The serpent's roar still echoed across the cliffs when the Grand Elder straightened, his expression carved from equal parts awe and relief.
He pressed his fists together once more, though this time the gesture carried less formality and more humility.
"Enough. No more tests. Sovereign-Slayer… Ash Embercoil… the Poison Lotus Clan welcomes you as an honored guest."
At his command, the ring of cultivators lowered their blades and bowed. The venomous haze that had once threatened to choke the air dissipated, pulled back into their dantians like tide retreating from the shore.
Felicity shimmered faintly in my bloodstream, her voice a low murmur. They fear you now, Master. But this bow… it carries something else. Desperation.
I said nothing, merely folding my hands behind my back as the Grand Elder stepped forward. His eyes, though respectful, carried a shadow.
"Come with us," he rumbled, his jade aura dimmed. "You will understand soon enough."
The procession wound through ravines thick with lotus ponds, each bloom shedding faint poisonous mist that shimmered under the moon. Yet beneath the natural beauty there was something… wrong.
Where the Poison Lotus Clan's territory should have radiated abundance and verdancy, was instead choked with patches of blackened vines and wilted stalks. Even the poison lotus flowers, famed for their resilience, drooped on their stems.
We passed cultivators hunched over with feverish skin. Some coughed into rags that came away stained green. Others sat cross-legged in meditation circles, desperately circulating Animus only for dark blotches to bloom across their veins like ink in water.
The air itself felt sick.
Felicity stirred uneasily. Master… this isn't poison. It's something worse.
At last we reached the Poison Lotus Palace, its jade spires dulled, its gardens guarded not with pride but with worry. The Grand Elder halted, his voice dropping to a grave whisper as he turned toward me.
"For months now, a blight has spread through our roots. Our Plant-binders and poison Lotus alchemists—none can heal it. Not even our most ancient techniques of purification. The plague grows stronger, feeding on our own Animus."
His jaw clenched, eyes sharp as thorns.
"That is why I tested you, Sovereign-Slayer. Not for pride, not for blood. But because the Poison Lotus Clan needs hope. Tell me…" His voice faltered just enough to betray the weight of desperation.
"…can you help us?"
The Grand Elder's plea still hung in the air when Felicity's voice stirred in my veins, low and urgent.
Master… I know what this is.
I did not move, only let my gaze linger on the wilted lotus gardens as I answered her in silence. Tell me.
Her tone sharpened. This isn't natural decay, nor a failed alchemical brew. The source isn't plant-born at all—it's alive. There's a creature in this region, hiding beneath the soil and rivers, feeding on the clan through their roots and blood. A Blood Beast.
My chest tightened. A Blood Beast?
Yes. A parasite that twists the lifeblood of all it touches. And only a silver-blooded phagel can create one.
My mind snapped like flint against steel, sparks flying. Lord Imperion… The name scalded my thoughts. That ancient hand reached further than I'd imagined, seeding plagues to test his reach.
Felicity's tone dropped, colder now. If we can track this beast and slay it, the poison will lift. But if it does not—if the corruption has spread too deep—there is only one other path.
I felt her hesitation through the bond, a flicker of uneasement. Something rare for her. I would need to seed them, Master. Mark them with my own Silver Blooded phagel essence. It would cleanse the corruption—but it would also bind them. To me. To you. Forever.
I let the thought settle, heavy as an executioner's axe. The Poison Lotus Clan, proud and ancient, brought low by a hidden beast. Their salvation—either through a hunt in the dark, or through Felicity's silver flame, a brand of loyalty deeper than oaths.
And all of it traced back to Imperion's shadow.
I exhaled slowly, letting my gaze drift back to the Grand Elder, who still waited, hope trembling at the edges of his voice.
"…Very well," I murmured, fire catching in my eyes. "Let us see how deep this plague goes."
I turned to Grand Elder Zhang, letting the weight of my gaze settle over him.
"The plague afflicting your people… it is not of soil, nor of failing alchemy," I began, voice firm yet calm. "A creature is responsible—a Blood Beast. A predator borne of Silver-Blooded phagels, invisible to all but those who track life at the Animus level. It spreads its corruption through microscopic spores, poisoning your kin from within."
The elder's hands clenched, his face paling. "A Blood Beast?!? What manner of creature—"
I cut him a reassuring glance. "Fear not. By dawn, it will be no more. Felicity and I will hunt it, and your people will be safe."
He nodded shakily, bowing deeply. I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Stay inside your wards. Do not panic. This plague cannot touch me."
Felicity's voice slithered into my mind, serene yet tinged with deadly focus. I can track it, Master. Its scent is strong. Follow my lead.
With a slight nod, I launched.
The night became a blur. Air hissed past my feathers as I ripped across the terrain at speeds exceeding three hundred fifty miles per hour. My Raptor Feathers compressed wind qi into flight essence, the cloud step technique letting me leap hundreds of feet with each leap, feathers catching nothing but the air and the streak of moonlight. Felicity resided in my blood stream, her silver-blooded sense of smell guiding me through my own nostrils.
We moved as one, my senses guided by hers. The subtle stench of rot and corrupted blood marked the creature's path through the forested hills and misted valleys. Each inhalation brought me closer, each exhalation charged with anticipation.
And then we arrived.
The Blood Beast awaited in a ruined clearing, a shapeless nightmare made flesh. Its body writhed like living liquid metal, red veins of corruption snaking across a black, viscous mass. It twisted and elongated, morphing—limbs stretching impossibly, maws splitting open where none should exist, tendrils lashing out with preternatural speed. It moved with chaotic precision, a thing alive yet unbound by any normal anatomy.
Felicity hissed softly in my mind, Master… it's more dangerous than I imagined.
I felt the microscopic spores drift on the wind, invisible but potent. My Animus flared in response, shielding me. The corrupted air sought to penetrate my body, but the bond with Felicity held it at bay, a silver tide of protection wrapping me like armor.
I clenched my fists, eyes narrowing as the monster shifted, forming a new appendage to strike, then vanishing into an amorphous puddle, only to reform meters away. Morph-like… unpredictable… deadly.
"By dawn," I muttered under my breath, voice carrying over the quiet clearing, "you will be nothing."
With a single, coiled leap, I rocketed toward the Blood Beast, flames licking my wings as Felicity followed close behind, silver tendrils slicing the air. The hunt had begun, and the night would tremble beneath the wrath of Ash Embercoil.