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TIAN WOKE UP WITH A HEADACHE.

She rubbed her head as she sat up in the tall grass. “Ugh, what happened…?” The throbbing pain indicated that something must’ve happened, but when she looked down at herself, nothing looked amiss. Sure, there were a few burn marks on her clothes, but her body itself was left unharmed.

The girl got to her feet and dusted herself off. She bore no physical injuries, so this headache must’ve been a result of something else, right? She blinked and looked around. Then she saw the first thing that was off.

The grass around her was changing colors. It wasn’t rapidly shifting from blue to yellow to green. No— each time Tian blinked, the color of the grass changed. When she first woke up, it had been a normal green. Now it was an odd blue. And when she blinked again, it was a vibrant orange.

Tian bobbed her mouth and looked towards the Heavens. “Why is this… happening?”

She knew of some spirit herbs that apparently induced hallucination— some of the Liufan sect elders loved to indulge in those so-called vision berries. But she was certain that she hadn’t imbibed any of such spirit herbs, nor did that explain why she saw nothing but a clear crimson sky above. The color itself wasn’t unusual, since the sky often changed colors depending on which of the Heavens were out. But that was the issue—

“Where… are the Heavens?” she asked, puzzled.

Above her hung no familiar arched gateways. She didn’t see the Third Heaven— the Heaven of Spirits and Sacred Beasts— to the east. Neither did she see the Sixth Heaven rising from the north.

Tian blinked. “But that makes no sense.”

She rubbed her eyes, looking around the field. Again, the grass changed colors. It was now a dull gray.

“Where am I…?” She massaged her temples as she trudged through the field. The field itself was empty, seemingly expanding forever, with only a single tree in the middle. She shook off the dizzying feeling and sighed. “Where’s master, anyway—”

And as if that was some sort of trigger, she remembered. The girl recalled what had happened before she passed out. Her master had said it was going to take its leave. That it was going to leave for the Third Heaven, to find its kin. But Tian… couldn’t allow it.

The girl didn’t want to be alone again. She threw herself at the Sacred Beast, catching it as it ascended, knocking it off course. They spun and whirled through the air until they crashed through… the Seventh Heaven.

Tian felt her heart rate increase. A sense of panic dawned on her as she remembered the trip through the portal.

A deluge of Red Essence had overwhelmed her— it broke off her tight grip on the Sacred Beast. Her master had called out to her, but she went flying.

The world had spun around her. Then, visions inundated her sight. She saw her mother falling with her. The woman with jade-green hair smiled kindly— before warping into a terrible monster. Tian screamed as cacklings erupted around her.

Shadows moved and encircled the girl. She saw the faces of the members of her sect. Xun. Xiaomei. Chun. Lihua. They shunned her. They attack her with blades.

Tian screamed as the phantom pain stung her chest. She bled tears and tried to claw at her eyes. The world went dark around her as she passed out from the pain.

“So… that’s what happened…” she panted, feeling the so-real aching that had been inflicted on her.

The girl stumbled back and wheezed a deep breath. Her mouth was dry, throat tight. Swallowing, she looked around and walked over to the only tree within view.

“This is the Seventh Heaven, huh?” Tian commented as she cast her gaze around.

She saw nothing. Nothing that stood out to her. Yet, she remembered the stories mother had told her of the terrors that lurked in the Seventh Heaven.

Steeling herself, she breathed softly, “I’ll be fine… I’ll be fine…” She reached the tree and leaned against it—

Only for the world around her to change. The world flashed crimson for a moment. A single step brought her to a different place. Tian blinked and spun around, suddenly thrust into a forest. Her jaw dropped as she saw not the tall grass field behind her, but an expansive world of zakra trees.

The white petals rained down around her as a strong breeze nearly knocked her off her feet. “What… just happened?”

Tian felt a creeping fear crawl up her neck. Like ants prickling over her body. She glanced around and leant against a tree, feeling her breathing heighten. This was an illusion. This had to just be an illusion. If she took one step back, she’d be right in the middle of a field again right?

Wrong. The girl was still trapped in the zakra forest. There was no glimmer of Red Essence. No return to the grassy field. Tian backed up and froze.

A shadow dashed through the trees. Tian saw it from the corner of her eye. She turned as she readied herself for battle, taking a defensive stance.

“Who was that?” she called out.

Again, from her peripheral vision, she saw shadows moving. This time, many of them. Tian felt the Qi in her core bubbling as she turned once more.

“Master?” the girl asked hesitantly. “Is that you?”

Nothing answered. She peered between the zakra trees, conjuring fire to stave away the shadows. Tian narrowed her eyes as she saw a little figure— a tiny bunny rabbit hiding in the bushes.

