This is the longest chapter I've ever written! Woho! I hope you'll like it because from this point onward things will reach the climax. Oh btw! More or less I'm updating every two weeks, if you didn't notice, now you know! I'll try to keep the schedule up, see you soon!


"Mantis, what I'm going to ask of you is dangerous. I can't predict what the lions may do to you, but you're the only who can do this."

"Po, this is my job. We all work hard to protect this place and our friends. I'll do it. Leo's not going to sacrifice himself under my watch. Tell me your plan."

"When the lions come to trade, I want you to hide inside Leo."

"They will find me, Po. They're not that stupid."

"That's exactly it. I want you to be bait, to make them believe they crushed our plan to lower their defences. If it goes well, look for Fung and Gahri and get out of there. Try to meet Emily and Mark to share with them everything you may discover inside."

"I see, that's what you had in mind, huh? Impressive. I'll make this work for sure. Trust me."

With this in mind, Mantis stealthily left before Leo and Lanfen entered the room. Instead of following the duo, the guards stood at the entrance. Quickly, the insect hid. He preferred to start looking around, wanting to be found in a realistic way and not just by easily staying in front of them.

From what the spy could observe, this skyscraper was the only particular building in the base. Knowing the rapid rate that the lions discovered and built technology, this meant that this must've been a small village closest to the Valley of Peace. There's no doubt that Fung and Gahri are still here, but he couldn't know if they were alive or not.

First…

Second…

Third…

Fourth…

Fifth...

Mantis climbed floor after floor after floor. Everything looked the same making it seem endless! He couldn't check every single room, nor look around blindly! Nobody had time for inaccurate data. He needed to find information using another method...or another source.

He patiently waited for someone to show up alone in the hallway. After five minutes, a lion wearing glasses and dressed in a white coat exited a room and headed towards the staircase. Confident that no one was around, he jumped on the lion, kicking him to the floor.

"H-HEY WHAT ARE YOU-?!"

"Say one more word and your head will start to roll on its own," Mantis threatened, maneuvering sharp scythes towards his neck.

"..." The lion, feeling the bug's weapon slowly slice his skin, obeyed.

"Good. Now tell me where I can find the crocodiles," Mantis ordered.

"The crocodiles?"

"The ones Shirong kidnapped."

"Oh, I see. This time they took some crocodiles."

"Where are they?"

"I don't know."

"And you expect me to believe that? I'm going to kill you right here, right now if you don't tell me something useful!" He pressed his scythes deeper, trying to scare him enough to force the secrets out.

"Only Jun, Shirong, and their assistants know where that place is! I'm not lying! They believe we may go there to take more than we should," he honestly replied, panicked at the feeling of blood.

"You're disgusting, just like your kind. How could you eat another person as if it's nothing?"

"Let me go! I told you what I know."

"Do you think I'm stupid? As soon as I let you go you'll warn the others. I'm not going to take that risk."

"No, please don't do anything reckless. I won't-"

"Mantis, let that lion go."

Mantis didn't need to turn around to recognize who had spoken. The lion had distracted him enough and he didn't notice Shirong approaching them until now.

"Don't take another step or I'll kill him," he said, showing him how much the lion was wounded already with blood leaking from the cut he made.

"H-Help me!" The lion tried to yell, but their voice didn't come out as strong as he thought.

"You touched his vocal cord while talking to him and temporarily disabled them to secure yourself. Clever move," the lion complimented, but didn't stop walking closer.

"Are you listening? I'm going to do it. I'll cut him in two."

"Look at you. Blackmailing me using a hostage. Are you sure I am the villain here?" The lion reached them and ducked down to look at Mantis in the eyes. "I don't care if you kill him or not. There's also a high chance that you won't do it because you won't ruin the plan Po worked so hard on."

"Po was right then, you know everything."

"Indeed, you're correct. I heard everything he said and I must admit that his idea is absolutely flawless. It was beautiful how well you all acted! It was a truly nice performance. Nobody would ever predict that Tigress could fake such feelings. I cannot believe someone such as him created such an ingenious plan. It was so good that I decided to see how far he could go."

"You're a spoiled kid who enjoys toying with people."

"I love that light in your eyes. It is the same flame I tried to extinguish from Po's eyes as well. Please, stop looking at me like that or I could do something we'll both regret."

"I'm getting sick of your games. Are you going to do something or not?"

"On the first floor there's a bookcase. It may look like some useful decoration where we store our knowledge, but behind it you'll find the entrance for the basement."

