'Let's go see those views together, the ones I've told you about.'
Her voice ever so soft. Gentle as the wind that blew weakly while they sat shoulder to shoulder.
'This scene…'
Dan Shu thought while staring blankly at the artificial sun gradually disappearing on the other side of the delve's false sky.
Her breath hitched. A memory that was so precious that she would rather take her own life than forget it.
A memory so precious that she endured sitting in the puddle of her own blood so she could see the world for only a brief moment.
"I wish this scene lasted forever."
"Hopefully not since it would only bring you more pain. How are your eyes?"
"..."
Dan Shu didn't want to respond.
More like she couldn't respond to the person behind this voice she didn't expect to hear once more.
With a stiff neck she moved her head to see the person beside her.
Short black hair that shimmered with light like soft silk, pale skin beautiful like the best ceramics from the Zhuming.
Her ebony eyes focused on the sunset in the distance but it was evident by how bloodshot her eyes were that she had been shedding tears for a while.
"Yunfei…"
Dan Shu had a hard time saying her name. However, once she managed to do so, it felt like a surge of emotions wanted to escape.
'Yunfei' hearing Dan Shu, let out a small laugh and continued to watch the sunset in silence for a while longer.
"I have something to tell you. Recently there has been a war between the Alliance and the Denizens of Abundance."
A small smile lingered on her face as she spoke casually but these very words made Dan Shu's stomach drop to the floor.
"The Alliance needs a healer…"
…Stop
"I just so happen to be the best one…"
…Don't
"I'll be in a field hospital away from the front lines so I won't be in danger. Besides…"
…Please
"The Rainbow Arbiter will keep me safe. Right?"
Her expression was still calm as ever but it only made Dan Shu's heart hurt even more.
Knowing full well what happened.
"Isn't it right, Dan Shu?"
A light began to glow in the distance and Dan Shu looked at it in horror. A little wisp that eventually turned into a glow that illuminated the dark sky.
An arrow filled with the shine of the stars. This very arrow…
Was now headed their way.
"I'll be back safe and sound so don't worry!"
Her smile that usually illuminated her dark world, was now outshined by this wretched arrow.
***
"I swear, why does everything go wrong when I'm alone…"
In a dense sea of green dust, flames bloomed and a large dome of gold formed around two individuals.
The dust wanted to smother and overwhelm the flames but instead its pitiful attempt was welcomed by a greedy entity that wanted to devour it whole in return.
Yuuto was silent as he increased the intensity and tried to control the rapidly changing situation, while Dan Shu on the other hand felt her body stiffen up.
Her dull eyes regained some sort of clarity.
For a brief moment she had fallen out of her delirious state but reality quickly began to set back in and all she could do was laugh bitterly.
There was no sunset, no lingering pain that was once in her eyes and not a single trace of Yunfei.
Only a reminder that what she saw was a scene of the past. Never to come back.
'She's awake but she's out of it right now.'
Yuuto, who was quick to notice her state, stood in silence hearing her long hollow laugh.
Not missing a beat, his fingertips let off a soft white glow and guided it towards her neck.
–SNAP!
"This should be enough for now."
Sounds of threads breaking and the air divided before a fist sized object fell to the ground.
The appearance—Light brown bark and familiar looking golden leaves.
"I could stop the mara from spreading in the meantime but seeing as its coming back just as fast…"
He clicked his tongue after seeing the blatant signs of mara reappearing despite his attempt to calm her emotions down and disrupt the mara from growing.
And the reason for this reaction? Was the object just a few meters away from him.
A trunk as thick as a barrel and leaves brimming with a similar hue as the Arbor. It was an exact replica if not a direct extension of the famed plague mark considering the roots steadily connecting to the main source.
But that wasn't the main issue.
This green dust or smoke that came from the tree felt like a gust of wind to him and was only slightly uncomfortable due to the density it had.
However, to a Luofu native it fueled the curse that wouldn't let them go. Reminding them of their past with how their ancestors ate the fruit of the Arbor to gain immortality.
"Not only does it immediately cause mara to appear when it comes into contact with a native but its presence causes negative emotions and memories to soar."
Yuuto thought of this as Dan Shu's mental state immediately collapsed when the unknown man ate that ominous apple and turned into that miniature Arbor.
But this information only made the implications it had weigh more on his mind.
