Preparations were complete and everyone was waiting in front of the inn. Captain Chen had been tasked with keeping the town safe while Hong Yang and Madam Huo were away. Since the troops were all originally from the Valley, there was no question to where their loyalties lie. Those passing by stopped and stared at the black-haired hooligan with an eye-patch who was standing guard by the delicate beauty with pale blue hair. Since the battle the day before, George had become famous overnight. It was one thing to be strong but another to be able to supress and even overwhelm the famous Flaming Red Rose.
George could only give a helpless smile as they were being stared and whispered about. He’d already made a name for himself with his overwhelming strength but now he was also standing beside Ciel, who looked like an elegant lily. The disparity between the two of them made them stick out even more. Well, even if they both of them were in their real form, George’s scarred face and blind eye would still be glaring against Ciel’s gentle and refined features.
“Just ignore them, they’ll stop soon enough.”
“I know.”
The two of them were used to stares at the club anyway. The infamous dragon slayer and the eldest son of the Master, who wouldn’t know them or stare at them now and then? Besides their reputation, they were both lookers with their own charm. So they calmly stood outside the inn as they waited for Lord Hong to finish his instructions. Madam Huo had gone off to who knows where and said that she would meet them at the site.
“Sorry for the wait, let’s go.”
They nodded and followed Ciel’s uncle out of the town. Once they were a suitable distance away, Hong Yang stopped them. They looked at him curiously.
“There isn’t anyone following us now. Use the talisman.”
Ciel gave a nod and removed the talisman that he had received earlier. After infusing a bit of his mana into it, the talisman started to glow before enveloping the three of them in a flash of light. By the time George opened his eyes, they were standing in a totally different place all together. It looked like a battle had taken place by this cliff side; he frowned as he looked at the cracked and damaged cliff and gouged earth. Feng and Yun were right, whatever had caused this fight had been big. Ciel had already left the group and started walking about, his eyes closed in concentration. George sighed in exasperation and followed behind, afraid that he might suddenly be attacked or simply trip because he was not aware of his surroundings. Just as he feared, Ciel tripped and would have fallen headlong into a crater if George had not caught him.
“Careful.” He growled grumpily into his ear.
Ciel gave an embarrassed nod as he rubbed his already pink ear. George pretended that he had not seen that as he continued to follow Ciel, who had his eyes wide open this time. Not long after, Ciel frowned and knelt to the ground, his slender white fingers digging in the dirt.
“What’s wrong?” George only managed to ask that before Ciel unearths a black scale the size of his palm. The hard scale had lost its natural lustre, with scratch marks and bits of blood and flesh stuck to it. Looking carefully around, George could see several more littering the ground, all in the same ragged condition. This was not good.
“Whose is it?”
“Yue’s. Kou can’t transform.” The frown that had decorated Ciel’s face increased in intensity. George understood Ciel’s worry; that something could cause Yue to transform and damage the area so badly, their chances did not seem good.
“At least there’s no body. We’ll find them, don’t worry.” He tried to console Ciel.
“You two, over here!” Hong Yang who had been exploring a different area suddenly called to them. They looked at each other and rushed over. Hong Yang was facing a cliff face, staring at the rubble that had slid down the cover it from the battle.
“Is there something the matter, uncle?”
“I remember that there was a cave somewhere in this vicinity so I was trying my luck. I sense something there and it seems familiar. Is it Kou?”
Ciel closed his eyes and tried his best to sense the presence his uncle was talking about. After a while, he opened his eyes again in frustration.
“I can’t tell. Something is blocking my perception.” Everyone looked at each other before Hong Yang gave a sigh.
“So the only way to find out is to dig them out.” Everyone looked gloomily at the rubble and boulders both large and small that covered the cliff side. While it would be easy to remove them if they applied their powers, they still wanted to remain unnoticed. And a flashy move may hurt whoever was inside. Left with no choice, they slowly moved the rubble away using gentler means. Well, the term was relative when they saw Hong Yang nimbly jump onto the pile of rubble and kicked the bigger boulders out of the way.
“I thought we were trying not to attract attention?” George couldn’t help asking.
“And that’s why I haven’t used any fancy blasts or energy attacks like my mother would have done.”
George could only roll his eyes and they resumed digging. The removal of the larger stones made things easier as the loose sand, stones and gravel moved out of the way like water finding their level. Using some internal energy, George lightly tapped the medium sized boulders, reducing them to sand while Ciel carefully blew it all out of the way to join the sands that made Yellow Wind Valley. It wasn’t long before they had completely cleared the debris that had blocked the entrance of the cave. The darkness of the cave went further in, making George realize that the cave was actually deeper than he had imagined.
“Should we wait for grandmother?"
Hong Yang frowned and looked at a talisman in his hand. “No, she has something else that she has to do. We’re completing this without her.” Without any further explanation, Hong Yang went in first, followed by Ciel and George.
It came as no surprise when they passed through a magical barrier, and continued walking, even after ten minutes. The gloomy light provided by Hong Yang’s magic did nothing to dispel the eerie atmosphere, rather it seemed to enhance it. George felt that it was his imagination but it felt that they were moving downwards; as if slowly walking into the belly of the earth, the crunch of their footsteps the only sound they heard. George had kept his senses alert as he followed behind Ciel so he was aware when the man in front of him suddenly stopped.
