*Adela*

Hei growled as she jumped back on to her feet but not for long as Solean came up from behind and sent her flying.

That girl is strong but she's using up too much of her prana. All Hei needs to do is endure and wait out Solean's attacks. Though that's easier said than done give their strength and the elemental disadvantage.

I felt Solean gather lightning in her right hand and flames in her left. She delivered a spinning kick to the stomach of Hei, sending her flying into an unconscious Vermillion.

"Hei!" Iah yelled.

Hei suddenly transformed into Xuan and stood up. He glanced back at his older sister and grimaced. He glared at Solean.

Solean took deep breaths, her prana was low.

"Stand back," Nekua said, putting a hand in front of her sister. "I'll deal with him and the two azure dragons of the east."

"Stop!" Koal said, grunting. I could feel his prana wavering, the kid could barely keep himself from losing conscious, less alone fight. "You can't deal with them by yourself..."

Nekua glanced at the tired Koal and Solean. "I have to! You two should rest. I'll at least buy you time!"

"Time, huh?" Azure said, rushing at her. "Won't let you! Bloom: Flower of the Heavens!"

Nekua leaped away as a vines rose from the ground.

"Hey, isn't this the same child who was learning how to use his powers a few months ago?" Nyima asked.

Iah smiled and nodded. "Azure is talented, more so than even I."

Nekua hugged herself, unleashing a spiral of flames in all directions, burning away the vines.

"Tsk. These are only vines, now where is the titular flower of the spell?" Her gaze fell to her feet. She jumped as far away as she could as a tiny blue flower rose up from the ground, spinning gently as its vines healed themselves.

Azure grinned. "You're smarter than you siblings it seems."

"How rude!" Solean said, sending flames at him.

Xuan shielded his little brother and unleashed a torrent at Solean, knocking her to the ground.

"Darn, I..."

"Nekua, it's up to you now," Koal said as he closed his eyes.

"Allow me!" Aoitsuki yelled, moving Azure's floating flower, crashing toward Nekua.

Nekua gasped as she attempted to dodge but it was too late, the vines of the flower had wrapped around her arms and legs.

Aoitsuki snickered. "We won!"

"It's not over yet!" a voice called out from behind Iah's sister.

Azure turned around. "Move!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

The figure that had been hiding all this time without making even a sound had finally moved, striking Aoitsuki in the back.

Aoitsuki grunted and collapsed to the floor.

"Aoitsuki!" Xuan yelled, rushing over to her. He narrowed his eyes at the spot where his cousin once stood. He couldn't see anyone. "Who is there?"

Azure turned toward his brother. The five year old put a hand over his right eye as he staggered back.

"Hey, are you alright?"

The little brother gasped. "Brother! Behind you!"

Xuan spun around and guarded against the invisible figure's hand. He let out a shiek as his prana flow in the arm slowed to a trickle.

"To think there was someone hiding," Iah said, "even I didn't notice his presence."

"I did," I said, keeping my eyes closed. "Though it was hard to detect clearly at first. It would've been wise if he had kept quiet."

"True," a familiar voice called out. I opened my eyes and saw Eien standing behind us. "That child, Jomei, has talent."

Kadriya nodded and said, "Yes, he's a lot like his father in that regard..."

His father?

"You had more kids besides the four we met and two sleeping ones?" Lei asked.

"No, this one is my nephew," Kadriya said, his face stoic.

"Nephew?" Iah said, eyes wide. "How can that be? Wasn't your clan wiped out besides you two and the one who commited the atrocity?"

Kadriya grimaced. "Yes. That child is the kid of the one who murdered the clan, my older brother's kid."

"If that's the case then why is he here?" Iah asked. "Uh, sorry. I probably shouldn't ask so many personal questions."

"It's fine. I understand your curiosity. As I told Eien here in my study, that child was abandoned here as an infant. At first I failed to realize who he was, that was until he manifested his flames. It was a good thing that I hadn't, for I would have been unable to have cared for the child."

Kadriya's eyes were filled with a mix of rage and sorrow as he stared at Iah's frightened cousins.

"Though even to this day I do not trust him completely... In part because I fail to discover the purpose for which my brother left him here. My brother had an incredible skill with determining the powers of another. With Jomei's powers being illusions, I can't help but think that child was given to us to serve as a spy."

"But he's a child. You really think a child who hasn't met his parents could be a spy?" Nyima asked, perplexed.

Kadriya scoffed. "Who is to say that he hasn't met them..."

