“Please...”

Alex flashed a smile so cold that Hao Hai paled and blanched, stumbling back as Alex loomed over him, hands filling with ebony darkness. “No, don’t flinch, coward. I’m about to give you a gift!”

Hao Hai’s beady countenance lit up with unexpected hope. “You will? I mean, of course you will! You’ve made far too many enemies here today, Ruidian. If you wish to keep your head on your shoulders, you’ll assist me, and maybe I’ll see fit to put in a word on your behalf when judgment is...”

Hao Hai’s eyes bulged with horror when ebony blackness infused his iron collar.

“What did you do? You Ruidian bastard, what did you do?”

Alex flashed a positively ruthless smile. “What does it look like? I made absolutely sure that no infernal curse or surge of fire can ever be used on that collar to compel you to the will of another. As an added bonus, no one will ever be able to collar you again. Isn’t that wonderful news?”

“But the collar isn’t off.”

Alex solemnly nodded, patting the cultivator’s head. “That’s right. That collar’s now pretty much indestructible. Unless a Gold tier cultivator owes you a favor, you’re pretty much wearing that collar until the day your father cuts off your head, pulls it off, and sows you all back together. And he’s a twisted enough bastard that I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he does just that.”

Hao Hai’s pleading countenance twisted in a look of horrified dismay. “No. Heaven’s mercy, no!” He gazed all around him, at the dozens of smirking or solemn-faced onlookers, wearing the same look of dazed, horrified disbelief Alex himself had worn when first collard by monsters himself.

“You’ve ruined me! You monster, you’ve absolutely ruined me!”

His words choked off with a cry when his neck snapped around, a cultivators Bronze strength all that allowed him to survive the sudden fierce, unchecked fury of a Silver tier monster now unleashing his full killing aura. “I do nothing that you haven’t done to countless times yourself, you piece of predatory filth!” Alex’s glare turned fearsome. The trembling cultivator in his arms soiled himself so visibly that the air filled with raucous laughter… save for those close or perceptive enough to sense Alex’s aura who were instead utterly still, like rabbits sensing the ravenous wolf suddenly in their mist.

“The only reason why you live is because the sins of the father are not those of the son. And with your father… there was absolutely no way you wouldn’t become a monsters yourself.” Alex glared for long moments at the now desperately sobbing wretch dangling in his grip who was both larger and taller than him, and utterly helpless before Alex’s prowess.

“I want you to pass a message along to your father for me. Can you do that, worm?”

“Yes!” the now filthy youth helplessly locked in his grip sobbed. “I’ll do anything, anything! Please, just let me live!”

“You tell your father I’m coming for him, and that I’m not just going to take his life.” Alex’s voice became a cold whisper, for a trembling Hao Hai’s ears alone. “I’m going to take his soul and free it of all infernal taint, the only way I know how. By crushing it in the Waters of Oblivion for all time!” He smiled at the look of absolute horror this earned him. “Just like I did his pawn at Royal Phoenix Academy. Will you do that for me, Hao Hai?”

“You’re not human,” Hao Hai whispered. “You’re one of the Fallen!”

Alex laughed then, long and loud, caring nothing for how it echoed discordantly in the once festive block. Or how several dozen formerly captivated onlookers blanched in unison before fleeing the market as fast as they could.

“As far as your father is concerned, I’m Death itself, and I think it’s high time I collected my due. You’ll pass that along, won’t you? There’s a good boy.”

Alex then tossed the blubbering heap of fat and soiled clothing like the trash he was, Hao Hai immediately scrambling to his feet and sparing Alex one final look of absolute horror before stumbling back around and fleeing the market for all he was worth.

For long moments he glared at their backs, before shaking his head with a rueful chuckle, feeling oddly disappointed. They had been a pair of intimidating monsters during his time at Dragon Academy, and perhaps they had taken on almost mythical proportions in some discrete corner of his psyche, despite Alex having managed to get the best of them once before, nearly killing himself while doing it.

But after today, seeing how shallow and pathetic they truly were, doomed to live out their vapid, pathetic little lives of vindictive pettiness without ever achieving any growth or true illumination at all, that was it’s own punishment, Alex supposed.

