its prey.
“Fei,” Payuei said, “I still remember your mom’s mushroom stew.”
She raised an eyebrow before looking up. “What?”
“You know. Your mom’s mushroom stew. It warmed the entire village up during the winters.”
A gentle smile stretched on Fei’s lips. It’d been two years now and she couldn’t believe they’d gone two winters without the heartwarming stew. She reminisced on the past: life before the stampede.
“Do you remember when Lei-Lei would scold us whenever we left her ether field?” Fei asked.
Payuei nodded. “She’s so cold now. Not an ounce of emotion under that hood of hers.”
“A lot of things have changed.” Fei’s smile weakened. “You used to always talk to me when you wanted to find Lei-Lei.”
Heat traveled to Payuei’s face, blushing red like a tomato. “Hey! That’s not true!”
“Liar!” Fei exclaimed. Seeing his red face made her chuckle and she stood before walking over to sit next to him. “And then you would ask Mrei to go soil her clothes so you could have an excuse to go to the lake and clean her clothing with her.”
Covering his ears, Payuei shook his head sideways. “It was one time!”
The pocket of air they stayed in suddenly filled with laughter and back-and-forth teasing. The depressing air became a contagious room of joy. After Fei had mentioned what Payuei had done, he brought up the time she accidentally fed one of the younger children a candy bar—obtained during the rare times the Jiuli would visit the closest village—causing them to go on a crazed sugar rampage, running around and wreaking havoc to the women preparing that day’s meal. Fei in turn reminded him of the play he performed with his friends to win over Lei-Lei's heart. They returned their memories, laughing so hard they began rolling in the mud. Fei’s white skirt turned completely brown now, and so did the red apron wrapped around Payuei’s waist.
Just as quickly as it started, it became quiet again and the joyful atmosphere became dull. The two sat up, wet and covered in mud.
“What were you doing when the stampede was going on?” Fei asked suddenly.
“I...” He stopped, remembering how he ran away from the stampede back then deep within the forest, away from his now fallen brothers and sisters. “...I went to go pee. When I came back, everything was destroyed, and so many people...”
He had to stop again. Lying about such a thing made him guilty beyond belief.
“My mother and father protected everyone until the very end,” Fei said. “But they still died.”
“What’s gotten into you—”
Fei held Payuei’s hand, terrified out of her mind. Her breath remained unsteady. “It’s going to happen again, isn’t it? No matter how hard we fight, we’re all going to die. We didn’t die back then, so we’re going to die now, aren’t we? Payuei, I’m so scared. Lei-Lei's going to die like mother and father, just like when they protected the village. And then we’ll be next.”
Speechless, Payuei could only stare out in front of him, thinking of Fei’s words as the fish swam by.
***
“Please name this lowly servant.”
Ether of the Cerulean resulted in Merew’s ether clashing against it like beasts brawling for dominance. Neither could live alongside the other.
A proxy stood in front of Merew. Like fruit, he had fallen from the Tree of Inanis—escaping its grasp—and as a result, his soul manifested into a tall-legged ram. The absence he felt caused by the ether in his body becoming zero liberated him like a fresh breeze, and the creature standing before him was the product of said liberation.
I was right... I’ve birthed a proxy... Merew thought. It wasn’t a fable then. That is how the demon Laplace defeated the Vermillion Bird. With a being just like mine.
Merew tried reaching into his stomach but found his magic unresponsive. Suddenly, the ram bowed its head, grazing its horns on the demon’s chest. Ether spewed from the proxy, and Merew’s shadow finally formed where it should have.
Digging his arm into his stomach, he gagged before pulling out a journal—the same one he’d used to document the experiments he performed on the Cerulean. Flipping through it, he found a chapter titled: FALLEN FRUIT.
A millennium ago, I began studying Laplace: how he left the demon realm of Lilu, how he entered the realm called Owanai ruled by the Four Guardians, and his battle with the Vermillion Bird. The fiend has gone into hiding, too injured from his encounter. Since then, there have been few who have learned his secrets of traveling between realms, many bands and I included. There are many things we have yet to learn.
