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Temple of the Spirit Dragon Ch 13

"I see" said Meng as he sipped a cup of tea.

"It was a pretty crazy night" said Lan who bit into a kind of mystic blue peach that Meng Zhang had on the stone table in front of them, which the little ones were snoozing under.

It had been 2 days since Lan had awakened and reported on the events of the night in the dreamscape. Right after returning to the conscious world, he had quickly recounted the event to some of the senior temple disciples, and after a day of investigation it was found that all of the youngest children in the temple, in addition to the large man-child known as Trey, had dreams the previous night that almost perfectly matched Lan's description. After receiving a report on this, Meng then dove into the ether and found traces of the Dream Eater's presence in an area that connected with the collective dreams of mankind. Lan had then been called back to Meng's waterfall garden where he gave his grand uncle the full story during breakfast.

"So what happened with Cyan, Taodse, and Vert?" Said Lan as he finished the blue peach, licked his lips, and reached for another one of the fruits which he discovered was quickly becoming his favorite food.

"They will be punished for their recklessness" said Meng, "although they cannot be held responsible for their actions while under the Dream Eater's thrall, it was still their reckless decision to destroy an artifact that they had no knowledge of that led to its release in the first place."

"...and after that?" asked Lan.

"They will receive counseling for each of their individual issues" said Meng.

"I can see that working for Cyan and Taodse" Said Lan, who had already received apologies from both of them. Cyan had a sense of inferiority due to not being able to keep up with most of the other temple children his age, while Taodse feared that her lack of results would have her kicked out of the temple and returned to the orphanage she came from. They had gone along with Vert in order to prove themselves, and when the Dream Eater captured then, it latched onto these insecurities and greatly magnified them to gain control of them. Ironically however, their instructors had already noticed the issues and had planned to help them only a few days after they had made plans to destroy the Dream Eater's shrine. After they had paid for their crimes, they would be welcomed back to the temple to continue their training.

"But what about Vert?" asked Lan, who chucked some fruit and bacon under the table for the little ones. "Her situation was kinda...you know."

"Don't worry, I've already dealt with similar issues in the past" said Meng without batting an eye "in those situations the girl will be thoroughly examined by my wives, and if she passes all of their criteria she will be considered to join them."

"...uh huh" Said Lan who was glad he hadn't been drinking or eating anything at the time, otherwise he would have spat it all over his grand uncle's face. "So, how did she react to the news?"

"She reacted with great excitement and happily accepted the punishment she would have to complete beforehand" said Meng, who took another sip of tea.

"...okay!" Said Lan, who let out a long breath "...Gosh, you and grandpa are..."

He paused for a moment as he tried to find a good phrase for Meng and Byakko's polygamous tendencies.

"Your grandfather and I grew up in times very different from yours" Said Meng, who knew what Lan was trying to say "the two have us have been adapting to this changing world in many ways since then, but at the same time there are many aspects we've kept the same…You shouldn't be uncomfortable about how differently you see the world from your grandfather and I, that's just a sign of how much progress it's making" said Meng as he sensed some discomfort in Lan "the people of Remnant have grown in many ways since the old times. For example, although discrimination against Faunus is still a major issues, it's not nearly as bad as things used to be. If you had ever have had the displeasure of walking through a public slave market…well, I'm just glad children like you aren't forced to go through such things any more. Not only that, even among humans, you should have seen the racism, sexism, and elitism that was around while I was a child." Meng furrowed his brow as he remembered "it turns my stomach just thinking about it. Thankfully those issues improved over time, and likely will continue to do so as long as those willing to fight for change exist."

"Okay" said Lan, who thought back to his experiences with similar issues, especially back in Dust Hole "I'll take your word for it."

"That's my boy!" came a loud and jarring voice.

A moment later, Byakko burst out from behind the waterfall and landed on the table with a loud bang, causing all the food on the table to fly into the air.

"Grandpa!" said Lan, as he watched his grandfather quickly devour every scrap of food that had been propelled into the air.

"Haha! Get over here you little hero!" said Byakko, who pulled Lan into a loving headlock, "Took out a big bad all on your own this time. You make me proud!"

"Uh, we'll technically I had the help of Ruby, Jaune, all the world's children, and their dreams, not to mention Veritas" said Lan. "and technically you were kinda there too."

"Details schmetails, the point is you did it without the direct support of anyone we knew before, especially me and Meng. That's a win in my book!" said Byakko, "Say, where is that Veritas anyway? I have yet to welcome him to the family! Although I guess he's technically been family for a while now."

"Oh he's in here" said Lan, who tapped his chest.

"Excellent!" Shouted Byakko, who pulled out some glowing salt out his fur and threw it in Lan's eyes.

