The girl stood silent for a minute then sighed "You have ten breaths!"

"I Am Grateful... That Is More Than Enough!" The voice possessing the boy exclaimed as it grabbed the character for Person and Mountain.

He muttered to himself "What You Have To Do... Is Not To Step On... The Mountain... It Is To..." he grabbed the two characters and put the character for Mountain above the one for Person.

"Become The Mountain! To Become Its Soul, the Will Of The Person Must Burn Like A Flame, Because Your Will Has To Be Absolute! Become A Person With Such A Fiery Will And Then... Support the Mountain!"

The character for Person wavered and caught fire. As soon as it did, the ancient voice muttered "A Will Of Fire... For That To Happen, The Person Shall Burn Brighter Than Anybody Else! The Brightest In The Sky! To Burn Forever, Yet Never To Be Extinguished!"

The pictogram changed from the character Ren, 人, to the character Huo, 火: Fire! And above it, stood shān 山!

靈! Líng! Support the Mountain with your Fiery Will! A mind that won't accept defeat, nor losing! A Will of Fire!

The Spirit! The Soul! The Mind!

Not Immortal(xiān) anymore! It was now a Spirit, a Soul(Líng)! Of what? The Mountain of course! Not suppressing the Mountain, but becoming the Mountain! Becoming its very Soul! Not 仙... But 靈! Bearing the fate, the burden of the mountain itself, as a person to become the soul!

Ren Hong stared on wide-eyedly at what was happening and she felt as if she was looking at a great truth. Then, her mind awoke "Time's up, geezer!"

The boy turned and then an expression of pity appeared on his face "Enjoy Your Life As Long As You Can..."

The boy trembled once and then fell on the ground. Ren Hong caught him and then hugged him tight "You make me worry so much already, brother! And it has only been a few minutes ever since we have ever met!" She teared up "Don't do that ever again!"

The boy stared wide-eyedly for a bit then nodded, tearing up as well and begun crying in the red skinned girl's lap. He didn't remember anything, but he knew from his sister's reaction that he had scared her, and he hated that.

She then whispered something in his ear "Líng... Uh? Xū... Líng! Xū Líng! After all, your head is empty!

[Note: Xū - Empty, Líng - Other than soul, it can also mean mind, so she's basically saying his name is just like him, an Empty-Mind, as he has no memories]

"We should go fill it up and then, when we have made the best possible memories, we will change that Xū, that Empty, into something better!" She smiled at the boy's reaction and then she grinned "How about it? Do you like it?"

Xū Líng's eyes widened and then a smile broke on his face "I like it a lot, that is so awesome Sis! You are the best!"

The girl smiled "Want me to walk you around the place?"

Xū Líng nodded excitedly "Yes, please!" Then, after a while, he smiled "Sis?"

The girl turned and tilted her head "Yes? What is it?"

Xū Líng smiled, showing off two perfect rows of fine, white teeth "You are not sad anymore!"

The girl gaped and before she could reply, the boy passed by her and ran outside the door "Catch me, catch me!"

Ren Hong bit her lips, and then her heart that had been encased in ice ever since her mother had died millennia ago... Warmed up! The ice cage melted, and finally one beautiful, warm smile found its way towards the woman's lips as she shouted back "If I catch you I will tickle you!"

The boy shivered and then began running "No fair!"

"Ahaha, who says that!"

"Agh!"

The two figures ran for hours nonstop, before finally throwing themselves on the ground, exhausted but with a bright smile in their face.

...

"This" Cheng Hao widened his eyes "Has this truly happened? I had no memory about this... How come I remember now? My name... Líng? Soul? Mountain?" He felt piercing pain again and grabbed his head once more yelling "Gh-ghaaaa!"

In his previous life, he had gone through thousands of painful situations, even getting tortured multiple times, but none of those kinds of pain could possibly compare to what he was feeling now.

It was as if someone was tearing apart his own mind and mending it back together by fusing the broken pieces with the flames of a volcano!

He could only grit his teeth as he felt more memories floating up!

...

