A/N: So just a disclaimer this chapter does reference suicide and self harm, if you are affected I thought I'd point out, I don't know if the content warrants it but its better to be safe than sorry. There will be a little bit of a gap for before and after the references to that so you can avoid reading if you wish. Also I will post my discord server on my profile so if you wanna join that you can, it's a little barebones at the moment due to the fact that…well I don't know how many people are going to join or what would be good. But you can chat with me on there, ask me questions, even check out some of my other work and ideas. With that said, on with the chapter.

Dodomeki eventually opened his eye slowly. He felt his body become far more stiff than he's used to. His muscles ache tremendously and found it a real struggle just to get up. As he sat up he realised he's stuck in a basic bed. His stomach especially in immense pain and he groaned while he clutched to it as he sat up. He glanced down to see wounds bandaged by various rags. The glare from the sun peeked through the open hole in the wall temporarily blinding him as he looked at it, surprised by the sunshine and quickly blocks it with one of his hands. He wondered how he got here. The last thing he remembered was…it was night and he was…wait the mystic!? What happened!? At that time Mitsuko walked in as she opened the door. She sighed a breath of relief as she saw him awake.

'Hey you're finally awake. I was starting to get a little worried about you. You wouldn't believe how frantic Gyuki was acting.' She chuckled as she pulled up a chair and sat on it next to Dodomeki's bed.

'Lady Mitsuko, do forgive me. I will ugh-' Dodomeki groaned as he tried to escape his bed. Mitsuko quickly laid him down.

'Hey, take it easy. You were pretty banged up when we found you. If you didn't regenerate you would've surely been a goner you know.' Mitsuko stated. Dodomeki still clenched his stomach as he sat up while he looked at Mitsuko. Her serpent arms resting their heads on her knees.

'Where am I?'

'Back at the city, we found you quite a way from the village badly hurt. We managed to take care of you by bandaging you up anyway we can but it wasn't like we could do anything about it. As I said, your regeneration pretty much saved you but you still needed time to fully recover to 100%. Gyuki carried you on his back all the way, he didn't want to give you up when we arrived in the city but he knew he had to. He'll be pleased to hear you're awake.'

'Do not worry, I will tell him not to worry myself.' Dodomeki stated as he tried to get back up again however Mitsuko prevented him from getting up by blocking him with her serpent heads who hiss at him. Nevertheless, he still struggled to get back up on his feet. Adamant that he is fine.

'Just because you've awoken doesn't mean you're ready to walk like nothing happened, you have to rest.'

'B-but I can't. I can't rest yet. I still have things I must do.' Dodomeki protested frantically, trying to make Mitsuko see sense though she could not understand it.

'What are you talking about? You can get your vengeance later if that's what you're worried about.' Mitsuko replied, trying to talk some sense into him. He never been so persistent before.

'No that's not it, but I need to be active. I cannot sit by and do nothing.' He stated as he tried to push Mitsuko's serpent arms away from him as he sat up. He groaned in pain but he soldiered on. Mitsuko didn't know what was bothering him but now is the time she's determined to get it out of him.

'Dodomeki!' she yelled as she smacks her head against his golden helmet. Silence now filled the room as the metallic thud echoed in Dodomeki's ears. Realising the errors of his ways. He felt so ashamed of going against his lady's wishes. He just…he didn't know what to do. He felt so defeated lying here, not able to do anything. Mitsuko grabbed both sides of his helmet with her serpent heads as they clutched on to the helmet with their mouths.

'Look, talk to me.' Mitsuko whispered. Dodomeki hesitated to respond, he did not know what he should say. He never was in this position of weakness before…or at least recognising it.

'I…I'm sorry. I did not mean to be an inconvenience. I was…just merely trying to earn your forgiveness.'

'Forgiveness? For what?'

'For…everything.' He responded. Mitsuko didn't quite understand where he's coming from.

