What is a Bloodline? In the strictest sense, it is the gifts of your ancestors. Those who reached power pass it to their children and their children’s children, and so on and so forth. But what happens when one’s bloodline is incompatible with their path? Any bloodline can be manipulated during the crossing of Dissolution to Salt…if their own blood doesn’t kill them first… -Excerpt from the technique manuals of the Mist Cat Mountain Sect used as the foundation of their teachings.

* * *

I fixed Shen Tori with my most frigid stare. This man might have been an advancement above me in my current state, but I had dealt with scarier artists than him before. He was a wicked monster who relished in the power of his station. He lorded himself over others and bullied those of lower station…which was exactly the kind of cultivator that made my blood boil.

“I hope you get a good first shot in,” I said just loud enough for him to hear. “Because once we engage in battle, you won’t get a second chance.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I know a thing or two about how to deal with Moon artists,” he answered with a satisfied smirk. I smiled coldly, but it didn’t reach my eyes.

“I can guarantee you’ve never dealt with a moon artist quite like me before.”

“That’s what they all say.”

Well, the rest of artists aren’t former Ascendents, I thought, but I kept my silence. I turned and left, keeping an eye out for any surprise attack Shen Tori or his son might try to launch. Neither of them moved, and I jogged ahead to catch up with Pollen, Suzume, and Xinya. A moment later, Pharyx joined us.

“Did you guys see my fight?” he asked as we walked down the street.

“Yes, we did,” Pollen answered. “It seems you’re capable of growth, after all. Congratulations.”

Pharyx didn’t seem to catch the backhanded insult and launched into an excited explanation. “She was so strong! Honestly, I think many of Mother’s subordinates might struggle to take her down. I mean, the ones who haven’t crossed into Salt, of course. The higher advancements are obviously stronger, but it was incredible! I’ve never seen anyone move so fast, and the way her wind hit me was unreal!”

“We’re all very excited for you, brother,” Suzume answered with a smile. She and Pollen shared a look before giggling amongst themselves.

“What?” Pharyx asked, but they just shook their heads and refused to speak any further on the subject.

Despite the levity, however, Pollen continued glancing behind her, as did I. Shen Tori and his son were still behind us, walking along the busy streets with the rest of the festival goers. They were clearly following us, but, if they were trying to hide, they made no obvious sign of it. Instead, they meandered at a respectful distance, stopping at shops and picking up snacks when they got too close, and catching up once they were finished.

To my great relief, we reached the Spirit Caller’s Stage quickly. It was set up as a large, raised platform in the square outside the Administration building, and Lin was waiting outside. He and Zumi were discussing something, but, as soon as he saw us approaching as a group, he finished quickly and took three sticks of candied strawberries from his cousin.

“Yoru! Xinya! As promised, I finished everything before the performance.” Lin handed a stick each to Xinya and me. “Even got treats for the show, which I’m told will be spectacular.”

“I sure hope so, because we have some unwanted company ruining the mood.” I pointed to Shen Tori who just bowed his head in greeting as soon as Lin looked over. The administrator needed no introduction to the void artist, just seeing him was enough for his complexion to turn almost ghostly.

“He’s the one who ordered Hanako’s death,” he whispered. I could feel the qi within him roiling with his anger.

“Easy, Lin,” I said gently. “This is not the venue for vengeance. I want him dead, but any fight we enter here will result in untold damage to Saikan, and will insult the Spirit Caller Sect.”

Lin clenched and unclenched his fists before turning away. “He must have asked the Governor to invite the Spirit Callers. It’s the only way they could have arrived so quickly.”

“The Governor?” I’d only heard of the ruler of the Moon-Soaked Shore in passing. From what little I knew, he was the descendent of the cultivator who’d been placed in the position by Lady Saraia after she and the Sword Saint removed the previous dictators in the Shore. His dynasty ruled with her extended authority, even if she had no interest in the Shore itself. It was a backwater and thus, was unworthy of an Ascendent’s attention. Better to delegate that sort of thing to a lesser artist.

Since he was only the ruler of a backwater, I figured he couldn’t be more than Gold. Anyone who was ambitious enough to take the excruciating step between the Forging Realm and Refining Realm would not be content to be the big fish in a little pond. They’d leave the Shore for fresher fields and better ambient qi. However, even if he was Gold, that made him a significant threat to me in my current state. Even a Silver would make me struggle to win.

“I did hear rumors that the Governor had returned to the Shore a few months ago. Shen Tori must have asked him to send an emergency missive to the Spirit Caller Sect to conduct this ritual. Then he murdered Hanako to try and weaken us,” Lin growled.

Something about that seemed…off. The Moon-Soaked Shore was only a small part of the greater world, but it was still a vast peninsula. It took a months of travel to cross from the eastern coast to the western mountains where the Capital lay. Even if the Governor had an array for quick communication with the world beyond the Shore, it would still have taken some time for an insignificant region like the Moon-Soaked Shore to mobilize the help of a foreign sect.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

And, what did Shen Tori gain from arranging Hanako’s murder? The perpetrators had worn Lunar Hunt insignias, but if they were trying to get at me or Xinya, they had other ways of doing it. They wouldn’t have bothered to stage Hanako’s suicide. I’d always thought that he was trying to push me away from Lin, but why would he bother if he could just come to Saikan and attack us directly?

Something wasn’t adding up, but I had no idea what the missing piece was.

“Look! It’s starting!” Xinya exclaimed.

On stage, a woman in a beautiful silver and green set of cultivator robes stepped onto the stage and began to dance. Her long sashes and sleeves twirled in a rippling river of fabric all around her. It was truly a beautiful dance.

“So, what exactly is this performance supposed to be?” I whispered softly to Lin. He shook his head.

