Lady Hiwaga

The combined emotions of Bailong and his brother choked him unbearably. His brother couldn’t control himself, his spirit was diminishing, and he had no body, no free will. Even stepping into Bailong’s body, any unintended action made Qinglong anxious. His brash brother was more and more troubled with each day. Qinglong’s compliance and guilt had increased his determination.

Being a dragon, Qinglong had always been a lot stronger than he was, a snake. Now, it was up to him to save Qinglong, and he was determined to make it happen. However, Qinglong’s thoughts were in another direction, prompting in silence, “She would not make these preparations, only to leave us clueless. You are the most like her. Think. What would she do?”

Bailong was already emptying the pouch he had carried throughout the escape when he responded uncertainty, “not risk any important information in other’s hands?”

A part of him was still angry at their mother. She couldn’t tell others, but she could certainly tell them. If it were him making preparations for the future, he would ensure a safe passage, the right time, and sufficient, if not all, the information in the right hands. Bailong opened the bundle. The glass ball within it rolled away to the table’s end.

“This is not mother’s writing. It’s an old letter.” Qinglong sounded disappointed, but Bailong’s eyes ran through the words.

Hiraya, my sister in arms

I found what you were looking for. There are two methods to forge and break a soul bond. You already know the quickest method of making and breaking the soul bond. One of the alternate option to yours is Blessed Fire, I recently discovered. Both methods are an open invitation to death.

The better method is slow and long, but it is less dangerous. By my estimate, it needs one or two Crystals of Void and two blessed objects to transfer the soul. The soul to be blended must meet some conditions. To break the bond, one has to reverse this process, but the original body needs to be recovered in livable condition for the process to work.

Eternally grateful

Enya

“Qing.” Bailong called his brother's attention, pointing to the words ‘blessed fire.’ Qinglong did not answer for a moment. Bailong felt his heart race with Qinglong’s rising realization and anxiety. Eventually, the surprise and turmoil quieted and Qinglong asked, “What is a crystal of void?”

Bailong had no answer. He removed the letter to see other scrolls. The second was a letter as well.

Hiraya, my sister in arms

I am leaving this world soon and cannot help you anymore, nor can I wait for your messenger to come and find me for this letter. I am only taking my family with me, leaving my worldly possessions behind. You know the significant places and the significant clues. Keep them safe.

Farewell eternally

Enya

Bailong paused. Under the letter in his mother’s rushed writing were a few words.

Enya was the most powerful cultivator I ever knew. She travelled for knowledge. She kept journals and often left them back in places of significance. The Old Ruins is her resting place. Being there.

The third scroll was a drawing of 5 circular things, each with a name on them. He picked up the crystal and placed it next to the paper. Qinglong’s faint voice read the title, “Crystal of Void,” and added, “Mother wanted us to follow the safer method.”

Bailong did not respond or counter. With the realization that his mother hadn’t left them clueless all along, came the realization that he had two methods. A fervor rose in him. He rushed through the scrolls. There was another like it, titled- Blessed objects, with names of Immortal and the name of items against them. Behind it was image after image of a conch shell, an axe, a bell, a stone talisman, and so on.

Near the end was something more important than the first scroll.

Conditions for Soul Bonding

Mutual agreement between two beasts (always)

Without a mutual agreement, the bond is always volatile and will eventually kill one or both beasts. If no conditions are met, but they soul-bond with a mutual agreement- it will last a long time. The beast will be volatile, and no benefits for either beast.

Knock Knock.

Bailong quickly put everything in his pouch, tucking it in his new Kaizen robe. The door opened to an empty and dimly lit corridor behind Headmaster Wama. Despite his brother’s eyes, things were as dull as when he had his own eyesight. Was Qinglong’s sight gone?

Headmaster Wama towered over him, standing too close to the door, deep eyes hooded under the dim light, “I have an aide-in-training prepare a room for you. You can stay in Kaizen for as long as you want.”

“I am not looking to stay in Kaizen. There is something else that I want.”

Headmaster Wama gave a quick nod, sticking to his earlier commitment. Bailong stated his terms, “I want to head to the last resting place of Cultivator Enya.”

Headmaster Wama’s brows raised up, and the man stepped back into the dimly lit corridor, his features washed in the dull yellow glow, looking at him more clearly. What was Headmaster Wama seeking in his face? Regardless, the headmaster sighed suddenly and asked, “How much did Queen Hiraya tell you about Cultivator Enya?”

“To seek her journals is to seek answers.” He answered cryptically.

