Is the sword still sending him qi, Tianlan?

It is.

Looking down at the glass-like blade in his hands, Hei couldn’t help cracking a smile.

He raised his head, facing Jihan once more.

“I have to thank you,” he said. “You’ve made this a lot easier for me.”

“How so?”

“When two lions face each other, there’s bound to be some tension. But if one of them suddenly transforms into a rabbit…”

Jihan frowned.

“You’re saying everything’s in your hands?”

“Well, I am holding the source of your strength, aren’t I?”

Jihan narrowed his eyes but didn’t say anything.

“Relax,” said Hei. “All you have to do is answer my questions. If you’re my enemy, I’ll deal with you right here and now, but if you aren’t, I’ll give you the sword back and everything will go back to how it was.”

“And what if I take it back myself?”

“Hm… An interesting question. Why don’t you give it a try? I’m actually not sure of the effectiveness of my methods, this will be a good opportunity to verify.”

He looked down at the sword in his hand and said “I wonder what would happen if I were to deem you unworthy.”

His right hand which was holding the sword’s hilt began to glow, shining with myriad colours. Those colours began to spread along the surface of the sword, and as they did, Hei heard a distressed voice enter his mind.

Don’t act against him, Jihan! He’s-

“Ah. So you can speak. That makes things even easier.”

Jihan was now on his guard. His and Silva’s communication channel had been breached.

“What are you doing to her?”

“Nothing much. It’s just a threat. Like I said, I’m like a lion who’s facing a rabbit. There’s no need for me to make any drastic moves. This situation is completely under my control.”

“Are you Fire Nation?”

“I’m the one asking questions, and I might as well flip that on you. Are you affiliated with the Fire Nation?”

“No.”

“Have you ever had any contact with them?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“How much do you know about the circumstances surrounding the Envoys of the Heavens.”

“Only what Silva told me. Silva is her name. She told me that we’re being hunted down by this Fire Nation who destroyed the previous regime and are trying to stop a resurgence.”

“And what do you think of it? What do you intend to do?”

“I owe Silva my life. All I want to do is find a way to help her regain her strength and true form. As for the war between the Envoys and the Fire Nation, I’m not interested.”

“And you,” said Hei as he turned to Silva. “What are your intentions?”

“I once had the desire for revenge. I wanted to destroy the Fire Nation to the last blade of grass. But after a thousand years of fighting all by myself, my desire changed. I miss my friends and family. I want nothing more than to be together with them again.”

“I see,” Hei said as he let her go. “I’ve heard enough.”

She floated over to Jihan’s side, and Onyx returned to where Hei was.

“Since you guys aren’t enemies or ours, then we can all be friends. Hi. I’m Shao Hei, and this is my brother, Shao Tianlan. We’re both Envoys of the Heavens. It’s nice to meet you.”

“… Lanxiang Jihan.”

***

“So, you guys are really going for it? You want to take them down?”

“That’s the plan, kind of.”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s what Onyx wants to do, and the Heavens want me to ‘reclaim that which was stolen,’ but my actual plan is to carve out a little spot for my people. If the Fire Nation stay out of my way, then there’s no need to go antagonize them.”

Hm. You’ve mentioned this name, Onyx, a few times now, but I’m failing to recall anyone by that name.

It was Silva who had spoken.

May I ask which division Comrade is from?

Onyx remained silent.

“That’s odd. This guy is usually so chatty. Come now, Onyx. Isn’t she one of your buddies from a thousand years ago? Why’re you giving her the silent treatment?”

He didn’t say anything then either.

“Well, whatever. I actually recently met another armament. His name is Valor. Ring a bell?”

V-Valor? Valor Illantis?

“It looks like you know him.”

You met with him? Where is he? Is he doing okay?

“He’s right here,” Hei said as he pointed to his left eye. “But he’s unconscious. Has been since I met him.”

Oh…

Silva was disappointed to hear that. It was just like with the others she had found.

But if he was unconscious when you met, then how could you know who he is?

“Onyx told me. He was pretty adamant about it. Said he and Valor were best friends. Come to think of it, Onyx called himself by another name at the time. What was it again?”

His best friend? Then it could only be... Avalon?

She moved over to where Onyx was, but he kept away from her.

“What’s the deal, Onyx? Why are you giving her the cold shoulder?”

Can we just go?

Oh? You finally decide to speak. What’s going on with you?

I just… Don’t you have other matters to attend to?

Nothing important. And I’m quite curious. Why is your response to meeting her so different to when you met Valor?

I can’t do this right now, Hei… Please…

Hei let out a sigh.

Fine. We can put this matter on hold for now. But I intend to recruit her to my side at some point, so you’ll have to face her eventually.

I understand.

With that said, Hei turned to Silva.

“Sorry. It looks like you’ve got the wrong person.”

But-

Silva wanted to protest, but when she looked into Hei’s eyes, she understood that he didn’t care if what he said was true or not. She could see that the true intention behind his words was to issue an order. An order to cease and desist.

It was an order she couldn’t refuse.

***

After talking for a while longer, it was time for them to go their separate ways.

“I have business to attend to, so I’ll be taking my leave first,” said Jihan.

“You’re going to make a move on the Merchant Guild?”

“Is that a problem?”

“Not really. Just leave something for us. I’ve got a lot of hungry mouths to feed.”

“Sure.”

Jihan turned to leave but was stopped by Hei.

“Just one more thing. If you ever hear news about a ‘grand opening’, feel free to stop by.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“Wouldn’t telling you ruin the surprise?”

Jihan shrugged his shoulders before turning back around, disappearing from sight.

“Now that that’s out of the way-”

“Hei.”

“Hm?”

“It’s been a while since we had our last sparring match, hasn’t it?”

“Oh? Are you sure you want these problems?”

“I’ve changed a lot, Onii-chan. I don’t think you can handle me anymore.”

“Is that right?”

“There’s only one way to find out.”