The Heavens Shall Fall

Winter hadn't relented a day since Siu returned to the sect, and it has been snowing constantly. Every day, it became the same routine: wake up, clear away the snow that blocked his abode's entrance, and use it as a warm-up before heading out to continue his training. As for Arya and Marly, it was a welcome change as the two could also train in peace, and in their own way, which, Siu noticed, was much, much easier than how it was for a human.

Somehow, beasts didn't need to do much more than just... exist, consume the essence around them, and let their body grow naturally. And, of course, within the sect's barriers, its concentration was even higher, accelerating their advancement, making it easier for the two. Which was what prompted Siu to read up on it on his designated rest-day, browsing the library, but only finding minimal information on anything related to beast-taming or beast-cultivation... Apparently, they didn't expect an outer disciple to have contracted beasts, and for sure, not two of them at once.

Still, what he did learn was that the two's hunger was the sure sign of their advancement, as most of the beasts absorbed essence through consuming it instead of tailored breathing techniques.

"Hey~!" Someone called out to him as he sat with a book, and when he looked up, Neya was there, rubbing Arya and Marly's heads with her hands. "Are you free?"

"Today?" Siu smiled, nodding at her, "Yep. I am."

"Then I want to invite you to lunch~!" She said with a faint blush on her face, "If you want..."

"I'm paying." Siu chuckled, closing the book, but Neya just shook her head, nodding towards the satchel hanging at her side.

"I brought the food."

"Oh? Home-made cooking? That's new."

"And delicious smelling!" Arya added, "Oooooooh! I like her, Master! Make her yours, too!"

"Too...?" He flinched, but decided to ignore the two and left with Neya before she also noticed the weird expression on his face.

But Arya was right, the sandwiches she made were... perfect. The sauce, just spicy enough; the meat's tenderness; the added greens... everything was mixed just right. More than that, Arya got her own, without any piece of salad or cucumbers, while Marly's had an obscene amount of peanut butter on it. Turns out, the two of them now looked at Neya as one of the best of friends the two could have, which made Siu roll his eyes and smile at the same time.

After finishing it, he just sat across from Neya beneath a covered, heated pavilion near the lower terraces, looking over a frozen creek with hot tea and coffee steaming between them on a simple wooden table.

“You look thinner,” Neya said, squinting at him as she lifted her cup of tea, gently sipping on it. “Or maybe... sharper? I can’t tell. I know what happened at the hunt, but... your eyes look different sometimes.”

“In a good or bad way?” Siu asked after taking a sip of his coffee.

"Neither." She smiled at him, "It just... makes you look even more grown-up." Then she wrinkled her nose. “Still… you smell faintly like boiled leather.”

"Eh... Again?" He moaned, sniffing himself, "I had already bathed, twice in fact."

"Thrice." Arya corrected him, "You towel-washed yourself after clearing up the entryway to our cave, Master, because you began oozing."

“Well... It is what it is," He shrugged, playfully knocking on the head of his fox. "That will be a constant issue in the Marrow Cleansing's starting period,” he added, taking another sip. “Apparently, I am a walking swamp now.”

"Wait..." Neya blinked her eyes in surprise, “You broke through?”

“Mm.”

"And you are just telling it to me... now?! When?!" She lit up immediately, almost knocking over her cup in her excitement. “Siu! That’s... That’s incredible! You’ve barely been here a year!”

"I wasn't aiming for it," He shrugged, chewing his lip a little. “It just… happened.”

“That’s not how breakthroughs work for most of us,” she laughed, shaking her head, “People struggle for months, sometimes years, look at me! I am still doing my best to transform my bones and its... not going as fast as yours or Tian's.”

“You will get there,” he said.

"I know," Neya tilted her head, not losing confidence, “My only fear is... of when... If it will be too late or not...”

“For what?”

"For..." She studied him for a moment longer, then her voice fell low and thin, “You...”

"..."

"..."

"Forget it..." She murmured, looking away, but Siu reached out, patting her arms.

"Don't think that I would forget you." He said, and when he did, he meant it. Looking into his eyes, Neya could also tell that, blushing to no end, trying to avoid his gaze, only to glance at Marly and Arya, sitting there, watching the two intently, as if it were the best kind of soap opera.

"Ahm!" She finally broke out of the stupor and silence, hurriedly trying to switch topics, “Have you heard anything?”

"About the hunt?" He asked back, tilting his head, letting her hand go.

"Um!"

"Nope, I hadn't looked into it at all." He answered, shaking his head. "Why? You?"

“Only some rumors from people who brought in carcasses to be processed,” she said, hurriedly refilling their cups, “Well, to be honest, there are a lot of them, I mean, people who are looking for the stag. Apparently, they had run into inner disciples within the forest, even though they hunt in different regions than us, where more exotic beasts live, mostly bred by the sect itself for training purposes.”

“When I first read about it,” Siu shrugged, "The book didn't give me the impression that an Icecrown Stag is this valuable."

"Apparently so," She muttered as she watched his hands carefully. “Was it really that... strong?”

“Yes.” He answered immediately, "Easily. The idea of hunting it was already a bad choice; I could tell that without ever facing the creature for real. But... they wouldn't take no for an answer, so I learned a lesson not to let my own curiosity get the better of me and just... back out of deals like this."

"Well..." She murmured, considering his words, "I'm glad you prepared for that hunt!"

"Believe me, me too!" He chortled, shaking his head while watching the snowfall.