"I'm not sure how many of those 'apples' do those disciples from the Sanctus have but if they were to eat one in the middle of a safezone…"
The damage would be devastating.
He pinched the tip of his nose just thinking of this but it wasn't as if all hope was lost.
"Based on the conversation the two had, it seems like Dan Shu has lost her status as the leader and someone has taken over. Maybe that Mauve Moon the man was talking about."
Dan Shu who was once considered an antagonist now found herself in an ambiguous situation and now carried information he wanted to know.
Yuuto hovered his hand over Dan Shu sensing her mara returning once more and silently gathered the pieces of information he knew.
One, Dan Shu has some crucial information about the changes occurring. Two, Mauve Moon was most likely the new leader and in turn the supposed 'Saint' Yanqing was talking about before.
His eyes flickered with a white hue before he stood up and wrapped Dan Shu in a light layer of mist mixed with energy from [Memory of the World] to reduce the amount of mara appearing.
"But first I should contain this tree or even sever it completely."
The gold dome moved to his wishes and as if responding to his will, it ran off its leash as Yuuto didn't want to waste anymore time.
It was apparent to him that Phantylia was tired of his interference ever since her plan of using the Sanctus to cause discord within the Luofu was no longer feasible.
Now with a new pawn to use, it was her turn to retaliate more aggressively.
"Fu Xuan has a good head on her shoulder so she should understand my advice and the others should already be meeting the Ebon Deer so I can at least contain this new variable that appeared."
With this in mind, the vicinity was covered in a raging sea of flames that devoured the green dust.
The miniature 'Arbor' felt a sense of danger as the flames began to approach it slowly and moved its branches defensively
Roots squirmed and dimmed from its brown colour to a tone that was green and white.
A long snout, sharp teeth and a long body that carried a scent of vitality. A wolf-like creature emerged and bared its teeth at Yuuto who was running towards it.
"[Break]."
Raising his hand forward, light formed and came into contact with the sharp branches aimed at his head while he kept an eye on the wolf that acted as a guardian to the tree.
His palm connected and the branches snapped apart as [Break] filled it with the concept of shattering apart. Its destruction was quick but it was only a small portion considering that it recovered its broken piece in an instant.
Yuuto ducked seeing the effect the memory had before twisting his body and striking the wolf that appeared behind him.
His sword was sharp and let out a heavy light as it disappeared in his hands.
Moonlight covered the wolf and erupted. Ripping the air apart while Yuuto guided it to hit vital spots using [Illumine] as a guide.
The forelegs and a piece of its head was instantly severed matching the speed in which his sword moved.
Yuuto pulled back and watched intently as the wolf fell apart but as usual, he was met with a scene as to why the Arbor was despised so much by the Hunt.
"Almost instant regeneration. Perfect."
The forelegs that were severed wiggled and found its original position on the wolf's body. The creature that had suffered critical wounds was now back to almost perfect health.
"Standard attacks won't do much since it'll just regenerate the damage. So I have to do more than just overwhelm it with speed like what I usually do."
Adjusting himself and seeing the wolf rush him, Yuuto rubbed his fingers against the flat edge of his sword and swiped it towards the tip.
His white sword turned a shade of gold and eventually transformed into a weapon that embodied the golden flames within him.
Moonlight was replaced and Yuuto burned the space around him.
Sensing the Arbor let out a subtle hint of urgency after he changed his stance, it released a flurry of roots to uphold him.
"Perfect time to make some firewood."
The greatsword in his hand felt excited as it was able to feel his intentions and released a fierce arc of fire towards the upcoming roots.
It hadn't even reached a meter of Yuuto before they met the attack he created and completely disregarded the Arbor's attempts to reach him.
Yuuto nodded at the potency of his attacks since it was to be expected of a Stellaron's flame.
However before he could burn the remaining roots aimed towards him, he heard a commotion outside of the border where the green sea of dust reached.
"Watch out for the fire!!"
"Don't touch the green smoke!"
He used [Clarity] to see who it was and clicked his tongue seeing the team of Cloud Knights grouping up.
"They're going to be caught up in the aftermath." Yuuto muttered and urged mist to gather towards the border they were reaching.
He moved his sword to attack the branches and ran towards the border while pointing towards the wolf that was chasing him.
"[Sever]. [Burn]."
