Jin's prayer beads gleamed blue as he removed a talisman from his robes. He quickly threw it on the ground, forming a shimmering barrier that deflected the first wave of wraiths.
"Stay behind me!" he shouted, his fingers forming sacred gestures as he muttered purification incantations.
White light flowed from his palms, disintegrating two wraiths that approached.
Zou's elegant figure transformed. His features grew longer, and his ears formed pointy orange tufts on top of his head.
Nine tails emerged from behind him, whipping through the air as his nails grew into lethal claws as he moved with predatory grace.
"I was hoping to save my strength," Zou growled, his voice deeper and feral.
"But I suppose I can't let the monk have all the glory."
He pounced on a wraith, tearing through its spectral form with glowing claws that left trails of golden light.
Rui backed away from a lurching wraith, her hands quivering as she tried to concentrate her energy.
The pink-gold aura around her fingers flickered, then suddenly flared crimson as her Chaos Core pulsed erratically.
"Not again—" she exclaimed as the energy flew out in an uncontrolled explosion.
Unexpectedly, the wave of chaotic energy struck a wraith, freezing the creature mid-lunge, as if time had stopped just for it.
"That's... new," Rui said, staring at her hands.
Kee Kee darted between their legs, his expanded body a blur of black fur and fury.
He snarled, leaping onto a wraith's shoulder.
Then he inhaled deeply before he expelled a jet of blue-white flame directly into the creature's face.
The wraith's head melted away instantly, but its body continued to move.
Kee Kee bit down on its neck, tiny fangs sinking deep, and the wraith disintegrated into ash.
"Hah! That's how it's done!" Kee Kee proclaimed, bouncing to the ground.
Rui controlled her breathing, concentrating on the tumultuous energy pouring through her veins.
"Let's try this again," she whispered, aiming at a wraith that was creeping toward Jin.
The beam struck the beast squarely, freezing it in place.
Jin swung around and finished the immobile wraith with a swift stroke.
"Nice work, Rui" he said, a hint of pride in his tone.
Zou danced between three wraiths, his tails flaring like swords.
"Almost as graceful as me!" he laughed, slashing through a wraith's torso.
Rui's control improved with each subsequent attempt.
She discovered she could control the freezing effect more precisely, leaving gaps for Jin and Zou to attack.
The rhythm of combat flowed through her—aim, freeze, dodge, and repeat.
Kee Kee bounced between wraiths, cackling with demonic glee. He bit through spectral limbs and breathed fire at anything that moved too slowly.
"More! Send more!" he shrieked, his voice filled with excitement.
"I haven't had this much fun in centuries!"
Jin punched another talisman into a wraith's chest.
"There are too many of them!"
"They keep coming from the earth!"
Zou's tails swept two wraiths back, but more clawed their way from the soil.
"Someone's feeding them power from below," he called.
"We need to locate the source!"
Rui's gaze flashed over the battlefield, following the movements of the wraiths.
Each new creature appeared from the same approximate location—a patch of scorched ground several yards away.
"There!" she pointed. "They're coming from that spot!"
Jin nodded, understanding immediately.
He sprinted toward the location, dodging spectral claws.
A wraith lunged at his back, but Zou's tail whipped through the air, dissolving it into smoke.
"Watch your back, monk!" Zou called, his golden eyes gleaming with battle lust.
Jin reached the darkened patch of earth and dropped to his knees.
"It's a portal," he confirmed. "Someone's forcing these wraiths through from the Underworld."
Rui skidded to a halt alongside him, her robes fluttering.
"Can you close it?"
"I—" Jin's voice caught as his beads suddenly flared brighter. The red energy from the cracked bead began to spread to the others.
"Something's interfering with my spiritual energy."
Kee Kee rushed over, spitting fire at any wraith that got too close.
"It's your beast, monk! The portal is resonating with it!"
Rui knelt beside Jin, her fingers hovering over his prayer beads.
"Let me help."
Jin pulled back. "No! Last time you touched them—"
"Last time I didn't know what I was doing," she insisted.
"Trust me."
Rui placed her hand over Jin's, her chaos energy flowing into his prayer beads.
Instead of fighting against the red glow, she guided her energy to match its rhythm.
