I step out of the garden, the air rippling with my exit. Shia had decided to stay a little longer, saying that she would meet me at the portal.

Ai had begged me to stay, and it hurt my heart to say no. Since I left the capital, I’ve encountered two cultivators that could take her away from me without me being able to do anything about it, reinforcing the knowledge that I am weak. In the eyes of the immortals, I’m nothing more than a child.

Sun and Lu Kun are sparring in the clearing as I come out, the sound of their swords clashing echoing loudly as they each fight with their own unique style.

Sun has the upper hand in the fight, his eyes red and the spirit around him sharp. Lu Kun isn’t his match and if the fight were real, he would be dead a dozen times over.

They finish a few minutes after I come out, bowing to each other in respect as they sheathe their weapons.

Sun finally notices me as he turns away from Lu Kun. “Are you done?” he asks.

Lu Kun nods to me then sits down with his sword in his lap. He closes his eyes, meditating on the spot.

“I’m done.” I respond hesitantly. It feels strange to have our adventure over so fast. All that’s left for me is to return to the Flowing River sect. I twirl the ring that Elder Qiu Tai had given me around my finger.

“I’ll miss little Ai.” Sun says, looking at the tree that marks the entrance to the Garden. “I’m sure you found a good home for her.”

“I hope so.” I turn my gaze to the tree as well, remembering the immense power I had felt from Shi Lan.

It isn’t long before Lu Kun is done with his meditation and we start our journey back to the portal.

I am quiet as I walk, letting Sun and Lu Kun talk. At some point during our walk, Shia returns to me, slipping in through my robes and wrapping herself around my waist and chest.

The boys quiet as we approach the entrance to the portal. We all smell the scent of blood. I motion for the boys to stop and activate Movements Of The Silent Monster.

The cultivator that was guarding the exit when we left the portal stands there with his sword drawn, another cultivator dead at his feet. Cuts line his arms and he bleeds heavily from his side. To my surprise, his wariness isn’t directed at the forest, but at the portal itself.

I carefully move back to my companions, telling them what I saw. After a moment of hesitation we approach the cultivator who still has his sword drawn.

We make no effort to hide our presence and the cultivator spins around to face us, favoring his left side.

The three of us stop in the clearing and the cultivator lowers his sword.

“Lu Kun. I recognize you.” The cultivator says. “Is there anyone in your party from the Shan Mountain Sect?”

Lu Kun steps forward, raising his hands. “No. One is a rogue cultivator, the other is from the Flowing River Sect. What happened?”

The cultivator relaxes. “I’m not sure.” the cultivator kicks the dead man at his feet. “This disciple of the Shan Mountain Sect attacked me as soon as he came through. There’s no way of knowing what happened on the other side of the portal.”

I frown as I look at the portal. If the Shan Mountain Sect is so brazen as to attack a portal controlled by the Heavenly Truth Sect, then something big must have happened.

Lu Kun draws his sword, facing the portal. “I’ll go through and tell you what the situation is.”

He steps forward, but is stopped by the raised hand of the cultivator guard. “No, this is my duty not yours. I will take the first step through to catch any kind of ambush. The three of you can follow right behind.”

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Lu Kun hesitates, then nods. Sun draws his sword, while I simply loosen mine so that it can be pulled at a moment's notice.

Qi flows through the cultivator guard, surrounding him in an artificial silver armor. He takes a deep breath, glancing back at the three of us, then steps through the portal. Lu Kun is the second to follow him through. I keep my hand on the hilt of my blade as I follow the two.

A battlefield replaces the scene we had seen when we first passed through. The plum tree that covered the portal is on fire and large rents cover the ground.

A Heavenly Truth disciple kneels on the ground, his body propped up by a silver spear through his chest. A puddle of blood surrounds him, disappearing into the roots of the burning tree. I remember him being in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

Two other Heavenly Truth cultivators fight in the sky, both in early Core Formation. the guard who had greeted us on the other side of the portal is joining them.

