Chapter 9: Unexpected Visitors

Shen Yi sat awake in her bed, the night's events fresh in her mind even hours later. It had only been a few days, but she'd already gotten used to Theriault's presence.

She hadn't wanted to marry him anyway, especially if she wasn't going to get a say, but something about what he had said left a bad taste in her mouth.

"It's just your family that sucks..." She muttered, reminiscing what he had said with his carefree smile. He had pissed off an entire family estate and walked away with no challenge.

Shen Yi wished she had that kind of confidence. Being able to tell off her family and do what she wanted, that freedom... It's what she longed for.

*Knock* *Knock*

Shen Yi sat up as the door opened, seeing her grandmother walk in with a serious look on her face.

They looked at each other, neither saying a word until, finally, Shen Lim sat down on the bed and let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry Shen Yi, I got ahead of myself," She apologized, looking at her granddaughter with a sad smile. "I thought marriage would be best for you, especially to someone so formidable and wealthy... Though I think it might have made things worse for our family..."

Shen Yi shook her head. "I don't blame you LimLim," She said hurriedly. "I blame Mother, she's always trying to force things on me that I never asked for..."

Shen Lim nodded, agreeing as she set a hand on Shen Yi's leg. "Are you okay? That boy sure didn't pull any punches haha..."

Shen Yi knew she was referring to Theriault's words, but there was also a subtle nod to what had happened to Shen Tang.

"No, it's fine." She replied, "I think I was just using Shen Tang to rebel against what Mother wanted, I never even liked him..."

Silence fell over the two women before Shen Lim smiled. "I know what you're thinking," She said as if she was revealing an important secret. "You want to ask to go with him," Shen Lim finished, causing Shen Yi to widen her eyes.

"W-What!?" Shen Yi said, standing up as she shook her head. "No grandmother, I could never leave the family, I was just a little angry at Mother is all, I promise I'm not thinking of-"

"Shh, quiet child," Shen Lim interrupted, her smile still solid on her face. "I think you should."

Shen Yi paused. "You... do?" She asked, looking at her grandmother in shock.

While she had been thinking about what it would be like to be free and go out into the world, she wasn't planning on acting on it. Though... Why shouldn't she?

There was nothing for her at the estate. She'd grow old here, have children, pass on The Love Key, and die, just as all her ancestors had done for generations now.

But Shen Yi had her doubts. 'Is that what I want, to be tied down by my family all my life and never have any fun?'

"Yes," Shen Lim said, interrupting her granddaughter's thoughts, "I think you should leave and explore the world. While you'd be a great leader on your own, I believe gaining some real-world experience could benefit you in the future... He plans to leave once he receives The LingJing figurine, if you want to see the world, get in trouble, or go on an adventure, I have a feeling this is your best bet..."

Shen Yi stood there in silence. She knew Shen Lim was right, this was her best chance to do what she'd always wanted... Decide on her own. So why was it so difficult to choose?

...

(Elsewhere)

Heavy footsteps echoed through the night as a man ran, his lungs on fire and his heart beating a million miles an hour.

"Fuck, fuck!" He yelled as he heard his pursuers getting closer.

As the man rounded the corner he hit something solid, bouncing off of it and slamming into the concrete.

He quickly recovered, standing up and looking at what he had hit.

"Hello, Smith..." A voice said as blood covered the asphalt, Smith's head falling from his shoulders at the same time.

"God damn it Cloud!" A voice chided as three people with bright-colored hair and eccentric facial features looked at the killer with annoyed expressions.

"You guys should have been quicker," The small white-haired boy, Cloud, said, smirking as his lifeless eyes looked at the body.

"Well... What key did he have?" A green-haired girl asked, looking curiously at the body as Cloud crouched down, grabbing the chain around his neck, holding it up, and looking at a bronze key.

"A useless one... but at least he's dead," Cloud said with a smile, pocketing the magical key as he sniffed the air.

"Ah... my favorite smell... Dead Keymasters," He said aloud, raising his arms.

"Yeah! Dead Keymasters!" The pink-haired male said, laughing maniacally as he stomped down on the head, the dead man's brains and blood gushing out.

Cloud watched the sky. "Arcadia shall be open again, follow me my brethren, it seems we are close to an estate," He said, his eyes sparkling as the two females and one male smiled as well.

"Wait," The purple-haired female said, "Is that a smart idea Cloud? There are only four of us, trying to take on a family right now could mean our death..."

