Nao-Zai stared up at the huge beast, trying his best to not scream and run away. His hand, one that would have crawled to the hilt of his sword, stayed rigid at his side. He couldn't move. His feet seemed to have envied the trees in taking up roots on the forest floor. The shadow didn't move, nor did its owner.

A gentle breeze blew from somewhere, ruffling the beast's white fur. The black lines marking it in random lashes looked like splatters of ink against a blank canvas. Nao-Zai swallowed against the lump of dread growing in his throat, his gaze landing on the twitching whiskers, the cloudy mane lining its jaw and chin, and ultimately, the almond-shaped eyes. Unlike the ones Nao-Zai had seen depicted in ancient paintings, this beast's eyes weren't gold or brown.

They were blue.

An-Ri, despite her initial nonchalance about all things magical and unusual, smothered herself against Nao-Zai's arms, her fists rumpling his fenhai to the point of the threads creaking and beginning to snap. He, himself, felt like he was about to throw up. Just from the mere presence of the beast now looking down at him. If it's going to talk, he might as well pass out.

"The Divine Plane sends you its regard, young mortal," the tiger's voice—neither male nor female—boomed across the landscape. The Noryeong clan, wherever they were now, could have heard it. Nao-Zai didn't notice its lips move but somehow, the words were clear. And they sound like Izer-sai. Strange. "You need not be afraid."

Nao-Zai forced his jaw to relax, to avoid holding his mouth partially open. He stepped back and clutched An-Ri tighter. He couldn't be dreaming, could he? This was real...right? A talking white tiger of bizarre proportions greeting him out of all people—rather, mortals—in this realm, it's too silly to not have been a dream but felt far too real to be one.

Besides, even Nao-Zai, with all his training as a soldier, couldn't fall asleep that fast to start dreaming.

"I...what—" he cleared his throat and tried to get his tongue to produce the right words without stumbling. "Who are you?"

Instead of opening its jaws and devouring Nao-Zai for asking the question, the tiger's eyes blinked and its snout scrunched. "I am referred to by many names—the Pillar of the Western Quadrant, the Divine Snow Beast, the Ivory Tiger, the Shadow of the Moon—but there is one name I am quite fond of."

The tiger's gaze lowered, locking with Nao-Zai's. "I am Xin-Wei," it said. "Have I answered your question, young mortal?"

Nao-Zai pursed his lips and held up a finger. Might not be the proper etiquette at greeting whatever the tiger said it was—divine beast? Pillar?—but it's not like he was given a heads-up about this before. There was no segment in the Yomaura training where the generals went, Oh, this is what you should do in the instance a mythological being rises from the earth and brings you regards from the Divine Realm.

What even was the Divine Realm?

This was more of Kai-Se's department, but even then, the prince might be stumped as well. Didn't the tiger say its name was Xin-Wei? Wasn't that the beast described in the ancient texts, ones that were deemed nonsense now? And if the White Tiger was real...did that mean all the other three were as well?

A faint throbbing pulsed in Nao-Zai's temples. Just a little more, and his head would probably crack in half. At least An-Ri was a little bit more equipped in handling these things. Maybe she could continue their search for Kai-Se if he didn't make it.

"Okay. Let's say you're real and I'm not going insane right now," he massaged the bridge of his nose with his free hand. An-Ri still hasn't let go of his fenhai, clinging against it like a lizard on a wall. "Why have you come and sought me? And how do you know where to find me?"

Blue flashed against the green drowning Nao-Zai's perception. Just the mere presence of this beast seemed to have turned the sunlight dimmer and the wind colder. Oh, right. It's connected to snow. Winter. Of course.

"Although it pains me greatly to have to resort to lowering my presence in the mortal nethers," Xin-Wei replied. "I have come for one thing only and that is to beseech your assistance."

Nao-Zai knitted his eyebrows. Just the way this beast phrased things sent his mind roiling. "What can I do?" he wondered. "As you said, I'm a mortal and you're...whatever you are. Shouldn't you be able to solve it on your own?"

