24 Chapter 24: Exploration

'Fauna's expression turns almost judgmental as Light gives her the kimono she had designed for her. She traces the embroidered bright blue snake on the right forearm and then asks, "Why are there fish embroidered in my sleeves?"

"Because you reaction was rather fun to see." Light responds. It's the same reason there are butterflies snd birds near the base of the skirt. Fauna's expression is still as blank as ever, but the judgmental edge to it is gone. The newly ascended Empress looks around Light's little workspace and immediately catches the half done sketches she had initally made for Flora.

Light does not react to it, knowing that Fauna does not mean any offense when her eyes betray her true thoughts.

Instead, she gestures towards the small changing room, "Want to try it on?"

Fauna complies with the request. It is only half way during taking her clothes off does she realize that she had no idea how to use a kimono, "Light? Are you still there?"

"Obviously," Light answers, "I won't leave, don't worry."

"I must admit to not knowing how to wear such a complicated and ancient-styled outfit..." It takes a short while, but Fauna is eventually looking at the mirror with a complex expression. The outfit suited her and was simply designed for her, it was impossible to not feel comfortable...all that and not even mentioning the fact that it is very possible to use it to battle.

"But your hairstylebreally doesn't fit in much," Light sighs. "You won't mind me touching right?"

Fauna simply nods.'

The first thing Leiji notices as the four of them stand in front of the abandoned temple is how Zhang Binghua is immediately attracted to the architecture. She mutters things under her breath while taking in the small details on the pillars and the weird things stuck on the walls, Leiji doesn't quite understand it.

"Be careful," Jiao Zihua calls out as they enter what probably used to be a garden. "The air feels weird. We were warned about Spirits."

The weir—uh, odd mess-with-your-identity things right?

Walking into the actual building, Zhang Binghua barks out a command, "Stay together! The energy in this place is...shifting," and unsheathes her sword, looking at the floor very intently. Leiji's confusion lastss a moment, before they remember that arrays exist and the Blood Moon sect is proficient in them.

Looking at the floor with intentions to help find...something is futile for Leiji. There isn't anything that seems out of the ordinary to them. Zhang Xuanhe hisses curses under his breath and Jiao Zihua reaches out to pukl Zhang Binghua closer to thr group.

"We're trapped," he explains, "the area within the tiles with a lighter color tone is...safe, I'm pretty sure."

"It's getting smaller," Leiji comments, watching the safe area slowly close in on them. It's slow, but still noticeable and there is whispering and snickering in the back of their mind. "Where do you think the, uh, breaking point is?"

"Not the correct term, but it is way over there." Zhang Binghua points out a darker toned tile that was far in the corner farthest away from them.

...Leiji rips a part of their sleeve off and throws it outside the safe area.

It disintegrates almost immediately.

It takes a moment after for Zhang Xuanhe to start, "So I have this stupid idea—don't give me that look! I know!"

Both Zhang Binghua and Jiao Zihua are giving him this similar look that Leiji can only translate to 'goddamnit Zhang Xuanhe stop what you are thinking right now for the sake of everything good or else' with the else being scolding and a slap on the wrist at worst. They wonder just how close these three are to have such a specific look.

"You know how my sword works right?" He continues, ignoring how the stares seem to intensify. "If I just..."

"No." Zhang Binghua says this before taking said sword away. "It won't work."

"How do you know that?" Zhang Xuanhe questions, looking more serious than Leiji had ever seen him. "It might just work."

"Will it hurt you in any way if your sword disintegrates?" Leiji interjects. Jiao Zihua gives them a grateful look and Zhang Xuanhe does not answer. "If it hurts you, then it isn't worth it. Stop trying to be a hero when there are people who want you alive."

The dubbed safe area stops right around them, enough space for them to stand together but not be pressed together.

Leiji smiles faintly, the array had had its fill of energy for now. The whispers in their mind fade away and they stop sending Lightning elements to the floor. Lu Leiji may be a huge jerk, but at least he doesn't want them dead. As expected, absorbing and storing that 'heavenly tribulation' bull was useful.

It hadn't taken too much either.

"You really are something," Zhang Binghua summarizes her thoughts, she gives Zhang Xuanhe his sword back before turning around, "but threat number two is already here. Get ready."

A lion comes walking through the open doors faving the entrance. There are several problems with this phrase, however, because the lion also happens to have bunny ears, a long tail that looks like it should belong to a reptile of sorts and—Leiji isn't even kidding—wings. Like, feathered wings. Is this...normal??

Zhang Binghua seems to perk up, "Are you idiots seeing what I'm seeing?"

"That is rude," Jiao Zihua starts, seeming like he was quoting someone and he probably is, "but yeah, we're looking at a chimera."

The dubbed chimers walks over to thr dark colored tile and pressed it, the lighter colored tiles ruching back. To their original positioning. The tiles all regained their cracked, dirty and worn down appearance that Leiji hadn't noticed they lost.

Muttering lowly, Zhang Binghua stares at the chimera. Zhang Xuanhe snaps at her, "There are Spirits somewhere here."

She whines, "But it's a chimera."