It was almost the time for the sun to set in the Worldlords Floating Island... Well, the Last sun of course, as there were a total of four. One whole day here lasted 96 hours in total, during the first 48 with the Island being basked in the light of the four suns, while the other 48 were occupied by the night.

"Hey, brother?" A red skinned girl asked a young boy walking by her side. She wore a loose, white undershirt and a pair of loose black pants tight at the waist. She wore an anklet around on of her ankles from which dangled many precious gems.

Her hair was mostly left free to fall down her back and in front of her shoulders, with the exception being a few tiny braids on the left side of her face and one large braid on the right, covering up her right eye, from which dangled a golden feather. She

The child looked over and tilted his head in confusion "What's wrong, sis?"

The girl bit her lips once and then spoke "Well... I... Just wanted to know... What... Do you think of me?"

...

Cheng Hao gritted his teeth: he remembered this scene. It was the first time he had found out who Ren Hong really was... when intruders had fought their way towards Worldlords Floating Island.

Their three elder siblings had all gone away on a trip, so only the two of them remained. To fight them, Ren Hong had to morph back into her Vermillion Bird form... And Xū Líng had stumbled upon her when she was about to change back and had witnessed her transform into her human form.

Cheng Hao felt another painful headache was around the corner, so he clenched his fists and braced himself. After a few moments, which seemed like ages for him, the spasm arrived.

...

"What do you mean?" Xū Líng asked innocently. In his innocent eyes, wether Ren Hong was a human or not it didn't matter. She was his sister... And his best and only friend.

"Aren't you..." the girl inquired "Afraid of me?" She anxiously bit her lips and didn't dare look at the boy in the eyes. She fiddled with the golden feather as if it was a good luck charm.

She heard the boy stop and her heart skipped a beat 'It's over... it's all over... It is all because I am a monster!' She felt tears well up in her eyes and her shoulders shook once.

Suddenly, the boy poked her in the sides and she jumped back, yelling from the stupor "Ah!" She massaged the spot and, suddenly, she saw a small figure jumping on top of her.

She fell with her back on the ground and before she could say anything, Xū Líng began tickling her!

"Ahahah! God, I hate this! Ahahah! Why do I have to suffer so much- Ahahahahahahah! From tickling! C-Ahaha!" She gasped for air "Cannot breathe!"

She felt her tears of despair disappear from her eyes, as if they could not possibly come out in that situation, and only then did the boy stop tickling her. She grabbed her arms and opened them wide, while he bent and rested his forehead on top of the girl's "Why should I be afraid of someone that I can beat by simply tickling her?"

He grinned and Ren Hong started blankly at the boy's face less than a palm away from hers!

Then, the boy leaned in and their noses touched "Also, I have no reason to fear you in the first place because you are my Sister!"

The girl trembled and tears began to fall from her eyes. She sobbed and she closed her eyes. The boy let go of her arms and hugged her, resting his head on her shoulder. He let her cry because he subconsciously knew that it would be for the best.

"Aren't you... Angry?" She then said after she wiped away the tears.

The boy seemed to ponder for a while and finally nodded "Of course I am angry! Why did you not tell me your real self is actually so cool?"

Her eyes widened and she looked "But... I am but an ugly bird... Why would someone like me?"

The boy gaped when she heard her words "Are you kidding! You looked totally badass and yet so charming back there!"

She sniffed and then asked "F-For real?"

The boy nodded enthusiastically "Yeah! And your feathers looked so beautiful and fluffy! C-Can I touch them?"

The girl was startled but then decided to grab the bull by the horns. She closed her eyes and a bright red light inundated her surroundings, forcing the boy to shield his eyes from the bright light with his hands.

When he opened them again, he saw a gigantic bird laying in front of him: it was more than a thousand meters tall and its wings that were currently closed, would reach more than ten thousand meters in wingspan for sure! She had beautiful red and golden feathers, her lower body consisted of a long, colorful, feathery tail.

This bird looked like a mature peacock and was just as beautiful.

Her face also resembled the animal's own, with a sharp beak and glowing, red eyes. It had a mane mad out of what seemed to be red flames, a few shades darker than the plumage was. It fluttered in the air and she had one, big crimson braid made of scarlet flames with a golden feather dangling from the end.

