Chapter

The rest of the evening past as sweetly as Alex could hope for, gentle teasing on the part of their rescuers soon turning into the animated warmth of friendships treasured and fast forming, Yingpei Lin and Zhu Bi soon making a surprise and very much appreciated appearance, Alex’ merchant friend utterly awed by Alex’s haul, and cheerfully offering to apprise and organize absolutely everything in one of the grand palatial halls that had no concrete purpose as of yet, a bemused Alex happily agreeing with quick message sent to his increasingly overworked seneschal.

“Yes, Child of the Heavens. We do have number of grand chambers with no established purpose save that they exist for your pleasure. Modest security will not be any sort of problem, and, of course, no door shall open, should you expressly wish it closed.”

Alex grinned at this bit of reassurance even as he smiled at Xun Hu’s expression, her eyes widening at the spicy awesomeness that was a chicken wing, though far preferring ice cold root beer to its more alcoholic cousin.

“Just what I wanted to hear. And how is Elder Ru?”

“He is quite stable, my lord. Dozing as of this very moment, so please don’t worry. You have plenty of time to execute your plan.”

Alex flashed a relieved smile, before furrowing his brow, realizing he had never actually voiced his intentions. “And what plan would that be?” he asked, more than a bit curious to see what his seneschal would say.

“Whatever plan you might have in mind, my lord,” said Dong Xiao as smoothly as Alex’s sword forms on his best day. “Now if you will forgive me, beloved master…”

Alex winced, mood darkening despite the warmth and laughter all around him. “How are they?”

Here, Dong Xiao’s sigh was audible in Alex’s mind. “I am quite pleased to say that most will live without any mark, save the lessons in combat and humility that you and your champions were graceful enough to impart upon their souls.”

Alex clenched his jaw. “And the others?”

“Only time will tell, my lord. If it’s of any consolation, none have died as of yet.”

“Is there anything we can do?”

“My lord… by your own orders, special exceptions were made assuring the use of your palatial suits for anyone suffering critical injury from the trials, and even the most surly of the instructors gave way when I pointed out that those aspirants had risked death dueling for quarters very like the ones the more professorial among our guests were taking as their due.”

Alex could perfectly sense his seneschal’s bemused, cynical smile. “After that, there were no more problems from our guests, my lord. Now our patients have access to the best sustenance and rest any man could hope for, with their windows open to privates garden radiating enough Spiritual Energy to rejuvenate any cultivator making the near eternal journey to Gold. Most importantly, perhaps, they enjoy the benefit of Silver tiered healers like myself and the two fled masters of your former college’s Blue Pagoda. So please know that, whatever happens with the men whose skulls were crushed and bodies cleaved in twain by your party’s fierce enthusiasm, you have done everything possible to facilitate their recovery.”

Alex swallowed. “Including the Red Prince’s ridiculously potent healing potions?”

“We have given as many external healing balms as we could, without permanently destroying their meridian channels, my lord.”

Alex nodded. “Thank you, Dong Xiao.”

“Of course, my lord. I do hope you enjoy your party.”

And Alex did his best to do just that, genuinely surprised to find that games were available, at least if one had Yingpei as a friend, pulling out a go set, a game very much like Chinese chess, and a set of mahjong tiles. Alex laughingly swore off the tarot deck Zhu Bi pulled out of nowhere, even as Yinzi hissed and pulled away, neither of them have any desire to dance with fate in even the most lighthearted fashion, no matter how much Zhu Bi assured they were simply pretty playing cards for a dozen games enjoyed by she and her siblings.

Zhu Bi had near wilted in embarrassment. “Forgive me, Grandfather.”

“Think nothing of it,” Alex had smiled back, before challenging her to a game of chess and finding his confident smile soon falling to the snickers of their fellow friends when his soft spoken descendant absolutely crushed him.

“Hmm.” He said.

“I do believe my Zhu Bi has a knack for this game,” said a beaming Yingpei.

Alex laughed. “I think you’re right. Let’s have a rematch! Then it’s mahjong!”

This received a beaming nod from his beautiful descendant, which still blew Alex away when he thought of it, and he couldn’t help feel a swell of pride when she continued to trounce him at almost every game they played, which Alex didn’t mind a bit as they lost themselves in distraction and sweetest company, though Alex was happy to take a break from getting absolutely crushed by his friends in all of Yingpei’s games, doing his utmost to regale and entertain them with his numerous adventures, deliberately hamming up his more perilous escapades so they might think it a fanciful tale exaggerated for their benefit, and not the absolute truth that it was.

