After the incense he lit had finally burned out, Shen got up from his prayer mat and sighed a breath of relief. The prayer room in the ship was a small, dusty one, looking as if it had barely been used. Nephatian Gods and Goddesses lined the walls in vivid, glorious paintings, all of them half bird, half human.

Shen had only bowed in respect to the paintings upon entering, but when he closed his eyes, his spirit belonged to one deity alone. That was the Iron Dragon.

The Zen Dragon, as he was also known as, was the father of all Energies and Spirits in the world, the ruler of the warmth that filled his body when he summoned his Craft.

He prayed to the small picture of the silver, serpent beast he kept within his pockets, asking for strength and many other things. But mostly, he asked for the will to continue one of the hardest things he had to do in his life.

Another picture was tied to the illustration of the deity. The picture of a small man, old, wrinkly, rather thin. You could see his ribs poke through his robe, the signs of his struggle of trying to feed his family everyday. Despite everything wrong with the man, there was a smile on his face that told Shen everything was going to be okay.

Shen remembered painting the picture the first night he stayed at the Sueyin temple. Everyone wanted to know who it was. He had only smiled. It was the last time he did and meant it.

He tucked the two pictures back into the safety of his garb, feeling a familiar cloth filling his pockets. Her sleeve. It was time to wake her up, they had already landed.

After bowing again, Shen left the prayer room and journeyed back to his own. He opened the door and at first glance, everything appeared fine, if you looked fast enough.

Then he saw the spilled bowl and tray on the floor, completely cleaned from its contents. The bed stood awkwardly, one of its legs missing. A shadow stuck out on the floor nearby, and Shen walked over, moving the body of the maid slightly in the ribs with his foot.

She didn't move.

The blankets on the floor lacked the body of the raven-haired girl he left there the night before.

His anger was like water overflowing in a cup. Shen launched his fist into the window nearby, sending its glass jumping out like crystal confetti on the otherside.

He grabbed hold of the bottom of the bed and completely flipped it to the otherside or the room. Grabbing his double-edged sword from beside the wall, Shen nearly pulled the door off its hinges as he bolted out to the dead silent hallways.

I'm going to kill her. She's going to pay.

Just when Shen thought it couldn't get any worse, he tripped over something in the hallway, thankfully looking like an idiot with only himself to see. He looked over at what had caught his foot and felt the temperature in his body instantly drop.

Lying sprawled out on the floor was Yura. Her eyes stared at the sky, her neck looking like it had been smashed by a flying brick. There was no way she was still alive.

He wanted to scream, possibly pull out his hair as small strands fell infront of his face, pissing him off even more. This was all his fault and he knew it. He had been too lenient with her, his guard wasn't strong enough this time around. This was exactly what had happened last time.

In the beginning, Shen was a fool. But this wasn't the beginning. He was supposed to know better. And yet, this was the state of him. A joke. He was made a joke by the same person.

Well, never again.

He shot to his feet and was about to run when the twins appeared at the end of the hallway, a bloody Kai on their arm. There were splotches and trails of crimson all over him, but an entire river on the one side of his face.

Kai whimpered and sniffled, eventually pushing himself off of the twins and tossing a bloody stake-like object at Shen's feet.

"You...you let her do this to me!" There was a crack of madness in his voice. "You let her take my eye! I'm going to kill her Shen and there is no way you will stop me! I promise you that!"

Shen stared at him, disturbed. He didn't think the situation had gotten this far. And now, it was only bound to get worse.

"Young Master," Bhen said, his voice small. "We didn't see her run, if we did we would've stopped her."

"I know, Bhen," Shen said quietly. "I assume that's what Yura tried to do."

"What?" Kai's entire face fell. He looked insane. Even his hair was coated with blood. "What do you mean? Where the fuck is Yura?"

A familiar feeling of shame struck Shen through the face. His incompetence had led to Yura's death. He should have known by now that Mudan would do anything to stay alive.

He should have been colder, crueler.

Kai moved his head and saw the feeble form of the only person he still cared about lying behind Shen, completely soulless. He ran to her instantly, shoving Shen out of the way as he did so, collapsing to his knees infront of her.

There was a horrible pause, filled with realization, pain and all the rage Kai felt in that moment. Awful, agony-filled sobs suceeded after as Kai cradled the girl in his arms, rocking back and forth as he held her.

