Reol-Je stomped on the ground as its carapace slammed against Han-Xi's horns. Nao-Zai met with An-Ri who still bore the crystal tears. Above them, the sky had darkened into a blood-red shade as if responding to the hostile presence. A shadow brushed over them and Chai-Song's train of feathers folded in like a fan. Behind them, the clangs of horns against shell was loud.

The fowl's slender blue neck eased lower, a glowing strand between its beak. "Take this noose," it said as soon as Nao-Zai's hand closed around it. Unlike the braided twine he used to work with in the Fortress, it was as smooth as a mirror. It seemed to be made of the same composition as the mesh Chai-Song and Reol-Je enveloped the sky—or this plane—with. A sense of awe settled in Nao-Zai's gut at the mere notion of holding a piece of heaven in his hands.

"Don't look at it or you might dissolve it," Chai-Song chided.

Nao-Zai whirled to the fowl. "Wait, really?"

If birds could roll their eyes, Chai-Song probably would. Instead, its gray lids flapped closed before opening again, revealing the lackluster brown eyeball inside. "No," the fowl answered. "Slip the end around any of Han-Xi's horns. That's all you have to do, young mortal."

The ground shook, making Nao-Zai's body jump without him doing the action. He glanced at the ongoing battle between a dragon and a tortoise. Han-Xi launched itself to the sky with a mighty flex of its legs. Then, it dove down in a blur of gold and red. Reol-Je tucked its head inside its shell and twisted around, lifting its leg just in time for its claws to slam straight into Han-Xi's eyes. The roar that tore through the plane was more in annoyance than in pain.

Chai-Song clicked its beak, tilting its head to one side. Its talons scratched against the soil, bunching up mounds in the process. "I'll head there. Reol-Je could use some help," it said before giving Nao-Zai a quick glance. "Remember, mortal. Noose on the horn. Nowhere else. It has to be the head or the prison won't work. Find the Piper and bring him out."

Then, the Sapphire Fowl dashed off, leaving him and An-Ri to cough at the dust it sent in a flurry with its two legs. And where the hell was Kai-Se? Nao-Zai tied the noose at a loop in his belt. He clenched his jaw and summoned Xin-Wei's korza again. Running through all the steps in his head, feeling all of the fuzzy laps wash over his system, he sent his energy through the thread with no visible ends. It could only mean Kai-Se was still alive, and with Han-Xi's attention divided, maybe the piper could make a break for it.

Hurry, Kai-Se, Nao-Zai thought, fueling his words with the desire to see his face again. It's been a while, and he needed to see Kai-Se's smile even if it's the last thing he'd witness. Nothing happened. Not a tug against the magical string or a whisper from the abyss. He blew a breath. Maybe Kai-Se was lost, or having trouble with directions again. The number of times he had been instructed by Chi-Sae to retrieve the Prince on his way to various ministerial offices exceeded his hands during the short while he served in Saengje. So, he closed his eyes and sent a different kind of message down their connection.

Find me.

In a world where nothing made sense, where magic abounds and beings of myth prove to exist, there was one thread of sanity linking them together. And if Kai-Se felt like he was going astray on the other side of the world, he could always go back. He would always have something—someone—to go back to.

Kai-Se, find me. Nao-Zai said. And I'll be here. Always.

The thread shook. A gasp flew out of Nao-Zai's mouth. Kai-Se.

Nao-Zai opened his mind to send more waves of thoughts when an explosion rocked the whole crater. "Get away!" An-Ri wailed from his side. The link snapped when Nao-Zai ripped his attention from Kai-Se. His eyes registered Han-Xi's piercing eyes trained on him and An-Ri, a snarl pulling the dragon's lips apart and crumpling its snout. Nao-Zai dared to unlock his gaze and turn to his left. Reol-Je had skidded across the crater, making a trench twenty horses across. And on the dragon's leg...

