You fool of a child! Sneaking into the sect?! Poisoning their disciples?! You court death not just for yourself, but for us all! Our honor is all that lets us survive the centuries, you wretch! -Matriarch Lin Olan

* * *

The gates to the Hunting Lodge loomed before us in a pretentious display of spikes and walls. It was crude, but sturdy…at least as far as fortresses in a backwater region of the world could be. It wouldn’t hold a candle to any artist in the refining realm, but it was good enough for the Lunar Hunt’s purposes.

“The spikes really do evoke images of bandits, don’t they?” Lian mused as the four of us came to stand outside. “They’re certainly not the elegant and refined imagery that is common to the civilized societies of the world.”

“Everyone has their own tastes, I suppose,” Kansi agreed. Then she turned to me. “How do you want to do this?”

It was a very good question. News of the Tide Serpent’s defeat would have already reached Shen Tori. Three weeks of travel was a long time, even with us pushing every day to cut out every last hour that stood between us and my disciple. Even attacking at this hour, as the sun was setting over the trees, was because we couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

“He knows we’re coming,” I said. He’d be stupid not to. There were Lunar Hunt outposts all across the distance between Pemai, Hanai, and the Hunting Lodge, and we’d passed at least three of them just in the last few days. “I’m frankly surprised that he hasn’t invited us in, yet. What a terrible host.”

“Do you think he’s setting a trap?”

“Almost certainly.”

Lin’s hand tightened around the hilt of Shen Yaoxan’s sword, which he won in fair combat. Though he’d flown on Razor Wind the entire way here, the ancient blade made him nervous, and he’d given it back to Kansi as soon as we’d landed. “Does it really matter? We can’t just leave him alive just because he might have a trap set up.”

“And I don’t intend to,” I answered. “He will be dead before the morning comes.”

Kansi eyed me calmly. “Has anyone ever told you that you are terrifying when you’re angry? There’s a darkness in your eyes.”

“You think he’s scary now, imagine what he was like as an Ascendent,” Lian muttered.

I just shrugged. I had never considered myself to be an intimidating individual, even at the height of my power. The other Ascendents all believed me the youngest and weakest of the Avatars, always fearing the word of the Sun Queen or the Ocean Lord more than me. However, most of those who underestimated me quickly learned the hard way why I was just as worthy of my title as the others…and, in some cases, it was the last thing they ever learned.

There was a crack and a shift of qi from down the road. Swords and bows were drawn, as each one of us expected an ambush. But, the footsteps that followed were dainty and light, and our weapons were quickly lowered as we saw just who had appeared.

Queen Pollen of the Honey Hive blinked in wild confusion. “Tsuyuki? Tenri? What just happened? Where am I?”

“At the Hunting Lodge, west of Hanai,” I provided. “How did you get here so quickly?” It was an even longer journey from the Honey Hive to the Lodge than it was from Saikan. We’d sent Xi Qian to let the evacuated villagers know it was safe to return, but there was no way he could have gotten to Pollen in time for her to arrive here with us.

Yet, examining her, I could see the same pink and green qi that flowed freely from Pollen’s domain wreathing the spirit beast. If she was an imposter, she was a very good one.

“Xi Qian said you defeated the Serpent,” she answered. “Zumi and I were helping the civilians back, but we met a strange man on the road. He said he was a merchant travelling through. He showed us his wares, and there was this crystal…I held it and suddenly, I was here.” She crossed her arms, holding her whisk tightly as she surveyed the area for potential threats.

“Do you think she’s an illusion? Or a shape changer?” Lin whispered. I didn’t answer.

“I see, do you know why we’re here, Your Majesty?”

Pollen frowned, looking up at the Lodge, and recognizing the banners draped from the walls. “I hope it’s to burn Shen Tori alive, preferably before my darling Xinya is hurt.” The Queen’s eyes narrowed with spite, but she maintained her graceful composure, idly swishing her whisk to stir up the air around her, despite there being no insects this late in the season.

“Xinya, hmm? Forgive me, Pollen, but I have to be sure. How did you and I meet?” I asked. Pollen seemed stunned for a moment before she caught on to my reasoning.