"You're so arrogant if you believe I will blindly follow your advice and move like a puppet in your paws."

"I think you will even if that makes you pissed. Unlike Po, you're a veteran warrior. You understand when you won't stand a chance against your enemy, that's why there are hostages. Sacrifices are necessary for us to proceed and evolve, so take his life if you think it's worth doing."

"You asshole…"

Filled with rage, Mantis released the lion and sprinted towards the staircase.

"Wise choice my friend. I'm not getting in your way; I'm your ally for now. I need to see you all grow and become stronger. I must understand why! Why Ming preferred to turn trash into diamonds instead of exploiting a diamond born like that from the start," he vented, the passion in his eyes growing brighter with each statement. "Isn't it sad? I have to give up my long awaited dinner to find the answers I'm looking for, but worry not. I have a replacement."

Shirong grinned, prowling towards the wounded lion. "I've always wondered what a lion tasted like."

The lion trembled with fear as the general turned him into stone.

"Shirong, what are you doing?" Jun inquired, arriving just in time to spot him holding the stone.

"Oh, so you've come to check on me. My older sister certainly cares about my well being." He smiled, placing his new trophy inside a pocket.

"You know how much I hate you calling me that. Our blood relationship must not interfere when we're working."

"I know, I know. I wanted to ease the atmosphere since I sensed that you were upset."

"Yes, I need to know what you're plotting. I'm getting tired of covering for your filthy actions."

"Do I really have to? You definitely aren't stupid. Your trait is wisdom, mine is courage. You have the power to outsmart me. You're just avoiding the truth because family, as much as you deny it, matters to you."

The lion turned his back to her and headed towards the staircase.

"...We both know what consequences your path will bring to you, yet you're still going? Alone you can surely survive, yet I'm worried about the beast you're hiding within you."

Shirong froze, not expecting such an honest confession. He knew the risks, but what hurt the most was to harm the ones around him, not himself.

"Let's go back to where we should be, Jun. We'll arouse suspicion if we stay away too long."

Jun stared at his retreating back. Her facade was falling apart. Her cold attitude was fading because of the rapidly increasing worries she carried for her brother.


Mantis was irritated. Why did he bend and follow that weirdo's plan? He only wished to prove him wrong; to show him that he's nothing but a freak.

In the end, he found the secret door, broke the lock and moved inside.

As soon as he walked in the awful scent of death hit him with the full force of a cannonball to a ship. No wonder it was locked!

This section of the building wasn't as modern-looking as the rest of the place and it wasn't using those weird things that created light. Lighted torches hanging from the wall cleared the path from darkness, but he wasn't ready for what, or rather who, would greet him next.

"What…the…fuck…?"

Countless heads of every kind, size and shape appeared one after another as he continued deeper into the building. What made it worse was that the heads beside each torch served as trophies; prideful decorations on the wall.

The bug felt like he could…hear them. Their last moments imprinted in them just before being cruelly forced from their mortal body; their screams, fear, and tears... Were they all recent? He couldn't say. The lions must have discovered some way to preserve the bodies.

"...How long has this been going on? How many people died because of them?"

He's a warrior. Someone used to seeing death, blood, and corpses. Everyone has their own ghosts of the past, so this shouldn't have touched him, but…he hated this. He wanted to leave as fast as possible.

Upon perusing through each specimen, he found that they really had retrieved every animal on the planet. Nothing escaped them; not even his, nor his friends' species were spared. It was…a horrible sight, and something that he would never forget.

He had yet to see the worst. The hallway led him into a small room with another staircase. Additionally, in between the entrance and the staircase lie a gruesome sight in which Mantis wished he could permanently delete from his mind.

A fresh victim, a poor, disassembled black pig, laid upon the table.. No traces of blood remained; it must've been a clean job.

"I'm sorry… It shouldn't have ended this way."

As he jumped on the table he noticed the stones behind the head. Their odd position looked as though they've been put here on purpose for someone to find them; to make them look at everything in this place beforehand. Mantis preferred not exploring further and was glad he didn't need to go deeper. A trash can stuffed with bones was enough to finally urge him out of there.

In conclusion, Mantis had completed his mission, or at least half of it. It seemed way too easy, but it wasn't the right time or place to think about it. Now be had to follow the plan and meet with the others… He took a small piece of a rope and gathered the stones around his body. His chi shaped them into a smaller version to match his size, and then he headed out.


Everything was spinning. He fell to the floor, his vision blurry and entire body burning. The pain was unbearable, yet something kept him there, awake. Leo should have fainted, but he didn't.

