The dark mansion belonging to Juin was as eerie as the owner himself — no guards at the gate, no workers within the courtyard, and certainly no butler at the door when Qingye walked into the dark mansion with only the moon reflecting on the surface, giving him light.
In his hand, he was dragging the burnt-up body of his father, Shen Tiang, the Lion of the West and a fortress many failed to destroy.
Qingye approached the curling staircase and stopped when he heard incoming footsteps — he knelt on the red carpet beneath the soles of his boots and lowered his head as Juin stepped next to him.
Juin's zeal couldn't be concealed no matter how hard he tried. He was dead, the great fortress was dead, and the Sect was almost his. "Well done, Qingye. I knew you wouldn't disappoint me," Juin said as he clapped his hands.
"Your command was to be carried out swiftly, my lord," Qingye said, the lifeless eyes he possessed gleaming red.
Juin rubbed his scruffy beard; his eyes fell to the ring on his hand and he let out a small whistle. The ring worked perfectly for a prototype — the man who had given it to him was surely not jesting when he told him that it contained one of the highest-ranked and protected techniques that could control the minds of people by tapping into their mind implants and overriding the commands with the ones you so desired to give.
"Indeed, but we have a pressing matter — the vacant seat of the Sect Master. I hereby appoint you today, Shen Qingye, my loyal herald, as the Sect Master..." Juin declared and stretched his arms out, his round belly jiggling with the gesture. "The Flame Emperor — with you as the head and me as the brains, we can conquer the entire world!"
"Agreed, my lord!" Qingye nodded at the statement.
The room suddenly became colder than it had been moments earlier — Juin tensed up as he felt the frosting bite creep up to him. He knew what was going on; he knew who had paid him a visit and, like Qingye who knelt to him, Juin got on his knees and lowered his head, facing the direction where the shadows were gathering in massive quantity.
Icy blue eyes stared at him from the shadows — the distance between the owner of said eyes and Juin being the veil of moonlight that splashed on the red carpet.
"I see. You have been successful," the shadow said.
Juin nodded. "Indeed, my lord, the item you gave me is such a wonderful tool. Might I ask for more?"
The shadow hummed for a second. "I don't see why not. You've proven to be a loyal asset to us and I can attest to your quick-witted thinking."
"Marvelous, my lord..." Juin smiled and got up... well, tried to get up.
"Prostrate yourself," the shadow said, and the room became heavy. The free-flowing air became heavy and Juin was forced onto the floor unceremoniously like a dog.
Juin looked up at the glowing eyes, sweat pouring from all of his pores and his teeth grinding against each other in contempt — he humbles himself, he devotes himself to the cause, and yet still the man standing before him treated him like an insect, one he'd trample over without any problems. The anger glistened like a sharp dagger within Juin's eyes. *One day, you crappy bastard... I'll kill you.*
The figure's eyes curved up in reminiscence of a smirk when he saw the powerlessness of the man kneeling before him. "Remember, Juin, we will not be happy until you get us Her! She's needed!" the man said, and the shadows started to fizzle out of existence until the moonlight reached every corner of the room; the presence of the man? Nowhere to be found.
Juin got to his feet after the man disappeared — he dusted the dirt from his silk bedwear and kicked the metal bar with so much force the metal croaked and craned itself to the side; his face was completely darkened, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes. "Damn bastard, I will make you pay!"
---
Gaia had already snuck within the Sect hospital and was making her way through the corridors to the room her mistress was in — she felt the ground shake and then stop, and she knew that the fight had concluded.
But who won?
She had no idea.
Gaia slipped into the room and walked to the machines that had been connected to Lian'er, and she looked at them, cussing her luck that she had such complicated machinery to work with. Despite the protest she had, she began her job and carefully disconnected the tubes from Lian'er, making sure not to wake her up — after what seemed like an eternity, while in reality being five minutes, Gaia was done.
She was about to reach for Lian'er's hand when the air in the room started to taste like gunpowder. She turned around as swift as her heel could support and saw Baihan standing at the door with his trademark ash surrounding him in waves.
Baihan eyed Gaia and his facial muscles tightened, his jaw becoming a bit more prominent. "What are you doing, Gaia?"
Gaia chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. "Would you believe me if I said I was instructed by the Sect Leader, your father, to take Lady Lian'er and escape?"
Baihan scoffed. "Father would never do that. Why would she even need to escape? This is her home — Heaven Archive Sect is her home as well as mine, and Qingye's and everyone else's but that lowlife."
Gaia's eyes narrowed at the last comment. "Lord Baihan, refrain from speaking about the young master that way — and it is the truth. Qingye was fighting your father when I left to come here."
Baihan's mask of anger slipped; his eyes slightly widened. "You are lying. Brother Qingye would never fight Father!"
Gaia shrugged. "You felt the ground shake earlier — that could only be caused by people in the Soul Bound realm, and we both know who some of them are in this Sect. As much as I would like to chat with you, Lord Baihan, I have to get going."
Gaia reached for Lian'er and was forced to retrieve her hand as a wave of ash cut through the floor and the wall.
She turned to face Baihan. "Lord Baihan, care to explain your intent behind that?"
Baihan shifted his head to the side, his dark tresses moving with it, and he squinted his eyes, pretending he did not know what she was talking about, and he made it clear by enunciating as such. "What are you talking about?"
Gaia breathed in and placed a hand on her sword — the attack from Baihan was a clear indication that she was not going to talk her way out of the situation she was stranded in. "Please forgive me," she said, and her implants and core released a wave of Neuro-Qi which created a blue circle beneath her feet; the circle spanned the entirety of the room and she moved.
"Ten Fold: Lightless Slash."
A move her young master, Yuanchen, helped create and mature; to Gaia she was paying tribute to her deceased master and love — she phased from sight, much to Baihan's shock, and in that moment when Baihan was shocked, Gaia appeared behind him, with her sword sheathed. A cut materialized on Baihan's ash and his torso; blood spilled on the floor and the man fell over.
Gaia looked at him; she had delivered a blow to his core with enough force to cause him to bleed but not to kill him.
She walked back to Lian'er and balanced the woman on her shoulders, wincing at her weight, and she leapt out of the window, shattering it in the process, and they disappeared into the night.