But still, he couldn’t deny how good it felt to have come so far from the fragile youth who had to fear threats at every corner and could only dream of cultivation, had become someone who had actually broken through to the most pristine Silver imaginable, and was now on the verge of unlocking a Gold tier technique with a friend not above imperiling them both, in order to make that happen. Love of the toughest sort, but Alex damn well knew it was the only path that would push him forward… the only path that had even allowed him to achieve Bronze, let alone hope for more.

“Silver or no, though, there’s a mess that needs cleaning up, and I’d be a fool not to watch my ass around every corner, with all the people that want me dead now.” He chuckled at his own wry counsel, not hesitating to help clean up the ruined stall as best he could, treating the clay ink pots, oil-filled vessels, and what he could only guess were truly costly sheets of velum and canvas with the same care his mother had instilled in him for art supplies long ago.

By the time he finished, only minutes later, thanks to Silver tier Finesse and Quickness showing their worth for more than just the killing arts, the young artisan’s stall looked almost as good as it had before a pair of ancient rivals had decided to grief yet another innocent.

Almost.

“Alex?”

He turned around, noting that Hao Chan and Yinzi were giving him the strangest looks. But the young artisan was gazing at him with something else entirely.

Wonder. Adoration. And most of all, fear.

Alex gave her his warmest smile. “Svetlana Hua?”

The freshly cleaned up girl, her once more clean locks of fiery red hair done up with ribbons of silk, thanks to the ministrations of his companions, still paled and trembled at his words before jerking a nod. “I am her.”

“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to paint a portrait of the three of us?”

The girl paled, gazing at Alex for long moments. “Do you understand what you’re asking?” Her words were little more than a whisper. “My gift has already cost me so much!”

Alex nodded. “I heard. Lai Wei claims to have you on the hook for a thousand silver.”

The girl sobbed, lowering her head. “I should never have taken his commission. Even when I explained how my gift works… that truth and beauty are, for me, intertwined, and I could never deny the flood of spiritual energy coursing through any cultivator’s soul… he insisted. He swore it was of no matter!” She swallowed, slender hands clenching, all but glaring Alex’s way. “So I took that commission, and let the ink flow where it would.”

She crumpled to the ground, bursting out in tears. “And now my life is ruined! There’s no way I can afford a thousand silver fine!”

“Written by crooks and criminals who simply seek to destroy anyone who gets in their way,” Yinzi said, eyes flashing with a heat Alex rarely saw. “Just as duplicitous, treacherous, and murderous, as they accuse the JiangHu of being, when we are anything but!” She frowned thoughtfully. “Well, except the murderous part. But we always keep our word. We always honor the intention of our agreements. And at least we’re not backstabbing slimy little duplicitous rat fink shits who insult their ancestors to the 18th generation!”

Alex gently patted Svetlana’s hand. “What if I told you there was a way you could be free of Yidushi’s corrupt elite forever?”

Svetlana’s eyes widened. She stepped carefully back, slipping her hand free of Alex’s well-intentioned grip with a grace that caught even him off-guard. “Then I’d say I had best keep my eyes wide open for unexpected peril.” She flashed a fierce, bitter smile. “Because the fox’s gifts might be far sweeter than any smooth-talking Yidushian noble who delights in poppy, wine, and fathering unexpected children they then forever refuse to claim, but even WiFu’s gifts come at bitter cost.”

Hao Chan gazed at the girl for long moments. “So you know who he is.”

The artist sighed, her gesture taking in what were now no less than three dozen solemn-faced spectators wearing a hodgepodge of cloaks, robes, tunics, changshan and qipao, men and women from all walks of life, their only common characteristic being the Ruidian blood clearly flowing through all their veins. And in at least a few cases, kitsune as well.

Alex winced. Only then realizing that the wide-eyed spectators hadn’t been fleeing in fear… but to spread the gossip. Two obnoxious stuck-up lordlings brought low by what they assumed was one of their own.

“I know he’s bold, daring, incredibly foolish, and living life like a character in my favorite childhood stories.” Svetlana bit her lip. “I know I owe him my freedom at the very least, perhaps my life, and that without his intervention, my family will perish.” Sad green eyes then lifted to meet his own. “But I also know how this story ends, ancient hero. We all do.”

