I UNLEASH A STORM OF FIRE AT THE GIANT ZOMBIE.

It trembles before my flurry of attacks. The elements pool around me— all five of them are my weapon. My blade in battle. I exhale, and the flames turn gold. A phoenix takes shape from the fire before descending on the mass of undead.

The explosion rips into the giant Zombie’s body. I can hear the screams of each individual Zombie that is incinerated. But that is not enough. Even as the hulking creature steps back, a chunk of it missing from one of my greatest techniques, it straightens. The army of Zombies following it at its feet clamber up its legs, slowly reforming what was seared off.

It reminds me of the Eternal Elementals. Constantly regenerating. Refusing to die. I know that with my current power, I cannot defeat this abomination of life. So, when it swings at me next, I raise a finger. I unleash a Ray of Esh at it, cutting of its hand for just a moment.

And as its missing limb reforms, I swoop away. My Aspect flashes behind me— the pair of glowing white wings carries me away from the giant Zombie. It roars, stumbling after me as I fly to the sky. Even as I ascend, it nearly catches me. Its speed as a lumbering titan of death unmatched. Its arms almost seem to stretch, and it takes a step forward. But I grin, knowing what comes next.

The giant Zombie falls. It stretches itself too thin. It takes too far a step forward, walking off from the plateau it is standing on. I watch as the mass of undead stagger, nearly tumbling down the highlands it is standing on. It barely catches itself as I once again lance out with a flurry of attacks. The elemental barrage enrages it even more. Then I fly back, heading towards Warmthkeep.

I only glance back once towards the bunker— towards the walls of the small settlement. I can see Kalmat, Seiled, Keshiy, Herder, Beihal, Nelrel, and Nindran looking on with worry. The others have evacuated into the bunker itself as the superweapon is prepped for launch. I nod at them, before turning my attention back to my target.

“Come and get me!” I call out, and the giant Zombie charges after me.

*****

Tian walked through the Land of the Cursed.

It was a place of impossibilities. A land where the world twisted and bent in wrong directions. Where doors hung from walls like windows and corridors curved not from wall to wall but from ceiling to floor. The girl was lost— trapped in this place.

Everywhere she looked, she saw a myriad of paths she could take. Each door left unturned so alluring. There were corridors that dug down like a pit, yet when she stepped into it, the world flipped to match her footing. She could walk on the walls and fall while standing still. It was a maze of infinite possibilities.

But there was only one path she truly sought. It was why she was here. In this place of nightmares and broken dreams. She searched for reality.

The girl stopped by a double doorway. It was small. Like an entrance for a child. There were inscriptions etched onto its surface that she couldn’t read, yet she understood what it said. Her eyes narrowed.

“This way leads to glory,” she read it aloud.

The doorway glittered with wisps and motes of an iridescent flame. She looked at the ornate doorknob, and something urged her to reach for it. To open it. For a moment, she considered it. Her hand reached for the door—

And she caught herself. The girl shook her head, taking a step back.

“There is no glory in this land. Only vanity.” Tian took in a deep breath. She recited what she knew of the Land of the Cursed. “Only the pure of heart who can walk through the valley of temptation and come out. The rest will forever rot in this squalor.”

The girl remembered the tales. It was something everyone knew— it was the fundamental principles of a Cultivator’s path. When she was younger, Tian would often wonder how Blossoms and Blooms would lose themselves in this place. After all, it seemed very much so simple. Avoid the lures of empty and vain promises offered. Yet, when faced with these promises of power when it seemed so real, it was truly difficult to overcome.

There was truly a distinction between knowing something and understanding it. Here, she was forced to learn this difference. It was in this Land of the Cursed, she truly had to forge her soul in the flames of desires.

Tian shook her head, marching away from the glamorous door. She had to find the real exit. But everywhere she looked, she saw things that drew her attention. Doorways that called to her. Archways decorated in orchids and lilies. Glass doors that hid open fields of flowers on the other side. Even doors that had skulls littered at the feet of entryway. Those last ones reeked of violence and death, but there was a sense of power to it that attracted the girl.

This way leads to victory.

This way leads to triumph.

This way leads to contentment.

This way leads to pleasure.

…

All the doors had a phrase inscribed that told of what was to be expected on the other side. It always seemed so innocuous. It always appeared to be so inviting. It only made it all the more harder for Tian to resist.

“Which door is it?” asked the girl.

