They stood for what seemed an eternity already, watching the army push towards them. It seemed as hard as the army moved, though they never got closer. Silas and William relaxed. Ezra too, who was now standing beside Silas with a long sword and buckler shield, ready for combat.

“What’s going on?” Silas asked the other two, confused.

Before they could answer, the darkness seemed to withdraw and a sizable, colorful dragon formed above them, flying in a circle around the caravan. Silas stared at the monster, who screeched and then dove at them and shot a stream of fire before pulling back up. The fire didn’t hit anyone; instead, it went along perpendicular to the caravan intersecting with William’s circle of flame.

“I know what this is. It’s the cult. Ready your minds, lads. We’re in for it now,” William told the other two lowly.

Silas instantly knew what he meant and looked over at him with a cocked brow. “Are you sure? Don’t they usually stay around the coasts?” he asked William.

“Aye, I’m sure. The major part of the sect stays there, but the bandits sometimes claim the dragons as well. Gives them a powerful edge over caravans,” William explained.

While they were in this relaxed state, the actual attack came. Silas felt something just before it happened, and he ducked his head, narrowly missing the sword that was aiming for his neck. He responded in kind, cycling his madra as best he could into his arms, reinforcing his strength. He swung the hammer from his lowered position to where his attacker came from. The blow ended up pushing the attacker back and crushing his chest, leaving him to fall into a crumpled heap on the floor.

It happened up and down the caravan. The various trader’s personal guards and the handful of caravan guards Noah had hired were attacked. Not all of them were so lucky to feel the attacks just before they happened. If there were any cultivators among them, even weaker ones, they would have been able to be okay. The more experienced ex-military would probably be alright as well. The regular hired hands, however? They were already dead.

The attackers all wore the same clothing, dark purple outer robes with a dark gray inner. They also wore masks covering their faces, each with a different sort of dragon mouth with other expressions painted on them. They also had hoods over their heads, and with the masks, you could barely see any of their faces.

William had slit his attacker’s throat quickly, parrying the strike with one of his daggers. The man was so quick he could jump over and protect Ezra from his attacker, killing them just as swiftly as he killed his own. “It may be better for you to keep your eyes closed, old man. These are illusionists,” William called to Ezra.

Ezra scoffed, “there’s no such thing.”

Another man was approaching, running at them. This man had a spear. Silas charged in kind, and the two fought over the fact that illusionists were real. Silas exchanged strikes quickly with the man.

The spear man leaped over and ducked under Silas’s swings with his hammer. However, the attacker returned each thrust like a scorpion stinging at its prey. Quick, violent strikes that Silas so far could dodge and parry himself with the staff of his great hammer. He could feel himself tiring, though. What madra he could cultivate and cycle from his core was running out.

“WILLIAM!” was all he yelled out, which came weakened, trying to get the other cultivator to help him.

It was too late, though. Silas’s own shadow seemed to form from the ground. It stood up and leaped at the man Silas was fighting with, exchanging quick blows. Trading blows was giving Silas’s attacker too much credit. The shadow pummeled the attacker with its fists, finally jumping on him and absorbing him into the shadows. It was like nothing had happened. His shadow was back on the ground, and the attacker was gone.

Silas stumbled back, his mouth wide open. He didn’t notice that he stumbled into William, who just let him bump into him. William put his hands on Silas’s shoulders and laughed a little.

“I told you, mate, they’re illusionists. Do you not know about dragon cults?” William asked Silas incredulously.

Silas found his footing and let his hammerhead fall into the dirt. He answered, “of course I do. This was not that. This was something else. I can’t tell you what.”

“Well, shake it off, old man. We’re needed up there.” William nodded further along the caravan, where there was still some fighting. “Are you going to be okay?”

Silas sighed heavily and nodded, but he was already panting. “At least there aren’t that many more of them, and that dragon disappeared.”

“Aye, of course it did. They’re too busy getting their asses kicked to keep up the illusion. Come on.” Then just like that, William took off running.

The attackers surrounded some of the caravan guards. The guards were yelling, and the attackers stood there, but the guards seemed to fight invisible opponents. At least, to Silas, they looked invisible.

William leaped into the air and over the circle. “You fools aren’t fighting anyone,” he called to the guards. The guards continued fighting, however, with their attackers. The guards saw the enemy with their own eyes. Why would they believe this blonde westerner?

“Of course we are. What do you think we’re doing?!” one guard shouted at William.

“Yeah, yeah, of course, you are,” William answered.

This all, of course, set the attackers into actual motion now. It only took William a moment, however, to subdue them. He moved with quickness and ferocity, attacking and killing the men who attacked as a team. He danced around them, weaving his blades in and out of their bodies. Silas, who ran towards the group, stopped and stared, mouth gaping open like an idiot for the second time in such a short time. It only took him minutes, and they were all down on the ground in a crumpled heap.