“My subordinates nearly convinced me to behead you in my own throne room,” she answered. “I was worried that you were responsible for abusing the cutest little thing I’d ever seen.” Pollen coughed slightly and looked away. “I even lost my composure, I was so overwhelmed by your little disciple.”

I nodded, satisfied by her answer. The only ones present for that encounter had been Pollen, Xinya, and Pollen’s two loyal attendants. The red that colored her cheeks from admitting that she’d “lost her composure” meant she could be none other than the original.

“We’ll be happy to have you, then. We’ll figure out how you got here later,” I said. “For now, we have a girl to save.” Something about Pollen’s sudden appearance was weird. No mere merchant would have the kind of power necessary to teleport an artist across the country. However, regardless of the merchant’s intentions, I was glad to have the Queen with us. Investigating the merchant could wait so long as Xinya was still in harm’s way.

I approached the gates to the Lodge, but before I could even touch them, the ground shuddered and the gates swung open. Peering inside, there were no cultivators immediately prepared to strike. All the people were withdrawn to the far side of a courtyard.

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“This is absolutely a trap,” Lin murmured. I nodded.

“We’d be rude guests not to see what he has in store,” I answered, stepping over the threshold and entering the Lodge.

My four companions followed my lead, Lin staying just a step behind and to my right as we crossed the courtyard. The cultivators of the Lunar Hunt glared at us with the same hatred with which their spirit hounds growled. However, not one of them moved, which I suspected was at Shen Tori’s command. The man himself stood directly across from us, with his son just behind him. Taihua was holding Xinya’s arm.

“Wait! Uncle Yoru! There’s a-”

“Quiet, child!” Shen Tori barked.

“Don’t worry, Xinya,” I called. “We all know he’s got a trap in here. Why else would he open the gates for us?”

Shen Tori laughed. “You were loitering on my front lawn for long enough. How else was I to welcome you, if you wouldn’t approach?” He sighed and began pacing before us. “You certainly took your time with my last little diversion. How many tries did it take you to finally subdue the beast?”

“The Serpent is dead, not subdued,” I answered.

“Really? Congratulations, you surpassed my expectations twice over,” he said. “I didn’t even expect you to survive.”

“I’m always full of surprises.” I rolled my eyes. “But, what shouldn’t be surprising is why I’m here.”

“And my answer should be even less surprising,” Shen Tori finished. He stopped pacing, glaring at me with dark eyes filled with hate. “I will not bow to any moon artist, certainly not the likes of you. If you seek to ‘rescue’ my granddaughter, then you don’t understand what’s best for her. I do.”

A cold kernel of anger settled into my heart. “Do you think I am unfamiliar with the void you would press upon her? You would force that upon a child? How cruel.” A cold laugh bubbled up in me. “But then again, you support the murder of children just for having moon qi. Funny how your opinion changed as soon as it was your own blood on the executioner’s block.”

“She was corrupted by your madness! You and your vile demon of a master!” Shen Tori shouted. He took several steps forward, his hands on the hilts of his daggers. However, where he was filled with hot rage, I remained cold. Calmly, I crossed the distance between us, until I was only a handful of paces from him.

“My demon of a master?” I asked softly. “I do not bow to anyone. In what time you have left to you, let’s see if you can figure out why.”

“Are you challenging me, little Iron?” he growled. “I’ll have you know I’ve bested Golds. You don’t stand a chance.”

“Golds? Is that supposed to be impressive?” I was so tired of the filth before me. I had no illusions of the difficulties that lay ahead of me. Any minute now, I expected the gates to close behind us, trapping us inside like lobsters in a trap, but I was not leaving here without my disciple. Shen Tori may have been Silver, but I had the experience of an Ascendent.

“I see you’re just as foolish as I judged you for.”

