He fought them, of course. When his back began to itch, and his whole body ached, he knew that there were demons coming through the Mist Wall. It was a recent development that he could feel them at all. He never could before, when he was with Tianlan.

It took him entirely too long to realise that she had taken all the pain into herself before, and now separated, he was feeling but a fraction of what her pain.

He sallied forth wherever he could find them, and destroyed them utterly. They were an itching, maddening nuisance, to the point that Xiaoshi thought he might go insane from it.

“How do you stand it?!” He demanded of Tianlan.

His dearest friend smiled. “It doesn’t hurt that much. I can take it.” she replied, pulling up her sleeve and exposing the black spots on her arms.

There were twice the number upon her than him, and he felt his heart sink. One of the people he had sworn to protect was suffering. One of the most important people to him.

“It's fine! We’ll work together like the old days. I’ll take this half, you take that half the province, and we’ll handle things!” She said with a smile.

Tianlan fighting and getting even more hurt felt wrong. It was a failure, on his part.

“You’re already helping enough, Tianlan. I’ve got a plan. We just need to sit tight a little longer, and I’ll banish the Demons for good.” He said instead. He saw Tianlan perk up at his statement. “I don’t really need to do this much paperwork anyway. I’ll put it on Kongming, and have myself a little adventure, like you’re so fond of. It's been a while since I had a break.”

“Are... are you sure? I can definitely help.” Tianlan said.

“It's fine. It's just a few demons, and I’m getting rusty!”

“... if you’re really sure.” she whispered, but Xiaoshi was already leaving.

He had to last. He had to last, and all would be well.

=============================

The dream started to go from pleasant to bitter.

Tianlan spent many days meditating. Searching across her body, finding Demons, and clearing up the infected spots.

They were hurting Xiaoshi, and that was something she couldn’t abide.

Her awareness of her body had faded, but she could still do this much.

All she knew is that her Connected One was beside himself with worry. His pointed questions about how much the infected portions hurt, however, were brushed off.

She could stand a little pain. He already had enough on his plate, without a bit of soreness from her worrying him further.

She could endure wounds deeper than this. He had some kind of plan, he always did. Even if he was being a bit cagey about it right now.

==========================

Upon the first solstice, the energy of the land surged, as his people performed their acts to perfection.

The Mist Wall was reinforced. It worked.

“Xiaoshi, what the Hells was that?!” Tianlan shouted, as she barged into the room. Her hair was frazzled, and she looked like she had just been woken up.

Tianlan waking up had been a bit unexpected, but a welcome thing.

His dearest friend was feeling better than ever.

Once more, he was able to keep his promise of a better world. Once more, he held up the sky for everyone. Tianlan lived her days without fear, and without pain.

His epeople invented wonders. Giant distillers, to wick impurities out of anything fed into it, and refine it to perfection. Grand arrays, even for the meanest of homes, courtesy of Lady Cao, and Mengde’s Formations. Vermin were driven out, and food was kept fresh for even years after.

The Dueling Peaks grew and grew as more formations, and more arenas were added on.

The people were happy.

Though… it was not without its sorrows. Ten years after the formation was established, one person he loved passed.

Linlin wasn’t a cultivator. She could never become one. Her hair turned gray, and her face wrinkled. No amount of reagents would stave it off. No medicines would aid her.

At a mere one hundred and ten, Linlin died of old age.

He remembered the grand funeral. He remembered Tianlan’s tears, as she bowed her head. But beside those tears were a wonderful smile. One full of pride, as she congratulated Linlin for a long life.

But most of all, he remembered the hollow feeling in his chest, at losing her.

But he hardened his heart, and kept moving forward.

Or at least tried to. There were no more Dragon veins to Dredge. He and Tianlan would never get any stronger. They had completely plateaued.

===================================

Tianlan hugged a pillow tightly to her chest. She still remembered sweet lullabies, and fingers through her hair.

Perhaps it was Linlin’s death that made them drift apart just that bit more?

Tianlan hadn’t really noticed it. The dreams where they sat together became increasingly rare.

The days where they talked started to become a memory, as both of them were so consumed with their own lives, and every time Tianlan went to see if Xiaoshi was alright, they would just end up drinking heavily, and reminiscing about the past.

