The Illusion Realm, Ushitora

Present: Late Spring, 1472

Feiyan had unwittingly dozed off while sitting upright on the cot. Getting a sense that she had dreamt something untoward, she decided that she had been very wicked in her last life. She rubbed her aching temples and then her eyes, feeling like she was hung over. Though it had now been properly dressed, the wound on her back was still throbbing and even small movements made the rest of her body ache.

I'm a mess. I must recover quickly since no one knows how many more realms we must pass through before the mountain releases us. Beyond that...Shuto is still to come...

She noticed that Hajoon, who'd been hovering over the brazier, had become immediately alert as soon as she woke, slipping quickly to her side. As sleek as a large cat, his movements were as silent as ever despite his large physique. In all the time she'd known him, he had never once disappointed her in this regard.

It's all a product of his training...but Hajoon was never meant for a Shadow's life. He should have lived the life of a prince of Keungang, or at least been a hero of the martial world: free, openly admired...walking with his head held high.

Her heart twisted for him.

Hajoon frowned, misinterpreting her faint grimace. He saw that she was pale and sweaty from what had obviously been a terrible nightmare. Since leaving Moutan she'd become thinner too, but he held his tongue. Giving voice to his concerns over her well-being would only burden her right now. Instead, he held out his hand and she clasped it, pulling gracefully to her feet.

"You let me sleep too long," she accused with a sniff, but her tone held no rancor.

"I'm not sure dozing off in an upright position can be called sleep..." he observed, eyebrows raised. Hajoon's lips twitched with a suppressed smile.

She let out a slow breath and then shifted a glance to the pair of people passing in front of the mouth of the cave. Her eyes narrowed: "How long has it been, exactly?"

Picking up on the petulance that she had tried to hide, his purple eyes twinkled.

She felt herself colour and turned away to hide it.

"It's nearly dawn. You were hurt, your Highness. It looked like you could use more rest, so I didn't dare disturb you. Unfortunately, your repose didn't seem as peaceful as I had hoped..."

It was her turn to snort. What a smooth talker...just enough deference to outweigh his teasing.

"Never mind. Let's not talk about that for now. Have you done your shift yet?" she asked. Still standing she ripped into a flat bread that she'd left half eaten on a low table close to the brazier. It was dry now, but that didn't bother her too much. Food had been hard to come by and there was certainly no guarantee that she would get any kind of meal going forward.

He shook his head in answer to her question as she wolfed down the last crumb.

She noted that his expression had become difficult to read again, but his eyes seemed to follow her every move. She became self-conscious under that strangely luminous, violet gaze of his, and for a moment, Feiyan was once again reminded of a giant tiger.

Satisfied, she tucked her fan into her belt and then twitched a hand at him, indicating he should follow. She removed one of the torches from the outermost bracket to light her way as she moved out of the cave, just as silent as any other Shadow. Hajoon's footsteps immediately fell into sync with hers, a habit from their long years of training together. Her decision to let him go had opened a rift in their relationship, but in the end, Hajoon had gone back to his naturally reserved nature, quietly watching over her as he always had.

Thinking back on their childhood together, Feiyan was abruptly reminded of Gen, and she wondered if she would ever see him again. It was not like her to be overly sentimental, but Gen had always stood there next to her, teasing, and joking, lightening the mood. His quick temper and cheerfulness had always been the perfect foil to Hajoon's brooding silences and cold manner.

"What's the current situation?" she asked, stretching neck as she walked.

His fingers twitched at his side as he resisted the urge to touch her nape. Instead, he focused on answering her question.

"Not the best. Furusawa's men will cooperate until we get to the next torii, but they already seem to be aware that there's dissension in our group. They'll take advantage if Li Molan decides not to cooperate anymore..."

Feiyan smirked.

"The odds of taking them out without Li Molan's help aren't too bad. The old man's hold on them was temporary at best. With him gone, there'll be infighting. Their weakest point is the youngest one. It's obvious that he doesn't have any combat experience."

