In the darkness, a puppet's previously lightless crystal eyes flickered with a faint blue glow. It stood up and pressed a spot on its body, causing the compartment in its abdomen to open.
"Not this one." In an ethereal canoe moored on the far side of a peak near the main mountain, Flint tapped at the Mystic Terminal before her. Serene and Lenient sat beside her. The ethereal canoe couldn't venture too far from the main peak, or it would lose its ability to send and receive signals.
In the storehouse, the puppet sat back down, its eyes dimming once again. Beside it, another puppet rose to its feet, its eyes coming alive with the same blue glow.
"This one," Flint murmured, her eyes fixed on the glowing dot moving steadily across her screen toward the Vault of Heaven's Wisdom. A feed from the puppet's crystal eyes appeared in the corner of her display, showing the familiar stone path illuminated by moonlight. The visual transmission surprised her, though perhaps it shouldn't have - she remembered Raven's words about jade tablets lacking this capability.
Lenient draped himself over her shoulder like an affectionate cat, his breath warm against her ear as he watched the screen with childlike fascination. "Wow, little stone is amazing," he cooed, nuzzling closer. His sage-colored hair tickled her cheek.
Beside them, Serene sat perfectly still, eyes closed in concentration. Under his control, a puppet dressed in the distinctive robes of the Celestial Sword Sect walked a careful patrol route - one of Sage South Rain's clever "arrangements" to maintain their cover. Only the slight movement of his fingers betrayed his active manipulation of the decoy.
Sage South Rain had volunteered to take over security arrangements for these three months, adjusting her own schedule to do so. She would ensure no other disciples on patrol would visit the peak where Flint was positioned, and any anomalies would be reported to her first. She had promised to help cover up any potential "irregularities."
Guided by Flint's control, the puppet suddenly pivoted, its crystalline eyes meeting Spark's gaze. Through the Mystic Terminal's display, Flint watched as surprise flickered across Spark's features - a brief widening of eyes, a slight parting of lips - at the puppet's unexpected movement. He dropped into a crouch, bringing himself eye-level with the puppet, his face filling Flint's screen with sharp clarity.
"What is it?" Spark's voice came through, clear and questioning.
Still draped over Flint's shoulder, Lenient's face twisted into a scowl of disgust, his previously playful demeanor evaporating instantly. "This irritating wolf," he spat, his warm breath now carrying a hint of frost.
Flint remained neutral, neither agreeing with nor challenging Lenient's assessment. "Just checking if you're here," she responded tersely through the puppet, her fingers dancing across the terminal's surface with practiced precision. Once she confirmed Spark's presence, she guided the puppet back toward its original heading - the Vault of Heaven's Wisdom.
Spark caught Lenient's voice through the puppet's transmission, his brow furrowing in clear distaste, creating deep lines across his forehead. Nevertheless, he fell into step behind the puppet, matching its steady pace toward their destination.
The early spring breeze still carried winter's chill as Spark's mind wandered to Raven's daily messages on the jade tablet - intimate greetings now peppered with probing questions:
"What's Flint been up to lately?" "When is she leaving?"
Back then, Spark had held out his jade tablet to Flint. "How should I respond?"
"Just tell her I've already left, taking the Mystic Terminal with me," Flint had replied flatly, continuing to eat her meal without looking up.
The moment Spark sent the message, Raven's response appeared instantly: "Really? When did this happen?"
Spark pondered for a moment before replying: "Yesterday."
More messages from Raven flooded in, but Spark had already lost interest. He flipped the jade tablet face-down on the table and asked Flint, "How do you block someone?"
Snapping back to the present moment, Spark no longer had to worry about Raven's irritating messages. A full moon hung high in the sky. Somehow, it reminded him of the eclipse-like mark on Nightbane's forehead, causing his brow to furrow slightly.
The puppet's keys jingled softly as it unlocked the heavy doors of the Vault of Heaven's Wisdom. Spark steadied himself against the doorframe, following the puppet inside before gently pulling the door closed behind them.
His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. Before following the puppet further, he turned back toward the entrance, hesitating for a moment before drawing his sword and wedging it between the door handles as a makeshift lock. Only then did he hurry to catch up with the mechanical guide.
They ascended the spiral staircase together, each wooden step creaking beneath their feet in an eerie duet with the puppet's clicking joints. The sound echoed softly in the empty vault.
When they reached their destination, Spark pulled out the white glove Flint had given him - the one Lenient had brought from the Abyssal Pavilion - and slipped them onto his right hand.
The puppet's crystal eyes cast a soft blue glow as Flint's voice emerged from within: "Do you remember?"
"Yes," Spark answered firmly.
All they needed was to find the formation's backend password access point - one touch with the white gloves would do it. Before him, the formation glowed azure, surrounding the crystal cylindrical dome that housed Obsidian's remains.
How did she die? The question surfaced unexpectedly in Spark's mind, gnawing at him with quiet persistence. Was it by my hands?
