The monotone hue of blue-grey suddenly erupted with a violent colour.
Malevolence emanated from the sky; a sea of crimson fire appeared above, boiling the air, and immediately drying the eyes of those below.
The pressure was choking, imposing like a mountain, as it slammed downwards towards the peak of another.
"You dream too much, Demon!" A small figure roared before the sea of crimson flames. "Resist!"
Pushing his palms forward, muscles trembling and sleeves flailing, a formless force was ushered forth from his hands.
With a resounding boom, not unlike the thunderous sounds before, the sky shook, and the flames dispersed.
"Hah... Haah..." A man dressed in yellow robes, with black hair and a tired expression, heaved hot breaths.
"For as long as I stand, Nothing shall pass me...!"
"And you will stand... No longer...!"
The heavy, breathy voice seemed to have come from all directions, but the man kept his eyes focused on one place.
Looking directly at the grey-skinned figure, with mist billows forming its head, obscuring its face.
"Demon... Demons! You will continue your slaughter no longer!"
"As you said, 'you dream too much', Immortal!"
This mocking was followed by hoarse chuckling.
Another figure of charred skin descended; crimson flames surged from the head of this figure.
...
'Calamity.'
That was the only word Liming Zi could use to describe what happened to the sky.
Although the sky burned red for only a moment, a moment was all that was needed to destroy the order she tried to establish.
The mountain fell into disorder once again.
"Save yourselves!"
"I'm not risking my life here!"
"I want to live!"
Once rallied around her, the Warriors and Guards who fought relentlessly had all lost the will to fight.
"Wait! Don't flee now—!" She screamed fiercely, but was interrupted by the pouncing of a beast. "Tch!"
One beast quickly multiplied into three, three into ten, ten and so forth.
Remaining as the last fighter to stand their ground, Liming Zi stood upon the final frontier separating the fog and the mountain's peak.
...
Sun, fallen to his knees, looked up with the sky reflected in his eyes.
The veil of blue-grey fog had long since been broken, and the crimson flames surged within.
There was little of the golden light, which the people sought out.
"Just what is going on...?"
He couldn't help but mutter that out.
The injured went silent, and even the crazed pleas and cries were hushed.
Everyone stared at the terrifying view above.
'Run. We have to run... but how do we run from this...?!'
Sun's internal thoughts were chaotic, rushing to think of a way to even survive this ordeal.
Yet, at this moment, there was no other thought but to run.
To run from this blue-grey fog, and this crimson calamity.
"Haah... Hghk...!"
Sun choked on his breath; an incredible pressure slammed down on him.
It pressed him to the ground; it pressed everyone to the ground.
Wheezing filled the air for a moment, and the choked gasps soon died out.
The sudden pressure knocked almost everyone unconscious in just a moment.
Dazedly looking up, Sun witnessed the very sky shattering.
There was a brilliant flash of light that overtook the other two colours.
But it was only for a moment, for the golden light receded and the sky darkened.
Now that the blue-grey veil was broken, and the malevolent crimson torn apart, there was a dark sky dominated mostly by black.
A pitch black devoid of any colours, but within the canvas of black were a myriad dots of white.
Memories flashed rapidly in his mind.
From his youth, an ambitious boy who sought strength, who yearned to join the Settlement's Guards, like his father.
To the great loss that tore him from his path, and inspired him to stead become a Medical Expert.
Till now, he had never bothered looking back; if not for the situation, he wouldn't be remembering a promise he made to himself.
Blue-grey fog began to encroach upon the courtyard, swallowing everything and everyone it reached.
Sun, too, was swallowed; his vision gradually began to fade as the pressure on him increased.
The last thing he saw was the Starlit Sky above.
...
...
...
Liming Zi also looked at the sky as her consciousness faded.
She was the last on the mountain to fall, but even so, she was still losing her vision.
However, the fog did not reach her...
"When a Star streaks across the sky, you will then know of a Fallen Dream.
"To see the Fall, you will be able to trace the line to where it fell.
"Its last glimmers are like a guiding light, and to you, my Daughter, I leave you my dream..."
A voice echoed in her mind, and a wisp of golden light had reached her.
As her weary eyes finally shut, the Starlit Sky above fluttered into black.
...
Two figures stood in a pavilion.
Its circular roof shaded its square base; the floor, of wood and stone, the black and white columns upheld a red and yellow tiled roof.
The ground was cold, and the world beyond seemed to bleed into a blue-grey fog. However, the fog could not encroach upon the pavilion's grounds.
Yet it remained present, nonetheless.
Standing on the east side of the pavilion—hair waving, as if caught in a gentle wind—stood a woman of long black hair.
"Then... This is it?"
Standing on the west side of the pavilion—robes still and akin to faded gold—stood the vague visage of a man of short black hair.....
"You have Tempered Faith and developed the Layer of Mind. Your Qi Cores have developed and can employ the fundamentals of Qi in your actions.
"You have inherited my Way, which you cling to so dearly."
The father spoke with a faint smile.
"Of the First Realm, of the Five Foundations, you have properly cultivated four of them. All that lies before you... is your perspective of the world; the Superficial Eyes.
"Please, remember what I taught you, and do not remove your gaze from the world around you.
"Remember to see the people before you."
As he spoke, his visage grew blurry and waned into wisps of gold.
"I gift to you—a weapon from my youth—my Iron Lotus: Night Breaching Spear.
"Keep with you the symbol of our Settlement. Live on, proudly, as you are, and how you wish."
Liming Zi found that her father's visage blurred even more.
She wiped her eyes to find them full of tears.
...