Silas walked towards William, and William looked at him with a sheepish grin. “Almost broke a sweat there in that exchange.” He chuckled a little before he clapped Silas on the shoulder.

That’s when a whole new veil was lifted, and the caravan was once more surrounded by soldiers wearing the same outfits as their initial attackers. Silas and William stared and readied themselves for more combat.

“Retreat!” Came a shout, however, from someone who reinforced their voice with madra so he could be heard among the crowd. Instantly, the fighters were gone from view. They must have been further illusions. There were, however, a handful of Sacred Artists running away through the desert.

Silas looked questioningly at William. William laughed and explained, “these cults are all the same. If their initial attack doesn’t work out and they find someone who can actually fight, they turn their tails and run, just like the old stories of dragons. They were lazy. If a town put up too much of a fight, it wasn’t worth the fight for them. They left. These cowards are the same.”

“Well, at least there weren’t many in the initial attack,” Silas breathed in deeply and said to the group of guards and William. They all nodded their heads.

Robert was the first to recover from the attack. He began giving orders to his guards to collect anything valuable among the bodies and for a couple of them to finish repairing the broken wheel. Now, with the illusionists gone, it seemed like the wheel was never broken.

Silas and William looked at each other and walked back to their wagon to check on Ezra. Silas was too tired to do anything with his hammer but dragged it behind him in the dirt.

“Come on, you two, damn heroes. Get back in. We’re going to be getting underway here in a few minutes. It won’t take them long to loot the bodies and move any out of the way,” Ezra called to them grumpily. The man was always grumpy. He was finishing looting the bodies William and Silas had killed, putting some coins in his pocket. The man had already stowed his sword and shield.

“That man you hit square with your hammer didn’t die, but he is not having a delightful time. He can’t breathe. It caved his chest in.” Ezra looked at Silas and gave a quick whistle. “You are a strong one, aren’t you?”

William took the queue and walked to the man on the ground. He was looking down at him and pulling one of his long daggers. “Can you get to your feet?” he asked, looking at him.

The man shook his head, fear in his eyes. It was more than fear. However, there was determination there. “Just do it. Finish it. Send me to the greater plane,” He croaked, then spit at William’s feet. His words were garbled, blood oozing from his mouth.

“Yeah, yeah, go be with your dragon masters or whatever,” William said before he plunged the dagger’s blade into the man’s neck, ending him. He looked back to the wagon and cleaned off the edge with the man’s robe before putting it away. Then went and climbed into the wagon.

Silas followed the rest of the way and hoisted his hammer inside before climbing on the opposite side. “William, I think we need to talk.”

“Aye, yeah… we probably should,” William answered.

The wagon began moving then, and they went into it. William answered everything Silas wanted to know about, and Silas thought he was being truthful. William explained how he knew about what happened to Silas’s village and that he might help him out. Not with finding the crone, but with other things. He wouldn’t elaborate on what. He also explained Kio, and himself, were in this small group of fighters who operated in the Desolation to the southwest, and that’s how he knew her.

Silas listened to all of this intrigued and doubted most of what he said, but he nodded. Maybe these guys could help him, but if they could, why didn’t Kio do more in the first place?

William was lacking in the details of how they could help him or who and how many there were in his little group. From the sounds of things, they were a ragtag collection that tried to do good in the world and fight some mysterious bad guys. He also said that’s how he knew so much of the Heavenly Dragon Sect, which William just called the cults.

William explained he called them that because they just followed dragons around and tried to absorb their power, which was how they had powers over illusions to begin with. The power nor the dragons were of this world. This Silas had the most problem believing. He believed dragons were once alive and around, but they hadn’t been seen in thousands of years. Not since the old legends you read about when the true cultivation masters roamed the planet and fought them. It was said they killed off the dragons.

The rest. Silas was trying to cycle the pill and resting after the fight. He was also thinking of everything this man William told him, thinking if he should believe anything. William was pretty clearly a lunatic. He had to be. Dragons? It couldn’t be real, not anymore. Everyone knew the Heavenly Dragon Sect was anything but heavenly. Everyone knew they were unorthodox in their teachings, cultivation methods, and lifestyles, but to harness the power of dragons that were still living?

Silas shook his head and laughed to himself. William had looked over at him here and there along the journey, but he said nothing else to Silas. He fiddled with his daggers and napped. Silas could also feel him cultivating. The trip was now, in a word, boring.

A few days later, the caravan rolled through the border. They had to stop for a few moments so Noah could talk to the border guards and, according to Ezra, pay them off to ensure safe passage. “We’ll be in the capital Zhangshu soon, boys,” Ezra called down to them from his seat outside the wagon.