Alex shivered under the weight of her gaze, struck by a sense of dread and wonder, unlike anything he had experienced since facing Shui Jun herself.

His throat tightened, heart pounding in his chest… tasting the peril just a single impulsive choice away.

And the potential as well.

“Draw us. Right here, right now. But name your price, and it is yours.” Alex froze in momentary disbelief upon hearing his own words, feeling as shocked as Svetlana looked with his declaration.

“Take us someplace safe, where our enemies can never hurt us!”

“Done.”

“My daughter and parents, at least. My sister and my friends, if we can find them before the day’s end...” Her words cut off with a gasp, only then registering what Alex had dared to say. She froze.

“Foolish.”

Alex flashed a rueful smile. “It was. But I’m wise enough to appreciate the jewel before me.”

Her hand flinched, caressing a forehead containing no jewel that was visible to the human eye.

“Wise Fool.”

Alex smirked. “I’ve been called worse.”

Svetlana trembled. “My people… we’re no longer allowed to leave the city.”

Alex froze. “Are you serious? When I was last here, I know we were disparaged, but the powers-that-be seemed eager, if anything, to get us risking our lives in farming communities away from...” Alex’s words trailed off under the weight of her gaze.

“Since Dragon Academy’s change in leadership, Administrator Ruizhi has taken on fresh advisers who recommend a far… harsher stance with anyone lacking pristine blood in their veins. My former lover’s last confession before he left me for good, as it was no longer socially acceptable for him to consort with the likes of me, as he put it.” The girl flashed a bitter smile. “Anyway, neither Ruidians nor Kitsune are permitted to leave under any circumstances. Half the elites are now trying to get us confined to a single ghetto in the entire city. Only the fact that we cook the finest fair in all of Yidushi, including within Ruizhi’s own banquet hall, has kept that bit of madness in check.”

Yinzi’s eyes widened with outrage. “That fool of an administrator would dare? Wait until my mother finds out about this!”

Svetlana swallowed, shaking her head. “If only the JiangHu sect hadn’t abandoned us!” She sobbed. “They were the only check to the ruling class that we had, the only path to redress available to us!”

“So paint our portrait and open another path,” Alex said, solemnly handing the trembling girl the last of the brushes Yinzi helped to clean, Hao Chan holding the girl in wordless sympathy before stepping back as Svetlana’s eyes flashed with sudden intensity. She formally bowed her head. “Very well then, I accept the commission. Now, if you’ll help me set up the canvas?”

Alex blinked at the size of the canvas she had somehow managed to both store in perfect condition and keep safe from the depredations of Hao Hai and Law Wei both, a minor miracle in its own right, Alex thought, even as he took steps to assure that no matter how the cards of fate played out in the next hour or so, no one was interrupting Svetlana’s work.

Alex squeezed Hao Chan’s hand, Yinzi claiming his second as the three of them got into position under the suddenly very professional eye of the portraitist before them, and the shiver Alex felt racing down his spine when he met Svetlana’s gaze left him more certain than ever that his bargain had been the farthest thing from foolish. Even if he would be forced to hunt down increasingly fearful Ruidian families as the day progressed. Even if he could now sense the unavoidable weight of a hostile destiny attempting to throw off his own, the dull roar of irate voices and discontent deliberately muted down to nothing as Svetlana lost herself in deepest trance, and Alex could sense truths locked away in so many hearts slowly slipping free.

Truths a tiny part of him was increasingly fearful of seeing, as Svetlana’s fugue deepened, to the point she hardly seemed aware of her environment, even when the Ruidians and kitsune watching their portraiture like a street performance found awe transforming to alarm as the roar and cry of outraged administrators, officials, and soldiers flowed into the square… before being stopped cold by an invisible line that none of them could seem to cross, no matter how much they banged ineffectually at what seemed empty air. Different from the protective pyramid now surrounding Svetlana, Alex, and his charges, assuring both the safety of countless scores of increasingly frightened mortals and lesser gifted from the growing press of Yidushi’s military might, and his portraitist from having her concentration broken, Alex and perhaps Yinzi alone able to hear the furious hue and cry beyond.

