The Heavens Shall Fall

By the following morning, the entire group had left the Terrace and headed to the boundary link between the Outer Disciples' territory and the sect itself. They arrived early, while the morning sun was blocked by clouds, with snow falling continuously as the temperature kept dropping lower and lower.

“How long are we going to wait here?” Ruben asked, holding his umbrella open, watching his breath disappear.

“We have been here for only five minutes. Two, since the last time you asked,” Seloryn answered, rolling her eyes.

“I wasn't asking you.” He shrugged. "I was talking to our great leader."

"I am considering staying here for all day." Siu turned to look at him, making Ruben flash a smile, a look that seemed way too innocent.

"You jest, surely."

“Hmmm...” Siu didn't answer directly, just flashed back a smile at him, making Ruben decide it was best to stay silent for the next few minutes.

“I'm cold,” Joren muttered, searching for his gloves that he had managed to leave somewhere, as he couldn't find them.

“You are a cultivator,” Seloryn snorted, "Start acting like it."

“That doesn't mean I have to like being cold.” He groaned, being much more like his brother than he realized.

"Heh," Nokoh chuckled while he glanced down at Cho'Wa, who clearly enjoyed the current weather more than the summer. “Some of us are fine.”

“Master,” Arya said in a whisper, pulling on his robe, "With less sunlight... why don't I grow big? This is so unfair..."

"Be happy you ain't shrinking." He answered, teasing her, making Arya take it seriously and start checking her height, suddenly very unsure if it was true or not.

While they kept standing there, Siu ignored them all and looked toward the boundary again, because it felt strange standing here. He remembered crossing the same spot himself after his advancement test, and it felt like it had only happened yesterday. But no, it was already pretty much in the past... Even though nobody waited for him back then, he still came over with Arya and Marly, making his journey less lonely. So, he was simply happy to welcome a friend and help them feel at home, rather than throwing them into the new world they would have to discover alone.

“Have you two been close?”

"Hm?" Siu glanced sideways as Quillian suddenly stood beside him, leaning on his cane, asking a strange question.

“What a weird question. Why?”

“You've been staring ahead and smiling like a lonely lover boy.”

"Eh..." Siu couldn't help but flinch and twitch the edge of his smiling lips. "No, we weren't anything like that. I saved her life, and we became friends afterward. I relied on her a bunch, running the Wardens... I just know how trustworthy she is, and with her ability to organize, things were super easy. Thinking about it, she was more of a leader of the group than I was."

"That's not how leadership works," Vael laughed a little, stepping up to his other side. "Leaders don't need to do everything themselves. In fact, the best of them choose the best people for positions they can thrive in. Even in a sect, you won't see every sect master do everything, meddle in all facets of life. That's just not it."

Just then, before Siu could say anything, the formation flickered, catching their attention. After a second or so, they saw a silhouette appear behind it and slowly walk through the distorted image, right until Rinmei materialized right before the group. She blinked in surprise when she realized a group of people stood before her, quickly scanning them, noticing their sashes, and realizing they were Inner Disciples. She felt a bit alarmed, so she quickly looked back toward the boundary behind her, then back at the group, finally recognizing Siu.

“Siu?” She asked, tucking her hair that reached her shoulders behind one ear. "And... Um... Seniors?"

“Morning.” Siu nodded, smiling even more. "And welcome to the Hollow Song. Properly this time."

"Thank you..." She said it in such an honest way that everyone could feel it was coming from the heart, as she began walking toward him.

While she did so, her eyes moved slightly to the side, glancing at everyone's faces, interested in who they may be, because even she did not expect that Siu would already have a group following him around. That was... quick, wasn't it?

“Can I ask why there are so many people welcoming me?”

“They insisted,” Siu answered, but then Ruben spoke up.

“I did not insist. I was sleeping soundly, but I know when duty calls, so here I am.”

“That's Ruben.” Siu pointed at him, "A male Lorean."

“Who?” He asked, actually surprised, but Rinmei just smiled, giving a small nod.

"OI!" Arya finally released Siu's robes and pointed toward Rinmei. “WELCOME!”

"Welcome!" Marly added, finally climbing out from Arya's fluffy tail that had become her hiding place against the cold.

"..." Rinmei had to blink her eyes rapidly before the dots connected for her, making her laugh, covering her mouth with her hand. "Arya? Is that you? I see Marly is still the same!"

"I am me!" Arya nodded proudly, posing like she was going to be painted.

