Last Flame (5)

The barely lit area was littered with floating bubbles. It almost looked like a Disney-princess movie with many mystical beasts enjoying the allure of strange, harmless bubbles. At the slightest touch, it would pop so they watched it as if it was their life force.

Celes sighed. Her honey-brown eyes have lost their glow.

In the blink of an eye, all of the generated bubbles popped like a balloon making the sensitive ears of every beast ring.

.

.

.

Investment was good but what fun can it bring if the investor does not try to feel happy and just kept earning instead? Most would say that patience was the key to overcome this of foolishness. But Celes? She thought differently.

Amusing some beasts was all interesting and pretty much a good way to make a bond with the community. And yet Celes' killer impulse sent an adrenaline rush over her. Her fingers itched for blood, the nostalgic roars of the animals echoed like a classic musical in her ears. By the time it darkened, the ground had become soaked with blood and the air was heavy with scent of copper to the point a normal person's stomach would churn from sickness. To test her new found strength, Celes came to challenge the strongest of the present animals. It was not like they had become registered pets and in the first place, there was no such thing as friends in this world.

Blood sprayed on her face as soon as Celes pulled out the Ji (halberg) from a beast's chest. A smile spreads her lips wide, feeling the accomplishment of defeating a medium ranked beast. It's warm fur falls on her small frame and tickles her neck making Celes giggle a bit.

"Thirty one. My gosh, you will make a good coat."

The beasts started retreating after the defeat of the thirty first beast. However, a certain green eyed beast have remained on its very spot, rooted on its four feet and hidden by the fog. The scent of blood made it shake its head but Celes' physical prowess and ability with multiple blades overwhelmed it.

Celes collapses on her back. Tense, contracted muscles started to loosen. Sweat trickled and covered her hot, sizzling skin. The divine beast's heart beat strongly like drums. Then a series of small chuckles increased to become a loud laughter. She felt satisfied.

But then a cold, hard scream of someone familiar made the woman deaf. 'You just broke your promise!'

She scoffed.

'Celes Fallon de Lin! This is your grandmother you little twit! Do you want me to personally kick you into the pits of hell?'

Her eyes widened. That just sounded like somebody had cursed her! Celes shook her head, pulled herself up to sit and pinched both cheeks. "I am awake."

'Grandma, you are scaring me. Oh stop it!'

'Stop it? You are going to be the death of me!'

'Grandma, it is fine.'

'No! Stop killing because you feel bored!'

'It was self defense!'

'Do you want me to leave you there? Think about it. Hot spa, special edition lava! Too cold? They can always turn it higher!'

Celes shook her head. "Grandma, I got it. I got it. I will not do it again. I am sorry."

Summers in tropical countries alone were enough to make Celes have breathing problems due to shortness of breath from a simple 22 degrees celsius sunny day. How much more will 360 degrees become?

It terrified her.

Nevertheless, it can never be forgotten that Celes Falon de Lin recently came from a constantly changing era of innovation. Every day, new toys would be publicized, the social media would just keep updating and issuing new news. But now, she had no phone nor internet. Let alone writing letters in the old fashion way was not available to a solitary villain. She sighed in boredom as she had just recently achieved the eight degree of Qi Gathering. "What to do? What now, hmm?"

Two rows of white teeth grinded against each other as she thought of a plan only to drift into her sinful imaginations.

The fresh AAA-chan succumbing into XXX-kun's love-filled embrace made her heart flatter. For sure, the first should be awfully tight and painful, it was exciting to think about. AAA-chan's masculine expression melted like ice cream at the likeness of the sly cat-like XXX-kun. When AAA-kun finally spread those white, unblemished legs that was as soft as his soft, cinammon heart, fan-girls screamed. He was cute. All of a sudden, Celes envied the lucky bastard who got to conquer such epitome of beauty in both soul and mind. She suddenly thought that such guy has become her type. AAA-kun has become her ideal husband.

She shrugged. Men like AAA-kun were only limited in her delusions.

"If only something funny happened," Celes wished. Multiple possibilities occured in her head that it was so unlimited when it came to violence and funnier occasions that her grandmother who was in the middle of cleaning the clogged toilet in a busy city of India dropped her brush when she sensed Celes' madness. Again. She spat blood in disgust.

