Zai: "….let me explain to you the system of our abilities here because there seems to be a lot you don't know," he said in a serious tone, making sure she knew enough for them to fulfill their plan.
Lana: "Flames set intentions and ignite certain vibrations, emotions, and desires… while you Swans manifest it into something in reality?
—Did I get that right?"
"Yeah…." He scratched his head, thinking of how to explain it to her.
"In the Eclipse Forest, Swans and Flames live in resonance. Each is a vessel of power alone, but together they become mirrors that amplify each other."
Lana crossed her arms and caressed her chin with her fingers, squinting her eyes.
Her expression made Zai think she didn't quite get it.
"Hmmmmm.." he thought for a second.
"You can imagine it like… like Swans are a bowl of water that lets energy float and dance in them freely. Like a space or domain that constantly accepts energy in different forms. And you Flames are energy yourselves.
So when you enter our space with your strong vibrations, it ignites something inside of us.
Like you become one with the domain…
One with us, and us with you.
Our domain amplifies your energy, and you amplify our domain with your energy."
"Ughh," he groaned.
"Does that even make sense?" He shrugged.
"No no! I get it… seriously," Lana said, assuring him that she got the point.
Then—
Mother Glowfang walked towards the puddle, ready to immerse herself in it.
"No no no no!!" Lana and Zai shouted in sync.
She and her pups flinched in surprise.
She tilted her head, then continued to walk forward, lifting her legs, ready to step in the puddle.
"STOP!" Lana shouted, frustrated and scared, as she summoned her dagger.
Zai's eyes darted around, thinking quickly. Then, in the heat of the moment, he caught Lana's wrist.
"Quick, ignite warning flames now!" he said as he started pulling her, running all around the puddle.
Lana was confused at first but trusted he had a plan and reason, so she did her part without wasting a second questioning.
She took a breath and dug deep inside her love and desire to protect, not wanting to see the soul of a mother and her pups dip themselves in poison and drown in the shadow's will as their glow slowly withered and faded.
She ignited golden flames.
Her entire body was covered with it as if she was a flame herself.
They ran continuously around the puddle.
Golden flames set ablaze,
like a fiery ring circling around it.
She gradually got faster in speed,
so fast until Zai couldn't even keep up.
He let go of her hand and fell to the ground with a loud thud.
He raised his gaze and saw the blaze rising higher.
He narrowed his eyes and smirked at the sight, proud. "There she goes."
The pups went behind their mother's leg, hiding with bubbly, scared eyes.
While her eyes started to reflect the golden glow of the flames,
her horns tuned in, then glowed the same, and she started stepping back little by little.
"Umm… Lana, I think she got the hint… you can stop running now!" Zai shouted in worry, because it seemed like she was a wheel that didn't know how to stop — and whoever came close could get swept away by it.
Zai came closer with hesitation and reached out his hand towards her… "Deep breaths, Zai… deep breaths!" he said, calming himself.
Then he quickly pulled his hand back.
"Nope, I'm not doing this!"
He got frustrated, his mind racing, trying to think of a way to stop her.
Then it hit him — he could use his domain expansion, the one he talked about, that lets flames float around in it.
He closed his eyes and sighed.
"Can I even do it?!… never mind, now's not the time to hesitate," he thought to himself.
"You leave me no choice," he muttered.
He closed his eyes, drawing his hand in a circular motion,
resting one palm above the other.
Wind started flowing around him,
and light emitted from between his palms.
"Come on, come on…" he thought in his mind.
The light started glowing more.
Then he opened his eyes a bit and took a peek
and saw Lana's flame blaze turning into shades of orange with threads of red.
All the Glowfangs around that were already in the puddles got scared.
They got out of the liquid, alert, hiding their little ones behind them.
"Shit, I can't do this!" he freaked out.
The glow faded instantly.
He came closer to her blaze, his arms twitching as he looked at it.
It was as if she wasn't even there.
He couldn't sense her or see her.
His eyes widened in worry.
"LANA!" he shouted, his voice cracking, realizing the mess they were in.
Then, without wasting a second,
he channeled his energy from deep within and all around him.