She sighed in relief, “Oh, you’re just a—”

And clawed hands ripped out from the ground, impaling the bunny rabbit. Tian gape in shock as the two pale, decrepit arms ripped the animal in two. Out of the earth crawled these terrible, twisted shapes. Creatures that looked like Ren, but long dead.

Three of them dug themselves out of the earth as Tian watched on in horror. They fixed their gaze on her, holding their arms out horizontally as they took a hop forward. The girl leapt back, throwing the snarling creatures.

“Stay back!” she yelled.

The flames bounced off their bodies, doing no damage whatsoever. The three creatures leapt forward and closed the gap between them in an instant. She ducked under a swipe as she unleashed an open palm into one of their chests.

“Take this!” The Qi-empowered strike would’ve taken down any Bloom in battle. Perhaps even a Blossom would be hurt by it. But the creature didn’t flinch. It reached for the girl as she threw herself back. “Just… what are you?”

It was a rhetorical question. TIan slammed her fist on the ground, opening a hole in the earth, swallowing them before she closed it. Panting, she looked at the green grass at her feet.

“Did that… stop them?” she asked.

But the ground broke open. The three creatures leapt out, hissing at her. The girl screamed and made a break for it. She ran through the zakra forest, chased by these twisted monster at full speed.

She did everything she could to slow them. Raised roots to grab their feet. Brought walls of stone up. Even sent a deluge of water at them. But nothing could halt their movement. They ripped through the wooden branches, dove through the rock barriers, and leapt over the water.

Tian didn’t even look back as they began to scream— wail like a crying widow. The girl had to escape them. She saw a clearing up ahead. A lake that glimmered in the middle of the zakra forest. And she ran for it, an idea in her head.

But just as she reached the edge of the clearing, a flurry of needles shot past her. Tian blinked as the attack pincushioned the chasing creatures. They dropped dead as she stopped.

“What…?”

“Those things sure gave you trouble, huh?” a voice said, chuckling.

The girl turned to see a man standing there. One she didn’t notice before. He was at the edge of the beach, wearing a straw hat and disheveled robes. He chewed on some long grass as he strolled forward.

“Well, you’re safe now.”

“T-thank you—” Tian gasped as she stumbled towards him. “What were those things?”

The girl came to a halt just before him as she faced the dead creatures. The man shook his head.

“Vampires,” he said and sighed. “Nothing a Blossom like you should be dealing with. What are you doing in the Seventh Heaven anyway, Liufan Tian?”

“I’m… lost.” She turned to face the man.

He looked dashing and charming, and his teeth were pearly white. Tian flushed, for whatever reason— one that was unbeknownst to her. After all, she had never felt that way about a man before.

Lowering her head, she spoke hesitantly. “A-also, you can just call me Tian… I’m no longer a part of the Liufan sect.”

“Ah, that’s a shame.” He shook his head and walked up to her. “Well, there’s no shame in that. I, myself, was kicked out of my sect, yet I am here, a Florescence.”

“R-right…” Tian began to raise her head. “May I know what’s your name—”

And the girl paused. Her eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of something in the water, Or, rather, a lack of something in the water.

He reached out to pat her on the shoulder as he grinned. “Me? My name is…”

Tian rapidly started back. He blinked, missing her as she eyed him warily.

“You…” she said slowly as she glanced between the water and him. Then she glanced at her own reflection. “You don’t have a reflection.”

The man halted. He turned to the lake and made a sound. “Ah.”

“Why don’t you have a reflection?” she asked.

His eyes darkened as he didn’t answer. Tian opened her mouth to press him further, but another realization dawned on her. Something that finally registered.

She had never told him her name. And she stared at the man. At the real man. A face that was so uncannily handsome it sent shivers down her spine. It was perfect, yet it reviled her. She met his hollow eyes. Looked at his empty smile.

And he tilted his head. “So you realized…”

“Get away from me!” she screamed and blasted him with an explosion of Qi.

He grunted as he braced himself for the attack. He came out unscathed. Harrumphing, he reached for her. “Get over here—”

But she moved. The girl did the only thing she could think of. It might not have guaranteed her escape, but she wasn’t going to run back into the zakra forest. It was either deal with this thing, or those Vampires. And neither were things she was ready for. So, instead, Tian leapt into the water.

Come on— She hoped that it would work. Just as it did when she reached the lone tree. And as she broke through the lake surface, there was a flash of red. Once again, the world changed around her. Once again, she found herself standing in a completely different place.

But, unfortunately, she didn’t find herself alone as she hoped she would. Because as Tian blinked and looked around at her new surroundings, she realized she was standing in the middle of a crowded street. A village. No— not just a regular village.

Tian was back in her sect.