The flaming bird

Ying reached out a finger to gently brush away a strand of stray hair from her forehead.

The mattress creaked slightly as he sat down on the edge of the bed. His glowing eyes were fixed on Emma's face, but his mind seemed to be far away. Despite his stony expression, the change in his mood as his mind wandered was perceptible.

After being lost in his memories for a long while, he seemed to snap back to the moment.

His eyes fixed on Emma again. With a tender but saddened smile on his face he reached out a hand and cupped one of Emma's cheeks in his hand, gently stroking it with his thumb. She stirred at the touch, but did not wake. Instead she mumbled something incoherent before resuming her soft breathing.

Ying eyes sparkled with amusement at her mumbling, as if watching her sleep was the most delightful thing in the world.

But despite her being right there in front of him, he could not quiet the desperate longing lodged in his heart.

"Little bird, why are you still hiding in this mortal girl, who is just a mere shadow of your true self. Won't you wake up and come back to me? You promised to come back to me."

He stared intently at Emma's sleeping face for a few seconds, continuing to stroke her cheek with his thumb. Perhaps he expected her to suddenly wake up and answer him.

Ying let out a frustrated sigh, which seemed to carry an unfathomable sadness behind it, and covered his anguished face with his hands. He stayed like that for a moment, with is hands covering his face, before letting his palms slide down his face. As he did so, his eyes flitted back to Emma's peaceful sleeping face.

"You told me to wait for you, to trust you to come back to me," he whispered, his face filled with an indescribable longing. "Forgive me, my love. But I can't wait any longer..."

His demeanor suddenly changed as his eyes flashed with determination.

"If you won't come back on your own, I will make you come back," he declared, standing up and Ying leaning over the sleeping Emma, casting her face into deeper shadow. With his eyes closed in concentration, he let his hand hover over her brow.

A faint green light began emitting from his palm. Complicated shapes and patterns of bright green appeared and started to twist and glow across his exposed skin.

Without warning, a spark of pure white flames suddenly burst forth from Emma's forehead, bringing with it a fiery aura that exploded with enough force to throw Ying off balance. He stumbled backwards, falling flat to the floor, as powerful waves of heat engulfed the room.

The white flame twisted into the air above Emma, growing ever larger and brighter, as the tips of the blaze became tinged with hues of bright orange and pink. Like a bird, the flame twisted and unfurled in midair, gracefully stretching out a pair of fiery wings. The bird's flaming beak reached for the sky, making the room shudder with a sharp, mournful cry.

From the floor, Ying gazed up at the flaming bird in awe. He let out an excited cry, his eyes shining with joy.

Then, without warning, a terrible, gut-wrenching scream ripped through the air.

The scream had come from Emma.

Ying watched in shock as she writhed on the bed while clutching at her head, and screaming hysterically.

Just as abruptly as it had appeared, the flaming bird flickered and faded away, disappearing into nothingness.

The room was thrown back into darkness.

"No!"

Ying leapt to his feet, moving to the bed so fast he seemed to disappear from the spot on the floor appear beside it in an instant. His arms reached out for her, intending to wrap her in a soothing embrace.

He never got that far.

A winged shadow suddenly swept in from the side, and an arm materialised out of nowhere, the hand grabbing Ying forcibly by the throat and throwing him bodily across the room, and making him crash into the opposite wall.

Ying got to his feet in a flash, seemingly unaffected by the violent force.

"You!" he sputtered, staring daggers at the male figure before him.

The young man, looking not much older than an adolescent boy, payed little attention to Ying, simply throwing him a sharp look with his amber eyes, before turning to face the bed.

Emma was still writhing, seemingly in pain, although her screams had already subsided to pitiful whimpers. Her lids remained firmly shut, but her eyes could be seen flitting back and forth underneath, as if she was looking at something unseen.

A jet of golden light shot out from the boy's palm, hitting Emma on the forehead. She grew limp in an instant, falling back onto the mattress.

Silence filled the room once more.

Even in the shadowy gloom the boy's piercing amber eyes glinted as he levelled Ying with a furious gaze. His soft brown hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail, emphasising the sharp features of his youthful face. Despite the boy's unassuming appearance, he had an otherworldly aura about him.

Without a word the boy walked past Ying, giving him a meaningful look as he quietly left the room. Ying sighed, before following behind the boy.