Tong slowly moved through the pitch darkness, its own little silver glow the only light. Tong’s eyes couldn’t see in the dark amazingly well, so the creature was left creeping through the stone catacombs. Beneath this part of the forest was a series of maze-like passages, the remains of some sort of old fort, or castle. Tong found it quite eerie, the square hallways feeling disorienting compared to the natural terrain of the forest. Roots and vines occasionally poked through holes in the ceiling from trees above, and water leaked onto the shattered remains of the tile floors. There was no sign of life, no burrows or hiding holes or nests. Just the stone, the dust, and the stench of stagnant water.

Tong pressed on, noticing that while most of the walls were uniform, some displayed more carved symbols of that strange crescent-moon headed figure, along with odd lines in groups that the insect couldn’t decipher. Finally, the stillness and gloom was pierced by an odd shuffling noise down the hall. Tong paused, antenna twitching as it watched carefully.

A large mass slowly shuffled down the hallway, little motes of orange light glimmering throughout it like thousands of eyes. Unlike the dusk-stalker, this was a collection of animal bones, human remains, and random dead plant material, all forced into a shuddering mass propelled by the last murmurs of that sickening orange death Ki. When the mass noticed Tong’s overabundant silver Ki, it simply started to slowly lurch in the opposite direction, unwilling to face its antithesis. Whatever sort of Ki-creature it was, it was less animal and more plant, feeding on remains that ended up in the catacombs rather than actively hunting for food. It was just a shadow, a mere remnant of life left to fade away in the dark.

Tong watched the mound continue to shudder, briefly wondering if it was a good idea to suck out the last of the essence and kill the wretched thing. Tong remembered how foul that orange Ki tasted, however, and decided against it. Tong’s antenna twitched, and the bug noticed something. It could… feel an energy, a strange thing pulsing in the distance. After a long while of crawling through the maze of catacombs, Tong came upon a chamber where the ceiling had caved in, letting a beam of dim sunlight pierce into the gloom. In the center of the room was a glowing orb, like a small sphere of water like a raging ocean.

In an instant, Tong was entranced, antenna twitching madly as it rushed towards the orb. The insect felt the need to be as close to the orb as possible, eat it, merge with it. Anything to rejoin the primordial sea. But the second Tong actually touched the orb, all went dark. And thick black feelers, like vines, erupted from where the orb had been, wrapping a tight cage around Tong’s body. No matter how the bug thrashed, it had been trapped. And to make things worse, Tong started to hear voices from the hole in the ceiling.

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Meanwhile, at the mountain fortress of Yuam Surrat…

Yui walked quickly, the light of the late afternoon streaming through the windows of the long stone hallway. While the upper divisions of the Cloud Palace were locked off to normal citizens, even a lower lord such as Yui had a birthright to the place. Although she didn’t often wish to flaunt her privileges, sometimes it was needed. She confidently strided towards one of the guards on duty, helmet under one arm, an elaborate bracelet of woven beads placed over her gauntlet. Her herald’s sign, the symbol of her family’s station. There were officially seventeen ranks of nobility within Yaum’ana society, with anything of a higher number than twelve considered unable to even live within the Cloud Palace. The lower the number, the higher your status, with the first two ranks being for the royal family.

Yui held up her gauntlet and beads, standing proud. “Yui Goto, the 27th. As Nama, I request to speak to the Oracle of Surrat.” Yui was stone-faced, but internally cringed. As the 11th rank, Nama, it wasn’t common to attempt to speak to a cultivator. This would be put down in the records, murmured over, discussed. Garakata, the 10th and lower ranks, would gossip about this for weeks, asking what a lowly Nama was doing in the oracle’s private halls. Such was the life of a lord.

After a little bit of whispering and some scratches on parchment, one of the guards led Yui through the door and down several hallways. She was eventually led past a large metal door, into a strange, huge room filled with all sorts of luxuries.

The oracle’s chambers were much unlike the austere conditions of most of Yaum Surrat. Soft silk curtains lined the archways, dividing the larger chamber into several colorful sections. A few female attendants, or something of the sort, milled around and spoke to one another. In the center of the room there was even a fountain, softly bubbling. The oracle herself sat in one of the corners, currently focusing on an odd device similar to an abacus, but with far more beads in many different colors. Yui was surprised at the beautiful accommodations, but it made sense. The oracle had never chosen to be imprisoned, it was just her station in life. So, while she was trapped, she didn’t live her life as a mundane prisoner.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Erm… Hello, Chained One.” Yui said, politely.