He drew his hand in a circular motion again,
so swiftly, closing his eyes,
emitting huge essence and a glow beaming from his core, and wind dancing around him.
Creating a space like a bubbled domain expansion,
slightly bigger than the puddle's size.
The wind settled, the light scattered and spread evenly in the space,
with water-like particles flowing around.
It was like a bubble surrounded the area,
almost as if he had entered a different reality —
where there was pure pond water flowing instead of the liquid poison.
Its surface sparkled as if it were reflecting the moonlight.
📖 This reality is called the Swan's Pond.
Every Swan has their own pond —
their own energy bubble.
It can be purifying and peaceful,
but it can also be deadly and harmful
if the shadows manage to wrap their arms around a Swan and make them one of their army.
The pond expanded, and the moment Lana's flame came in contact with the space,
she got swept away. Her blaze disappeared instantly,
just like how a leaf would get swept away by a tornado.
She levitated and floated unconscious, her eyes closed,
her body an entire flame blazing and flickering between human form and flaming form like a glitch.
Zai opened his eyes, seeing this sight,
his breath shaking in relief that it worked, yet he was worried because the situation was not under control.
His body trembled from using up a lot of his essence.
Even his domain started flickering, almost as if it was fading,
switching between realities, glitching.
Lana's body fixed itself in human form,
still floating above the puddle.
Zai's pond disappeared, switching back to the reality where the puddle was poison.
As soon as that happened, Lana fell into the puddle with a loud thud, splashing the liquid.
Slowly drowning to the base of the puddle.
Without wasting a second, Zai started running towards her to pull her out of the poison.
"LANA!" he screamed her name with desperation as he ran, panting.
He splashed the water with his hands as he got into the puddle, his eyes darting.
He dipped in the liquid, resisting its thickness and feeling its sting on his skin.
It also felt as if his vision was getting blurry.
He spotted a faint white light that got brighter the closer he got to it.
He rushed towards it, knowing it was Lana.
He caught her arms, held her close, and pulled her up to the surface.
He was gasping for air, his entire body wet and trembling.
He looked at her — she was still unconscious.
Then the liquid started emitting dark essence.
The illusion had been shattered.
He quickly put her on his back and walked away from the puddle.
Until he reached the ground, he dropped her gently and leaned against the earth,
still gasping for air.
After that, all the Glowfangs around realized the illusion in the puddle had faded,
revealing its dark essence.
The mother Glowfang came close to Lana and Zai, who were on the ground.
She whimpered and softly nudged Lana with her nose.
Her eyes narrowed, squinting in worry.
Zai lifted himself, his arms shaking and his eyes hardly opening.
They were slightly red in color because of the effect of the liquid.
"Lana," he said in a low tone, his voice showered in pain.
He came closer to her. He barely moved his arms in a circular motion, trying to activate his healing abilities, but he couldn't.
His body was too exhausted.
"Please… wake up." Tears started to drop from his eyes as he clenched his jaw.
Then he came even closer. His necklace dangled from his neck and slightly touched her skin.
And the moment it did, her skin started turning white in the area that the glass bead on the necklace touched.
Zai noticed that. His eyes widened as he gave a surprised breath.
He pulled back the pearl, no longer touching her.
The white color faded slowly.
Then—
Her fingers twitched.
Zai noticed that. "Lana!?"
The moment the Glowfang laid eyes on the glass bead, her eyes widened,
and her jaw clenched,
her heart beating faster,
as if she remembered a distant memory of someone who once helped them too.
Then she sat beside them with her pups, and all the other Glowfangs came closer as well.
They lit their horns in aqua blue/turquoise,
all together.
The color was faint, just like their weak bodies,
but they were still determined to help.
A deep resonance echoed from their throats,
making a sound that you could feel in your bones.
It traveled, shimmering like—
All of them combined their energy and vibration, as weak as it was.
But when they were in unity, their vibrations combined, releasing strong essence.
Zai's body shivered.
Still holding Lana, his body weak and his eyes barely open.
He felt their energy calm him down,
until he closed his eyes and laid on the ground beside Lana.