Lai Ming shoves me, and the road shatters as a blade of qi carves into it. Rubble, gravel and dirt fly into the air, hiding the skies and the very world around me. I roll across the ground until I’m just looking up at the now dirt covered sky.

A hand reaches out of the darkness and pulls me to my feet.

Xia Jing grasps my hand tightly, her eyes meeting mine for a brief moment. Lai Ming holds her other hand tight. I look up to the sky one last time, before the earth rises up to consume us.

The distant sounds of explosions and the screams of war reach me, echoing through the earth, all around spirit flows out of existence, cut by the blades of death.

Soon the sounds grow more distant, until with a pop, we are returned from the earth, into a small forest.

I turn to look back, only for the way to be blocked by large trees. I walk away from my sister disciples and climb up a tree until I can see the city in the distance. Giant vines wrap around the city, only to be cut by red blades. The city itself is a large sprawling thing surrounding the home of the Fourth Sect. The spires that surrounded the dome are broken, cleaved in two or shattered to pieces. The dome itself is wide open, as if the top half of it had been cleaved off.

The qi in the air shatters as a Cultivator arrives in the middle of the battle.

Space itself halts its breath, as everything moves to a stop. Cultivators freeze mid-air, blades of qi halt in their path, and the music that Li Yuze plays silences.

I can’t see much of the new cultivator over the distance, except for her snow-white hair and her red and white robes, reminiscent of the Fourth Sect’s.

The city’s fighting stops, and she raises her hand toward Li Yuze. Qi gathers at her fingertips, only to stop as another figure appears before her.

Flowers bloom across the city, rising from the vines and turning the city a beautiful kaleidoscope of colors.

Even here, the tree I stand on flowers, small blue petals falling to the ground. My breath catches at my first sight of her in years. I can’t see her face, and her hair isn’t the right color, but in my heart, I know it’s her. My mother, Lin Hua.

The two figures stare at each other, their qi clashing for an small moment, before the world returns to peace.

Li Yuxe plays a string and a portal opens for him that he steps through. All across the city, cultivators disappear, leaving only the two immortals in the air to stare at each other. Then, they too are gone.

My gaze stays on the spot she’d stood, hoping in some small part of me that she would return.

She doesn’t.

I climb down from the tree, my feet touching the soft forest floor.

Lai Ming places her hand on my arm, her touch bringing my thoughts back to the world around me.

Xia Jing lies on the ground, breathing heavily, but with a smile.

“Are you alright?” Lai Ming asks.

I hesitate for a second, then nod.

“We had no other choice.” Lai Ming says.

I look at her in confusion for a second before it dawns on me.

His head fell to the floor as I killed him before he could even draw his sword. Even worse than that, I caused all of this. All the deaths in the city, they came from me placing that wooden talisman-

1. No no no. I didn’t do that. I knew what Li Yuxe was planning, yes, but those deaths were not by my hand. That blood does not stain me.

The blood of the acolyte… that I do see.

I take a deep breath as I look down at my hands.

I killed him. That’s a responsibility I carry with me.

I look up, meeting Lai Ming’s eyes.

Death is part of who I am, it has defined me, and shaped me. I cannot deny that, and I can’t turn my eyes away from it.

I can only pray for the forgiveness of those who gave me no other choice.

They’ve already named me, and it is a name that I can’t deny. No matter how much I might wish to be someone who cultivates life, who sits in a garden and grows beautiful plants, that’s not who I am.

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Death fills my past, and it lies in my future. I will take more lives, whether it’s to protect those I care about, or because this world leaves me with no other choice.

They already call me it, the lady of death.

That’s who I am.

“Where do we go now?” I ask the two of them.

Lai Ming takes a deep breath, her eyes set. “We need to get back to our realm. I have to stop those traitors before they destroy our sect.”

I look at Xia Jing. She nods at me, then sits up. “We can’t leave them.” she pauses. “Do either of you know a way back?”

Lai Ming looks down at the ground, her mouth a hard line.

I look at both of them, then decide. “I’m about to share a secret with the both of you that you cannot share.”

They share a glance before nodding.

“Your secrets are our own.” Lai Ming says.

My hand holds my flute as I speak. “Shia, do you know the way back to our realm?”

There’s silence for a long moment, before a slight hiss makes its way to me.

“I may know of one. But the knowledge will come with a cost.”

The two girls look around, searching for the voice.

“What cost?” I ask.

Shia hisses with laughter. “You will have to meet my mother.”