A light he assumed came from the stone around his neck and not his body engulfed him completely. Oddly enough, said light moved on its own. Then he heard his necklace breaking...

What happened later was impossible to understand.

"YES! IT'S WORKING! I'M A GENIUS. I TRULY AM HER SUCCESSOR. LANFEN ZHU, GRANDDAUGHTER OF MING ZHU, I HAVE INHERITED HIS MENTAL ABILITIES AND DEVELOPED THEM EVEN FURTHER!" She screamed, ending her enthusiastic speech with a laugh.

The lion on the floor unconditionally switched back to his human form, unable to hold it.

"H-Help…" He whispered.

"Shut up and don't ruin my moment please. I've checked your status already; you won't die. I mean…that's what matters right?"

She ignored him and kept staring at the brightly glowing stone now flying in the air, generating an insane amount of energy.

The stone cracked, releasing a weird gas as a white cloud hid the stone. It started to shape into a body, often changing colors. It was coming back to life!

"This is beautiful…" She breathed out with excitement, "I can't wait to register this success in our database! I can already see it; Me, Lanfen Zhu, created the perfect prototype of a reviver gun to fully restore the damaged survivors and ancient fighters of the first and second dimensional war."

As she kept blabbering about stuff that Leo couldn't understand someone gently lifted him up.

"Hey, can you hear me? It seems like the gun completely weakened your body and mind, limiting yourself to the point where even actions as basic as breathing can cause you harm. This is awful! I'll tend to your health right this moment."

It was a voice he had never heard until now, yet it felt familiar and comforting. It was weird…

"Oh. My. God. Ming Zhu! You're back!" The lioness screamed, finally realizing that the stone, the cloud, and all of that weird stuff was gone with another lion appearing in their place. "We have an urgent matter to attend to, so stop wasting your time on that shell you used to preserve yourself."

The lion ignored her and assisted his friend.

"Okay, I'll put you back on the chair and then heal the wounds Lanfen inflicted upon you."

"Heal him? Are you kidding me? There's no way to heal that kind of damage. I've literally drained most of his chi. It's a miracle he's conscious! My prediction was wrong and he appeared to be stronger than I thought he would be, but…it doesn't matter."

"It…doesn't matter..? Yes, of course. For someone like you it wouldn't matter, but I care! Everyone is just as important as you are. There's no way I will let him die in my place!"

The lion charged his chi and quickly injected it into Leo, to no avail.

"You should know better than this. You and the Goblet of Courage discovered this power. Why bother?"

"Is that what you call my friends? You're horrible, pointing at them as if they were objects."

"Listen, I may have something to fix him up. I didn't think I would be able to use it because he needed to withstand the hit. What a surprise that he actually did."

Lanfen searched through her drawer of stuff while Ming kept trying to heal Leo.

"Oh, there he is. This vial is still a test product so I'm not sure of its effects. If it actually helps, it may make things worse. I don't know. We usually don't experiment with dangerous items on lions. We kidnap people and use them as lab rats."

"...I see. Now everything makes sense."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You did predict this outcome. You're just acting. You want the God's Eye from me."

A grin decorated her face."You're not just beautiful, you're also incredibly smart. Stop it! I can't fall in love with my own grandfather."

"I'm ashamed we're blood related. Thinking about it truly disgusts me."

"Oh come on! You should feel proud of me. I obtained the highest role and I'm powerful; I can do anything I want."

"They're just using you because of your origins. When you stop working properly you'll be disposed of. I'm sure even now that you're doing what they want they look at you with spite."

"Yes, that is the truth. I guess I'll have to assume that nothing changed and they've always been doing this."

Lanfen breathed a deep sigh. Remembering the hate killed her enthusiasm. "Just…heal him. You'll have to cooperate anyway. I lost my will to play…"

The lion caught the vial as she threw it at him. "Hey, open your mouth! This will save you," Ming safely reassured him, convincing the human to trust what he was saying.

After a few seconds the effects of the liquid instantly appeared. Leo's breathing went back to its normal pace, his body and vision unlocked and the blurry effect went away.

"Y-You are…me?" The human commented as he weakly raised his finger, pointing at him.

He smiled, showing off his sharp teeth. "Affirmative! We share a special bond, something that goes beyond the usual family/blood stuff."

Leo observed him thoroughly, curious to see the one living within himself.

Ming did look different from him when he shapeshifted into an animal. He was dressed in a blue shirt and black pants. From his red mane two small braids decorated his face, highlighting his light blue eye…

"You…you have only one eye," the human pointed out.