"That vile wench! Is this how you repay my kindness?" She screamed from far away and groaned. That granddaughter of hers surely cannot be left alone. Certainly never before she snapped out of boredom once more!

Celes got up and decided to head back to her cave. A wave of her royal blue robe with golden threads robe graces the air, opposite her colorful imagination following after the lone figure. In her hands was the soft furred beast she had defeated a few minutes ago. It will have the honour of joining the royal blue robe. It's white fur would surely compliment royal blue.

A few days later, Celes came out of her cave looking groggy but warm. A collar of white fur wrapped around her slender, wheat-coloured neck. A smile was on her face as she was ready to show off her work of art. Surely in the modern world, this should be an expensive piece because of the high quality silk, dyed robe, golden threats and authentic, unblemished, soft white fur. She alsoanaged to make a make-shift pair of boots from the animal skin.

The forest was wide and unexplored. Celes in her new outfit felt ready to go on an adventure. If she could find spiritual plants to use for her cultivation or at least stumble into an ancient tomb then that would be so amazing!

She mindlessly began her hike, picking edible-looking fruits along the way and looking for the Tachy Pheasant. She feared that she might end up becoming a vegetarian at the end of this trip.

But as she randomly made twists and turns while marking her way here and there, Celes felt more than flabbergasted. It seemed like there was really more than one mass grave but also more than she had thought of. Imagining the hundreds or thousands of corpses thrown into each made Celes shudder. Not in fright but at the thought of performing so much unpaid, arduous overtime labour. It was so much work with some repurcussions depending on each pit size.

Celes sighed and sat at every single pit she found.

Her own seals from the second life knowledge created pentagrams for Purification and at the same time, she refined pills as having too much Qi at this time without stabilizing her foundation would deem her breakthroughs as useless and pathetic.

But on the recent one did Celes tumble into a cave a few meters away from it. She tilted her head and cautiously narrowed her honey-brown eyes to scan the foggy forest of nothing but tree skeletons and swamps. The farther she went, she noticed the forest to be thinning in fog and becoming a more terrible sight as if saying that if there was the fog to hide the beauty of the deceitful land then there would be swamps to further push away any travellers from staying too long once the fog has become thinner.

'This land is like a cheap aunty, I swear,' she criticized followed by a click of her tongue.

Moreover, a cave residing beside a mass grave would definitely be suspicious. Evil miasma hung around it more than Qi. In addition, low ranked spiritual beasts of higher cultivation were increasingly hostile.

There were many encounters along the way towards this cave. A rock made Celes trip on her footing that almost sent the girl falling into the hole if only Celes was not able to quicky summon a long spear that pinned itself into its black stem. Worse, the beasts jumped out to block her way and yet was unsuccessful because they could not compete against Celes' defense. Moreover, it started raining as soon as Celes fell to the ground such as the time when she was climbing back or when a beast had managed to push her down during a fight.

Realization hit her skull. 'Is this cave by chance a tomb? And that pit, what does it contain?'

For awhile, Celes halted and remained standing before the mouth of the cave. The cautious woman had a hunch that if a foot crossed into the darkness of the mysterious place, a creature or a trap will wrap its disgusting, awful tentacles or claws around the victim then pull them into the deepest parts of such place making them wish they never dared to try. At the same time, if the person fled, those beasts would follow her to the depths of this world and erase her existence to ensure that no information could be leaked! This is an ominous place after all.

"Ugh! How troublesome."

A euphoria of consequences played in Celes' mind, all thanks to her colourful imagination and knowledge from her four previous life times that allowed the transmigrator to be ever so cautious about danger. She was no young person beaming with adrenaline and excitement at the sight of mystery. She had lived for years to see through easy traps and schemes. Though a mere Qi gatherer, her danger-sensing instincts could be acknowledged as legendary.

Celes wanted to turn around so badly but her Devour awakened, beaming with greed amd seemed to have its own desires that pulled her into the cave with the reason that either choices were both deadly anyway. Why not fulfill the wishes of her curiosity?