No answers came.

“I need to get out of here.”

She walked faster and faster as the labyrinth constantly changed around her. She entered rooms which turned into hallways the moment she turned around. She paused at doors that vanished when she blinked, and nearly stepped into doorways that spontaneously appeared before her.

The girl tried to count the number of cycles that passed since she entered the Land of the Cursed. But she counted hundreds— no, thousands of cycles. It didn’t make sense to her. When she looked down at herself, she didn’t see her body growing older. She didn’t feel like much time had passed.

It confused her. It perplexed her. She would’ve wandered the Land of the Cursed for all of eternity if she didn’t see them. Her eyes shot wide open as the figures crept around the corner. Distorted beings that seemed to flicker between shapes and forms in an instant. Yet, their true nature was like a husk of life. Like floating smoke and ashes.

“Forsaken Souls.” Tian took on a wide stance. There were dozens of them waiting for her around the corner.

They turned, raising their heads as if they caught sight of her. The girl was prepared to fend them off or run, but they didn’t charge her. These wisps of what was once great Cultivators floated aimlessly around the hallway.

One drew close, and Tian readied herself. It turned towards her, the formless mist flickering for a single moment. The girl’s eyes grew wide as she thought she saw a familiar face. A memory that was marred with betrayal and hurt.

Xun stared down with disdain and contempt. The mask of friendship she wore lay shattered on the floor like a porcelain cup.

“Don’t you dare ever speak to me again, worthless Bud.”

Her voice stung the girl. Liufan Tian wanted to cry. She wanted to run away.

But Tian managed to break free from the illusion. She steeled herself, overcoming the grief of betrayal and struck out with an open palm.

“Get away from me!” Tian yelled.

But her attack went straight through the Forsaken Soul. The girl blinked as the formless mist no longer wore the face of Xun. It just drifted past Tian, uncaring.

Tian shook her head, stepping forward. She walked down the corridor of Forsaken Souls with what courage she managed to muster. Faces appeared in her peripheral vision. The formless mists took shapes of members of her sect. She heard their voices— their whispering. But when she turned to face them, they returned to nothing more than the floating black smoke.

“They have no power here,” the girl observed. “Just like me.”

Unlike when she was wandering the Seventh Heaven, lost and on her own, the Forsaken Souls were weak. They couldn’t attack her even if they wanted to. This was the place where they lost themselves. There was nothing here for them as there was nothing here for the girl.

Tian reached the other end of the hallway without slowing, her resolve driving her forward. She would’ve continued on to the next corridor, if a door hadn’t suddenly appeared in her way. The girl blinked, stepping back. But she was used to it. She would’ve just stepped around it if not for the familiar walls surrounding the door.

For a moment, she stopped to stare at what made it seem so familiar to her. Then her eyes grew wide. She recognized the simple doorway. The unassuming wooden door at the front of a simple shack. The entrance to the lone house that stood far from the Liufan sect.

It was her house. Her home. And the words inscribed on the door said a set of simple resonant words:

This way leads to safety.

Tian read it again. Then she read it once more. Finally, she just looked at it. The words didn’t register in her head. All she saw was the familiar place where she grew up in. And a voice rang behind her.

“My daughter, come to me.”

The girl recognized it immediately. She spun around to see her mother. Liufan Tiao stood there with her arms outstretched. Healthy as ever. Well as she could be. The Forsaken Souls were gone. No black mist wandered down the hallway in search of a form. It was just Tian and the woman who raised her.

Tiao stepped forward, proffering the girl a hand. “I will give you safety. I will give you love. I will give you everything you deserve and desire.”

Tian backed up as her mother drew closer. The girl’s mouth bobbed open. She tried to form a response— find something to say. But then she paused. She heard a creak. She felt the cold touch of wood on her back.

Apprehension seized her. Tian craned her head back to see that she was pressing against the wooden doorway. A crack of light seeped through. The comfort of her own home waited for hyer on the other side. Her mother pushed her to follow through.

“Come with me, my daughter,” said Tiao. “We can leave all this behind.”

“I—” the girl started. But she caught sight of her mother’s eyes. It was like staring into a reflection. Into an older version of herself.

Tian saw those amethyst jewels, and she was drawn to it. She raised a hand, almost accepting the promise offered. Tiao smiled, goading the girl even further.

“Whatever your heart desires— everything the world has in store— I will give it to you, Tian.”