Cloud looked at the purple-haired female, squinting his eyes before claws popped where his fingernails were, whistling through the air as he stabbed into the female's stomach, his lifeless eyes staring into her own.

"Hey, I'm the leader, you just do as I say, understand?" Cloud asked, receiving a nod from the female and yanking his hand out of her gut.

"Then let's go, I'm getting finicky..."

...

Theriault was dressed back in his normal clothes, looking out the window and seeing many of the family still active, probably talking about what he'd done.

'Couldn't care less,' He thought to himself. He was ready to continue the search for the master key, he'd gotten too sidetracked. As he stood at the window, breathing in the fresh air, he decided.

'No more distractions, I don't need these guys to meet the council...'

"Hah, look at you, did you think they wouldn't be that bad?" A voice interrupted, causing Theriault's expression to harden.

"I don't need your bullshit right now..." He said, looking at the hooded skeleton.

"Well is there ever a time you need my bullshit?" The skeleton countered, earning a small smile from Theriault as he sighed.

"I guess you're right. What are you going to say this time? That you told me so?, that I never should have entertained the idea of living with other humans..."

Theriault stopped talking, sighing inwardly as he controlled his emotions.

"Ah kid, you're so young and naive, even after all this time..." The skeleton said, floating to the bed and plopping down comfortably.

"But basically yes, you simply can't interact with humans anymore, not after what they did to you-"

Theriault turned toward the skeleton, raising a finger to his lips in warning. "Let's just keep quiet, that's enough yapping for a while," He said, the skeleton disappearing.

"You can bury your emotions as much as you want... They'll be your doom," The skeleton warned, its presence disappearing as Theriault clenched his fists.

"Is it so wrong to hope that for once, just once... I could feel normal?" He asked himself, looking at his pale skin in disgust.

Theriault reached his hand out, an angry expression on his face as he closed his hand around the handle of a knife, bringing it to his arm.

*Tap*

Theriault stopped, hearing a small tap on the door and snapping back to reality, dropping the knife and shaking his head.

Theriault answered the door, surprised to see Shen Yi, dressed in a nightgown, standing there.

"Can I come in?" She asked quietly, shaking slightly. Theriault shrugged, leaving the door open as he walked back into the room and kicked the knife under the bed.

"What'd you need?" Theriault said after she closed the door. He wasn't expecting to see her again until she gave him the Lingjing figurine.

She stood there, silent for a while before looking around nervously. Theriault rolled his eyes, he hated the overly dramatic shit this family did.

But what she said next he never could have guessed.

"Let me leave here with you!" She yelled. Blushing deeply as she looked at him with a serious expression.

"Are you crazy?" He asked, looking at her in confusion. "Why would you want to leave with me? And why would I let you?" Theriault asked incredulously.

He had never once given any hints that he wanted a companion on his journey. Hell, as he looked at Shen Yi he didn't even know why she would want to go.

That's when Theriault stopped, realizing that Shen Yi didn't even know the first thing about him, yet she was asking to go with him, leave her family and all her responsibilities.

"No," He answered simply, cutting her off as she was about to explain herself. "You don't even know what you're asking, besides... You wouldn't survive long."

"How do you know? I know how dangerous the world can be outside the estate, please let me go with you! I need the experience, and I want to choose what I do from now on."

Theriault sighed. "However dangerous you think the world is right now, going with me will make it a million times more dangerous, you could have your life taken from you in an instant, so how about you just take a deep breath and stay-"

Theriault paused as a distant noise reached his ears. It was a noise he was quite familiar with... The sound of people screaming.

"Run! Everyone get out of he-" Theriault heard a man yell, his voice cutting off.

Shen Yi rushed passed him, staring out the window and seeing her estate building in flames, burning brightly as men, women, and children screamed and ran, dropping like flies.

"W-What..." She gasped, her eyes widening as the door to Theriault's room burst open.

"My Love!" Jinnouchi, dressed in a black suit with his hair combed back, yelled, rushing into the room and grabbing Shen Yi by the arm. "We must go! They are here!" He yelled, yanking Shen Yi from the window sill.

"Huh?!" Shen Yi yelled back, resisting his pull. "Unhand me and explain!" She commanded, Jinnouchi's eyes flashing pink as he let her go.

"The estate is being attacked my love, Arcadians..."

Theriault widened his eyes, "You're sure?" He asked, grabbing Jinnouchi.

The man nodded, his attention still on Shen Yi.

Theriault let him go, rushing toward the window and jumping out, disappearing and leaving the other two.

"My love, we must go!" Jinnouchi yelled, not grabbing her this time.

