The scene was too peaceful. If Miaka had bothered to look around her, she would've noticed the endless stars that covered the sky above them. The sky was far too hazy, almost as though covered by some sort of gauze. The moon hung very close and very low just behind them, and in front of that moon, just upon the horizon, rested the body of Fu Xi. If any of them had bothered to glance up, they would've noticed the resting body of Nu Kwa as soft frowns covered her delicate features, her sleep interrupted by the nightmares that plagued her.

However, none of the players took notice of their surroundings. Etsu's eyes were focused only on Miaka. Miaka and Ryu's eyes were focused only on Etsu.

Etsu wasn't entirely sure what forces were healing him. Something in him was drawing from the haze that floated around them, absorbing the celestial powers that favored neither good nor evil. Even so, he could not help but realize how close he was to his final goal. Lian was right in front of him, her eyes focused on him. That was how he'd always wanted it. Her eyes on him, only for him...

Ryu's hand tightened around her shoulder as his heart struggled to recover from the adrenaline that had just been pumped into it by their narrow escape from the collapsing stairwell. It was not doing a particularly good job since his fight or flight reflexes were starting to kick in, and he wasn't sure which one was stronger. However, he knew which one it must be, and that gave him a little resolve. At the least, it was one less thing he had to concern himself with.

He glanced down for a moment at Miaka, who seemed to not even notice his presence. She sat in his arms, shivering horribly. He cursed himself for not being able to shelter her from even that.

Her eyes met Etsu's and she felt herself being pulled by something. He slid an arm forward, dragging himself a few inches closer to her. The slight movement made her flinch, and she started to look away.

"Come...let me save you..."

The phrase, a mere husky whisper from his healing throat, stopped her.

"Save me?" she asked, the shock of his words enough to break whatever hold fear had on her tongue. "You and your cursed god are the only things I need saving from..."

"No," he protested, now well enough to push himself up into a slight sitting position. "No, Lian. I never meant to harm you. Not you."

"Not me?"

Miaka stumbled to her feet, her anger getting the better of her as she spread her wings to balance herself. The blood rushed from her head and she felt woozy for a moment, but even that did not stop her from glaring at the increasingly less injured demon.

"What did you think you were doing every time you threatened my life? Or worse, the lives of my friends? You don't understand a thing about me if you think you were not harming me."

"No...no, I understand you better than you do yourself. I'm the only one who ever understood you. Your pain, your loyalty, your kindness, your gentleness. I'm the only one who understood how spectacular you were, and how everyone around you kept taking advantage of you. And you let them. I hated you for so long because you let them..."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

He looked into her eyes, and she felt the full force of his power for a brief moment. They were slightly glazed over, bright with what might have been fever...

"What..." she murmured softly, her head starting to feel slightly fuzzy.

"Don't you remember?"

Don't you remember?

The voice echoed in her mind, her vision fading as she crumpled to the ground, her past enveloping her one last time.

Ryu made it to her in time to keep her from injuring herself by falling. Her skin slowly lost its warmth, but her chest rose and fell steadily, her mind gone from this realm once more. She picked one hell of a time to go into one of her trances.

Gently resting her body on his lap, he took off his robe, pillowing it under her head before laying her on the ground. Only after he was sure she'd be comfortable did he stand to his feet.

Etsu let the man have his last moment with Lian. He was not so cold-hearted as they all believed. The Dragon would need all the pleasant memories he could store to help him survive the torture he would receive at Etsu's hand. And after he was finished, Gong Gong could have whatever remained of the man. He took a deep breath and stood to his feet, testing out his balance carefully. One wing was whole and the other was painfully reconstructing itself. He'd rather the powers that be would have just patched him up for the time being. Oh well, he would have to deal with what he had. Looking over at Ryu, he couldn't help but smirk softly.

"I've waited a long time for this day, Dragon. To return all the pain and suffering I endured because of your greed."

"What the hell are you babbling about? First claiming to save Miaka, then you mean to tell me that all of this is due to some vendetta you have against me?"

"Your arrogance is astonishing," Etsu said, flexing his fingers softly. Reaching behind his back, he pulled the remains of his bow out of his quiver and quickly restored them back to a functioning weapon. "It is not a vendetta against just you. It is against all of you selfish humans that think to place your own needs and desires before innocent creatures like her."

