The Vermillion Bird's Ashes

Shanghai, One Week After the Azure Dragon possession

The Qing-era mansion stood frozen in time, its vermilion pillars and latticework windows preserved behind glass in the heart of Shanghai's French Concession. Once the home of a scholar-official, it now served as the Museum of Forgotten Histories, its halls crowded with Manchu headdresses and moth-eaten silk scrolls.

Li Chen pressed his palm against the display glass, the jade pendant humming against his chest.

"This is it," he muttered. "The Second Altar."

Xia Ling leaned against a porcelain vase, her electric-blue hair clashing with the museum's muted tones. "Let's hope this star's less dramatic than the last one. I'm still finding riverweed in my boots."

Li Chen ignored her. He didn't want to remember anything related to those creatures.

Tracing the pendant's glow, they found themselves to a restricted stairwell labeled *ARCHIVES*. He touched the walls and the Vermilion Bird's presence prickled his skin—a dry, feverish heat that made his lungs ache.

He took back his arm, now blistered by scorching heat.

"Should we go now?

He asked Xia Ling. From the time he had met her to now, there was a huge change in how he thought of her. Now he treated her like a mentor because she is always right. And she knows everything. She can pick locks, hack in machinery, repair scooters and mopads and even knew how to sing.

He truly wondered how she learnt all this. They should be the same age and yet she had surpassed him in so many things, meanwhile all he could do was to draw but she could also do that.

That's why, now before doing things, he likes to take her suggestions. Especially in matters of the mystical.

"Can you survive the heat? Your arm looks medium rare."

"I am planning to use water to dissipate the effects of the heat. That should be enough according to Old Wei."

Li Chen proclaimed. Since bonding with the Azure Dragon, his senses had sharpened unnervingly: he could taste storms brewing in the humidity, hear the city's heartbeat in its power lines. But the Dragon's power came at a cost. His sketchbook was filled with half-remembered faces, his mother's voice reduced to static.

And now he also had new nightmare where Auntie Mei's words haunt him:

"You're changing, Xiao Chen. You feel… colder."

Li Chen had been avoiding Auntie Mei since he lost his memories. Old Wei had promised him that he would be keeping an eye for hee safety and had even put some traps and golems to protect her.

This was done so that Li Chen could leave with a peace of mind and would have less things that he could be taken advantage of.

"Okay then..."

"The Chosen One is here to take what he owns!" Xia Ling picked the stairwell's lock with a hairpin, her words may have their cheesiness but her smirk was brittle. Her brother's curse was worsening—black veins now crept past his collarbone—and her desperation hung between them like a blade.

Azure Dragon unfortunately not helpful in removing the curse. Old Wei had said that he will look into the other side to see if someone knows what to do. Except with the syndicate members on their backs, even if he did get some help, it would be difficult to convince them to operate on her brother because everyone except Li Chen knew what that curse meant.

Li Chen was not told and neither was he allowed to ask. He was the cornerstone of the battle and he should not be contact with any information that could be used against him.

Even Xia Ling, in all her desperation, understood that.

---

The basement was a crypt of dust and shadows. Cobwebs draped over crates of Qing-era tax records, and the air smelled of decayed ink. At the center of the room stood a circular mosaic of shattered tiles—a phoenix mid-flight, its wings edged in faded gold.

"Charming," Xia Ling said, kicking a rat skeleton. "Where's the firebird?"

Li Chen stepped onto the mosaic. The pendant erupted in crimson light, and the floor *melted*, plunging them into a desert of black sand beneath a blood-red sky. Heatwaves distorted the horizon, where a colossal obsidian tower pulsed like a heart.

"Why me too?"

"""Welcome, Li Chen."""

The voice was a chorus of screams and whispers. The Vermilion Bird materialized—a skeletal phoenix wreathed in ghostly flames, its hollow eyes leaking smoke.

"You seek my flame. What will you burn for it?"

Xia Ling drew her knife. "We're not here to play riddles, BBQ chicken."

The Bird's gaze snapped to her. "Ah, the thief. Your brother's soul is already half-mine. Shall I take the rest?"

Xia Ling froze. "How do you know about—"

"The stars see all. Even your petty betrayals."

Before Li Chen could react to understand the situation, the vision struck.