Surprisingly, even to herself, her body did not tremble in fear or excitement as her heart beat ever so calmly did its normal rhythm. Honey-brown eyes took in every detail of the cave that initially only had metres of barren, rough walls. She remembered that characters in horror movies or idiots of any single story would have been screaming "Hello?"

Though her pride insisted she stay calm and cool, Celes mentally admitted that she could understand those idiots at that moment. She was on her own, venturing a ruin with walls filled with depictions of warning-like stories from a war held at the foot of the mountains as a dragon watched from the sky. Those golden eyes were heavy with mockery as if watching warring ants underneath and waiting for the right moment to squash them all in one go. Celes scoffed with a smile, shaking her head thinking how cliché that was.

So far, she had not run into any creature just yet but the deeper it went, the fouler and more stagnant the air became. Worse, three entrances delayed her journey. Each and every single entrance were strangely different. One filled with lights as if welcoming with no stench at all which seemed strange, the second one had two statues of guards on either side and lastly, one had a wooden door with multiple names etched into the wood.

Celes maybe was cautious but her random recklessness overshadowed the lurking dangers. After all, her four lifetimes always had that type of crazy bestowed to her. She grinned and entered the well-lit entrance while planning to enter the other two later.

Just like the warm, sunny light, even the surroundings have changed drastically from having rocky walls to a fully gold-coated interior including furniture. It was as if Celes had entered an interior-designing exhibition that heavily emphasized gold. Furnitures of gold? Doubt it. Therefore, a pair of boots led the lady to a potted gold plant. She tried to pluck a golden leaf out, expecting it to be fake especially that doing so was as easy as pulling out flower petals. However, upon making an opening to the inside of the plant, her jaw dropped in disbelief when it was truly gold in and out. Celes shook her head and bit the tip of a chair just to make sure she was not being played with. Her teeth began to hurt instead so the intruder pulled away in defeat.

'So what is in here?' she thought as she carefully scanned the golden room. If it was the former in this golden room, maybe that devilish woman would have started thinking of this as her territory as shameless as that sounded. But Celes thought other wise. It was already weird to find herself in a shameful, improper grave. Let alone something like this in such forest and is seemingly abandoned just quite recently.

'Oh how unsuspicious.'

No dust settled on the surface of any furniture in the room nor on it's walls. The surfaces of every furniture, every plant and even the corners were clean.

'Uhh, I doubt it. Bacteria and viral matters cannot be seen by the naked eye,' the sterile room specialist insisted in her head.

But what was more important is the presence of an actual, responsive living being.

"It's so empty! I am going to go crazy if I see no living, breathing, talkin being!" Celes complained. Luckily, the mystical couldron hissed, roared, screamed like an eagle and let out literal steam once the girl 'interacts' with it. Sadly, those previous beasts attracted by the bubble have been decimated after Celes got tired of the show. Her grandma who gets updated of the news groaned.

'This little twit really, Celes Fallon de Lin, don't act as if you did not kill your potential companions.'

'I want talking, crying, laughing companions. I don't hate humans! I was once one! Give me humans grandma.'

'That I can't do. Good luck!'

'But these animals are too weak to posess so much ability!'

'En.' And then the telepathic line that connects the two have once again disappeared. Unfortunately for Celes who have secretly enjoyed the small conversation could not initiate the contact. Her shoulders slumped in boredom as she continued to rummage through.

Normally in the wuxia novels that a patient once read to her and even based on the former's life experience, there should always be trouble lurking anywhere? Celes puffed her cheeks and groaned. "Where are you?"

"Who are you?" Just as she wished, someone had responded.

Celes blinked in surprise and cleaned her ears before she repeated, "Hello?"

It just seems too impossible to actually have such impossible wish to be granted so quickly. Normal beings, not even cultivators would come here!

She shook her head and was about to answer all her doubts with the thought, 'This insolent, golden room must be a mental challenge. Ah I am getting bullied for being lonely!'

However, the voice have penetrated into her ears once again yet it was stronger and held intimidation. "What are you doing here? Who are you? You are too naive to think you can kill me here. Speak, who sent you? How did they know about my whereabouts? Hurry up and speak before I cut you limb from limb."

