Labby sat in silence, feeling the Qi circulating within the roots of the spirit herbs around her, guided by her Great Master.

The essence of the spirit herbs was tantalising, rubbing their sweet scent against her nose with the promise of a delicious meal.

“No, Labby mustn't,” Labby told herself, shaking her head as she returned her focus to her Great Master’s cultivation. She watched eagerly, as the Qi pulsed, as the Lunar Qi from the lotus flowed through the herbs, reaching her core before melding with her Lightning Qi.

The two Qi opposed each other, struggling for dominance. The lightning Qi within her core crackled, while the lunar Qi, gentle and swift, diverted the thunder back. She could feel a tenuous balance of Qi within herself, as the two opposing natures struggled to remain together. Like the conflicting nature of Yin and Yang.

Labby flicked her ears, turning around as she watched the lazy turtle sleeping next to the pool of water. Her new Junior brother was quiet and hadn’t talked to her despite Labby’s multiple greetings. Labby had thought him arrogant, but perhaps the turtle didn’t know how to talk? Maybe the Qi had never taught it how to, as it had taught her.

Sheldon opened his eyes upon her gaze, looking back at her with his perpetually smiling face. Labby squeaked, putting her intent into her call instead of speaking out the way her master did. The way she’d done when she’d just been a little rat without any awareness of who she was.

Sheldon stared at her for a moment before the turtle pulled its stumpy legs out of its shell as Sheldon crawled to the pool of water containing the lotus, diving into it. The turtle remained in the water, swimming gently around in circles and Labby stared in confusion.

The little turtle continued to serenely rotate within the pool, and Labby’s gaze went to her master, who was deep into cultivation, his presence filling the entire chamber. Labby frowned, as she stared at Sheldon swimming around.

Through the gaps of the window, the light of the moon reflected itself in the water. The stirring of that water, caused by Sheldon, caused the light to rotate in a circular pattern, and it seemed as if the moon was changing faces. The dark image of the moon covered completely in a shadow would gradually shift into the ray of thin light seeping from the corners into a beautiful crescent.

The light would continue to grow until the moon was half-light, half-dark, then only a tiny section remained. Before, the glowing full moon presented itself.

The full moon shone brightly within the pool, brimming with Lunar Qi, a chill yet gentle warmth radiating from the light.

The cycle would continue, as the full moon would fade, giving way to darkness, until nothing remained. Only for the cycle to begin anew.

Labby felt her Qi swirling. There was a cycle here, like one the master had told her about. The cycle of the moon. It had a name, a name the Qi now whispered in her mind.

Eight phases of the moon.

Labby felt Qi swirling around her, as she watched the cycle of the moon. The ever-changing nature of the eight phases, and how each one led into the other. Labby cultivated her Qi, swirling it with her new insight as her core began to fill with Lunar Qi.

She cycled her Qi, like the phases of the moon, representing the cycle. The Qi responded, flowing into her. The cycle poured into her core, flooding her with Lunar Qi, as the gentle Qi met the violent thunder and Labby erupted into lightning.

Labby felt her Qi struggling, the two weren’t in balance. The Lunar Qi and the Thunder Qi refused to merge and she felt her Qi swirling and starting to escape her control.

“Chirp!” Sheldon spoke, as Labby saw water flow around her in a whirlpool. The lightning struck the water but was diverted and lost within it. “Chirp!” Sheldon spoke again, and Labby nodded.

Focusing inwards, Labby let go of her consciousness, going deep within her mind, at the source of all her Qi. Within her core, the dual nature of Qi struggled, ramming head-on like oil meeting fire as they erupted and she felt a pulse of pain go through her being.

Labby swirled the Qi around, trying to separate the two opposite natures of Qi, yet the turbulence remained, the Qi moving towards each other as if attracted towards one another. Labby cycled the moon, and the lightning, struggling to pull the Qi apart.

Her efforts failed, as her control slipped, the Qi merging once more as they erupted outwards and she felt a sting in her dantian. She needed to stop the Qi before it could damage her cultivation, but how? Labby had no answers to her question, no insights. The Qi didn’t whisper its mysteries to her.