A clawed finger pointed at the sleeping Miko. His eyes, however, drilled into Ryu's eyes, oblivious to the confusion that dwelled in them.

"This vendetta is against you, your idiotic brother...but mostly against Fu Xi and Nu Kwa. All of you used Lian as though she were some trinket to be traded and bargained for."

"As Yuan, I loved Lian until the day I died. Don't you dare tell me that I cared nothing for her."

"And was it her choice to be wed to you? Or did she do it out of obligation, because she felt she had to in order to serve her empress? She may have eventually fallen in love with you, but was that union what she'd originally wanted? Did you ever think about that?"

The question was enough to make Ryu hesitate. Etsu pulled the string back, forming an energy arrow that he released as soon as the string was taut

She was dreaming, but she knew that the visions she saw were of the past, not just random images her subconscious gave to her. Still, this dream was not like any she'd had before.

She saw the old her, Lian, in her room, a tray in whosever hands she now owned as she entered the room. Lian smiled at her, and she felt her heart skip a beat, as unusual as the sensation was. The tray was placed down on a small table next to the chair in which Lian sat, a pen and scroll before her as she practiced her calligraphy.

Nu Kwa always allows Lian to do as she pleases. She thinks to placate her by showing her favor. Still, she's just a bird in a gilded cage. A bird I long to free.

The thought came clearly, and she realized that she was in someone's body, experiencing things as she or she had experienced them. The feel of the body, though...it felt as though it was male. The thought made her blush. Well, she would have blushed if she had been in control of the body. Right now, she was just riding shotgun, experiencing every thought and emotion.

In a moment, the scene changed, and she was before a dinner table. Lian sat to her right, a pitched of watered wine in her/his hands. Looking around, she noticed the other handmaidens surrounding her, Nu Kwa at the head of the table. The empress dabbed her red mouth delicately with one of the napkins on the platter a servant held. She then cleared her throat softly, and all the maidens looked her way.

"In order to secure the best generals for the upcoming war, I have offered the most qualified princes you four as wives should they lead my husband's army and fight for our people. However, if any of you would rather remain here with me, say the word and I will make it so. It is your decision to serve as my handmaiden or as a prince's wife."

"What would serve you more, mistress?" Lian asked, her voice soft.

Miaka felt the shivers go through the body. Was this person so devoted to Lian that even her voice would affect him or her?

"I was once told that every sword needs a sheath in which to rest, a home to return to and hope for once the battle has ended. Although I will sorely miss you if you decide to leave, I cannot deny that those princes will need a sheath. There are few callings more important for a woman."

Even Miaka saw the resolve form over Lian's face. At the same time, she felt a coldness come over the body.

She was in a small room, a single pallet, a bowl for washing, a small window, an oil lamp that burned brightly in the darkness. She felt, along with the body, a demonic force flow over the room. It was unable to completely solidify, but a dark haze hung around the room, dimming the light considerably.

"You want power?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"To protect the weak from the strong. To stop these selfish members of royalty from forcing their beliefs, desires and wants onto everyone below them. I want to destroy this system that allows for the more powerful to command just because they were born to a certain family. I want..."

The body glanced over at the small, meager mirror that hung in the room.

"I want the woman I love to have her own life. I want her to be happy."

Miaka reeled at the reflection. Although purely human, she still recognized it for the form it was.

"Then I shall grant you the power you desire, Etsu. Power to change the world around you."

She finally separated from the body, her subconscious refusing to allow her to be tainted by the demonic power that began to flow through Etsu.

So, she thought, that is what this is all about...

This was what it was all about. He knew he was bleeding from several small and not-so-small wounds. Still, the adrenaline running through his body and the celestial powers granted to him by Suzaku were more than enough to keep him going at the moment. If all else failed, he had his love for Miaka, who still lay prone on the ground, untouched by the battle going on so close to her vulnerable body.

Even so, there was a small voice in the back of his mind that told him that he was outmatched. For every bit of damage Etsu did, Ryu had to do three times as much to make any real damage. Etsu was still draining the celestial myst that flowed around them, healing his wounds as they formed. It was horribly tiring, knowing that all the effort you put into a single slash was destroyed by the apparently neutral power around them. A small drop of blood flowed into his line of vision and he spared a moment to think about if it would help or hinder him by wiping it away. He'd take the chance, he decided as he lifted his hand to his brow.

