The moment Láng Wényì left, Xuě Lù began to fade.

His purpose was served and the divine power keeping him in the mortal world, no longer needed his presence.

His physical form that had not been that physical to begin with, shimmered in and out of existence.

For one ethereal moment he became real, feeling the texture of the walls and being warmed by the heat of the fire, before disappearing forever.

-

The cave was empty when Tiāndì arrived.

A fleeting sense of the silence before a storm, the only thing that showed it hadn't been empty for long.

He wasn't needed here, the mortal had lost its battle with time on its own. The dragon would prove to be difficult, but not so much he needed to worry.

A well placed bolt of lightning would make it pummel from the sky.

The Slayer on the other hand would try to put up a fight.

He would laugh and throw Tiāndì's nonexistent mercy at his feet. He would make him burn.

His spies had told him the Slayer was at his usual inn and would also spend the night there. The perfect moment for an abduction.

He would show the world what happened to his enemies.

-

"Master? Are you in there? Can we come in?"

The servants outside the room were waiting for Tiāndì's consent to enter.

"Leave, I'm fine."

He would not show them this weakness, this, this defeat by a mere mortal.

He was the Emperor of Heaven, others bowed for him and shivered in fear for his voice.

He was above everyone else, especially mortals who didn't have a drop of divine blood flowing through them.

Time was on his side, at some point the Slayer would lose his battle and be claimed by death.

In the end he would win.

-

The cave was as empty as Láng Wēnyì had predicted. Xuě Lù had died in whatever form had taken place here.

Maybe the one who brought him back, took his mind back from where it came.

Maybe Tiāndì had come and killed him.

In the end it didn't matter what happened, Xuě Lù was gone.

Láng Wēnyì went like they came, in silence.

-

The soul that was alone in its wanderings, moved from where she had lain on the ground. Absorbing the last pieces of Xuě Lù's soul.

Neither the Emperor of Heaven nor Láng Wēnyì had noticed her presence.

Her job was done, the ring was no longer in the hands of people who would destroy, but in those that would create.

Now she could rest in relative peace together with Xuě Lù.

-

The ring had wandered many miles and changed hands with every rise of the moon. Its destruction hadn't come as a surprise, they had known it would be inevitable.

Precautions had been made.

A piece, however small, had disappeared from the ring, so when it had been broken by Heron there were eleven pieces instead of ten.

One piece travelled the world searching for a master, a troubled soul willing to use the ring's power.

Ten pieces were divided between the species, the leaders claiming them for their own gain. They wouldn't comply with the ring's demands, an outcast would.

The Slayer was never an option, someone with so much power on their own wouldn't accept it from an outside source. They would only try to interfere.

No, the commoners the ring used to travel were far more interesting.

The shifter that was his latest companion was now cornering a distressed creature. Sure of their victory when their opponent was on the brink of death. The shifter was useless, but his victim could prove to be useful.

'Come. Find me.'

Hope was a powerful weapon.

A Fae cast out from their family, hair cut unevenly above their ears, would give up everything they possess to get it.

This would be its new master, till he died or stopped living.

-

January 12, 2022

[grammar check]