Shattered Lands: Book 8 of Painting the Mists

by Laplante, Patrick

  “And you aren’t going to use it if you don’t get that reason, right?” Wang Jun continued. She nodded. “And if you find that reason, you will use it. It’s all the same.”

  “What are you getting at?” Hong Xin asked. Her initial good mood at seeing him had vanished.

  “I’m just trying to get you to confirm what means you’re willing to use in which situations,” Wang Jun said. “If you don’t do that, you’ll give yourself a lot of grief when you do have to use them. It’s best to straighten it out up front.” Though he looked calm on the surface, she could see his agitation. His posture was tight, almost competitive, and his breathing slightly quick.

  Sighing, Hong Xin sat down beside him and hugged him tightly. She put her head on his chest, and the tension that had crept back into his body melted. She used her dousing abilities to soothe his worries and her kindling abilities to strengthen his resolve. His breathing slowed, and he put his hand on her back and hugged her tighter.

  “I’ve just got a lot of pressure to deal with,” Wang Jun said. “Just ignore what I said. Don’t mind me. I’ll be all right.”

  “You need to take care of yourself,” Hong Xin said, pulling away slightly and looking him in the eyes. “I know things might seem difficult, but you’re stronger than this. You’ll get past it.”

  “Thank you,” he whispered.

  “Don’t thank me, silly,” Hong Xin said. “Come see me more often. You’re not doing anyone any good if you’re exhausted.”

  Wang Jun hesitated but nodded. He glanced at the clock before wincing. “I really need to go. I have a lot to do tonight.”

  “Are other businesses even open?” Hong Xin asked.

  “Most are closed, but not all of them,” Wang Jun said. “But what does that have to do with my work?” He opened a portal into the darkness and stepped into it. “I’ll be back soon. I promise.”

  The portal shut, leaving Hong Xin alone in her room.

  “Men,” Hong Xin muttered. She’d originally been looking to vent her emotions, only to get flooded by his worries. Couldn’t he just shut up and listen like he usually did? Sighing, she prepared herself a cup of tea and drank it, allowing the smooth drink to warm her exhausted body. Minutes trickled by.

  “Do I really just want to trap them with the Oath Stone?” Hong Xin muttered to herself. She thought she had it figured out—no more oath-binding unless it was absolutely necessary. And from what she could tell so far, it wouldn’t be. But was that just because they weren’t looking hard enough? “I’ll have to bug Bai Ling to investigate even further.”

  She continued drinking and thinking, and soon, the clock struck eight. Seeing the time reminded her that other businesses might be closed at night, but the Red Dust Pavilion certainly wasn’t. The night was young, and she had a lot of work to do.

  Chapter 9: Between Light and Darkness

  Huxian felt like an emperor looking over a tiny village as he flew above the Silverwing Mountain Range. He floated above it, his keen eyes easily piercing the light cloud cover above its forested peaks. Natural impediments aside, not even the Pure Jade Defensive Formation covering the mountain range could obscure his demonic sight, which was amplified by both the Devil-Sealing and Demon-Subduing scriptures.

  Everything looks much different than I remember, Huxian thought as he inspected the nine mountains and their nine jade plates. Each one was connected to the valley in the center, where a circular jade plate regulated their function. Now that he’d reached the peak of core formation, he could finally see the tender energy lines that crisscrossed each mountain. They seemed incomplete, like an unfinished puzzle. There was a mystery here, just like he’d hoped.

  Huxian flew down to the nearest mountain, where the Geomantic Sovereign resided. He could pinpoint the large snake that lay nestled in the very center of the large rock formation. Her lair was protected by layer upon layer of geomantic formations. He pondered trampling on her dignity for a moment before shaking his head and landing in front of the Pure Jade Defensive Formation.

  Geomantic Boa, come out and meet me, Huxian said lazily. His voice penetrated stone and soil. The boa stirred, and soon she slithered out through one of the many holes near the base of the mountain. She raised her head and looked down at Huxian, her eyes narrowing.

