Mirror Lake, Kingdom of Shobu

Present: Late Spring, 1472

When Seiji opened his eyes, wet with tears, he was shocked to find that he was still lying on the stone slab, being restrained by Lord Bai’s seals. Although, they were cracked like glass, showing the strain of having held him back while he’d thrashed around in a mindless state, they were still there. It was a lot to take in after the horrifying things he’d seen in the illusion realm. He couldn’t imagine how the seals had held.

It shouldn’t be like this…

In truth, even though it was only once a month, Akuma’s influence on him had grown far stronger. The seals were only a means to delay him from hunting the humans being released into the upper circle of the labyrinth. It had never prevented it entirely. Sometimes Lord Bai was able to rescue the victims and other times Seiji woke to the same sight as he had years ago in the northern forest of Moutan.

Pools of blood and torn limbs…

His mouth flattened into a hard line. 

Having learned inner cultivation from Lord Bai, he now used the same method to deal with the seals. Biting his lip, he spat a bit of blood onto the glowing script. Then, he exerted a little bit of pressure, pushing his internal force along the lines. The script was sentient and the characters squirmed for a moment, wriggling as it tested the essence of the power sliding along its pulsing lines. Recognizing that the energy was non-threatening and strictly human, the script release itself. 

Taking a slow breath, Seiji sat up and reached for a robe, but he paused as an unfamiliar scent, a faint sweetness that had lingered on the cloth, tickling his nose.

No way…

He gathered the robe in his fist and pressed it to his face, taking a deep breath.

There…

His heart thumped in his chest. He didn’t know how it was possible, but here was evidence that the girl he’d held in his arms the night before wasn’t just a dream that he’d invented to comfort himself. Though he had no idea how or why, it had been real.

A girl with Iseulbi’s face…but who are you?

A memory answered.

“Pul…girl…prince…” gasped Seiren from a place deep within Seiji’s mind…a place that he thought he had buried.

He stopped in the act of pulling the robe over his shoulders as Seiren’s last words from the northern forest of Moutan flowed over him.

“The shinobi…could it actually have been her?” he muttered. “Did I mistake one for the other, all this time…?”

A girl with the Prince’s face…

Even if he didn’t know her true identity, her resemblance to the Crown Prince of Moutan was already cranking the gears in his head. Yet it didn’t really matter. He already believed that their meeting was fated. Tangled in each other's arms, they’d given of themselves without a care for the shackle of consequence. There was no escaping such an entanglement.

I will find you.

“Feiyan…” Seiji whispered out loud, once again savouring her name on his tongue. “You have me now: no one can take your heart from you.”

Behind him, the lift clanked. As the doors swung open, Lord Bai entered the room, looking troubled. He walked over to him and set both hands on the slab, looking down, before looking up again.

“Master?” Seiji queried, seeing Lord Bai’s expression.

Looking his student straight in the eye, Lord Bai demanded:

“Did you break the seals at any time over the last seven days?”

Seiji shook his head.

“No, for the first time in years, I didn’t….but why? What’s wrong?”

Bai Xie An sighed.

“I know you didn’t…As to why that’s not good news, the sacrifice died before I could retrieve him. Drained dry of blood and energy.”

Seiji lowered his eyes, already aware of what his Master was about to say.

“Akuma is now strong enough even in his phantom form to attack other beings. The lake may not hold him for very much longer. I’ve changed my mind. As much as I hate disappointing my old friend, I don’t think we can avoid it any longer. You absolutely must kill the Crown Prince of Moutan. If you swallow his heart, this will be over. Akuma will be sealed in your body and never escape.”

“Is there no other way?” Seiji said in a low voice.

“Seiji, I know that you have feelings for the boy, but Akuma must not ever open the Kimon in Shobu again or it will endanger the three kingdoms and all of the human realm. We must look at the bigger picture. When I took you on as a student, you swore to me that you would uphold the sacred duty handed down by your dragon ancestors, and I promised to help you get revenge on Seigen for the deaths of your mother and brother. I didn’t want to have to remind you of this, but now I feel I have no choice.”

Seiji could see that Lord Bai’s expression, though resolute, was filled with sadness, but there was a small sharp stab in his heart.

“How is it that the Crown Prince of Moutan’s body is special? This isn’t a coincidence…Did you know this when you agreed to spirit me out with Seiren’s retinue that year? Did you already plan for me to meet him and befriend him in Moutan?”

Bai Xie An could not answer. 

“Bai Xie An!” Seiji growled, feeling rage gathering inside him. Iron bands circled his heart.

His master sighed.

“Yes…I intended for you to meet him…in fact, I already knew that you would meet him.”

Seiji thought about that for a moment.

“Would you have told Seiren to do this, if he’d been in my place?” Seiji asked.

For a moment, his teacher, who had always been his strongest support and pillar, looked shocked.

“Seiji… it’s true that I cared for your brother in the same way as a father loves a son…in the same way that I care for you. If he were in this position, I would still ask this of him…for the sake of Shobu. For the sake of the entire human realm. I cannot put off my responsibilities as one of the last guardians of this world.”

“I know that,” sighed Seiji. “And I know he wouldn’t have hesitated…in the same way he didn’t hesitate in the northern forest of Moutan, but because of that, because of me, he’s dead. Why? Why must they all die because of me?”

“Because that’s your destiny, Pul,” said Lord Bai.

The use of Seiji’s childhood name stabbed him in the heart with incredible bitterness.

“Destiny…” Seiji laughed cynically. “So, I was born to die.”

“Seiji, all men die. That is their fate…but what you do with your own life before that happens is your own choice…”

He glanced down at Seiji’s hand. Though his student could not see it, the red thread tied to his finger was clearer than ever. 

“Come…let’s go out first,” he said with a sigh.

***

Much later, after tidying himself up, Seiji sat outside, contemplating the narrowed sickle in the sky.

“Kurenai…” he called out calmly to the dark.

The shinobi obligingly materialized before him, kneeling.

“I’m here, Master,” the shinobi answered.

“I want you to investigate something for me…I want to know if the Crown Prince of Moutan has any siblings other than Princess Yuna, Princess Meihua, and Princess Sarnai.”

“Other…? An illegitimate one, then?” asked Kurenai, puzzled.

Seiji furrowed his brow thoughtfully.

“Someone from Lord Mu’s Shadows…they would have been about nine or ten years old when I went to Moutan.”

Kurenai’s eyebrows shifted upward, but knew better than to question his Master’s orders. He nodded.

“I’ll report as soon as I have information.”

“Go then.”

Kurenai slipped away, but he was troubled. He had never before seen such a complicated expression on his Prince’s face.