Laplace arrived back in our realm Lilu, tattered like a convict who’d escaped execution. I remember that day, seeing such a powerful demon on the brink of death and with such fear that humbled his ego. I remembered back then too, watching demons face Laplace so they could learn his newfound ability.
I believe being afraid to be the correct response, but attacking the fiend blindly was foolish. Laplace was weak and bore no ether whatsoever in his body, and I believe that to be the reason why the demons who attacked him were so confident in their actions. However, arriving back in Lilu, Laplace had brought back a pet of sorts, and what he would later call a proxy.
It was a magnificent beast, one that brought terror to me and my mother. It granted Laplace ether I’d never felt before; ether so malleable and unrestricted that it felt wrong to even be near it. I watched Laplace erupt, and as he erupted, an army of centipedes and scorpions poured from the wounds of his body, crawling into the many entrances of the demons that attacked him. I watched them submit under his power.
Then, a beast stood over Laplace and announced itself as a proxy and as a manifestation of its master’s soul. I couldn’t move. Nobody could.
That scene lived freely in my mind, and I focused my studies on the secrets of realm travel, hoping to travel to Owanai and find a proxy of my own. During those studies, my colleagues and I discovered how to travel between realms and theorized why Laplace was void of ether back then. We concluded that the only way to be void was to eliminate yourself completely from the Tree of Inanis, and to do that, your ether must be overwritten by something grander than it.
My colleagues and I secretly traveled to Owanai, landing in the Land of the North, Lyrock. For our sake, I will not detail how we arrived. Owanai is ours for the taking.
Tales of a race called the Ceruleans were brought to our attention, so we traveled in secrecy to where the Land of the South, Kratia lay. Supposedly, that is where they lived. We learned that they possessed powers that ether was incapable of, and this alone furthered our reason to keep pushing.
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On our way, our theories grew. If it was true that Ceruleans possessed powers greater than ether, then it wasn’t out of the equation that they would be the ones capable of eliminating us from the Tree of Inanis. I settled on the idea that eating the Ceruleans could awaken a proxy, but my colleagues thought differently. But theories are merely theories: delicacies for the curious mind. With no other leads, this was our only option.
Finding Ceruleans—even just one—is driving me insane. The landscape here is vast, and my colleagues have begun to wander on their own. Pipi stayed with me, but I’d rather he left with the rest.
I’ve lived in Owanai for so long. Pipi has become intolerable and is a completely new individual mentally and physically. He will be my servant from now on, for he serves no other purpose.
Lately, I’ve noticed that more demons have found their way to Owanai. Every few decades I find a much weaker demon wandering and they’ll start a fight. I think it’s about time I settle somewhere. I’ve given up on my search for a proxy.
I’ve opened this journal again and again solely to reflect on my past. I thought I was an idiot whose greed had gotten the better of him. However, this time is different. My daily routine consisted of foraging the forests of the Northern Kratian Mountains, but during that routine, I made a one-in-a-million discovery. Walking side by side, I saw a boy with irises as blue as the sky and yellow pupils as bright as the sun, and a girl with long crimson hair. I knew without a doubt the boy was a Cerulean, however, the girl beside him I was unsure of. I kept my distance. I’ve heard the tales of Ceruleans and their history. I mustn’t let my guard down.
I write this entry with unmatched vigor that’ll break my quill. My one-in-a-million discovery had become nigh impossible! The Vermillion Bird, the creature that nearly brought Laplace to his death, had become the weapon of the Cerulean! If I’m not careful, my death will be inevitable. The dying embers toward finding a proxy within me have turned into a wildfire that I can no longer control. This opportunity is one I cannot let slip by. I will obtain my own proxy and slay the Vermillion Bird. I will do what Laplace could not.
