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Raven has not long risen when his son comes bursting into his kitchen and begins to tell him all about Einar’s plan. The elder Soul Drinker is not awake enough to take it all in, so he gets son to take a seat and asks him to go over it again in a much calmer manner. A few minutes later Raven questions, “Hold on, he is going to be doing a deflective barrier over a village?”
“Yes, Father.”
Raven points his left hand towards his chest. “Why does he think I might be able to help? Son, I have never done anything like that. To be honest I have no idea if it can be done. Then again this is Einar we are talking about, and we have both seen what he is capable of.”
“I am getting the impression Chén fēng knows his brother can do it, otherwise he would not have helped him to find more crystals.”
“You’re right. All right, I will come back with you.”
They both trot down to the hallway to put on their boots and Yūrei opens a portal to Tower Island just as the Mountain Dragon comes into land on the beach.
Chén fēng waves to them before the grey mist surrounds him and he emerges transformed in to his human form. “Morning,” he calls trotting over to them, “Raven, it is great to see you.”
“You too, dear friend. Tell me has Einar done anything like this before?”
The Dragon takes a moment to think and responds, “What I can recall it was something he was planning to attempt, sadly he never got the chance and as a result my family fell.”
The elder Soul Drinker gives him a hug. “I’m sorry.”
“Bless you, it is all right. This is something I have not said to anyone, on that fateful night we all realised Gūdú Zhànshì was clearly not a child, he was already an ancient. For the power he unleashed was unlike anything we had witnessed before. The night became day and the Black Birds were like toys to him and Shadow. I watched those giant birds, when they swooped in close to my brother, turn them to dust. Father deeply regrets not listening to him for that dreadful night could have turned out very different. That is also why I know he will succeed for I know he has taken his time to perfect his amazing gifs and we are going to witness his great power.”
The Great Warrior pats the Mountain Dragon’s chest and asks, “Then you know he is fully recovered from what he did in the hidden fortress, right?”
“Yes, he is completely recovered otherwise he would not be performing a deflective barrier.”
Raven grips his son’s shoulder and smiles. “See he knows his brother.”
The Masked Warrior nods in agreement and they head inside just as a cry comes from upstairs that is quickly followed by laughter. This makes them rush up to the kitchen to find Einar and Chén are throwing sparks at each other.
“My love, what is going on here?” Yūrei enquires watching the sparks float around the Westerner’s hand.
Einar clears his throat and announces in his deep Dungeon Master’s voice, “Ah, brave adventurer, this is none other than the great dark wizard of the Shifting Rocks of the North and he has something which belongs to me.”
Chén emits a throaty laugh and holds up a black rock which glistens like the surface of oil. “No, the Night Stone is mine and with it I will unleash an eternal darkness.”
Raven stands along side his son-in-law and holds out his hand. “No, we will not allow you to leave with that stone.”
The Snow Dragon right arm rests across his abdomen whilst his rises level with his chest and the sparks weave in and out of his slender, ringed fingers. “Ooh, a challenger," he announces in a bold voice. "Fine, see if you can hit the target behind me three times, in order to win the Night Stone.”
It is only then the others notice the paper targets that are floating behind both the Westerner and Chén. Already Einar's target has been singed at the top edge where his opponent is unscathed.
Raven wafts his left hand over the low lit fire to gather a some sparks and stands ready to unleash them towards the Chén. “I do challenge thee,” he announces, “for we cannot let you leave with that stone.”
With one wave of his hand the circling sparks are gone from Einar’s fingers, he crosses his arms and instructs, “Challenger, are you ready?" Raven gives a sharp nod and the Ink Heart continues, "All right, you have three turns in which to hit the Dark Wizard’s target. You may begin in three, two, one, strike!”
The elder Soul Drinker unleashes his first flurry of sparks. The first two waves miss the floating target, however the last wave takes out the bottom right-hand corner. Then Chén fēng steps forward and once his brother has counted down he unleashes his sparks all at once and sadly they only manage to take out the left side.
“Damn, you are just too quick with that thing,” declares the Mountain Dragon, shaking his head.
“All of you cannot defeat me,” cries Chén and laughs.