And it was only when deepest night was finally upon them, a dozing Hao Chan and Yinzi making it clear they really should have called it a bit earlier considering their recent breakthroughs and need for rest and reflection.

“And no harm for it, Alex, I’m sure. The important thing is they had a chance to relax and bond with their future husband in a way that neither courts death nor any other sort of peril.”

Alex flushed as Zhu Bi and Xun Hu nodded their agreement.

“Yeah, our relationship seems to have taken an unexpected twist,” he said, smirking as he gently picked up a snoring Yinzi. Zhu Bi, the second strongest among them, easily picked up a sweetly sleeping Hao Chan before they made their way down the corridor to his disciple’s rooms, far closer than they might otherwise have been. And if the palace was organizing itself in ways unseen, just like his suite had seemed to add extra rooms and a gaming table when he hadn’t been looking, he was wise enough to say nothing aloud.

And then they were gently tucking in the girls in their separate rooms, and it was all Alex could do not to kiss Hao Chan’s sleeping form, heart racing as he gazed down at her, surprised to feel Yingpei’s confident grip leading him out of the room, patting his back and passing him a clay flask of rice wine as he did so.

“So, two loves, hey?”

Alex chuckled softly, grateful Zhu Bi had already put Yinzi to bed, now allowing Yingpei and Alex the illusion of privacy. “Alright, I admit it. If I had met Yinzi before my Chan… my heart could have easily fallen for that beautiful, eccentric girl. But where I’m from, it’s frowned upon when men or women divide their hearts between more than one beloved.”

His merchant friend nodded. “Many clans hold to that very stance. Just as an equal number insist that their most talented prodigies take at least two wives at the very least. I’m just pleased to see Hao Chan was happy enough to laugh at all of Yinzi’s jokes and join in her jests. Certainly she doesn’t feel any ill will to her future partner.”

Alex laughed and shook his head. He was actually surprised and gratified by how understanding Hao Chan was being about the whole thing. And for now, it didn’t matter, one way or the other. All that mattered was that they stay the staunches of allies and the most loyal of friends with one another, near melding their souls together as they embraced the most perilous of paths that might one day see his disciples rise to heights no one ever dreamed they could accomplish.

Alex smiled at his friend. “Care to join me for a quick stop by the main courtyard? There’s something I’ve been meaning to pick up for a certain friend.”

Intrigued, Yingpei nodded, though Alex refused to give away any details to his increasingly curious companion.

That is, until they found themselves before the majestic, towering sacred trees whose massive canopies rustled in the gentle evening breeze, the air redolent with the scents of a thousand different wildflowers and herbs rich in spiritual energy that comprised Alex’s world-sized garden, all traces of the storm long since past.

But it was only when Alex sprung for the massive trunk of the closest tree that his true objective became clear, daring that which no other soul in the entire palace had yet dared, racing to the topmost branches as fast as any other man could sprint across the field. And all he had to do was brush the leaves surrounding a priceless bounty of spirit fruit for the ripest and most delectable fiery gold apple imaginable, near the size of a grapefruit, to fall into his hands.

Then Alex leaped free, gracefully floating down to the ground beside his friend, Storm Flight and Forest Flight both coming to him effortlessly in what were, after all, his lands.

Yingpei gazed in awe at the fruit in Alex’s hands. “Alex…”

Solemnly, Alex nodded. “Yes. Whatever stories or rumors are going on about this fruit, the boon it grants is even grander than that, I assure you.” He smiled at his friend. “You and I both know by dint of your remarkable achievement that Silver is in both you and Zhu Bi’s grasp.”

Yingpei flushed, then nodded. “Yes. It most definitely is. And Zhu Bi and I were once determined to achieve that dream together. Yet she has put aside all dreams of growth and power, all her focus now on embracing a Mother’s cultivation path that Lady Chun An helped her put together.” He chuckled warmly. “Now, her only goal is to assure happy, healthy children with as much potential as it is possible to encourage. Of course, that also includes exercises that will assure she has plenty of milk to give our twins, and as easy a birth as possible.”

Alex’s eyes widened at this, struck by how utterly devoted Zhu Bi already was to her unborn children, and grateful that their Qi infused food and drink was free of all the harmful side effects that mundane alcohol would have risked. “Wait, Zhu Bi knows she is carrying twins already? And congratulations, by the way.”

Yingpei positively beamed with pride. “Yes, Alex, she is utterly certain. She just flashes me her quiet smile when I ask how she could possibly know. Now quit holding me in suspense, and tell me about that apple!”