It was a few hours later when they could see civilization once more through the windows of the wagon. First, there were some huts and fields, then more prominent buildings and houses, and finally, large brick structures. Silas could feel the change from dirt road to brick-laid road by the way the hooves clomped now and the shorter, harsher bumps as they went along.

Once parked, they climbed from the wagon and saw they were in a large plaza. The caravan spread out in a semicircle. The city was vast, much larger than even the capital in the region he had just come from and, of course, much larger than his village of Kyoto. Zhangshu was one of the largest cities on the continent. It was a proper stronghold as well. It was said this was one of the first cities of humanity here. The people used it as a stronghold to protect themselves from the dragons that used to fly free.

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Dragons. Silas sighed and put his hands in his robe pockets, looking about. The area they were in was a seller’s district, so it was much nicer than the area when they were first coming into the city, which was mostly poor. The buildings were built of stone instead of wooden huts, and there weren’t as many people lying next to the streets or begging for spare coins.

Silas grabbed his hammer from inside the wagon, hefting it on his shoulder with a grunt. This caused William to look over at him with concern. Before either of them could say anything, Ezra walked up to them both.

“Well, lads, it’s so nice of you to treat me like a taxi and send me back south with no guards. Get out of here before you scare away the customers,” Ezra looked at them. He sounded his usual grumpy self, but a grin was on his old face. He eyed them both and spoke harshly, but was wearing a grin on his old thin lips. Ezra set off walking back and pulling things out of the wagon to set up so he could sell. Setting up tables or opening sides of the wagon to show the shop was already set up inside. Everyone else in the caravan was doing the same thing. They all sold various items, fur, meat, and weapons. It was a good assortment and would draw a crowd shortly. Before either of them could part, though, William looked at Silas.

“Look, Silas, I know you don’t believe what I said, but there’s more to this world than most cultivators know about. I’ve done my bit. I told ye about us. I’m going to be heading back down to the Desolation. From there, it’s up to you. You’re welcome to go your own way, of course. Find this old oracle you want to find, but someone is always there if you want to come down eventually.” William looked at Silas when he spoke, looking right into his eyes. William’s bright green eyes stared into Silas’s soul as he said.

Silas stared back at him and nodded his head. “Thank you, William. I appreciate it. I’m going to follow my leads first, and maybe I’ll see you soon.” Silas now turned and walked away from William. William stood there a few moments longer, watching Silas leave, and shook his head a little.

“Alright, I’m here. What did you call me here for?” She approached a man a few yards from an open area where a caravan had just rolled in and parked. Her long black hair flowed down behind her black armor. She pulled along a horse that was also pitch black and had eyes that matched her hair.

“You were curious as to my plan to deal with what our little sister did. I would like to show you,” the cracked voice came when she stopped next to him.

“Oh Kenji, I don’t care what spat you and Genki are having. As long as you don’t bother me with it or make Daichi call any more of those meetings where nothing happens, and everyone leaves angry,” Lilith paused for a moment. “... and why do you always look like a beggar? You have your own realm and are beyond what most mortals could comprehend.”

Kenji didn’t stop looking in the direction he was facing. He didn’t even turn to face his older sister when she walked up. “Come now, this Cultivator once could have had the power to join us in one of our realms until she got involved. He probably could have been accepted by any of us, myself included. Now…. Well, what happens now is going to be up to him.”

Lilith finally looked over with her dark eyes. “The broken down man? Is he the one that was mentioned in that family reunion? What was his name?”

“Silas. His name is Silas. He’s originally from this area. His father is a powerful person in his own right but has no interest in ascending. He likes to play with people below him, pulling strings like a puppet master. My dear sister, I don’t think you understand exactly what Genki did. If you did, you’d probably be more upset.” Kenji answered her shortly, but calmed after a moment. He was still angry that the young girl had come into his realm and messed with things.

Lilith folded her arms against her chest and sighed a bit. “Fine, explain to me exactly what she did, and maybe I will be angry.”

All around them, people were going about their business. It was instant when shoppers made their way to the caravan to see what it carried. City guards had also gathered to make sure the thieves in the city wouldn’t be too much of a problem. The two of them mainly went ignored as they stood among ordinary people.

Kenji now looked to Lilith. He seemed to stare at her from behind his blindfold. His voice grew angry once more. “She invaded my lands and sent a nightmare into the world of mortals. Some believe it was a demon that you sent.” His cracked voice strained as he spoke through his anger, advancing on the warrior woman that was his sister.

“I can only imagine, knowing our dear sister, that it was all set up as a distraction. I don’t know for what yet.” Kenji backed back up to where he was standing before that, looking back to Silas.

“He’s been infected, infected by the mana of my plane. He’s trying to fight the infection but losing. Badly. He’s barely a cultivator at the moment, hanging on by the skin of his teeth using some pills a healer had made for him. I’ve given him some help, though. That will aid him if he needs help in a fight.”

