226: Back in the Maze

Back in the Maze

The same cave entrance that we took last time wasn't far away from the bixie's den. As we stepped inside, Bai Ye uttered a quick spell under his breath, and I felt a refreshing presence of spiritual power surrounding me like a shield. "This spell will hide our scent for an hour," he explained. "Since we have no more need for yazis this time, it would be easier if we don't let them find us."1

I winced at the memory of our encounter with those beasts last year. I was always so good at getting myself into trouble … and making him save me at the risk of his life at that. I squeezed his hand in guilt. "I'm much stronger now," I assured him. "Even if we do run into them again, I can protect myself. Don't worry about me."

He smiled, pulling me closer to his side. "If I wasn't sure about your ability to protect yourself, Qing-er, we wouldn't be here at all. I'm not worried about you. But it doesn't hurt to be cautious, especially since my spiritual power will take a while to fully recover, and I won't be able to help as much as I'd like to in case we run into danger."

I looked at him in surprise. He had never mentioned the extent of his recovery to me, and I had never pushed him for it. Was the progress so slow that he wasn't even sure he could defeat the yazis? I winced again. If that was the case … then we really needed this trip to count. Those seals better offer us some clues that lead somewhere.

We continued carefully through the corridors descending into the depth of the cave. The short winter daylight made the already dark cave even darker than last time, and we had to fetch the night pearl after mere moments. The paths in front of us wavered in the dim shadows, an entirely different sight from what I remembered.

"Can you still find the same route we took?" I asked. For some reason, this place felt a little strange today, and as we crossed corridor after corridor through the chambers, even the sound of dripping water and wind whistling through the underground tunnels seemed to start growing eerier. I hadn't felt the same way last autumn when we were here.

"I'm following the spiritual power flow the same way I did before," Bai Ye replied. "But the power flow of this place … seems a little different this time. I'm not sure if the same method would lead us to the same destination again."

So the strangeness I sensed wasn't just my imagination. I tuned my consciousness towards the fluctuation of energy around us, trying to determine what the difference was. But the more I focused on it, the more elusive those pulses of power felt on my mind. I shook my head in puzzlement. "Is it possible that what I did to the seal had altered the energy pattern here?" I mumbled. "If it was a portal used to distort space … then could it have changed the way spiritual power travels through these tunnels?"

Bai Ye considered it for a moment. "Do you remember what you did when you told me how to step through that seal around the swords?" he halted in his tracks and asked. "Can you repeat it? Although we are not at the center of the seal now, its power should still ripple to where we stand. If you could sense it, then you should be able to lead us there."

The same way I told him to step through the seal? I searched my memory for that day, for the feeling in my head when I pushed on the spiritual power around us like I was turning an invisible knob. I closed my eyes. Calling again upon the elusive pulses of energy, I concentrated, imagining that the traces of power scattered around us were little dials waiting to be turned to point in the right direction. I reached out with my own spiritual power, gently guiding those dials until I felt a click in my mind.

My eyes snapped open. All of a sudden, all the dials had aligned in the same direction, and I could feel a steady whirlpool of energy coursing through the entire cave system. I wasn't sure what exactly had happened that enabled me to do this, but I picked up my steps, eager to follow its lead. "I felt it," I said as I tugged on Bai Ye. "I'm not sure if this would bring us to the mound of swords or not … But something is calling me in this direction. Something … feels familiar to me here."

I wasn't sure if what I said made any sense to him. I wasn't sure if what I felt made any sense either. It was as if my consciousness had just made a deep connection to the scattered spiritual power within this cave, and I could see in my mind's eye a perfect map of the energy patterns all around us, with arrows pointing towards a spot at the center of the whirlpool. What did this mean? I had no idea, but I knew that whatever was at that center was beckoning me, waiting for me.

We rounded myriads of corners, ducked through a maze of narrow openings, and finally, we came into a large chamber close to the bottom of the cave. Then both of us froze in our tracks at the sight that greeted us.

At the center of the chamber lay a raised platform made from rocks. A pair of twin swords were driven into it at the center. Black hilts with dark red patterns, thin blades with a dim shine. The flow of spiritual power concentrated over the platform, so strong that I could feel its pulses, as if it was thudding along with my heartbeat.

Those swords … looked just like Twin Stars, and they felt just like Twin Stars.

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