Xin-Wei growled and stepped forward, raising its paw that's as big as a pond. It could crush Nao-Zai's head without even trying. Each of its steps were soft, eliciting only a faint brush against the grass as if it's gliding. "Mortals and Divine Beings operate on different planes. Mortals should resolve mortal conflict, and we, the Divine Beings, must do the same," it said. He still couldn't figure out where the voice was coming form. "What we have now is unfortunately a case of intersection."

It wasn't going in a direction Nao-Zai liked. The vague idea of what kind of intersection it was began forming in his mind. "Context?" he asked.

The tiger slinked past him, tilting its head back. "A walk, perhaps?" it said. "I hear it offers the best remedy to any ails."

And it appeared this beast read a couple of local periodicals of fake apothecaries and shaman wannabes. But, Nao-Zai wasn't in a position to disagree or refuse. He liked to live. "It must have been serious, seeing as you've gone all the way here and searched for me," he noted.

As much as he felt needed and had his ego boosted a little, he could already foresee how much work and insanity this was going to bring him. Especially if it involved Kai-Se, which, in retrospect, seemed to be the only common factor in all of the wild things he's been exposed to as of late.

The tiger huffed, its nostrils flaring. It wasn't moving much, not even taking a full step, because it would leave Nao-Zai behind. He was already taking large strides just to stay attuned to the beast's head. "One of our own has gone astray," it said, its eyes never straying from the immediate and distant horizon. "The Amber Dragon has taken a mortal captive and has been using their power to keep his soul there."

"Did this mortal have a name?" Nai-Zai asked.

Xin-Wei's feet crunched against the grass a few more times before answering. "Some people know him as the Piper of Mirchaek who told a great many tales. Others refer to him as the Witch Prince and the Fool's Crown. The spirits call him their creation, their vessel, and their salvation, but we know him by another name," it whirled to Nao-Zai, then. A sort of melancholy and awe flashed in its bright, blue eyes. "The Walker Between Worlds, Najizaki Kai-Se."

At this point, Nao-Zai wasn't even surprised. Kai-Se has gotten himself into trouble. Again. This time, his hand crept to the hilt of his sword and stayed there. If what Xin-Wei was saying was true, then it followed that Kai-Se was being held by yet another Divine Beast. And did Xin-Wei mention an amber dragon? How in An-Ri's fluffy ears did Kai-Se get tangled up with it?

"As for the reason I chose you, young mortal," Xin-Wei continued when Nao-Zai failed to say anything. "You possess the Thread of Fate, connecting you and the Worldwalker. Only you can find him and only you can resolve the matters meant for your...scant mortal lives."

Ouch. But, seeing as it's coming from a Divine Being who was old enough to have their depicitions regarded as myths and, later, as nonsense, it was probably valid. It made sense, too, seeing as the ritual Shin-Ki (bless their traitorous heart) did to anchor Kai-Se back to the mortal realm seemed to have forged some sort of bond between him and Nao-Zai, maybe Xin-Wei thought they could find Kai-Se through it as well.

"And why are you bent on finding Kai-Se and this...other beast you spoke of?" Nao-Zai asked.

Xin-Wei pawed the grass, having paused its walk for Nao-Zai to catch up. The well was nowhere in sight now. Had they really traveled that far? "The Amber Dragon is using all their korza into crafting the perfect world according to their wishes. The more they do that, the more it threatens the balance of the world. Beings like us...our duty is to protect the balance, our power is for the sake of that balance, and we are not to use a drop of the Divine energy for our own futile desires."

"Instead of protecting it, the Amber Dragon is fighting against the world," Xin-Wei said. "But Fate is not meant to be fought."

Nao-Zai pursed his lips and stroked An-Ri's hair. She seemed to have calmed down and was even studying Xin-Wei with curious eyes. The Divine Beast didn't seem to mind, so Nao-Zai didn't stop her.

A low rumble echoed from deep inside Xin-Wei's throat. It was aggression, but not towards him. He turned to find the tiger scanning him from head to toe. "You'd be more concerned than this, young mortal, if you knew what is happening in the Divine Plane."

