14.
I ran as far as my legs could carry me. I hugged him with all my strength because I almost thought I would never see him again. 'Are you okay? Hope you are not hurt in any way? I said as I began to check his body for any scratch or pain. ' I'm okay' he said. He saw disbelief in my eyes,so he continued 'Seriously,I'm great. How are you? You look so worn out from too much worry'. I paid no attention to his words. I was so glad he was here with me. For yet, another spiral of discoveries is about to be charted in my life.
Tian Yu came close to us. He patted Wei Chen on the back and said 'Welcome back warrior's. To this,Wei Chen said 'Thank you so much for saving me'. 'What? He saved you? How?' I quizzed. 'That's a story for another day' Tian Yu said. I was not satisfied with the response he gave me. So I looked at Wei Chen to see if he would give me a response I wanted. He just smiled and pulled at my cheek. 'You have fallen behind in your training,Lin Zhen' He said as he dragged me inside the welcome Hall.
The hall was a part of the Palace of that particular Sea. It was so beautiful to behold. There were markings on the wall,which I could tell,were telling a story about the origin of this Sea. This hall is where visitors are tested to determine if their intentions are pure or not. A welcome ceremony is held in honour of any visitor. The final ritual in the ceremony is characterised by the visitor walking on a 50 meters coal of fire. According to tradition,if you do not have evil intentions, the fire will not hurt you. But,if there is even an iota of negative intentions,the scars will be eternal.
It was the Centaur that went over the coal first, she came to the other side with the calmness of nobility. Tian Yu was the next person to walk the coals. At first it seemed as though he would be burnt by the coals,as I saw him hesitate at his first steps. Soon enough he gained balance and walked the path without any harm coming to him. I was signalled to, that I am to go next. My heart was heavy within me and my feet became too heavy for me to lift freely. I slowly approached the path covered with coals of fire and I could almost tell my feet would betray me.
I looked towards Wei Chen's direction and hoped to get a nod to affirm my safety,but his face was expressionless. I later found out that nobody is allowed to do that,it's against the Sea's regulations. Seeing I am all alone in this, I took my first steps with my legs visibly shaking. As my feets touch the coal,it felt warm at first. As I continued with few more steps,the coals started becoming cold. The coldness of the coals took an upward spin until they all lost their heat and became real ice.
The surprise and panick I saw one the eyes of the natives of this Sea was alarming. Some expressed their concerns in words, many ran outside.and others just stood in utter silence. I couldn't even move further myself,cause the more steps I take forward, the more icy the coals got. The leader of this Sea's warriors,who was in charge of the ritual urged me to complete the walk, regardless of what happens. I wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do,but I just had to comply.
I slowly continued my steps,but as I did so now, I felt a sudden surge of lightning within my veins. They were so painful but I could not expreṣ it outwardly. Almost at the same time, I saw yet another expression of awe in the face of all that stood around, including Tian Yu. I followed his gaze to myself and I was very amazed to see that my armour was changing. It was taking the color of ice and it soon enough became totally icy blue. I could've sworn it wasn't the same outfit,if not that I am the one wearing it. I cried out 'Wei Chen! What's going on? What's happening with me?'. The leader of the warrior sect of this particular Sea Dre his sword and so did the warriors with him.
Fear and panick are what I ought to feel but I only saw them in the faces of my companions on this journey. There was no glimpse of fear in me neither did I for once, think about the outcome of this possible duel. I was so fearless to the point of not minding if my sword was with me. I felt that there is no need for it. The strength that was erupting within me felt like I could take on an entire battalion of Warriors without flinching. This made me look at the ones present as though, they can be easily blown as chaff.
As I was still taking in my new found abilities,we heard the stomping of horses. Their queen and ours alighted from the horses. They were returning from a council held in view of the appearance of chosen. Their queen stormed inside the hall,it was obvious she had been informed about the recent developments. She drew out a sword and turned to face me. I still didn't flinch, as she got close enough, I saw her facial expression change into awe away from the rage it carried. She stuck her sword in the ground and knelt as a knight would. At this sight, all who were present did the same except a young man about my age who entered not long after the queen.
'I pay homage to 'YAO' the God of the Icy Seas' the queen said as she kept kneeling. I did not know how what prompted my response. I replied 'I receive the homage of a loyal YAO daughter. May you life blossom as the Lily by the Sea' Was that me or am I possesses by a spirit called 'Yao', I thought to myself. As the queen stood up,so did all that knelt with her..
'My queen what exactly did you just do. You performed the sacred YAO ritual on an ordinary girl! A girl who spat on our age long tradition?' raged the new young man. 'Crown Prince,she is not a stranger and neither is she an ordinary girl. This is YAO! She has come to us like she promised' the queen persuaded. . ' This is no YAO! She is an impostor. Well,if indeed she is,then let her engage me in the battle of 'The Burning Flames' he insisted. So the queen said 'Well if that would clear your doubts. I believe it will also teach you a lesson!' Then let's begin! The battle of the burning flames!'.'Bring it on!' I muttered to myself,certain of victory.