His expression darkened at the thought. Pushing the unsettling notion aside, he focused on searching the formation for the access point they needed. Finally, he spotted the marker they'd seen in the diagrams along one edge. When he pressed it gently with his gloved hand, the blue light flared brilliantly for a moment before fading to almost nothing.
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The chamber grew darker still, with only moonlight streaming through the high windows. Spark glanced up at the night sky and noticed something peculiar - the moon appeared to be entering an eclipse.
He grasped the dome's handle and lifted - it came up with surprising ease, offering no resistance. Taking the Obsidian fragment, roughly the size of his palm, he tucked it securely into the inner pocket of his sleeve.
Could it really be this simple? Just as relief began to wash over him, a floorboard creaked somewhere in the attic, the sound sharp and sudden in the silence.
Who's there? Spark's golden eyes pierced the darkness toward the doorway, using the puppet's blue glow as meager illumination. Beyond the door lay only blackness. Outside, even the moonlight was beginning to fade as the eclipse progressed, casting an ominous shadow over everything in the darkness.
"What's wrong?" Flint's voice came through the puppet, having noticed Spark's frozen stance on her screen.
"Nothing." After observing for a moment longer and detecting no further disturbance, Spark let out a quiet breath. Better to leave now, he decided.
"Let's go to our meeting spot then," Flint's voice emanated from the puppet.
"Alright." Spark followed the puppet as it led the way.
He descended the stairs, returning to the entrance where they encountered his sword still wedged between the doors. Something felt off as he reached for the hilt with his left hand - a subtle wrongness he couldn't quite place. After removing the makeshift barrier, the puppet pushed the door open, and they stepped out together. Spark made sure to lock up behind them.
The nagging sensation of something amiss grew stronger as they walked. Eventually, their paths diverged - the puppet heading one way while Spark made his way alone toward the slope behind the Heaven-Piercing Grand Hall. He glanced down at his hands: white glove on the right, sword still gripped in his left.
Finding the sword increasingly cumbersome, Spark fixed it at the right side of the belt. His gloved right hand unconsciously drifted to his left sleeve, fingers brushing against the weight of the stone concealed within.
"Let's go get our package," Flint said to Lenient and Serene, who sat with his eyes closed, concentrating on controlling a puppet disguised as a Celestial Sword Sect disciple.
Serene just shook his head, eyes still closed, his brows furrowed in visible tension.
"What's wrong?" Lenient's usually playful expression turned serious. "Let me see."
Serene gave a stiff nod, signaling Lenient to connect with his consciousness through natural aura to link with the puppet.
"Why so quiet?" The man before them asked.
Lenient opened his eyes to see a man with dark blue-black hair wearing a navy-blue robe. On his thumb sat an eye-catching ruby ring, roughly the size of a pigeon's egg.
A Celestial Sword Sect elder? "Greetings, Elder," Lenient said through the puppet, making it bow respectfully.
The man studied the puppet, raising an eyebrow with an expression of amused contempt that filled Lenient with inexplicable disgust.
Shadows began spreading from beneath the man, gradually extending toward the puppet's feet. Lenient nervously tried to make the puppet retreat, but the shadows enveloped it completely.
"You don't have much natural aura, do you?" The man said with a smile.
This was the last thing Lenient saw before the puppet exploded, the connection abruptly severing from both his and Serene's consciousness.
"We need to leave! Now!" Lenient took control of the ethereal canoe, causing Flint and Serene to sway as they struggled to find their balance.
"Those shadows just now..." Serene asked, massaging his temples, still suffering from the aftermath of the puppet's destruction.
"What happened? What did you see?" Flint asked, completely bewildered.
"Someone discovered our puppet," Lenient explained gravely. "He noticed it didn't have enough natural aura to be a real Celestial Sword Sect disciple. He might have discovered us. We need to find Spark, get what we came for, and leave immediately."
Through the darkness, Flint's eyes suddenly widened as a realization struck her. She turned to Lenient, urgency in her voice. "Where exactly was your puppet when this happened?"
"Right here on this mountain," Serene answered for Lenient.
"Then we shouldn't flee!" Flint exclaimed, her voice sharp with sudden understanding. "Flying away now would only draw attention to us!"
Lenient's hands froze on the ethereal canoe's controls, his expression shifting from determination to uncertainty. "But he might find us here..." his voice trailed off.
She knew he was right. Flint let out a heavy sigh, her mind racing. Something felt wrong about this entire situation - there shouldn't have been anyone patrolling this area at all.
"What did he look like?" she asked tensely, her fingers drumming against the canoe's edge.
"Well..." Lenient's brow furrowed in recollection. "Dark blue-black hair, rather sinister looking. And he had this massive ruby ring."
Sage Mortius Crane. Flint's frown deepened at the realization. Of all people to appear... She quickly pulled out her jade tablet, her fingers flying across its surface as she sent an urgent message to Sage South Rain explaining their situation.