Alex just laughed. “Come with me, and maybe you’ll find out.”

Yingpei vowed to do that, and within moments they were politely knocking on the door of none other than an exhausted looking Chun An.

Alex’s heart lurched in his throat. Was he already too late?

“Alex?” she furrowed her brow, looking pointedly at them both. “It’s late, child. And for all that I would love to have a very serious chat with you on the morrow, I’m afraid now’s not the best—”

The words froze in her mouth, as she gazed with awe upon the apple in his hand. “Alex?”

“May we come in?”

She blinked once, before slowly nodding. “I… yes, Alex. Perhaps that would be for the best.”

Alex and Yingpei soon found themselves seated beside a warm fireplace Alex knew wasn’t at all necessary but was no doubt a key component of the home and hearth Chun An had grown up in. Alex found himself appreciating more aptly than ever the flexibility inherent in each palatial apartment as he sipped the rejuvenating tea set on the small wooden table beside his chair, each suite naturally shaping itself to the expectations and desires of its guests. Something Alex had always known in the back of his mind, but now he was increasingly certain of it. Just as he was certain that it was the fear of uncertainty, of his brilliant plan not working, that had him gazing intently at the crackling fire for long moments as the silence and tension built while Lady Chun An gazed silently at him, Yingpei’s growing discomfort hidden only by his diligently trained merchant’s mask.

Yet a part of Alex wanted to hold on to that endless moment, where a future filled with infinite potential existed, and hope for Elder Ru was endlessly before him, savoring the sweet possibilities of that moment as he gazed down at the magnificent grapefruit-sized apple he held in one hand, and the sacred tome he now held in the other, after putting down his tea.

He blinked at the gasps of the other occupants in the room.

But was it really that remarkable? Any guest could summon any work from the library that they desired from their study table, and, so long as one had quarters available, share one’s favorite food at the feasting table that magically grew to accommodate all guests in that room with every other guest visiting for whatever reason. So why not summon his tome from the side table before him? It was close enough to a study table for him to visualize the transfer.

“Alex?”

A breathless hesitancy in the words of a woman that embodied poise and sophistication to the highest degree. Alex had to fight not to wince at the anxious hope he heard in her voice.

But that was why he was here, after all, was it not?

To provide what hope he could for an elder who’s rough charm and gentle wisdom had inspired him, whose kindness had opened all the possibilities of the library before him, giving Alex as much access as he could have realistically hoped for before the Red Prince snapped his traps firmly about the library, and Risen Phoenix Academy as a whole.

If Alex had any regret, it was in being lulled into thinking longevity had meant immortality, or that the ancient elder’s candle had anything but a few last drops of wax to burn before his flame was snuffed out at last.

Alex gazed down at the treasures in his hands, then up at Chun An.

Forcing himself to speak. “This tome contains a unified cultivation technique that incorporates the body’s own Qi, both Dark and Light, to cleanse and rejuvenate meridians, and repair the body’s own cells as well.”

Chun An blinked at this. “Cells?”

Alex smiled and nodded. “The smallest independent units of your body. According to the paradigms of this book, old age is not someone’s hourglass running out, or the inevitable end of one’s fated days. It’s about establishing a harmonious balance between a cell’s stability, and the free energy that normally breaks down a cell over time. But for masters of this art, well, the Qi of entropy and decay, which is really just disorganized transformation and change, can be harnessed and redirected, such that Dark Qi can be channeled to help repair and rejuvenate worn cells, repair shortened telomeres, and in general, boost the vitality and longevity of your cells,” Alex said. “And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much more that students of this path will be capable of, when they learn to master the metabolic processes of their own bodies.”

Chun An gazed at Alex for long moments as if transfixed, nostrils dilating as she gazed upon the cover of Alex’s pearlescent tome, a sparkling darkness that shimmered like a thousand stars seen upon a pitch black nighttime sky. “That’s no normal tome,” she said at last.

Alex chuckled softly. “It was definitely a work forged in desperation and inspiration both.”

Yingpei’s awe-filled gaze hadn’t left the face of the tome since he had first seen Alex manifest it.

“Alex, is that…”

Alex smiled and nodded. “Yes it is. And you would learn the art many, many times faster if you actually dared to delve inside these pages and live the author’s experiences, trials, tribulations and insights gleaned while forging this art… as if they were your own.”

Chun An furrowed her brow at Yingpei’s awed expression. Even more when the youth silently kowtowed before Alex and the tome, thrice, before lifting his head, solemn gaze both humble and defiant as he paid his respects, whether Alex had wanted him to or not.

