Eden’s POV

“This is it,” Empress pointed up towards a small metal circle that looked to be the opening to wherever in the sanctuary it led to.

“Let’s go,” I said, beginning to climb the ladder but paused as she dragged me down and she shook her head towards me.

“No, you can’t barge in there without a plan,” she spoke out.

“I have read enough military and trained for this- well not specifically this but I can handle myself,” I told her with a wide grin on my face.

“You are going against that not only with that knowledge but more advanced training and battle experiences. We need to fight smart, not hard right now.” she reminded me.

I deflated a bit, as I remembered earlier events, I almost lost my life because I jumped headfirst because I both underestimated my opponent and overestimated myself. If Lord Lang wasn’t with me, I would surely not be here talking to Tsubaki’s mother. I felt a pat on my back and I looked at the Empress as she smiled at me.

“Don’t worry, I have a plan that just might work but I need your opinion on it, first.” she smiled.

“Sure thing Ma’am.” I smiled back.

Pan-An’s POV

I sat at the altar in the main room of the sanctuary, while I saw Tsubaki laying down right beside me, still unconscious. I still couldn’t move my body, and it was starting to pain to be completely still for a long period. I glanced to the side as I overheard a conversation my father was having with the Monks and he did not seem happy.

“What do you mean, you won’t commence with the ceremony?!” my father yelled.

“I do beg your pardon, your Majesty, for I was sure I already told you our reasoning.” the Head- Funlu Zhan said.

“Despicable, I will have your heads if you disobey me.” father continued.

“Your Majesty, you must understand. Allow though we follow some of your orders. Our ultimate leader is Lord Fenix, we never actually had to listen to you- we mainly did so out of respect.” Chen Dai intervened.

“I am your leader and I say you help my son get his powers back this instant.” father yelled once more.

“No, we are following our God and allowing Tsubaki to gain the Land’s powers- it was never your decision to make Your Majesty.” Danshi Su commented.

“This defiance is unacceptable, guards arrest them.” father commanded.

“Sorry, Your Majesty. But we aren’t allowed to touch a Sanctified Monk. Remember it is considered bad luck and misfortune.” a guard spoke from the door.

“Sanctified or not, I permitted them to be Monks- I can easily take it away from them. Now arrest them.” father screamed.

Gong Xinya sighed before glancing at the others, and when she received slow nods she spoke, “To not cause any more chaos on the Holy Grounds we will accept our fate of imprisonment but we must stay in the room for this is a sacred ceremony that we can not miss.”

And with that, the Monks were rounded into the corner of the room but one was called back, “Zen Tzu, come here” father called him.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” he answered.

“You will do this ceremony since you didn’t open your mouth.”

“I am sorry, I can-..”

“What?”

“I can’t do that, Your Majesty, it's against-...”

“Against what?”

“Our code, that we swore to. I can’t”

“Is that so?”

I heard a scream and a thud as Tzu’s body came into contact with the floor. He was bent over the floor shaking, gasping, and whimpering. I bet this is one of the many times he wished he didn’t give up his magic to be a Monk.

“Repeat that I dare you.”

“I can’t!” Tzu screamed.

“Oh is that so, then killing you won’t be a problem.”

“Lord Fenix help me.”

“You are under my hand, you should be begging me for mercy.”

Tzu screamed even louder, now crying and curled up into a circle. The number of harmful spells my father was inflicting on his magicless, unprotected body must have been tremendous. 

“Stop, I will do the ceremony not him,” Funlu spoke out.

“And why would you do that?”

“Because you have to have the Head of the Monks to initiate the ceremony, even if Tzu changed his mind and followed your orders, he couldn’t begin it,” he explained.

“Brother no. Don’t fall for the temptation.” Tzu gasped.

“A friend of the living is suffering, I would do anything to stop it, Brother. Even if it means tainting my title and name.” Funlu said as he came forward.

“Good, now go set up.” Father motioned for him to leave.

“While I am gone, you guys take care of Tzu for me,” Funlu said, exiting the room.

“Finally, everything is back in order again-...”

A ring of explosions went off in the sanctuary shaking the building from its force. When the debris settled, we were met with several figures of my mother around the room.

“What is the meaning of this? How did you get out and why are there so many of you?” father questioned.

“As a former Empress, it is my duty to help and save my empire anyway I can. As a former Wife, I am to make sure my Ex-Husband doesn’t make foolish decisions. And as a mother, I am to make sure all my children are safe and cared for.” she responded.

“Let you do any of those things straight when you had a chance in all of those positions in the past. You choose to make poor choices and mess up what you are trying to fix now.” my father exclaimed.

“I am glad for a second chance, for them I am grateful and this time I will finish what I started 15 years ago. I will not run or hide- I will fight and make sure you don’t break things around you even more,” she said pointing right at my father.

Father wasn’t pleased, “I would like to see you try. Guards!”

With that the guards attacked her in a formation of three sets, my mother shifted into her fighting stance and attacked the guards head-on. All of her versions took out the majority of the guards in one strong and well-timed shock wave. I finally got some ability to move back and I turned towards the fight scene crying a bit. Never would I have thought I would be so happy to see my mother coming to aid and fight against my father- she was always behind him but not they were enemies.

“Got you!” Father shouted, sending a blast towards mother but it ended up fading as it hit.