Etsu watched, finally realizing the horrid toll that this healing was taking on his body. It'd first hit him when his breath started to become more shallow, more rapid. It was not unlike the typical rush one got while fighting, but it seemed like even during the moments of standstill, such as now, his body craved something that it was not getting.

He was healing, yes, but by absorbing the celestial energy around them. As a demonic creature, more than a mere mortal, his body thrived on these elements, and it was taking them from the very air. However, it would not stop, and so the overflow of energy in his body was contaminating it rather than purely replenishing it. It was a harsh reminder that he was a mortal turned demon, not a demon born of the stuff. In essence, it was a toxic overdose to his system.

Still, he had to fight on, for one reason or another. Be it for his own wretched fate as a servant of Gong Gong or as the self-proclaimed protector of Lian, he had to continue.

With that thought, he took advantage of the moment that Ryu took to wipe the blood from his face and charged forward, a sword in his hand and held away from his body to both damage and defend.

Ryu saw him coming, and noticed only as he raised up the sword he'd taken from Miaka's person to defend himself did he first notice that Etsu was slowing. It was not really enough to make a difference, and if Ryu had not been a warrior in two past lifetimes, he probably would not have seen it himself. But he did, and the realization gave him a bit of hope. Now, it was a battle of attrition more than anything. Who would cave in first, Ryu wandered as he thrust back at Etsu with his sword, following up with a sweeping kick, which only nicked Etsu's heel. The only real question was how to go about it. Should he become more aggressive, trusting in his own energy reserves and whatever was slowing Etsu? Or should he simply bait him, reserving his own energy until later.

Etsu didn't have the strategic dilemma that Ryu was facing at the moment. Hell, he was probably not even aware of the war-hardened mind hard at work in front of his sword. The primal instinct of survival raced through ever nerve and every cell, his mind reluctantly accepting that the longer this fight went on, the more likely he was to lose. Therefore, he had to end it, and end it quickly. But how...

Finally, from the haze that was very slowly starting to creep over his mind, Etsu felt rather than saw the difference in Ryu's fighting. The strikes were coming at irregular intervals, not forming any clear pattern. A slice at the neck, Etsu leaned back just enough to avoid a fatal blow, and as small pearls of blood formed along the seam of the cut, Ryu took several steps back. A moment as the two regarded each other, then Ryu would come at him again, from a different angle, with more force or less force, from high or from low. Now quick, now slow.

Only when Ryu had gotten in a deep and particularly fierce stab with his sword into the tender flesh under Etsu's arm, then back away rather than following through with another crippling move, did Etsu realize the truth of the situation.

Ryu had noticed what was happening, and was taking advantage of the situation.

For the first time in millennia, the feeling of true despair started to fill the back of his throat like bile. Still, despite how long it had been since he last felt that emotion, he recognized it and immediately loathed it. The last time he'd felt it, he'd been driven to do the unthinkable.

And it seemed he would have to once more.

As Miaka slowly came to, she was unsure of who had put her into that dream. It had to have been Etsu...didn't it? But if so, why hadn't he done it before? As the questions faded from the forefront of her thoughts, the battle in front of her replaced them.

Both men were bleeding from any number of wounds, their garments more red than not. She had probably not been out as long as it felt, but that did not comfort her. Any loss of blood during a battle was one step closer to death. Even she understood that.

Gingerly pushing herself up off the ground, she summoned her powers, about to strike out at Etsu.

Yet, she hesitated.

He was the enemy. He'd put her through so much hell, in this lifetime and in her first. He'd unleashed an unspeakable evil onto her world.

After telling herself all of these things, she still hesitated. In the depths of her being, she wanted desperately to believe that some part of him could be redeemed. Maybe it was the deeper understanding she'd attained. Maybe it was the resurfacing memories of the bond that Lian had shared with Etsu. In those moments before waking, image after image of Etsu's quiet and passionate loyalty to her played before her mind. So many memories to absorb.

Be they Lian's or Etsu's, Miaka found herself too moved by emotion and too filled with hope to lift her hand against Etsu. Instead, she did the only thing she could. Summoning all her energies, she send out a healing wave towards Ryu.

