Mystery of the Soul
ch 4
Jia Li and Shen were now standing by the sides of Kento's and Kaye's bodies. They smiled at them, but at the same time the two entities showed pity and remorse in their eyes. A deep sadness could be felt by the two, as they picked up the despair that was coming from the four Ronins. Jia Li and Shen looked up at them, a calm expression showing on their faces. A slight frown came upon Shen's features as he started to tell the tale. "When the pearl of life was first separated, it went to two different places. One was called the dragon's keep, and the other was called the phoenix pyre…" The four Ronins looked at each other and frowned. They never heard of these places, not even in any of the myths and legends that Mia told them about.
Jia Li noticed their confusion and tried to put it at ease. "Yes, to answer your question. They do exist, back in the time when magic was alive. There were a small group of, I guess what you could have called mages. They were the ones that created them in the first place. The mages all agreed to never let anyone else know about the dragon's keep or the phoenix pyre."
Rowen gave Jia Li a thoughtful frown. "So, that's why there's no record of those places existing?"
Jia Li glanced over at Shen from the corner of her eye. Shen nodded, "you are correct in what you say Strata. You see, a young couple similar to your friends here were very close to the same situation." Motioning to Kento and Kaye. "But there was a slight difference. You see, the mages took it upon themselves and decided to turn them into the entities of a dragon and a phoenix."
Ryo's frown deepened, "wait a minute, are you saying that you were them? So, you just let the mages take your lives from you, just like that?!"
"No, you don't understand, it wasn't like that at all!" Jia Li objected quickly. "They didn't take our lives, they saved them!"
"By turning you two into some kind of mystical creatures." Cye replied in a sarcastic tone.
"Look, we're sorry that all of you are going through this. Let us continue with what we have to tell you. There's not much time!" Shen shot back.
Sage looked at them sternly, "you keep saying that, so how much time do we have?"
Jia Li sighed, her gaze went up to the sky. "Until the next full moon." She then brought her gaze back to the four Ronins. "During that time, Shen and I will inhabit their bodies so they'll be able to find their way back. But, if the pearl of life isn't found and brought back here bye then…"
A rush of urgency ran through their bodies. Cye looked over to them, "then what'll happen?!"
"Then you the souls of your friends will be forever trapped in the spirit nexus." Shen replied solemnly.
"No! We refuse to let that happen! Tell us where we need to go, what has to be done so we can get the pearl of life and save our friends!" Ryo demanded as fire flickered for a brief moment in his eyes.
Jia Li gave Ryo a stern look. Normally, he wouldn't budge for anything or anyone, but for some reason, Ryo backed away. "Go to a place called bird street. When you get there, look for two white and yellow long tailed birds. Before you ask, no, they're not in cages. Once you find them, follow the two long tails, and they'll guide you to an old well, then wait."
"What do you mean wait!? Wait for who, for what?!" Rowen asked getting more than a little annoyed by now.
Shen glared at Rowen, "look, you're wasting not only your time with these questions, but their time as well. Two of you will go to bird street, and the other two stay here and watch over your friends."
Ryo stood up with conviction, a determined look was easily seen in his eyes. "No, I'll go alone, the rest of you stay here."
What?! Ryo no, you're not going alone! We have no idea of what to expect. Someone has to go with you to watch your back!" Rowen argued as he looked at him like he was crazy.
Ryo growled in anger and went right up to Rowen. The blue haired Ronin stayed exactly where he was. "I'll go with him." Sage interjected, his eyes showed the look that said his mind was made up.
"Sage…" Ryo warned turning around and looking at him.
Sage walked over to Ryo and started straight at him. "I know why you want to do this alone, actually, we all do. But it'll be faster if two of us go instead of just one. Wouldn't you agree?"
Jia Li and Shen smiled at each other in relief. "Good, I'm glad that's settled, now we can prepare the way for your friends to come back." Jia Li said with a nod and then looked at Shen. "Ready?"
