The Sphere Awaits

"I made some inquiries," Itu said to the girls. "She was seen near the palace on that night. And she is in account with Deng Rao and the Ambassador."

"The Deng Rao thing can be a false alarm," June said. "She was with me in that mission you know. It was a misunderstanding."

"Let's see. We have to interrogate her."

"I heard she was busy in some imperial business…," Red said.

"Glad to hear that boy came to use," Itu said. 

*** 

Fei Yu couldn't sleep that night. He was prone to look at the open window frequently. At a moment, he got so mad at himself that he vowed to shut his eyes for this night no matter what. 

He couldn't sleep; his ears got more sensitive to noise. She's not coming, idiot. Tomorrow's the finals.

He was rolling on the bed for quite a while, praying to fall asleep. Suddenly, he flinched in the moonlit room, feeling a sharp knife on his neck. He gasped and gently moved his head towards the person, careful not to slit his skin.

"Red, is that you?" he asked, recovering from the shock.

The dark silhouette didn't reply.

When he slowly pushed the knife aside and the person let it be, he was sure it was the girl. Moreover, he noticed it was a chained knife. 

"I'm delighted you came." He stared at the girl. Her dark clothing strangely resembled the Heralds. He pulled down her mask and hood, revealing her face and hair. The girls of the Dynasty commonly had dark hair. Well, that made sense: she wasn't from the Dynasty. But her eyes with brown iris had a scant monolid twist. 

Fei Yu's brown gaze roved over her attire, weapons, and blades. He saw the girl staring at him, unfazed like a robot. They stared at each other for a while, which felt like infinity. Some people talk with their eyes and stare into the soul, breaking through the cobweb of lies. But they couldn't read each other, they were just watching lost in their thoughts.

The thought: You are beautiful. 

Suddenly, Fei Yu's wit poked him. "Red, tomorrow is the finals. You should test instead of roaming around."

The girl snorted. "The final is in the afternoon."

He tilted his head and said, "Fine…. Xiang Tzu's wounds haven't healed yet."

"Well, he's gonna have some more."

Fei Yu arched an eyebrow. "Or, perhaps you're gonna have some."

"We'll see." The girl grinned slightly.

"He worked hard. You don't know he can push himself beyond his limit. His rage for revenge fueled him," he spoke in a low voice.

"It sounds like you want him to win."

Fei Yu laughed mildly. "Of course. He may not be a close friend of mine, but he is a peer. And he will take revenge for me too." He smirked playfully.

The girl simply didn't care whom he sided with. But for Fei Yu, it was hard to decide who he wanted to see as the winner.

"Hey, would you like to get on to the roof? The moon is summoning us," he said.

Though almost all of the dynastians mastered the art of fighting, they—especially the girls—weren't as fatal as her. Nobel girls would never risk sneaking out at night let alone party on the roof. Moreover, they wouldn't even risk getting mud on their luxurious hanfu.

Fei Yu hadn't ever seen her in a hanfu. He wondered how beautiful she would look.

It was his dream to sit on the arched roof at midnight, dangling his legs with a lover. Now it came true. The three-story building's height terrified him for a moment. Whatever, he was okay because his attention was on the girl.

Red stared at the full moon. She reminisced the similar moonlit nights in the camp. She was holding on to the puny pieces of her memory and let go of a deep breath.

"Hey, I want to know about your days in the Legion," Fei Yu said, which sounded more like a whisper.

A sense of a burning bamboo forest flashed in her mind. "No. I'm afraid you won't like it." The reek of burnt human flesh irritated her nose.

"Wha—? Why?" He was gullible about it because he assumed there was something great about that experience. 

Every soldier of the outpost in the bamboo forest was dead, slaughtered mercilessly. She didn't share a close bond with legionaries, but that sense made her go mad for revenge.

"You are a patriot, right?" she said weakly. She killed every dynast who stood in her way. "Deng Rao killed our men and attacked us." It was a kill-or-die. But she fought because she was enraged, hankering for vengeance. She didn't mean to murder. But no one could survive if their throat was slit, or skull was crashed. She knew Fei Yu wouldn't like the details of that fight.

