In the days following his deathmatch, Boneroot said little and trained relentlessly. Whenever Kroshieshi tried to engage him about the killing of Gangwei, the boy brushed him off. He wanted to talk about the fight even less than he wanted to remember it. Whenever he had a moment to think, images of his opponent’s corpse flooded his mind, the feeling of skull came back to his fingers and the smell of blood and vomit filled his nose.

It was as though he was back in the forest, throwing himself into cultivation to forget his failed attempts at finding his village. Now, though, he was cultivating to forget that and so much more. Kuroki visited the training grounds a few times, trying to play with his friend now that he had the time and Felindei’s reluctant blessing.

Boneroot didn’t want to be too harsh on the young cat, but he would need some time to come to terms with the tsovar’s nature. He knew, in a theoretical sense, that Kuroki, despite having the personality of a child, was a born predator. He also knew he shouldn’t hold the cat accountable for his reaction to the deathmatch, but, for now, Boneroot couldn't talk to his friend without thinking of the man he’d killed. Either Kuroki got the hint that some space was needed, or Kroshieshi said something, because the visits stopped after a short while.

Between extended meditation and ferocious physical training, Boneroot resolved to make it up to his friend in the future, assuming he still had one. He was confident he would be able to put Kuroki’s behavior out of his mind soon enough.

Felindei, however, was a different story entirely. The more he thought about the immortal’s actions, the more upset he made himself. He was regretting ever stepping foot in her grove. More and more, she revealed just how little she actually cared for him. While he had no proof, he was also beginning to suspect Felindei may have been the direct cause of the Village’s disappearance.

Unfortunately, her word was the only lead he had to figuring out what happened. So, for now, he needed to go along her machinations, no matter how sinister they turn out to be. Of course, he hardly had any agency of his own, but that was why he needed to grow stronger. Much stronger.

His intense focus on training reflected that need until he was eventually interrupted a month after the fight with Gangwei by Kroshieshi, though there was a noticeable, uncharacteristic hesitation in the hellecat’s voice.

“Can’t put it off any longer, boy,” His teacher called into the training fields, while Boneroot was focused on attempting to eliminate the hand gestures from his Radiant Claw.

“You’ve not much time left before you and Kuroki are set to arrive at the Brightmoon Sect. I don’t know how much, exactly, but Felindei’s already set everything up with the sect head, Grand Master Yan. They’ll let you know everything you need about the sect itself when you get there, but for now, we need to go over some of the other disciples. I don’t want you getting your head torn off because you picked a fight with the wrong person. Mind you, there’s no intentional killing while you’re there, but that’s often not enough guarantee. You’ll need your wits about you, at least in the beginning. Will you pay attention, damn it?!”

Boneroot stopped practicing the speed of his Spatial ki materialization behind his back.

Rolling her eyes, Kroshieshi continued, “You’ll be attending the sect with an inordinate number of important disciples. Well, as important as children can be. Firstly, this year the Brightmoon Sect is welcoming a delegation from Hamagari. Do you remember who they are?”

Boneroot had to further extricate himself from his training mindset to properly recall the nation to the southeast of the Empire, on the other side of the Wei Mountains. He nodded his head, though he was curious why they’d bother to attend a sect of the Empire. His mentor spoke on,

“Good. There will also be a few notable, noble scions. Namely, from clans Shio, Zhen, Kasumi, and Tiankaiji. There will also be a handful of children with middling talent from more powerful households, but they’re of less concern.”

As Kroshieshi rattled off the names, Boneroot thought back on the history lessons he’d endured. The Shio and Kasumi were the former ruling and retainer clans, respectively, of Kazemura, before they were usurped and forced to flee to the Empire. The Zhen were one of the wealthiest and most influential clans in the Empire, due in large part to their crafting and mercantile prowess. Finally, the Tiankaiji were the retainer clan to the former Empress, Ushi Daizhen. Though he was hazy on the details of the latter’s rise and fall, he quickly made the connection that a prominent child of the Tiankaiji would be looking to improve his family’s standing at any cost.

When he relayed his recollection back to Kroshieshi, however, he was dismayed to see the old tsovar shake his head.

“That’s all you retained from my lectures? It looks like I’ve been too lenient. Sit down. We’re going to be a while.”

Boneroot groaned, but settled in to endure a mind-numbingly detailed explanation of the relationships between the Shio and Kasumi clans and the rest of the Empire. By the time they finished and he returned to his room to sleep, he knew with absolute confidence that he would remember next to nothing of what Kroshieshi told him. Even if he’d wanted to, he was choosing to forget out of spite. There was a self-satisfied grin on his face as he fell asleep.

~

When he woke up, Boneroot was sitting on the floor of the room where he’d first met Felindei. The memory was unpleasant enough without the surreal, woman-like creature, herself, standing in front of him. She spoke before he fully gained his bearings.

“You’ve broken into the Orange realm. We will do the binding now. I don’t know what you’ve heard about binding spirit beasts before, but I assure you this will be nothing like that. You will have no control over Kuroki. He is not to do your bidding. You are but a vessel for his growth and your shadow will carry a realm of my own creation in which Kuroki can reside. Of course, I have made this clear already, but the point remains: you are no one’s master.”

Felindei paused until Boneroot realized he had to verbally confirm his lack of importance. He did so through gritted teeth.