Shen nodded back, then both Jia Li and Shen closed their eyes and floated off the ground. The four Ronins watched as they started to glow and then transformed into their true forms of the phoenix and the dragon. Kento's and Kaye's auras started to glow their respected colors. The Ronins were to say more than a little confused. How can their auras glow if they're dead? Then when they looked up, their question was answered. Jia Li's and Shen's transformations triggered something from their armors. Then within a blink of an eye, the phoenix entered Kaye's body, while the dragon entered Kento's. Their bodies continued to glow.
"Now that's something that you definitely don't get to see everyday." Cye said while he and the others were trying to get over what they just saw.
Ryo started walking and then he stopped and looked back. "Sage, you coming or what?"
"Yeah, I'm coming Ryo." Sage replied with a smirk, and then looked over towards Cye and Rowen. "Don't worry, we'll be back before you know it."
Cye smirked, "who said we were worried? Did you say that we were worried Rowen?"
"Nope, I didn't say a thing." Rowen replied also with a smirk.
"Right, come on Sage." Ryo said waving him on.
Cye and Rowen watched them go, then they looked down at their friends. "Hurry back." Cye said quietly looking up again.
Rowen looked up and saw the concern that Cye had. "Hey, Ryo and Sage will make it back, and they'll have the pearl too."
"Yeah, I know, but I still can't shake this feeling that something's not right." Cye replied with a deep frown.
Close to an hour later Ryo and Sage made it with no problems to bird street. They looked around in awe, there were caged birds running for what seemed like miles on end. Ryo frowned deeply as he kept on a look out for the two birds that Jia Li told them about. "Where could they be? How are we suppose to find two white and yellow long tails in this mess?"
Sage glanced at him, "Ryo, remember what Jia Li said, the two birds we're looking for are not in cages."
"Yeah I remember Sage." Ryo replied somewhat annoyed while the both of them were still looking. Then when they were about to move on to the next block, Ryo nudged Sage's rib to get his attention. Sage glared at him a little but then changed his expression when he also spotted the two long tails.
It was as if the two birds noticed that the ones that they were waiting for finally arrived, and then finally took flight. "Hey, Ryo come on, we're going to lose them!" Sage said taking off after the two birds.
"No we're not." Ryo replied as he did a quick look around and then jumped between buildings on his way up to the roofs. Sage quickly followed, they were both now on one of the roofs that was a lot closer to those birds. The two long tails looked back and saw that they were there, and then flew off again. Ryo and Sage gave each other a confused look that asked were they actually waiting for us? They shook it off, quickly calling their sub armors so they'd be quicker to catching up with them. The long tails lead Ryo and Sage to an old section of town. A very old well was the only thing that was still standing besides a few of condemned buildings. The birds perched themselves on the old well, Ryo and Sage looked at each other in confusion. All of a sudden, a quick strong gust of wind kicked up. The two Ronins had to cover their eyes so they wouldn't get blinded by the flying dirt and dust.
"Halo, and Wildfire, I see that you two have made it this far. That's good, I'm very impressed. Usually the ones that are following my pets get lost and never find their way to this well." a voice said out of nowhere.
"What?! Who are you? Where are you? Show yourself!" Ryo demanded angrily.
"If you insist." the voice replied. All of a sudden the same wind that kicked up, made a twister close to the well. A figure of some sort started to barely take form from the center of the twister. Ryo and Sage squinted to try and see what they could make out what the person looked like that was in the center of the swirling wind. The top of the twister started to lower, the face of an old man could be seen. His features looked worn like old leather, his hair was white, long and stringy. For some reason they couldn't see his eyes, and that bothered them. He kept his head bowed as the twister kept on lowering itself to the ground and into nothing. The old man stood before them, wearing an old chestnut and jade green robe, holding an ancient looking walking stick that had some rustic carvings of some sort. He wore chestnut colored boots, the two long tails perched upon one shoulder a piece. Then the oddest thing happened what were two birds sitting on an old man's shoulders, was now a long white and yellow type of sash that ran all the way down to his ankles.
"Who..?" Sage started to repeat Ryo's questions but the old man raised his free hand towards them.