The oracle looked up, and set aside the abacus. She was somewhat older than Yui, with long black hair that had a few traces of gray, currently tied up in a pretty braid. Yui noticed with some trepidation that while her dress looked comfortable and expensive, the design incorporated not just the wings of the celestial bird, but tiny locks and chains, which jingled slightly whenever the oracle moved. Her arms and legs also seemed bound, covering much of her skin below the neck in ornate metal manacles. She truly was a Chained One, indeed. Most curious were her eyes, though, each iris an unsettling… gray? Or silver? An odd eye color Yui hadn’t seen before.

“Lord Goto, I presume?” the oracle asked, placing her hands on her lap.

Yui flushed slightly, a bead of sweat down her neck. I don’t recall giving her my name… Yui thought to herself.

“Oh, The guards told me you were arriving.” said the oracle, putting Yui at ease slightly. Yui then sat down, politely, realizing she was looming over the woman.

“A few days ago, I was told that you proclaimed that the men I sent to Ao forest were dead. I just wanted to… To make sure.”

The oracle’s face turned into a small frown, and she nodded. “I’m sorry, Lord Goto. The Ki of death hung over the forest, and traces of it entered the storm that came upon the palace. I can’t say definitely it was your soldiers, but considering the circumstances… It’s very likely. It was from deep within the forest, and enough of a trace to have been several people.”

“Deep within…” Yui said to herself. “I asked my men to skirt the edge of the forest, not enter it. Scouts of such skill… disobeyed a lord’s orders?”

The oracle closed her eyes, thinking. “I am given information from The Way. How to fit all of it together, though… That’s a more complicated thing. If they disobeyed, they disobeyed. But I cannot ascertain what decisions they may have made, not from such a distance.”

Yui thought on that for a short while, but something nagged her.

“Wait… ‘not from such a distance?’ What do you mean?”

The oracle leaned in, grinning. “You agree I look good with this little bit of gray in my hair, right? And you wonder how long it takes for me to change my clothes at night, with all these locks. Please do be careful where your mind wanders, Lord Goto…”

A deep blush crawled up Yui’s face, and no doubt the oracle got much entertainment from the contents of her mind at that moment. “I… I see…”

“Here’s my advice, Lord Goto. I know Lord Ko’s mind. Pester him. Get him to see what you see. And prepare.” Said the oracle, leaning back again.

“Prepare for what?” Yui asked, startled.

“Just… prepare. It’s like we’re on the edge of a cliff. And at the bottom, I can’t tell if we’ll see silver or orange. Life or death. For the first time, since I’ve been able to see it… The upcoming curves of the river are unclear to me. But you… You’ll have a part to play in all of this.”

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Some time later, at the outskirts of He-Yue Village…

“If you drop that,” Xu stated, plainly. “I’ll make you wish you were more than dead.”

“Doesn’t that make us… alive, sir?” asked one of the four hunters, as he helped to carry a large metallic cage, currently wrapped with several large pelts.

Xu swatted at him with the broom, but only lightly. Then they all froze, as the creature in the cage fluttered madly about and made it rock back and forth.

“Quickly now. Before the guards see, and get the local lord involved. This’ll be worse than that time I tried to raise chickens without paying the egg tax.” Xu hurried them along, until the cage was sequestered inside of his hut. Once it was, Xu quickly moved to take the furs off.

They all gasped, as there was a bright silver light from inside the cage. Xu had used an old trick of his, creating a special snare hidden inside a ball of Ki infused water to use as bait. Once it had been snared within Xu’s special alchemical concoction, it was as easy as a bucket and some rope to get the thing into the cage. They weren’t quite sure how strong the Ki-beast was, so this was a great risk, but so far it seemed unable to cut or eat the metal. The insect buzzed, irritated, but was unable to free itself.

“It’s a marvel, isn’t it!” Xu said, incredibly pleased with himself. “See how the silver inside the abdomen flows? That’s pure concentrated Ki. Perhaps sort of like a stomach and heart, all in one.”

Xu had sworn all of them hunters in the room that helped him to secrecy, and none of them would be willing to break their Grandpa’s trust. They all stood far back from the cage, fearing the large mantis-like blades that occasionally poked out of it. Xu, however, pulled up a chair and sat down, heedless of those sharp forceps mere inches from his face.

“You’re so beautiful, aren’t you?” Xu whispered. One of the hunters, Deng, shot the other a look. Grandpa's finally lost it. They all thought.

“Now, just calm… This won’t hurt even a little…” Xu said, as he reached a hand towards the cage.

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Next Time: Tong and Xu truly meet, Yui discovers more secrets of Surrat, and something finally awakens after ages of slumber…