Chai-Song's beak snapped in futility as its legs flailed and kicked in the air. An indignant cry rumbled deep in the fowl's throat which was locked between the gaps of Han-Xi's claws. One of Han-Xi's hind legs squashed the fowl's train of feathers. "Let me go, you overgrown snake," the fowl hissed.

Han-Xi answered by pivoting its foot. Distinct tearing noises accompanied Chai-Song's pained shrieks. Nao-Zai's arm shot sidewards, blocking An-Ri from dashing towards the chaos. Reol-Je wasn't moving, its neck limb on the ground and its front legs splayed out. Chai-Song couldn't get out of Han-Xi's grip no matter how hard it tried. His fist clenched at his side.

"Stop it," the words were no louder than a whisper at first. Han-Xi's head turned towards him, blazing eyes not dimming anytime soon. Nao-Zai hated those eyes, and its that hate which prompted him to step forward and scream, "Stop!"

Instead of cowering in fear, Han-Xi lowered its head with a light chuckle. Its voice was distinctly masculine, unlike the rest of the Divine Beasts. "Foolish mortal," the dragon said. "Do you know who you are challenging? The only reason you're still alive now is because I relish seeing the despair color your features. I didn't get this pleasure when I'm dealing with the others before you."

Nao-Zai's hands shook with fear as he gripped Xin-Wei's bead on one hand and the Moonblight's hilt on the other. He drew the sword. "I'm not afraid of you," he repeated his last statement to the Amber Dragon.

What Han-Xi was saying revealed two things. One—Nao-Zai had past lives and they all somehow got tangled up with Han-Xi. With the dragon ever dealing with those whom he thought would get Kai-Se away from him, then two—Nao-Zai, against all odds and throughout lifetimes and reincarnations, had managed to meet Kai-Se and formed something more with him.

He wondered what else should he think of that.

"That is where your ignorance lies," Han-Xi answered. He wiggled his leg once more, eliciting more screams from Chai-Song. Reol-Je stayed knocked out, as motionless as a lump of rock. "Like your predecessors, you will die by my claws. Your blood will water this soil and I will make sure your soul will burn to ashes so that it will never dare to rise again. I will blot out your existence in this world and the next, young mortal. And when that happens, Kai-Se will be with me. Forever."

Nao-Zai never realized how much rage he had in his heart until now. "Did it ever occur to you that Kai-Se may not want to be with you?" he demanded. An-Ri yelped and let go of the tears. They hit the ground in a series of dull thuds. "For a Divine Beast, you sure are dim."

Han-Xi curled his claws until Chai-Song's feathers sheared off its neck and choking wheezes flitted out of its beak. "Kai-Se chose to be with me, young mortal," he said, stopping Nao-Zai out cold. "When you threatened to break him, he came to me for help. Why must I be vilified for giving it and wanting the best for my beloved?"

"Because you're the one breaking him, not me," Nao-Zai leveled his sword at the gigantic dragon, keeping watch of his barbed tail and horns flashing in the plane's crimson light. "Let him go."

Smoke curled out of the dragon's flaring nostrils. "Never."

Nao-Zai exchanged glances with An-Ri and nodded at her. The spirit returned the gesture and opened her hands. Claws, as short as they might be, flashed out of her fingertips. A layer of white flames covered her aura and three tails were out. When did she learn how to do that?

"There's one thing you never accounted for, Han-Xi. This time will be different," Nao-Zai said. "What my past selves had lacked, I now have."

The dragon huffed and snarled, lowering itself to a stance. His shadow fell over Chai-Song who had started to still. Nao-Zai tightened his hold around Xin-Wei's bead and extracted its power. The ground on his feet sparked in a circle of blue light. His sword flashed teal, as if competing with Xin-Wei's korza

"Divine might."

Nao-Zai lunged. Xin-Wei's energy responded to his need, sending strength into his legs. He crossed the distance between him and Han-Xi in less than a second. When he opened his mouth, a tiger's roar rang out. He slammed straight into Han-Xi's exposed neck, driving the dragon stumbling away from Chai-Song. The fowl's feathers remained limp. Nao-Zai gritted his teeth. It's up to them now.

