CHAPTER 21: Finish What You Started.

Chen felt an unusual sensation on his left leg at the entrance of Master Yuze's secret lab. It felt like cramps, he tried to stretch it forward into the lab but the twitching grew worse and soon his entire body was convulsing with spasms.

Chen became frightened when he called out to his master but there was no sight of master Yuze in the lab. He had being in the thick woods where they secretly meet but Master Yuze wasn't present either.

He tried to stand up, but his legs gave out beneath him, and he collapsed onto the floor. Chen struggled to reach the wooden table, filled with potion bottles. He was hoping he might find his medicine there.

As he crept closer to the table, his muscles continued to spasm, causing him to writhe and contort uncontrollably.

Then Master Yuze entered the chamber. He had gone 20ft below the ground, paying a visit to his old friend who was held captive in the magical dungeon.

"To what do I owe this visit?" Master Yuze asked, looking down at Chen struggling to crawl on the ground.

"Mas-master please, please I need... I need some me-medi medicines" Chen struggled to speak.

His veins became pronounced, contracting with the walls of his head banging "Please mas-master" he collapsed on the ground, panting heavily through his mouth and his nose flared, longing for oxygen.

Master Yuze scoffed. He squats with one knee touching the ground, then he pulled Chen's face up by his fur. "Do you want to live so badly?" he asked, growling under his deep croaked voice.

Chen responded by blinking his eyes excessively.

"Then why did you have to be so nosey? What did you see when you followed me down there?" Master Yuze growled even more, twitching the corner of his nose.

"Not- nothing master. I d-did not see any- anything" Chen stuttered, frightening.

"Let it be so. If you ever speak of it, you won't be the only one begging to live. You just signed death for your parents" Master Yuze warned. He released Chen's fur and his face slapped on the ground.

Chen was turning blue, his body ice cold and his lungs surging for air as he chokes on his own breath. Master Yuze watched him dying slowly.

"Do you have the Amethyst here with you?" he asked.

Chen opened his eyes to look at him, it was as if the room was spinning, all he could hear was a ringing sensation in his ears. He was slowly passing out. The room was enclosed, with the blurry walls shifting nearer to him. He could sense his master was talking to him but could not get the words of Master Yuze.

He lets out a soft and faint "Please..." and then blacks out.

Not very long, his lungs jerked back to life, letting out loud coughs as his eyes snapped open. Master Yuze had just administered his medication to him.

"You are still of use to me. I can't let you die yet." Master Yuze said, throwing a condescending face at Chen.

Chen quickly went on his knees, bowing to his master "Thank... thank you for sparing my life, Master. I promise to serve you till my last breath" said Chen.

"Don't be in a hurry. I might just change my mind if you make one- wrong -move" Master Yuze counted his three last words.

"I won't fail you master. Please spare me" Chen crept to Master Yuze's feet, rubbing and kissing his feet.

"Enough! Where is the Amethyst?" His master's voice shook the chamber.

Chen trembled, coiling to himself "My eyes did not get to behold it Master. I witnessed the power of the Amethyst countless times. She used it to defeat sharks---" Chen bowed.

"Sharks? What is that?" Master Yuze cuts in, running his fingers down his elongated fang.

"Sea monsters, master." Chen bowed and continued, "But master, it was never in her possession". He concluded, shaking his head.

"You mean she doesn't carry the stone with her? How then... What the--" Master Yuze was perplexed.

"The Viper Prince was right all along. It seems the stone is invisible" Master Yuze thought to himself, running his fingers down his elongated fang.

Without hesitation, Master Yuze set to work, vigorously searching through his old, dusty spell books in search of the spell he needed. His long, slender fingers turned the pages of the ancient tomes with practiced ease, scanning the intricate symbols and runes that filled their pages.

Chen watched his master, Yuze with curiosity as he eagerly searched through his dusty spell books in search of a spell. He had always been fascinated by his master's deep knowledge of magic, and he couldn't help but be impressed by the way he effortlessly flipped through the ancient tomes.

As he read, Master Yuze muttered to himself in a low, melodic voice, the words of the ancient spells coming easily to his lips. His brow furrowed in concentration as he searched for the precise combination of words and gestures that would unlock the power he needed.

Chen leaned in closer, straining to catch a glimpse of the intricate symbols and runes that filled the pages. He marveled at the complexity of the spells, the way they seemed to dance off the page and come to life in his master's skilled hands.

With a flick of his wrist and a whispered phrase, Master Yuze summoned forth a shimmering cloud of magical energy that swirled around him like a vortex.

As the cloud coalesced into a shape, Master Yuze's eyes widened in recognition. It was the spell he had been seeking, the very one he needed to help Chen locate the Amethyst. With a smile of satisfaction, he set to work, weaving the magic of the spell into a potent enchantment that would aid Chen in hid quest.

Chen could sense the power that lay within those pages, the potent magic that could be unleashed with the right combination of words and gestures. He watched in awe as his master summoned forth a shimmering cloud of magical energy that swirled around him like a vortex, coalescing into a shape that Chen could barely comprehend.

For a moment, Chen was lost in the beauty of the magic, the way it seemed to transcend time and space, connecting him to a world beyond his own. He felt a sense of wonder and curiosity, a deep desire to learn all that he could from his master.

He could feel the energy radiating outwards, filling the room with a pulsing, vibrant energy. He knew that his master had found the spell he had been seeking, and he could sense the satisfaction and fulfillment that came from unlocking the power of the magic.

"Now that you have extra eyes, the Amethyst won't be difficult for you to find. Go back to Earth and finish what you started" Master Yuze ordered Chen, rubbing his fingers with each other as his eyeballs stayed fixed.

"I will do as you say Master" Chen bowed.