'I'm sorry, you're going to have to explain this to me in more detail.' She stated. Then Dodomeki began to confess what he failed to do. What he felt towards her more human companions. How he failed to save her parents, how he failed to save Akari, how he failed to save her from her self-inflicted wound. His failure on retaining those memories until recently, his failure for betraying her secret to LingQi. His weakness and the inconvenience he caused for everyone. He glanced to the ground, unable to look at Mitsuko's eyes as he spoke to her. She didn't say anything though, she stayed silent as Dodomeki confessed everything to her.

'I never failed before this cycle. I always did my duty to the letter. However I did not mean to fail you so much, at all actually.' Dodomeki concluded. The two sat in silence before Mitsuko placed one of her serpents head on Dodomeki's shoulder.

'I'm sorry, I've been dealing with my own stuff, I didn't pay much attention to you did I?' Mitsuko replied, Dodomeki didn't expect her to say that and immediately retorted.

'There is no need for you to apologise, that should just be for me to do. You did nothing wrong.'

'Perhaps, but from the sounds of it you've been looking out for me for a while and I didn't have a chance to thank you for that. I mean without you I wouldn't be standing here. I wondered who it was that got me there but it turned out it was my cyclopean demonic guardian.' Mitsuko chuckled slightly realising how weird it sounded out loud.

'That was for good reason, we did try to make sure we were out of sight…though that is something I regret in hindsight.' Dodomeki admitted.

'Don't be, there's nothing for you to regret. You did what you thought best at the time. I can't blame you for that.'

'But I should've been able to help you. Help the people that cared for you, that you cared for. Whether or not you were just a vessel for Orochi is irrelevant. It was my duty to protect you and I failed. Do you not blame me for that?' He questioned. Referring to Mitsuko's old life. Mitsuko hesitated to answer, trying to come up with the right words before speaking.

'I mean its not like this information is going to make me jump for joy every day you know? Normally this is the point where I would shout and scream at you. I'm not going to lie, part of me feels like I should.' Mitsuko admitted. Dodomeki sighed, understanding her anger.

'However that doesn't mean I will.' She continued.

'Its not like me doing that is going to help the situation. We can't go back…or forward I guess to fix that mistakes and judging by your current predicament you've already suffered enough. Its easy to get angry at things in hindsight. But we don't know what would've happened during that time, its mostly impossible to tell what will happen.' Mitsuko hesitated to continue as Hikari was brought up and expressed discomfort in her face before continuing.

'And regarding Akari…that wasn't your fault. She wasn't your responsibility to save. No matter how much I may have wished that…sh-she made her choice. You said yourself you had no idea she was going to make that choice. Not to mention you're a demon and not a human. I can't really hold you at the same stature as I would a human. It wouldn't be fair to do that to you.' Mitsuko concluded. That was not the response he expected from lady Mitsuko. He didn't know how to react to this so he stayed silent while pondering her words. Mitsuko didn't know how to continue but she knew this silence between was awkward and she had to break it.

'Heh, you know…in a tragic sort of way its kind of funny. When I look back on that time I remember how I felt like it was my fault. That I didn't do enough to help them. That I disappointed them. Even back at Xia Pi, when I heard of the deaths of Wu Zi and Zang Ba. I blamed myself for them…so you know…I get it. I get what you're feeling.'

'Then…may I ask how you dealt with it?' Dodomeki questioned, catching Mitsuko off guard. She struggled to find the best words

'Part of me is still kind of dealing with it to an extent. Its…difficult to change how you think about things so it's a slow process…I take it day by day to be honest. But I'm getting there which is the important thing. Though if it weren't for LingQi I wouldn't be on this journey without her. Or be as patient as I am with you.'

'Why doesn't that surprise me?' Dodomeki replied as he looked away and looked outside as he's lying down.

'Is there any reason you don't like her? I know you guys don't get along but is there not any way you can reconcile with each other?'

'Its not that I don't like her…I was just afraid. Afraid of what would happen if you got too attached and she ended up the same way as…her that you would not take that too well. I feared that would be a weakness our enemies would be able to exploit. However I had not taken…feelings into account, least of all yours. When she challenged me I felt…enraged that she thought she knew of our situation better than me. That she knew you better than us demons who have been with you all the way through your various incarnations and your current life. And when she acknowledged you may have…issues regarding your mental state…I just couldn't accept it. I couldn't accept that you may have had a flaw. Flaws that Orochi seemingly never had. Maybe he did and he never shared…I suppose it doesn't matter now.' Dodomeki explained.