"Okay, that burns!" said Lan, who began rubbing his watering eyes in pain. His body glowed for a moment, after which Veritas's glowing orb of a form popped out.

"'Ugh' what do you want with me" he asked "I was sleep—"

Before he could finish, Byakko snatched the soul out of the air and shoved him into his wet hairy armpit.

Veritas let out a muffled yell as he tried in vain to free himself.

"Alright then" said Byakko, who adjusted his seating posture "while Veritas is undergoing initiation, let's talk about what comes next for you boy"

Lan felt the atmosphere in the room change, and sat up a little straighter in his chair.

"Your recent achievement has convinced your grandfather and I that you are ready to know more about the secrets of this world" said Meng "possibly even the ones your grandfather and I protect."

"For now though, we'll be telling you little story about how the current world came to be" said Byakko "It begins with the story of 2 gods, and ends with story of two immortals."

An hour later

"Wow" said Lan, who let out a breath as he sat back in his seat. "That's just...wow...Aw man, I guess the hatred of Grimm that I had was a little misplaced."

"So new gods reclaimed this world and seeded it with life once more...good to know" said Veritas, who had finally been freed.

"But wait...why don't you guys go stop Salem? I know that you guys could do it if you tried." said Lan, who scratched his chin. "It seems that she's just controlling the Grimm like puppets, making them do her bidding while also manipulating as many people as she can. She's the bad guy, and you guys are just the kind of heroes that can take her down!"

"It is not our place to do so" said Meng "the four of us have our own responsibilities to deal with. It is Ozma's, or Ozpin as he is currently called, duty to stop what Salem has become"

"Besides, we can't kill her" said Byakko "a lot of divine rules and reasons for that, tried to break a few in my time...aftermath was not pretty. So yeah, wouldn't be able to end her even if we wanted to."

"Although I guess I could seal her if things really got out of hand" mumbled Meng "but anyway, that's not the point. She is the current mankind's problem to overcome, challenges which they aren't able to surmount on their own, will merely cause them to fail in similar manners in the future if we are not there to help them once again."

"Well, why can't we?" Asked Lan, who felt a little angry at his grand uncle and grandfather "what's so important that you're leaving all of Remnant in danger?"

Meng let out a short breath, and focused his firm gaze on Lan.

"We are not gods Lan, not true gods" said Meng, "we lack the knowledge on how such things such as fate, continuity, and the nature of the universe itself. As such it would not do for us to harm the delicate balance that such beings forge. Perhaps one day, after we have gained an unfathomable amount of knowledge and experience, but not today."

"Besides, we already tried being more direct way back when" said Byakko, as he pulled a fist sized clump of earwax out of his ear with his pinky "things go good in the beginning, but then they start relying on us for every little thing, they never really learn anything themselves. And with Salem and Ozma's shenanigans added into the mix, things just get even messier."

"So you see, our order has decided to keep to ourselves and deal with other issues that Remnant doesn't need to know about, at least until those two have sorted things out." Said Meng, as he seized Byakko's wrist in a vice grip when Byakko had attempted to wipe his finger on Meng's robe.

"...so does that mean I'm going to have to as well?" Asked Lan, who .

"Maybe" said Byakko, as he flicked his oily lump back at the waterfall. "That's actually why both of us are here to talk with you."

Lan tensed up a bit as he felt the change in his grandfather's voice.

"You seem to have a penchant for running to those from the beyond" said Meng "as our master used to say, three times is never a coincidence"

"Which is why we've decided to give you a little test" said Byakko

"Should you pass, we shall let you know more about who we are" said Meng "But should you fail...in the absolute worst case, you shall simply cease to be."

"So life or death?" Asked Lan.

"No" said Meng "it is not death, and depending on the person it would be a better or worse alternative."

"I now feel a knot of dread forming in my stomach" said Lan.

"That is normal" said Meng, "But we are not forcing you to take this test. Completing the test will merely grant you greater knowledge of the world we live in as well as information about what your grandfather and I are involved in. You could even take it at a later date if you didn't feel ready now...however, due to your recent foray into a metaphysical plane, I believe that your mind and soul would currently be better able to comprehend certain aspects of the test, and as a result be better able to complete it."

"And there's the chance we'll run into more otherworldly baddies later on" said Byakko as he scratched his nether region. "Having this experience may just give you the edge in some fights."

Lan barely needed a moment to consider.

"It's always good to have more options" said Lan who leapt off his chair and stretched "besides, I'm not one to shy away from a challenge, and it would be good to focus on something else after the bomb you two just dropped."

"That's my boy!" Shouted Byakko as he grabbed Lan's face and pulled the boy into bone breaking hug. "Taking everything in stride and never slowing down! You make me proud!"

"Urrgh, thanks for the vote of confidence." Choked Lan.

