In the moment that Chan Bik turned her Clear Sight on Teem Djeung Baak, she saw:

Teem Djeung Baak looked at the demon god.

It was fascinating, really, an existence that she had never seen before. Almost as interesting as Little Handsome.

But this thing, this perpetually collapsing shape, all dark tendrils and red scribbles, didn’t excite her in the same way. Little Handsome had so many emotions lurking under that cool exterior of his. This ‘god’ was just a blob.

Still, this blob could give her something.

It wanted its people to be saved. Teem Djeung Baak wanted to raise hell.

Wouldn’t it be a mutual agreement if the god gave her the power to create portals? As it was, she was at a disadvantage when it came to fighting the direct disciples of the Ng Dzeung.

Staring at the god, she curled her lip. She couldn’t care less about any of them, human or demon or god. After all, look at this thing – it had come crawling to her to ask for her help as she strolled around the Demon Realm. She had killed so many of its people, and yet was still willing to give everything to her, for the slightest chance that those same people might be saved. It would probably disappear from existence, with this.

Pathetic.

It still wouldn’t be easy. She didn’t really have the same kind of insane talent that the Drifting Star, Chan Bik, and the Two Jades, Gaam Yuk Ying and Yuen Muk, had. The more she used these abilities, the more she would crumble from the inside.

It was a pity, but she couldn’t do anything to that fucking boyfriend of Little Handsome’s.

(What would it be like, seeing those cold eyes heat up? That lucky fucking dog Yuen Muk.)

That would have been the best. But in their group of Two Jades and Two Stars, there was one of the four whose martial prowess was much lower.

Dealing with her wouldn’t be quite as satisfying as messing with Yuen Muk, but it would have to do.

Unfortunately, she was always accompanied by that loong, an existence that Teem Djeung Baak couldn’t even dare to glance at. And with everyone flying around looking for her, she had to use her new portal ability again, and again, until she could feel her soul chipping away.

The hei she had developed was gone. Now she was burning the very energy of her soul, her dzing, the energy that kept her alive. She didn’t have much time left.

It was a pity she couldn’t kill Little Handsome’s boyfriend, although maybe she could cripple him…

Still, when she finally had the Sage Star in her hands, how could she not go out with a bang?

---

"Old White, what do you think?"

"Does it matter?" he said gruffly, arms folded. "Our next moves are clear."

All three of them involuntarily glanced back towards the portal.

They were alone in the vast, dusty expanse of the Demon Realm. With Teem Djeung Baak gone, the demons who had recklessly attacked Mount Faa had rapidly retreated back into the Demon Realm and hidden in their settlements. Those who had survived, at least. They had been pursued partway by cultivators from Mount Faa and Mou Dang, picked off as they fled, leaving debris and corpses strewn across the landscape.

Rumours about the two disciples of the Vermilion Bird had already spread, along with the death of the Sage Star. Three Stars made for a dramatic story. The Drifting Star, the true disciple of the Vermilion Bird. Her lover, the Sage Star. And the jealous Fire Demon, who wanted to steal everything, who could now only be called the Disaster Star.

Whether this was the truth or not didn’t matter. Why let the truth get in the way of a good story?

"This isn't right," Ling Gwong murmured. "The people have been through enough. How can we just abandon them?"

"Do you want their world to become the same as this place?" Wong Tang demanded harshly. "I will not be the one to bring the world down around them. The gods of the Demon Realm learnt the hard way. Let's honour their struggles."

Gaam Bing grunted. But Ling Gwong wrung her hands.

"What will the children think?"

This provoked a long sigh from Wong Tang.

"There's nothing we can do there. They can no longer be children, looking up to us with wide eyes."

The three of them drifted from one demon god statue to another, viewing them gravely. At each, they bowed deeply, wordlessly, before moving to the next. At last, they returned to the portal. At last, Wong Tang spoke.

"I understand why you did it. You must have thought it was your last resort to save your people."

There was no response from the portal. Why would there be?

"It didn't have to be this way. You could have..." She shook her head. "Still, thank you. Because of your actions... We now know. Gods... were never meant to stay amongst mortals for too long."

The portal continued to say nothing.

Wong Tang bowed, deeply, and the others followed suit.

"Thank you. And goodbye."

One by one, they passed back through the portal for the last time.

---

"And so, we will be leaving soon. When you are all ready to Ascend, we will come with you to the Heavenly Realm."

Wong Tang spoke gently to the three disciples before her.

Chan Bik was a shell. She had lost several kilograms in a few weeks, her cheeks and eyes hollow. She only ate when Yuen Muk coaxed her to swallow a little steamed rice mixed with soy sauce and honey.

Yuen Muk was well aware that he was putting aside his own feelings to ensure Chan Bik was functioning. He slept very little, often napping outside the room where his Junior Sister slept, or more often, cried.

Gaam Yuk Ying was as expressionless as always. These days, he spoke even less than usual, and was glued to Yuen Muk's side as if he might disappear at any moment.

Wong Tang had found them attempting to meditate in the clearing halfway down the side of Mount Faa, surrounded by the half-cleared remains of the battle two weeks before. Sometimes Cheng Baak Gat joined them, but not today.

There was no way of scrubbing away the fine ash that had fallen over the whole mountain. Perhaps, after months of rain, the last ashes would finally be washed away downslope, to be slowly carried away by the Dragon River, and perhaps, one day, to make it to the sea.

Yuen Muk was leading the meditation, his gentle voice carrying on the air.

"Focus your hei at the Heart Acupoint. If you feel pain, don't shy away. Be kind, feel the pain and what it means. Breathe deep, let the air..."

The Grandmaster waited until they were done before moving to sit beside them. She quietly expressed the intention to leave for the Heavenly Realm.