Hajoon nodded his agreement with her assessment.

"On our side, I'm worried about Usa and Uta," she said. "They don't have much experience either. So far, they've followed me, but now they know that I'm not the Crown Prince, Li Molan may convince them to leave with him."

"It's hard to say, but I think they trust him less than they trust you. It's too bad Gen isn't here: he'd just sweet talk them..." Hajoon chuckled.

Surprised by the change in Hajoon's tone, Feiyan flicked a look at him under her lashes.

"Don't be surprised," he chuckled. "I could tell you were missing him too."

"Mmmn," she muttered in answer, reluctant to admit it.

"Well...I've escorted you this far...your Highness," he said, bowing to her with all the formality owed a Prince.

"You're not staying..." she sighed, trying not to make it sound like a question.

Hajoon shook his head.

"I have to keep an eye on Li Molan..." he muttered, then his eyes narrowed at someone just beyond her shoulder.

She didn't need to turn to know that it was the youngest Shoban who had stepped forward. She'd been able to tell who it was just by the sound of the footfalls. Such untrained feet.

Feiyan raised an eyebrow at Hajoon who shrugged and handed her two stick like objects.

Ah...flares...

With a grin and a quick wave, he departed, blithely ignoring the scowl the arrows she was shooting with her eyes.

Feiyan tried not to groan out loud. If something were to happen, the youngest Shoban was probably the last person she wanted to have with her on patrol, but hopefully operating a flare wasn't beyond him.

"Hello," she greeted, giving the young Shoban a neutral nod. "Here, take this..." she said, handing him the flare.

A faint hint of surprise went across the young Shoban's face. It was clear that he hadn't expected to be greeted and at least not cordially. He mumbled an acknowledgement and then indicated he would circle in one direction, while she circled the other. It wasn't a large perimeter. It would have been safer to patrol in pairs, but since they were down on manpower and didn't trust each other, this was a compromise.

Clenching her jaw, Feiyan busied herself with her route and became one with the darkness.

---

Feiyan raised the torch slightly, following the winding path up the cliff. Although the air echoed with the crash of waves and the shriek of birds, it was a faint mewling sound that caught her attention as she stepped around a jutting crag that narrowed the path to the point that only one person could pass.

It was only after she turned the corner that she realized that the sounds were coming from a smaller cave further up. Her heart thumped unevenly. Her stomach churned and her blood began to boil. She stomped into the semi-darkness of the cave and thrust the torch high.

"Stop it!" she shrieked, lunging forward with the metal fan snapped open. With a single wave of the fan, the men that were holding the young man down were thrown into the air. The force of her blow slammed them unconscious against the wall of the cave.

"Gamera!" she said softly, rushing to lift his limp body up. "Gamera...are you alright?"

He looked confused for a moment and then he smiled brilliantly, a strange glow in his green eyes.

"Sister...you were always too kind..." he said, licking his tongue over his split lip, sucking in the blood. "Don't worry about me. These things are a normal occurrence...."

Normal...How is this normal?

She wanted to shake him as she once again felt rage surge through her.

"Why did you not cry out for help? If I hadn't come now, I wouldn't have been in time to..."

"Sister...if I hadn't led the men here, do you think my brother Genbu would have had his meal?" he asked softly, his voice dripping with mockery. "You see, banishment has been so very lonely... To catch prey, one must bait the trap with fresh meat..."

Feiyan jerked away as the red tongue sweeping over the boy's lips split into a fork and his pupils stretched from their human shape into slits. She rolled sideways when he spat a puff of poisonous gas. Thudding backwards against the opposite cave wall, she stifled a scream as a giant black tail slithered out from where Gamera's pale white legs had been and he rose to his full height, blocking the mouth of the cave. She snapped the fan, and her wind blade sliced through the air, clearing the poison away so she could breathe.

