MOUNTAIN ICE LOTUS

Footstep echoed softly against the damp, gray walls, illuminated gently by hanging torches. A woman in her late thirties was walking slowly, her face expressionless, through a narrow corridor. She wore a beautiful, red gown, and her scarlet hair fell gently over her back. She was an exquisite beauty, with air of true queen governing her entire body.

Her footsteps suddenly halted as she stopped next to the barred cell. Her eyes focused onto a man hanging from the chains, his body battered and bruised beyond recognition, with countless scars scattered across the surface. A brief glint of emotion flashed through her eyes before being replaced by her usual indifference.

“Hi.” she said softly. The man’s body shook as he heard the voice, slowly rising his head to look at the newcomer.

“Yunchi…” he smiled bitterly as he spoke. “What are you doing here?”

“Why are you so stubborn?” she asked in a cold tone.

“… who knows?”

“I’ve told you to let go countless times,” the woman spoke. “Yet, you persisted. Had you listened to me, our son would still be alive.”

“Maybe,” Median replied. “But, had you been an actual mother, things wouldn’t end up the way they did.”

“… you really don’t understand how the world works, do you?” the woman’s voice, although beautiful, carried immense cold with it, striking enough to freeze the hearts of all listener. “Lyon tells me you’re still stubbornly holding back. You’re to be executed in a month, and yet you still chime proudly? What a fool…”

“True, I don’t understand how the world works,” Median laughed softly as he spoke. “I don’t understand grand schemes, nor do I understand political games. I can’t comprehend power struggles or greater implications. However, what I do understand is that I once loved a woman, and that woman loved me back. And in our love we had a child. To me, that’s all that mattered. Whatever Kingdom we belonged to, I didn’t care. I only wished to see my son grow up… I only wished he’d grow up knowing the love of both, rather than care of one.”

“You still spout that nonsense even today?” the woman rebuked calmly. “There was never love between us, Median. There was a brief moment of attraction, is all. Whatever you imagined beyond that, you were wrong.”

“Ha ha,” he laughed bitterly, coughing up a mouthful of blood in the process. It was barely discernible against an already crimson-filled cell. “Did you know our son refused to practice Magic because he was afraid of growing up to become like you? Ha ha… your elderly must be cursing me to ninth heaven. Someone with extremely pure bloodline finally appeared, only to be stolen and thrown into a world of mortals… ha ha, my only regret is being unable to see their faces.”

“Bastard!!” the woman exclaimed angrily.

“Call me whatever you want, at least I can die happily. I watched our son become a kind man, devoid of bloodlust… whatever wrongs he had, his mind was as calm as river. You never got a chance to corrupt him. He died an honorable man.”

“You think that’s honor?” the woman laughed coldly as she spoke. “He could have ruled the Twelve Origin Realms, yet his ashes rest in a backwater place nobody will remember within two generations. You doomed your own son to pointless life, life without any prosperity. Tell me, is that what you consider honorable?”

“Our son, Yunchi! Our son!!” Median exclaimed. “You truly believe he would have wanted it? I couldn’t even get him to rule a mansion, yet you wished he could have ruled the realms? Ha ha, you truly are a moron…”

“I was considering asking Lord Uttor for benevolence and your release, and was even considering pleading my clansmen to help me, but you have opened my eyes once again… you’re nothing but a brute, a fool who can’t see past tomorrow! The world had begun a massive change long ago, yet you continued to swim upstream! Had you only listened…”

“It’s fine,” Median said, his voice turning soft. “I have always stood by what I said to you the day we met: let the rivers wash over me, and flames ashen my soul… in the end, who can count my woes?”

“Goodbye Median.”

“Goodbye Yunchi.”

**

Within a distant, round cave, the ground shook slightly as a furry head pierced through. The monkey quickly assessed the situation; Elynal was sleeping calmly, while Lynne’s condition had worsened considerably. It has been nearly a week since he departed, and it was clear the bird’s Mana was no longer of any help. If this progressed this way, Lynne would most-likely end up as an ordinary mortal within a month, and would never be able to practice Magic again.

“Did you find it?” the bird asked nervously.

“Yeah,” the monkey quickly replied, taking out a teal-colored lotus flower; it had seven petals, each inch longer than the last, forming a rather beautiful union. This was Mountain Ice Lotus. “I was lucky enough to grab it and escape alive.”

“Oh?” the bird asked curiously.

“The North is absolute disaster,” the monkey said, his body shivering briefly. “Half of the topmost parts of the North have been completely melted and the earth itself had begun eroding. There’s practically no life there. I didn’t dare venture too deeply to investigate, but I did notice four or five major powerhouses in the vicinity. My best guess is that they’re from the Divine Continent of yours. Looks like that damn Dragon was right…”

“What Dragon?”