"I know right." Jiao Zihua agrees with her, gesturing towards the general direction the chimera had left. "It's a goddamn chimera! Where else are we ever going to see them?"

"That still doesn't excuse it," Leiji decides, "we're here to scout out the area to make sure it's safe, I'm sure we'll bump into it more later." That seems to convince the two of them because they nod and the four of them walk through the open doors the chimera had entered and exited through.

Sifting through the information that Lu Leiji had dumped into their mind, Leiji finds what a chimera is. Apparently, chimeras are basically fusions of animals—usually three or more—that were pronounced extinct after this one movement...or religion or cult or something decided that they are definitely evil or random sh—oot like that. The movement or religion or cult or whatever was disbanded when they targeted a beast that was important for some kind of medicine.

Barely after reaching the hallway the first room the entrance led to, the ground starts shaking. Leiji barely has time to react before Zhang Binghua forces them to hunker down, in the corner of their eye, they can see Zhang Xuanhe do the same thing to Jiao Zihua.

The temple must be really sturdy, because the only things that fell were tiny rocks and dust.

Leiji doesn't understand why Zhang Binghua is so worried about them. Their confusion originating from how she positioned herself above them and the hand over the lower half of their face making sure they don't inhale anything. Her other hand is simply holding them where they are.

The shaking stops. Zhang Binghua doesn't let them go until a good minute after the dust settles. Leiji sees Jiao Zihua and Zhang Xuanhe also getting up, then asks, "Was that an earthquake or not?"

"I don't think so," Jiao Zihua softly says, then points at where they had came in from, "there's a wall blocking it now."

"And the walls made during this particular era were extra thick on the stone," Zhang Binghua adds and they collectively wince. They didn't exactly bring a pickaxe and swords aren't exactly made to pierce through a smooth stone wall. Leiji asks, "Why is the wall so smooth anyway? I don't think it's something ancient people could have done?"

"The general consensus is that the human race used to have better technology than we do and no one knows what happened to the actually smart people." Zhang Xuanhe tells them this, not snapping once which is rather odd.

All of a sudden, the door facing the one they had come through swings open and reveals a dusty room that seems to be made of gold. There is a statue in the far back of the room, as far as Leiji csn see.

Then, laughter.

The group of four look at each other, sees that none of them were laughing and looks around. Leiji squints, there seems to be a few vague blue sillhouttes of humans.

("How?" Lu Leiji asks, not believing this f*ckery. "What the actual f*ck?"

Lightning sighs. "Do I need to explain to you again? How dimwitted can someone be? When someone is very close to the World then things happen..."

"I know!" He explodes, "But you never told me about this bullsh*t!"

She sighs again.)

"Is it me or did it get a little colder in here?" Jiao Zihua asks, looking at the general direction the human sillhouttes were. He keeps flicking his gaze from them to Zhang Xuanhe and the other easily understands. Zhang Binghua observes and adds, "There's nothing here anyway, we should go there."

Her hand falls on Leiji's shoulder and taps thrice before patting it once and taking off towards the room with the statue. Put on an act, improvise.

They blink and the vague human sillhouttes have formed expressions, leering at the four of them. Leiji can't tell whether or not this is coincidental yet. What exactly is happening here? These...Spirits, presumably, are probably here on purpose. The question is who is directing everything—no, that's wrong. The real question is who can direct everything? It would have to be something that has a consciousness or intelligence...

Zhang Xuanhe slings an arm across their shoulders and practically drags them towards the room with a statue in it. "Come on! People can probably hear you thinking from outside this abandoned place."

There is a disconcerting smile on his face. They sigh and follow, the presumed Spirits not taking a single step the entire time.

Leiji only registers the sound of the ground shaking before they are promptly on the ground again, but Zhang Xuanhe is hovering above them this time. He scowls down at them, seeming very begrudging. In the back of their mind, Lu Leiji is laughing up a storm. Zhang Binghua was much more comfortable, they distantly think. She was gentler and softer. Also, she was bigger, meaning that they weren't as squished together like with Zhang Xuanhe.

"Why do you do that?" Leiji asks shortly after the shaking stops. M

"Do what?" Zhang Xuanhe snaps, dusting himself off. Leiji rolls their eyes and rewords their question, "Why do you and your sister, uh, do whatever that was whenever the ground shakes?"

He snorts, looking away. Zhang Binghua answers for him, "We were trained, it's a reflex."

Something seems wrong sbout that. Leiji wonders what it is a bit before deciding to use the fastest way—asking. "You were trained to do that whenever there is an earthquake? Isn't it a big dangerous for you two?"

Zhang Binghua suddenly seems to emanate an aura of 'don't ask me or else'. Jiao Zihua then pipes up, "I have never heard about this, is it some weird 'righteous' cultivator thing? I would think we at least shared some similarities in contingencies during natural disasters..."

"It's a family thing!!" Zhang Xuanhe blurts out.

"But why?" Jiao Zihua presses, seeming determined. Zhang Xuanhe stumble on his words and Leiji sighs, "Forget it, we still have to search this place."

Leiji turns around just in time to see the doors swing open once more.