“I was right,” Merew uttered, his quill moving along the journal’s paper like his life depended on it as he continued his journal entries. “On the verge of death, I ate the limbs I harvested from the Cerulean. The blood contained ether so potent and rich I thought I’d die, but I barely survived. My efforts bore fruit. I have fallen from the Tree of Inanis, landing in the soil to become my own being unbound to the puppeteer of life and fate.”
Suddenly, the tip of Merew’s quill broke, landing in the mud.
The tall legged ram hung its mouth open. “Please master. Please name this lowly servant.”
Merew’s lips stretched ear to ear. He rose off the ground and caressed the ram’s thick black fur. “Trufagetou. You are Trufagetou.”
Satisfied, Trufagetou nuzzled itself against its master. “I am Trufagetou, servant of Master Merew.”
Rays of light broke through the leafy ceiling of the forest as the storm passed. Merew stood silent, admiring the sheer beauty of his proxy, sniffing and licking all over its body. He wanted to familiarize himself with it as much as possible.
“Master, please give me an order,” Trufagetou said.
Snapping out of his euphoric state, Merew stopped licking his proxy and looked into its empty eye sockets. “What can you do?”
“What I can do is for you to decide.”
He clicked his tongue. “I don’t understand.”
“I’m sorry for causing you confusion, Master.” Trufagetou cowered. “You have no ether in your body, but death does not grace you when it should have. I am the reason you are alive. I take from the Tree of Inanis and filter its ether into my own, to offer to you. What you can do with this ether is limitless.”
Bowing its head again, Trufagetou’s horns touched Merew’s chest, granting him a superfluous amount of ether. His eyes widened. The ether squeezed and tugged at Merew’s heart, causing it to beat fast as it coursed through his entire body, giving him a high even greater than the cries of the Cerulean he tortured. At some point, he could hardly contain all of the ether entering him. He turned away from Trufagetou and opened his palms toward the sky. A blanket of darkness left his hands and shrouded the trees, swallowing them into his shadow. Before the blanket could reach the ground, it dissipated, leaving a hole of light in the forest ceiling and a dozen tree stumps robbed of their lives.
My shadows turned into a projectile? Merew fell to his knees and panted. Before, he could only interact with shadows that touched him or something else directly.
“Ah, Master has already developed his own ability of sorts,” Trufagetou said. “As expected.”
Looking back at his proxy, Merew took a deep breath. “I made that?”
“The ether in you before was very limiting, wasn’t it, Master? With my ether, you may freely weave and create anything if you have a grounded enough understanding. We take, change, and give. That is the nature of proxies.”
Staring at his palms, Merew noticed that his threads of black ether had become as refined as silk. Trufagetou offered him more ether, letting him control it into a skinny stream. The slightest movement altered their paths entirely making them difficult to control. Despite this barrier, Merew knew of its capabilities.
***
Space inside the lake’s air dome expanded before the waters were parted to create a path toward dry land. Standing on the shore was Suzaku, and Lei-Lei, whose staff channeled the water.
“Lei-Lei!” Payuei shouted, sprinting through the parted water. “You’re safe!”
All the stress in the world suddenly vanished. A tear ran down Fei’s cheek despite her trying to hold back, and she hid her relief with a gentle smile. She followed Payuei, running behind him. As the water behind them closed, Fei buried her face in her sister’s chest and held her tight.
“Now is not the time,” Lei-Lei said coldly. Despite what she said, she couldn’t help but hold her just as tight. Deep down past her indifferent facade, she too felt relief wash over her.
Staring in awe, Payuei’s face flushed as he witnessed a rare sight: Lei-Lei without her robes. Instead, she wore a decorated and color-inverted version of the Jiuli’s clothing: a white jacket with sleeves above her forearms lined with a golden fabric around the collar and cuffs, a long black skirt, and a green apron hanging down from her waist. The colors, unlike usual Jiuli clothing, were bright. Only the Chieftan’s daughter could wear it.