“Nevermind,” the monkey shook his head as he arrived in front of Elynal. “Let’s first heal this rotten kid. Since you have ice constitution, I’ll leave the filtering to you. Stretch it out to roughly four or five days, and it should be enough.”

“Yeah,” the bird nodded, taking the flower and letting it slowly float in front of Lynne. Suddenly, a petal flew out further – the smallest of the bunch – and planted itself on Lynne’s forehead, emitting icy aura and slight, azure glow. “How’s the state of the continent?”

“Ugh, don’t ask,” the monkey sighed, sitting down. “Army after army is being born as we speak. From the looks of it, the entire western part of Alloy will fall into war soon. Did you discover anything in the ruins?”

“No,” the bird shook its head. “I’ve reached the ‘legendary’ sixth and seventh layers, but they were pretty ordinary. They did have some relatively rare pills, potions and Spell Arts, but nothing to warrant the fame the Emperor’s Flame Sect has.”

“No secret layers?” the monkey probed further.

“Can’t say,” the bird replied. “I barely got few hours within the seventh layer before being thrust out.”

“Aih… what a disappointment.”

“What do you think this lad will do next?” the bird asked.

“I haven’t a clue,” the monkey looked at the shriveled up Lynne, his face sympathetic. “Whatever he does, I guess I best find a way to help him.”

“Did you know he has Bloodless Bloodline?” the bird’s words shook the monkey to the core; the little creature’s eyes bulged out as he stared at Lynne.

“Impossible!!!” he exclaimed.

“He told me when he first regained consciousness,” the bird said, sighing. “I didn’t believe him at first, but after probing, it really sees to be the case. Although the bloodline hasn’t awakened yet, there are some traces of it in him.”

“Damn, what the hell?! Why didn’t he tell me?! F*ck! What a rotten brat! What the hell’s he doing studying any other Law for then?” the monkey quickly unleashed torrent of curses, waving his arms about.

“Apparently, he doesn’t want to take that path,” the bird said. “Without proper guidance, he’d never be able to control it anyway. By the time we’d realize it, he’d have turned.”

“… ugh, this brat just keeps surprising me more and more,” the monkey said. “After I’ve awakened most of my own bloodline, I noticed two additional innate Gifts, yet he still managed to surprise me! Damn it!”

“So he has five?” the bird asked, surprised.

“Aye, three Mortal, one Supreme and one Divine,” the monkey sighed. “Can you believe that shit?! This is no longer in the realm of ‘talent’, but freaking insanity! If he had started training Magic properly early on, he’d probably have already entered Grand Realm by now.”

“What are the other two?”

“Supreme Soul and Divine Mana,” the monkey said. “Although, I’m not too clear on what the latter means.”

“Never heard of it before,” the bird nodded as well. “No wonder he was able to forge his Soul Weapons so early, though.”

“Yeah… the brat has more surprises in store than a freaking pinata.”

“…”

A gentle stream of pure Mana slowly invaded every inch of Lynne’s body. This was Mana in its purest, clearest form, able to restore nearly everything. Although he spent most of the time asleep, a wisp of his soul was always awake, checking on his condition. As he noticed that it was slowly getting better, he realized that the bird and the monkey figured something out. He couldn’t help but exclaim inwardly; although the monkey was a Divine War Ape, he never stopped surprising Lynne. It seemed as if half the world’s knowledge was stored in the little cretin’s brain. He could only thank the luck he met the damn thing before going out into the world.

A day quickly passed… and then another… and one more. Three days after the bird started healing Lynne, first visual signs appeared. His wrinkled skin slowly straightened, and his body began restoring some of the muscle mass. Majority of his veins were fixed, allowing Mana to slowly start circulating. He even went back to being Dao Archmage, and was slowly being restored to his peak condition.

However, if someone knew that he was using Mountain Ice Lotus to better his condition, they’d’ probably strangle him. Mountain Ice Lotus was considered quasi-divine herb, and a single petal of it could make an ordinary Magus into a powerhouse. Once the tree grows, only seven lotuses will bloom, and after they are plucked, the tree will rot away.

Still, neither the monkey nor the bird cared that much; after all, the monkey can find the lotus relatively easily, and he could even obtain better herbs if need be. It was the safest method of helping Lynne, and the one that left no cracks in the foundation. The monkey had already pinned his hopes on Lynne, and even the bird had its own thoughts and plans. Every scar, in the end, has a story, and both of them had plenty scars to show… both visible ones and the other kind.