Then as abruptly as she had started, she was done, Svetlana taking a deep breath and flashing Alex a satisfied smile. “I’m finished. Now to take a look at...”

Her features turned deathly pale and she stepped back from whatever she saw, before her back stumbled right into the gate going nowhere that was effectively a wall of force protecting her from the increasingly anxious crowd beyond.

Terrified eyes turned Alex’s way. “Oh gods above, it’s happening!”

Alex flashed a hard smile. “That about sums it up, and I wouldn’t use their name in supplication or in vain. Not ever.”

“What did you do?”

“He interrupted the smooth transition of power from the downtrodden to the corrupt, forcing at least a few fools to catch sight of their own ugliness today, the same as WiFu’s chosen always does!” Yinzi chirped in cheerfully, eyes twinkling with a mad little fire of their own. “Why, with that furious crowd out there, I wouldn’t be surprised if Yidushi’s in flames by the end of the night!”

Alex caught gazes both furious and desperate, depending upon which gate he looked through knowing which he had to address first. But first… to face that which he feared most of all.

Anxious eyes gazed into Svetlana’s terrified orbs. “Can we see it?”

The girl gazed at him with a look that bordered on disbelief, before at last jerking a nod. Only then frowning in confusion as she turned to gaze at her own creations… before her features took on that same awful pallor, trembling before what she saw.

“Alex?”

Hao Chan’s anxious features met his own. He squeezed her hand reassuringly. “I’m sure it’s fine.”

“But Alex, there have to be at least a thousand soldiers in addition to a dozen officials just beyond the square entrance.”

“At least!” Yinzi gushed. “Now come on, let’s take a look!”

Yet despite her chipper words, the three of them approached the back of the portrait with the same anxious hesitancy as a man about to receive his verdict.

“I’m sure it will be fine!” Yinzi assured.

“Then why’s poor Svetlana still pale-faced and trembling?”

“That’s a very good question! How about we ask her after we put the picture in storage and never bother taking it out?”

Alex took a deep breath, easily ignoring the distant screams for them to surrender at once. “Shall we?”

Hao Chan snorted. “All this trouble for the sake of a portrait, after putting a couple son’s of goats in their place. Alright, let’s do it.”

As one the three bowed before the artist and turned around, to gaze upon the work of art it seemed the entire city was dead set against them glimpsing even once, when a tower above their head abruptly exploded, revealing a Silver tier Wujen radiating killing intent as he roared and threw fireballs down upon the city block…

Only for them all to bounce harmlessly off a field he couldn’t even see.

Alex wasted only a moment staring up to catch the gaze of a glaring Wujen using boots of flight that were identical to the ones favored by so many of the Red Prince’s aerial squadrons, even if he had changed red steel armor for lamellar of bronze.

“It seem’s Dongfang Hong’s rot has extended all the way here. And no, I won’t let myself get distracted that easily, though I will most definitely be claiming your soul before this night is through!” Alex called out to the heavens, ignoring the cries of dismay before turning his gaze upon the portrait now flashing with tints of maroon and chrome as the air lit up with the furious discharge of spells from no less than a full flight of four Silver Tier wujen, and Alex refused to let even one of them pull his gaze from the hauntingly beautiful masterwork before him that sent shivers of horror and wonder thrumming through his soul.

“Alex!” Hao Chan’s breathless gasp was one of awed wonder, even as Yinzi crumpled and sobbed, instantly swept up in an alarmed Hao Chan’s arms as Alex forced himself to take in the marvel before him, no matter how much he wanted to flee.

He felt a sharp, poignant ache in his chest as he gazed at a picture that was, after all, just three young cultivators who might actually be falling in love with one another.

For all that one radiated the killing aura of death itself, silver blue eyes twinkling not with lively mirth, but the deadly waters of the River of Souls. Somehow roaring right through the painting, at risk of sucking any off-guard observer right through the painting into oblivion’s own grave.