He'd thought he'd felt Miaka awaken, but dared not to spare a thought towards her. It was best, actually, if he not even acknowledge her existence, lest Etsu take advantage of the fact. However, when his various wounds started to close and his stamina and energies caught a literal second wind, Etsu was more than aware that the Lady and the Dragon had reconnected.

He had to act fast, but he'd already wasted the best of his chances. Etsu would have preferred to attack while Ryu was damaged. Now, he was at an even worse position than he had been in, and had to wage all he had on this last trump card. Ironically enough, it was one of the few techniques he'd learned from Zhen, not Gong Gong. The fates were cruel indeed to let one man's skill be the downfall of his own brother.

Ryu knew enough about Etsu from fighting him to know that no movement was wasted. So when the demon lifted the edge of his sword to his mouth, licking the blood off the blade in a quick movement, he was immediately suspicious. The suspicion grew when Etsu lifted his own arm up to his mouth, sucking at the dark blood that oozed from a wound. Ryu started charging towards Etsu just as a red aura appeared around him, blazing bright for a moment before enveloping him in darkness. At that moment, he noticed his own body slowing down. A glance at Etsu's face revealed not a smile of triumph, but a certain sadness. That sight alone stopped Ryu in his tracks.

Etsu spat the blood out of his mouth, using his sword to draw the kanji of fire over the small puddle, he wiped his mouth clean. A strange sort of irony, really. What mattered it if his lips were clean when he died?

"Let us perish together, Dragon. From the flames you came, to the flames you shall now return."

Dipping his finger into the blood that dripped down his side, he drew the sign for fire in the air, watching it hang there for a moment before both he and Ryu exploded into flames.

Miaka let out a scream of distress as the two bodies started to burn, the smell of charred flesh almost making her retch. The fear of losing Ryu was stronger than her physical instincts, though, so she raced through her mind, trying desperately to find a power...any power...that would stop the man she loved from being burned alive in front of her. It was hard to concentrate when his screams filled her ears and her heart thudded so hard that it interrupted her every thought.

A small fire burned in front of Etsu's writhing body, and Miaka quickly fired a psychic blast towards it, destroying the glyph. The fire covering them lessened, but still it burned on.

"Think, Miaka. Damn you, think."

Her mind raced before Chiriko's powers took hold, slowing her down and pacing her steps to follow a more logical thought process. Nuriko's strength was not an option, and Chiriko's mental prowess was his gift. Hotohori's grace and swordsmanship would do little good at the moment, as would Tamahome's strength. Tamahome...

"Focus!"

That left Chichiri's psychic magic, Mitsukake's healing and Tasuki's fire conjuring. Alone, none of them would do anything. However....together...

Miaka stood up quickly, letting her eyes scan the field, feel out the environment and driving the distractions from her mind. A plan formed, but she would have to make it work on the first try. Otherwise, she'd probably kill them both.

And somewhere, along with the plan, Miaka had made the decision that it was both she must save.

There was no wind, so she'd have to generate her own. Walking close to the quickly charring bodies, she summoned a large sword in her hand, summoning strength to support it.

"Here goes nothing. You'd better be right about this, Chiriko...."

Lifting the sword up over her head, she brought it crashing to the ground as she channeled psychic energy through the blade. When metal touched earth...or whatever it was they stood on, she barely hung onto the sword as a large explosion erupted, creating a small gust of wind. Still, it was enough to halt the flames for a second. It was all the time she needed, but she dreaded the next step. Lifting the sword again, she summoned both Tasuki and Mitsukake's powers, merging them together in her mind, preparing herself to send them out as one.

"Rekka shinen!" she yelled, swinging the sword and sending out flames towards the two burning men. Heavens only knew what they were thinking but she knew (somehow, be it from a long forgotten chemistry class or Chiriko's own brilliant mind) that if she could get the new flames to consume the oxygen around the current flames, the two should extinguish each other. At the same time, her flames should start a healing process to save them.

She hoped.

Ryu couldn't have screamed any longer even if he wanted to. In addition to having no strength left, he was pretty sure his vocal chords were damaged between the smoke, stress and fire. Just as he began to wonder if Miaka was doing anything...if she could even do anything to stop the flames, he realized they were no longer burning.

Miaka?