  So, you have returned, the boa said, her tongue flickering. I suppose you want to enter my mountain, where you’ll be able to trample upon me with impunity after you’ve breached this preliminary line of defense?

  Huxian raised an eyebrow, but she continued.

  Don’t take me for a fool. I won’t let you in no matter what you say.

  You foxes are all alike: tricky, and annoying. But out there, you’re just another sovereign. You can only stay outside and lament as I stand here and… Her voice trailed off.

  Huxian, who’d grown bored with her antics, directly entered the Pure Jade Defensive Formation.

  I meant all this only in jest, of course, the Geomantic Sovereign said, recovering quickly. Though he didn’t think it was physically possible, he could swear she was sweating. I wanted you to witness my superior taunting skills, which I unleash each and every time an enemy tries to enter the mountains. I’ll kindly accept any constructive feedback. Please follow me. I’ve kept your cave warm.

  No need, Huxian said, yawning. Rather than beat her up like he normally did, he decided to cut deeply into her honor instead. It’s beneath me to stay on this mountain. A belly-dragger like you would never understand how lofty I am, so I won’t waste my time. Is the True Seer Great Owl around?

  The Geomantic Sovereign swallowed the insult and flicked her tail toward the center of her mountain. He is in the center, as usual. He barely ever sees us, and he only comes out if something important is afoot. As she spoke, fluttering wings announced the True Seer Great Owl’s arrival. Which your arrival most certainly is, given his timely arrival.

  To Huxian’s surprise, the True Seer Great Owl had advanced greatly in strength over the past few years. He was now a middle-core-formation demon beast. As far as demon advancement went, he’d grown by leaps and bounds. He still looked rather daft, but within his eyes, there was a glimmer of something special. Something not of this world.

  Hoot! the True Seer Great Owl said. I knew you would come today. I came as quickly as possible, out of fear that you’d slay the python and impale her corpse on the mountain in a fit of rage.

  Nope, I got over it, Huxian said. Do I need to slap a fly every time I see one?

  Spoken like a true powerhouse, my lord, the True Seer Great Owl said. Though to be fair, I eat my fair share of flies, even though I know it won’t make a difference in the grand scheme of things. I like the taste. Now come, let us journey to the center of the mountain range. Huxian nodded and left the Geomantic Boa behind. She’d been deprived of every shred of her dignity, which was what she deserved, given that she’d tried to kill him many times in the past.

  How did you know I would come? Huxian asked as they walked down the mountain’s rocky slope. The woods thinned as they reached the base of the valley, which was covered in nothing but dust and dead trees.

  The same way my ancestor knew you would come, the True Seer Great Owl said. Fate weaves a tapestry, and while specific details are difficult to define for important characters, it’s possible to track the currents they create and predict their behavior. I take it you’ve come seeking an initiation mark?

  Yeah, Huxian said, looking around the dusty, desolate forest as they approached the central plate and the stone stele. The place really did look a lot different than before. Where he’d previously only seen a single jade plate at the center, he now saw five surrounding it. Each one was nine feet wide and made of a special colored jade. There was one for each of the five elements, and each surface contained a circular depression with various lines coming out from it. Did you do anything new to the place?

  Nothing, the True Seer Great Owl said with a hoot. Now that you’ve reached new heights, you can no
w see farther than before. Compared to your future vision, you’re essentially blind, fumbling around like a newborn child.

  Riiiiight, Huxian said. Despite the wisdom in his words, it was very strange to hear it from a tiny owl that looked like he had more than a few screws loose. About my initiation. My friends have all found good locations to obtain their marks. One each for swamp, lightning, wind, and mountain. But I’m at a loss. Where can I find a place with both light and darkness? It would be a piece of cake to find one on a transcendent plane, but here in the middle of nowhere? You can see why a lofty being like myself would prefer to die of old age trying to obtain the initiation of time rather than obtain a mediocre initiation.

  Though it might sound silly, many demons had tried this method and failed. It was now jokingly referred to as the kingly way of demonic cultivation. Many demons wasted centuries trying it before a concerned relative broke the news to them that they’d been tricked. A great joke with terrible consequences.

