The air outside the temple wasn't freedom—
—it was a battlefield.
Mystic's body crackled with golden lightning, her storm-song reverberating across the broken sky. Clouds split apart, then reformed in her wake, bending the forest beneath her aura. Branches snapped, leaves spiraled free into charged air.
Below, Lufei bounded through fractured terrain. Her crystal antlers caught the storm-light, flashing like twin blades. Hooves struck rock with crisp precision. Each step landed clean despite the chaos, though faint streaks of blood along her fur showed the cost of keeping pace with a collapsing temple.
She wasn't weak. Far from it. But the battle made every breath count.
A roar shook the ruins. Mystic's whale-cry ripped through the forest and sky alike, rattling the ground until stones tumbled into the abyss below.
Across from her… unfurled a nightmare.
The Buyong.
A serpent of lies and hunger, fins jagged like saws, body a coil of shifting shadow. Its face flickered between false beauty and grotesque distortion. Each shift was worse than the last, like the temple murals brought to terrible life.
The deceiver. The killer of Mystic's kin.
⸻
"What… what is that beast?" Xia Ying whispered, voice trembling.
Her eyes were wide, and the fire in her usual bravado dimmed. She glanced at Zhou Qian and Kai Shi, who had fallen back slightly to shield the smaller ones.
Kai Shi stepped forward, voice calm but sharp.
"That's the Buyong. It's dangerous—but it isn't coming for us," he said, eyes tracking the massive coils.
"Wait—you mean… that thing won't attack us?" Xia Ying's eyebrows shot up.
Zhou Qian shook his head, kneeling slightly to meet her gaze.
"Mystic isn't a danger," he explained, his tone firm. "She's fighting the Buyong, not us. She… she's protecting everyone."
Xia Ying hesitated, glancing up at the enormous whale of a beast above. Mystic's golden form swam through the clouds like liquid lightning.
"But… it's huge! What if she… loses control?" Xia Ying muttered.
Kai Shi caught her arm lightly, steadying her.
"Listen. Mystic knows what she's doing. Look at Lufei down there—she's with us. Both of them would never put anyone here in real danger unless they wanted to."
Xia Ying still looked unconvinced, but she nodded slowly, keeping her voice low.
"I… I just… it's terrifying."
Zhou Qian gave a small, reassuring smile.
"Yeah. I won't lie, it is terrifying. But we stick together, follow Lufei's cues, and nothing will touch us."
⸻
Above, Mystic dove first. Her massive form slammed into the Buyong. Golden arcs detonated as the two titans collided, the sound splitting the heavens.
The temple shuddered so violently that the sea below foamed and climbed against the cliffs.
The Buyong recoiled, coils thrashing. Its scales glittered like knives, maw opening wide enough to swallow mountains. Darkness pressed against Mystic's storm.
Lightning lit the ruins, molten-gold arcs snapping across shattered stone.
The rhythm of battle set in—a violent dance of lightning and coil, cloud and shadow.
⸻
Below, Lufei didn't falter.
She darted among tumbling debris, hooves striking falling stone and shoving it aside. Her antlers sparked faint light, slicing the air as she deflected splinters and scattered rubble. Each bound brought her close to Mystic's shadow, never far from her kin.
Zhou Qian crouched, signaling the smaller kids forward.
"Keep moving—don't stop. Lufei's covering the path!"
Soran's hands glowed, chains of light snapping into place, holding collapsing beams just long enough to clear a path.
Lyra's blade hummed with pale light, bending space around them, allowing falling stones to slide aside harmlessly.
Xia Ying stumbled slightly, catching Soran's sleeve.
"Are you sure this is safe?" she hissed.
Soran gave a faint grin.
"As safe as it's going to get in a collapsing temple while a storm whale fights a serpent above. Trust me."
Kai Shi added, pointing at Lufei's antlers.
"Step carefully. Those arcs of light aren't decoration—they're guidance."
The kids followed Lufei's movements without hesitation, moving in rhythm to her subtle signals.
⸻
Above, Mystic roared.
Her body flashed brighter with every exchange, until the Buyong faltered, staggering beneath the weight of her power.
Then came the final blow—a golden bolt, thick as a tower, crashed down in sync with her whale-song. The sound and light split the void, tore through the predator's coils, and hurled the Buyong back into nothingness.
The serpent collapsed into shadow.
⸻
And then Mystic changed.
Her form swelled, tripling in size. White skin melted into gleaming gold streaked with black runes, each spreading like lightning scars across her underbelly, tail, and back.
The clouds thickened, storm-masses rolling heavy with molten veins of sky-fire.
Her call deepened—no longer the cry of a child, but the voice of a leviathan. Haunting. Final.
Mystic had shed her infancy.
⸻
Lufei skidded to a stop, crystal hooves throwing sparks as stone cracked beneath her. Her antlers caught the storm glow, flashing with approval.
She looked up at Mystic, then nodded sharply before bounding forward again, moving to the group.
"Everyone… onto Lufei!" Zhou Qian barked.
Xia Ying's eyes went wide.
"Wait—we ride her? Like… on her back?"
Kai Shi chuckled dryly.
"Yes. And don't complain when you find out she won't spill you on the first bump."
Lufei lowered her antlers, forming steps in the air. Mist and faint clouds swirled around them like escalators.
Zhou Qian stepped first, testing the rise.
"See? Easy. Just follow my lead."
The younger kids hesitated, looking up at Mystic's immense golden form hovering above.
"Don't worry," Kai Shi said firmly. "She isn't going to hurt you. Watch her tail, watch her eyes—she's checking on all of us."
Xia Ying bit her lip, then slowly placed a hand on Lufei's antler. The cloud-step rose beneath her. She swallowed a nervous laugh.
"This… is insane."
"It's safer than running through collapsing ruins," Zhou Qian said. "Trust me."
One by one, they climbed. Some clung to Lufei's antlers, others pressed to her back. She didn't move until the last child was secure, hooves firm, every jolt absorbed.
Above, Mystic let out a drawn call. A glowing void opened beneath her—liquid gold streaked with black, swirling like a vortex.
With a coordinated bound, Lufei leapt, Mystic dipping, guiding the motion. Together, they crossed the threshold.
⸻
Light bent. Clouds coiled like veins. Runes on Mystic's body pulsed, illuminating black currents of the passage.
Lufei's muscles coiled tight, carrying the children steadily through turbulence. Every shift, every jolt absorbed.
"Hold tight!" Zhou Qian shouted as he steadied himself.
"Don't fight it!" Kai Shi added, gripping Xia Ying lightly.
Mystic swam above, immense and unbending, guiding, observing.
⸻
Then—they emerged.
The jungle pressed in immediately, air thick with humidity. Moss draped ancient ruins, towers crumbling but proud in trees.
Breathless, the kids stumbled onto damp soil.
Mystic hovered above, golden-black lightning illuminating her massive body.
Lufei trotted forward, careful but swift, tossing her head to mark paths. The children followed without question.
Xia Ying finally exhaled, eyes wide.
"She… didn't even touch us."
Zhou Qian nodded, smiling faintly.
"And she won't. She's not here to fight us."
Kai Shi added, voice quiet but firm:
"Remember this. Storms can protect as much as they destroy."
Mystic's whale-song echoed faintly, haunting and resonant.
The Buyong was gone.
But the storm would remain.
And under the watch of two guardians—deer and whale, crystal and storm—the adventure was only just beginning.