Alex wrenched his gaze free of those terrible eyes to catch a glimpse of a striking beauty that filled him with absolute wonder, captivated by the sight of a woman radiating such regal poise and power that even Gold kings might bow before her, all but glowing with the aura of a Jade Queen upon the board of fate, the masterwork dress she wore somehow transformed into the an imperial uniform countless millions of troops would slam fists to chests while saluting, before fighting for a cause no less than that of the empire itself, taking on all threats for the sake of their world.

Alex swallowed the lump in his throat, before gazing at the second beauty holding the hand of the man she had adored. Ancient eyes filled with love that transcended space and time.

For her eyes were those of the first woman Alex had loved and claimed as his own in this beautiful and terrible world, before she and their children had been burned alive.

Alex stumbled back, crashing to his knees as his eyes filling with tears as his first wife, a future empress, and his own terrible gaze crushed his heart with the weight of their stares.

Yet the awful pressure he felt, the sob desperate to escape his chest was not enough to keep him from grabbing ahold of inspiration and tearing free from the quantum flux of possibility yet another prize his enemies would seek to forever keep from his hands.

Congratulations! You have plucked free a Card of Fate from Oblivion’s grasp!

Category – Avatar

Rank of Card – Unknown!

Specifics – Unknown!

Heart Hammering, Alex forced himself to flip over the jade green card in his hand, catching sight of two hauntingly beautiful women radiating power that left him breathless. Utterly identical to the solemn-faced countenances of the girls in the portrait before him.

Hao Chan and Yinzi. Two girls who now looked the farthest thing from once struggling basic cultivators newly risen to Bronze.

“Jade Queens upon the board of Fate.”

Words uttered by none other than the artist of the portrait, her gaze now one of horror and despair as she blinked away tears of blood, Alex’s eyes widening when he abruptly sensed how close the girl was to absolute peril. Not simple death, but fading away entirely like a whisp of gossamer before the fearsome weight of the card Alex made vanish in the blink of an eye.

“Alex, we need to help Yinzi, she’s not doing well!” Hao Chan gently urged, her concerned voice pulling Alex from his momentary stupor to see the young kitsune shivering, tail wrapped about her legs for comfort, eyes haunted by he could only imagine what horrors as Alex gently held his arms out for her, Yinzi crashing against him with a cry, sobbing like a child in his arms.

He turned to the pale-faced and once more vibrant and entirely solid and real Svetlana, solemnly bowing his head. “Thank you. And I believe we owe you a considerable debt.”

The girl now before him paled and stumbled back. “You’re really him. Not just a charming Ruidian boy in way over his head. Not another young idiot chasing dreams of glory that will get him killed. You’re… actually him.”

Alex winced. “Please don’t tell me there are dozens of Ruidian boys playing the fool, hoping for some kind of storybook adventure before they end up butchered by truebloods looking for any excuse to kill them?”

Svetlana’s bitter smile said all that needed saying.

“Shit.”

“Now please, help me rescue my daughter and friends, just as you promised.”

“Of course,” Alex said, before turning to catch gazes with the thirty odd Ruidians and Kitsune huddled about his inner dome of force fields as the massive contingent of soldiers kitted in bronze lamellar and steel tipped spears roared and banged on the forcefield beyond the block proper. He then furrowed his brow, taking a quick look at all the buildings lining the square. Most, but not all, were now filled with furious looking soldiers. And of course there was the aerial assault squad, who would be able to triangulate absolutely everything Alex did.

Alex opened the inner portal between himself and the panicked looking audience. “So, who’s interested in starting their lives fresh, far away from here?”

By some miracle, not only did he receive thirty desperate nods, but the only children claimed by the mixed group of onlookers were the handful being held by their parents, having just happened to be strolling about the block for fun when fate’s dice began spinning once more. A couple young men whose faces warred with desperation and excitement and a handful of anxious-looking courtesans Alex feared might already be walking down a dangerous path rounded out their party, and whatever vices or family ties they’d be forced to leave behind, not a one hesitated to nod with desperate hope.

“Can you really save us, hero?” Asked one trembling girl who would have been pretty if she weren’t so thin, earning a sad tut from Hao Chan.

By way of answer, Alex waved to the shadowed alcove that the stall now effectively was, hiding so many secrets from the hawk-eyed men and women glaring such hate down at Alex from above.