"Oh…yes, it's been a while since someone reminded me about it. I almost forgot."

It wasn't empty. His left eye was just a white orb without any pupil. All around the eye socket, countless scars marked the entire area, as if someone had dug into that place and wounded him good.

"I-I see…" The boy reluctantly replied.

Ming stepped back and went silent, staring at the human.

"Are you alright?"

"Do excuse me, I was just thinking. I have lots of questions that must be answered, but there is limited time! Like…can you shapeshift now? The stone is gone. How will the universe react? Technically we were meant to be one existence, but now I'm standing right here with you! Surely this will cause a reaction: something not meant to happen, or worse, exist. I can't come up with a plan to protect ourselves in case that monster will take advantage of th-"

Ming's rambling was abruptly interrupted by a terrible sound that bombarded the entire room.

"...What now?" Lanfen commented while heading for the door.

The lioness opened the door to find her guards looking back at her, making her mood worse.

"I hope it's something important. I didn't choose a soundproof room to be disturbed over trivial matters."

"I deeply apologize for the trouble, but we have a report labeled code red…" Jun explained staring down, ashamed of the terrible news she had to carry.

"Red codes never show up because they mean someone THAT IS NOT A LION is inside the village. Tell me: how is that even possible?"

When it was clear that Jun couldn't reply to her question, Lanfen instantly rushed towards the human.

"What did you do?" She asked, uncharacteristically kind. "I was very clear that I didn't want any surprises. This is a serious matter we must take care of! Do you have any idea what's going to happen?! No, of course you don't! You just need to pursue your worthless sense of justice and mess with everyone."

She stomped away from them, went to her desk and pressed some buttons that caused a big screen to appear.

"This is a world map, but you probably know this." She pressed another button and countless red dots filled most of the screen. "Five hundred years ago on this very day, Ming and his group broke the natural order and cracked the void causing two demigods to show up in our world just to overwhelm it with darkness. AND NOW, AFTER ALL THIS TIME, ANOTHER, STRONGER, ENEMY WILL DO THE SAME, WORSE THAN BEFORE! EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD THESE CRACKS WILL SHOW UP AND END OUR LIVES."

She spouted everything in one, short, kinda inaccurate period, forcing her to take a break in order to breathe.

"That's why I need the God's Eye to complete our plan. We don't have much time left and-"

"Couldn't you just have told us in advance…?" The human questioned naively.

"Oh yes. Hey, would you like to experience a near death condition to bring back the long lost version of yourself? We're a group of cannibals that society will never accept and people easily trust us because in the past we always did what was best for us, ignoring everything else. Yeah, sure! Why didn't I think of that? I really wonder."

"It was a humble question, Lanfen. You don't need to be a bitch about it," Ming commented.

"Jun, what are you waiting for?" She questioned, noticing her guards still frozen in place. "Find these intruders and follow the standard code. If they're humans don't you dare touch them. Wait with them in the isolation room."

"I-Isolation room?" Leo repeated, scared. "Don't hurt them!"

"I'M NOT. WE NEED TO GO THERE LATER AS WELL SO SHUT UP."

Everyone backed off a little, except for Ming Zhu. "Your behavior at the moment is deplorable. For a lion to appear like this is… absolutely dishonorable."

She closed the door, ignoring her guards that were still standing outside. "I will calm down soon. First, the artifact."

"Unfortunately, it can't be helped. I do not like ruining someone else's work though." He sighed as a tremendous amount of energy started to gather around his body. It was a shiny golden light that instantly turned into a white aura.

"I call upon the mythical power of the God's Eye, please listen to my prayer and awaken from your long lost sleep. It is I, Ming Zhu, Goblet of Wisdom, that calls you back from your slumber."

In a solemn manner he channeled his aura away through the wall. The energy disappeared in a heartbeat.

"What was that?!" Leo gasped.

"True chi," he replied nonchalantly. "But you can also call it Yang."

"Okay…and everything else you just said?!"

"Slow down kid. If I start explaining everything you don't know we'll never finish." The lion smiled, wrapping an arm around the boy. "Worry not. I will gladly teach you and the others everything as soon as this ordeal is gone."

"I don't like repeating myself, but I must insist," Lanfen intervened, "Where is the God's Eye?"

"Not here, of course."

"Can you bring it here then?"

"That's what I did. I'm waiting for it."


Po, Tigress and the remaining warriors left behind were explaining to their master what he missed and where the two humans went.

