I crouch as I land in the darkness. The rocks on the side of the tunnel light up as faint qi travels through them. It’s a low glow, barely lighting the way.

Lai Ming stands a few feet ahead of me, staring down the path. Her face is impossible to read under her mask. I step towards her, and place my hand on her shoulder. She turns to me, her eyes softening.

Xia Jing lands behind us, her feet touching the ground with barely any sound.

The three of us walk through the barely lit tunnel. No qi brushes over us, and we can’t hear anything in the darkness.

The tunnel curves enough times that I start to lose track of where we are under the sect. The other two girls are silent as we walk, the tense atmosphere following us as we travel.

Eventually, the tunnel widens and we reach a large pair of stone doors. Qi reaches out to us from the doors, analyzing us before retreating back to the doors. The doors open slowly, revealing a large cavernous room with a familiar formation. The same formation the Elder had used to bring me to the sect.

The room twists and turns as an older man steps out of twisting space into the room. Elder Zhu looks over the three of us imperiously, his gaze landing on me.

My sister disciples tense at the sight of the Elder, and I start to worry that he’s here to stop us.

“Hello, little Lin. It seems you’ve put yourself at odds with the sect yet again.” Elder Zhu looks at me imperiously, before his mouth shifts into a small smile. “Better hurry over here before the other Elders arrive.”

I let out a sigh before walking into the formation. Xia Jing and Lai Ming follow me hesitantly.

Qi flows through Elder Zhu as he puts his hand on the formation. “I haven’t prepared this formation, and I’ll have to get past the protections of the sect. The Elders will sense as I activate the formations needed to get you out of here. Elder Wu will attempt to delay them, but I doubt she’ll be able to do so for long. Do not attempt to defend yourselves when they arrive.”

Qi explodes from the Elder, flowing through the formation and lighting it up with energy. The qi circles and twists as the Elder uses a technique more complicated than any I have witnessed.

The roof of the cavern is torn apart revealing a powerful figure standing on the air above us..

“What do you think you’re doing?” Elder Fu cries. He raises his fist, qi gathering in it. The qi strikes down on the formation, but Elder Zhu doesn’t stop his work. A flock of butterflies form up, blocking the strike. Elder Wu appears in front of the other Elder.

More Elders appear in the air, until every Elder is in attendance.

“Stop them!” Elder Fu cries.

Water rises from the surrounding rivers, forming into the Matriarch. She looks at Elder Wu and Elder Zhu.

“What are you doing?” She asks, her eyes narrowing in on me before moving back to Elder Zhu.

“Forgive me Matriarch, but I believe this to be in the best interest of the sect.” Elder Zhu says. His eyes glow as he twists and turns the qi in the formation.

The Matriarch steps forward but a soft hand on her arm stops her.

She looks back at Martial Elder Li Quon. He takes in the entire scene until his eyes land on us three in the middle. He takes his hand back and bows to the Matriarch. “We cannot afford to divide ourselves here, Matriarch.”

The world starts to twist around me as Elder Zhu approaches the end of his preparations.

“You would let them go?!” Elder Fu raises his hand and qi erupts from around him, aiming for the formation. Elder Wu tries to react, but she only catches part of the attack. The faintest part of his attack hits the formation and Elder Zhu’s eyes widen.

The last thing I see is qi moving as the Elders prepare to fight each other, then space shatters. It attempts to rearrange itself, then fractures again. I lose sight of my sister disciples as the world reasserts itself again.

The ground disappears from under me and I fall a few feet to the ground. The ground squishes under me, and birds fly into the air out of surprise.

I push myself off the ground, my eyes widening as I take in where I’d arrived. Bodies line the ground, their blood having long since flown into the earth. The scene is unfortunately all too familiar to me. The aftermath of a bloody battlefield.

Bile rises in my throat, and I force it back down. I need to find out where the elder sent us… I look around, but no matter how hard I look, I don’t see Xia Jing and Lai Ming.

I’m alone in a field of death again.

NO.

Shia tightens around my waist, reminding me that she’s still with me. I shake my head and close my eyes, breathing in and out in an attempt to calm myself. The scent of the dead fills my nostrils, their spirit twisting the very air.

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I ignore it, focusing on my own mind. I hum the Third Song: Tranquil Lake.

The music calms my mind, allowing me to reopen my eyes. It’s hard to tell, but I’m fairly certain that most of the dead are cultivators. They wear unfamiliar clothing which likely means they are from outside the Shi Empire, or I’ve found myself on the other side of a portal.