Headmaster Wama’s face grew more and more pinched, as if the mere idea of it was causing him an immense headache. Bailong watched silently. When the headmaster came out of his reverie, his face looked drained, age apparent in the way his usually broad and straight shoulders drooped. The lips on the tired face moved, asking, “is it to follow Prince Baolong’s path or to stop it?”

Qinglong’s anxiousness rose in the silence that followed the question. Bailong’s mind was realising from the sudden information this projected on the event of the past days and his search ahead. What did her resting place contain that made the Headmaster weary of him? A weapon of defeat? A powerful object? What did all this had to do with the Black Dragon? Could something in Cultivator Enya’s resting place help him defeat the Black Dragon? One thing was sure, Headmaster Wama had overestimated his knowledge of the matter and given away too much.

A small wave of excitement, a mild giddiness, rose in Bailong's chest, making his soul quiver even if his body didn’t. Qinglong remarked, “seems like soul bonding is not the only reason to visit the Old Ruins,” with the tone to match the hopefulness.

Bailong chose his answer carefully, “that depends on the usefulness of what I find there.”

Headmaster Wama asked in a cryptic tone, “fighting forbidden cultivation with forbidden cultivation is the only way forward?”

Headmaster Wama’s question told him more than he could have hoped for. For one, his uncle was using forbidden cultivation. Second. Cultivator Enya’s resting place had answers to soul-bond and perhaps other forbidden cultivations. Bailong could feel his concentration increasing as Qinglong's feelings became more and more frayed.

“No wonder he could overpower father and mother so quickly.” Qinglong sounded pained. Their father was a Spirit Emperor, a Suzerain for 100 years already by the time he was born and had later broken through to be a Supreme. Being born to a Spirit Emperor, his stability and control of spirit beast were already exceptional since a young age. After their father freed the Black Dragon from their grandfather, the late Dragon King’s shackles, he broke through the rank of Suzerain. The Black Dragon shouldn't have been able to overpower the Dragon King, but it did - and it even subdued his mother, who had the edge over their father in cultivation and birth. The screaming in his dreams filled his head. It hardened his resolve. A slow but sure path formed in Bailong’s head.

He turned away from the headmaster, walking back in, eyes changing, probing the future based on what he was about to say.

Once he reached the candlelight, he spoke up, “Headmaster Wama. Since we will be working together in the future, I will be open with you. You want Kaizen’s protection, and I want to help my family, which makes both of our goals the same. Getting back Aliferous.”

“You make it sound like you care about the throne,” Qinglong scoffed, making him smile. In his vision, Headmaster Wama opened the door, and someone unexpectedly stepped in. It surprised Qinglong as much as himself. “Why is she here? How is she here? Does SHE know?”

He heard the man behind him simultaneously, “It can only happen when Prince Baolong is dead,” and snapped back to reality, “with what he has been up to, he would stop at nothing to keep Aliferous for himself. And his greed won’t stop there.”

Bailong nodded, finding it hard t concentrate. His next words caught in his throat as overwhelming relief washed over him. He grit his teeth and turned, stealing his resolve to push back the wave of tears threatening to take over. He called with a quiver, “Then I would like to meet that person as quickly as possible. I haven’t seen her for years now.”

Headmaster Wama’s eyes widened, more at his eyes than at his words.

“You have the gift.”

Bailong shook his head, “not as pronounced as mother’s, or her’s, but I can tell she is coming. Should be here any moment now.”

Headmaster Wama smiled with a bright excitement that didn’t suit his grave demeanor and opened the door again. Sure enough, the woman stood there with a restrained smile. As much as she looked familiar, she didn’t, and yet, Bailong’s heart swelled. Combined with Qinglong’s emotions, tears were getting harder and harder to hold back. She nodded quickly to Headmaster Wama but swept past him with her arms open. Qinglong quipped in his own quivering voice, “you didn’t see that coming,” right before the arms engulfed him in a hug.

The tears he had held back, the pain in him spilled on her shoulder, but Bailong kept his back straight and called out the courtesy like they taught him to do in public, “Princess Hiwaga.”

She separated as quickly as she had stormed in. “What princess? That title was gone the day I left the islands. The last time I remember, nobody said anything more than Lady or Suzerain. I prefer aunt, though.”

She, too, had a tearful smile. Unlike him, none of her tears had spilled. Bailong took a staggering breath and bit his tongue to stop from breaking down. But as much as he wanted to cry, Qinglong laughed tearfully. He heard a faint retreat and looked up to see Headmaster Wama had left again. Qinglong sniffled. “At least he has some common courtesy.”