Instead of a reply, he felt a wave of relief, exhaustion and concern. Only then did wave after wave of healing flow through his body. Still, it didn't feel like healing. The fact that even the balm of Suzaku was painful was a testament to how close to death he had been.

I was so scared I was going to lose you, anata.

The word and concern in her voice was more than enough to see him through the pain. He lay there for a moment or two before he realized he could sit up, albeit very gingerly. Newly formed skin was horrendously sensitive.

He glanced over at her, feeling how she felt before he even saw her. She lay on the ground, her energies all but depleted, a soft smile of contentment on her face.

"You did it," he said, his voice raspy. It would take a while before his body completely healed, but they had all the time in the world now. Etsu was dead after all.

"My savior..."

He felt the muscles in his neck tear as he snapped his neck to see where the voice came from. No, it wasn't to see where it came from, because he knew the answer to that even before he looked. The real reason he looked was to make sure it was real, that he wasn't hallucinating.

"Miaka? What the hell did you do?"

Etsu had resigned himself to death. It'd always been the easiest and most logical option. His own stubborn will was the thing that kept him alive most of the time. The random bit of good luck also worked in his favor as well. As prepared as he was for death, he was not sure anything could have prepared him for the gift of life he'd just received. Lifting his hand above his face, he flexed his fingers a few times, still coming to grips with the fact that he had not died. The Dragon had not died either, however. But that fact seemed less than insignificant at the moment. Lian...his beloved Lian...she had saved him.

He rolled over slowly, looking for her and meeting her eye as she looked from him to Yuan. Somehow, he'd proved himself worthy of her attention. Pushing himself to his feet, he slowly started to walk over to her, oblivious to everything else around him.

"Lian. I've longed to tell you how I felt. But I was just a lowly servant then. My life is yours. It has always been. I just got distracted, mislead...but my heart is yours now. Please...tell me what I can do to please you...."

"You can die."

Ryu's words came too close for Etsu to even think of dodging, if he'd been of the mind to do so. However, all of his attention was on Miaka, who knew from the moment Etsu had started to move what Ryu would do to him. With all of her mind and spirit, she protested, but like Etsu, Ryu was of one mind and one goal. So, she had no other choice.

He wasn't sure if he'd seen her throw her body in his way. What made him feel even worse was the thought that he had seen it, and had not cared. Was killing Etsu that important to him? No, it could never be...never...

"Never..." he muttered aloud, his hands falling to his side as he stood in complete and utter disbelief at what he'd done.

None of the people standing there could truly believe what had happened. Yet, there it stood, too real for anyone to deny. Miaka had thrown herself in the way of Ryu's blade. Ryu's blade had sliced right through her lung, cutting her heart while piercing Etsu's. The blood of human, demon, lover and enemy flowed together onto the celestial plain, the rasped breathing of Miaka the only sound anyone heard.

Etsu was the first to move, yanking himself free from the end of the sword, even as his body entered its last moments, he wondered if there was some spell, some trick he could use to bring her back.

Ryu knelt, knowing there was nothing he could do, having no powers to heal on his own. He was too numb to care about what happened to himself or the world, for that matter. All that he could think of was that he had killed Miaka.

Miaka searched herself for any latent energy stored inside herself, and found none. Thus, she resigned herself to her fate. Etsu fretted over her, tears welling in his eyes, and she felt the first one strike her chest. There was healing in his tears, he realized. The one thing that Gong Gong could not taint. He stammered, promising to heal her, to help her, for forgiveness, for acceptance. She lifted a hand, barely having the energy to brush a fingertip against his lip. Still, he understood completely. With his last breath, his spirit finally found peace.

The last of her energy she used to turn her head and reach out towards Ryu. She saw a flicker of recognition in his eye, but his body did not move. It was only as she took her last breath that he finally looked towards her and screamed out her name.

That gesture was more than enough for her.

As Ryu cradled her body in his arms, the color of the ground changed from the slate grey of stone to the deep red of blood. Light erupted around her body and it jolted, a spark flying out from her parted lips and flying off beyond the horizon. Ryu regarded it all for a moment, returning unaffected to his mourning.

It was only when he felt a hand touch his shoulder that he realized their task had been completed after all. Not that any of it mattered any longer.

"My, my," rang the majestic and completely apathetic voice of Fu Xi. "It seems like you certainly made a mess of things."