XI

Parting

None of the crystals were charged to their full capacity, so I came up with the idea to redirect the Qi within our pellets into them. Rin stared at my hands as I siphoned them, trying to get a glimpse at what I was doing and how. The rest had made themselves comfortable around the camp. They weren't surprised about finding out that I used to be a cultivator.

"Don't we have this?" Ren asked me while he was experimenting with the spatial pouch Nysha had given him. He let stones and wood appear and disappear at will. Within minutes, he'd gotten a good grasp on controlling it.

"That belongs to Nysha," I said and the flickers of light emerging from the pouch in his hands stopped. "The rest of us have to carry our shares the regular way."

"Does that mean..." He whispered and his sister's hands grew to a halt. You never had to tell them twice (if they cared to listen) and it surprised me every time how quickly they caught on for their age. Truly, two minds that worked as one.

"Our paths will diverge from now on," Nysha said.

"You'll leave too, Big Sister?" Rin cried out on the verge of tears. Nysha had a hard time looking her in the eyes. She'd never liked to be called sister; for her, it was an address reserved for blood relatives, but she didn't chide Rin for once.

"We won't separate today," I comforted them, but they wanted none of it. Sighing, I turned to the others first.

"Nysha, Rael, Grey, it hasn't been long, but I'm grateful for the time we've spent together and that you've accepted me into your company."

"Don't be formal about it," Rael said, "you're making it awkward."

"Alright," I threw him the crystal I finished charging, starting on the next one. Rin only reluctantly handed me the next batch of pellets.

"That's one too many," Rael said, throwing the crystal back. "I've got my share."

"I know," I tossed it back again, "this is a gift of mine."

"A gift? Why?"

"Does one need a reason to give a gift?" He looked at me unamused. "You're still lacking some, right? Take them. Two hundred pellets worth of Qi are enough for me to take the trial. Any more than that won't help me build my foundation."

"Don't take me for a fool," he grimaced, "they'd still be useful to you. There must be a reason why cultivators fight over them."

"...You're correct," I gave up on my vain excuses. "They have many different uses."

"Then why? Is it...?" Rael balled his hands into fists. He sounded hurt as he whispered through his teeth. "I don't want your pity."

"Rael, he-" Nysha tried to mediate, but I cut her off.

"It's not pity," I met his gaze with all the sincerity I could muster, "but respect."

"...Respect?" He spat the word as if I was ridiculing him. I threw him a second crystal which landed on his lap before it dropped down onto the ground. "What is there to be respected about me?"

"You're strong in ways I'm not."

That kept him quiet until the third and last crystal I could offer him landed on the ground next to him. Rael didn't want to accept them. I had refused the extra pellets when offered, so how could he take them now? Unlike him, however, I didn't relent in my persuasion.

"Don't look at me like the twins do at you," he grabbed a crystal with a contorted expression, ready to throw it back. "It's disgusting," he let his arm sink back down.

"If you don't want to accept them as a gift, then call it a debt, that's fine. Repay me."

When we meet again, the simple words got stuck in my throat.

"Fine, if you insist," the tension in the air eased with his reluctant acceptance. "Since you love to stand on ceremony, I will humbly take this gift of yours, Shin," he stood up, struggling to bow at the waist with a steadying hand on his cane. "You have my gratitude. With the heavens as my witness, I will one day repay this debt I owe you."

"That was a great Shin you did there," Nysha laughed and the rest of us joined her, even though I didn't completely agree.

"You are a good man. Shhinn," to my surprise, Grey spoke up. He turned to Rael with a slow nod, then back to me. "From you. I refuse to hide."

I hadn't expected much goodwill from Grey. We'd never talked much; he didn't, in general. He took off his coat and I stopped my work. The transfer of Qi was disturbed as I let the crystal drop out of my hand.