“So,” Siu continued, “before anyone else starts making this complicated... I have an offer I have to get out of the way.”

"Huh?" Rinmei raised an eyebrow, taken aback. “I think I know what it is.”

“The position you had with the Wardens is still yours if you want it.”

“Why would I not?”

"Eh," Siu flinched, feeling a bit embarrassed, rubbing the back of his head, “I thought I should ask.”

“You shouldn't have bothered.” She added, but it was clear how happy she was.

"Then let me also welcome you!" Seloryn stepped forward just then. "My name is Seloryn Veyra. We have kind of met before, but not properly enough for this.”

“Mhm," Rinmei nodded, cupping her hands, "I remember you, Senior. I hope that we are all going to get along well.”

Continuing from there, Siu introduced her to everyone present, not yet bombarding her with details like the Paragon List. It was then that Rinmei paused slightly at Quillian, feeling a bit confused.

“Sorry to ask... but... You say... A Servant?”

"That's what we are called." Quillian answered calmly, "Servants of the Hollow Song. That's what we become after failing our tribulation of the Second Circle."

Rinmei very quickly picked up on the subtle clue that he wasn't a servant of the group, and the fact that he 'failed' his tribulation meant he was most likely more powerful than all of them put together. Thus, the next time she spoke to him, she became even more respectful, which Quillian quickly waved away, insisting to just act normal. As for Vael, she didn't have any questions to ask, taking him as a guest from outside, which was not at all weird.

"We have one of us missing, though," Siu added in the end as everyone went quiet for a moment. "And you know him, too; it's Toban. But his position is... well, it is as is."

"I got you." Rinmei shrugged while she frowned. "Pretty much the same as Lorean's role down below."

"I am here, and I am glad to hear she is doing well." A voice came from somewhere behind the group, and when they looked, Toban was there, standing slightly apart from the group, making even Seloryn frown, wondering why she didn't sense his arrival.

"Senior," Rinmei muttered, while Toban just nodded back, unbothered by how everyone was looking at him.

"Well then! We have a lot to do, so let's go!" Siu said with a clap, ignoring Toban's ghostly appearance from the snow. "It's time to show you around. Believe me, it will feel overwhelming, so don't try to take it in all at once."

...

....

......

The tour they gave Rinmei was the same Siu experienced while walking down the Public Road, passing by all the main establishments, before looping back to the start of their walk.

“You really did this alone?” Rinmei eventually asked, still looking towards the Nine Hanging Bells that were visible from where they stood.

“Mostly.”

"Geez..." She said after a long sigh, "I still feel lost! I wouldn't even find my way back to the start!"

“Good thing you have us," Seloryn added, standing next to her, "Tomorrow, I will come with you and get your registration settled. We will go through the halls you need to know about, and I'll explain how missions work, where to buy things and stuff. I did the same with Siu, so I guess I'll do it again when someone joins us from the outers.”

"So you did have someone to help out!" She laughed, throwing a look at Siu, who didn't deny it.

"Eventually. But... Let's go. We left the best place for last, because it is also the hardest part to explain."

"Oh?" Rinmei looked around. “Where are we going?”

“That is complicated.” Joren began as the group headed off the crowded path and began climbing the mountain slope near them.

“How?” Rinmei insisted, but it became obvious they didn't want to ruin the 'big surprise.'

“You'll see,” Ruben said with a grin, no longer complaining about the cold and the weather.

“Yeah, well," Rinmei shot back, already relaxed around the others, "That answer always means trouble. Whenever I heard that amongst the others, I knew my job to smooth things out or administrate whatever they cooked up was going to be a week of work and constant headaches. Please don't do that; I thought I was finally joining the place where responsible adults are...”

"Yeah, good luck with that," Selorny said before anyone else could open their mouths. "I don't think those creatures exist anywhere at all. Even the Elder we dealt with wasn't like that..."

"Huh?" She asked, twitching an eye, "What... Elder?"

"We dealt with that part already," Nokoh answered, walking a step behind her. "So, you don't have to worry about it."

"I don't... Huh? Well, that tells me that, eh?" She stumbled as her attention was interrupted. "I felt my sash become warm, and I heard a thought in my head, saying I have been... invited?"

"That was me," Siu said, glancing back at her from the front. "Our headquarters has formations that protect it. Without proper invitation, you can't find it. Just think of accepting it! When we are there, I'll add you to the roster properly."

"It has... a formation? I don't know much about those," Rinmei said, a look of incredulity on her face. "But I know they are not cheap!"