Deng Rao left them battling in the burning forest and headed to a place called Falcon Gorge. The Shadow Squad led by Serge managed to survive. They took a shortcut to Falcon Gorge and popped up with their blood-stained armor. The blood wasn't their own.

"Deng Rao," Fei Yu hissed. "Instead of being arrested, he is hopping freely throughout the country." His face turned sulky. "Aah. Do you know the Emperor is missing?"

What a dump Emperor, got kidnapped! In the realm of her mind, she rolled her eyes. But she was silent. Her eyes gleamed with a fake surprise. 

"You hang around with June and you don't know yet…"

Does he know about June… that she is a spy?

"Don't spread this news. The ministry is going crazy."

"Alright." She paused and tried to lighten up the mood of both of them. "Okay, as you asked about my time in the Legion, I will tell you about a blonde fool.

"His name is Gizmo. An attention-seeking—" She wanted to curse him, but she thought an aristocrat like Fei Yu wouldn't like to hear swear words. "Bastard… pretended to be an aristocrat, waving a batiste napkin while dining with us. He always competed with me. We sparred together. But soon it turned out to be a solid duel."

"You beat him up like Xiang Tzu?"

"No, not at first. Because Serge wouldn't like chaos. I mean our sergeant. But once I got a chance of beating his ass."

Fei Yu watched her moonlit face, which looked like a porcelain doll, and swallowed her words hungrily.

"Our sergeant, Otto Heim sent him after the Sphere. I chased him down only to find out that it was a distraction. Serge told him to wait for me and went to snatch the Sphere by himself."

Perhaps she wasn't someone of noble blood. Fei Yu didn't feel her being filthy as the legionaries… not anymore. 

"You know how idiot Gizmo was? He sold all the shadow energy he had in that outskirt town of the Dynasty. He was laughing that he got rich. And how arrogant he was that he wanted to kick my ass bare-handed." She cleverly cut June out of the picture. She was with her all along and guided her to stop Serge.

"Well, I didn't play fair and get into shadow form to show him what he had missed and used my weapon. I was in a hurry. I had to pull information out of him. Pathetic bastard. His jaw creaked so sweetly when I punched it. I hope he couldn't grin for a while." Red sneered at the memory.

"Why were you against your sergeant's decision?" he asked, confusedly.

June told her, the Sphere was a vessel of the strongest aranite mica, with a powerful shadow essence imprisoned inside. It could give a person the power to change the world.

"Because he selfishly wanted to exploit the Sphere. That would infuriate the war too. Moreover, I heard… if an unknown person touches the Sphere, it enslaves them." Her last words sounded more like a question.

"Yeah, you heard right. The person might get infected by the Scourge."

Though Serge was a father figure for her, It wasn't like she wanted to save him from a disaster. "In my mind, it was the right thing to do… to stop him. The Sphere doesn't belong to him. I still don't know to whom I owe my allegiance." But before meeting June, she supported the idea of sizing the Sphere.

Fei Yu was mainly interested in knowing about the Dynastian she saved. When he was about to ask, Red spoke.

"Have you ever seen the Sphere?" The Sphere might bring back her memories. It was the cause of lots of miracles. 

"Yes. Luckily twice."

"Where?" She tried to hide the urge in her voice.

"In the throne room."

"Is it always kept in the throne room?"

"Umm… that's a mystery. I heard that sometimes it is kept in a mysterious temple named the Sphere Temple. Or perhaps the Emperor keeps it in his bedroom… sleeps holding it like a pillow."

"He is immune to its touch?" 

"Yes! Because he is the Sphere Keeper."

"Oh, right…. What does it look like?"

"Like a soccer ball made of glass…. But the interesting thing is the shadow energy inside it, doesn't just float like a thick black fog as ordinary shadow energy… it roams like an eerie ghost. As if it can sense people's presence, sounds, and changes in the environment. That's something spectacular."

June said as if it sneaked right into someone's soul and the whole world could see who they truly are. She remembered that feeling. She knew it!

She had to see the artifact with her own eyes. Maybe she'll remember who she was.

The Sphere kept calling her….