"Well, now that that's decided, we should probably be off now." said Meng standing up.

"And for some extra encouragement, take a look at this adorable creature" said Byakko, who pulled a picture out of his gi.

Lan scrutinized it and saw an adorable little baby with purplish hair and a pair of tiny bat wings.

"This is your newborn little aunt, Fuji Muteki! And if you survive, you'll have the honor of meeting her in the flesh!"

"Wow!" said Lan with a smile on his face, but a moment later the happy surprise gave way to confusion. "Wait, it looks like she's a bat Faunus."

"Yep!" Said Byakko, "Frank was actually surprised that she was just a normal Faunus. Somethin' about me havin a penchant for having Faunus kids with benign mutations."

"Okay, we'll talk about that later, but how is she a different kind of Faunus than you are?" Asked Lan "Faunus offspring of a human and a Faunus are usually of the same type as the Faunus parent or in other cases human."

"Watchyou Talkin bout boy" said Byakko with a raised eyebrow "Both me and Chiyo are Faunus."

"Oh! Well... I didn't know grandma was one" said Lan slightly taken aback "so what kind is she?"

"Jellyfish" said Byakko who picked his nose.

"...Okay, that makes sense" said Lan, who felt relieved and stupid at the same time.

"Can we please on our way now?" said Meng who walked to the garden's door and placed his hand on it. Patterns on the door glowed briefly, flowing around to new positions and settling in place before going dark again.

"I've connected the mist paths" said Meng, who opened the door to the dark hallways. "Let us go."

The little ones piled into Lan's backpack as he picked it up and walked into the mist with his grandfather and Veritas. Lan felt the same uplifting feeling he had grown familiar with these last few months flow through him as they were brought somewhere else by the fog that enveloped them.

When the mist finally cleared they found themselves standing in front of a giant arcane-looking door carved of some kind of some kind of black stone.

"'Sniff' ahhh, them mists always leave the lungs feeling nice and refreshed" said Byakko, "But not as much as my armpits, eh Veritas?"

"I wouldn't know" said the floating orb.

"What, didn't you enjoy the musk?" Said Byakko, lifting his arm.

"I didn't smell it," said Veritas "I need no air so I can choose whether or not I continue smell—"

Before he could finish he was once again seized in Byakko's huge hand and shoved into the old man's pit hair.

"And you shall stay in there until you can give a detailed description of my manly musk!" said Byakko, who rigidly jabbed his pointer finger skywards.

"Well, let's g—"started Lan as he began to step towards the door.

"Wait" said Meng who held his hand in front of Lan's chest. "Leave your bag here"

"Ahhh, because the test involves me leaving behind my worldly possessions and completing it through only my own strength of will?" Said Lan with an upturned grin.

"That and the door is made out of enchanted lodestone" said Meng, " any closer and every metal item you have will be ripped out of your bag, and possibly through you, and become stuck on it. It takes the caretakers significant time and back pain to pry them off."

"Ah," said Lan, dropping his bag on the floor as Byakko moved forwards and pushed the doors open.

A freezing wind blew out of the darkness ahead.

A moment later pairs of red eyes peered out from the darkness and a scream ripped through the air.

Lan felt something affecting him, draining him. He dropped to one knee, but managed to quickly deploy an isolation barrier around himself to prevent whatever was affecting him from continuing to do so. He looked up and saw that his elders were completely unfazed as opposed to the little ones, who were crawling out of his back when the scream had gone through before going completely limp and sliding back in.

"What was that?" Asked Lan, who got back to his feet.

"Apathies" said Meng, "it is a certain breed of Grimm that possesses the ability to drain will. We keep them here to prevent any who are unprepared from starting 'the journey'. Caretakers trained in projecting isolation barriers come check the area once every 1-2 days to remove any immobile individuals and bring them to the infirmary."

He snapped his fingers, and a cold blue glow filled the dark space in front of them. The glow emanated from pillars covered with glowing veins. Embedded in each of them were the writhing forms of apathies, who struggled to break free of their bonds.

"Why are they still alive?" Asked Lan "Don't Grimm die in captivity?"

"Normally, yes" said Meng who walked into the hall "but I have both the knowledge and the abilities to prevent that"

They walked down the halls, the other end far from sight. Meng, Byakko, and Lan stayed quiet as they walked through the long corridor. They walked for what seemed like hours, the only sound the wheezing and screaming of the apathies around them. Lan found himself growing more and more weary. The isolation barrier protected him from the apathy's will draining effects, but it also prevented him from properly recovering his aura, one of the major drawbacks of using the technique. He had wanted to stay quiet due to the seriousness of the situation, but was quickly growing concerned over the seemingly never ending path.

"Uh, how long till we—"he started.

'Wham'

Lan suddenly found himself walking face first into a heavy stone door set into the end of the hallway that seemed to just pop up out of nowhere.