A giant snake...and Genbu...could it be...?

"Spear!" she cried to the fan. The change was instantaneous and she used the long staff to lift and propel her body, threading the space between Gamera's side and the wall of the cave. She hooked her legs at the last moment, and landed on his back, nimbly sliding backwards down the long tail, and onto the narrow path. Off balance, she hovered on her tip toes, teetering on the edge. Jamming the spear tip into the ground, she steadied herself.

That was close! she thought, stepping away from the edge.

WHAM! WHAM!

Gamera allowed no respite, smashing his tail into the side of the cliff where she'd just been. She dodged, flipping upward.

Damn it, he's fast...she thought as she landed in a crouch.

Pushing her body with inner force, she shot up the cliff face, tapping lightly as she danced around the cave openings, scrambling up as the hissing below her grew louder and louder. Gamera slithered after her, climbing swiftly. He bared his fangs in a wicked grin. No longer the boy with the alluringly innocent face, his features were covered with the markings of a demon's red seals.

"Hajoon!" Feiyan bellowed at the top of her lungs, fumbling for the flare in her belt. Unfortunately, it slipped through her fingers, ricocheted off the cliff face, and into the dark waters below. "HAJOON!!"

Although she'd reached the top of the cliff, Gamera had slithered up around the side, cornering her against the drop. Returning to his true form, black scales flicked up his body, encasing his chest and arms in dark armour, until even his face had been swallowed and his head reformed into a huge arrow shape. Baring his fangs, he struck again and again, trying to pin her down.

"Still so agile, Hongyi..." Gamera hissed with a smile as she skidded away.

She froze at the name, shivers going up her spine.

In that split second, Gamera pounced and she only just avoided his fangs by thrusting the spear point at his mouth. He snapped, lurching backwards to avoid the blow.

The wound on her back had been ripped open from her movements and she couldn't tell if it was blood or sweat dripping down.

I can't continue to avoid his attacks...she thought. He'll wear me out at this rate...

Gritting her teeth, she charged him, using the spear to pole vault onto his back. Hopping back and forth to keep her balance on the great whipping tail, Feiyan raised the spear in her hands and thrust it home, deep into the spine of the creature who was trying to throw her off his back.

"Aaaaaaagh!" screamed Gamera, lashing his body back and forth in agitation, trying to shake her off. "Brother! Brother help me!"

The earth shuddered as something deep in the water stirred.

Unable to hold on, she was flipped over the cliff and only just managed to jam the spear tip into a crack in the rock. Her heart thundered in her ears. The blood desperately pounding through her veins made her dizzy as she hung there, trying to catch her breath.

Peaking down over the side, Gamera shifted back into his half-human form. He gingerly touched his back and looked at the blood staining his hand almost as if he were surprised, but then he smirked at her.

She clenched her jaw, refusing to give up. If she could just get enough momentum to swing herself up...

"Mmmm...I never thought you would become our food, dear Sister..." Gamera said to her.

"What...?" she blurted, eyes widening.

Below her, there was a huge rushing sound, as if the water was being sucked back to form a great tsunami. From within the churning below, rising out of the water behind her was the great gaping maw of a giant black tortoise rife with the smell of rotted fish and seaweed. She retched, her gut heaving with disgust.

The great black tortoise of old...Xuanwu...otherwise called Genbu...

Chapter Note:

Gamera is the name for fictional flying turtle monster from a series of Japanese films. Like Godzilla, it's a bit of a fictional icon. In MG2, Gamera is a huge black snake and forms a pair with Genbu.

Genbu is the Japanese name for Xuanwu who was one of the four guardian gods, warrior protector of the north. He is customarily shown as two animals: a snake and a tortoise attached together.

As I'd mentioned before MG is inspired by Theseus's labours and the story of the Minotaur. This particular chapter draws inspiration from the story about Theseus's encounter with Sciron who pushed unsuspecting travellers off a cliff to feed a giant turtle.