The Descent of Lord Long Xiao
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The river flowed silently. Long Xiao stood at its bank, the Velvet Winds whispering lowly. It was as if Lord Long Xiao's surroundings had held their breath for what he had to say next. He glanced at Lei, who had returned moments after his exchange with the river spirit. Circling lazily above, Lei pretended not to notice him.
"I shall descend to the realms to provide aid and gain enlightenment." He declared, his voice noble, posture regal.
"Not this again, Master." Lei rolled his eyes.
"Lei," Long Xiao called, voice calm but clipped. "Let's go."
Lei nodded his golden-red-feathered head, forming a slow spiral in the sky.
Long Xiao reached into his sleeve and retrieved a thin, ancient talisman. The ink had faded, edges curled, yet it still hummed with dormant divinity. He had drawn it centuries ago, back when boredom in the Heavenly Realm drove him to experiment with mortal stealth arts.
The talisman alone could mask a divine signature for a short while, but descending into the mortal realm required more finesse. Long Xiao activated it with a flick of his fingers. He exhaled softly, raising his right hand.
A faint ripple of power stirred the air.
Lei's feathers bristled. "Master, you're using both? A talisman and a spell?"
"Of course," Long Xiao replied, as if it were obvious. "I refuse to be spotted by nosy immortals or overly curious mortals. Subtlety is an art, Lei. One you know nothing about."
He pressed the divine talisman between his fingers. It ignited without flame, dissolving into threads of silver light that wrapped around his body like drifting silk.
His aura dimmed once.
Then he began reciting the incantation:
Izhara lemzara rez brau zemhara.
It was short and elegant, whispered in a tone only gods could produce. A sound that folded inward rather than outward, collapsing his aura into a single, quiet point.
The world reacted instantly. The divine hum in the air vanished. The pressure around him eased. The clouds ceased their obeisance. An unusual stillness spread, an energy shift seldom felt in the Heavenly Realm. Long Xiao's robes dimmed, losing their celestial shimmer until they looked like ordinary mortal garments.
Lei blinked. "Master… you look—"
"Mortally scholarly?" Long Xiao offered, smoothing his sleeves.
"I was going to say underwhelming," Lei muttered.
Long Xiao clicked his tongue. "Silence, my feathered critic. This is called blending in."
He stepped onto a cloud fragment, hovering just above the ground. The cloud responded to his mood, gliding slowly at first, then picking up speed as his thoughts grew louder. As it swirled in the upper winds, Long Xiao grew impatient with its slow pace, finally teleporting directly to the Gate of Whispering Winds to evade celestial patrols.
Long Xiao sat cross-legged, arms folded, eyes half-lidded in contemplation.
Behind him, Lei followed at a respectful distance, wings tucked, clearly annoyed but too proud to admit it.
'Adowa Peak,' he whispered. 'My descent begins. Farewell for now.'
The skies parted slightly, revealing the shimmering veil between worlds. As Long Xiao passed the Gate of Whispering Winds, he casually waved at the gatekeeper spirit, who was always asleep with a scroll over his face.
"Goodbye, Lord Li."
Lei, finally catching on, zipped down in a burst of feathers. "Master, are we seriously leaving without telling anyone? Not even the Four Holy Gods?"
Long Xiao didn't answer immediately; the mention of the Four Holy Gods clearly grated on his nerves. He cleared his throat.
"The river spirit knows. That's enough." Long Xiao replied, adjusting his sleeve.
"You're unbelievable." Lei scoffed.
"I think the word you're looking for is divine." Long Xiao smirked.
The cloud dipped beneath the veil, carrying Long Xiao into the skies of the mortal realm.