---

"""The Sacrifice: A Memory of Love""""

[He was seven again, crouched under Auntie Mei's kitchen table. Rain lashed the noodle shop's windows, and the scent of pork broth and ginger filled the air. A cake sat on the counter—store-bought, slightly lopsided—with a single candle. Auntie Mei knelt, her calloused hands cupping his face. "Happy birthday, Xiao Chen. Make a wish."]

[He blew out the candle. For the first time since his parents' death, he felt safe.]

The Vermilion Bird's voice slithered through the memory: """This is your offering. The first time you believed you could be loved. Relinquish it.""""

Li Chen recoiled. "No. This is mine. This shall not be the offering. I choose what I want to sacrifice."

"""Indeed. You can. Consent is the key. But if you are thinking that that mute coin will save you this time, you are wrong."""

"""Fire cannot exist without sacrifice. No flame is eternal and I want this memory. Just this one. Come on give it to me. You can't even do that for her. Burn this memory, or watch the thief's brother die! Hihihihihihihihejehe""""

The vision shifted: Xia Ling's brother, began convulsing in his hospital bed, his skin cracking like charred paper. Xia-Ling begging on her knees, her defiance shattered.

The vision twisted even more. Xia Ling's brother, Jin, writhed on a hospital bed, his veins blackened. The Hungry Dark coiled around him, whispering: "Give me the star, and he lives." Xia Ling screamed, clawing at the shadows.

The Bird appear beside Li Chen, tearing his eyes with the visages of the flame.

""""Your lover would kill herself if her brother died. So you want that? Do you truly want that? Look at her face. Look how she is crying! Begging! So pitiful. So sorrowful. Do you want it to happen? Are you allowing it to happen? You have a choice. A chance.""""

""""Are you going to let her die because you couldn't even give up a small memory of so long ago? You want her to die? No you don't. I can feel the heat of your one sided affection. A yearning, so innocent and pure. And yet here you are, let her die!""""

""""Look at her. Look at her burning corpse. Look at how she hangs. Look at those blank eyes as she fell to her death. Don't you want to see her happy? Does that look like the face of happiness to you? Don't avert your eyes. Look at her eyes. Look at how she is begging me to release her brother.""""

""""You will save her, right?"""""

"Li Chen, please save me brother—"

He closed his eyes. "Take it."

""""Hahahahahahaha, attachment is the most wonderful fuel, it burns you inside out. Now you are feeling like me. Now you are worthy of me. hihihihjihihihi""""

"""""And don't worry, I won't play trickery like that dragon. I will just take this one instead of his life, his curse isn't from me. I can do nothing for it. I have given you the clue though, find the answer and soothe our burning. Let us burn in her yearning."""""

The memory ignited—Auntie Mei's smile, the cake's vanilla scent, the warmth of belonging—all consumed by the Bird's flames. Agony seared his nerves, and when he opened his eyes, the desert was gone.

This time he remembered what had happened in his trial.

He looked at the Altar and the mosaic now glowed crimson, its phoenix restored. Li Chen's veins flickered with amber light, and the basement's air rippled with heat.

Xia Ling stared at him. "What did you give it?"

"Nothing important," he lied.

"Old Wei was right, the rest of the stars are really easy."

"Should we try this one your brother. This should work, right?"

"I don't know. Stars aren't something I can completely trust."

Xia Ling nonchalantly spoke and they left the area after she locked the door like it was before.

"Should we move the guards to somewhere else?" [Li Chen]

"No need to. They will leave once they wake up." [Xia Ling]

---

They emerged into the museum's courtyard, dusk painting the skyline in bruised purples. The pendant's heat had faded, replaced by a hollow ache in Li Chen's chest. He looked at Xia Ling who was talking about her plans for the next day, barely noticing the black SUV idling across the street until its doors slammed open.

She did though.

"Not you again!"

Kai stepped out, his left arm bandaged from their last clash, his right crackling with black energy. Six Syndicate operatives fanned out behind him, faces hidden behind mirrored visors.

"The Bird's fire suits you, boy," Kai said, his voice a serpent's hiss. "But you're still a child striking matches."

"Says the coward that ran away."

Xia Ling ignited a smoke grenade, shrouding the courtyard in gray. "Run!"

They fled into the labyrinth of the French Concession, neon signs blurring overhead. Li Chen's flames lashed out instinctively—molten tendrils melting dumpsters into slag and flinging towards the syndicate, forcing them to scatter. But Kai was relentless, leaping between rooftops with inhuman speed, his corrupted star devouring anything that was thrown at him.