"Believe me," Ruben smirked proudly, looking at her, "This place is worth more than any of us could muster up, even if we were to become an Elder. The little foxy had sniffed out something special when finding this place."

"I do have a great nose!" Arya answered with a smug look, making Rinmei even more curious.

She was about to ask how much farther they would have to go when she noticed the red pillars and, behind them, the bridge, the air rippling around them, signaling the spatial separation between the locations. Just seeing the Spirit Wardens' plaque was enough to make her expression go blank.

“No way.”

"Wait until you see it from the inside," Siu whispered, nudging her, leading her through the bridge.

“Siu,” Rinmei spoke up the moment she stepped off the other end and took in the estate, the massive, now snow-covered landscape, realizing that she had just traveled into a separate worldspace, something she had only read about before... “How much did this cost? Where do you even get the money for this?!”

“Technically?” He began while crossing his arms, "It was kinda free. Well, it cost us labor and a dangerous mission."

"And the tools." Ruben reminded him, "Those had a price tag. Pretty big sum of money if you ask me."

“Anyway!" Siu waved him away. "We had to earn it. As for how, we can tell you that, too, but only after we sat down inside. So, as I said, don't let things overwhelm you; it's your first day only!”

“This is already overwhelming!” She laughed, shaking her head. "Haaah... Once again, you can't just be normal... Can you?"

“You alright?” Seloryn suddenly asked, realizing that Rinmei's voice became shaky at the end.

“Mhm.” Of course, that answer was too quick, and now everyone stopped and began looking at her, while she just remained facing the building. She was slowly touching her chest, which was hurting inside, tears welling up in her eyes, something she couldn't prevent from happening.

“Rinmei?” Siu asked quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Nothing.” She quickly added, shaking her head, wiping her tears.

“Yeah, that's not true." Seloryn agreed, quickly getting a hold of her hand. "No need to talk about it; we all have things we don't like mentioning. If it's too much, come... We will get you a room inside, some food, and you can relax and organize your thoughts."

“I was just thinking.” She began speaking, shaking his head a little more, finally looking at Siu. “You know... recruiting you for that hunt may have been the best decision I've ever made. And to think that I almost didn't. And... If I hadn't recruited you, I don't think I would be standing here. You know...” She continued, the words simply spilling out from her, and she didn't care if the others heard it or not. She wanted to tell him, right now, right here, "I thought that hunt ruined my life for a long time. I should be dead, Siu.”

Nobody interrupted her, and not even Arya could find words to speak, as she just sneaked closer, wanting to hug Rinmei's waist, but was a bit afraid of doing so right now.

"It was a close call..." Siu muttered, unable to hold back as he remembered how Rinmei looked when he found her in the snow, dying.

“At best, I should still be a cripple, wondering if I would ever get this far... But I'm here."

"I'm just glad it worked out."

"..." Rinmei simply shook her head, now smiling, still looking at Siu. "That's why I will owe you for the rest of my life, Siu. So, before you say anything else! What was that about my room?" She asked, suddenly turning back towards Seloryn, "Can I really have my own?"

"You are lucky, because we have the space yet, so until all of those empty rooms are gone, yep! You can." She answered, patting her hand, slowly releasing it. "Let's get inside. From what I know, winter may not be your favorite season."

"However weird that is," Rinmei answered, following them once again, heading into their estate, "it turns out... it became my favorite." After finishing, she just raised her hand, summoning some of her essence, which formed a clean, light-blue sheen of ice around her hand before melting away.

"Ice?" Ruben asked, looking at her with great curiosity.

"My original was water, as the Elders said in my examination," she explained freely, not hiding anything from her new friends. "But the Icecrown Stag's attack on me left a permanent change within my marrow. They never told me if this is a boon or not, but... I should soon learn that, now that I'm an Inner Disciple and I can cultivate my essence."

"I wouldn't worry." Siu added, patting her shoulder as they walked through the front door, "We have someone who will be eager to help!"

"It isn't a rare occurrence." Quillian hummed, splitting off from the group, while Rinmei just watched him in surprise. "I'll gather some notes on changes like this. Icecrown Stag? Was that it? Hm, hm... I think I have an example of something similar in my collection... I think its antlers were many times used to facilitate cultivation for those who wished to master ice-based spells... We can work with that."

Just hearing him mumble and tap away with his walking stick, Rinmei felt her eyes fogging up again; however, her chest no longer hurt.