She felt kind of hollow. Empty. Like something important was slipping away from her.

==============================

But even this was only a brief reprieve for Xiaoshi. Even with the wall reinforced, Even aiding Tianlan… it seemed that the challenge and surge of energy seemed to just attract more demons.

Now, even stronger demons were trying to slink into his home. These demons were quieter. More subtle…

They had attacked Kongming while his friend was off inspecting a northern town. He had somebody do it often, after the Eighth Correct Place debacle. It was just bad luck that Kongming had gone himself.

He marched up to his bedridden Prime Minister.

“My Lord! You need not concern yourself with my well being.” he started, only to cut off when Dian growled at him.

“He smells like a Demon.” his loyal companion declared. “His Qi is corrupted, underneath, it smells of Blood and Oil.”

Kongming smiled sickly. “The Demon’s Poison is powerful. Try as they might, even our mightiest healers cannot take the rot from my blood.”

Xiaoshi grimaced, while the Temple Dog paused, his eyes narrow at the proclamation.

“Dian. Do not insult our friend again.” Xiaoshi commanded, and the dog bowed his head.. Xiaoshi sighed at the piteous look on Dian’s face, and scratched behind his ears, before turning back to Kongming. “Do you need a leave of absence? I can appoint another Prime Minister. Anything you need, and it's yours, Kongming.”

His old friend smiled. “I ask only that I continue my duties until my death. I wish to see our Empire prosper, even until my last breath.”

What could Xiaoshi do but agree? Tianlan and the best physicians worked on him, but they never could completely eliminate the Demonic Qi from his body.

======================

Slowly, but surely, Xiaoshi’s promise to his people started to fail. He couldn’t be better than the Emperor of the Azure. In the end, he had to start getting other people involved in hunting down the demon incursions.

The realm began to suffer. The people whispered that it was the vengeance of the wicked. But they rarely learned of the extent of the damage.

Each time a demon entered it was a statement that maybe Xiaoshi had been wrong to say that he was better than the man he had overthrown.

They were getting more devious, the Demons. But he managed to hold true to his convictions. When the demons appeared he was there.

Their Qi was getting less painful… but their tactics were more concerning.

The worst part was the whispers. The filthy things had started talking to him.

They spoke lies, a thousand lies. That Tianlan was going to kill him, when this was all over. That he would die, and fuel her power.

But he was a cultivator, so obviously that was foolish. He was stronger than the Emperor of the Azure. How would he die of old age, but in a thousand years? Surely, he would ascend, wouldn’t he?

He did his best to ignore them… but a little voice in the back of his head knew they were telling the truth.

=========================

Tianlan was so happy that they were working together again. Xiaoshi had been so distant recently, and always so busy. It may have been… well it may not have been under ideal circumstances, but once more, it was the two of them against the world. Fighting a just battle against wicked forces.

They were once more the protectors. And just like before, everybody united. There were no real battle lines, as the enemy would try to infiltrate from all sides.. Instead, they had rapid reaction forces, ready to take the fight to the enemy once more.

But Xiaoshi just seemed tired. She did her best to cheer him up. She talked of their old times together, and after this was all over, all the good times ahead.

“Together until I die, huh?” he asked, as Tianlan slung an arm around his shoulder. There was an odd tone to his voice.

“Yup! I can’t say I’m looking forward to eating your mouldering bones though. You taste horrible.” She teased, poking him in the side.

His smile froze, and their connection twanged unpleasantly, enough so that Tianlan could feel it.

“..Xiaoshi? You okay?” she asked him worriedly.

He grimaced. “Nothing. That just wasn’t very funny.” he said after a moment.

“Then that's your fault, you’re the one who said my sense of humor was great, and now you’re changing your mind?!” She demanded.

His smile returned. But it was still dull.

==============================

Xiaoshi didn’t know if he felt betrayed or not. He wondered if it really was just a joke.

The demons seemed ever more gleeful, as they taunted him.

Something ugly welled up inside him.

Xiaoshi had learned quite a bit from Cao Li, and her monkey friends when the formation was created.

Quietly, and with Kongming’s help… he made some changes to the formation.

=============================

On the night of the solstice, it was just himself and Kongming.

