Beatrix’s spirit awoke in a void of pure white, there was no sound, no wind, and he couldn’t feel the ground beneath him. He was startled, so he waited a few moments for someone, or something, to happen. 

Shouldn't Tengoku be answering me?

Beatrix did not wait long before deciding to move and walk around, which was hard because it really didn’t feel like he was going anywhere. But he did eventually see a bright blue figure in the distance. 

That must be him!

Beatrix ran to the blue light. He made wind in a place with no sky. As he got closer, he realized the finger was way smaller than the Tengoku, but still taller than him. He reached the figure, but it was just made of light, and it did not speak or move. 

It was a qillin. It had two large antlers that stretched behind its head. It had the face of a slender dragon, and the body of a strong deer. But it had scales, and only fur in its legs, tail, mane, and chest. It had dragon talons for teeth that jutted out of the bottom of its mouth. Its tail was thick and long. It looked powerful, but slender, lean and beautiful. It was captivating, like a moth flies to fire, one might see a qillin and only stare until it leaves. 

Suddenly, the world around him changed. Large bright green leaves started to sprout from moist dirt that appeared beneath him. Trees grew all around him and seemed so tall no one could ever reach the top. The qullin came to life and showed its true colours. Its antlers were dark like thick wood, and its mane was a dim yellow, its fur, what little it had, was long and luxurious. Its scales were all different shades of blue that sparkled in the sunlight. 

It started running, bouncing like a deer through the bushes. Beatrix ran after him, there was no such thing as exhaustion in a dream, so he ran and ran. His paws leaped from every large root. He crossed a small river, he bounced off of every large glistening rock, to the next. He made sharp turns that scooped dirt up and sent it flying, the bugs in the ground buzzed in annoyance around Beatrix's face. There was no time for him to notice the flowers that were thrice as tall as him, or the majestic frogs in shades of all colours he had never seen before. 

Beatrix burst out of the large leaves and grass at the edge of the forest and stopped. The qullin was standing regally as it looked down onto Beatrix from a small cliff on the side of a mountain. He stared at it, but he didn’t move. Then it turned around and entered the cave behind it.