The ground below them trembled. The blackened dirt burst open, revealing a throbbing crimson symbol etched onto the soil below.
"A summoning mark," Zou muttered, shoving a wraith aside.
Jin's eyes widened with recognition. This is a warning. "We are getting close to the Crimson Battlefield."
Rui traced her finger along the edge of the symbol, her chaos energy mingling with the mark's power.
With a decisive motion, she pressed her palm against it.
"Then let's send our own message," she declared.
The symbol flared brilliantly before imploding, collapsing the portal.
The remaining wraiths dissipated into wisps of smoke that scattered in the breeze.
Kee Kee circled the charred dirt where the portal had been, sniffing for the remaining energy.
"This reeks of old demonic magic," he muttered, pawing at the dirt.
Rui knelt beside him, her fingers still tingling from the chaotic energy she'd channeled.
"Who would do this?
Kee Kee's eyes narrowed to slits.
"Could be an old enemy of mine. I've made plenty in my time."
He paused, his voice dropping lower.
"Or maybe... someone from your court."
"The court?" Rui's eyes widened.
"Don't be naive, Princess." Kee Kee snorted.
"The Infernal Council has eyes everywhere. Your trials aren't meant to be easy."
Zou limped toward them, one of his tails trailing behind him.
"Kee Kee is correct. Maybe someone does not want you to complete these trials."
Rui furrowed his brow. "But I have no idea who would—"
A hefty thud interrupted her thoughts.
Jin had collapsed.
"Jin!" Rui hurried to his side and cradled his head in her lap.
He breathed in shallow breaths, and moisture beaded on his brow.
The shattered bead pulsed uncomfortably against his wrist.
"We need to make camp," Zou declared, surveying the open field beside the road.
"He's spent too much energy containing that thing inside him."
Within an hour, they had set up a tiny camp under the cover of a tree canopy.
Jin reclined on a makeshift bed of cloaks, his face twisted in pain even while unconscious.
Rui sat beside him, gently dabbing his forehead with a damp cloth.
"You shouldn't have pushed yourself so hard," she said softly.
She looked over to Zou, who was leaning against a tree stump, licking his wounds.
His usual flamboyance had faded, replaced by a calm tiredness.
One of his tails was limp, and there were scratches on his once flawless face.
Rui's chest felt heavy with remorse. These two men were suffering because of her.
Jin moved, his eyes flickering open.
"Rui," he said, his voice hoarse.
"I'm here," she replied, grabbing his hand in her own.
"Just rest."
"The beads... they're weakening faster now."
Rui swallowed hard, the fear she'd been suppressing finally bubbling to the surface.
"I can't lose you," she admitted, her voice breaking.
Jin's fingers tightened around hers. "You won't."
"You don't know that," she whispered.
"This beast inside you—what if separating it kills you? What if my chaos energy worsens it? What if—"
"Rui." His voice was stronger now. "Some things are worth the risk."
Across the camp, Zou watched their exchange, his golden eyes unreadable.
Without a word, he rose to his feet.
"I'll find us some food," he announced, disappearing into the trees before Rui could respond.
Alone with Jin, Rui looked down at his face—the face that had somehow become precious to her in such a short time.
Then she glanced in the direction Zou had gone, remembering his injuries and his uncharacteristic silence.
The toll of this journey was written on both men, and it was only beginning.
Rui straightened her shoulders, a new determination hardening within her.
She would complete this trial—not just for herself, but for them.
She was determined to free Jin from his curse. and for Zou, who had left everything to follow her.
For the first time since falling through that flaming portal, Princess Xiao Rui felt like a true heir to the Infernal Throne.
Meanwhile, deep in the shadows beyond their camp, two crimson eyes gleamed.
A figure cloaked in darkness observed the unlikely group.
"The pieces align themselves," the figure whispered, with a voice that was neither male nor female but something in between.
"The heir stumbles toward her destiny, blind to what truly awaits."
Kee Kee's head suddenly snapped up, tiny nostrils flaring as he sensed an intruder; the figure melted backward into the trees.
Kee Kee growled low in his throat.
"What is it?" Rui asked, still holding Jin's hand.
The tiny demon beast scanned the darkness, then shook his head.
"Nothing. Just shadows playing tricks."
However, his gaze stayed fixed on the location where the figure had previously stood.