Xiaoshi had commanded Dian the temple dog to keep Tianlan company, as she travelled across the countryside.

Mostly, because he didn't know if the dog would consider his actions tonight just. And he couldn’t bear to see the look in his eyes, when the ritual completed.

“Are you sure?” Kongming asked him, as Xiaoshi stood in the center of the province. In the center of the formation.

“Yes. Yes, I'm sure.”

The formation of consumption.

He could feel the Emperor of the Azure’s smug grin from beyond the grave. He could taste the mocking laughter.

It would drain all of the power that his people were using… and funnel it wholly into himself.

He needed strength to battle the nightmare to come. He needed strength to protect all of his people.

This path was a dead end. He couldn’t afford to die of old age. He couldn’t afford to remain this weak.

He could feel the ritual initiate.

He took a breath, as the power of an entire province began to surge, upon the night of death and renewal.

He was prepared.

He touched the single frayed, golden thread that remained between them. He would sever it, and start a new path. It would destroy the connection between their souls.

He raised a metaphorical axe to sever it. And paused.

Was… was he really just going to throw all of it away? Was he really going to abandon his bond with his dearest friend?

The characters around him spiraled and whirled.

He remembered Tianlan’s smile.

He hadn’t talked to her. He hadn't said goodbye, and now he was just deciding things on his own.

He was leaving her, like Linlin had left him.

He paused, as the power swelled.

How long had it been since they really, and truly talked. How long had it been since he had stopped confiding in her?

Every time they met, she tried to support him. She had even offered to abandon her body for the duration of the war, so they could be as one once more, and he had refused her.

She had always supported him. And now, he was about to throw it all away, without even a word.

He gently touched the golden threads again.

And let the power go. He felt his Qi drain away, entering the connection between himself and Tianlan.

No. he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t hurt her like that. He couldn’t take advantage of his people like this, either. He’d have to find another way—

“Xiaoshi!” Kongming’s strangled voice called in warning, before he let out a racking cough. Blood splattered to the floor.

Xiaoshi turned, worry forming in his heart at the tone of his Prime Minister’s voice.

That was all he received, before a sword entered his back, and punched out of his chest.

No. Not a sword. A bladed limb.

The demon attached to the other side of it, growing out of the puddle of vomit and blood that Kongming was hacking out, grinned.

But not at Xiaoshi. At the spiraling set of characters, just starting to fade.

“It was most unpleasant, thy methods for attempting to remove me.” The demon mused, as it spared a glance for Xiaoshi. The creature was oddly eloquent. More blood poured out of Kongming, the man shaking as he was rapidly exsanguinated, forming the rest of the demon’s body. “This Zhong Kuishen shall congratulate thy efforts. Thy pitiful attempts almost succeeded. We must further refine the Twilight Cuckoo's Triumph.”

Demonic poison burned in Xiaoshi’s veins, as the monster tossed him negligently aside.

Then, it stepped into the center of the province.

Into the center of the consumption formation.

It tapped the Dragon Veins, with a single glowing finger, causing the blue characters to turn a sickly purple.

“Now, Dance for me, my friends.”

===============================

The dreams led to her nightmares and she remembered the moment it all began to break.

Tianlan hummed as she bounded over mountains, heading toward the Lake Districts. Dian bounded beside her, the big fluffy dog on the lookout for demons, and ready to protect her… not that she really needed it. Still, it was nice to have another friend along.

They could drink together. She had bottles of wine and fruit juice, on account of Ruolan’s…condition.

Pregnant! Seriously, Ruolan had hid it for months, the dummy! Holed up in her mansion, and scared out of her wits at becoming a mother.

Tianlan would have little Ruolans and Xiaoshis to spoil soon, and she was very much looking forward to it.

She smiled, as she bounded over another village, the people below fully immersed in their dance.

And then she paused, as she looked closer.

They looked kind of out of it. Their eyes had gone blank, glowing with crimson light. Their bodies started to twitch and writhe.

“Mistress. Something is wrong—” the Temple Dog began.

The sky turned red.

There was a ripping, sucking feeling in Tianlan’s chest.

A sucking feeling that was pulling down her connection with Xiaoshi.