Four cultivators fight against them, ranging from Early Foundation Establishment to Early Core Formation. The members of The Heavenly Truth Sect are heavily injured, their blood dripping like rain from the sky.

Qi runs through the earth as giant claws of force rend it apart. The attack isn’t even aimed at us, but its pressure forces me to draw my sword to deflect the qi. Lu Kun goes through elaborate motions with his sword, qi pooling at the end of it to paint in a dark red color.

Sun follows from behind me, simply staring up at the sky as the Cultivators fight each other.

Realizing that joining the fight with my sword would be foolish, I step behind Sun, trusting him to stop any errant attacks from hitting me. The attacking cultivators only now notice us, but they are still distracted from the three men of The Heavenly Truth Sect.

I take my flute out of my case, putting it to my mouth as I try to think of what requiem could help most in this situation.

As always, I return to The First Requiem: The Field Of Blood

The blood pooling from the dead disciple expands as the world takes on a red hue.

The note expands from my flute, streams of blood following it. A war cry echoes out.

The Warrior of the First Requiem steps forward, his gaze on the sky. He looks at me as more warriors step out of the surrounding forest. Covered in the blood of my illusion, their weapons drawn, they approach the attacking cultivators.

The Warrior raises his sword, and my music halts for a moment. A dark note plays out and the warriors attack. The enemy cultivators are overrun. It takes them too long to realize that the warriors of the field of blood are weak to their qi, easily killed, by their superior cultivation. The cultivators of The Heavenly Truth Sect use my distraction well, killing two of them near instantly.

Lu Kun finishes his painting, and another red blade falls from the sky, striking a third cultivator in the shoulder before he is run through by the portal guard.

The fourth man falls quickly and I finish my music, dispelling my illusion. The men of the Heavenly Truth Sect fall to the ground as the clearing quiets. The sound of the burning plum tree is loud in the silence left by my music.

I put my flute back into its case as Sun runs forward. His aura changes as the green eyed healer takes over. The Heavenly Truth cultivators are all heavily injured and Sun wastes no time in calling Lu Kun and I over to help him patch them up.

“What happened?” The portal guard asks the two others. He is the least injured of the three, despite a stab wound in his side that is still bleeding through the bandages I’m unskillfully wrapping around him.

The older of the two cultivators responds “They ambushed us, killing Lu Chen instantly.” His gaze moves to the kneeling disciple, still held up only by the spear running him through. “He sacrificed himself to block their first attacks, drawing them to himself. We sent a signal to the sect, but I suspect that they intercepted it somehow.”

I finish wrapping the portal guard in bandage, stepping away to take in the still burning tree. “The Shan Mountain Sect so openly attacking you… are they declaring war?”

“I fear as much.” The older cultivator responds to my question, ignoring my impolite speech. “I cannot imagine why they would be so brazen as to attack us on our own land.”

I look up, seeing smoke on the horizon in the direction of the city. I tap Lu Kun’s arm, pointing to the smoke.

He frowns as he sees it.

He turns to me, “I must return to my sect and tell them of the attack.” He glances at the three fellows from his sect and we both know that they are in no state to travel. “You and Sun will have to continue on your own from here.”

“We could come-” I start, but Lu Kun shakes his head before I can finish.

“The sect does not appreciate outsiders coming unannounced. It seems that our paths must separate here, but I am sure they will meet again.”

Lu Kun puts his fist to his palm and bows to our group. His sword tip glows as he paints a scene with his qi. Once he is finished, he disappears.

I turn to the three injured cultivators as Sun finishes up the last of his healing. His eyes return to their usual brown and he turns to me questioningly.

I frown, uncertain.

The oldest of the three cultivators speaks up. “You two should hurry back to your sects. Whatever is happening is big, and it will be better to face it with the protection of those you trust. We Guardians Of Truth will be fine on our own until disciple Lu Kun can bring us help.”

Sun attempts to argue with him, them being as injured as they are, but they refuse to listen.

Eventually we start back down the trail, towards the smoke on the horizon.

I fear what the smoke means, and my fears are proven true when we finally get a glimpse of the city.

The city is on fire.