Chapter 25 - An Amicable Conversation

In the white world, Yuzu fell to her knees, her hands clutching onto the brittle white grass in frustration. Sweat beaded off her nose and dropped to the ground as she drew in heavy, ragged breaths.

When the monster appeared, black smoke had risen from the ground and enveloped the area in a fine mist. A coil of thick black thread snaked its way from the edge of her vision towards the golden strand of Char Char, and the silver strand of the man she had pulled in to save Char Char from the wolves. One by one, the sticky black threads of the wolves had been drawn towards the silver thread and snapped. The final two threads were consumed by the black coil of the monster.

The black coil then curled around the golden and silver threads and despite Yuzu’s best efforts to stop it, it constricted them together. She felt Char Char’s thread nearly snap when suddenly they separated without Yuzu’s intervention.

The silver thread fled over the cliff edge with the golden thread securely wrapped around it. The black coil meandered around the plateau and then left deeper into the forest, taking the black mist with it. After some time the white world returned to its original peaceful state.

At this time, Yuzu came to a better understanding of the nature of the threads. When she had observed them earlier in the day, they had been fully formed and they hung in the physical world roughly according to the positions of the people and creatures that they represented. In the battle, however, she could observe the ends of the threads as they “grew” in real time, twisting and coiling and pulling at each other. She had grabbed the end of the silver thread at the moment that she threaded it into the knot to save Char Char.

Her manipulation of the man’s thread had the effect of attracting him to the plateau in the physical world!

Yuzu slowly recovered her strength and pulled herself up to a standing position, using the shrine as a support.

Now that the battle was over, she could observe the aftermath in the threads as they flew into the distance. Their ‘tails’ were no longer a slowly drifting smoke, but instead were fixed in place as they slowly faded into nothing, representing their cementation into the past. As Yuzu concentrated on Char Char’s fleeing thread, she could look past it, into the ‘future’, where it once again gained a ephemeral, smoky appearance. Her ability to see the threads in the distance extended far past her vision of her ‘surroundings’ in the white world, but eventually they too faded into the white horizon.

The smokier the appearance of a thread, the more its future was uncertain and able to be affected, Yuzu hypothesized as she watched Char Char’s thread fade into the distance. The golden thread was weak and thin, but it was alive. Yuzu hoped that the man represented by the silver thread would be able to save her friend. Her spiritual intuition gave her a mixed feeling - that Char Char would not die, but that she wouldn’t be completely out of danger either.

Yuzu’s intimate involvement in the battle gave her deep understanding of the events of the fight. As she had tried to manipulate the threads, she found herself experiencing the moments of the real world as if she was actually there. She clearly saw the hawk faced man and observed his incredible speed and strength. She felt the heat of his blade slice through the flesh of the wolves. When Char Char was stabbed by the spear-like antennae of the monster, Yuzu felt an echo of the pain pierce her own body. Even though it was filtered through the white world, the pain nearly caused Yuzu to black out.

As for the monster... Yuzu frowned. She had not managed to get a good look at it. The black mist that had risen in the white world had obscured her vision of it. It also prevented her from following the monster’s thread as it retreated into the forest.

Not that she wanted to ever see it again.

Yuzu let out a long, slow exhale as she quietly looked down at the ornate chest in her hands with a pensive expression.

Had she done it?

The premonition of Char Char’s death had not come to pass. Yuzu keenly understood that this change in fate had been a direct result of her actions here in the white world. Had she not trusted her gut feeling and come here tonight, Char Char would have died by this shrine, terrified and alone.

Yuzu’s taut lips curved into a frown. She didn’t feel joyful or relieved or even accomplished from saving her friend. Instead, she felt an overwhelmingly heavy feeling inside her. She felt burdened and alone.

Just as she started to lose herself in melancholy, a flickering of motion at her feet caught her eye.

Lying in the dirt at the foot of the shrine was a small crystal orb. It was Edwin’s lodestone, which Char Char had dropped during the initial encounter with the wolves.

As Yuzu kneeled down to look at it, she noticed a thread of golden smoke lead off from it towards the west, and another one lead off towards the edge of the cliff. Yuzu touched them lightly with her fingers and quickly verified that these threads represented Edwin and Char Char.

As she retracted her hand from the thread, she noticed a new silver thread arcing high in the sky from somewhere to the north east. It landed in the center of the orb and started swirling. As it swirled, the image of a man in his fifties took shape. He was shaved bald, with a sharp nose and a strong jaw. He had a handsome look of dignity to him, though his eyes currently had a look of urgency to them.

As Yuzu reached out to the silver thread, she heard him speak in hushed tones.

“Edwin, are you there? It’s Master.” It was common for old masters to refer to themselves by their title towards their disciples.

“Edwin, it sounds like it’s raining hard there! Are you outside?” The man looked up, sheltering his face with his hand as if he was getting hit by the rain.

Yuzu bit her lip, not sure whether she should respond.

“I can’t see you. Edwin, if you hear me. I have a package for you. I need to arrange a way to get it to you.” The man held up a small black tin. As he did so, a second silver thread materialized in Yuzu’s view. The thread arced up from the center of the tin box through the sky towards the same location that the master’s thread came from.

“Edwin, did you fall asleep in the rain? Ai-ya! Wake up!” A hushed expression of agitation spread across the master’s face.

An idea came to Yuzu as she quickly grasped the tin’s silver thread in one hand and Edwin’s thread in her other and tied them together with a knot. She still did not have any idea what to say to the master, but as she finished connecting the two threads, he peered out of the crystal ball directly up at her. Their eyes locked as he frowned.

