The Legacy of the Hei Clan

In the misty vast expanse, Hei An stood between dream and reality. Shadows obfuscated around him, revealing glimpses of towering trees and flickering lights at a distance. He went spinning, startled, as thick mist broke to reveal an endless, ancient, vast forest alive with whispered secrets. Then a low, vast roar shattered the silence; it was both powerful and haunting.

Suddenly, a monstrous form emerged from the trees, and Hei An's heart leaped. A tiger, larger than anything he had ever conceived, with white fur like freshly fallen snow, and eyes glinting with fierce intelligence stood before him. The White Tiger-the legendary creature of myth and tale-was now staring right in front of his eyes, as real as the earth beneath his feet.

What really surprised him, however, was the person riding on top of the tiger—a young man, or perhaps close to his age, but radiating an air of calm authority and a fierce look of loyalty in his eyes. Hei An's eyes opened wide as he gazed around. As he saw more beasts—living creatures of myth—before him, and their riders straddled on top. It was a completely surreal view in opposition to everything he had learned. He had all his lifetime lectured on how beasts are savage and untamable and are only to be feared or fought. And now, here were humans riding them as friends; a silent bond shared by them alone.

Hei An stood back, bewildered. He barely had time to process everything when the vision was gone and he was standing back in the fog. His heart still pounded as he listened to a deep, almost-familiar voice from behind him, speaking with an air of calm-as-if speaking over his heart.

"Are you surprised?

Hei An whirled around, gathering air, looking at the figure standing there before him. So much like his father, yet.. . There was a difference. The unspoken ability in the eyes of this man, tempered with ancient wisdom unyielding to compromise.

"Father?" Hei An croaked out, his voice shaking.

The man's face softened as he gave a faint reassuring smile. "No, Hei An," he said. "I am not your father, though I am of your blood."

Hei An looked at the man before him, confusion arising within him. "Who are you? And what is this place?"

The man gave the question a moment's thought; then sorrow flickered for a fleeting moment across his eyes. "Before I answer that, would you mind sharing your story with me, young one? Tell me what has brought you here.".

When the man asked this question, despite it being a complete stranger, the dam of his soul finally collapsed, he let everything out - his home, peace that he once knew, terror and loss that, in a single moment, shattered the meaning of everything. He shared his family story, an awful scene that would burn itself into the back of his mind. His voice cracked, heavy with tears, as he spoke of the brutal loss that had rented his world apart.

The man sat in silence, his face deepening into darkness with every word. When Hei An had finished speaking, the man let out a heavy sigh, and there was, in his gaze, a mixture of sorrow and anger.

"The once-proud Hei Clan," he murmured, "reduced to hunted prey. To think our descendants now live like stray animals…"

Hei An blinked, confusion thick in his voice. "Hei Clan? What… what do you mean?"

He stared at him, pride and sorrow chasing each other across his face. "Yes, Hei An. You are a descendant of the Hei Clan, a clan whose legacy is steeped in strength and the ancient power of the Beastblood Bond."

Hei An furrowed his brow, trying to grasp the implications. "The Beastblood Bond…?"

He nodded, his eyes drifting far out, as if to relive memories from a bygone era. "The bloodline of our clan was blessed with have the unique power of forming a bond, uniting humans with the beasts of this world. Long ago, our ancestors discovered their blood could bridge the gap between man and beast so that they used this ability to bond and fight together with these creatures on equal footing."

Hei An's thoughts reeled. "Humans....and beasts, joined together?" he could not believe it. Beasts for him were wild, untamed animals, a force of nature that no human could ever control. Then again, he recalled his own life—how he had always had this strange connection with the forest, this inexplicable pull, as if something was always calling to him, awaiting his call.

"Is that… is that why I always felt a connection to the forest?" Hei An asked slowly, his voice so soft it barely broke the stillness. "Because of my bloodline?"

The man's face softened. "Yes. That calling you've been feeling is the core of the Beastblood Bond. It's the power of your clan, which lies dormant within you. You have always been a part of it, even if you never did understand why."

Hei An gulped, his mind betraying him with shock and disbelief. This legacy, this power, came from the blood within him. And yet he had never known of it until this moment.

Seeing Hei An's shocked face, the man went on: "The Hei Clan once stood as protectors, feared and respected by all. We were not just cultivators, but the guardians of an old symbiosis something few men understood: a union of man and animal. But power begets jealousy. So the more powerful our clan became, the greater was the fear and resentment of others. They believed us to be a threat, and one by one, they sought to snuff out the Hei Clan so that we would never be heard from again."

Hei An clinched his fists, deep inside himself boiling up the feeling of sadness and confusion in his heart. "So. they killed us just because they feared our strength?"

The man nodded gravely. "Our power, the Beastblood Bond, was something they couldn't grasp. They thought by killing our clan they'd destroy it from the earth forever. But some of us survived, our bloodline scattered, the bond resting with those who stayed.".

Hei An's eyes fell to the pendant at his neck, one his father had given him with an almost desperate urgency and which felt like the weight of clan history settling thick on him. He looked up, and determination tinged his voice. "Who.....who are you?"

There was a softening to the man's features, and a faint, wistful smile spread across his face. "I am but a ghost, a fragment of the past, lost in the long, endless river of history. Know this: Hei An, the blood of the Hei Clan runs strong in you. You carry our legacy; you bear our strength.".

The mist around him seems to thicken and obscure his form. As he fades, his voice is softer yet the words are still catchy with a fierce pride. "Live with honor, young one. Know that people of the Hei Clan are strong—stronger than anyone."

"Wait!" Hei An rushes forward. But the man's figure has already melted into the mist and leaves behind only a faint echo in the air.

Hei An's heartbeat thumped within him as he clutched his pendant tight. It was suddenly warm, transmitting through him like it was breathing life into him. It was glowing softly, in a pulsating manner, like the beating of a heart itself, all resonating with the ancient power of his clan.

And with a jolt, Hei An came open-eyed to himself, gasping with each breath. His hand instinctively went to the pendant, once again quiet at his neck.