The words. They were all that Tian could focus on. Even her master’s words were like an echo in the back of the girl’s mind now.

“Everything,” Tian repeated after her mother. “You will give me everything I want.”

“Yes.” Tiao nodded. “Everything.”

Slowly, the girl lifted a hand. Mindlessly, she began to accept the offer. It was everything she ever wanted. Tiao was going to give her everything. Her mother was going to bring her to safety. It was so much. It was the world to the girl. It was… it was…

It was incomparable to what Tiao gave the girl.

And Tian blinked. She stared at her mother standing before her. But that was not right. Something was wrong. No— it wasn’t the kind smile that the woman wore on her face. Neither was it the loving voice that the apparition took on.

It was simply… the way she stood. And it wasn’t just that, it was in the way this fake Tiao offered Tian the world.

This was something the girl had always wished for. But it wasn’t something that could be a reality. Tian remembered everything her mother gave to her. And it was worth so much more.

The sickly woman lay on the bed, coughing and rasping as she tried to down her medicine for the day. She looked up, her pale face wearing a weak smile as she turned to the girl.

“Thank you, my daughter,” said Liufan Tiao. “Worry not me, but for yourself.”

The woman shuffled to her feet, even with her frail frame. Tian backed up in a panic, but her mother was persistent.

Tiao shook her head. “Come. I made you a promise. We shall meditate together.”

The girl watched as the woman started out the door, each step arduous to make. Yet, Tiao made them nonetheless for the sake of the girl.

It was perhaps something Tian never appreciated when she had it. Despite her illness and despite her woes, Tiao never shied away from her promises to her daughter. The woman had nothing. Yet, she always gave what little she had to the girl. And that made it all the more… special.

Tian looked up at the apparition of her mother standing before her. At the creature that wore the fake smile of kindness— that promised the world to the girl. Tiao stood straight, free from any illnesses, and full of vigor and power. It was something the girl had always wished for. But it wasn’t right.

“No,” Tian said as the false Tiao blinked.

“What…?” The woman was taken aback, but the smiled refused to slip from her face. She pressed the girl against the door, and the wood creaked once again, threatening to give way. “What are you talking about, my daughter? Do you not see me? I am your mother. Do you not want me back?”

Deep within her heart, the girl really did wish her mother would return. But the truth was simple. Tian shook her head. “My mother is dead.”

“I am—” the fake Tiao tried to protest.

But Tian continued as she clenched her fists. “You are not her. You cannot give me what she did. Her life— her everything— she gave it all to me.”

The girl pushed back, overwhelming the woman’s strength. The door groaned closed again as the apparition took a step back. Tian’s Qi coursed through her body— her meridians brimming with power. A faint glow overcame her fist as she stared up at the fearfully backing up woman.

“My daughter, please listen to me!” Tiao said in a panicked voice.

But Tian ignored it. She took a step forward, raising her glowing fist. “I will not listen to a shadow!”

The apparition of Forsaken Souls spun around to make a break for it. However, the girl pounced forward. With a powerful leap, kicking off the wooden door, she crossed the distance in an instant. Her fist shone with the image of a white tiger as she swung forward.

“Liufan Advanced Technique: The Tiger’s Claw!”

“No—"

And the attack ripped straight through the false Tiao. The woman shrieked as her body twisted, contorting into dozens of figures. Then all at once, she exploded into a black mist that spread across the room before dissipating like it wasn’t even there.

Tian huffed as she took a step back, wiping the sweat off her forehead. She looked on as the wisps of shadows dissipated, then turned around to stare at the remnants of a broken wooden door.

“I resisted it…” the girl whispered, leaning against a wall. She smiled proudly at herself, wanting to celebrate. “I—”

But she paused when she heard the loud clap. The girl frowned, spinning around as the clapping continued, echoing from down the hallway. The soft sound of footfalls followed after as a figure appeared just ahead of the girl.

Her eyes widened as she saw the figure walking towards the girl.

“You’re—" She backed up warily.

“Good job, child of Ren,” said the red-skinned man. “I am quite impressed. I didn’t expect you to fight off that amalgamation of souls.”

Tian trembled, even as he came to a stop. She saw the crimson face. She saw the hollow eyes, the tusks, and the black hair tied into a ponytail. And she couldn’t help but feel fear.

“Demon…” she whispered.

The Demon nodded, still smiling. “For what you managed, you have my congratulations.”