And the look in Chun An’s brows made it clear she understood the significance of that gesture.

“I take it you are a student of this path, and Yingpei is your disciple?”

Alex smiled. “You could certainly say that.”

Her eyes blazed with sudden understanding. “And this is why you wanted access to those forbidden tomes. You’ve already discovered a path that successfully incorporates the use of Dark Qi!”

Alex dipped his head.

“Alex… please, this is very important. For any new disciple of The Way, it is easy to be enticed and seduced by easy paths that promise much power very quickly, with unforeseen debts accruing, bitter prices that must be paid down the road. If your tome has not been vetted by a master…”

“It has,” Alex said, imagining Silver Fox’s madcap grin the last time Alex had managed to rip himself free of death’s door, in large part to the techniques he had forged, to the outrage and dismay of WiFu’s inconceivably dysfunctional kin.

But Chun An’s gaze was fastened once more upon the tome, as if entraced by the play of light and darkness upon it’s surface. He pretended he didn’t hear the hitch in her voice when she spoke.

“May I examine it?”

Alex smiled and nodded. “Please do.”

And the look in her eyes when she felt its weight in her hands, trembling, sensing in that moment like never before its potency. It’s unlimited potential.

“This is no Silver tome. Nor… heaven’s mercy, it’s not Gold either… Alex, child, did you actually get your hands on a Jade Tome? A prize the emperor himself would feat any cultivator with incalculable wealth and prestige for the rights to this treasure, or instant death, should he or she refuse?”

Alex held her gaze. “I’ve been told on good authority… or at least from what I overheard between a couple of ranting siblings, that this isn’t Jade either.”

Chun An froze, her gaze caught somewhere between awe and ire. “Don’t you dare tell me this masterwork radiating such sublime potency before I crack open the first page is a work of Bronze, Alex.”

“I’m not.”

She froze then, as did Yingpei. A moment of pristine, breathless stillness, broken up only by a wheezing cough just a few feet away.

And Alex’s bold of alarm turned to a relieved smile when the cough evolved into whispery laughter.

“Ah, granddaughter. Do you not see? WiFu is having his fun with you. With us all, I have no doubt.”

“Grandfather, you should be resting! Not worrying about the gossip of unexpected guests with no sense of propriety or time.”

“Ha! You and I both know my glass has a couple dozen hours at best. The last thing I’m going to worry about is propriety, should friends stop by who actually want to waste their time with an old fool like me!”

Alex couldn’t help grinning at that. “You’re the farthest thing from an old fool, Elder Ru. Though you could use a little bit of work in the dental department. Other than that? You’re fit as a fiddle!”

The elder wheezed with laughter at that, which lightened Alex’s heart to hear, and even Lady Chun An cracked a smile, for all that she scolded him with her eyes.

“Ah, you’ll only wish you had even a handful of teeth when you get to be my age, lad! Lest you actually break through to Gold, in which case I will bow my head to your superior wisdom after all! But until that day… why don’t you share what you can about that fascinating tome in your hand? For I can think of few better ways to spend my final hours than puzzling over a treasure left by the god of mischief and fun himself.”

“Fun?” said Chun An with a dash of bemused reproval in her tone.

“More fun than the gods of War, Storms, or twisted justice, I’ll say that much!”

Chun An shuddered, eyes widening with genuine alarm. “Grandfather, please! To even commit such blasphemy to paper, let alone say those words aloud…”

“Means nothing, for we are utterly beyond the reach of those power mad gods, are we not lad?”

Alex’s confidential grin perfectly mirrored Ru’s own. “We are indeed, Elder Ru.”

The elder gave a satisfied nod. “Let’s not minced words, lad. This isn’t just a forgotten island deep beyond the Sea of Mists. This is another realm, another world entirely. Another fruit hanging off the great tree of existence, Yddrassil herself, is it not?”

Alex shrugged and smiled. “Perhaps it is, at that.”

Ru beemed as Chun An gasped.

“So tell me, lad, and you would know, being as you are his disciple… is this WiFu’s realm? Did he finally escape the madness that was his clan that even the most sycophantic stories can only do so much to whitewash and paint as anything other than the psychopaths that they are, monsters who see the world entire and all its billions as playthings to use and sacrifice, like pieces on a go board?”

Alex laughed aloud, even as Chun An’s look of alarm only grew.

“Please, Grandfather! If there’s even a chance that they might hear you...”