Einar takes up some sparks into to his left hand and he whispers a spell over them which turns them bright blue. “They do not call me Dungeon Master for nothing,” he declares with a smile and throws the sparks. All three hit the target in a perfect line, the sheet of paper busts into a bright white flame that quickly dissipates into powder.
the Snow Dragon looks at the pile of ash and shakes his head. “Ooh, I should have realised from that smile you were going to do that. Fine the Night Stone is yours, Dungeon Master.”
The Westerner takes the floating black stone and tells him, “You forget, Dark Wizard, I am a master of all spells.”
Chén bows and admits, “I can never out do you when you whip out the Midnight Flame. There is no way any target that is behind a barrier can withstand that. I should call you a cheat for I do not know that spell.”
Einar tosses the stone from hand to hand and smiles. “And I say to you, do not challenge me if you want to win.”
The Snow Dragon slightly raises his hands to admit defeat and goes to check on the pot of Congee. “Breakfast is ready,” he calls, giving it a stir.
Everyone takes a seat at the table and Raven softly asks, “Einar, in what way do you think I can help you with the deflective barrier?”
“I need your help to keep an eye on the protection stones, because if they begin to buckle under the strain, I need your abilities to throw it deep under the snow.”
“Right, now I understand you think some of them are not pure enough?”
“Think? No, Father, I know some of them have slight imperfections near the surface. It should not effect them… even so I want to take precautions.”
The elder Soul Drinker picks up the black stones and looks at its service that is covered in tiny craters. “Now, I would call the surface of this impure giving it is covered in cavities. A protection stone is completely smooth and I would find it hard to sport anything wrong with them. You are amazing the way you can pick one up and know straight away there is an issue. I wish I could do that.”
Einar shows him his left hand, there are a series of incantations, that are only visable to them, around the soul extractor, which appears as a slightly translucent piece of skin in the centre, it is theses strange symbols that allow the Ink Heart to detect and see things which no other Soul Drinker can. The thing is he was born and reborn with these unknown marks upon his hand. “This is the problem of inheriting spells,” he states a moment later, wiggling his fingers.
“I know exactly what you mean," responds holding up his right hand, the back of it is also covered in unknown marks he inherited. "On one hand it is a blessing and on the other it is not. I guess it is what makes us unique.”
The others nod in agreement and they all go on to eat the lovely Congee that has been favoured with honey, nuts and dried fruit. Once they have eaten and had another cup of tea the team portal to Handa Gokuraku-ji Temple and Einar makes his way to the centre of the village.
The Westerner begins to chant and draws his hands up towards his chest as though he is holding a small ball. Soon his clothes and hair begin to flap from a wind that is circling upwards from his feet. He twists his hands in opposite directions as he announces, “Kin da un sin ka min daaa.”
Yūrei, Chén, Chén fēng and Raven watch in amazement as the deflective barrier begins to rise over the top of buildings to meet in the centre to form a perfect barrier that shimmers with gold incantations.
“Oh, if only father had listened him,” whispers the Mountain Dragon, looking around. “This is prove of his capabilities.”
“You are right. Even though I am seeing it, I keep thinking this should be imposable. He is truly is amazing,” remarks Chén.
The Great Warrior places a hand to his chest and shakes his head in disbelief. “This is just phenomenal. How is he doing this?”
“I wish you three could see what I am seeing,” whispers Raven. “It is his enhancements which are glowing. They are upon his hands, around his neck and travel up to his cheeks. In all my years I have not seen marks like them, they are purple with a hit of blue at the edges and appear slightly raised. The reason he is holding his hands as though he is holding a ball is because there are series of incantations that are rotating between his hands. That right there screams master of the Unknown, Forbidden and Lost Arts. Combined magic is forbidden, yet there it is right there. It makes me wonder what happened in his part of his world for him to have this knowledge.”
“He has hinted, it was something dark which of course happened before his time,” informs Chén fēng. “He knows the elder who built the first tower is behind the marks he has inherited.”
Yūrei notices his father and Chén’s shocked expressions this makes him go to see what is wrong and once the Mountain Dragon explains the king also cannot recall his lover telling him about an already constructed tower. “It is the amnesia," he states with a sigh, "it is still effecting us. I know I will get him to remind us.” He goes on to return to the Westerner who is taking a bit of a breather and using his hands to brush down his curls.
Einar listens to his lover and is a little confused, so he agrees to remind them “My sweet Ink Summoner you are correct, I have told you all many times the moment I came through the gate I was face to face with a tower. It is why I do not live in the first one. The towers were Hati also known as Yuèliàng (Moon) idea. I just completed what he had started. The sad thing is I have never been able to find Hati.”