Yang Hua

Yang Hua, lady of flowers, formerly of the Lin house, looks into the distance, her eyes hard. She looks through the walls of the room she sits in, past the streets of the city and through the trees of the forest to a party of three girls.

She is so close. Lady Yang knows this. But she cannot go. Already, too many know of her connection with her daughter, and so all she can do is watch.

Lady Yang’s eyes move back to the First Matriarch.

The First Matriarch’s white irises stare back at Lady Yang, not quite focused on her, but instead observing the dao within her, the immutable law of the world that Lady Yang has shaped her cultivation and her soul around.

“There will be a high price.” The First Matriarch finally says.

“There will be no price,” Lady Yang responds, “except that which has already been payed in the dungeons of your fourth sect.”

“We are not your enemy.” The Matriarch says, “You would do well to not turn us into one.”

Lady Yang laughs, and Matriarch Shun Mai gives her a sharp look. “Don’t play games with me, Matriarch. We both know that neither of us can afford a war. We will send you a formation expert to rebuild your pillars. That is the most I am willing to offer.”

The Matriarch tilts her head, as if listening to something, “There are disciples dead, one of whom was killed by the hands of a girl bearing your spirit, perhaps-”

“Shun Mai.” Lady Yang’s voice is hard.

The Matriarch tilts her head questioningly.

“If one of mine has caused you trouble, then it is a personal matter, not one that involves my master.”

The Matriarch nods. “Then you will give me a formation expert… and your help with a problem of mine.”

Lady Yang sighs. “That’s what you wanted all along, wasn’t it? You don’t care about the Fourth Sect.”

“There are bigger Demons to kill, Lady of Flowers.”

Shi Da

Princess Shi Da walks down the halls of the Lin manor, her shoes tapping against the stone floors rhythmically. Her short hair is braided in an intricate pattern, gems purposefully placed throughout to give an illusion of scales. On top of her hair is a circlet of two dragons chasing each other in an endless circle, the symbol of an imperial princess. Behind and to the side are two inconspicuous female servants with veils covering their features. The closer that one looks at them, the more one might notice the strange grace they walk with. It would take a powerful eye to notice the faint wisps of qi that glows at the center of the two women.

Princess Shi Da approaches a large pair of doors where several men and women are quietly conversing. The conversations quiet at her appearance. Every man and woman bows to her. Two soldiers standing outside salute her and open the door.

One of her servants steps inside first, then bows for her Princess to follow.

Shi Da steps inside. Lin Fang, two generals and a Cultivator with black coverings bow to her, but her gaze stays on the two guests on the other side of the room. A woman and a man, their clothes show signs of battle and they watch the room with a weary gaze. They bow a second after the others, showing her the proper respect her Imperial title grants her.

“Elder Lu Tai of the Heavenly Truth Sect greets Imperial Princess Shi Da.” The older of the two guests says.

Shi Da bows her head in acknowledgement. “Elder Lu, my mother’s stories don’t do you justice.”

The cultivator smiles, a quiet thing that somehow draws the room to look at it. “You are too kind.”

“It is the truth, you have been a strong force in these harsh times.” Shi Da walks over to the only chair in the room, a throne that still has her at eye level with the cultivators. Her two servants array themselves on either side of her. “Tell me, Elder Lu, are you strong enough for what I ask?”

The two cultivators from the Heavenly Truth Sect share a look. “I do not like involving myself in the politics of the world, and I would not be here if I wasn’t desperate.” He takes a deep breath meeting Shi Da’s eyes. “But my son tells me of your help in escaping the capital city. He believes you to be an honorable woman who stands among the most honorable of men. Tell me, Princess Shi Da, do you believe yourself capable of all this world and this war will ask of you?”

Princess Shi Da meets his eyes, “My older brothers are not worthy of the throne, they will destroy this empire my father built through their greed and their sadism. I will not be perfect, but I can promise you this.” Shi Da rises from her chair, her spirit flaring with the power of an imperial dragon. “I will bring to you a world of peace, one in which every person is treated equally under the eyes of the law. A world where evil cannot stand, where demons are cut down. I will be an Empress unlike any this world has seen.”

Lu Tai lowers his eyes, then gets on his knees. He lowers his head to the floor, the female cultivator with him following his every movement.

“The Heavenly Truth Sect pledges itself to Empress Shi Da, may her reign be a long and prosperous one.”

“Rise, Elder Lu.” Shi Da looks around at the other men and women in the room. “We have a long road laid before us, but we will walk every step with conviction in our hearts.”

The End Of Book 2