“Wait, who are you?“

Yuzu opened her mouth to reply when his head suddenly jerked to the side away from her, looking at something outside of the view of the orb. The image suddenly fizzled as the silver and golden thread ends launched up into the air, returning to where they came from.

Yuzu’s gaze followed the flying threads as she noticed that the knot she had tied between the tin and Edwin held strong.

~

Far off in the distance to the north, deep within the mountains near their peaks, an old master in earthy brown robes stood at the edge of a balcony overlooking an endlessly tall cliff. Despite his age, he was at the peak of his health, and carried himself with a distinguished grace. Above him, the light of the stars was bright and luminous. Far below, the cliffs disappeared under the tops of clouds which churned quietly in the silver celestial light. It was a picturesque view, one which the Cloud Peak Monastery was famous for across the kingdom.

The master, whose name was Ming Ru, had used a special technique to travel through the spirit world in search of his disciple’s lode stone. He had found it, but the scenery he observed was surprising. The stone was clearly out in the middle of a storm, but the Edwin he knew would never let himself get stuck in the rain. More likely, he’d probably follow some pretty girl and manage to find some accommodations while also making a fool of himself.

Master Ming Ru held the small black tin in his hand with a frown. It was about the size of a cigarette carton and held a small iron vial. He had sealed the spirituality inside to avoid its contents being discovered and had also included a small letter inside for Edwin. However he had no idea where his disciple had ended up after reaching Noga. Due to various circumstances he was currently unable to make the trip down to the city himself.

A stir in his spiritual intuition caused him to cut the connection abruptly. He made a motion to hide the tin in a hidden pocket in his robe when he was startled by a voice.

“Master Ru, Are you out here?” The voice rang out.

Out of surprise and haste, Ming Ru missed his pocket as he released the tin. The metal tin bounced off his cloth shoe and through the hole in the balcony railing, upon which it plummeted out of sight into the clouds.

The old master didn’t even have time to react as he turned around to the visitor, pretending he had just been casually observing the clouds.

“Abbott, what a surprise.” He said with a smile on his face.

“Is it a surprise for me to take a walk around my monastery?” Abbott Deacon Glass said as he walked out of the warmly lit room onto the balcony. He was tall and had a strong posture. He had silvery white hair that was tied into a bun at the top of his head. He had a long, thin beard and strong cheekbones. His ears were pierced with seven silver rings that ran along the full edge of both ears. The elder man was taller than Ming Ru by half a head and wore a white robe with blue trimmings that resembled clouds. He was followed by his body guard Rabi, a spry monk in his late twenties with a quiet, disciplined composure. He wore a simple set of grey robes with a black sash tied around his waist.

“It is, considering this balcony is attached to my room.” Ming Ru’s smile was strained as he rested his hands together behind his back in a scholarly pose.

“Ah, well, I knocked and didn’t hear a reply, but the door was unlocked. I assumed it was alright to let myself in.” Deacon Glass shrugged.

“Ah, but the door doesn’t have a lock.” Ming Ru said with a polite cordialness.

“A locked door between friends; Is like separate beds between lovers.” Deacon Glass recited as he stood in front of Ming Ru. “I stopped by because I felt a stir in the spiritual energy in the room. I was concerned that an evil spirit might be trying to enter the monastery.”

“I was meditating, and practicing some cultivation techniques.” Ming Ru said with an apologetic bow, “I apologize for disturbing you so late in the evening.”

“I understand.” Deacon Glass said, sending a glance towards Rabi. The grey robed monk quickly paced the balcony, checking over the edges for any intruders. “We cannot be too careful. There are many strange things happening in the mountains as of late.”

“I haven’t seen anything unusual tonight, Abbott. But if it would please you, feel free to search my room as well.” Ming Ru said curtly.

“Search your room? I am merely concerned for your safety.” Deacon Glass smiled, putting on an air of innocence, “But if you so insist.”

He nodded to Rabi, who disappeared swiftly inside the suite.

Deacon Glass stepped up to the balcony, looking out at the clouds below as they waited for the monk to complete the search. “Old friend, I hope you are not upset.”

“Perhaps if my meditations bother you, it would be better to put me in a different suite” Ming Ru replied, “It could even lock from the outside, if you so preferred.”

Deacon Glass laughed and patted Ming Ru on the shoulder amicably. “Let no one say the monks of Heavens Gate do not have a sense of humour. No, you are our honoured guest, Master Ru. If you have any grievances, you only have to speak.”

“Your hospitality knows no bounds.” Ming Ru murmured.

Rabi appeared in the doorway, having found nothing. Satisfied, the Abbott turned to leave. “Well, was a pleasant chat, but I must adjourn. Good night, Master Ru.”

“Good night, Abbott.”

Master Ming Ru waited until he heard the door shut completely before he fell to his knees and scoured the edge of the balcony, sticking his head out from the hole and peering down. Of course, the tin was long gone.

“Shit!” He cursed his luck as he sat back and sighed, leaning his back against the railing.

Losing items over the balcony was a common joke amongst the monks who lived in the monastery. They called such accidents ‘donations to the gods’, as it was nearly impossible to recover anything that had been dropped below the clouds. He let go of the frustration of losing the tin, having no way to get it back.

His thoughts wandered to the end of his vision out of Edwin’s lodestone. He had spotted a girl with pale white skin and light grey hair. Her features were strangely bright and blurry.

He had the impression that she was from a different world.