Raven begins to walk around them with his right index finger over his lips and he mutters, “Yuèliàng… Yuèliàng.”
“Father, you know him?” asks the Great Warrior, watching him nod.
“Yes… however, it could just be a coincidence. There is a Soul Drinker living on Bluff Island. What I will do is visit the order that is based in Hong Kong to find out more about him.”
“Wait,” says Chén, slightly raising his left hand, “father told me a story about a Soul Drinker who bared that name. He was trying to uncover why there is so much interest in the Crescent Moon Mountains. Why some gods believe the place holds great power. Yuèliàng searched for it and also tied to warn the Mountain Dragons of their pending doom, sadly they took no notice. So he vowed if he ever found this great power he would take it far away and never return. Father said because of the location of the mountains he must have gone to Tibet. There is a Soul Drinker called Zla ba at Jokhang Temple who is said to be of western decent.”
Einar holds his left hand up towards his right shoulder and utters a spell as he throws it out in front of him making the deflective barrier pop into shower of sparkling water droplets. “That fits more to his notes,” he says, crossing his arms. “Hati wanted to make sure whatever he found was kept secret and watched over by monks. He did think about taking it home to Norway, however, he strongly believed it should be kept in Aisa. I am afraid I do not know much about him only what he left behind in the first tower. Just like me my first family they had cut him off… I don’t think I need to say anything else.”
Everyone just bow their heads in respect for a moment, then Chén opens a portal to a flight of stairs that are covered in not only a thick blanket of snow, they also glisten with ice. He puts on a pair of gloves before he steps through. “I will go and find him,” he offers and closes the portal.
The Westerner is shocked, he points at the space where the portal was and shakes his head. “I did not mean he had to go right now this very minute. He could have gone wherever he wanted.”
Chén fēng rests his hands upon his waist and responds, “He is a Snow Dragon they are spontaneous.”
Einar smiles and emits a soft chuckle. “Very true, brother. Anyway, at least I know I can pull off the barrier without any trouble. Farther, how are the crystals?”
“As far as I can tell they seem to be fine,” answers Raven. “Mèng, everything all right with yours?”
Yūrei gives a sharp nod and answers, “Yes, fine. However, I know my love will also check them.”
The Western Soul Drinker’s left eyebrow rise and remarks, “You both are skilled as I am to notice when a crystal is about to pop.”
“I like the way he said that with such ease,” states Raven, gesturing his hand at the Westerner. “To be honest I would like you to check.”
Einar winks his left eye, he goes on to pull his compass out of his bag and places an unusual stone in the centre. The entire surface is made up of tiny purple crystals that sparkle in the winter sunlight. The Westerner watches the lines that appear across the surface of the compass and gives the crystal a slight tap. “Ah, we do appear to have one that is not doing well… could my enhancement have caused it?”
“Brother, for that to have occur there must have been a flaw in it and sometimes even you miss them. I will replace it with another one,” offers the Mountain Dragon.
“Thank you, Brother.”
Chén fēng gives him a pat on the arm before he runs off.
“Luckily I had some left over,” says the Ink Heart, going on to remove the crystal from the compass.
“It sure is, my love,” replies Yūrei, watching him return the compass to his bag. “Anything else you need to do?”
Einar shakes his head. “I just hope I can pull it off again tomorrow night.”
“You will, brother,” calls the Mountain Dragon as he returns to them. “Right now you need to return home to rest.”
“That is an excellent idea,” remarks Raven opening a portal to Tower Island.
“Go, my love, I will wait here for Chén’s return.”
The Westerner gives his lover a hug before he steps through the portal along with their father and Chén fēng.
The Great Warrior rubs his cold hands together and hopes the son of Dōngjì fēngbào returns soon before he completely freezes.
✫✫✫
Chén reaches the monastery surprising all the monks who are in middle of prayer and quickly rise to bow to the Snow Dragon. The head monk is an elderly man who uses a cane to walk over to the god who smiles. “Forgive me,” says Chén bowing slightly, “I did not mean to interrupt I am looking for Yuèliàng.”