“Like normal spirit-beast bindings, the arrangement will be beneficial to both yours and Kuroki’s cultivation, once you catch up to him. Unlike normal bindings, Kuroki will be free to leave at will. He has been instructed not to help you in any fights within the sect until your cultivation level matches his own. At that point, however, assuming you haven’t proven yourself a disappointment, we will discuss further how you factor into Kuroki’s growth. For now, just know that you have no providence over the young one’s power. Now, step over here.”

Neither her words, nor her dismissive attitude toward his very existence bothered Boneroot by this point. He was well-accustomed to her behavior. He inched over to the spot she indicated, in front of a new adornment upon the wall, an incandescent torch of what appeared to be flickering moonlight. Idly, Boneroot thought the immortal was perhaps too interested in all things lunar, but he wouldn’t pretend to understand the fascinations of ageless beings.

Kuroki slunk into the room from some unseen corridor and Boneroot realized he still hadn’t gotten around to sorting things out with his friend. He smiled to the little cat, who perked up noticeably at the gesture. Boneroot wished he could utilize the tsovars’ mental communication, but, for now, he would have to wait until they were alone to fully make amends.

Felindei waited as Kuroki padded over to his assigned spot in front of the odd, moonlit torch. Once the two young cultivators were side by side, Felindei announced,

“The binding is complete. Begin your training for the day.”

“That’s it? What was the point of the fancy light, then?” Boneroot asked the empty space in front of him. Felindei was already gone. Just once, he wished she would at least wave her hand, or snap her fingers. With a sigh, he turned to face Kuroki. In the wake of the immortal’s bizarre non-ritual, though, he did feel a tangible connection to the furball. Testing a theory, Boneroot reached out with his mind.

“Hello?” Kuroki jumped at the invading voice.

“You can talk in your head, too, now?! That’s great! We can be both be sneaky now! You were so loud before!”

Boneroot wanted to cut him off before he got going, so he jumped right into what he needed to discuss, “Sorry for not talking to you lately. I needed some time to think about everything that happened in that fight. I’ve never... killed anyone before.”

What he didn’t expect was a chipper response from Kuroki, “I know! Kroshikrokro told me all about it! She said you have to get better. Were you sick? I thought even humans can’t get sick once they break through!”

Though Boneroot had heard about the supposed immunity of which the hellecat spoke from Kroshieshi, he had also seen Red-realm members of his village struck down by some of the nastier conditions one might contract in the forest. That was beside the point, however, so Boneroot turned his full attention back to Kuroki, who was experimenting with the shadow-binding.

As the lithe mass of black fur dipped in and out of his shadow like it was a pool of water, he allowed himself to feel relieved. No matter how bad things felt after the deathmatch with Gangwei, he at least had a friend again.

~

Boneroot finished cultivating and practicing for the day, while Kuroki alternated between napping in his shadow and excitedly extolling the benefits of his new, otherworldly nap space, then began walking back toward his room.

When he stepped through the arc of vines that comprised his doorway, however, he found himself back in the central room of the grove where Felindei had done the binding. This time, the boy was more annoyed than surprised. Before he could voice that irritation, however, he saw the immortal in question standing next to a human. An actual human, by the looks of him.

Immediately, Boneroot was wary. The last time Felindei introduced him to a human, he didn’t like how it ended. He inspected the interloper with a tense glare. The man looked... average. He was certainly a cultivator. Boneroot would have guessed by context alone, but he could also sense it. The man’s perfect complexion was a dead give away, as well.

He was surprised by the man’s otherwise unremarkable appearance, though, because he’d always been told cultivation reshaped your body into an ideal. Whenever someone broke into a new realm, their body changed to reflect their accomplishment and, supposedly, the cultivator’s idea of their ideal form.

Looking at this man, though, Boneroot felt the opposite had to be true. The man was plain and somewhat short. He had no bulging muscles, or mysterious, glowing hair. His eyes were a dim brown and his hair was cropped neatly, close to his head. Even his clothing was a homogenous mass of robes in neutral tones. He looked like a person who belonged in the boy’s peripheral vision and nowhere else.

Felindei interrupted his assessment,

“This is Venh. You will refer to him as Danh beginning now and throughout the duration of yours or his time at the Brightmoon Sect. Kuroki was the one who insisted you know his real name, so be grateful. You hardly deserve the honor. Regardless, he will be escorting you and the little one to the sect, then acting as an expert there. Yes, the position is technically for teaching the sect’s disciples, but he will be there primarily to monitor Kuroki, rather than teach any of you unimpressive human specimens.”

At that charming statement, she ceded the conversation to Venh, who jumped in with enthusiasm,

“Good to see you again, Kuroki!” The man spoke in a relaxed tone, sporting an easy grin. His demeanor was entirely at odds with Felindei’s blunt introduction. “Nice to meet you, Boneroot. I’ll be looking out for you at the sect, OK? Commoners like us will need to stick together in these sorts of places.”

With little warning, the two high-level cultivators disappeared. Boneroot had to wonder if Felindei was solely responsible for their exit, or if Venh could simply keep pace with her. In the moments after their exit, he remembered Kroshieshi mentioning a Black realm cultivator who knew Felindei. He had a nagging suspicion that might just have been Venh.

Just before leaving the man had given him an exaggerated wink, but the boy was having a hard time believing the man would need to stick with anyone, let alone a newly-minted Orange realm cultivator.

As the boy pondered whether Venh would prove to be ally or enemy in the future, he came to the same conclusion he always came to: He needed to be stronger. This meeting was yet another reminder of that. He left the central chamber of the grove and moved quickly toward the training field.