  A conundrum, to be sure, the True Seer Great Owl said, his unusually large eyes glittering. I am guessing you came here because of the stone stele where you obtained your Demon-Subduing Eyes?

  I figured there might be hints? Huxian said uncertainly.

  The True Seer Great Owl shook his large head, and Huxian could swear he saw the puff in the little bird’s feathers diminish substantially. The stone stele only contained a hint of true essence of light and darkness. The source of power was left behind by an ancient being. A portion of it was repurposed by my ancestor to craft the stele.

  If it was a portion of the source, the source must be nearby, right? Huxian asked.

  In theory, though I can’t fathom where, the True Seer Great Owl said. To make an analogy, what you’re asking of me is akin to an estranged relative asking where he can find his long-deceased grandfather’s car keys.

  What’s a car? Huxian asked, perplexed. Cha Ming occasionally mentioned strange things like this, and he was only too happy to take them in stride. Like coffee. Or these mythical “sandwiches” he occasionally heard of. In fact, he was very curious as to how witches could be made of sand.

  Never mind cars, the True Seer Great Owl said. Wherever the source is, it’s beyond me. I can’t help you find it.

  Hmm… Huxian said, looking around and sniffing. Like the owl said, he couldn’t smell any trace of light and darkness source energy. On a whim, he donned his goggles. All he could see through their violet lenses were extra lines of karma linking the five stone pillars and the central stele. He followed them for a time but came back empty-handed. When he finished, he noticed the owl hopping about.

  Would you like to help me with my ceremony? the True Seer Great Owl asked as he hopped toward a small shrine that Huxian hadn’t noticed before. Its appearance was sudden, but he’d come to expect such things in this place.

  Why not? Huxian said. He followed the owl, who approached the shrine’s main door and entered through it. There was a firepit in the center of the shrine. It filled a depression in the black-and-white marble floor. The marble seemed equal parts light and dark on initial observation. When he looked at it, he was surprised to see that the proportions were exactly equal, a nigh impossibility in nature.

  Would you care to open the other doors? the True Seer Great Owl asked as he hopped toward the back of the shrine. Huxian noticed that aside from the front door—the southern door—there were three other equally large doors leading to the three remaining cardinal directions. He trotted to the east side of the chamber and pushed it open. Beyond the door lay the long shadow of the shrine. It was sunset, and the sun rose in the east. After opening the eastern door, he traveled to the western door and pushed it open. A small amount of sunlight leaked inside, as the sun was still too high to fully illuminate the shrine’s floor.

  Having opened the two doors, he returned to the center, where the True Seer Great Owl had returned to after opening the northern door. There was a decent amount of light in the temple now, so Huxian could now inspect the marble extending up the walls and onto the covered roof. There, the black and white marks formed a peculiar pattern. Instead of the usual chaotic, disorganized marks marble was known for, the black and white patterns on the ceiling were clumped together like a massive coiling creature with a long body, complete with large claws and large eyes. Its eyes were reptilian slits, though this creature was far greater than any reptile—it was a dragon.

  Something tugged at Huxian’s ancestral memories when he saw the image, but nothing came of it. So he looked on in amusement as the owl retrieved something demons normally wouldn’t use: an oil lamp. He retrieved it from a sealed container, but to Huxian’s surprise, it was already lit.

  We hold this ceremony two times a year, the owl explained, bringing the lamp closer to the fireplace. Twice a year, day and night are equal. During these equinoxes, we burn a small bundle of firewood right when the sun is setting. I’m not sure why we do it, but you sure are lucky to come at this exact time. Perhaps this is what they call fate.

  It was too great a coincidence, Huxian agreed. Moreover, how could he not see the connection between what he was looking for and the ceremony? A candle, day and night, black and white. Everything balanced. Something tugged at his memories again, and he remembered bits and pieces of a legend. It was about the origins of sunrise and sunset, but the rest of the story eluded him.