When the other monks start to gasp and mutter amongst themselves their teacher waves them to leave. “I have to ask, my lord, why are you looking for him?” He listens to the stunning Snow Dragon and after a moment agrees, “There is only one way to find out. The only problem is, my lord, he is not here, you will find him in southern China. Come, I will open the gate for you.”
Chén helps the elderly monk walk through the temple to a back room that contains a stone arch. The head monk goes on to place a key into the hole and they wait for the portal to open.
The Snow Dragon points his hand at it and asks, “Did Yuèliàng built this?”
“Yes, it was his way to link the two temples, thus making it also easier for us to visit him. Although he is going to be a little surprised to see a Dragon,” says the elderly man watching him nod in agreement.
The portal leads to another room that is beautifully decorated and warm air starts to flow through. Chén is about to step through when a young man on the other side appears and the head monk quickly explains. The novice bows and beacons to the Snow Dragon to follow him and leads Chén out of the room into a garden that is surrounded by bamboo. A small house lies to the left and a cup of steaming tea lies upon a round table. A man comes stepping out of the building dressed in two shades of orange and his long black wavy hair frames his face.
“Ah, you have finally arrived,” says the Soul Drinker, turning to slightly towards them. “It is all right, son, you run along.” The novice monk performs a deep bow then trots off. “Well, I must say you are more handsome in person.”
Chén chuckles and goes on to explain why he is there which makes Yuèliàng completely turn to face him. This is when he notices a matching eyepatch covers his left eye and his right eye is as blue as Einar’s.
The Soul Drinker half smiles and questions, “All because I am a Westerner you think, pardon your father thinks I am related to the Ink Heart. Well, on one hand I think it is impossible… then on the other hand it is highly provable for I did return to my homeland to do just that have a family. I only returned to China once there was nothing in Norway to keep me. I will happily return with you and stand along side the Ink Heart whilst a Healer looks at us for I am curious to know.”
“Wonderful… I bet by now he has returned to his tower," mutters the Snow Dragon.
Yuèliàng's eye blinks and he quickly asks, “Tower? He really lives in one?”
“Yes, forgive me I should have said he lives on Tower Island that lies off the coast of Okayama Japan.”
The elder's eye grows wide and he questions, “You are saying he is the same Ink Heart who completed the towers?”
“Indeed I am. I should point out my family have known Einar for centuries. Even though his appearance has changed, he is still the same man.”
Yuèliàng is a little baffled by this. “Wait, what do you mean his appearance changed?”
Chén clears his throat and responds, “He was reincarnated.”
“I see… so he did fall in the battle of the Black Birds… I visited his tomb for I could not believe that someone so powerful was gone. I take it you do not know the details?”
“Einar sacrificed himself, he through himself in front of a bird to save three children. He was grabbed and in his dying moments he unleashed a pulse that destroyed nearly all of the birds. Einar was found clutching the very children he had saved with Death by his side and before he departed he told everyone he would one day return.”
Yuèliàng crosses his arms and slightly shakes his head. “I find it a little hard to believe that he would have thrown his life away… unless he did to prove a point that someone would again use a natural gate to bring forth creatures from the Shadow Realm.”
“Father also believes he did it to prove someone of great power should not be ignored all because they are conceded a child and the tragedy would have been avoided. He also believes that is why he allowed the bird to kill him because we all know he can protect himself with a barrier and unleash powerful spells.”
“Exactly... As I stood in front of his tomb I found myself asking those very questions, why did you not protect yourself? Why did you allow yourself to be killed when he was so young and possibly my grandchild? Please take me to him.”
Chén opens a portal back to the icy cold streets of Gose to see the Ink Summoner is still there. “Mèng, has Einar retuned home?”
“He has indeed, I will meet you there,” answers the Masked Warrior performing a slight bow at the elder Soul Drinker who responds with a nod.
The Snow Dragon quickly closes the portal and opens another one to reveal the entrance to the Ink Hearts home. He turns back to see Yuèliàng is surprised to see not just one tower. They step through and the elder Soul Drinker points his hand at the first tower.
“Home,” he whispers and continues to follow Chén into the second tower to be greeted by the masked Ink Summoner. “Hold on, you are the famous Yūrei Samurai.”
“Yes, the one and only. Come, Einar is upstairs.”
They all make their way to the kitchen where Dōng Cháo rises and looks at the Soul Drinkers in turn.
