- Ch 10 (rewritten)

It had been a clear and windless day. Birds had twittered and, the warmth of the sun had made the air tingle. But all was not as it should be. Despite the fine day and seemingly peaceful surroundings, something wasn't right. All the people felt it but, no one knew what it was. A worry or a deep fear that no one wanted to know about. A denial of what was to come.

The air grew colder and, the sun seemed to fade. At first, it was imperceptible. There had been no wind, but now a light breeze had begun to blow and, dark grey-blue wisps of mist appeared in the sky. They had come from nowhere. It continued to darken and, dark mist was coming from the surrounding forests, snaked its way across the ground towards the Phoenix Sect.

People's anxiety and fear increased. It wasn't right, everything was unnatural. Sounds of beasts and monsters could be heard around the Phoenix Sect.

The sun had now dimmed even further. And the dark veil clouds had now become great black and menacing.

The sect was in turmoil and, no one knew what was happening. The fear was reflected in the faces of the sect members. It didn't matter if they were outer sect members or inner. Even those who were masters showed their fear and anxiety. They had better control over their emotions that was the only difference.

The first screams of terrified people mixed with the icy howl of demons cut through the air. They came not from the sect area, but from the road and grain fields north of the Phoenix sect.

It was clear that the beasts or demons were heading towards the sect and, several people from the sect had already started to flee. But there was no way out. They were surrounded.

-------- at the same time ----------

It had only been a short while since Siri and Chen had made love and, Siri still felt her desire. Siri eyed Chen and said.

Siri thought she recognized him. It was the first time she had seen Chen and she felt embarrassed. She didn't usually jump into bed with a man the first time she saw the man. It wasn't something anyone normally did. "Why did I do that? It's not something I usually do." she thought.

He sat on the bed and looked at her. He had the features of someone she knew. But she couldn't think of who it would be.

"Have we met before. I feel like I've seen you before."

Chen smiled and said. "I think you've met my half-brother."

He looked closely at Siri and hesitated to answer.

"You're from the Wind-sky sect, aren't you, and you know Asher."

It was a statement, not a question.

"...Yes, I am... and I know him..."

"Do you know that Asher has a half-brother?"

Siri widened her eyes and almost screamed.

"Are you Asher's half-brother?"

"...Yes."

"What the hell."

"I never heard that he had a brother or half-brother. He should have said something?"

"Our relationship is complicated," Chen didn't say anything else. It was clear that he didn't want to talk about it.

It had been a while since she had thought about Asher. Asher and Aris, I wonder how they're doing. When she'd left the Wind sky sect, they'd been out hunting, and they would be gone for months.

Siri assumed they were in the Wind forest. It was a large forest that lay next to the Wind sky sect, and beyond it, the Grey land.

There were many monsters and exotic plants in the Wind forest. But, it wasn't like the gray land. There was no comparison. The only thing more dangerous than gray land was the Black land. He who went into the Black land never came back. It didn't matter if it was people, animals, monsters, or demons. They were all just swallowed up by something unknown.

Siri didn't want to think about the Black land. It was bad enough with the Grey.

Siri walked over to her dress that was lying on the floor and started to put it on. She had trouble getting the dress in order and at first, Chen came forward to help her, but Siri took his hand away. "It's I fix it."

He gave her a small smile. She bent down to put on her boots. Chen couldn't help but stare as her skirt parted to expose her entire leg and part of the side of her bottom.

She turned around and was about to say something to Chen but stiffened. Siri stared out the window. The sound of people screaming in terror and demons cut through the afternoon that had turned into night. What was that, what's going on? The feeling of death and doom gripped her soul.

Siri recognized some of the sounds, Zerzers, Ghouls, and Yrhaks.

Yrhaks a cross between demon and monster. They were flying monsters the size of two horses with a body of a snake with bat wings and a head of a spiky beak with fangs.

Judging by the sound, there were many. A lot of them...

"We are fucked" How can there be so many monsters and demons here? Where do they come from what do they want? This is not the Grey Land. Siri's mind was racing. What do I do now? I have to escape.

This sect is not large and does not have many masters. It will not stand a chance against them when their numbers were so high.

Elix! I have to get Elix. Panic set in and Siri hadn't even seen them. But she knew what was waiting. She felt it in her bones.

"Chen, I need to get a hold of Elix. We have to escape and we have to do it now! There's no time to lose!" Sade Siri in a frightened voice. There was no sugary tone, just fear. She wasn't used to fear, but it was something she would have to get used to. She knew it would get worse. Why she knew it or how she knew it, she had no idea.