Shen Yi didn't listen, pushing past Jinnouchi and rushing out of the room, her heart racing at a million miles an hour.

…

Cloud slashed through women and children, killing their fathers, brothers, and cousins that attempted to stop him.

"Land, you want in on this?" Cloud said, kicking the head off a man and sending it flying to the green-haired Arcadian.

She jumped in the air, her mouth stretching four times beyond a normal human's mouth and chomping down on the head, smiling as she looked around for more.

"Cloud you were right!" Juniper, the purple-haired Arcadian female said, ripping apart a woman who was standing between her and a crying child. "This is fun!"

Cloud smiled gleefully seeing the chaos. "Yeah, I never knew there was an estate in Beijing, I've been here two years and never knew about this place!"

Cloud sniffed the air, his pupils dilating as he smiled wildly.

"Well well well," He said, turning around and seeing Theriault stand there, hands in pockets as he looked at Cloud with indifference. "Never thought I'd smell something so disgusting again…" Cloud finished, sheathing his claws.

"Yeah? And I never thought I'd see you again, guess we were both wrong," Theriault said, standing there with his fists clenched.

*Boom!*

Cloud rushed forward, the ground cracking as he did so, and slammed into Theriault, outstretching his claws toward the boy's neck.

"It's been a while how have you been?" Cloud said cheerfully as Theriault dodged his claws, taking a step back and spinning on the balls of his feet, sending a kick toward Cloud's stomach.

Easily blocking the kick, Cloud stepped closer to Theriault, claws out and glinting under the moonlight.

"Actually this week's been pretty shit... And now it's worse," Theriault said, grabbing Cloud's wrist and sending a fist flying at his chin.

"Sad to hear that..." Cloud replied as he dodged. This went on for a bit, each one blocking or dodging the other's attacks as the screams of terror, flames, and chaos around them escalated.

"Arcadians!" A voice yelled out as Theriault jumped back.

Shen Bo stood at the top of the courtyard, a sword in hand as she looked at the blood-stained estate.

"Finally! I thought we would wipe out this entire family before a Keymaster finally showed up... Not including you of course," Cloud yelled, focusing his attention on Shen Bo, turning away from Theriault.

"Hey... It's been six years... You know what you did... And you think I'll let you stop?" Theriault said, his voice cold as he looked at Cloud.

"Of course... Since you're just a failed fucker anyway, you don't have a choice on what anyone does."

Cloud flashed toward Shen Bo, catching her sword with his claws and growling at the woman.

Theriault took a step forward, only to be stopped with a hand on his chest. "You don't want to be near her when she's fighting, help me," Shen Wuhan said, appearing in front of him, a serious look on his battered face.

He had clearly been busy since the attack had started, half of his clothes were burned, his arm was wrapped with several different random things, and blood was bleeding from other unwrapped wounds. He looked like shit.

Theriault's eyes lingered on Cloud for a second before he turned away, inwardly sighing and following Shen Wuhan's lead.

They ran to the library, which seemed to be the only untouched thing in the entire estate, several wounded children and adults huddled at the back, some of the older ones standing guard, ready for an attack.

"I never would have expected Arcadians to show up out of the blue, I've never seen such erratic behavior... And there's only four of them."

"It's the white haired one," Theriault said as they several people stood up, asking questions and looking at Shen Wuhan with hope.

"What do you mean? Do you somehow know that demon?" Shen Wuhan asked, looking at Theriault incredulously.

Theriault didn't elaborate, allowing Shen Wuhan to address his family, but the older man glanced at him several times with a suspicious look in his eye.

"Everyone... It's not good out there," Shen Wuhan admitted. "Several of our family are dead, the guardians are seperated and looking for survivors, the Arcadians... are being taken care of by The head-"

"What about the heiress?!" One man cried.

"Yeah! Where's Shen Yi! She could use the key to protect us!" Another yelled, and then suddenly everyone was yelling, screaming their opinions.

"I don't know where my daughter is!" Shen Wuhan snapped, an angry look on his face as he addressed the scared and wounded crowd.

"Last I checked she was in my room," Theriault said. Although he didn't mean to sound accusatory, that's how it came off to the family.

"Are you trying to say she'd rather hide then fight?!" An elderly man yelled.

Before Theriault could explain that wasn't what he meant, everyone quieted down as a voice spoke up.

"My My... All this prey in one place hehe," The pink haired male Arcadian said, licking his lips. "Hello humans..."

_

Discord: https://discord.gg/ZDJQyuA77e