Yuèliàng points his hand at the legendary Ink Heart and questions, “Going by those markings, you are clearly my grandchild, am I right Healer?”
“You are correct and he is your seventh sons child.”
The elder Nordic Soul Drinker scoffs and shakes his head. “I never planed to have children for I had more pressing matters to attend to, like completing these very towers. However I soon came to the conclusion no one would ever know of the gate which lies above. I was also the only one who knew about it… purely because of the incantations I inflicted upon myself, hence the purple tint to some of your incantations and the eyepatch I wear is a reminder of how close I came to paying Death a visit. Why did you complete the protection towers?”
“To prevent the last true gate from being used to bring fourth the Shadow Realm. Also I have to admit it was curiosity to see if this would work.”
“I completely understand,” expresses Yuèliàng, looking around. “You truly have done a grate job. There were times when I thought the same, yet I never returned to complete the project and in a way left it to the next generation. I never thought it would be my grandson. I was expecting the Healer to say you were my great or too many greats grandchild.”
Dōng Cháo clears his throat and expresses, “I was not going to say second time around Einar is your great, great, great grandson. Sorry, Einar.”
“There is no need to apologise when I know I was finally born in to the third generation and the only reason is because the baby died before he was even born. Death, thankfully was able to place my soul into the body thus I lived once more. There was clearly nothing wrong with this body. In fact it is healthier than my old one, so it is a bit of a mystery why the baby died.”
“Forgive me for asking did your parents knew who you were?”
The Westerner rises and responds, “Father knew long before I was even born that is why I am called me Einar. By the age of twelve I had reclaimed my family from my elder brother of my first life. I gathering from your expression you knew I would be back with vengeance.”
Yuèliàng frowns and responds, “I knew it was only a matter of time before someone stood up to him and made him realise his mistakes. I was not expecting hear how young you were. Then again it makes sense when you were already an adult trapped inside a child's body. It must have been frustrating?”
“No, it gave me the perfect opportunity to perfect my abilities, thus becoming more powerful. Do not get me wrong I do regret dying for I knew it would be a long time before I returned. Then again it was more rewarding to watch my own brother crumble as I stood before him with not only a feather but also a crystal floating by my side.”
“Well, it goes to prove even the seventh child can exceed expectations,” declares the elder Western Soul Drinker raising his eyebrows. “It is one of the reasons I left home because I was not valued as much as the first born and I had grown tied of my own parents not realising that we can all achieve greatness regardless of where we were in the family. And you, my boy, my dear grandson have certainly prove that. For you are truly famous and have gone down in history as one of the greatest Soul Drinkers to ever have lived.”
Einar shakes his head. “No, I am not the greatest. I just happened to be in the right at the right time.”
Yuèliàng laughs and nods. “Spoken like a true seventh son of a seven son. Let me guess you also helped Chaos to sort out the knot in time?”
“Yes, with help from my lover, Mèng.”
The Nordic Soul Drinker places a hand to his chest and smiles. “Well, I for one am pleased to finally be out of that loop and everything is moving forward. I must say it is wonderful to meet such a famous member of the family. Einar, thank you for completing what I started.”
The Ink Heart shakes his head. “There is no need to thank me when, like I said, I was curious to uncover what these towers would do.”
Yuèliàng gives him a pat on the shoulder. “Well, whilst I am here I will go and check on my old place.”
Chén fēng slightly raises his left hand and asks, “Yuèliàng, I hope you will not mind me asking why did you not return here?”
The elder Westerner gives his grandchild a soft shake and responds, “Mainly because I knew Tower Island was owned by Einar, one of the most famous Soul Drinkers in history. The other reason the gate which used to stand on the small island was the only way for me to get to here. When it was lost the key I had no longer worked.”
“I understand you would feel like you were trespassing.”
“Exactly… Thinking about it if I did find a way back Ryūjin would recognise me, unless he is effected by the amnesia like the rest of us.”
Einar crosses his arms, he starts to frown and recalls, “Wait, you have been back when I had built half of the towers… Shadow, remembers you came stepping through the gate on a lovely spring day.” The Ink Heart slightly raises his left hand and smiles. “He’s telling me you just stood in ore at what I had accomplished. When I told you why I was finishing your project you agreed the gate needed to be sealed. The problem is those giant black birds never came from the Shadow Realm.”
ns 15.158.61.8da2