Lady Hiwaga whipped her tear-filled eyes and held him at arm’s length. “You look so much worse than the last time I saw you.”

But before Bailong could respond, she produced a small veil from her lapels and motioned for him to drink. Bailong paused, “where were you for the last so many years?”

He tried not to sound accusatory, but he couldn’t help it. She laughed, whispering just for his ears, “your mother stationed me here to keep an eye on the Black Dragon’s activity.”

Before he could overcome shock and ask more, she continued in a normal tone, “When I first realized that what was going to happen, I was too far away. It was already too late to save her. I rushed there immediately, but we could only hold back Illuthar from pursuing you to give you some breathing room. When he saw you about to reach here, I came back immediately. We can now only think of rescue methods.” as she said, she kept motioning for him to drink.

Qinglong’s anxiousness was rising with him. What was she doing? But his aunt continued talking, repeating the motion, “This is the last dose of your medicine. Your wounds yesterday were too heavy and too many, your stomach was empty. I don’t know how you survived that long by sheer will alone?”

Bailong looked at the vial, a pale white liquid with smoke like swirls in it. His aunt walked past him, using her finger to write in the table’s dust.

“Drink. It will align your souls.”

Qinglong’s anxiousness hit the roof. Bailong lost control of his hands. Qinglong gripped the vial tightly and slammed it on the table. Bailong felt dizzying. Being pushed off from his own body, an uneasy weightlessness washed over him. Qinglong took full control of his body. It had come instinctively. Bailong blinked, but his eyes did not move. He felt his brother’s amazement and surprise at the sudden shift. He was only getting used to shifting control consciously. Moment like these made them uneasy. He felt Qinglong tried to relent control. Bailong spoke urgently, “stay. I think she knows.”

Qinglong staggered and panted, leaning on his hand against the table. Qinglong agitation was palpable. Bailong calmly guided his brother’s thoughts, “talk to her and see if she catches it.”

Qinglong pressed his lips together like he did and spoke slowly but surely, copying his tone, “No.”

Lady Hiwaga shut her eyes, sighing and looking just like their mom for a second, kind and resigned; unlike their mom, though, the white snake mark on the side of her scalp was visible. The shaved off hair onto one side of her had made the mark stand out more.

She put back the vial in Qinglong’s hands and spoke about something else. “There are spies everywhere in the lands, even Kaizen, though less than in other places. We cannot trust many people. Talk to Wama. Princess Kamiko came a few days ago. Talk to her if you can. There are a few others we will talk about later.”

“Later?” Qinglong asked.

She shook her head, pointing her fingers all around. Bailong realized that someone was listening to them. Qinglong nodded, his hand wiping the dusty message, “where are you going?”

Bailong had deduced as much as he called, “come back. Let me talk to her.”

“I am going to assess the situation at Aliferous. I leave at dawn with a couple of trusted aides.”

Bailong snapped back into his body and frowned. If she was aware of eavesdropping, why did she say such a sensitive thing unless the plan was something else? He tested the waters. “I want to come along.”

“I cannot rescue Hiraya on my own. Of course you will come along, but for now, I need to go scout. I will come back by the Qualifiers, then all of us will talk in detail, and you can scold your mother as much as you like,” she sniggered in the end.

Qinglong snickered back in his head, “I plan to.”

Bailong felt uneasy, knowing he had to be here until the Qualifiers if he wanted to save his family. Also, there was a matter of Qinglong’s body. He wanted to tell her about the soul bonding condition, about Cultivator Enya. There was so much for them to talk about and time was short.

“Aunt. Qinglong…” Bailong could only start before his aunt cut him off, “I know. I saw. I am sorry that it happened, and it happened this way. If only we had known a little before, she could have saved you both, but Baolong is clever. He knows how to hoodwink our visions, which is why we have to be very careful now.”

Qinglong called, “she knows. She knows.”

Bailong’s chest ached, and a luminescent blue dragon burst out of him. Lady Hiwaga’s eyes teared up. This time, she stop them from spilling.

“You are mostly healed…” her voice was unsteady as her eyes fixed on Qinglong’s form, “this is the last dose. Keep it with you. Use it when you need it.” She tapped the veil in his hand and shifted to where Qinglong was, hand raised. But her hand didn’t touch Qinglong going past. Bailong thought he saw a tear escape his brother as his chest ached from the momentary relief and quick parting.

Bailong kept it in. Headmaster Wama knocked on the door. “It is time,” and Qinglong was gone again.

A second knock came, louder. And under its sound, she whispered close to his ear, “be weary of the Aides.”