"An-Ri! Blind him!" he yelled. A flash of orange light followed by Han-Xi's vexed hiss occured. He swung the teal blade. Red thorns hurtled towards him. He cursed, slashing against it instead. Gold whizzed from the side of his vision. Energy spurted in his limbs. He drove Han-Xi's tail away, pivoting at the last second to slash his blade at the dragon's face.

The sword bit flesh. Red splashed against the crimson sky and painted the soil with ink-like blots. Han-Xi scrambled back, a huge gash tearing from his left eye down to his right nostril. Blood pooled and dripped down his snout, the scales in his neck and his whiskers.

"So, how does it feel, to be beaten by a mortal?" Nao-Zai asked, not bothering to put off his rising smirk. An-Ri floated next to him, preparing for another assault.

Han-Xi could only answer in a cornered hiss before Nao-Zai burst forward and slashed his sword again. The dragon opened his mouth. A column of fire shot out between his teeth. Nao-Zai sliced through the flames and dashed past the dragon's neck. Moonblight clanged against golden scales, sending vibrations up his arms. With Xin-Wei's strength, he screamed as he pushed the sword deeper. Until it bit flesh.

The dragon threw his head back and roared. Pain flavored the tone, much to Nao-Zai's relief. He flipped away just as Han-Xi's tail lashed towards him again, all of its red bristles aimed to skewer him. Han-Xi ended up flinging his own appendage to his face with more than one tapered point poking him in the eye.

Nao-Zai held back his amusement and focused on the rage. This creature deserved not an ounce of laughter. He pushed forward, angling his sword to finish Han-Xi once and for all. They were already here. He could do it. Just one last slash from Moonblight.

A golden rope flashed in the air, swiping underneath him. Hard scales slammed agiainst his ankle, sending him stumbling forward. The swipe also sent dust in billowing flurries, shielding Nao-Zai's surroundings with its hissing veil.

Then, Han-Xi's face shot out from the haze. Nao-Zai poised the sword in front of him just as golden horns clanged against it. Han-Xi growled, pushing back against him as sparks chinked from the points blade met horns.

"Do not put your faith in the Divine," Han-Xi said. His voice was quiet but dripped with enough bitterness to rival poison. "We will only let you down."

Before Nao-Zai could react, Han-Xi reared back and slammed against Moonblight. Cracks webbed from the blade's flat side. Then, it exploded into a thousand shards.

"What—"

He didn't get to finish as Han-Xi's claws slapped him from the side, sending him toppling and rolling east. His shoulder bit the ground, shooting pain and cracks against his ribs and neck. An-Ri's shrieks colored the air as her magic swaped around Han-Xi in a weak shower of lights.

Nao-Zai groaned, tasting iron. He braced the ground, his bones feeling brittle, as if they could crack any time. A shadow curved over him, drowning the sky with gold. "Foolish, all the way to the end," Han-Xi's footsteps crunched against the ground.

Teeth digging against lips, Nao-Zai urged his body to stand up. He had been knocked over a million times before. This was nothing. This should be nothing. His eyes fell on the sharp shards that once have been the sword he pilfered from Dae-Zhang's lair. The sword he thought would defeat Han-Xi and end this madness. Instead, it lay in pieces on the ground. Like he did.

Han-Xi reared his head back, opening his jaw. Deep in his maw, hell burned. Nao-Zai couldn't move an inch. Where else would he run, if he could? There's no place in this plane, or in any planes or realms, where Han-Xi wouldn't find them.

This was their last stand, and the dragon had pushed them off the dais they proclaimed themselves on. Nao-Zai shut his eyes, sending the last of his energy into the thread leading to the only person he was doing all this for.

Kai-Se. He pleaded—maybe to the heavens' deaf ears or to forces he had never found the courage to believe in until now. Find me.