"Po, while I do understand your noble intent to save and protect everyone, I can't approve the decision you all have taken," Shifu admitted, "This entire matter is bigger than us and we shouldn't have meddled with it."

"What are you saying?! Are you actually listening to yourself? I don't abandon anyone. That is out of the question," Po rejected.

"Po…" He sighed, "I brought dishonor to us all because of my rushed judgment. I'm trying to do the right thing but that right thing sometimes doesn't look right."

"The right thing is to save everyone!" He shouted, "We don't care about anything else. You- You don't understand. You weren't there. You didn't see Gahri's eyes, his expression, Fung's state, nor did you hear what he told me. The feeling of being useless even in the one thing I believed in wasn't enough to protect the things I love…"

"You're not the only one who feels that way, Po," Simon commented, "Look around. Everyone, Shifu included, has that same thing written all over their faces. They've already stated their limits and they feel bad enough for this. You're just being selfish right now."

"Simon!" Tigress called him back, knowing that he was going to say more.

The crocodile backed off, but his words had already hit the mark on the panda.

"...Am I?"

"You're doing what you believe is the correct choice, Po. I've supported it; we all have. We wanted to believe until the end that we could've done something," the feline explained, looking at the mountains.

"I-I still believe!" Viper shouted, "I know how he feels and if Emily, Mark, Leo and Mantis decided to go they must've believed in him as well! I won't give up."

"She's right. I have a bad feeling, but I don't care. If I'm not alone I will face everything with you all by my side," Monkey exclaimed.

"M-Me too!" Fulvio shyly chimed in, "I wanna help too, if that's alright."

"See? If you're selfish, then we all are." Tigress smiled.

"Just because I said that doesn't mean I'll watch you fight without doing anything," the crocodile muttered. "It would piss me off even more."

In that moment a white light lured everyone's attention. Not far away from them something was reacting.

"What now?" Fulvio trembled in fear.

"If I remember correctly the point where this energy is coming from is…"

"The Sacred Peachtree of Heavenly Wisdom," Shifu exclaimed, "It does make sense after all."

They didn't question the situation any further and rushed over to check what was happening; however, someone knew everything already.

"What's wrong the tree, Master?" Viper questioned slithering next to the shining tree.

"Fulvio, please touch the tree," Shifu ordered.

"M-Me?" The panda pointed at himself as soon as everyone else moved away to reveal the human.

Fulvio stepped closer and looked around to have some reassurance. He didn't feel safe. A chilling shudder raked down his spine, but in the end he raised his paw and touched the wood. Nothing weird or different, apparently. The tree was cold and that old skin of his could've stung if not handled with care… That is until he felt something moving inside the tree.

It touched him. Something round and smooth was cuddling the inside of his paw, but as soon as he tried to pull away the opposite happened.

"HELP!" The panda yelled, grabbing his arm with the other one. The tree was sucking him inside and it was quite strong!

Po wrapped around Fulvio to slow him down as Tigress grabbed them both and started to pull. Afterwards, everyone chained together to combat the weird and mysterious strength.

"I never imagined that we would end up fighting against a tree!" Monkey complained.

"It's not the tree!" Fulvio explained, "There's something inside!"

He wasn't able to say more because they triumphed over the odd energy. Fulvio and Po rolled away while the others stared in awe at the thing that showed up, previously hidden inside the peachtree.

"You okay?" Po asked as he helped his friend stand up.

"Yeah, I am…"

The white sphere floated in the air, slowly moving amongst the group before coming to a stop right in front of Fulvio as if looking purposely for him.

"Is that what I think it is?" Tigress questioned, turning towards Shifu.

"Yes, this is, without any doubt, the God's Eye," Shifu confirmed.

"I was imagining it would look different…" Po mused, looking all around the artifact to find nothing but a white, round empty sphere. "Y'know, you called it God's Eye…"

Fulvio touched it with his finger, causing it to activate.

"Yeah, that's what I imagined it to be!" Po repeated when a huge light blue pupil appeared right in the center of the sphere when his friend touched it.

"Basically it's a giant eyeball…" Simon grunted.

"It creeps me out a bit." Viper looked away. "Please make that thing stop. I feel like it's staring at me."

The artifact lurked around observing every face, yet it seemed to not care except for one person, making its way closer to him. The panda froze in place, not knowing how to react. He just let the sphere do its own thing until it touched his forehead.

His vision went white. Countless images flew past one another in his mind. One after another were printed inside his memories as if he knew about them all along. They were mixed up, nonsensical and headache-inducing! Past, present and future were all being revealed and hidden at the same time right in front of him.

