The cave slowly began to lose its shadows as a soft, bright light began to illuminate it, emanating from the ceiling.
The vision was still blurry, however, growing clearer with each passing moment.
Taixuan's eyes darted from one point to another as he checked his body from head to toe.
Despite having his body constrained under the strength of a mythical beast—who couldn't be seen anymore—he could not feel an ounce of pain in his body.
Although, he could still feel the blood trickling down his face, eventually falling down to the ground.
"What... was that...?"
He was confused.
It was true that the mythical beast was truly present there right in front of his eyes and his blood was the very proof of that.
However, it didn't make sense for it to simply disappear after saying something as absurd—that it would allow him to take its core that easily.
It just didn't make any sense to him.
But that was until his vision became clear.
Skeletons. Countless skeletons lay one over another, forming a mountain of crimson painted bones.
Below, the ground was completely drowned in small ponds of blood, plaguing the air with its thick metallic stench.
It wasn't something new for him, in fact, even this much bloodshed looked like a child's play to him—since he had witnessed scenes that made this one look cute in comparison.
Suddenly, he caught a faint cerulean glow radiating atop the mountain of degraded corpses from the corner of his eyes.
The next instant, a familiar voice once again rang inside his mind.
"Beware Taixuan... I do not wish for you to fall for greed, nor do I want to harm a broken soul such as you."
It was the sound of the beast snake that had mysteriously vanished into thin air after having a small conversation with him.
"Climb the bones only if you agree to my proposal, since only then will I allow you to take the core. However, you may simply return and never come back otherwise."
Upon hearing this, Taixuan fell silent. He pondered for several minutes, slowly drifting into a realm of his own.
'Will... I be able to protect the child?'
'What if... I... Fail again?'
Questions sprang inside his mind, slowly pushing him towards the edge of his sanity.
His body began to slightly tremble as a cold sensation pierced through his chest, letting cold sweat form over his palm and forehead.
'I... I'm afraid... To lose someone... Again...'
The edge of the cliff slowly began to crumble apart, threatening to fall any second while his feet grew numb.
"I..." Just as he was trying to save himself, a familiar, or should I say, the voice that he missed the most, suddenly resurfaced in his mind in the form of a small fragment of a memory.
***
A small child's face came into his mind, a boy—barely 4 years old—who inhabited the smile as bright as the sun and eyes as beautiful as the moon, sitting on
His eyes set on Taixuan's face while a smile playfully tugged itself onto his face.
"Fa..ther?" he spoke as he split words into two, trying to slowly think and say them out loud correctly.
"Hmm?"
The child burst out into playful chuckles and rolled in his arms while slowly stretching his small hands as far as he could around his chest, hugging him tightly as if seeking comfort in his presence.
"I.. ho..pe you... wil for..evar.. be widh me.."
Taixuan smiled, and slowly placed his head onto the child's head, letting his fingers slide through his hair while affectionately patting his head.
"Of course... I will forever be with my Wusheng!"
***
With a sudden tremble pulsing through his body, he returned to reality with a faint gasp and heavy breaths.
His hand clasped his chest tightly, as if it was trying to hold something else—that wasn't even there.
His eyes darted from one direction to the other, craving for a single glimpse. A single glimpse of what he once proudly called his world.
However, he soon realized that it was nothing more than a dream and slowly let his gaze fall to the ground.
Gritting his teeth tightly and turning his raging emotions into a blazing fire, he moved his feet forward with not a single ounce of hesitation.
Maybe it was because he missed his son.
Maybe it was because he wanted to see even the slightest reflection of his dead world in the mythical snake's child.
Or maybe his actions were driven by his rage and hunger for revenge.
Whatever the reason may be, Taixuan simply began climbing the mountain of bones.
In a matter of seconds, he stood atop of the mountain. And in front of his eyes, lay the very thing he was looking for.
A beast core almost quadruple the size of normal, shimmering in a bright cerulean glow. Behind, there lay a small white egg—almost like that of a chicken, except it was several times bigger and covered in small white scales like the very skin of the snake.