"Will you finally tell us what is happening?" Yuen Muk asked, his voice weary.

“It’s not-”

“Master.”

Chan Bik twitched, but her head remained drooped. Both Yuen Muk and Gaam Yuk Ying kept their eyes fixed on Wong Tang, unyielding. Gold and silver shone in her direction, the goddess couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride under the regret.

“Do you remember that typhoon?”

“I do,” Yuen Muk responded tersely. “What about it?”

“And the bad harvest in the land around Ngo Mei?”

“Are you suggesting those are linked, Master?”

“Not only those. Whispers from all across the Five Kingdoms hint that something has been changing, slowly, in the time since I descended to the Mortal Realm and brought forth humanity. In the mountains of Dzang, the ice is melting. In southern Sek’seun, previously unknown frosts have been killing off plants and insects. They are having agricultural issues due to this.

“The fighting that has been happening… It’s not simply a matter of demons against humans. Four of the Five Kingdoms are beginning to feel changes that could potentially destabilise their societies.”

“Dzue,” Gaam Yuk Ying said flatly. “Dzue prospers still. The others desire that prosperity.”

“Of course. If you have a treat, the dog next door will be desperate for it. And when that dog is a country of thousands of people, whose lives may depend on that treat…” Wong Tang turned her pipe in her hands.

And although he knew he didn’t want to hear the answer, Yuen Muk asked quietly, “What’s causing these changes?”

“After seeing the Demon Realm… I… believe it’s us.”

“What ‘us’?” Gaam Yuk Ying threw at her, his voice colder than ever.

“Divine beings.” With a sharp crack, Wong Tang’s pipe snapped in her hand. “We did this.”

“Master-”

“Not just here, either. Across the entirety of this world, the vibrations of our actions are picking up pace. If we don’t stop, a landslide will fall down upon everything.”

“Master,” Yuen Muk interrupted, interlacing his fingers. “I don’t doubt what you’re saying, but so far you have only been speaking in riddles. How are divine beings the cause of the natural disasters happening across the Mortal Realm?”

With a rueful laugh, Wong Tang tucked a stray strand of white hair behind her ear. “I truly can’t take all the credit for how you turned out, my disciple. To be transparent, the link between the actions of Immortals and ‘natural’ disasters, is still not absolutely certain. But after I raised the mountains around Ngo Mei, the quality of the soil failed. The typhoon? My two granddaughters shielded Dzue from its impacts and it blasted across the east of Cheon and south of Sek’seun in a way never seen before. And yet, not long before, Sek’seun experienced severe frosts in the south that wiped out a season’s harvest…

“Ling Gwong taken by surprise by the demons there,” Wong Tang added, seeing everyone’s expressions. “She used a significant amount of Fire energy… We still don’t know what truly happened, her memory of the event is unclear.”

“If you block a storm in one direction, it will come from another,” Gaam Yuk Ying pointed out dryly.

“And that’s exactly it,” Wong Tang said. “If Divine Beings intervene in a situation, the results could become even worse than the initial situation. Or unexpected. Perhaps for a small spirit, their interference might not be so great, but for an Ascended being? An Immortal? A god?”

She looked down at her hands. “The state of the Demon Realm… is likely to be the end result. From the things Chan Bik saw with her Clear Sight in Teem Djeung Baak’s memory, from the small scraps of information we have gleaned from the demons, from the thousand little tremors across our Mortal Realm…”

“It’s still not conclusive,” Yuen Muk said softly.

“I would rather not wait until the evidence is irrefutable, disciple.” Slowly, Wong Tang crushed the remains of her pipe into dust and let it drift between her fingers to mingle with the dirt and ash below her. “Ling Gwong and Old White have decided to permanently leave the Mortal Realm for the Heavenly Realm.”

Chan Bik closed her eyes and chuckled bitterly. “That coward couldn’t even come and tell me directly.”

“They’re hoping that the three of you will go with them.”

Chan Bik’s eyes snapped open.

“What about you, Master?”

The late autumn air was cool, carrying a scent promising rain. The growing clouds above held Wong Tang’s eyes fast.

“I… want to look around this place, one last time.”

Before I leave.

“Can we even Ascend, like this?” Yuen Muk asked, eyes flickering briefly over Chan Bik. “The risk of a hei deviation in our current mental states is very high.”

“That will be your decision, in the end. Remember, your Masters will be there to help you.”

"Can it be fixed?" Gaam Yuk Ying said suddenly. His voice and expression remained as impassive as ever.

“Can what be fixed, Little Gaam?”

"The Demon Realm.”

A small smile curled on Wong Tang’s lips at his thoughts. “Possibly... but it will take a long time. Not something that can be solved before we leave."

"Humanity may not want to fix it, either," Yuen Muk pointed out. "The fact stands that many of the demons have caused serious harm in the Mortal Realm."

"They'll just keep... keep fighting," Chan Bik muttered, her voice ashy.

"Little Chan, do you understand now why Ling Gwong and Gaam Bing did not interfere in the fight that Teem Djeung Baak brought?"

"I understand." 

But what use was understanding?

In a rustle of silken fabric, Wong Tang, the great goddess Leoi Wo, Creatrix of Humanity and Golden Dragon at the Centre of All Things, knelt before the young woman and bowed down to the ground, her yellow sleeves gathering dust and ash. "I'm sorry, Chan Bik. It was on my orders that they stayed out of the fight. We couldn't risk any more damage to this world. Who knows when everything might suddenly collapse?"

Unflinching, the Drifting Star turned indifferent red eyes on the great goddess, prone as she had surely never in her whole long life.

"Everything has already collapsed for me, Divine Goddess."