"MING! NO! DON'T DO IT! THIS ISN'T WORTH IT."

"...You said you were going to help me."

"I DON'T WANT YOU TO SACRIFICE YOUR EYES IN ORDER TO DO IT."

"This is the price they're asking. I'm sorry."

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU."

…Voices of strangers and discussions on topics he never heard of before filled his head. He regained consciousness on the ground with Po just beneath him.

"He's waking up!" Po shouted.

"Hey, you okay? You suddenly lost it and fell…" Viper recounted.

"It would be bad if something happens to you now," Monkey crossed his arms. "Mantis' not here you know…"

"Where is it?" Fulvio turned around. "I need to understand…"

"The God's Eye is gone." Shifu explained, "Someone called it somewhere and it took off on his own."

"I tried to capture it, but it literally went through my body like a ghost," Tigress added.

"It's certainly an interesting behavior." Shifu walked towards him. "The God's Eye should've instantly headed towards the one who summoned it, yet…it decided on its own to wait for you. What did it show you?"

The panda patted his head. "It was…confusing. I heard and saw different things, like, Nova talking with someone… He called him Ming. They were talking about a sacrifice. He wanted to remove his own eyes to…don't tell me that they were named this way because-"

"We never knew for certain. Lots of documents disappeared and I couldn't assume something this dangerous, but there was a possibility."

"Oh yeah…there's more. I saw our friends. They were all closed inside a room, but…it was dark so I couldn't see clearly, but I totally saw something shining in that place."

"THE STONES! DID THEY GET THEM?!" Po shouted in awe.

"I-I'm not sure, sorry! Maybe? My mind is still messed up... It was so weird, I can't even describe the feeling…" Fulvio started to stare at the sky while talking.

"Is something wrong with the weather?" Tigress asked.

"I felt like it changed color… Purple? My head hurts. I may be hallucinating."

"First time experience with the power of that ancient artifact can be quite overwhelming," Shifu stated, leading the way towards the palace. "You should sit and take a rest. Maybe the memories it offered to you will come back."

"Alright."


Lanfen furiously moved across the room, looking through notebooks, writing down sentences and tapping on the screen.

Leo tried to shapeshift, trying to satisfy the curiosity of both, but failed.

"I need to ask the God's Eye about this. It is an ability you're not allowed to lose…" Ming scratched his mane, frustrated.

"Maybe I need time? More practice? Don't forget that every time I was in a fight I felt like someone was, indeed, moving me around."

"True. We were able to help you out even in that comatose situation. It is quite useful to be able to listen and see from your perspective, but I would've never predicted that I would be able to stand once again…"

As Leo opened his mouth to speak something moved through the wall, and then his body before disappearing inside Ming's.

"AH! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!" He shouted, turning around.

"It's nothing. The God's Eye finally arrived! It took some time though. I wonder what happened." The lion tilted his head, causing the boy to freak out even more.

"Wait… You have two eyes again?"

"Uhm? That's normal. When I called the God's Eye I asked it to reunite with me, but it is only temporary," Ming explained, moving the artifact outside and inside his body consecutively, making his left eye disappear and reappear over and over again.

"Why can you even do this?! Hearing you talk about it so casually is confusing…"

"He performed an ancient ritual and sacrificed a part of his body to obtain it. That's not something someone would do everyday," Lanfen chimed in with pride. "I wanted to see the moment where you had to remove your eye with those paws of yours. How did you feel? You must've been really tough if you didn't lose consciousness due to shock, but…you know, something doesn't add up."

"This is not the time to talk about my past and my mistakes, Lanfen."

"I know, I know. Use that thing of yours and tell me."

Ming placed the sphere inside his body, gently laid his paws on his head and held tight. After a few seconds both of his eyes turned white and the fur all over his body started to dance to a phantom breeze.

"...He's taking too long," Leo uncomfortably said, "Looking at him like that makes me feel uneasy."

"He may have asked multiple questions at once," Lanfen replied, "We have some records from people who experienced it first hand and it usually takes a few seconds to receive a satisfying answer from the artifact."

"I was wondering this for a while, but…if this thing can tell you everything you wish for can't he just tell us how to win over this evil guy?"

"Yes, you can, but you'll die. Death will get you before you can actually have the time to share what the God's Eye revealed to you."

"D-Die?!"

"Don't tell me you believed that you could ask anything you wanted to a tool that basically offers you unlimited knowledge and offer nothing in return!"

"Then what does it ask?"