“Gaze inside and judge for yourself. If you’re willing to give your oath that you won’t seek to betray me or reveal my secrets, or steel from or cause malicious harm to others, then by all means… you’re welcome to jump through.”

Two young mothers abruptly broke down and cried as the hostile roars around the block grew in pitch. “We’ve done nothing! We’ve never hurt a soul. Why do they hate us so?”

Alex flashed a cold smile. “Because the gods who favor the so-called true-bloods are genocidal psychopathic fucks. And they won’t be happy until you’re an ugly footnote in history and nothing more. But if you’d like a second chance in a world free of malicious gods… all you have to do is step through.”

Desperate looks were exchanged. Within seconds it was just Hao Chan, a sobbing Yinzi, Alex, Svetlana, and a pair of exhausted-looking girls wearing qipao that were way too revealing for anyone lacking a cultivator’s fire and ability to protect herself.

The closest girl, who was herself a kitsune, lowered her head in obvious shame. “I want nothing more than to step through that shimmering portal right out of my mother’s storybooks and start my life over,” she sobbed. “But I don’t think I can.”

The other girl, a redhead, flashed a sad smile. “We just need to sneak out of here. We’re, um... late for work as it is.”

Hao Chan didn’t hesitate to squeeze the closest girl’s hand, the redhead immediately bursting into tears. “There’s a Gold tier healer beyond the portal you see before you, in the heart of that magnificent palace you think belongs only in fairytales.”

The pair blinked, eyes filling with desperate hope.

“Can he really heal us?”

Hao Chan solemnly nodded. “You just have to be willing to put your past behind and start over.” She flashed a sympathetic smile. “Because you really will be starting over. So jump on through and be whoever you want to be.”

The pair of girls shared a desperate glance before kowtowing to Alex and Hao Chan both, then racing for the gate as if their lives depended upon it.

Alex exchanged a heartfelt smile with the girl who had touched his heart so deeply on a carriage ride that now felt like a lifetime ago.

“Thank you.”

Alex nodded. “It’s the least I can do.” He then turned his gentle gaze to Yinzi, gently kissing her brow. “I think she needs to go home as well.”

Hao Chan solemnly nodded. “I think so too...” Her eyes were helplessly drawn to the portrait, and the card flashing like a jade jewel in his hand. “Alex...”

“Yes?”

“What does it mean?”

Alex flashed a sad smile. “Honestly? I’m not entirely sure.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Do you understand any of it?”

Hao Chan shivered, slowly shaking her head. “No. I only know that it inspires me to push past all limits, to reach for starry heights I never would have dreamed of before.”

Alex smiled. “I think that’s a good dream. Put Yinzi to bed for me?”

Hao Chan solemnly nodded, carefully taking a curled up and shuddering Yinzi in tender, motherly arms far stronger than any mortal’s. “I will, my heart.”

“Please don’t forget your promise to me and my son!” Svetlana Hua sobbed.

Chan gave a now terrified Svetlana her most reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. My betrothed will rescue your family no matter what. I can promise you that.”

Alex gently kissed Hao Chan’s cheek before waving her through, and then there was nothing to be seen in truth but the shadowy alcoves of Svetlana’s stall and the furious shouts and glares of distant spies who could make out nothing at all.

He then turned to face the artist who had risked so much, who’s very creation had sparked a reaction so far beyond the pale it was as if the heavens themselves opposed their daring. A bitter truth which made it clear that he was doing exactly what he needed to be doing, when he could all but sense a fresh, terrible card forming in his mind’s eye. A card that grew ever clearer as he forced himself to gaze at the portrait that both chilled and awed him, and filled him with dismay for a halcyon dream lost, countless centuries ago.

“My lord, please! My child!”

Alex clenched his jaw but forced a nod as he was pulled free of illumination for the needs of the present, and an oath he would do his best to honor as the air filled with screams, the roar of bloodthirsty soldiers, and the cries of panicked citizens. So too, he smelled foul smoke, black and thick, a deadly counterpoint to the crackling flame. Whether it was due to genocidal hate or the machinations of the quartet of Dongfang Hong’s flying Silvers, the Ruidian quarter of Yidushi, was already beginning to burn.