“Then you should be fine taking me on.” I raised my voice for all to hear. “So, if you’re so confident, then let’s make a wager. If I win, you will be dead, but I’ll leave your people alone. I’ll take Xinya, and the Hunt will never bother us again. If you win, then I’ll tell you where to find the one you think is my master before I die. Imagine the favor you could curry with knowledge of the Darkened Moon’s prison, hmm? It’s said only the Sword Saint knew, and he took that secret to his grave. Imagine what the other Ascendents would pay for the location?”

It was almost too easy. Greed and ambition shimmered in Shen Tori’s eyes, and I knew I’d hooked him with my useless information. What did it matter if he knew where to find the Labyrinth? It wasn’t like anyone could get inside. Besides, I didn’t plan on losing.

“No! Uncle Yoru! It’s not-” Xinya tried to speak, but Taihua glared at her and she went silent.

“I accept the terms,” Shen Tori announced. “Even if the information is worthless, I’ll still get the pleasure of ridding the Shore of a vile moon artist.”

The void artist waved a hand, and I heard the sound of the gates closing. I took a deep breath. With luck, none of the others need fight at all. Though the Lunar Hunt was devastated after the disappearance of Shen Yaoxan’s war band, they still had enough Bronze and Iron artists and spirit beasts to stand a chance against four Iron artists and a Silver. Though I gave it even odds that my party would win, victory could be costly. This way, we wouldn’t need to wipe out so many young cultivators who could still be brought back to a moral path, and their honor would ensure that Saikan and its people would be spared. All I had to do was win.

“Yoru, get out of there!” Xinya shouted before Taihua could stop her. I frowned, unsure of what she was warning me of. Shen Tori hadn’t moved, and his qi was directed into the ground, not towards me.

It was directed into the ground. The gate wasn’t his only trap. Flash Forward heralded several flashes of light, but I was not going to stick around to find out the source. I turned and ran, trying to make it to one of the buildings before the new trap closed.

I didn’t make it.

A brilliant line of characters carved itself into the packed dirt, forming a circle around the courtyard. Only Shen Tori and I were inside.

“Yoru!” Lin shouted. He lunged forward, but I put up a hand.

“No, stay out of it. If you interfere, the wager is off, and Saikan is in danger again,” I warned. He seethed in anger and frustration. “I promise, I’ll get revenge for Hanako on your behalf. Trust me.”

Lin backed away from the circle, but his sword remained drawn. Lian put a hand on his shoulder, whispering something to him, that seemed to calm him slightly. I smiled, projecting as much confidence as I could.

“You’re awfully arrogant for someone caught in an unknown array,” mocked Shen Tori.

I just shrugged. “Some of my most impressive feats were accomplished from within an unknown array. I think I can hand-”

My words were roughly cut off as I choked and gasped. Inside me, my own qi was writhing as moonlight was being smothered in every inch of my body. I grasped at my chest as all the bright qi that had been a part of me for so long was systematically hunted and locked away.

The blood in my veins burned as my meridians were flooded with undiluted void qi. My knees gave out from under me, and in a split second, I forced the shift to Void-touched. Relief from the pain filled me as the change to a being of the void washed over my body.

“There’s the monster,” Shen Tori mused. “How confident are you now, Tsuyuki Yoru? This array prevents the use of all lunar qi, and all techniques derived from the moon’s powers. Without it, you’re crippled. Do you think you can beat me with only half your core?”

But, I wasn’t listening to him. Instead, I was distracted by…silence. Everything was so quiet. The voices of the void that normally were a dull hum in the background of my life were so quiet I could barely hear anything at all. The Labyrinth’s chattering madness at the edges of my consciousness were silenced, too.

Is this what being normal is like? I wondered. Why would severing the moon silence the void? It was the opposite of what I would have expected. The moon was my light, the representation of all I’d been before the Void sank its dirty claws into me. Why would the voices die with my essence shifted towards the very aspect that spawned them?

“Yoru, watch out!” Lin’s voice rang clearly across the courtyard. I snapped out of my thoughts, only to find Shen Tori was gone. Void qi shifted behind me, and I spun, barely blocking a dagger with my chains as Shen Tori appeared out of nowhere.

“It’s time you died, you wretched moon beast!”

I gritted my teeth. “Afraid you’ll be disappointed!”