"Who I am is of no concern, but I do know who you both are and why you're here." the old man replied finally looking up. Ryo and Sage frowned in shock as they saw that when the old man raised his head up towards them he had no eyes at all.
ch 4
Jia Li and Shen were now standing by the sides of Kento's and Kaye's bodies. They smiled at them, but at the same time the two entities showed pity and remorse in their eyes. A deep sadness could be felt by the two, as they picked up the despair that was coming from the four Ronins. Jia Li and Shen looked up at them, a calm expression showing on their faces. A slight frown came upon Shen's features as he started to tell the tale. "When the pearl of life was first separated, it went to two different places. One was called the dragon's keep, and the other was called the phoenix pyre…" The four Ronins looked at each other and frowned. They never heard of these places, not even in any of the myths and legends that Mia told them about.
Jia Li noticed their confusion and tried to put it at ease. "Yes, to answer your question. They do exist, back in the time when magic was alive. There were a small group of, I guess what you could have called mages. They were the ones that created them in the first place. The mages all agreed to never let anyone else know about the dragon's keep or the phoenix pyre."
Rowen gave Jia Li a thoughtful frown. "So, that's why there's no record of those places existing?"
Jia Li glanced over at Shen from the corner of her eye. Shen nodded, "you are correct in what you say Strata. You see, a young couple similar to your friends here were very close to the same situation." Motioning to Kento and Kaye. "But there was a slight difference. You see, the mages took it upon themselves and decided to turn them into the entities of a dragon and a phoenix."
Ryo's frown deepened, "wait a minute, are you saying that you were them? So, you just let the mages take your lives from you, just like that?!"
"No, you don't understand, it wasn't like that at all!" Jia Li objected quickly. "They didn't take our lives, they saved them!"
"By turning you two into some kind of mystical creatures." Cye replied in a sarcastic tone.
"Look, we're sorry that all of you are going through this. Let us continue with what we have to tell you. There's not much time!" Shen shot back.
Sage looked at them sternly, "you keep saying that, so how much time do we have?"
Jia Li sighed, her gaze went up to the sky. "Until the next full moon." She then brought her gaze back to the four Ronins. "During that time, Shen and I will inhabit their bodies so they'll be able to find their way back. But, if the pearl of life isn't found and brought back here bye then…"
A rush of urgency ran through their bodies. Cye looked over to them, "then what'll happen?!"
"Then you the souls of your friends will be forever trapped in the spirit nexus." Shen replied solemnly.
"No! We refuse to let that happen! Tell us where we need to go, what has to be done so we can get the pearl of life and save our friends!" Ryo demanded as fire flickered for a brief moment in his eyes.
Jia Li gave Ryo a stern look. Normally, he wouldn't budge for anything or anyone, but for some reason, Ryo backed away. "Go to a place called bird street. When you get there, look for two white and yellow long tailed birds. Before you ask, no, they're not in cages. Once you find them, follow the two long tails, and they'll guide you to an old well, then wait."
"What do you mean wait!? Wait for who, for what?!" Rowen asked getting more than a little annoyed by now.
Shen glared at Rowen, "look, you're wasting not only your time with these questions, but their time as well. Two of you will go to bird street, and the other two stay here and watch over your friends."
Ryo stood up with conviction, a determined look was easily seen in his eyes. "No, I'll go alone, the rest of you stay here."
What?! Ryo no, you're not going alone! We have no idea of what to expect. Someone has to go with you to watch your back!" Rowen argued as he looked at him like he was crazy.
Ryo growled in anger and went right up to Rowen. The blue haired Ronin stayed exactly where he was. "I'll go with him." Sage interjected, his eyes showed the look that said his mind was made up.
"Sage…" Ryo warned turning around and looking at him.
Sage walked over to Ryo and started straight at him. "I know why you want to do this alone, actually, we all do. But it'll be faster if two of us go instead of just one. Wouldn't you agree?"
Jia Li and Shen smiled at each other in relief. "Good, I'm glad that's settled, now we can prepare the way for your friends to come back." Jia Li said with a nod and then looked at Shen. "Ready?"