"No...no...not you," his voice broke as sobs ripped from his throat. "Not you...you were good...the only good...not you...!"

Shen looked away. Despite everything he hated about Kai. He couldn't hate him in that moment. There was a heavy weight on his heart, but he knew what he had to do.

His mercy for Mudan had run its course. She was his prisoner, and that was it. This was obviously her work of revenge, and she was officially a threat. A threat that needed to be contained.

"I'm going to find her," he stated and walked past the twins. "Don't follow me. I will do this alone."

He would make her pay. And she would never forget it.

***

Mudan

"Excuse me! Coming through!"

Can't waste time. Shen could find me at any second. Had to be fast. Had to be clever. Zipping through Port staff was step one. I caught their attention and was escorted off the grounds. They made it easy for me. After that it was run as far as possible. Now I had another problem.

Townsfolk.

They were everywhere. It was crowded. It was busy. So busy to the point where moving was difficult. The Nephatians were having some kind of festival. There were colourful lanterns, decorations and many people wore brightly coloured bird costumes. There were many floats in the streets, all of different birds. People cheered and celebrated happily, waving sticks with bird feathers on them.

If there was anything this country loved besides gold, it was birds.

Birds were the symbols of strength and sovereignty for the Nephatian people. Kings and Queens donned the feathers of birds on their clothing at all times, and royals and nobles even wore the beaks of birds to prestigious events.

I remembered being confused the first time I saw it, when I was ordered to kill a noble in the East. He happened to have the company of international Lords and Ladies that night and I was able to catch a peak of the bird-beak wardrobe malfunction first hand.

I shoved through a crowd and made it to the otherside of a street. There was a marketplace stretching down the sandstone road, which was also full. There was another road to my left, but it was filled with the Nephatian Defense Eagles overlooking the parade.

If there was another thing this country loved other than gold and birds, it was its' strong military presence.

The Nephatian Eagles had ties to the Moon Rangers. I'd get killed on the spot if they found out I was a Zen Crafter. There were things in this life that were just unacceptable, and being a Zen Crafter was one of them.

The stigma behind it was if you knew how to Craft without instruments, you were tied to the Clans. Only Clans knew how to Craft without making use of Zen objects such as sacred animal totems or amulets and crystals. It was in our design.

The original Old Masters taught the Art of Energy in the very beginning of time and their work had been passed down through other Masters and books.

Ordinary people couldn't Craft from their bones because they had no knowledge of how. In the end, the world settled for using Zen-empowered objects to do any sort of mystical art. Enchanted weapons and jewelry gave the person the ability to wield Energy like a weapon without summoning it from their body.

The Moon Rangers and some militaries were the only ones prohibited to use Zen that way. Ordinary people were not allowed to own Zen-empowered weapons due to history and dangers. The world had not recovered, even after a few centuries.

The Moon Rangers. I remembered them vividly. Miao had some ties to them and told me to seek them out. Even after I'd left the Renge, I never did. I didn't want any more trouble, my only objective was to get away.

And now I had. Call me escape artist of the year.

It was obvious I could no longer stay in one place for too long. I'd have to live my life out as a nomad then.

I got odd looks from the locals, mainly because of my attire. There was the cut at my stomach where Shen stabbed me the night he found me. Then there were the multiple tears because of Kai.

And then there was the fact that I hadn't had a bath in days.

I couldn't go anywhere like this. I needed new clothing, or a costume or something.

There was a woman wearing a baby blue long dress. She wore a mask of a blue crane and carried a gold bag with her. She walked with her chin high, not sparing the people around her one glance.

Perfect.

I headed in her direction, purposefully stumbling and walking terribly. I bumped into her and was instantly shoved away. I dramatically fell, looking up at her drunkenly.

"Watch where you're bloody going!" She spat in Phati. "Fucking drunkard!"

"My bad, miss," I slurred. She glared at me repulsed, and carried on.

I stood up after she left, ignoring the stares I received. I ducked into a nearby alleyway and pulled the woman's purse from my bralette.

I peaked inside, satisfied with the thick amount of folded Nephatian Doil notes. This would be enough to buy me a train ticket away from here. Today still.

"Yes," I closed my eyes, tears brimming at the corners. I was so happy.

Now there was only one thing left to do.