The feather and the anklet, that was now tied around one of the beast's legs, seemed to have also grown together with the owner... No, more likely they had simply shrunk down when Ren Hong had been walking around in her human form.

Her eyes were intelligent and proud, her golden beak was perfect, without a single crack, and was perfectly symmetrical. Flames blazed from the top of her head all the way down to her tail where they burned brightly.

Xū Líng stared upwards with stupor but also amazement. He looked up and shouted "Sister, you are awesome! And your feathers look so fluffy and warm, can I sleep on you next time instead of the bed? The bed is so stiff!"

Ren Hong was speechless and she only managed to ask "But... Didn't you prefer when I was in my humanoid form?"

Down below, Xū Líng pouted as he looked up "Of course I did! How am I going to tickle you now? With that, I am going to lose every time, no fair!"

The Vermillion Bird was so shocked that she did not dare speaking anymore. Finally, she seemed to have given up and she shrunk down to the size of a tall adult human whilst still retaining her true form.

"Is this enough?" She asked dejectedly as she avoided making eye contact with the boy "I cannot shrink anymore than this..."

Xū Líng's eyes gleamed and he threw himself on top of her. He hugged her and rubbed his head on her soft feathers "You are so soft, Sis!" The bird gaped for a second and then smiled "I am afraid though, that I cannot remain like this..."

The boy looked up shocked and then asked "Why! We can play so many more games and do so much more stuff if you stay like this!"

The girl looked down "I am sorry... But us four brothers have rules that a certain person has imposed on us. We can only turn back into our true form when we really need to and not for more than a few minutes... Even now I am sort of breaking that rule..."

As she said that, her body glowed once again, turning into the red-skinned girl wearing the loose white undershirt and the pair of black pants.

"A certain person?" Xū Líng pouted "He must be a stinking, shoe-faced old man!" He commented.

Ren Hong chuckled and nodded "Yes, yes, that he is. But we cannot disobey him... After all, these are the rules and we have to obey them!"

Xū Líng sighed. Ren Hong hesitated but then finally asked "Brother... So... After all, could I be your sister again?"

Xū Líng stared blankly and then shook his head "Of course you cannot!" He said "You already are! Why would you want to become something if you already are?"

The boy turned and saw Ren Hong. Currently, she was smiling. And it was the warmest smile he had ever seen on her face, which made her many times more beautiful than she had already been.

He felt his heart skip a beat and his cheek flush red 'What's happening? Why do I feel so hot?' He wondered then discarded the thought.

He looked towards the closest edge of the Floating Island and pointed "Sister, can we go watch the sky and the clouds there?"

Ren Hong nodded and grinned "Sure"

A few hours later, Ren Hei would find the duo had fallen asleep, the points of their noses touching each other and a happy smile on their face. He would not dare to wake them up and would instead smile and mutter a few words to the sleeping Xū Líng.

He would then head back and leave the two siblings alone, as the starry sky imposed the fading lights of the sunset and the First of four bright moons, a black moon, shone down light on the Floating Island...

...

"No... Don't stay here... Run away!" Cheng Hao felt his mind fall apart as Ren Hong's warm smile etched itself in his memory "Go!" He yelled "If you stay here, you will die! Run! Why aren't you running?"

Tears fell down Cheng Hao's face "Go..."

He could only watch in silence as the smile crumbled, the girl's face turned into fire as a shadowy hand dismembered and crushed her until only a small ember remained "No! Why didn't you run! Why!"

"No..." The last flame fell down on the ground and transformed into a bright red feather. "That feather... Sister! Sister! I have to take it!"

Yet, no matter how much Cheng Hao wanted to move Xū Líng couldn't, and he could only look as that same feather got caught into a wind current and got blown away.

After all, as he was in the present he could not change the past... As there was no medicine for regret in this world, he could only grit his teeth and cry salty tears. His mind then slowly began to crack, to fall apart!

At first were his memories of what was happening now, of his identity as Cheng Hao: they shattered into countless shards. After that came the memories of his past as the Evil Saint. And finally...

Xū Líng broke apart.