But what he really meant to say was...

Save me.

The fire shot from Han-Xi's mouth. It swallowed Nao-Zai whole.

Or at least he thought.

Han-Xi did emit the fiery blast, but a blur of jade and sapphire lashed from either side, squeezing the dragon's neck so much all that blew out of his mouth was a puff of ember. "Young mortal, what are you doing? Get up!" Chai-Song screeched as it clawed at Han-Xi's gaping wound, the one torn by Nao-Zai.

Reol-Je barreled out of nowhere, the tapered tip of its carapace spearing straight into Han-Xi's chipped scales, also courtesy of Moonblight. Nao-Zai scrambled out of the way, adrenaline the only thing keeping his movements going.

He came against the crater's sides, the spot where Reol-Je slammed into a mere distance away. Chunks of loose soil still dropped from the curving ceiling the pockmark the shape of a tortoise's shell made. A harrowed cry took his attention back to the rampaging Beasts. Han-Xi had managed to thrust his horns underneath Reol-Je's defenses. With a mighty grunt, the dragon heaved the tortoise on its back.

Chai-Song, the all-knowing one, understood what it meant. It lunged forward. Han-Xi shot a burst of flames in its direction. The train of feathers opened like a fan would, the concentric circles of feathers blazing. From there, streaks of green light ripped forward, curving towards the dragon. Explosions of light and electricty shook the crater and, perhaps, the whole plane with it. Han-Xi roared as Chai-Song answered with a shriek. It sent more streaks of korza at the dragon's head, scales, and legs.

It didn't see the barbed tail rising from behind. Red bristles crashed into the Sapphire Fowl. Flesh squelched and bones shattered with Chai-Song's last chirp. When it landed on the ground with a roll, it didn't move anymore, even when the dust settled and Han-Xi moved towards Reol-Je, whose legs flailed in an effort to right itself.

Nao-Zai opened his palm, expecting to have dropped Xin-Wei's bead elsewhere. It was still there, invisible when he didn't need to see it and present when he did. Han-Xi drew up, lengthening his neck to increase the force of impact when he'd bring his horns down on Reol-Je's vulnerable underside.

A curse flitted out of Nao-Zai's lips as he mustered any wisp of korza left in his system. He fed it into Xin-Wei's bead, praying for a little boost, even just to heal his injuries. The bead stayed lit up, but all it gave were a few sparks. Then, it rested idly on his palm. Nao-Zai peeled off the crater's wall despite the sharp sting in his muscles. He threw magic at the bead to get it to respond. Come on...

An-Ri's scream bit the ground when her small body arced straight into Nao-Zai's left. His heart went cold at the sight of the Immortal Fox sliding downt he crater's wall, her ears flat against her white head. Her fenhai was torn and muddied, with the same streaks blotting her cheeks and hands. Her tails had vanished. She didn't have the strength to maintain even one.

Up ahead, Han-Xi had clicked his tongue and turned back to Reol-Je. "Such nuisance," he muttered under his breath. "Spirits usually are."

Nao-Zai gathered An-Ri in his arms and pleaded the bead to work again, to bring him that divine strength to do the impossible. Nothing happened. His limbs remained heavy. The pain stayed.

Han-Xi angled his horns, his lips pulling up in an expression Nao-Zai could only attribute to a smile of triumph. Then, he stabbed down.

The sky lit up, drowning the crimson in its impossible white rays. A figure zipped through the expanse, shrouded in ethereal aura. A streak of the same light bled from the figure, exploding on Han-Xi's face when it connected.

As the dragon howled and sputtered, Reol-Je gave one last push and righted itself just in time to give Han-Xi a strong ram with its shell. The force knocked the dragon back. Then, the fight resumed once more.

The light around the figure dimmed and in its place stood a person Nao-Zai never thought he'd see in the battlefield.

Kai-Se gave him a sheepish smile. "Sorry I'm late," he said.