"You can't outrun the inevitable!" Kai hurled a bolt of black lightning, searing a crater into the pavement in front of them.

Li Chen pivoted, channeling the Vermilion Bird's power into a whip of flame. It clashed against Kai's lightning in a thunderous explosion, shattering storefront windows. Xia Ling tackled him into an alley as debris rained down upon them.

"We need to split up," she was panting. That was not normal since they haven't ran more than a few kilometres.

"I'll lead him east. You—"

"No." Li Chen gripped her wrist. "We finish this together."

Her mask slipped—fear, guilt, something softer—before she smirked. "You're getting sentimental, Chen. Don't. This will become a weakness for you."

Another bold whizzed past them. Kai was not finished with them. Then Kai left. So did the syndicate.

"What happened?" [Li Chen]

"Don't know. Don't care. Let's leave and not get involved into further trouble."

---

They regrouped at The Iron Chrysanthemum, the tea shop's windows boarded up after the Syndicate's last visit. Old Wei treated Xia Ling's burns with a salve that smelled of crushed chrysanthemums and regret.

She was indeed injured, poisoned actually, and of the kind that even her accelerated healing was useless against.

"They know what they were dealing with and prepared for you beforehand. Once you are taken out, he is easy to handle."

"I know. I will be more prepared." [Xia Ling]

Xia Ling calmly muttered while staring at the murals on the ceiling.

*Sigh*

"You are not the one at fault. We are all scattered and too few in number. There's just so much that we can provide in support."

Old Wei continued.

"The Syndicate's hunting the Starbound," he said, brewing pu'er over a cracked stove.

"I know that. Here's one starbound adding sugar to his tea. He was attacked today. I was there. I know."

She said in a dejected whimper. An entire world. The entire world was in danger and yet the forces still didn't thought that this was the right time to group up and help those that can save it.

But nah. Here they were, hiding and biding their time, all in greed and waiting for his demise.

"I contacted descendants of the Veil Sect. One of them reached out—a neurologist named Dr. Zhou. She can shield his mind from the stars'… and hunger."

"I'm fine." Li Chen while showing his flames, a sign that he had everything under his control.

"You. Are. Not." Old Wei slammed a cup onto the table. "The Azure Dragon took your past. The Vermilion Bird took your heart. What's left after the next star? A shell?"

Xia Ling perked up at Old Wei's retort.

"Your heart? Didn't you say it was nothing much?"

"It wasn't. It was just a memory that I had nearly forgotten about and I chose to sacrifice it myself"

"You could have showed resistance. Your Ancestors would have helped you. Even if you didn't fulfill the deal, the coin would have made things easier. That is what it was made for."

Old Wei said.

"We can't—, We don't have a choice. My brother—"

"Your brother is already dead. Accept it," Old Wei said softly. "The curse is a death sentence. You're chasing a ghost."

She lunged, knife at his throat. "Say that again."

Li Chen caught her arm. "Stop."

The knife clattered to the floor. Xia Ling fled into the night. Old Wei silently looked.

"You sh-"

Before Old Wei can finish his words, Li Chen was already gone.

"It was not nothing much lad, you have lost a lot—"

"—but something else is taking its place now."

---

After searching for a while,

Li Chen found Xia Ling on the rooftop of a condemned apartment building, her knees drawn to her chest. The city sprawled below them, a sea of light and noise.

"He's wrong," she said. "Jin's still breathing. I just need one more star."

Li Chen sat beside her. "What's the curse like?"

At his words, she visibly hesitated a bit before giving a simple explanation of it.

"It's like… something's eating him from the inside. He coughs up black ash. Says he dreams of a 'hungry dark.'"

The words triggered the memory of the trial without him thinking. As if something wanted to resurface.

"We'll fix this. At the end of the day, it is related to stars and I am the answer to it all," Li Chen said.

Xia Ling laughed bitterly. "You don't even know why you're helping me."

"I don't. I don't need to. And I have sacrificed too much to stop now."

He did. And he will sacrifice even himself if he can grant her a happy world.

"I wonder what else we have to sacrifice the next time. And the next next time."

Xia Ling slowly murmured. Li Chen did not have an answer to that.

"Let's go, there are too many mosquitoes here."