“They didn’t say, and I wasn’t old enough to remember the last festival,” he answered.

“I know. But it might be best if you leave now, Tsuyuki,” the coy voice of Lian Liu drifted closer over the music and he scurried over to join us. He was dressed less conspicuously than normal, having left his full hood and scarf at the inn in favor of a dark set of robes for the festival. He seemed to have come prepared for…something. His sash was stuffed full of paper talismans.

“Why’s that?” I asked.

Lian’s eyes flicked to Pollen, Pharyx, and Xinya before answering. “Because you’ll almost certainly recognize it, soon.”

A sick feeling took root in my stomach. I looked back to the dancer on the stage. On closer inspection, it wasn’t a woman at all, but a thinly built man with make-up accentuating his features. He danced in a joyous manner, spinning and twirling.

At each of the corners of the stage, a crystal sphere had been placed. As the dancer performed, qi began to sparkle black and white within each sphere. Though I couldn’t see it, I was certain that an array had been painted on the floor of the stage itself which was certainly taking some of the artist’s qi and activating the orbs.

“These sorts of rituals have a lot of spiritual significance, as I’m sure you know,” Lian murmured. “What better to focus the qi than a historical account starring that which they are trying to subdue?”

The dancer was soon joined by several others, these ones dressed all in tattered black rags. When they danced, they gathered their qi into a dark miasma of death energy which formed the shapes of various monsters and yokai. Even some screams could be heard from within underneath the music.

The silver-clad figure began to spar with the monsters. Flashes of white and silver qi quickly banished the darker figures, but the silver-clad figure seemed to be shaken by the encounter. His movements became faster, more desperate, more crazed.

“You call this historical?” I muttered, wanting to look away. They’d chosen the more popular version of the story over the accurate one.

“Is it not?” Lian asked. “The Darkened Moon was a spirit who fell to madness and destroyed whole nations.” There wasn’t any point in arguing with that. Nothing would convince those who believed they knew the truth.

The silver-clad figure suddenly became surrounded by black qi. Shrieks and cackles emanated from the cocoon before it was dispelled with a gust of wind. His clothes were now black, and a completely crazed smile split his face. The dark monsters returned to the stage, but a brilliant white light enveloped them, and they were gone in an instant.

This would be the point in the story where the Sun Queen and the other Ascendents would try to talk me down, only to be attacked. They would then be forced to send Jinshi to try and mediate…which would also fail…

I didn’t need to see this. Living it once would have been enough, and I’d seen it played out for me in much greater detail a thousand times in the Labyrinth. Instead, I closed my eyes, bowed my head, and walked away.

“Tsuyuki!” I flinched. It was Shen Tori. “Where are you going? I’d hate for you to miss the Spirit Caller’s hard work.”

“Their ritual won’t work,” I answered. “They’re performing the Legend of the Darkened Moon, but they’re aiming for a shade of one of the Avatar’s subordinates. What’s the point in waiting around for nothing to happen?”

“Is that so?” Shen Tori mused. “Well, the Fury is fueled by his master’s power, is he not? And who wouldn’t be upset to see their master’s ultimate defeat replayed for them.”

Behind me, I could hear the music turn somber. The sound of steel being drawn from its sheath pulled my attention back. The old man leading the sect representatives was on stage, now. His face was stoic. The sword in his hand was pointed at the Darkened Moon. I knew his role immediately.

“Jinshi,” I breathed. Memories flashed through my thoughts: an argument, hurtful words, and Jinshi looking at me as if I’d killed his best friend. The look of hurt in his eyes…even if he hadn’t looked so old back then, I could picture it clearly in my mind’s eye just from watching the performers.

Qi was crackling in the orbs, adding tension to the scene as the Sword Saint and the Darkened Moon fought on stage. In the end, it was called to a draw, and the Sword Saint retreated. He would rally the rest of the Ascendents and strike when the villain least expected it.

“Hey, are you okay?” Lin put a hand on my shoulder. I blinked several times before tearing my eyes away from the tragic scene before me.

“Fine,” I lied. “It’s just history, right? Nothing that can be changed now.”

In that instant, Lian jogged over to join us. “Don’t worry, Your Highness. I’ve got it sorted.”

“You’ve got it…what?”

“Just watch the show,” he said. “But, maybe from over here.” He dragged me by the arm to the side of a shop where my view of the crowd was hindered, but not wholly blocked. “Yeah, here will do. Still need to see what I’m doing, after all.”

“What exactly are you doing?” asked Lin.

“Well, he’s the Darkened Moon, right? Of course, his qi would be affected by a ritual specifically targeting him. He’s not strong enough to block it.” Lian began pulling talismans from his sash, looking at them, then stuffing them back.

Lin shared a look with me, but I just shrugged. “And you know this, how?” he continued.

“Because I’m very good at what I do, now hold still. They’re almost ready.”

I peered around the corner of the shop. The actor for the Darkened Moon was fending off four other artists, all dressed in colorful outfits. They were my adversaries of old, the other Avatars and the Sun Queen’s chief healer.

This part was surprisingly accurate to events. A great orb of silver qi meant to simulate lunar qi hung in the air above as the moon while the Darkened Moon danced around his enemies, always dodging away before his opponents could reach him. The delicate choreography was impressive, and the Darkened Moon always looked as if he knew exactly where his enemies would strike. Finally, he pinned down the healer, drawing his blade across her throat and leaving her to die. In the same swift motion, the Sword Saint struck the simulated moon above, slicing a deep gash across its surface. The Darkened Moon howled in agony and dropped his blade. Before he could react further, the Sword Saint plunged the prop Razor Wind through his shoulder blades.

A wave of gathered qi exploded from the crystal spheres and the staged array, and Flash Forward warned of a coming blast. My breath caught and I turned to flee, knowing I would not escape in time.