Chapter 18: Father and Daughter

A ghostly figure stood in the silent mist. Heian stood in silence as it turned to face him. With ghoulish eyes reminiscent of a bottomless pit, it reached up to touch him. Strangely, the man felt at ease as its soft hand caressed his face.

"Please don't cry," it whispered in a vaguely familiar voice, "I've never left. My essence lives on."

"Essence?" Heian whispered back, "What do you mean? Do I...know you?" He then paused. Despite lacking a clear outline, its faded smile gave him the feeling that everything would be okay.

The calmed man reached up and gently grasped the figure's own face. Like its hands, its cheeks were soft to the touch. It smiled, dispelling the ambiguity that hid its true identity.

Heian gasped. "Jian?"

In a flash, the dream ended. Heian opened his eyes. The silhouette resembling his best friend had vanished, and was replaced by a straw roof illuminated by the shine of the midday sun.

Breathing shakily, Heian sat up. Now surrounding him was the inside of a familiar mountaintop hut. Ting, who sat near the entrance, gazed at him with startled wide eyes.

"Phew. Well good morning to you too," he scoffed.

"Ting?" he said as he looked at the goateed boy with furrowed brows, "How long have I been out?"

"Ten days. Long enough for me to grow a chin of facial hair," Ting chuckled back. Standing up, he approached and gave the bewildered Heian a hug. "But I'm glad you're awake."

Heian reciprocated, but his mind had drifted elsewhere. He looked outside, where a few of the villagers watched curiously. It was apparent that his outburst had caught more than just the attention of his little brother.

"Jiu."

Ting scooted back. "She's still recovering. I can take you to her."

"Please do."

The pair made their way toward the village entrance, where the barricade made from sharpened branches lay in ruin. Passerby made no attempt to fix it, instead kicking aside pieces that had rolled into their path. Each of them knew that it served merely to give them a sense of security, when in reality, it did nothing to stop trespassers.

"She's right in there," said Ting, who stopped a few steps away from the hut at the base of the guard tower. Heian turned to his brother and nodded.

As much as he wanted to rush in to give his beloved little daughter a big hug, he knew better than to possibly startle her. He walked through the entrance alone, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

At the center of the hut lay a small body curled up in sleeping rags. Heian approached and placed his hands gently on its side.

"Jiu," he hushed, "it's me, Papa."

Jiu didn't answer, yet Heian could feel her body move ever so slightly with each breath she took.

"Do you need to sleep some more?"

Much to his relief, her hand appeared out of one of the creases. Though hesitant at first, Jiu then reached out with her other hand before pulling the blankets that covered her face.

Heian smiled as her crystalline stare met his own. Even among the Zhuang clan, the girl's eyes were most unique, for they changed color depending on her emotions. It was said by the village shaman to have been a curse, not that Heian believed such a ludicrous story.

Thankfully, her pupils were no longer gray. But nor were they as blue as before Heian had embarked on his journey.

"Papa?" she uttered weakly. Even though it was faded, the twinkle in her eye still shined as it had many years ago.

"Yes Jiu, it's me." Tears welled up in his eyes. He reached down and pulled her into his embrace. But rather than give a warm hug in return, Jiu's breaths suddenly quickened into hyperventilations.

"NO! Get off me!" Jiu screamed out, much to her father's horror. She began to claw at his neck and face while struggling to break free of his grasp. Without a moment's hesitation, he placed her down and drew his hands back.

"Jiu, it's me! Papa! There's nothing to be afraid of!"

The little girl whimpered tearfully as she pulled the blankets over herself once more. A deep pit formed in Heian's stomach. In a brief moment, he caught a glimpse of her weeping eyes, which had reverted back into the same sickly gray as before.

~

Ting neared the top of the northernmost ridge a short distance above the village. It had been hours since he witnessed Heian walk into that hut, but neither he nor Jiu had returned.

As he clambered over the final ledge, he saw a slouched over Heian sitting all alone. Beside him were indiscernible letters carved into the moist dirt.

"I knew I'd find you here," he said with a huff.

Heian turned back for a glance, but didn't answer. The cold, thin air didn't seem to bother him in the slightest.

"It'll just take time. You just need to be patient."

"There's nothing more I can do for her now," A tear fell from the scar-faced man's eyes and was immediately whisked away by the howling gusts.

Ting walked up beside him. Placing his hand on his brother's shoulder, he reassured him with a smile.

"That's not true. She's been forced into a hell that we could never comprehend. But we can bring her back together — you and I. Don't you forget that she's my beloved—"

"Shut up." He scowled at Ting. "You said it yourself. The entire clan is supposed to be family. But if that's true, then why didn't anybody help her? Why did they just leave her behind? Why did they treat her like some damn sacrifice?"