“Illusion! But you don’t have that power?” 

“Going to have to try better than that.” She knocked out all the guards. After about ten of them went outside, maybe to prevent other guards from entering. There was only one of her left, and father aimed at her once more. She smirked, charging towards him at full speed, shouting with all her might.

“Foolish woman, you are open.” He said as he stabbed her in the chest once more.

“That must be your favourite move huh? I should return the favour.”

Mother disappeared and reappeared behind Father stabbing him right through the heart, she laughed in triumph but soon jumped back as blood ropes lashed out at her. She grimaced as she watched the wound she gave Father healed quickly turning into a scar on his back. Father then straightened himself, cracking his bones in the process. Taking both his arms and digging into his flesh causing them to bleed. His blood flowed out his wounds and around himself.

“I am done playing nice.” father whispered before punching mother in the face- she then disappeared.

“Come out you coward woman, if you do I will kill you quickly- don’t and I will give you a slow and painful death.”

“Your Majesty, I am ready for the ceremony,” Funlu said as he stood with his other Monks that were still very much here just hiding from all the threatening magic auras being thrown around the room.

“Good, I will try not to disturb your ceremony so much. Start it. I have a business to attend to.” father said to him.

A shaking nod came from Funlu and he went to his pace at the altar, his eyes beginning to glow as he started his prayer to commence the ceremony. Father turned around back only to get jumped by five versions of mother- one in the front, back, left, right, and above. Father grunted but was then distracted when he felt his feet being grabbed only to realize that there was a version below him. He clasped his hands charging up his energy then released it with a shout- immediately taking out all Mother's versions.

“Found you.” Father aimed to his right, sending a blast.

When the debris cleared once more I not only saw my mother but the boy from earlier, you seemed like he was waking up from his sleep. My father then placed both his arms out and soon both mother and the other boy were choking in my father’s tight grasp.

“I can’t believe you made me use my powers to this extent, let me say you were very troublesome especially with that illusion magic. But magic at that level doesn’t work on me, maybe if you were a bit stronger you might have dealt a serious blow.” Father smirked as they both clawed at his arms to try to loosen his grip. 

“Stop this.” my mother gasped.

I felt like I was about to cry when I saw his grip getting tighter. The boy looked like he was about to blackout with the way his face turned purple and his moves slowed.

“Death is near to you two.”

I started to hear bones cracking and I looked away because I couldn’t watch this, my mother dying in front of my eyes- it was just too much for me. Then I heard the final breaking bone noises and I winced- but then I heard my father grunt which made my eyes open. The Monks had intervened, attacking my father, two of them healing my mother and the boy while the other three surrounded him, each glowing.

“So you have finally started to disobey me publicly, even resorting to magic that isn’t even your own. Let us see how long you can survive before you are all either dead or underneath my feet begging for mercy.” father warns.

“In the name of Lord Fenix seize this instant.” they all screamed at him.

“In the name of me, I declared you unworthy to bear the Hun Empire Crest.” father rebutted.

“In the name of Lord Fenix, let the sanctuary be covered and sent to the holy lands,” Funlu shouted as he extended his arms in the air, eyes still glowing.

The room started to shake and from the sanctuary to the roof started sparkling in all its white pure glory with rings of red, orange, and gold. The room soon started to be surrounded by thick opaque blood walls going towards the centre of the room above us. Tiny lines of blood moved from the altar connecting to the Monks, mother, father, me, and a Tsubaki that woke up grabbing onto me for dear life as the room continued to shake.

“Yes! I won!” Father laughed.

“No! Not yet, please not yet.” mother screamed and cried.

As the barrier was about to close the roof above us caved in as we heard several thuds and figures entering the right as the buried closed.

“We made it in time.” Lingjiang’s voice came from the settling debris. 

“I can’t believe we did it, that was some real speed, Lord Lang.” Ruoqiu giggled.

“I feel like I am gonna puke,” Peru said as he leaned against the barrier.

“But, how? You aren’t supposed to be here!” Father started to get angry.

“Zian!” my mother screamed as she hugged the teenage boy from earlier.

“Mama!” Zian? Smiled into my mother’s arms.

“You aren’t supposed to remember that she is your mother, you are a farmer boy now. I won’t have the family name be tainted. Just how!” Father continued to shout.

“You would be surprised that I can open any barrier placed on a person’s mind, Your Majesty.” Lord Lang spoke up.

“Lord Lang, you guys made it.” the Wolf boy finally noticed.

“Rest, we will reach the holy lands soon, you need your rest, the fight isn’t over as yet.” Lord Lang said as he glared at my father. “Far from over.” 

I looked at the ground once more and saw that the bloodlines connected to everyone in the room except Lord Lang, and the Wolf Boy.

“She is here, and she is very angry.” Funlu finally said as he respectfully bowed towards the altar. 

Everyone followed his lead except Lord Lang who simply sat on his knees. Just then a portal opened and out walked a well-toned woman with large traditional Chinese garments- simpler to my mother’s empress robe but more elegant and redder. Her eyes were crimson red and had skinny black pupils and her silky black hair was up in three sections each parted by hairpins with the Empire’s Crest floating behind her- indeed she looked mad.

“Humble greetings Lord Fenix.” Lord Lang was the first to speak out.