1 Looking Down

The Eye opened. Phantasmic swirls of golden orange danced around its being. A deep, black pupil at its center appeared to devour the lighted wisps as they came close.

The Eye looked down. It focused on a scene. It saw long trails of red—which it considered to be one of the most interesting of colors—leading up to the mountain where it usually looked. After all, it had previously only been able to look at this mountain.

Looking with its bird's-eye view, it saw that at the end of the trail was a young woman. Her long black hair that was previously in an updo had become undone, catching many leaves from the forest before the mountain.

Her complexion grew paler, and her movements became more haggard. At the center of her chest, a crimson patch grew by the minute, seeping through her red dress. The dark red jewels on her ears and necklace sickly complemented the color dying what remained of the silver lotuses embroidered on her clothes.

The woman stopped at a large rock; she couldn't move further. The rhythmic up-and-down breathing of her chest slowed, too. She gasped as she lay on her back facing the sky, her arms outstretched to each side.

With the boulder of a rock to her back and her palms facing up, she wondered where it went wrong.

Oh, where did it go wrong?

That morning, she had dressed in the finest silk robes Jade City could offer. The red dress stood out with its silver embroidery, lacing the gown with shimmering lotus flowers. She was just like those lotuses, having grown up pure and strong. Her loving mother couldn't help but say exactly that after gifting her ruby-red earrings that elegantly framed her daughter's face. Seeing her daughter all dolled up and ready, her mother gave a final, sentimental look before leaving. The clan members planned to await the groom and his party outside of the family estate. 

Left in her room, the young woman filled her head with thoughts of the upcoming spectacle. She was about to marry Fang Zhou, the son of the city's ruling Fang Clan. His family needed supplies for the subjugation of Hilden Forest. To that end, they looked towards her rich family of merchants, the Li Clan, to gain the much-needed funding. In addition to the finer details of delegating the spoils, a union between the two families was an absolute requirement. Marriage would inextricably link the interests and well-being of both families.

So, the young lady of the Li Clan was betrothed to Zhou at a young age. Today was finally the day of their wedding ceremony. It was the day the two families would be united as one.

However, she was not alone in her room. A figure clad in black had already entered. The guards and maidservants waiting just outside would never open their eyes again. The bride-to-be was too lost in thought to notice the figure creeping closer.

She wondered if she would love Zhou once she married him. She hadn't seen him on many occasions. She was, in a sense, marrying into the unknown. Would she be able to make her parents proud of her? The Li Clan's prestige depended upon this marriage being successful.

When the figure appeared in front of her, her vision turned blurry. She wanted to scream, but the sounds that entered her ears faded away. As she became dizzy, she wondered why the guards outside didn't come in to help her. What could they possibly be taking so long for?

Her rambling thoughts screamed in her mind, but after she closed her eyes, she could only tell that she was being moved somewhere. She heard a few scuffles, and then she was placed into a carriage. She assumed so due to her uncomfortable bottom, the creaking of the boards beneath her feet, and the clumping down below of what she figured were the wheels against the road.

Yet, a disturbing clicking sound unnerved her throughout the journey–irregular, incessant: click, click, clack… 

When the carriage finally stopped, she was swiftly unloaded, and she could finally see again. She concluded that a brown, burlap sack had previously restricted her vision. In front of her, the man in the black cloak was examining the surrounding forest. The woman tried to peer past his hood to see his face better, as the sun was still up, but it was to no avail. When the man noticed her peeking gaze, he gave her a swift punch to the face, knocking her down to the ground and giving her a sudden realization of the great danger she was currently in.

And that horrid noise of click-clacking still didn't stop. As she thought that the sounds were getting louder, the figure reached out to her with a gloved hand. He forcefully grabbed her hair and proceeded to drag her through the forest. He didn't seem to care that there was no path, letting the undergrowth rip into the woman's exposed skin.

Despite her head being so close to the ground, she tried to look around for a chance to escape. Her sliver of hope became nonexistent when she saw all the trees around her. They unapologetically twisted around, their canopies blocking out most of the sun.

The woman criticized herself for not paying attention to the surroundings of where the carriage had been, but she ignored that fleeting thought. It became clear to her that such precautions no longer mattered.

After a few hours of dragging, the sun had disappeared. The moon shone through the sky, dodging large fleets of murky clouds.

"Seriously," the woman thought. "How did the cloaked figure not tire out?"

But the pain of her raw limbs where the flesh started to tear drowned out her thinking. Suddenly, the figure stopped, and he threw her down. They were deep in the woods now, and menacing calls of the creatures of the night could be heard around them.

The figure reached inside his cloak and pulled out a long sword. He held it up high, the moonlight glancing off the top of the blade.

When the woman noticed, she couldn't help but frantically shout.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! You-you don't want to do this! My family is the Li Clan—Artifacts! We have artifacts! Let me go, and I can get you one!"

She tried to negotiate with the figure, but he never said a word.

Without giving the woman any further time to beg for mercy, the figure mercilessly slashed across her chest, causing a red lotus to bloom on the ground.

"Aaaaagh!" She weakly screamed. The pain was unimaginable. Her chest felt an intense heat, and she desperately yearned for instant relief.

The black figure stared at her slashed dress that now revealed the bloody and fleshy contents underneath. He lowered his head to face hers.

In a voice that was dripping with subtle disgust, he whispered out to her.

"Do you want to live?"

The question was an eerie amalgamation of clicking blended with deep, guttural tones. The figure continued, eager to know if the princess of the Li family would take the bait.

"If you do, hand over your earrings… and your necklace."

The woman was immediately unsettled by the unnatural and distorted voice, but that was the least startling. He knew a secret he shouldn't. Greatly distressed, she groaned out with the little strength she had left.

"Who—no, what are you?"

"That's what I thought."

Not wanting to waste any more time, the mysterious figure swiftly stabbed into her open chest, causing her to croak out inaudible noises. More red splatter appeared when he ripped the sword back out of her.

It was somewhat bizarre how the figure was meticulous in making sure to not hit any vital spots. The woman's wish for relief went unanswered, but she understood that the long night was far from over.

"Awoooooo!" The creatures of the night smelled that sweet, red smell. They were hungry.

The black-clad figure checked the surroundings and the severity of her wounds. After he made sure that she wouldn't last the night, he slowly backed up.

The woman imagined a devilish smile right behind the darkness of his cloak, gloating over how she'd spend the last few moments of her life in complete agony as the beasts devoured her.

The black figure disappeared before she could take another look.

She was now alone, but she wouldn't be for long. Pain gushed into her as red gushed out, causing her to think of her only chance: She had to move. Fighting against her overwhelming desire to lie down and embrace the end, she grasped her chest and struggled up, wincing with every breath. Despite the towering trees that had become more terrifying at night, she noticed a mountain nearby. There was no time for her to think further.

———

Gazing up at the stars as the recollections of the day went by, she cried. Tears welled up in her eyes, and they streamed down. She was not some peasant farmer! She was Li Ting for goodness' sake! Hundreds waited on her, and thousands more could only look on in envy.

Ting looked around before landing her gaze at the top of the mountain. She never found help or anything she could use. If only she had reached the top of the mountain–if she could have found something… anything.

Alas, as the life ebbed out of her, she could only focus on the stars above. Oh, how pretty they were. Each sparkled in its own solitude, yet they were never truly alone for they were seen by all who looked up.

Mired in her rambling thoughts, the woman's eyes began to close, her vision darkening at the edges. And that's when she saw it looking down at her… unblinking.