"It will take part of your chi as sacrifice as a requirement to access to its overwhelming power. The amount depends on how valuable the information you seek is. That is why you can't just ask that. I believe even the one that created it is under this rule, or maybe he can slightly alter this rule. It is something only Ming himself can answer for you."

As she finished sharing what she learned from her history books, Ming woke up. His face looked extremely tired as he deeply inhaled to fill his lungs as much as possible.

"You look like you overdid it. How many questions did you ask?"

"A-A few…"

"You should be careful you know. You just got back your life, don't throw it away…"

"I'm happy that you're concerned about me, but there's no other option. We have to rely on this power if we wish to stop his plan…"

"So? What did you learn?" Lanfen interrupted them.

"We have one hour. I heard there's something on the rooftop that can work quite well but it's damaged, is it not? An old prototype perhaps?"

"Are you talking about the skyscratcher? I created that thing a long time ago to clear the sky from the annoying clouds that stopped me from looking at the sky… That's odd. Is that thing going to work?"

"It needs some tinkering by me and you. The basic function is there. Only a laser can make your plan work right now. We can use the artifact as a power source to amplify its potential. If we rush, we may finish just in time."

"Working together, huh? This pumps me up! You have no idea!" Lanfen shouted, opening the door. "Ah… I forgot I sent them off. Not a big deal I guess…"

Lanfen walked back inside through drawers of weird things and objects until she stopped, staring at an old red case.

"Oh my god I remember this! My very first toolbox!" She checked inside and then continued with a satisfied smile. "Yeah we can work with this for now. TO THE ELEVATOR!" Lanfen yelled, excited, pointing at the entrance.

Ming stood up and tried to walk, but stumbled down. "Oh, really? I can't believe the artifact weakened me this much…"

The lion suddenly interrupted himself when the human snuck under him and lifted him up by the shoulder. "It's alright. I have you."

"I-I can walk! I'm fine!" Ming uselessly complained, "Ugh… Alright. Just for a while, okay?"

The lioness headed outside, showing the way to the elevator. Leo snatched one of the books the lions have written on this entire matter before following shortly after.

"You know…with this level of technology you could have, just saying, made it bigger."

Leo remarked as they stopped in front of the open doors of a small elevator.

"It can easily lift four people, average size, as written on the small information panel above the glass."

"That isn't the point I am trying to make. Ever heard of personal space? Getting embarrassed while stuck in a close space with strangers sounds appealing?"

"We're a group of people that knows each other perfectly, maybe too much if I can say my opinion. There's no such thing."

Leo grunted, carrying his friend inside first. Lanfen followed, pushing them inside in an uncomfortable position.

"...I hate this so much."

"Oh, you're not the only one who hates it. This entire place makes me feel awful."

"Shut up you two. I need to talk here."

Lanfen pressed the button with thirty-five, the highest floor, written on it, then a button with a speaker drawn on it.

"May I help you?" A feminine voice spoke when she pressed it.

"It is me, Lanfen. I'd like to receive a report about the red code. I hope this situation has been handled with care. I'll be on the roof. Please send me General Jun as soon as possible."

"The red code has been resolved and the intruders taken care of. We followed the instructions you gave us. I'll be sending the general."

"Thank you."

Another sound followed her words, signaling that the transmission was over and the elevator started to climb its way up to the top.

"Ming, what else did you ask?" Leo questioned.

"I wanted to know more about the situation we were currently in. I requested some info on you, me and other matters. I can't really explain right now since it would be even more confusing. You don't know how chi works, how to use it, nor its potential. I'd love to tell you everything, but I can't-"

"We have arrived," Lanfen cut him off while the doors opened, showing black, cloudy weather.

"Weird. I remember it being sunny this morning. There were no signs of such a terrible storm coming," Leo pointed out.

"Because this is no normal weather. This is an omen, a signal." She raised her paw at the weird machine in the corner. "That's the thing. Bring him there."

Leo gently lowered Ming next to the machine while observing the barren location. Other than the machine, the rooftop was empty. They weren't really into decorations. For a few seconds the machine felt more like a small tower placed there as their flag. It was completely blue and the sharp top must've been the place where the laser starts. It points in only one direction, up to the sky.

"How old is that thing?" The human asked, seeing a huge wave of dust covering it.

"Seven?" She coughed, "I don't remember honestly. I grew bored of looking at the stars…"

"Why? The constellations are always so gorgeous; the meteors, shooting stars, the moon, everything just blends together perfectly in a harmony of colors and sounds." Ming picked up a wrench from the box, checking the insides.