“It’ll be alright, little one.” Shia’s voice helps. No matter what, she’s with me here.

I step forward. The battle was a large one, and it occurred within the last few days. The birds fly back down, eating the dead as I walk through the battlefield.

The only thing keeping my sanity is the song I hum. It drives away the horror and the despair that attempts to consume me at the sight.

My steps carry me forward until the sounds of two blades clashing hits my ears. Qi moves in waves from the fight, drawing my attention to the sky.

A cultivator exuding power even beyond the Matriarch, clashes against a demon. Darkness shrouds the cultivator, infusing every strike with a dangerous feeling.

The demon opposite of her wields an immense amount of power, fueled by the spirit of hunger and murder.

An attack by the demon is blocked by the cultivator and my eyes widen as part of it is deflected. A blade of qi approaches me.

I draw my sword, then shift my song to Second Song: Flow Of The River.

Blood rises up from the ground and I stop humming to sing with all the qi in me. The blood and my qi flows to the edge of my blade as I meet the aftershock of qi with everything I have.

My blade cuts through the blade approaching. Small nicks cover my arms and mask. as the residuals of the attack hit me.

I gasp for breath, surprised at the power of an attack that wasn’t meant for me and weakened by the cultivator in darkness.

My eyes return to the sky to see the demon falling from the sky, its head separated from its body.

The cultivator in darkness turns to me, then they are in front of me.

The darkness recedes to reveal a woman I have seen far too many times.

The Murderess of the third requiem sighs as she takes me in, “You are far too weak to be here, little Lin.” Her hand reaches out, touching my forehead before I can react. “It is good to see you in the flesh. Try not to die before we meet again.”

Darkness wraps around me.

The first thing to reach me is the sounds of many voices, then my eyes flutter open to find myself on a busy road, with many unfamiliar buildings lining the sides.

The people on the street quiet as they look at me. I look down at myself to see my bloodied sword still out and a strange book in my hands.

I sheathe the sword, then lift the book. It’s wrapped in soft leather, and it doesn’t have a title. I look around at the people gathering. They whisper and stare at me.

I clear my throat, and hold the book close to my chest. I walk down the street away from the people.

Shia slithers up and down my body, restless.

“Do you know where we are?” I ask quietly.

“No. I was a youngling when I last traveled through the many worlds.” Shia responds.

I had guessed as much, but I’d hoped we were just in a town I hadn’t been to before.

“Hide yourself, little one.”

I don’t need any more warning than that to use Movements Of The Silent Monster. People stop paying attention to me, as the mortal eyes are unable to see me through the technique. I slip into the flow of people going about their regular business in the market.

Two cultivators in the early stages of Foundation Establishment land in the market square. Their robes are red, with black lines going up and down their chest in a wave-like pattern.

They look through the crowd, and I keep my technique going as I do my best to follow the flow of the mortal civilians.

“I recognize those robes.” Shia says, her voice unreadable. “The Fourth Sect of Shanping.”

I lose sight of the two cultivators in the crowd. “I’ve never heard of them.” I say quietly. They’re not one of the six sects of the empire I know.

I turn down a random street, entering a less crowded part of town.

“They hunt spirit beasts and demons with equal disregard.” Shia’s voice turns venomous.

My hand moves to the head of the snake in my robes, gently stroking her scales, “I’ll do my best to avoid them.”

I turn towards another street, when the faintest sound of music stops me mid-step.

I tilt my head, listening, then follow the music. As I get closer, I can hear it coming from a building not unlike the inn I had once visited with Matu.

I step inside to find men and women drinking quietly and watching a young man on the stage.

His fingers move gently over strings as he draws a bow across an unfamiliar instrument half as tall as he is. Each note comes out low, but the spirit… the spirit is beautiful. It dances with the wind, drawing in every breath as it begs to be heard.

The music goes low, then tilts back up again into the heights of the heavens. My hand moves to the flute in my pocket as I take a seat.

I wouldn’t dare interrupt a performance like this, but I so desperately want to join in. The spirit calls to me, a purity to the music that is reminiscent of the requiems I hold so dear.

The music plays for an unknowable amount of time before it stops. Like an illusion breaking, I’m brought back to the real world.

For the first time, I see the young man behind the instrument. He must be around my age, but his hair and eyes are lighter than most of the people I’ve met.

I get up from the seat I’d taken and make my way to him.

He looks up as I approach.