The air sliced and injured the wolf once more. Leaving the whole torso broken apart but this time, another attack came in.
Flames traveled to the severed body and near the wounds, fire continuously burned as it was keeping up with the annoying regeneration it had.
"Let me see how long its regeneration can keep up but for now…" Yuuto said while he stepped out of the dust.
His presence surprised the Cloud Knights that they immediately raised their spears at him. Yuuto didn't flinch and raised his hands.
"Stop! State who you are."
"One of the General's guests. But before anything else, I advise that you leave the area immediately."
The Cloud Knight didn't move at his advice. "By the order we have been tasked to investigate the anomaly that suddenly erupted within our region."
Yuuto said nothing at first as he looked at the guards behind what he assumed was their captain.
Each of them wore similar armour and had a similar expression on their faces. One that was studying Yuuto and what he was.
During this bout of silence from both sides, the captain spoke again. "I will reiterate, I kindly ask as to why you were here in the first place. Are you affiliated with the Sanctus?"
"No, I am not."
"So are you responsible for this anomaly?"
"...."
Yuuto answered the questions while sometimes he didn't but one thing he did was stare at the emotionless captain before asking a question himself.
"How are you feeling captain?"
"I don't understand what you mean."
"How do you feel being in constant danger for your lives?"
"It is the duty of a Cloud Knight so it is to be expected."
The captain replied without hesitation and this made Yuuto look at him deeply.
"If you are done asking questions, I will have you—--!!"
In the middle of his sentence a wave of green dust suddenly came into contact with his face and he waved his hand to blow it away.
"What are you doing!?"
"As expected…"
"Wha—-"
–SLICE
The captain didn't have the chance to question what happened as his head fell to the ground.
The Cloud Knights behind him immediately reacted and rushed Yuuto but a thin line appeared in front of them.
Leaving only a squad of people to be severed in half.
Yuuto lowered his sword and expected a waft of iron to assault his nose but none of that came.
Only the sight of bodies decomposing into brown matter and sinking into the ground beneath them.
"The first red flag was the captain speaking so calmly despite being so close to the dust but also seeing as no immediately mara showed any signs of appearing."
Yuuto felt something was off when he first exchanged words with the captain considering that he already felt the anxiousness appearing on the Cloud Knights when he dropped Sparkle off at the camp.
It was unlikely that the captain was so calm during the situation, even more so when the mere presence of the green dust from the Arbor made negative emotions and thoughts soar.
But there was something else that made it too obvious.
"It was as if he was reading a script when he spoke."
Yuuto narrowed his eyes and his figure flickered before disappearing back into the sea of dust.
As he got closer to his original position, he noticed a presence that wasn't originally there.
"Here I thought you would take your time."
"...."
"Not very talkative, huh."
The man who had a lean build but carried an intense presence made Yuuto look at him sharply.
Long hair and an eerie smile plastered on his face. He was gently petting the wolf who was still being tortured by Yuuto's flames.
"What a pitiful creature."
The man spoke while he ruffled the fur but sensing its pain, he lifted his fingers and dug them into the wolf's skull.
It was as if he was sinking his fingers into sand and the wolf let out one last cry as it got sucked into the man's body.
"You're Mauve Moon."
"Oh! I guess my reputation even surprises me." Mauve Moon chuckled.
"Of course, what can you expect from a traitor of the Luofu. I'm surprised you can maintain a smile when you're not exactly liked by the majority of the population."
"Why bother? It's not like their opinion matters going forward."
Mauve twirled his hand and the green dust that enveloped the area converged into his palm. He looked at the orb in satisfaction.
"Not when they will be begging to be blessed by the Saint of this new era."
Yuuto sneered at him. "You're quite confident in that."
"Of course."
"Of course? I guess calling yourself a Saint by using borrowed power from the Arbor is something to be proud of. How shameless, I would die of embarrassment."
His sharp words seem to have stuck a cord within Mauve Moon as he began to show a disdainful expression.
If looks could kill, Yuuto would have died a thousand times.
But that expression quickly faded as he smiled at Yuuto.
"No need to rush protecting that failure of a human being. I was going to torture her slowly but your words have impressed me."
Yuuto clicked his tongue as his intentions were quickly discovered and he vanished to block the spear aimed at Dan Shu's head.
"Shall I show you what this 'borrowed' power really is."