Payuei nervously spoke. “Lei-Lei, you’re wearing...”
“This is the final fight,” Lei-Lei said, letting go of Fei. “I want to end things while showing the demon I am a Jiuli.”
As Fei was let go of, she realized her emotions had distracted her from her sister’s beauty. So pretty, she thought.
“Somehow, it was not lost in the rubble,” Suzaku said. She looked down at her own Jiuli clothing, consisting of a black jacket with sleeves above her forearms and blue cuffs, a long black skirt, and a red apron. “Your clothing is beautiful. If my greatness were Lei-Lei, my greatness would be wearing what she has on every day.”
“Thank you, Suzaku,” Lei-Lei said, bowing in the direction of her voice. Her hands started to shake. As she slowly rose it from her side, she gently placed it on Fei’s head and patted her. Behind her green bangs, her eyes were pained. “I’m sure you know this already, but we can’t live here anymore.” She then turned to Payuei. “Please. You are the only one who can protect her.”
“We’re all going to fight the demon, aren’t we?” Payuei asked, confused at her question. “I’ll still protect Fei. And then I’ll keep my promise and slay the demon with you—”
Lei-Lei embraced him with a warm hug. Never would she hug him, but knowing only he and Fei were left of her people, it felt wrong not to leave without doing something special. No matter what, she wanted them to live. A flurry of emotions engulfed her, all of which she thought she would never have to display again after the stampede. Tears streamed down her face, but she remained composed. Not even Payuei could hear her cries.
“No, you will escape these forests,” she demanded, her voice quivering.
“I don’t understand,” Payuei said, even more confused and reddened by her close contact. “What about the promise I made to you?”
Hearing his ignorance frustrated Suzaku. “Listen, boy. Demons are not like the forest beasts you are used to, and they are not creatures you would ever want to encounter. Lei-Lei is granting you and Fei a passage to survival. If you choose to fight with us, you will die, and so will Fei.”
Payuei glared defiantly. Who was she to dictate how he should live?
Activating her Ghost Mansion, Suzaku’s forearm turned into a blade, and she pointed it at the ignorant boy. “You can die here and save us the effort of trying to keep you away from this fight.”
“That’s unnecessary,” Lei-Lei said as she released Payuei and wiped her tears. She walked back to Fei and handed her a scroll, whispering in her ear before taking several paces back.
While Payuei and Fei stood close to each other, Lei-Lei held her staff firm, pointing its tip at them. “Voice of Rain: Imprisonment Aqua.”
A hollow sphere of water formed at the tip of her staff, floating in the air. It grew quickly before engulfing Payuei and Fei.
“Let us out!” Payuei shouted, smashing his fist against the water barrier.
Controlling the sphere of water, Lei-Lei aimed it with precision with her ether field assisting her. Once she found the direction she wanted to send Fei and Payuei, she carefully lined her staff with it and let go, allowing the sphere of water to glide across the lake.
Fei opened the scroll her sister had given her and tuned out Payuei’s shouts. Her eyes widened when she saw a detailed map with landmarks that included the river, the lake, and the village. A place called “Pitur Village” outside the Kratian Mountains caught her eye. In the margins of the map beside it, Lei-Lei had written the following: “Stay here. Please take care of yourself and Payuei. If something bad happens to me, forget it.”
Another pair of hands banged against the water barrier. How could Fei stand to read something so implicative? But, as the distance between her and her sister widened, her cries could no longer be heard.
“Are you ready?” Suzaku asked, facing Lei-Lei with a serious expression. “You could have gone with them. There is no turning back now.”
“I know,” she said.
As much as she did want to go with them, her thoughts were filled with vindication. The source of all her hardship hid somewhere in the forest, and it didn’t sit right with her that it wandered freely. Though her face displayed indifference to the situation, her abundant ether became uncontrollable as it leaked through every seam in her body.
Lei-Lei followed Suzaku as she led them back to the village. For the Jiuli—I will bring peace to you all.