"We're here" said Meng, who pulled it open and walked in with Byakko "unstick yourself then follow us."

Quickly peeling himself off, Lan jumped down and dashed inside. Inside was a small dark crevice with what appeared to be a stone pedestal with a bowl shaped top in the middle. Standing on either side of it was Byakko and Meng.

"Step forwards" said Meng.

Lan did so and stared expectantly at his elders.

"The test you are about to undergo is known as the journey." said Meng "it is what all members of our order must accomplish before they are welcomed to our fold"

"But if you fail and live, that don't mean you're worth any less" said Byakko "just meant you aren't quite ...eh compatible with our trade."

Meng held out his hand, and a blue flame erupted from the top of the pedestal.

"During this test, you shall be sent to the boundaries of this plane and must make one full trip around it" said Meng "How this zone is experience depends completely on the person, no two experiences are alike."

"But don't worry, we won't just throw you to the wolves" said Byakko.

"You do that all the time" interrupted Lan.

"True!" said Byakko, enthusiastically nodding his head "but not this time, stakes are a lot higher if things go south."

"Which is why we will be giving you some advice before you begin" said Meng "first, do not head into the manifestation of the unknown that appears before you. Not only are their potentially dangerous entities within, but you also would not be able to maintain yourself in there."

"What's the beyond?" asked Lan.

"That which exists beyond the limits of our mortal conception of the universe" said Meng "Not a place where the average mortal can exist. So, the second piece of advice is to follow the manifestation of the boundary of the world if you do not know which way to go, it is safer to touch it than it is to touch the manifestation of the unknown. Third, always carry the beacon with you."

"What beacon?" Asked Lan, cocking his head.

"This" said Meng, who pulled out a small sapphire sphere. "It serves as our connection with you, should you ever find yourself unable to continue, destroy it and we shall come assist you. But note that doing so will be considered failing the test. For now, let me connect it to you."

Meng's aura covered the sphere which then floated over to Lan, who slowly reached out and caught it. At that moment a blue glow slowly spread from the point of contact and enveloped his body. However, when it reached his chest, a bright white flash erupted from it.

Meng Zheng raised an eyebrow then turned to Byakko.

"One of your Tiger's Eye magatama? Really?" He said.

"Twas a gift" said Byakko "the boy seemed like he had the potential for it, besides I haven't had to use them for centuries"

"You know we are only at our best when we carry our armaments with us. If an emergency should occur you shall be ill prepared" said Meng.

"Fine with me" said Byakko, who shrugged with a grin on his face "been a while since anything but you guys gave me a challenge, might be fun if something else does."

Meng sighed, and knowing that he wouldn't be able to change his old friend's mind, decided to return his attention to Lan's test.

"Well, it now seems you have 2 items that can function as beacons, although one of them can't be broken, so you'll still need the one I gave you. This leads to our next piece of advice."

"Eat well!" Interrupted Byakko.

"Uh well yeah, that's a given" said Lan

"Not like how you are thinking" said Meng "being so close to the boundary means that no matter what you'll still be affected by the beyond, which will slowly but surely wear away at you. But while you are out there you'll find small fragments of existence lying around. Once in a while, especially if you find your mind growing foggy, you must take these fragments, place them in your beacon, and drink the existential energy that is produced."

"A lot to remember" said Lan. "And how do I put something in this?" He said holding up the beacon.

"You'll see when you get there" said Meng, he then placed his hand into the fire on top of the pedestal, and clenched his fist. The flame burst and travelled down one end of the pedestal, leading towards the wall between Byakko and Meng where it split into two paths, traveled up the wall, and met at the top. A gray light then began to emanate from the area the fire surrounded.

"Go on through as soon as you are ready" said Meng, motioning towards the newly formed portal.

Lan closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he steeled himself. Then, opening his eyes and clenching his fists, he marched towards the portal. But stopped as Byakko held his hand in front of him.

"Just one last thing" said Byakko "When night falls, it'd be better for you to set up camp… but if you're confident, no shame in just pushing ahead…just make sure it's a choice you won't regret."

Lan looked up at his grandfather, nodded, and walked through the gateway into the unknown.

As you all can probably tell, this arc is where Lan begins to come into his own abilities. Well, anyways, during the last RTX I managed to give Kerry Shawcross a letter to give to the CRWBY team. I don't know if he ever managed to pass it around though or even had time to read it, things seem to be getting busy and/or hectic at Roosterteeth, and I'm not sure if any of CRWBY have managed to give this story a read. But if any of you have, I'd like to know if my writing is any good. People don't give me constructive criticism for years so I haven't been able to improve for a while, but I still want to know. To know whether or not I have a future here, or whether I should just focus on not feeling.