'Is this all why you kept trying to push yourself beyond your limits?' Mitsuko asked. Dodomeki nodded.

'Yes, I wanted to earn your forgiveness before I could allow myself to be worthy to be by your side again. However all I did was…become an inconvenience.' One of Mitsuko's serpents hovers over him as he lies down and hisses softly at him as it opened its mouth wide.

'And what about now? Do you still think you're an inconvenience now?'

'I…' Dodomeki wasn't sure on how to answer that question.

'Because I don't think so. Remember without you and Gyuki I wouldn't have lived this long. And even though some of your actions were…questionable to say the least I think its safe to say that since there's nothing ultimately horrible to come out of it and you do seem to have learned from your mistakes that you're forgiven.' Mitsuko stated, Dodomeki couldn't help but laugh weakly.

'Heh, when did you start to sound so wise?' Mitsuko chuckled at his question.

'Around the time when you were constantly away from our camp and missed me practicing this sort of stuff.' Dodomeki laughed more though his coughs interrupted him. Mitsuko immediately went to his side however Dodomeki puts his hands up.

'Its ok, I'm ok…it just hurts to laugh I guess.' He said as he started to relax in the bed.

'I can imagine, well I better leave you to rest for the moment.' Mitsuko replied before she held Dodomeki's left wrist with her right serpent mouth as it raised it up in the air, being careful not to bite down on it. The left serpent opened its mouth and closed it as Dodomeki's hand was placed inside it. Again, being careful to not cause harm.

'Thanks, for everything that you did for me. Though it would've been preferable if you told me this information sooner.' Mitsuko stated. Dodomeki looked to Mitsuko in awe before placing his free hand on top of the serpent head that currently has his hand in it.

'The honour and pleasure was and still is mine, my lady.' He responded. The two sat in silence for a few seconds before Mitsuko lets go and stands up.

'Right, well I better leave you to rest. And I mean it, rest. I'll make it an order if I have to.' Mitsuko stated.

'Hehe, don't worry I'll rest as you…recommend' Dodomeki weakly laughed, Mitsuko couldn't help give him a lopsided smirk before she left the room. Dodomeki was left alone with his thoughts as he looked outside. Hearing the ambient sounds of birds chirping and the general crowd chatter of humans outside was an interesting experience for Dodomeki. He listened to it before, though he never was forced to engross himself in it before like now. When he knew he had to rest to reach his peak physical activity once again. He was a demon who was always active, he never felt the urge to rest due to his fear of becoming complacent like a couple of his former allies. Though he secretly felt relieved he didn't like it, he didn't want to be out of action too long though he will do as he was recommended. He started to chuckle weakly to himself as he remembered Mitsuko as a small infant to the woman she is now. It was an alien feeling to the cyclopean demon. Though one he found…to be tolerable for a change.

'Heh, how times have changed for all of us.'

Mitsuko walked away from the room only to find Diamondback waiting outside.

'Ahh hello there Diamondback, what's up?'

'The bandit queens soldiers have requested your presence upon their palace. I told them you will make your way as soon as you are able, though with the circumstances I thought it would be prudent not to interrupt. They insisted, though I…persuaded them otherwise.' Diamondback relayed.

'Thanks for the heads up I better get there before more guards start coming around.' Mitsuko responded as she started to walk with Diamondback alongside her.

Meanwhile back at the city of Yanmen. Luna skulked in the shadows as she returned to the city and back to the mystic headquarters. She couldn't get her kill out of her mind, was she that bored that she killed Acquilla? Sure he was a simple fool and got himself in an easy trap after she told him to get away. Did he deserve to die though? Part of her says yes and the other says no. Why is she in two minds...and why did it feel exhilarating to her to finally end him after all his arrogant boasts and his boring traditional speeches? Luna shook her head, now was not the time to wonder about such things. She entered the building where they resided down in a cellar after making sure no one is watching. She entered the cellar and made her way down the stairs to find lord Jinzha sitting at a table with his hood down, revealing his short teal hair that was perfectly cut. Not a strand longer than the other. His robes though also teal was very regal, not like the simple apparel of his warriors with his purple cape hanging on the back of the chair with the same symbol that Luna wears embroidered on the back in what seemed to be gold.