Above them, the moon hung half-covered in shadow now, casting an increasingly eerie darkness over everything below. The encroaching eclipse seemed to mirror their growing predicament, shadows deepening with each passing moment.
Spark crouched behind a boulder at the base of a slope that led up to the back wall of the Heaven-Piercing Grand Hall.
Scanning the area, he spotted an ethereal canoe gliding through the air toward him. Flint and Lenient sat in front, with someone he didn't recognize behind them.
He held the obsidian fragment in one hand while pulling off the white glove with the other - both items to be returned together.
The ethereal canoe slowed to a stop before him. Serene steadied himself against its edge and glanced behind them, relaxing slightly when he confirmed no one had followed.
Spark's face hardened at the sight of Lenient, hatred bubbling up inside him. But now wasn't the time for revenge.
"Your items," Spark said curtly, holding out both the white glove and the obsidian toward Flint.
Before Flint could reach for them - her left hand holding the Mystic Terminal while her right still moved across its screen - Lenient used his natural aura to pull the items directly to himself.
"Well, well. Who would have thought a treacherous Inferno Wolf could actually keep his word?" Lenient's smile was sweet as honey but made Spark's skin crawl.
Finally. Flint let out a small sigh of relief, her fingers returning to the terminal's screen where she could now connect to many more puppets in range.
"Thank you, Spark," Flint said softly, cradling the obsidian fragment.
Spark gave a slight nod. "Goodbye." Despite his reluctance, he knew Flint couldn't stay.
"Let's-" Flint began to say, but suddenly her eyes widened as she examined the obsidian in her right hand. "Wait!"
"There's no Genesis in this stone!" The realization hit her like a thunderbolt. "This isn't Obsidian's remains!"
"Did you see any other stones?" Flint asked, anxiety creeping into her voice.
"What? No... I just..." Spark held up his right hand, flustered. "I used the white glove to deactivate the formation, opened the dome, and took out that stone... There was just one!"
A voice from behind Spark made both him and Flint freeze, their blood running cold with recognition.
"What a touching scene... Is this friendship? Or perhaps romance?"
Spark turned to face those cold, unforgettable eyes. It was Sage Mortius Crane - the same elder who had presided over Flint's trial.
What explanation could he possibly offer now? He stood exposed as Flint's accomplice.
"GO! NOW!" Spark shouted at Flint.
Flint understood Spark's desperate situation - he was trapped. While she had the means to escape, what would become of him? Yet there was nothing she could do. She had to stick to their escape plan, even if it meant leaving him behind.
"They're coming!" Serene's eyes darted frantically around. "Behind us... left... right... we're surrounded!"
Flint's gaze shot up to the towering back wall of the Heaven-Piercing Grand Hall. "Into the Celestial Sword Sect, Lenient. NOW!"
"What?" Lenient's eyes widened in surprise.
"NOW!" Flint's command rang out sharp and urgent.
"Trying to escape?" Sage Mortius Crane's contemptuous laugh cut through the air.
Lenient thrust out his hand, summoning a wall of thick vines to block Sage Mortius Crane's path. The elder shattered the barrier with a casual wave of his hand, but those precious seconds were enough - Lenient had already steered the ethereal canoe over the wall and into the Celestial Sword Sect grounds.
Total darkness descended as the moon disappeared completely behind the eclipse.
In the ethereal canoe, Flint's fingers flew across the Mystic Terminal, its screen casting an eerie glow in the darkness. Suddenly, alarms blared throughout the Celestial Sword Sect. Every puppet activated at once, startling Initiative disciples from their sleep while Adept level disciples from other areas began flying toward their location.
"What are you doing? Won't this draw more attention?" Serene asked anxiously.
"Little stone knows what she's doing," Lenient replied with unexpected calm.
"Keep going forward, but lower," Flint instructed through gritted teeth, sweat beading on her forehead.
"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" The unified cry of hundreds of puppets echoed through the night.
Lenient guided the ethereal canoe at breakneck speed, swooping beneath the feet of sword-riding disciples. Above them, chaos erupted as the regular patrol disciples collided with Sage Mortius Crane's forces in the darkness, unable to distinguish friend from foe.
"Who are you?" "After them! They're getting away!" "Why are the alarms going off?" The shouts from above blended into a cacophony of confusion.
"It wasn't running for your life," Lenient corrected with a playful tone. "I just wanted to bring little stone back to the Abyssal Pavilion. Which, come to think of it, is exactly what's happening now."
Serene hesitated before speaking, remembering their mission to capture Spark years ago. "Back then... we were supposed to... take him alive. There was no intent to kill."
"Exactly, exactly!" Lenient chimed in cheerfully. "The Abyssal Pavilion never kills those who don't deserve it!"
Serene winced slightly - that clarification probably made things worse, not better.
Flint couldn't help but smile, remembering the stories Raven had told her about the Abyssal Pavilion. Here she was, once branded a demon queen, returning to the hell she had helped create with her own hands.