She fell to the ground, coughing and gagging. She reached up a hand, and blood poured out of her nose.

What—what was Xiaoshi doing?!

She scrambled and writhed, her legs kicking nervelessly even as Dian barked, terrified at what was happening to her.

All the while, people danced faster and faster and faster.

Tianlan started screaming, as her connection pulled and pulled and pulled—

================================

The demon’s body swelled and shuddered. It twisted and snapped as it gorged itself on Tianlan’s Qi, and the souls of his people. Everybody was connected through the formation.

Everybody was vulnerable.

And all Xiaoshi could do was watch. Watch, as the demons won.

They had tricked him. They had played him. And now, they had beaten him.

No. He had beaten himself, hadn’t he? His own hubris was his fall.

He could feel Tianlan’s panic flood down their link, stronger than he had felt in nearly a century. Stronger than he had felt ever.

She was dying, and it was all his fault.

Tears welled up in his eyes. The monster was laughing as it gorged itself on power. It was ignoring him.

He glanced at the modified formation. In particular, he stared at the cascade inhibitor.

The part of the formation that would prevent the Elemental conversion from running out of control.

Xiaoshi summoned the last of his strength, and pulled his fist up.

“I’m sorry, Tianlan.” he whispered.

The formation broke.

And Tianlan broke with it, wondering why Xiaoshi had done this to her.

==============================

Tianlan shuddered, each golden crack on her form pulsing as the world came to an end.

Wood to Fire. A forest to ash.

A mother bear screamed, as she burned.

Fire to Earth. Hot Springs and magma to stone.

The people of the north fled past the mist wall, as it shuddered and spasmed. Led by their prophet, they managed to surge through the stellar gales, and find refuge with a fox.

Earth to Metal. Marble and granite to iron and tin.

Rumblin’ Yao stayed true to his oath to Xiaoshi, protecting all that he could within his shell, even as it killed him.

Metal to Water.

Three quarters of the new capital was swept away, forming Pale Moon Lake. All that was left was the outermost section of the city, with the least of the Administrative palaces.

Water to Wood.

The King of the lake roared, as roots and leaves consumed his flesh. The great lord dove to the bottom of the lake, turning himself purely into water. To stoke the misty lake, and do battle against the reeds.

His children howled with him, as their horns sloughed from their skulls.

Then, the energy discharge hit the center of the province.

The tops were knocked off a thousand mountains. Most hit the mist wall as they flew, vaporizing from the fury of fluctuating stars. But enough came back down to earth.

The demons outside of it screeched as the cataclysm hit them, the burst of light and Qi shattering thousands of their portals, vaporizing millions of the beasts.

The survivors awoke to a dying world, and with broken memories, Demonic Qi poisoning and deluding. Their very souls had been wounded. Millions were dead or dying.

Yet none called it a cataclysm, because to their fractured souls and addled minds, the world had always been this way.

The Spirit Beasts screamed and raged as the cataclysm mutated their bodies. They went completely insane as their lords succumbed to the devastating Qi deviations.

A blind man had to drive what was once his best friend away from the corpse of his father, as the Roadspinner, now Wreckerball screamed with rage and hate.

Men and women slaughtered each other in the aftermath. For food. For resources. For the dregs of Qi that were leaking out of the world.

Ruolan, a babe at her breast, picked up a sword used for opera, that she swore never to draw in anger… and called all who would be with her under her banner.

==============================

But the worst part, the worst part was the silence. She shuddered and tossed and turned, and even Chun Ke’s nose gently pressing into her couldn’t keep the feelings at bay.

Tianlan awoke to agony. Her Qi, her lifeblood was spilling out of her. Her body was just gone, a shattered pile of rubble.

She was broken and delirious. Fractured, and barely a person. She was nearly blind, deaf, and dumb… but she could feel still. There was somebody approaching a Dragon Vein. one of her wounds, leaking Qi into the air.

“Help…. Me.” she begged the approaching figure.

The figure that evolved into Ruolan.

Her eyes were cold and hard. Her face was full of wrinkles. There was blood splattered across her cheek.

Ruolan kenalt down, fingers brushing against Raw Qi, as it dissipated into the air.

“Ruolan. Ruolan, help me.” she begged, reaching out tendrils of light to connect to her friend.

