It was twilight. The only sound that could be heard was the whistling of wind through the branches of the tall bodhi trees that filled the grove. The animals rushed through the underbrush, letting out small squeaks and growls as they did so. Suddenly, everything froze. An unearthly calm filled the grove as the noise of whistling wind grew louder and louder, until suddenly, with a crack, two figures appeared out of thin air in the middle of the grove, landing gracefully on their feet, letting out no sound

Serpens stepped forward. The forest seemed to stretch on forever, a never-ending line of trees and plants, and a vague sensation of unease filled his body as he stood there, as if every nerve in his body was screaming at him to turn back. Undaunted, he stepped forward, and raising a hand, palm outstretched, held it out before him.

In a low voice, he began muttering, "火與海的巨龍啊，我呼喚你" (O Great Dragon of fire and sea. I call to you). The wind stopped with a dead hush as a faint shimmer filled the surrounding area, as if the air itself was emanating light. "打開你的外殼。我們只帶來和平" (Unseal your shell. We bring nothing but peace). The faint shimmer that filled the air grew more pronounced, now looking more like a massive, shining dome. "記住你的誓言" (And remember your oath). All noise ceased. In that moment, the world was captured in a perfect snapshot of pure silence.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the light faded, starting as a single dark line in the dome and slowly spreading out over the dome, like a pair of curtains opening before a stage-show, revealing the show behind them.

But what lay behind the curtains was no forest. Directly before the curtains, there was a sheer cliff-face, beyond which was a vast city. Golden minarets and buildings filled the streets, as the sweet scent of food and the joyful laughter of people reached them, even from so far away. A vast sculpture acted as the centerpiece of the city. In what looked to be the town square, a vast golden sculpture of a dragon lay couchant, with a silver wolf, a bronze rabbit and a copper fox surrounding it.

That was not what drew Serpen's attention, however. For directly in front of him stood three people, looking at him expectantly

The first was a young girl, about 4 feet tall, dressed in a black hoodie, which was emblazoned with the strange figure of a neon-green rabbit. Beneath the rabbit, a phrase was written: "THE BUNNY RABBIT STRIKES AGAIN". Serpens decided to not even try to comprehend that. She was currently chewing on a piece of bubble-gum, occasionally blowing and subsequently popping a bubble

The second was a tall figure, dressed in pitch-black armor, with neon-blue accents. On the front of her armour, drawn in copper thread, a phrase was written, "一正压百邪" (One justice can overpower a hundred evils) with a stylized fox head beneath. She had a blade in her hands, of the jian type. It was made of a golden metal, with a hilt made of onyx and studded with emeralds. Down the center of the blade, a word was written, "Zhengyi"(Justice) the name of the sword

The final figure, however, was the most intimidating. He towered high above the rest, and was dressed in midnight-black robes, with golden detailing. He wore a strange mask over his face, made of some strange, lustrous black metal with thin lines of luminous crystal marking out eyes and curving down and around the mask to create an intricate pattern. His robes shimmered as he moved, as if they had been coated with hundreds of protective charms.

At his hip, a large dao-type sword lay sheathed in a jade sheath. The sheath itself was engraved with a phrase, "讓正義以狼的名義獲勝" (Let Justice prevail in the name of the Wolf), and his belt had golden detailing, forming curves running along the belt, culminating in a snarling wolf's head at its center.

When the man moved to lower himself into a shallow curtsy (of course, only after Serpens had done the same), the cloth covering his arm shifted, revealing a large burn mark on his forearm, in the shape of an eye with two blades crossed behind it. The sign of the Wumu Zhi Ren, a league of legendary assassins, who served directly under a man named Ruan, who many believed to be the Hassan-i-Sabah, the first Assassin, reincarnated

The Wolf stood back up, looking at ease, "So, my friends, what brings you to Arc City ?"

Actions