Shen nodded back, then both Jia Li and Shen closed their eyes and floated off the ground. The four Ronins watched as they started to glow and then transformed into their true forms of the phoenix and the dragon. Kento's and Kaye's auras started to glow their respected colors. The Ronins were to say more than a little confused. How can their auras glow if they're dead? Then when they looked up, their question was answered. Jia Li's and Shen's transformations triggered something from their armors. Then within a blink of an eye, the phoenix entered Kaye's body, while the dragon entered Kento's. Their bodies continued to glow.
"Now that's something that you definitely don't get to see everyday." Cye said while he and the others were trying to get over what they just saw.
Ryo started walking and then he stopped and looked back. "Sage, you coming or what?"
"Yeah, I'm coming Ryo." Sage replied with a smirk, and then looked over towards Cye and Rowen. "Don't worry, we'll be back before you know it."
Cye smirked, "who said we were worried? Did you say that we were worried Rowen?"
"Nope, I didn't say a thing." Rowen replied also with a smirk.
"Right, come on Sage." Ryo said waving him on.
Cye and Rowen watched them go, then they looked down at their friends. "Hurry back." Cye said quietly looking up again.
Rowen looked up and saw the concern that Cye had. "Hey, Ryo and Sage will make it back, and they'll have the pearl too."
"Yeah, I know, but I still can't shake this feeling that something's not right." Cye replied with a deep frown.
Close to an hour later Ryo and Sage made it with no problems to bird street. They looked around in awe, there were caged birds running for what seemed like miles on end. Ryo frowned deeply as he kept on a look out for the two birds that Jia Li told them about. "Where could they be? How are we suppose to find two white and yellow long tails in this mess?"
Sage glanced at him, "Ryo, remember what Jia Li said, the two birds we're looking for are not in cages."
"Yeah I remember Sage." Ryo replied somewhat annoyed while the both of them were still looking. Then when they were about to move on to the next block, Ryo nudged Sage's rib to get his attention. Sage glared at him a little but then changed his expression when he also spotted the two long tails.
It was as if the two birds noticed that the ones that they were waiting for finally arrived, and then finally took flight. "Hey, Ryo come on, we're going to lose them!" Sage said taking off after the two birds.
"No we're not." Ryo replied as he did a quick look around and then jumped between buildings on his way up to the roofs. Sage quickly followed, they were both now on one of the roofs that was a lot closer to those birds. The two long tails looked back and saw that they were there, and then flew off again. Ryo and Sage gave each other a confused look that asked were they actually waiting for us? They shook it off, quickly calling their sub armors so they'd be quicker to catching up with them. The long tails lead Ryo and Sage to an old section of town. A very old well was the only thing that was still standing besides a few of condemned buildings. The birds perched themselves on the old well, Ryo and Sage looked at each other in confusion. All of a sudden, a quick strong gust of wind kicked up. The two Ronins had to cover their eyes so they wouldn't get blinded by the flying dirt and dust.
"Halo, and Wildfire, I see that you two have made it this far. That's good, I'm very impressed. Usually the ones that are following my pets get lost and never find their way to this well." a voice said out of nowhere.
"What?! Who are you? Where are you? Show yourself!" Ryo demanded angrily.
"If you insist." the voice replied. All of a sudden the same wind that kicked up, made a twister close to the well. A figure of some sort started to barely take form from the center of the twister. Ryo and Sage squinted to try and see what they could make out what the person looked like that was in the center of the swirling wind. The top of the twister started to lower, the face of an old man could be seen. His features looked worn like old leather, his hair was white, long and stringy. For some reason they couldn't see his eyes, and that bothered them. He kept his head bowed as the twister kept on lowering itself to the ground and into nothing. The old man stood before them, wearing an old chestnut and jade green robe, holding an ancient looking walking stick that had some rustic carvings of some sort. He wore chestnut colored boots, the two long tails perched upon one shoulder a piece. Then the oddest thing happened what were two birds sitting on an old man's shoulders, was now a long white and yellow type of sash that ran all the way down to his ankles.
"Who..?" Sage started to repeat Ryo's questions but the old man raised his free hand towards them.
"Who I am is of no concern, but I do know who you both are and why you're here." the old man replied finally looking up. Ryo and Sage frowned in shock as they saw that when the old man raised his head up towards them he had no eyes at all.