But Ruolan couldn’t hear her.

The cultivator dug deep into the exposed Dragon Vein, and ripped what little she could take out.

All across the province, it was the same story, as Tianlan died.

Tianlan screamed and screamed, begging for help.

Until the blackness slipped in at the edges, and what was the earth returned to it.

================================

Xiaoshi awoke to a tongue licking at his face.

“Master. Master.” Dian whimpered. His dear friend's teeth were cracked, and his eyes were mad and wild.

Xiaoshi groaned, as he raised a hand. He meant to raise both of them, but he only had one arm.

And one leg.

But he was alive, at least for now. He groaned, as the Temple Dog helped him up. He was somewhere on the ruins of a mountain top, having been flung from the old capital, the center of the province.

All that was left there was a hole in the ground.

The mist wall was visible in the sky, now. Covering the sun, and turning everything monochrome and grey.

He touched the part in his soul that was once connected to Tianlan, and felt only a ragged stump.

He touched the earth, and met only silence.

He just wanted to curl up and die. But he was still alive. And if he was still alive… then he was alive for a reason.

Perhaps he had some role left to play.

His companion bore him onward, as Xiaoshi looked at the devastation he had wrought.

It was a sucking, hollow feeling.

Had it been pride that had blinded him? Had it been something else?

He didn’t know. But as he reached Pale Moon City, he had all the time in the world to stew on it.

He managed to form a semblance of order in Pale Moon—or what was left of it. He barely had any strength, but a snarling Temple dog put to rest any thoughts of looting and arson for the populace.

He prepared them as best as he could, expecting demons to come winging out of the sky at any moment.

But none ever materialized.

For over a month, he waited, and nothing came.

=========================

The mist wall churned with lightning and power, slowly fading away.

The Demons were not coming. Something else had drawn their attention. The Azure Mountains were not to be consumed by them.

So he made a record. A record of his memories.

He wanted… he wanted somebody to know, eventually. To know what happened here.

To know what had destroyed Tianlan. What had destroyed his people, and left them like this.

With the last of his power, he placed a compulsion upon the earth.

Whoever was to be his successor would be guided to this crystal. To learn all the secrets within, and become the Master of the Azure Mountains. The Lord of all the people within.

A Lord better than both he… And the Azure Emperor.

“Go. Take this somewhere safe. If I do not return within the year… take care of yourself, my friend.” He whispered to Dian.

His dear friend, his most loyal, was loathe to leave him.

But his command rang in Dian’s ears, and the Temple dog obeyed.

==================================

Even in this mad world, there were some things that were respected. They remembered, even through their damaged and mutilated souls.

A dance on the solstice. A dance that was important. It protected them.

So every year, they performed it without fail. They performed it, standing on the corpse of a spirt who hated them and loved them at the same time.

The dance was a proclamation of love and respect. Love and respect, as they ripped and tore the dwindling resources and Qi out of Tianlan’s flesh with abandon.

The world got brighter and brighter. The land got less dangerous, as the Qi faded. Slowly, as the generations passed, the people healed.

But there was no record of what had really happened.

=============================

Bi De pulled back from the memories, his mind a whirl as he pondered the tragedy of Xiaoshi and Tianlan.

A perfect copy of the formation that had empowered the Earth Spirit bounced around in his head as the Crystal imparted its memories.

They begged him to take up Xiaoshi’s final wish, to ascend to the top of the Azure Mountains and command all its people.

To be the steward he couldn’t be.

The Crystal offered the location of staches of regents that none would have uncovered. It offered power, formations, and a hundred thousand long-dead cultivation styles.

A ghostly, spectral being slowly swam into view. Its eyes were closed, like it had been slumbering for a long while. It was weak, like the Temple Dog, yet growing in strength as it floated forward.

“You, who hast found the crystal. By the orders of mine Master, you are the successor. This one is sworn to your service.” The ghostly apparition opened its eyes, smiling warmly at Bi De. “It shall aid you in any way it can, for the ascendance of the —”

The spirit blinked. Consternation stretched across its features.

Then it blinked again, squinting, and striking the side of his head twice.

“...A chicken?” the spirit asked, incredulously.