Grey was grey. From his hair to his eyes to the veins on his detailed muscles. All but stone-grey, except for an inscription, carved into his right shoulder with the color of human flesh. It was a symbol of man built from rock, smitten by lightning that carried the judgment of the heavens into the mortal realms, turning all it touches to smithereens. A symbol of myth from a fairy tale I'd long forgotten about. The curse of Tu-ara kal'Naekk, the last of the stoneborn. When I found my reason again, I was already caressing Grey's arm, studying the curse embedded into his flesh that was no longer human. There was no doubt about it. It was real.

"...The Court of Narrakar exists?" My head was giddy from excitement and a faint smile tugged at my lips. "That means you crossed the Millennial Border! How was it? What was it like?"

"Would you look at that," Rael said, amazed, "you do have emotions other than trivial courtesies. I was beginning to think you were made from stone. Who would have thought Grey would be the one to break some sincerity into your mug."

"I do not know," Grey shook his head slowly.

"Of course, you wouldn't, why did I ask," I ignored Rael's comment. "Anyone who passes the Millennial Border forgets how they did it. Did you really come from Eregal?"

The Watch of the Millennial Divide were the only ones with the knowledge of passing the border of black flames. Anyone else would be incinerated by the mere touch of them. The border had surrounded Shuanhuang in its entirety before parts of it fell to the north and south. Almost two centuries ago, Dyrakiel rejoined the central continent, revealing a land of sand on which plants grew. Sixty years ago, a gap to the north led into Nyrkan - a land of ice - now bordering the lush greenery of Shuanhuang. The flames still stood as strong as ever aside from the new passages, dividing a continent that had once been whole millennia ago.

Any wishing to pass the border into the lands hiding on the other side would be guided by the Watch. All who chose to do this (if they were granted the right) would forget about the crossing. Somewhere in the west lay the continent of Eregal, the sole exception. Since the border was first erected, no one had been allowed to enter it. Its existence had faded into a combined mirage of history and myth. The fate of the stoneborn had become a fairy tale to scare children.

"No," Grey shook his head again. "I forgot. Everything."

"Everything?"

"Everything. My origin, I know. Because Ra-el told me. My curse, I know. Because Nyshha told me. My past, I do not know."

"The Court?" My excitement dampened. "Men cursed to stone? Women to ores?" Grey shook his head. "The stoneborn?" The same answer. "Why?"

He shook his head.

"The Watch. Abandoned me. Lost. In these lands. I met Ra-el."

"We met in a forest outside of Shanaan," Rael said, scratching his cheek, "I, um, kind of mistook him for a rock when I leaned against him... We don't know much about his past, other than to hide it. What's become of Eregal is still a mystery. Grey doesn't know, but he attracted the strangest people... People like you for one, and I feared, the kind who we wouldn't be able to handle wasn't too far away."

"A debt, I owe," Grey's head barely moved anymore but in rugged motions. His mouth grew to a complete standstill, barely wide enough to breathe. "An oath. Of. Gratitude."

"Enough, Grey, stop talking. I understand."

Cursed be the tongue of traitors. To stone and shatter, curs of heaven. The wrath of the stoneborn had yet been sated. On Grey's arm, the patterns on it squirmed wildly as more lines forked like lightning, cutting through the splinters of rock depicted on his skin. The revelation left me shaken because it also carried a hidden blessing for me. A reminder. There was a time before I became the young master when I'd grown excited about silly myths and stories of places I heard others speak of. I'd longed to visit them one day, to pass the Millennial Border, exploring the lands behind it, but the elders had convinced me that my life was bound to the sect. Maybe, there was yet more for me to find out about myself.

I was almost done transferring all of the Qi from the pellets when I noticed Ren and Rin holding onto the last few of them, hiding them behind their backs.

"We've gone off-topic," I coughed slightly. "Rin. Ren," they stared gloomily at the ground. "Parting doesn't mean we won't see each other again."

"Mother said so too," Rin sniffed, a tear dripping down her face which she failed to hold back.

"It was Father that said so," Ren bit his lip.

"I promise you."

"We all do," Nysha said, embracing the two in her arms.