As their lunch had slowly come to an end, they began walking back toward the main areas within the sect. It was then that they noticed the commotion. It began with a rising noise, then they heard some distant cheering, getting louder and louder the closer they got.

"Huh?" Neya paused in mid-step, “What’s that?”

"Something happened." Siu turned his head slightly, listening, picking out clapping and shouting. It was then that a pair of footsteps hurried past them as a pair of outer disciples ran toward the main courtyard.

“They’re back!” one of them yelled to the two, noticing that they clearly didn't know.

“Who?” Neya asked.

"Who else?!" The boy didn’t slow down, almost slipping in the snow, breathing out a massive fog as he answered, catching his balance, “The Ember Circle! They managed to get it before any Inner Disciple! Hah! This is a big day for us all!”

Hearing him say that, Siu felt something tighten behind his ribs, so much so that he slowly raised his arm, massaging his chest. Why... did he feel like this? Following the noise, they reached the turn that opened into the central clearing, where his initial testing by Grand Elder Yan had taken place, and the whole scene had unfolded before them both.

Nearly forty figures were marching through the snow, forming a rough procession, there to clearly showcase their success. Many of their cloaks and clothes were torn, and no one came back without injuries. Every member, no matter which, had at least a few bandages on them. But, besides the injured, what drew everyone's attention was the body they had dragged over on multiple sleds... Well, bodies. As there were almost a dozen Ironcrown Stags that also got killed in this hunt.

Even Neya’s fingers curled up a little because... whoah... they hunted down this many? That... That was... unheard of, as far as she was concerned. But what Siu's eyes were locked on was at the center of the procession, pulled by four disciples using heavy ropes wrapped around their shoulders... the Icecrown Stag.

It was the same one... with the older, already scarred front and... newer, still fresh burn marks all over it. It didn't have a nice death; he could already tell as its white coat was charred, leaving no intact mark anywhere, no matter which angle he looked at it from. Burnt scars ran all over it, along with multiple, deep wounds caused by weapons... And its antlers were already taken off, cut away with part of the skin on its head, scalped, revealing the skull, showing the color of its bones. As for its missing prized crown, that was carried by Cal'Fia, of course...

But even then, Siu only glanced at her once, and kept his eyes on the stag's head... and on its lifeless, half-open eyes. Even in death, he could tell and feel the stag refused to look submissive. Its eyes were empty, but it showed the last moments it had... it died fighting... and proud. As Siu exhaled, slowly closing his eyes, the cheers grew louder around him while the sleds were dragged into the center for everyone to see their success.

“Their resource yield alone will be insane,” someone near Siu muttered, as his ears kept picking up the people's whispers, watching the show.

“Do you see those antlers? Damn... Who knows? Maybe they will sell it to an Elder? How cool that would be?!”

“Nah, they’ll sell half of that to Inner Disciples at best to a Core Disciple! But no Elder will be interested in that... still, I think we should sign up to the Ember Circle... They aren't playing around!”

The words and excitement floated around Siu, making his face sour, but he quickly hid it... Resource... Yield... Materials... Profit... Was it just that? It was then that Neya exhaled softly beside him.

“It must have been beautiful,” she murmured.

"Yeah," Siu nodded as he reopened his eyes and looked at the stag... For those who were cheering, it may have been simply hunted down as livestock... But it was not the case. It had died standing and fighting... like... a cultivator would.

Siu’s mind drifted back to the fight, watching the stag walk into their trap, knowing full well it was going to be a battle to the death against humans. It didn't know how strong they were, but it welcomed the challenge. Then... He remembered that final glance, as it looked at him, waiting for what would come next...? Watching as he lowered his hand, not bringing out another firebomb... It was followed by the stag's acknowledgment, understanding that he had lied when he told Kae’Lin he had no more firebombs. He was sure that the stag had understood his lie... They were both cultivators, only from different species, and their fight had ended with an earned, mutual respect.

Yet, now it lay there, being dragged across the snow and getting celebrated as a... As... As a prize. Shaking his head, he let out a faint breath through his nose before gently bowing his head towards the dead stag, and then turning away.

"Siu?" Neya asked, surprised, noticing he was leaving with Arya and Marly, silently following him, looking... solemn for some reason. Of course, she didn't hesitate, hurrying after him.

“They see it as material,” he said quietly, "I did too."

“We are cultivators,” she replied, a bit unsure what he meant. “Everything is material... no?”

"Yes." He agreed, because that was the truth and also the actual... truth. "We all are, aren't we?" He muttered, reinforcing his own realization.

He couldn't help it, but at that moment, Siu imagined himself to be the stag, being hunted or maybe, being... cultivated... By other cultivators, who would just look at him as prey, with good marrows, refined bones, rich blood, and flesh. Being nothing more but... a resource. He was sure that in the world, right now, there would be someone stronger than him, who would be dragging his body across the snow while others cheered.

"Siu?" Neya asked, finally catching up to him when he stopped, glancing back at her with a soft smile, his face back to normal.

"Thanks for the lunch, Neya. We should repeat it someday."

"Oh!" She blushed, feeling way too happy all of a sudden, "Of course! Whenever you want!"

"Mhm." He nodded, reaching out and rubbing her head, which was something new but... Neya really, really liked the feeling. "I will go and meditate, because I think I had an epiphany."

"Oh? Another breakthrough?" She asked, almost yelling, her eyes widening.

"I don't know... Maybe." He shrugged, "But I have a lot to think about all of a sudden... I'll look for you when I'm out."

"Um." She nodded, stepping back, "I'll be waiting."