The Creatures that We Are

Blood Amber came to a halt, feeling like her blood had frozen. Behind Xing Kong stood a tall, slim man with short hair, tanned skin, and pronounced nose.

It had been six years since they last saw each other, and he had become much more mature, his once sunken cheeks filled in, but his eyes and brows were still the same, looking soft and clear like a gentle stream.

“Qi Hao!” Blood Amber couldn’t believe it. “Why, why are you here?!”

“I’ve been looking for you all these years, and it’s been difficult.” The man named Qi Hao took a step toward her. He was her boyfriend from back then.

Blood Amber took an involuntary step back. Whether she was wary or intimidated by what she had yearned for when faced with it, she didn’t know.

“Don’t worry, I’m not a monster. I know what you’ve been through,” Qi Hao explained. “I awakened not long after you left and joined the QIlin Guild. I’ve been looking for you. I didn’t expect you to have joined the Tails.”

Wonderful! Qi Hao’s human too!

Overwhelmed by great joy, Blood Amber choked out, “I’m sorry, Qi Hao… Forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye. I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t want to hurt you…”

“I know.” Qi Hao took another step toward her. “Doesn’t matter now. I’ll follow wherever you go. This time, you’re not abandoning me.”

“Good for you, Blood Amber.” Xing Kong smirked with his arms folded. “I thought you were boasting, but you actually had a boyfriend before.”

“You used my old game ID. You haven’t forgotten me.” Qi Hao smiled. “I only guessed that the Tails member with Patient could be you when I heard the name Blood Amber.”

Inside the helmet, Blood Amber laughed and cried at the same time. “You haven’t forgotten me, either, have you?”

“I could never. I could never forget you…”

“Ahem. This isn’t the time for you pair of love birds to catch up,” Xing Kong reminded. “Time to get the hell out.”

“Yeah! The Elders are coming here soon. We’ve got to go!” With a serious look on his face, Qi Hao took out a vial of medicine scintillating with golden light. “Blood Amber, this is the latest medicine developed by the Qilin Guild. It will help treat the side effects of Patient. You don't need the suit anymore. Take it off, and we’ll be able to run faster.”

“Okay!”

Blood Amber took off her helmet and injected her neck with the medicine. Instantly, she felt a long-forgotten sense of comfort, serenity, and warmth. She felt light, like she was floating in a hot spring.

“How is it?” Qi Hao asked.

“Great! I don’t feel any pain at all!” Blood Amber took a deep breath. The air had never felt so fresh, and the world seemed to have regained colors.

“Good!” Qi Hao seemed overjoyed. He couldn’t help but reach out and touch Blood Amber’s pale, sunken cheek. “You’ve lost a lot of weight, Blood Amber… It’s okay. It’s all in the past. You’ve recovered, and we’re together again.”

“Yeah!” Blood Amber called out to Xing Kong. “What are you waiting for? Help me take this off. I’ve wanted to cast it for a long time.”

“Haha, it’s an honor.” Xing Kong quickly went up to release the special buttons and zip outside the space suit. Immediately, it clicked and fell to the sides like a blooming white flower.

Dressed in undergarments, Blood Amber yanked off the drips connecting to her body and stepped out of the suit.

Qi Hao had already taken off his jacket, and he put it around her, supporting her with both hands. “Let’s go!”

“Okay.”

Smiling, Blood Amber snuggled further into Qi Hao’s arms, relishing the lingering warmth on his jacket. They walked out of the cavern together.

The fire had stopped at some point, and a bright, warm white light washed over everything.

…

Qilin, Vermilion Bird, Azure Dragon, and Little Tian stood outside the cavern.

Blood Amber, who had been hiding inside, broke into a smile brimming with happiness as soon as she met Qilin’s eyes.

Then, smiling, she took off her spacesuit and pulled out the drips sustaining her life on her own. Eyes shining with tears of joy, she kept calling out to Qi Hao.

In less than ten seconds, she dropped to her knees, her breathing weakening and quickening, yet her pale face gained a flush of red, and her eyes lit up like never before.

She put her wasted, bony arms and hands around her shoulders, feeling the warmth of Qi Hao’s jacket in the illusion. The light in her eyes slowly dimmed until she stopped breathing.

She died with a smile, killed by false hope.

Qilin sighed. He had taken Blood Amber out in the most merciful way possible.

“We’ve dealt with the biggest threat,” Azure Dragon said, glancing at Little Tian. “You’ve done well, kid.”

Little Tian didn’t look happy at all. His eyes were sad and broken.

“It’s not your fault, or the sister’s fault.” Vermilion Bird pulled him into a hug and patted his head. “We each do what we have to do.”

Qilin glanced at Blood Amber’s body and adjusted his glasses, turning to walk away with his cane. “Let’s go.”

…

Meanwhile, in the Green Lotus Park.

It was late, and the park was silent with few visitors, their number no more than a hundred. Most were here to have a late night jog, date, or camping.

It started drizzling at some point, which was a surprise. The weather forecast said that it wouldn’t rain today.

Those in the park mumbled audibly or inwardly in complaint, looking for shelter from the rain. After taking a few steps, though, they came to a halt like their acupuncture points had been hit.

A few seconds later, they looked up at the sky at the same time, their eyes dazed, their pupils dilated, and their lips parted. A meandering, melancholy, and immeasurably tender tune played on a piano came from the center of the park. It washed over all of them like the exhale of mother nature.

“Mother!” Someone called out first.

“Mothermothermother!”

Then all of the wanderers in the park followed.

The lake at the center of the park was still covered in blooming lotuses, but they weren’t as thriving and vibrant as they were in the summer, but showing a sad hint of decay. Sitting in the octagonal pavilion at the heart of the lake was a slim woman.

She was dressed in comfortable pajamas, her skin fair to the point of glowing, and her blond hair ran down like a waterfall. Her eyes were like a pair of captivating emeralds. Her pregnant belly was pronounced.

That was how Su Xi actually looked like.

Under her feet, white energy bloomed in the form of spider lilies, crowding before her and forming a fantastical white piano.

With her eyes closed, she reached out and played the third movement of the Moon Sonata.

The stormy and fast-paced melody portrayed a furious, prideful, and surging ambition, while also being grandly tragic and majestic like a fate approaching its end.

At that moment, Su Xi’s joy peaked.

She could sense clearly that the Divine Scion inside her was coming out!

A love child between her and her lover and a gift from God. Her child would give her and the Mist World a perfect ending.

As she played the piano, the lotuses in the Green Lotus Lake started flying up, along with a large volume of water. After a slow ascent, the water rained down like a localized drizzle in the park.

Soon, the lake dried.

At the bottom of the three-meter deep lake, a large circular pattern appeared amid the gray mud; the pattern of a life monster was flickering with white light.

The altar was larger than the three altars in the West Nation, Island Nation, and Ni Nation combined. It was the centermost altar in the Mist World, and the most important one as well.

Su Xi would give birth to her child here, and her child would be the child of God!

Suddenly, she stopped playing the piano.

She pulled her hands back and slowly turned to the side. On the small stone bridge leading to the pavilion over the now dried lake, a woman stood tall, slim, and deadly.

Qing Ling’s hair and clothes had been drenched from the “rain”. Holding a blade with both hands, her face was pale and her eyes were fierce.

“Qing Ling?” Su Xi seemed a little surprised, and she spoke like they were having a small talk. “Why are you here?”

Houseau3's Thoughts

Depending on your perspective, it's either the cruelest or the most merciful way to kill a person.

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