"I was wondering the same thing," sighed Ting, "I thought that maybe she got lost in all the chaos. A few of our clansmen didn't make it out alive after all."

The boy paused for a moment. He watched the verdant valley and rocky cliffs below disappear beneath a layer of rain clouds. With yet another gust, countless droplets came rushing toward them like an upward falling rain.

"We can't stay here. I'll tell you the rest on the way back. Come on, let's go." He turned away as he waved for Heian to follow.

"No," answered the man firmly.

"Don't be like that."

"I can't live among those...animals," he continued, "Go if you'd like, but come dusk, I'm leaving this shithole for good."

The wind grew ever stronger as the clouds began their ascent up the slope leading up to their village. It tugged at Heian's hair pin until finally, the metallic piece came loose.

At that moment, Ting felt shivers up his spine. As the pin struck the ground with a tink, the wind suddenly ceased, and a blood curdling scream rang out from the village. Dozens more followed. The two brothers looked on in disbelief as a black plume exploded from the Jiu's hut, decimating it in the blink of an eye.

Before either of them could even utter a single word, an object — or a body, rather — flew past in an upward trajectory. Once it reached its apex above the clouds, it was launched back down and crash landed mere steps away from the pair.

The stench of blood and guts filled the air. Ting shrunk away while Heian swiftly eyed the contorted mess that lay among the scattered rocks and dirt.

"Who is that?!" Ting cried out, fearful of seeing the mangled body.

"It's—" Heian leaned in for a second look. "It's the elder, old man Zhuang!"

Just then, the dark violet lightning began to dance around the growing plume. Heian made a break for the village, hopping down each and every ledge with great haste. Ting quickly made pursuit as they cried out Jiu's name in unison.

More bodies flew past, some of which were accompanied by terrifying screams. It was then that Ting noticed black, rope-like appendages lodged in each victim. The two continued to dodge the incoming human projectiles and soon, the black smoke began to obscure their vision.

"This stuff — it's toxic!" Ting's eyes watered. His lungs ached immensely as he drew in a shallow breath.

"Ting, you have to keep going..." wheezed Heian, whose pace had slowed to a near stop. "You have to…"

Ting nodded. He felt the overwhelming power well up within. The warmth began at his core, then spread out to his limbs and head. A fierce white aura sparked from beneath his feet and enveloped his entire body, driving away the smoke with a resounding boom.

"This is new…" thought Ting as he glanced at the new, fire-like substance that radiated from every inch of his skin. This time, nothing about the surrounding environment seemed to change. Rather, time continued at its usual pace.

Heian took a moment to catch his breath before continuing the desperate sprint. The ground soon flattened out, indicating that the center of the village drew close.

As they passed countless bloated, purple bodies, a crippling anxiety took hold. For Ting, seeing the bodies of those he once called family strung about was too much to bear. For Heian, the fate of his precious Jiu appeared grim.

Suddenly, a violent rush of wind pounced at Heian, knocking him back several steps behind his brother.

"Look at!" he cried. Two black spearheads attached to the same rope-like objects flew out of the cloud and straight toward Ting.

Ting instinctually parried the projectiles. Darkness-imbued weapons reacted with his white aura. The flames of the two opposing forces grew excited, gnawing away at each other before the offender was drawn back into the dark.

The boy was about ready to rush toward his attacker when echoing footsteps sounded from its direction.

"Who's there!" he called out. Heian quickly joined him by his side. The man's eyes narrowed briefly, then widened in disbelief.

"No...impossible…"

Out of the darkness stepped a familiar young girl wearing the same garments her uncle had given her. Her pupils appeared as red as blood, and the white of her eyes had turned blacker than the night.

"Jiu!" The distraught father lunged forward, but was yanked back by the arm.

"Let go of me if you know what's good for you," he yelled as he continued trudging forward. "That's my daughter over there!"

"No, I won't let you! That can't be her! No way in hell!"

"I said let go!" Heian spun around and punched Ting square in the cheek. Much to his annoyance, his little brother didn't flinch.

"You piece of shit! After all I've done for you your whole life, you ungrateful excuse of a brother!"

Ting endured many more blows, yet not a single drop of blood was drawn. All the while, the demonic Jiu summoned the entire cloud into the palm of her hand and took aim.

"Stop! Stand down—" The valiant Ting took yet another hit.

"I'll fucking kill you if you don't unhand—"

The pair immediately ceased upon realizing that the toxic cloud had vanished. Together, they turned to face the reaper of their demise, but by then, it was too late.