The grievious voices talked too long. Now, Celes' eyes widened in elation! A smile crept to her face as she turns around only to be greeted by a flying short sword coming straight to her face but the martial art practitioner was quick enough to duck down. Naturally, Celes felt the burning sensation of her adrenaline rush, itching to avenge herself. But all of it simmered down when she realized that this man was going to be the gift heavens provided.

To return the knife with a spiteful throw would end all their good will. So Celes maintained her smile and even picked up the short sword that dropped on the ground and returned it to him. Her smile seemed too wide however that her canines were shown. She looked so menacing in his eyes, instead of friendly. The man's eyes narrowed.

'Cannot be trusted,' he thought.

'Ah, what a dirty man. Anyway, a gift is a gift. Let's just befriend him!'

The man stood so tall, if Celes could estimate, he would at least be above six feet tall just like her Irish co-worker. Except the man was asian in the remaining physical aspects from his black hair, sharp monolid eyes, brown irises, pale skin and ancient soldier attire. He was also soaked in blood and because of that, she noticed that his torn armor was barely hanging on his arms and shoulders. His hair was in disarray and multiple cuts covered his pale, grimy skin. His face, it was the epitome of a serious yet charismatic man. He looked attractive to older women for sure especially if he tried shaving and revealed some good, sharp jaws. He should have it, afterall, the man was muscular underneath all those iron and linen.

"Unngggaaahhhh!"

Celes stood frozen. 'Is that a baby? Crying?' Her brows furrowed as her eyes have started scanning the area. 'Did I miss any spot or--'

The man's face turned cold as his arms tightened around the bloody, green bundle strapped over his chest.

'Gosh, I even thought that was just some treasure or a severed body part! It's actually a baby!'

"Wait, what? Excuse me, is that a baby?"

Unknowingly, Celes outsretched her arms forward and moved a step closer only for him to move back, turn sideways as if to protect the child and then he waved a long sword. His eyes were clouded with killing intent.

"Do. Not. Come. Any. Closer. I am warning you."

Celes pouted. She ignored his threat and crossed her wheat-coloured arms over her chest. "I was just asking."

"And I am warning you. If you want to leave this place alive, I will allow you to." He did not bother to include a menacing after thought, 'Because the beasts here can take care of you very well.'

A pin drop silence then occured as both parties were locked in a silent, staring contest and unable to give an inch to either persons.

As she stared at him, Celes observed the man initially possessed an elegantly, dignified face but was terrorized by exhaustion and fear the more they stayed like that.

His brows then furrowed. And no longer was their any honorable air that remained as soon as he noticed those devilish, brown eyes looking into him as if she could see into his soul. A small smile played on her lips. His face twisted and he steeled himself to fight against her. 'What's this little brown twig doing in this place?'

The girl should be no more than 15, 16 or 17 years of age. She should still be a minor. She looked very youthful and possessed no trace of fear. One could say that she could have been living here however, her skin was tanned unlike those noble young ladies or the common citizens. This place did not burn with the sun's rays and is rather cold. So she should not have come from here. Her mismatched wardrobe also made his eyes sore but then, the familiar royal blue robe with golden threads caught his attention. His blood ran cold at the familiar robe that only one royal person wore in this life time. 'How did she get that?' His eyes saw the fur sewn into it. 'And even modify it?'

His composure trembled but the hand holding onto the blade tightened.

Celes on the other hand made a confused look but prepared herself in a defensive stance. She could sense that he was a long mile stronger than her yet she might have a one in a million chance. Albeit the vast difference between their levels, she thought that a strategy would always help.

Another stillness occured with neither side moving. Celes realized his cautious glare and that he was never going to move unless she did. With her promise in mind, a sigh of irritation left her mouth as she dropped her stance and kneeled down instead. Nevermind the pride, the punishments of heaven were terrifying.

"I am harmless!" she began. But deep inside, her soul still sneered in embarrassment.

"..." He did not want to believe the youth. Though he detected that she was a mere Eight degree Qi collector, how could she look unscathed and lively in the middle of the Unforgiven Forest? It was impossible. He himself, a high-ranked Martial Supreme at the verge of break through had struggled to escape his pursuers and the spiritual beasts!

Ling Hou always had his wise institution and his principles to guide him and they always helped him out of danger. Right now, he held the baby of a powerful dragon and he can't risk ignoring smallest details.