  The sun sank a little deeper. By now, the True Seer Great Owl and Huxian had erected a small tent of firewood at the center of the room. After waiting a short while, the True Seer Great Owl lit the bundle with the lamp’s small flame. The wood began burning, and as the flame grew, the owl began chanting and hopping on one foot. The sight would have been comedic if not for the hauntingly familiar words he spoke:

  Black and white, light and darkness.

  Forever in balance, forever in harmony.

  Who knows whence came these dancing lights?

  Who knows whence came their partner shadows?

  The sun loathes the leering darkness,

  Which clings to her like a wet blanket;

  Her soul shudders in ecstasy as she savors his embrace.

  Will they ever meet?

  Between light and darkness, fate is uncertain.

  Between light and darkness, the moon has no eyes.

  Between light and darkness, the vision commences.

  A beast awakens, while another sleeps.

  True Seer Great Owl’s words echoed through Huxian’s mind as he gazed at the flickering flame. It was a perfect dancing flame that seemed to look back as he peered inside it. The setting sun caused the marble to dance beneath the flickering candle. It was the most surreal thing Huxian had ever seen.

  But seeing is believing, and sight is an illusion, Huxian thought. Wait, what am I babbling about? He shook himself from his reverie and realized the sun was halfway to setting. In that moment, everything seemed to pause, to freeze. The flickering flame reached some sort of equilibrium, and when light and darkness were equal, it stopped.

  Now it resembled a vertical slit. He looked up and realized why it looked so familiar. That slit was the same as the dragon’s left eye, which was glowing brightly under the light of the small fire. As Huxian looked at the flame, he felt like he was looking into another world. It was like a slit in time and space, a rift in reality.

  And then he felt it. The purest light and darkness energy he’d ever known in his short life. It was coming from the slit, leaking out from the gray light that formed it. It was a slit in time and space, he realized. It was a portal to another world. Huxian, who wasn’t the type to be intimidated by any situation, acted decisively. He blurred and rushed at the portal with impossible speed. It began to close around him as the brief moment where light and dark were equal passed.

  His head managed to sneak through, but he noticed his shoulders getting caught. Shrink! he thought. Shrink!

  He compressed himself like a snake, breaking his bones in the process as he shoved himself through the r
ift. It seemed like it would clip his tails, so he quickly pulled them back. He lost only a few hairs before the rift finally closed and vanished.

  “Well, that was exciting,” Huxian thought out loud as his bones healed and he recovered his original size. He looked around and saw an empty land. There was no greenery, nor were there hills. The land was cracked and parched, for no water ran here.

  And all around him, the sky glowed with the colors of twilight.

  Chapter 10: Land of Dusk Eternal

  Parched earth crumbled under Huxian’s mighty paws as he advanced along the desolate plains. Despite his strong demonic eyes, he could see nothing in the distance but the skyline. The twilight sun lit up the entire world with a crimson light. It had done so for days, for the sun never set.

  So thirsty, Huxian thought. He panted as he trudged along the desert, or what seemed like one. There was no sand here, only shattered clay. It was evenly spread, like frosting on a delicious cake that had been left out in the sun. Though even the slightest bit of shade would be welcome, the only one he could find was his own. And for some reason, it refused to obey his commands and provide him shelter. It simply sat there like a normal shadow. What nonsense.

  How can it be so hot during twilight? Huxian thought as he advanced. He knew the answer, of course, as he’d been walking for quite some time. Despite the sun’s moderate intensity, it had likely been this way for centuries. The land never saw darkness, so it never experienced a reprieve from the constant battering of the sun goddess.

  Huxian imagined these lands would be fertile plains if the sun were allowed to set. Instead, it kept staring at him, like a half-shut eye gazing over the horizon.

  Great, Huxian thought, just great. He glared back at the half sun. While my friends are having the time of their lives, taking over their respective mountains, I’m stuck here in a land where there’s neither light or darkness. The aura he’d felt before plunging into the dimensional rift had evidently been fake. He felt none of that strong light and darkness essence now that he was on the other side.