“What’s wrong?” He asked in a low voice. Hong Yang who had heard George turned around to look at them, the glowing ball of light in his hand casting a ghastly shadow in his handsome face. That was when they heard it; the rustling, skittering sound that George suspected would haunt his dreams for quite a while. They looked down to see spiders moving in the same direction. Hong Yang looked at the reviled look on Ciel's face curiously.
"What's the matter? It's only spiders." If only it was... Thought George wryly.
"Ciel and I have had bad encounters with spiders. We're not big fans of them."
Hong Yang shrugged. "They're so tiny. They can't hurt us." he paused when he saw them twitch. "Should we follow them?"
"So far they do lead us to something big. And there's only one way to go anyway. "
Follow the spiders... Now where had he heard this bit of bad advice before? They continued to make their way down cave, the distance they travelled far exceeding the depth and dimensions of the cliff from the outside. The skittering spiders a constant companion to the crunch of their footsteps. Ciel was walking beside George now, his hand gripping the sleeve of his robes tightly. George could only give him a reassuring pat on the hand that held his sleeve. Before long, the three of them stopped, a large spider web blocking their way.
“Looks like we’ll have to break it to get through.” The hand on his arm squeezed even tighter. The spiders easily went between the gaps of the webbing.
“Should we burn it?”
“Yes, I don’t want this sticking to my sword.” With a snap of his fingers, Hong Yang conjured a flame that turned the webs to ashes before making his way in. George gave Ciel a comforting smile before he led him in as well. The narrow passage had widened and they now found themselves in a large cavern, wide and echoing. Well, it would have echoed, if there had not been the presence of a different world within.
Large trees that could grow no further because of the cavern roof, palms, trailing jungle vines… it was a rainforest within the cave. But instead of the usual lush emerald green that would be vivid against a blue sky, these trees were grey, blue and purple. Like plants that had lost their colour growing in the dark. And dotted amongst the trees were buildings made of stone; what was not ruins were square and imposing. They looked at one another and walked into the jungle cautiously, all senses alert. George had no idea where the light was coming from but considering that it was a different world within, there was no point in searching for logic.
There was a rustle of the undergrowth and a jaguar appeared. Not the usual yellow brown feline with black spots or even the black on black king of the shadows; this one was a pearly grey with deep blue spots, almost like a ghost. They stared at it just as the large cat looked at them; it then turned and walked away before pausing and turning to look at them again.
“Looks like we’re following the creature.”
“Better than stumbling about and hacking at the bushes. Do you know what that would do to my jian?”
George rolled his eyes. A magical weapon like that would not dull or break just because he had used it to hack the obstacles in its way. He did have to admit that it was overkill to use it as a gardening tool. They pushed their way through the underbrush, following the lithe feline as it led them to who knows where. Enemies did not lead you to them like this; they would rather ambush you or attack straight out. And a mere jungle cat like that, even if it was considered lord of this jungle was no match for any one of them, let alone three.
“Look.” Ciel suddenly called out softly. They both paused and turned in the direction indicated, the jaguar patiently waiting for them. The spiders that they had earlier lost sight of were back. Skittering past them, the sound of their movement lost within the sounds of jungle. While it was not confirmed where they were going, it looked like they were moving in the same direction, moving past the grey and blue cat, totally unafraid of it.
George could see the hesitation within Ciel’s eyes. There had been too many bad experiences with spiders; they were under the command of the shadows. How could they walk knowingly into a trap? But was it a trap? There had been no hostility from the jaguar; only patience and intelligence. And they knew that the spiders had never stood on the shadow’s side willingly. Was this another one who escaped their grasp?
“We can only know the answers if we go.” He coaxed softly. Ciel looked at him, aggrieved. “You know I’ll protect you.”
Before Ciel could say anything, a voice called out.
“Ciel…” they froze. George did not recognize this woman’s voice but the faces of Ciel and Hong Yang looked complicated.
“Do you know this voice?”
“Ciel.” The voice called again. A little louder, more urgent. Ciel moved. George could only follow as Ciel broke into a run, the jaguar moving swiftly ahead to guide him.
“Who was that?” George could only ask Hong Yang, his eyes never leaving the silver back.
“Someone who shouldn’t be here.”
“What?!”
“That voice sounded like Dawn’s”
George understood now. Dawn was no more. There was only Kou. With the amount of magic Master Gin used, even if Kou managed to regain his memories, he would never turn back into the woman he once was. He sped up, leaving Hong Yang behind to run beside Ciel. Ciel cast him a glance before he turned his head to the front, his expression unreadable.
“We’ll find out what’s going on, don’t worry.” He could see Ciel’s mouth tighten into a straight line, unwilling to say anything as they continued to follow the ghostly cat in front of them. Before long, they came to a stop in front of a square stone building, covered in moss and vines. It was not the only one as George could see what appeared to be ruins of a small village. In the distance he could also see a step pyramid, its peak towering over the nearby trees, brushing against the roof of the cavern. This landscape, these buildings… could it be? There was a deity missing and unaccounted for, after all…
The jaguar that had patiently waited for them turned and walked into the building, disappearing into the shadowy gloom. They looked at each other again, but before they could consider their next move, the voice, like a siren’s song called out again.
“Ciel.”
There was no choice. George could only watch as Ciel took a deep breath before walking inside. He could only helplessly trail behind.
A/N: I would like to sincerely apologize to all the readers that have been waiting for the continuation! Work and real life have been hectic. I hope to reestablish my old schedule soon.