He kept his lips tightly shut.

There was a heavy silence between them and the girl had never been the most patient person among others so Celes dropped her act for another. She stood on her heels with a ram rod straight back then cupped her hands and bowed down as a sign respect, seeing that he was persistent on the other hand. "Sir, this young fellow never intended to trespass into your residence. This lowly one does not want anything from here! Nor do this lowly one desire anything from you." She did not dare to lift her head up and relied merely on her senses.

'Bootlicking has got to be the best option for survival here! Fighting cannot be initiated.'

"..."

'Oh come on!'

Celes felt dismay when he remained passive and unyielding.

'Come on buddy! Just say the word and I will leave without blood in my hands! I swear we are going to be friends! Say it!'

Meanwhile, he took the time to study the petite woman's foreign appearance starting from her repulsive, shoulder-lengthed, black hair and her tan skin to her small built covered by mismatched robes. Her face did not look like a pure, innocent noble miss but rather was non-chalant as those lips kept smiling to bare those unusually long canines. 'Just like a beast.'

His trained eyes did not miss Celes' soul. Her eyes were golden and glimmered like polished jewels however, a shadow lurked beneath. 'A trickster?' he guessed. 'Possibly. The royal robe wouldn't fall into her hands if she wasn't. But--'

The girl was only of the eight stage of Qi Collection. His eyes turned a blind eye on her impatient gaze and the frown that's starting to replace her smile.

'She probably got them from the pits,' he guessed. 'If so, that man may be dead.'

The expensive silk robe accessorized with golden threads originated from the palace of Azure Dragon Country from the West Peak Mainland. That royal blue color with intricate, golden patterns of dragons brought horrible memories. His heart trembled in sadness as they remained unmoving for awhile until he replied, still anxious and well-guarded, "Then you may leave this place! And,"

'Aaaaannnndddd?' Celes felt the urge of strangling somebody. She was starting to regret her request.

By making his voice loud and cranky, he thought it was enough to scare her. But there was once again the deafening silence. Ling Hou was a man raised in the strict teaching halls of one of the empire's biggest sects. He was taught to look and speak in a dignified manner whilst keeping his face calm and steady. Unfortunately deep inside, he fearlessly wanted to simply pick the girl up by the collar and kick her out of the room. 'Just go! What are you waiting for?'

Ling Hou struggled to reply like a scholar thus his silence. It was a rule to at least behave like a model disciple outside the sect.

Celes on the other hand bowed lower, not in fear but to hide the permanent frown on her face. 'And what? Just let me go already! This boss has more things to do than bow down to you! You. are. wasting. my. time. Just finish your sentence already! Ugghhh!'

The man narrowed his eyes, feeling more and more impatient and seemingly to have forgotten about his unfinished words. 'How long are we going to keep this up? Just go already, I need a nap! I'm exhausted.'

'I need to make dinner already! Hurry up!'

'Why isn't she leaving?' Ling Hou gritted his teeth, his patience was thinning and some of his spiritual pressure unconsciously leaked that left Celes cautious and back up to standing straight. At the same time, Ling Hou finally remembered. He cleared his throat and the spiritual pressure ceased. "Leave!"

A sigh of relief left her mouth. 'Ah finally, roasting the tacky pheasant takes time!'

"And I shall be gone!" she replied. As fast as possible, Celes' shadow disappeared into the tunnel and was nearing the entrance when she had to make an abrupt stop! It was already dark outside, as black as the embers. Worse, she knew how dangerous it was at this time!

'Spiritual beasts around here cannot be as easy as where I was.' She thought about the man. 'At least he possessed intelligence, maybe I could talk some sense into him.'

Yet a lingering thought made its way back to her head. 'But I just bid him goodbye! This world is ruled by the strong, he might kill me. What friend? How infuriating. I hate being weak! And I cannot miss dinner.'

Left without other options, she stepped out of the cave and prepared for an ambush. Her long fingers wrapped around a sword, a spiritual weapon that she previously found in her first day here while she rummaged for clothes. It was a good thing that she trained with it to stave off her boredom.

As Celes had expected, one beast stepped out and stood on it's four long legs before her and was six feet taller than the petite woman.