"Isn't it unfair to distrust a child?" Nyima averted her gaze, catching what she had just said. "Though perhaps I'm not he right person to determine who is worthy of trust or not... I did once trust someone despite objections, and in the end those who objected to my naive trust were right."

"Nyima," Lei said. He put his hands on her shoulder and turned her head so that she was facing him. "Just because someone might betray your trust doesn't mean that everyone is suddenly untrustworthy." He averted his own eyes. "Uh, I mean, you can still trust me at least. Hmm, but then again, I am host to that strange abyssmal being..."

Kadriya gasped. "Did you just say abyssmal being? Wait, were you the child who is said to have survived being devoured by one?"

Lei grumbled. "I'm no child."

The King of Huo snickered. "Such a childlike response there, but I see. So, that means you have a shadow within you too."

"Too?"

Kadriya leaned back against his seat and glanced down at Azure who had grabbed a hold of Jomei. "Though yours seems to be a different case than the others I've heard of. Is it safe to assume that you now have the ability to control shadows?"

"That's correct," Eien responded for Lei. "He gained dark powers." The Kyuu Seishinian prince grinned. "I see, so that's what you're thinking."

Kadriya stared at Lei for awhile. "First I need to see how he fares in battle before I can decide if my teaching him is a good idea or not."

"Teaching? You mean you'll help me learn how to use my dark magic?" Lei said, eyes filled with joy.

Kadriya nodded. "Like I said, it depends on how you fare in battle."

Lei grinned. "Yes, yes, yes!"

I smiled. It was good to see Lei go back to his regular self. On the way here he seemed down.

I turned my head the battle thin threads of Jomei's prana covered the entire battlefield. So he's trapped them an illusion.

Something warm wrapped over us... the prana was hot, like flames. Yet it wasn't fire prana... though it was rather close.

"Azure!" Xuan said, running toward the young boy.

"I'm fine, go catch him, he's over there, toward your left!"

"How can you see me?" Jomei snapped, sending waves of illusion prana raining down on the two in the form of flames.

Azure walked past the flames and yanked Jomei to the ground with a thorny whip. "Surrender!" the five-year-old said.

The prana strings dissolved. "I see, in the end I was no match for you Wudi either."

I opened my eyes and saw a bluish-gray haired boy around Xuan's age. He gave his opponents a smile.

"Seems that my family lost," Kadriya said, leaping into the battlefield. "Hope that this manages to humble my prideful children and nephew."

Lady Yeung jumped after him and went straight to attending to the exhausted children by lending them some of her prana. "You all did well."

Koal glared at Azure as he opened his eyes. Grunt, he said, "We almost won. We could've won, if it weren't for that kid."

Azure turned over to look at him and smiled, causing Koal to clench his teeth.

"You're mocking us?"

https://youtu.be/XLy-mlqzVZ8

Azure gave him a confused look. "No..."

"Koal, calm down," his mother said, patting his head.

Nyima sighed. "Seems your student is a lot like you," she said, glancing at Lei.

Lei put his hands behind his head as he rose from his seat. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Iah chuckled. "Yes. It is reminiscent of our battle on the ship."

Lei frowned. "Must you keep brining up my loss to you? How about we have a rematch? We haven't fought since then, I have grown pretty strong since then! Bet I can beat you know."

Iah gasped and averted his eyes. "Maybe that's true..."

Iah...

Kadriya glanced over at us. "You five, come on down."

"Five?" Lei said, looking over at Eien. "You're participating?"

Eien shrugged. "I wasn't planning to, but seems the good king has volunteered me to aid you four losers. Guess I have to help now."

Lei's left eye twitched. He walked over to the Kyuu Seishinian prince, his turquoise eyes narrowed. "I have yet to have a fight with you. I seriously need to repay you for what you did in the courtroom."

Eien chuckled. "No thanks, I don't need you to repay me. Besides, you are far from my league. Only with your abyssmal powers can you hope to defeat me."

My childhood friend lowered his head. He was right, the only way he could defeat him was by borrowing that dark power...

Lei shook his head and leaped over the rails. I followed after him.

"Did I do something wrong?" Azure muttered to himself as he made his way toward us. He glanced up, my crimson eyes meeting his emerald ones.

Staring at his eyes reminded me of something, but I couldn't put together the shattered memory. Then there was that vision I had on the boat months ago in Eien's flames. In it I saw a teenage Celeste, but also a teenage Azure... This kid, he would need to be protected for he will play an important role one day...