Labby felt the words of the spirit echo in her mind. To cultivate like this was against her nature, the spirit had told her. To become what she wanted to, she had gone against her instincts, to simply feast on herbs wherever she saw them, and keep eating until nothing remained.

Ever since she’d been with her Great Master. She’d pushed against those instincts as best as she could. She’d suppressed her increasing hunger with cultivation, filling her being with Qi and focusing on it.

But perhaps she was doomed from the very start? To try and become more than just a rat, was a futile effort for one such as her.

Labby felt the claws of doubt starting to sink into her heart, the Qi in her core turning furthermore turbulent. What if she failed?

A memory came to Labby’s mind upon the thought.

“Great Master! Why do you smile even when the pill doesn’t work? Isn’t failing sad?” Labby asked.

“Haha, no Labby it isn’t. It isn’t sad at all. Each failure is a chance to learn what I did wrong, to correct upon my mistakes, perhaps to even gain new insights I hadn’t ever expected before. So many great discoveries originated from mistakes. To fear failure would be the most foolish thing I could do.” Her great master shook his head and smiled at her.

“Each time you fail, you are one step closer to succeeding. It can be frustrating sometimes, but it isn’t ever pointless.”

Labby looked through the memories, as she resolved herself once more. She had to try.

The Qi swirled once more, flowing within a cycle, the lunar Qi separated itself from the lightning as the two formed two cycles of their own. One of energy and power, brimming and waiting to flow out into the world. The other, of a gentler night, flowing freely with no restraints.

Labby felt the cycle of her Qi, the dual nature, as she remembered, the little insights her master had told her about both.

The moon was just a reflection of the sun, another side to the same coin. Similarly, lightning was what was born, when two opposite energies were separated, creating an imbalance.

Labby hadn’t understood how that was possible. How the moon could be the sun, or how lightning could be born from two things that oppose one another. But now, she has started to understand.

There wasn’t a single cycle here. Each cycle was tied into the other. The cycle of the moon was tied to the cycle of the earth, the cycle of the earth, tied to the cycle of the sun. The cycle of the sun, to the stars and so on and so forth.

To divide, the cycle in two would create an imbalance, one that the world would seek to rectify. And thus. Lightning.

The essence of the world circulated around her, filling her being, as the lunar Qi, merged with her lightning Qi. A new cycle was formed. Of two halves, flowing into one another. Two halves of the same whole. A balance was formed.

Labby felt her core changing, as the Qi in her core began to take on a new form. Essence flooded her, as she grew, past the first realm and into the second. Power filled her, strength coursing through her body.

Her claws shone like blades of moonlight as purple lightning coursed around her. And soon, she heard the gift from the moon spirit reveal itself within her core.

“You have taken the first step, child. Choose your path from this moment and forth,” the spirit whispered.

Eight spirits of the moon stood before her, all eight, vaster than anything Labby had seen before. She stared at the spirits as they awaited her choice.

The dark moon, the moon of longing and hunger.

The waxing crescent moon, the moon of growth and journey.

The first half-moon, the moon of strength and focus.

The waxing gibbous moon, the moon of nurture and care

The full moon, the moon of completion.

The waning gibbous moon, the moon of reflection.

The second half-moon, the moon of forgiveness.

The waning crescent, the moon of surrender and peace.

Labby stared at the phases of the moon before she closed her eyes and called out to one. The moon of growth, the moon of journey. The desire to be full, the eternal chase of completion. The spirits of the moon smiled, fading away, as the crescent symbol on her forehead lit up, glowing brightly as she received a gift in her mind.

Purple lightning soared around her, as blades of crescent silver light extended from her claws. Labby felt the path in front of her. She wasn’t there yet, she couldn’t take the form of her master yet. But now, she could feel the steps she needed to follow. As soon as she entered the third realm, she would have the form she desired to take.

Labby burst into another round of thunder, feeling her much deeper pool of Qi, and her stronger bond to her master. The name of her new art tugged at her mind, its strength and depths waiting to be explored.

The Crescent Lunar Lightning Art.

Squeak!