'My lord Jinzha.' She went down on one knee and bowed her head out of tradition more than respect.

'Ahh Luna I see you have returned. Though I do not see Cygnus or Acquilla with you.' He responded regally.

'Yes…about that. They have unfortunately been slain my lord, I am the only one left.' She responded, not daring to look at him in the eyes.

'I see, well I hope you have good news to report.' He stated. Making Luna start to sweat out of nervousness.

'I…unfortunately do not. Cygnus split from the group and we couldn't find any trace of him. Me and Acquilla managed to track down the serpent, however she was busy raiding a village. One of her demonic servants was too far out so we saw an opportunity to take him out. However Acquilla underestimated this servant and was slain by it. I was about to slay him myself however the serpent was rapidly approaching and I had to flee the scene before I was caught. It was a gruelling duel my lord, I apologise for not finishing it but I thought I should report to you what the demon informed us during the duel. They mention that Cygnus was allegedly slain…by la-Chang'es spawn.' Luna explained. Jinzha stayed silent, Luna dared not look up, less she wants to give him a chance to recognise her murder of their comrade.

'And…you're sure about this? There would be no chance this demon would give you false information?' Luna noticed an alien tone in his voice…would that be…fear? Jinzha wouldn't be fearful…right?

'I do not believe the demon would have any prior knowledge of the them my lord as they were imprisoned before Orochi was born…at least that's what I was told my lord.' Lord jinzha stood up and began to pace around the small room.

'Yes…yes of course. I just wished that weren't the case. If this is true then we need to act even faster than I initially thought. If Chang'e slays the serpent or even worse join up with them, it could spell doom for all of us and all of this would've meant nothing. Yet if we ask for reinforcements those fools would all backstab each other, allowing her and her followers to pick us apart one by one. Were we all blinded that we couldn't feel the barriers were down?' Jinzha tried to logic everything out loud, surprising Luna. Jinzha is normally a stoic but regal mystic, carrying himself with prestige and distinguish. Hearing the fear present in his voice, no matter how small was…interesting.

'Though we can't do anything if we don't locate this queens settlement and I haven't heard from the other three. This raid on the village by the serpent could be confirmation on their alliance with this bandit queen and this could be the first of many. However if there are no reports of her spawn showing up in numbers…time may yet be on our side, though not for long I fear. Thank you for telling me this Luna, you did the right thing informing me of this. You should rest for now. Once you are fully recovered I fear we will need to use something I don't wish to use but believe it to be necessary.'

'My lord?'

'We cannot wait for this king to build his siege equipment or starve out the defenders. As much as I hate to do this, time is a luxury we can seldom afford. Even more so with that blasted frog and her spawn getting past the barrier. Zhang Yan will be easily manipulated once I inform him of the raids. He'll be able to grant me the soldiers we need for the ritual. But we'll only do it once we have their location of their base. Once we have this information and we this ritual is complete we'll make our way to their base and slay them all. Once the crown and title of emperor is mine we will not suffer them, the spawn or any others who wish to destroy our peace.' Jinzha declared.

Luna nodded in response before she stood up and made her way out of the room keeping her head down. She couldn't contain her grin, knowing what ritual lord Jinzha was talking about. She would never have believed it if she wasn't present of his declaration. For her it was official, the death of the yellow emperor was the best thing to ever happen. The stoic and patient Jinzha, now rushing to complete his objective he set for himself instead of relying on others. And his fear…was something to behold. It was small but it was there, Luna couldn't mistake it for anything. She wondered how or why, there would be plenty of time afterwards, one thing for her was certain.

'Heh, things are getting remarkably interesting.'