“WiFu has visited a couple of times,” Alex admitted. “And you’re absolutely right about the gameboard, by the way.”

Chun An shook her head in awed disbelief. “I had thought, hoped, we were far away from the madness consuming our empire… perhaps a long forgotten island. And the lake nearby whose horizon I have yet to see the other side of would lead us back home if we were foolish enough to dare it. But this?”

Alex frowned at Chun An’s words. “I didn’t realize I made a lake that big nearby.” Then he closed his eyes, shuddering as his sense of the world coalesced into sudden certainty. “But yes… of course I did. Sorry, what was that?”

But the room had grown deathly quiet, save for the crackling of the flames, as Elder Ru, Lady Chun An, and Yinpei Lin pinned him with their gazes.

“I’m sorry, Alex, what was that you said?”

Alex winced at Chun An’s tone.

“Alex?” Yingpei’s voice was one of incredulous disbelief.

Elder Ru just chuckled softly. “Gameboard of the gods indeed. I don’t suppose you’ve actually seen that wonder?”

Alex grinned. “As a matter of fact, I did. I even declared myself a contender at their table. And boy did WiFu and I have a good laugh before they expelled me, crashing down right into the third tier of the servant’s pool.”

Elder Ru and Chun An exchanged looks fraught with meaning.

“And now it all makes sense,” Lady Chun An whispered. “Alex, may I ask, how far did you get?”

Alex held her gaze for long moments before answering. “Up past pristine Gold, beyond the sacred mountaintop where a griffin will honor those with the emperor’s blood flowing through their veins, right before the steps transform from Gold to Jade. Past even the Hall of Emperors, where multiple twelve-tiered perfect configurations of deepest Jade are carved in massive alcoves, and the gods themselves have forged their constellations in the seven or twelve star configurations that are the mark of gifted or imperial blood. Past even the Sacred Tree, whose fruit I now hold and would offer to you, Elder Ru, though it does come with a price, and originally served as the final boon of the gods themselves for any would-be Jade, so long as they swear never to step beyond the mortal realm and leave the divine realm to the gods alone.”

Alex flashed a cold smile. “Past even the sacred waters that would mark the path to divinity and the ultimate reward for the very first cultivators to ascend so far… before becoming tainted by the River of Souls, flooding that sacred basin, to assure that any mortal who dares ascend will fall straight to oblivion. A final obstacle put in place by bitter gods jealous of their power, with nothing but murderous hate for anyone who would even think of ascending to their level.”

If Alex had thought the silence had been weighty before, he felt absolutely pinned by the fiercely intent stares gripping him now.

“Waters further infested by the ghostly shades of powerful cultivators acting at the behest of malicious gods who feared the styxian river’s promise was not enough of a hurdle for any would-be challenger. And the final waterfall that led to either wondrous rewards or the final steps up to the Chamber of the Gods, was guarded by Shui Jun herself.”

Elder Ru’s rheumy eyes widened. “Wait, you’re saying the divine serpent Shui Jun, guardian of the Waters of the Dead who assures all souls are reborn at their proper time, and the final sentinel keeping our world from being flooded by legions of undead, blocked the way to the Hall of the Gods?”

“Pretty much. I didn’t know she was responsible for rebirths, though.”

“A lesser role,” Elder Ru assured. “For those with karma so faint, having been neither sinners nor saints over countless lives, that they risk getting perpetually lost in the seas of oblivion, never to be reborn at all.”

“A philosophical debate for another time!” said an exasperated Chun An. “Child, are you actually saying… what exactly are you saying?”

Alex laughed. “I think I might owe someone a bit of an apology. I mean, I know she’s not quite the nemesis my enemies forced her to be, thanks to Cards of Calamity. She just a snake doing her job. I can respect that. And if she’s not just keeping legions of stinking undead from messing up our croplands, but is also rescuing souls from oblivion… Shui Jun is actually one of the good guys. Or… girls.”

He felt chills recalling how close he had come to destroying her utterly, wondering just how awful the ramifications would have been, had he refused to surrender her back to his patron. Because of course, no one had clued him in at all. “Actually, it seems to me like she might be the only god really doing anything useful at all, lesser deity status or no, when you think of it.”

Alex’s words petered off, the weight of the Deep Silvers’ stares so great even he had trouble keeping his thoughts in order.

Strangely, it was Yingpei who spoke first.

“Alex. Are you actually saying you met the guardian of Death’s Waters?”

Alex flashed a quick smile. “That’s one way of putting it. But this isn’t about me.”