"Let's just say I had other plans in my head at that time, I couldn't waste time on such a stupid hobby."

"So it is your hobby and you do like it."

"I just got nostalgic, that's all. I don't miss those times at all."

"It doesn't sound right. I think you actually wanted to come here more often."

Lanfen grasped the pinchers and cut some wires. "What would you know about me? You're just assuming things."

"I think I have some experience on my back," He smiled, pulling his face from the inside of the machine. "Hey Leo, I remember that you were good at tinkering with these things as well. Mind giving us a hand."

"Uh, yeah! Sure. I just didn't want to-"

"I don't trust the kid. He's young and we need this thing to work." The lioness cleaned the pinchers, putting them back in the box.

"I asked the artifact if Leo can successfully help us fixing it and it said yes. Do you have a rebuttal now?"

"Do you want the truth? It sounds like bullshit to me."

"And I believe you just don't like the idea of him touching your stuff."

"That's not true!"

"Then why are you raising your voice?"

"...You know what? Fine. If he messes it up and we all die because of him it'll be your responsibility. I don't care."

"Let's test him then," Ming said, inviting him to look inside. "What do you think we're doing first?"

"Well… I would've checked if the machine works, but-"

"It doesn't."

"Don't interrupt him."

"Then you're trying to find what the problem is inside."

"I already found it." Ming moved him away and turned on the machine. A small, thin, red laser generated from the top. "Now what's the next step?"

"You mentioned you wanted to add a better power supply by using the God's Eye itself, so I'm guessing you're trying to optimize the space inside. I can see that the artifact fits perfectly in here; there's no need to create a new section."

"Amateur."

"That's not true. It was a good catch."

"It sure was."

They all kept chatting while working, but the real reason was to make the job less painful, to ease the pressure. It was an important task nevertheless; it needed focus and mechanical knowledge.

"Lanfen, I'm here! Did you ask-"

"Yes, I did call for you." The lioness said as Jun stopped right in front of her. "Is something wrong? You look confused."

Lanfen hadn't realized that her vest was completely ruined and her fur was covered in oil.

"I would've preferred to show up when you were in a more professional condition."

"Oh…" She looked down at herself. "I see. It's been a while since I messed up myself this much."

"You had fun!" Ming called out from behind, "That's all."

"Yes, sure whatever." She rolled her eyes. "Listen, I need to check the isolation room and change my clothes. Do I have time for a shower?"

"Once we activate it you have…ten minutes. Make it quick," Ming answered.

"I see. With that out of the way, I want you to escort them to that room. Keep them safe. You know what I mean by that. I'll be there as soon as I rid of this stink clinging to my body…"

Jun could only nod as Lanfen hurried back inside trying to gain extra time.

"Leaving in such a crucial moment," Ming muttered, "Women always have such weird priorities."

"You shouldn't say that so casually," Leo sighed, cleaning the sweat from his face.

"We're done I believe," the lion remarked, stuffing the artifact inside. "I'm turning it on."

The small, thin, red laser was gone and replaced by a big, shining one. It went high up in the sky, penetrating the clouds so far that they couldn't see where it ended.

"Is this the effect you were hoping for?" Leo inquired.

"Yes, that's what the God's Eye showed me. Give it some time." Ming explained.

"You look like you wanna know. Just ask," Leo said, staring at the lioness general that was standing perfectly still.

"It is not my role. I've been assigned to you two as a bodyguard, no matter the situation," she declared.

"We've been working on a plan to prevent the void from cracking, basically by reinforcing it with this thing."

"I thought she said she couldn't ask you…" Ming chimed in.

"Yes, that's why I told her what I believe she wanted to know." Leo smiled at her.

"Oh…wait. Did you say reinforcing? It's not really that the plan."

Ming couldn't say more due to the machine suddenly breaking down, creating black fog. "Oh no… Save the artifact!"

"Calm down. It's going just like I saw it would." Ming quietly recovered the orb inside of him.

The sky suddenly changed color and turned purple.

"That's it. They're preparing themselves." The lion stood up and stumbled towards the guard. "Bring us to the isolation room."

"Yessir. This way. Let us take the elevator. The room is located on the first floor." She moved towards the inside.

"Do you need help?"

"No, Leo, I'm fine this time."

"I'm worried about my friends." Leo sighed, "I hope they didn't do anything to them."

"You'll meet them soon," Jun added. "We didn't do anything to them. They're perfectly healthy, just limited in their movement."

"That's odd. You really cared enough to clear his doubts?"

"He would have done the same, wouldn't he?"