Xia Ling cheerfully leaped off the 12 storey building and hopped towards the tea shop. Li Chen silently looked at her graceful figure. He then looked down.

"En. I don't think I can jump and survive unscathed."

He could fly with his powers but he took the stairs and arrived at the tea house to see Xia Ling waiting outside the inn.

"I forgive you. Now come eat, we have work at dawn."

Old Wei's voice came from inside the shop.

"I forgive you as well. You know, people can get angry at the disrespect of the dead. Don't do it next time. What's for dinner tonight?"

She opened the door and haughtily sat down to eat.

"You are not coming?"

She asked with half her mouth full of food.

"I am going to meet Auntie Mei."

"Right now?"

"Yeah."

"Wait for me then. Give me a minute and I will finish everything."

"Take your time. I can wait a few minutes."

"Ohkhaaaayyh"

Ignoring the girl who was stuffing herself like a whale, Old Wei looked at Li Chen.

"Would you like to see her picture?"

"I would. Can you tell me her birthday and anniversary dates?"

Old Wei took a few pictures from the drawer and passed onto Li Chen.

"It's written on the back. I thought you might need them someday. Take some food with you, she might not have prepared for two people."

Li Chen looked at the pictures of the person he couldn't remember. He flipped one of them and it had a simple quote - Memories are created, happiness is found, attachments are what makes life worth living...

"Thanks."

---

At dawn, they met Dr. Zhou in her clinic near Jing'an Temple. Her clinic was eerie. The walls were lined with MRI scans and ancient star charts. Dr. Zhou herself was a paradox—a woman in her forties with the surgeon's hands and a scholar's eyes, her hair streaked with premature white.

"The stars are parasites," she said, injecting Li Chen with a serum that chilled his veins. "They feed on memories, emotions, *identity*. This will dull the hunger… for a time. I hope this helps you in your journey."

"Thank you."

Li Chen gave a slight bow to Dr Zhou and was then sent outside.

"Can you cure the Syndicate's curse?"

Zhou's gaze darkened at her question. "The curse isn't the Syndicate's work. It's the Hungry Dark's mark. Your brother is just a gateway."

Xia Ling frowned. Before Dr Zhou could explain, the clinic's windows shattered. Syndicate operatives rappelled outside, guns blazing.

Li Chen immediately entered the clinic, invoking a fire barrier that stopped the bullets.

"I am sorry! I thought they were clowns for a children show."

He immediately spoke while inspecting for any signs of injuries on Xia Ling... and Dr Zhou. Xia Ling had a few bullet wounds that were healing at rapid rate. Dr Zhou was completely fine as she was shielded by Xia Ling.

"Now's not the time for confrontations."

Dr. Zhou gave them a cellphone and shoved them toward a hidden door. "Go! The Third Altar is in the Oriental Pearl Tower—the White Tiger's domain! "

"Aahh, he is here."

Before Xia Ling could can even finish, Kai burst through the door, his corrupted star warping the air. "No more running, little Cartographer."

Except when he came Li Chen unleashed the Vermilion Bird's flames and eviscerated the entire courtyard, trapping him in molten lava and earth. The next moment, winds blew and the surroundings dried.

His powers worked on emotions and he wasn't happy now.

"That should stop him for a while." [Xia Ling]

"Yeah..."

Xia Ling's voiced echoed reason in Li Chen as he began to calmed down.

"Let's go. Remember to call me." [Dr Zhou]

Dr Zhou said while showing the way. They escaped and went their separate ways while the the clinic burned behind them.

"Zhou said Jin's a gateway," she whispered. "What does that mean?"

Xia Ling's hands trembled as they boarded the metro.

"Old Wei might know the answer or at least know someone who does."

Li Chen tried to console her. He succeeded.

"That's true. We just need to find the people who know about it. We also got the location of the next star. Dr Zhou knows about it as well and we have her cell, we will definitely get an answer to his curse."

"Should be. Old Wei said that with two stars taken care off, we have a few more months before the stars go berserk."

....

"Did you find the others?"

"Proceed with them first. This one is being protected by Wei. You won't be able to do anything."

"That traitor!"

"Seethe your anger and show it in your task. We need to acquire the rest. Free me and the world will yours, or wait till it's mine."

Above them, the sky darkened—not with clouds, but with a creeping absence of light. As if it was devoured out of the sky.