Dawn crept into the tent, casting soft amber light across the canvas walls.
Rui's eyes fluttered open to find herself nestled against Jin's chest, his arm draped protectively around her shoulders.
She savored the warmth of his embrace, feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
Jin woke moments later; he traced his fingers gently over the curve of her cheek.
They dressed in silence, as if to stretch these final moments of peace.
Rui noticed that the cracks on Jin's prayer beads had spread overnight, thin red lines now visible across each bead's surface.
Outside, morning mist clung to the forest floor. Jin paused at the tent entrance, turning to face her one last time.
His eyes held everything he couldn't.
He reached out, brushing his fingertips against hers, then stepped into the morning light without looking back.
The unspoken goodbye hung in the air between them, heavier than any words could have been.
Zou sat nearby on a fallen log, already awake and dressed. His golden eyes watched Jin's movements as the monk began packing his belongings.
When Rui emerged from the tent moments later, Zou's gaze shifted to her, his usual playful expression replaced by something more solemn.
He handed her a cup of steaming tea without comment, but his fingers lingered against hers as he passed the cup, a silent gesture of solidarity.
She simply sat beside him in the hush of morning, the weight of what was to come pressing gently against them both.
Jin led the way, and they rode for hours in uncanny silence.
Rui trailed him in silence, her gaze flicking to his back again and again.
Zou rode at her side, his usual flamboyance dimmed, his golden eyes watching the ground.
Even Kee Kee remained uncharacteristically quiet, perched on Rui's shoulder.
The landscape transformed gradually as lush forest gave way to scorched earth.
Trees stood like blackened skeletons against the gray sky, their twisted branches reaching upward in silent agony.
The soil beneath their horses' hooves crunched—ash mixed with earth—releasing puffs of dark dust with each step.
"We're here," Jin said, his voice hollow.
"The Crimson Battlefield."
Rui felt it immediately—a heavy pressure settling over her skin, crawling through her veins.
The air vibrated with rage, an ancient fury that made her chaos core pulse in response. She gripped her reins tighter, fighting the urge to turn back.
"The wrath energy is... intense," Zou murmured, his golden eyes narrowed.
His usual shimmer had dulled, as if the atmosphere itself rejected his light.
"Even in the Underworld, we have nothing quite like this."
Jin dismounted, his boots landing with a muffled thud in the ash.
The prayer beads around his wrist pulsed red, brighter now—angry light leaking through the fractures like blood through cracked porcelain.
His eyes turned distant. His breath quickened.
Rui slid off her mare. "Jin?"
He didn't answer.
"Blood," he whispered, eyes unfocused. "So much blood…"
Memories surged—screams, fire, falling walls, the weight of guilt heavier than any stone. His hands clenched unconsciously at his sides.
Rui reached for him. Her fingers found his arm, warm beneath the cloth.
He blinked, focusing on her face with visible effort.
"I'm sorry. The place... it remembers."
"And so does the beast," Kee Kee added grimly, gesturing toward Jin's prayer beads.
They left the horses tethered at the edge of the battlefield and continued on foot.
The smell of smoke hung in the air, as if the very molecules had been seared with fire decades ago and never recovered.
"Where exactly are we going?" Rui asked, her voice hushed as they navigated the scorched landscape. Ash rose with each footstep, settling on their clothes like gray snow.
Jin pointed toward a distant rise where broken stone walls jutted against the sky, resembling broken teeth.
We need to find the old summoning circle. It should be at the fortress ruins."
"Fortress?" Rui's eyes widened.
Jin's jaw tightened. "My home. Once."
The words hang heavy between them.
Zou exchanged a glance with Rui but remained silent.
"The ritual must be performed where the Behemoth was first summoned and sealed," Jin continued, his voice mechanical.
"The circle should still be there, carved into the stone of the great hall."
The ruins loomed closer—blackened stone and collapsed archways, the skeletal remains of what must have once been an impressive fortress.
The wrath mark flared brighter as they approached a partially collapsed structure at the center of the fortress. Ancient stone steps led downward into darkness.
Kee Kee peered over her shoulder at the ominous entrance.
"Wonderful. A creepy underground chamber in an abandoned fortress."
Zou summoned a small orb of golden light that floated above his palm, illuminating the stone steps that descended into darkness.
"Allow me to light our way, Princess," he said, his usual dramatic flair subdued by the heaviness of their surroundings.
"Though I must admit, even my considerable talents feel... diminished in this place."
Jin moved to Rui's side, his hand hovering near the small of her back but not quite touching her.
"Stay close. The foundations may be unstable after all these years."
They descended in single file—Jin first, then Rui, followed by Zou with Kee Kee perched tensely on his shoulder.