"If you're fine with entrusting them with me, I will have them join the Twin-Soul Sect after my trial. They'll be safe there, at least."

"It's their choice," Nysha said, patting both of them on the head, "and I think we already know the answer."

"It's the best place for you two by far, and I can guarantee that you'll be able to keep your freedom after joining. You won't be slighted either, though you may have to endure some jealousy of others. Nysha we've already discussed. I'd advise joining the Flame Talon Sect or the Eternal Red Lotus Sect if you can, depending on your foundation. I will give you a list with alternatives I think worth considering, just in case, for both sects and resources.

"Rael," I looked at him with some conflict. Steadying my emotions, I braced myself for my own words, "you should consider joining the Falling Star Sect."

"...I'm sorry, I must've misheard you," he said after a moment of hesitation, chuckling nervously.

"No, you didn't. I'll be honest with you. I wish you would join another sect, family, or the Guild, maybe, but... I won't tell you to squander your potential for my personal reasons."

"Potential?" He guffawed once he saw I wasn't joking, "I'm a cripple, you buffoon! You want me to join the cultivator sect famous for the greatest martial arts in and beyond the continent? Who train their children in the art while they're still in their mother's womb? That's asking for a fish to fly among a flock of birds! Or are you mistaking me for a child because I can't walk? I'm almost twenty-five, you know? What makes you think the Falling Star Sect would even spare the fraction of a thought to consider me?"

"You may think of your body only as a burden, but you don't see it in its entirety. Your pathways are structured in a way that maintains balance. The elements are finding harmony within your body. It's a rare trait that allows you to build any foundation with a true essence of your choosing without any demerits. Or a combination of them. The Falling Star Sect seeks those kind of people. This balance is much harder to find than training a few martial artists. A cultivator is more than that. The other branches of the sects are overshadowed, going unnoticed in the public's eye. If you compare them to the other Five Defiant Sects they may lack, but they still trump over any other sect who claim to be master of their branch of cultivation."

"Even...Even if... If you were right, I..." Rael hardly believed my words.

"You won't become the largest fish in the pond, but one to be reckoned with, that I promise you if you can pass the assessment. I'm afraid I'm unable to tell you whether you will, but it'd be worth trying. Go to the Starfall village in the Fangxin Mountain Range. A branch of the main sect is stationed there. Tell them that an associate of the family has recommended you to have your pathways measured.

"I warn you. If you can join the sect, there might be... will be ridicule. It won't be easy. The pellets you've accumulated will provide a way of catching up, and that is the biggest reason I wanted you to take them. Sect culture can be unforgiving, that goes for all of you. Think about it, Rael. You'll have my list with other options in any case."

I left him with his thoughts reeling. My proposition sounded ridiculous and I couldn't tell how much he trusted my words. It was quite a distance to travel only to be rejected, which Rael likely thought was guaranteed to happen. Unfortunately, the Falling Star Sect demanded all of its trials be held close to its home.

"Grey, you... I apologize, but I don't have any decent advice for you."

"I am fine," his mouth moved a bit more smoothly again, "I join Guild. Wander. Seek. Question. Meet again when call." He looked at Rael who was still fighting with his thoughts. "Ra-el. Call for me."

"What will you do?" Nysha asked me.

"I'll head to Hanzhen to take the Mortal Trial. After that... I don't know yet."

"It's on the way to Bankei," she looked at the twins, "I'll join you for a part of the way."

It wasn't, but I kept silent. We spent the rest of the night talking about nothing, except for Rael who had begun mumbling to himself in nyrth, which none of us could understand. Nysha had never seen him like that before, biting his nails and ruffling his hair. He kept recounting his crystals, playing with them in his hands, until eventually, his eyes gleamed with a sheen of determination. He laughed into the night, unaware of all of us staring at him with concerned frowns.

The next morning, Rael and Grey bid their farewells. Grey decided he would see Rael to his destination whereas the twins, Nysha and I made our way to Hanzhen.