He turned to the emaciated old man whose eyes burned fiery intensity even as his body withered in his final hours. “It’s about you,” he said. “It’s about me offering what I should have, weeks ago, save that I fell into a comatose slumber before a dozen thing seemed to happen at once, and only because my seneschal assured me you were stable have I even waited this long, plucking fruit in the dead of night that would have caused an absolute uproar if I had dared pick it at any other time, then be forced to reveal so many secrets I’d rather keep hidden, lest I want everyone fawning over me, secretly despising me, or feeling the desperate need to take me down and claim what will never be theirs. What can never be theirs.”

Elder Ru’s intent gaze held Alex for long moments. “You deliberately arranged for us to believe you were naught but the bearer of benevolent tidings, serving the lord of this realm. The beloved youling jester both honored and mocked, that few would dare challenge before you forced yourself in the arena, having no true sense of your status, and most of our guests still have no idea that our original savior who showed us the way of the gates was, in fact, you.”

Alex dipped his head. “Correct.”

“But you’re far more than any simple messenger. Isn’t that right, Alex?”

Alex just smiled and shrugged. “What I really wanted to talk to you about was the glorious, succulent fruit in my hand, if you’re not up for a little light reading that just might unlock the secrets of ageless perfection, assuming the body cultivation paradigms you mastered in your youth aren’t in direct opposition, as so many body hardening techniques seem to be.”

Elder Ru’s gaze held Alex’s own for several long seconds before he flashed an abrupt gap-toothed smile. “Would I be correct in assuming the flaw within your divine tome is an absolute lack of the body hardening or bone strengthening techinques that are the true foundation of any body cultivator’s art?”

Alex winced. “That’s a distinct possibility.”

A powerful hand gripped Alex’s shoulder, conveying a terrible strength that made it clear the deep Silver behind him was had more going for her than simple elegance and grace. If she had ever dabbled in a wujen’s arts, she certainly hadn’t forsaken the body cultivator’s path.

Your collar bone fails to save versus crushing force. Hairline fracture received!

Willpower check made. You successfully hold back lethal response!

“It’s true, grandfather,” Lady Chun An said, disappointment clearly written on her face. “He has no trace of any body hardening or bone strengthening arts in play. Nothing beyond the physique promised any body cultivator at the peak of Bronze.” She then furrowed her brow. “No, wait, there’s more to it than that. His musculature, the resilience of his bones… it’s as if his physique has already ascended to Silver! Yet I’ve never known a Silver Strength cultivator who’s physique wasn’t reinforced by a prime body hardening technique, and Alex lacks anything save… a dragon’s natural resilience? No, that can’t be ri—”

It was only then that Chun An let out a desperate wail, as if her very soul was being torn in twain.

“NO!” Alex screamed aloud.

Cultivator Lady Chun An has delivered deliberate crippling blow to Lord of The Realm outside mutually agreed upon terms.

Binding Oath has been violated.

Abjuration in effect!

Abjuration negated by Lord of The Realm.

Lady Chun An has been freed of Binding Oath.

“Granddaughter!” Elder Ru’s desperate cry echoed through a chamber stretching in ways horrific and strange as Chun An shrieked with despair, eyes wide with unspeakable horror, as if her very soul was being forcefully thrust from her body.

And between one eyeblink and the next, it was over.

The room was as it had always been, a perfectly healthy and whole Chun An, whose soul most definitely did not look like it was about to be cast into oblivion, shaking and sobbing as if she had just awoken from an unexpected nightmare.

“Granddaughter, Grandaughter!” Elder Ru forced his emaciated form out of bed to clutch a sobbing Chun An. “What happened? Please, you must speak!”

Chun An shook and sobbed, gazing Alex’s way with horrified eyes.

Regeneration complete. Hairline fracture fully healed.

Alex bowed his head. “I’m sorry you didn’t realize.”

“The lord of this realm. You’re not just some messenger.”

Alex shook his head. “I’m not.”

“You’re him.”

Alex held Elder Ru and Lady Chun An’s gazes for long moments before dipping his head. “I am.”

“And this world?”

“Mine.”

The pair stared at him for long moments, and never had Alex wanted to flee anyone's probing gaze as much as he did theirs right then. Instead he closed his eyes, visualizing the soothing rustles of the forests, knowing a time of awkward questions was about to commence.

It was all he could do not to flip a non-existant tricorn hat that suddenly he was wearing and dash out with a farewell chuckle, forced to accept that he had more in common with his mercurial mentor than even he liked to admit.