The staircase spiraled downward, each step worn smooth from centuries of use.
The air grew colder, heavier with each turn of the spiral. Rui's wrath mark pulsed beneath her robes, its rhythm increasing as they descended deeper.
"I can feel it," she whispered, her voice echoing softly against the stone walls.
"We're getting closer."
The staircase finally opened into a vast circular chamber. Zou's light expanded, revealing high ceilings supported by massive stone columns.
Ancient tapestries, now blackened and tattered, hung from rusted iron hooks.
But it was the floor that commanded their attention—an enormous summoning circle carved directly into the stone, its intricate patterns still visible despite decades of abandonment.
Dark stains marred the circle's edge, the unmistakable evidence of blood sacrifice.
Jin froze at the chamber's entrance, his prayer beads glowing violently red.
"This is where it happened," he said, his voice barely audible.
"Where they bound it to me."
Rui stepped forward, drawn by her mark's insistent pull.
As her foot crossed the circle's outer ring, the carved lines suddenly flared to life, glowing with the same crimson as Jin's beads.
"The circle recognizes the trial mark," Kee Kee observed, his small form tensing.
"It's responding to your presence, Princess."
Jin approached slowly, each step visibly difficult, as if fighting against an invisible force.
When he finally stood beside Rui in the circle's center, his prayer beads pulsed in perfect synchronization with the glowing lines beneath their feet.
"We need to begin the ritual," he said.
"Before I lose control."
Jin unrolled an ancient scroll, spreading it flat against the stone floor.
The parchment seemed to drink in the crimson light, characters shifting and pulsing like living things.
"We need to recreate the original sealing circle," Jin explained, voice steady despite the beads now burning against his wrist.
"But reverse its intent to extract the beast."
Jin produced a pouch of cinnabar powder from his robes, carefully tracing new patterns around the glowing circle.
Rui placed purification talismans at each cardinal direction. Each talisman flared briefly as it touched the stone, recognizing her chaos energy.
Kee Kee scurried between them, arranging small spirit stones in a secondary pattern.
When the preparations were complete, they stood back to observe their work. The original blood-stained circle was now nestled within the newly created pattern, with crimson light pulsing against gold.
"It's time," he said softly.
Rui rushed forward, throwing her arms around him. She buried her face against his chest, tears soaking into his robes.
Jin's arms tightened around her, his face pressed into her hair.
When she finally pulled away, Zou stepped forward, awkwardly patting Jin's shoulder.
"Whatever happens… know that I'll protect her. Always."
Jin's mouth quirked in a half-smile. "I know. And thank you."
Even Kee Kee waddled forward, looking uncharacteristically solemn.
"Try not to die; the princess can be annoying when she is sad."
Jin gave a quiet laugh, then nodded. "I'll try my best."
He fully entered the circle's heart and took a deep breath.
The moment his foot touched the center, the entire pattern flared, sending the stone beneath his feet rippling with heat.
He placed the prayer beads at his feet, and the glow from them exploded, bathing the entire chamber in pulsing red light.
Rui took her place at the circle's edge. She raised her hands, her chaotic energy gathering in threads of pinkgold at her fingertips.
"Ready?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Jin looked up at her one last time, her eyes full of something painfully human.
"I'm ready."
Rui closed her eyes, swirling pink-gold energy around her hands before shooting forward to ignite the ritual circle.
The ancient symbols instantly blazed with blinding light.
Jin gasped as crimson energy burst from within him. It poured out like liquid fire, spreading out in pulsing waves.
The red glow grew stronger, forming a dome that surrounded the entire chamber.
"Rui!" Zou lunged forward, but he hit an invisible barrier as the crimson energy between them solidified.
The walls of the underground chamber trembled, ancient stone groaning under supernatural pressure.
"What's happening?" Kee Kee shrieked and scrambled backward as the barrier grew.
The crimson energy dome surged upward, tearing through stone and earth.
The fortress ruins crumbled like sand castles before a tide.
Columns collapsed, archways shattered, and walls dissolved, leaving only an open field bathed in bloody light.
Zou and Kee Kee were thrown backward, tumbling across scorched earth before coming to rest outside the perfect circle of crimson energy that now pulsed beneath the open sky.
Inside the barrier, the scenery had changed. Jin and Rui stood alone on what appeared to be an ancient battleground.
Spectral warriors fought silently in the distance, locked in an eternal battle.
The ground trembled beneath them. The crimson sky darkened further, and clouds swirled into a vortex directly overhead.
An ancient voice rang out from the heart of this maelstrom.
"FACE YOUR WRATH, HEIR OF THE UNDERWORLD. CONQUER OR BE CONSUMED."