Nao-Zai frowned. "Spill."

"Every second the Worldwalker stays in the Amber Dragon's world, the more of his mind is chipped, fractured," the tiger's whiskers twitched as it blinked its eyes. "Destroyed."

That last word twanged in Nao-Zai's gut. His grip around his sword's hilt tightened. "What was the Amber Dragon doing to Kai-Se?" he said, his tone almost matching the tiger's low growls. "Why would it take him?"

Xin-Wei's expression didn't change—that much Nao-Zai had been made aware of since he turned around and found a huge tiger bearing down on him. "Does this mean you are amicable to helping us resolve this matter?" it prodded.

Nao-Zai turned to the tiger fully. "Answer the question," he glared. Even if Xin-Wei decided to stomp on him at this moment, he would never take it back. Kai-Se was out there, getting who-knew-what done to him, and it's the least of Nao-Zai's duty to know what's going on. "What was the Amber Dragon doing to him?"

Xin-Wei's nostrils flared but made no move to end him for being rude. "It's unfortunate," was all it said. From the clipped tone and the descending intonation, that's all it's willing to say about the topic.

He blew a breath and forced his nerves and heart to calm. Kai-Se was alive, that much he could gather from Xin-Wei's rhetoric. Something happened with him and the Amber Dragon, and was big enough to concern even the rest of the Divine Beasts.

It wasn't because of that that Nao-Zai wanted to find Kai-Se and fast. They had an unfinished conversation, and somehow, Kai-Se has found a perfect method to run away from it. Nao-Zai could only wonder—did he regret his decision or was he still gallivanting in the Amber Dragon's world without a care? Nao-Zai was bound to find out.

There was one thing he would want to ask Kai-Se. He wanted to know if the piper still thought of him the same way as he admitted in Trahn-gwok-tan that fateful night. Whatever the piper decided, then Nao-Zai would follow. All he wanted was a proper send-off. A proper farewell.

And he couldn't get that if Kai-Se's mind was half-melted from whatever the Amber Dragon was cooking up. That's what made him march up to Xin-Wei and straighten his back. "I'm in," he said. "What are we going to do?"

The tiger lowered its head as if to graze the grass. It took Nao-Zai a long while to realize it was offering its back for him to climb on. He made An-Ri perch on his shoulders and instructed her to grab hold of his head and to never let go. Now, with both hands free, he scrambled up Xin-Wei's fur before settling in its expansive hide. Up close, the white tufts resembled the carpets lining his uncle's office and some parts of the Imperial Palace. He retrieved An-Ri from his shoulder and let her sit on his lap.

"If you are called Xin-Wei," Nao-Zai tapped his chin. The tiger didn't swivel around to look at him. Its rope-like tail swished back and forth in tantalizing waves now that he had noticed its existence. "Then what's the Amber Dragon's name?"

He was staring at the back of Xin-Wei's head as he expected an answer when the world spun and swirled around him. His hands flailed around for a makeshift anchor, his fingers curling around the tiger's fur to avoid falling off. What's happening—

The world stilled. Nausea cramped at the base of Nao-Zai's gut and pulsed at the back of his head. On his lap, An-Ri had been shocked into silence, her face slack and confused. Then, once she saw Nao-Zai, her features crumpled and she began wailing.

Dear heavens. Nao-Zai took An-Ri by the armpits and cradled her, muttering soothing noises even though he felt like throwing up. Slowly, he slid off Xin-Wei's flank. His boots thumped against the ground, adding another rocking motion to help calm An-Ri down. When he attempted to step forward, his knees shook and his dinner threatened to spill out.

"Congratulations on not crumbling to dust. That would have been troublesome," Xin-Wei said, misplaced amusement thick in its tone. "Welcome to the Divine Plane."

Nao-Zai opened his mouth to demand a warning next time but Xin-Wei spoke again. "And the Amber Dragon is known by their one and only name," the tiger said. The blue in Xin-Wei's eyes glinted like exotic flames. "Han-Xi."