Lilith frowned a little, watching her little brother approach her. If it came down to an actual fight between the two, Kenji might be the more powerful. He had some tricks up his sleeves that she might be unable to fight against. Her face grew serious for a moment. “Did she take….”

“No, she couldn’t have.” Kenji stopped her before she could even finish the question. “It would have been impossible for her to get that without my knowing.”

“Well, how do you plan on using this man for anything if he can barely cultivate? He’s fighting your mana, which means he will probably never take control of it,” Lilith questioned him. They watched him speaking with a blonde-haired man from the west before Silas turned and walked away.

“I told you I gave him some insurance. He’ll get pushed in the right direction, plus there’s my new little friend here.” Just as if he commanded it, a phoenix gave a puff of shadow and appeared on Kenji’s shoulder, giving a squawk. The phoenix was still primarily red, but the color darkened towards the end of its feather into black. Instead of the pale fiery glow it usually gave, it was now as if the flame was made of shadow.

“Oh, excellent. A magical creature was infected with your mana as well?” Lilith frowned, shaking her head. “Well, I’m betting whatever you have planned for this man will not work. He’ll just be some beggar in a few years. Definitely, no longer anything resembling a Sacred Artist.”

“Oh, we’ll see, dear sister, we’ll see.” Kenji grinned maniacally, watching Silas wander off.

Lilith shook her head and rolled her eyes, turning to leave the square and pulling her horse along.

Silas dragged his hammer behind him, letting it thud along the brick road as he walked. He was in the city’s heart, and here should be where he would find his sect house. He looked between the shops and buildings set up around the square. Alchemists, healers, weapon smiths, fabric shops, and seamstresses all had shops in this part of the city.

He finally found a simple two-story building with the sect crest on a sign over the door. The Divine Body Sect wasn’t known for extravagance. It was a simple wood sign with the image of an ox lowering its head to charge and one of his front hooves lifted. Stepping inside, he dragged his hammer in behind him before closing the door and then propped the staff of the hammer against the wall near the door.

A clerk behind the desk looked at him, smiled a bit, bowed slightly, and greeted Silas. The clerk had deep brown eyes, short trimmed black hair, and a short goatee. He smiled at Silas but seemed shocked at the sudden entrance of the short but well-built man dragging the massive hammer behind him. The clerk scanned Silas, and Silas didn’t give off much power in his current state, so the smile dropped quickly, and his look promptly grew into a look of impatience.

“My name is Silas Zhao. I’m a member in good standing with the sect. I’m looking for some information.” Silas told him quickly, seeing the impatient look. “I just arrived from the Okuhama region with the caravan that rolled in. I’m also representing the School of the Jade Mountains.” He then pulled the scroll Master Kora gave him and handed it over to the clerk.

Upon hearing Silas’s last name, the clerk preened a little and opened the scroll, breaking that green crest before really even looking at it. He read through the paper quickly. Silas, unsure what was even on the paper, just stood there with a soft smile, waiting until the clerk looked up sharply. “Very well, cultivator Zhao. What may I do for you?”

“Well, I’m looking for the Oracles. I need to speak with one of them. One of them gave an omen to my village, and now, well, the village is gone.” Silas dropped his smile and saddened, folding his arms across his chest and sighing, even putting his head in one of his hands and rubbing his eyes a moment.

The clerk frowned and looked at some books on the counter in front of him. “What village was it? We haven’t received news about anything from any of our offices in that area.”

Silas shook his head. “No, you wouldn’t have. There was, well, it doesn’t matter. The village is gone, and the office was wiped out. It was only a branch office, just like the one in my village. Send word to the main office that the village of Kyoto is gone from Okuhama. Anyone you had there is also gone.”

The clerk frowned. “I don’t know what game you’re playing….”

He didn’t have time to finish his statement, though. “This isn’t a game! Send your scouts. You’ll see what I say is the truth. I know you must investigate, but you’ll see.” Silas was getting worked up and angry now, losing track of why he was here. “Is there any information about any Mother’s in the area?”

The clerk sighed and tried to compose himself. This Silas person had an important last name from an important school. This person in front of him was supposedly a respected cultivator. It was better to err on the side of caution. This man might really be who he was pretending to be, as far-fetched as the story he gave.

“Cultivator Zhao, I’m sorry, but we do not keep track of the seers known as Mothers. We have our own business to conduct.” The clerk’s face went flat, and Silas frowned.

Without doing or saying anything else, Silas reached and grabbed the scroll from the man, snapping it from his hands. He then turned and grabbed his hammer, dragging it out and leaving.

He should have known a branch office wouldn’t be of any help to him. That clerk was nothing more than a paper pusher. Silas then sighed and looked up at the castle in the middle of the city. It loomed over the rest of the city like a bad omen for him. He knew he probably could get the help he needed, maybe. He would have to open some doors that he closed a long time ago.