Page 79 of Elemasters

The energy of the Palace of Radiant Clouds felt completely different, despite it looking exactly the same.

Where it usually made Dustin feel… floaty, for lack of better phrasing, now the air itself felt heavier. It was like the very fabric of the dimensional plane had been strengthened. There even seemed to be a new room (though it seemed like the palace could manifest new areas as needed. Possibly tied to Sima’s command) that looked like some sort of observatory; massive and dome shaped, with reflective black walls and ceilings that reflected arrays of glowing constellations. It was like the night sky had somehow been transported into the room.

“Woah, where did this even come from?” James wondered aloud, craning his neck to get a better look as the group entered the room.

“Young Masters, welcome to the Astral Observatory. While Lu Ban worked to fortify the palace, I did not simply stand by idly. I have labored here, working to divine the exact location of Master Ying,” Sima explained, not making eye contact with the group, but instead staring into a large crystal orb device, situated on a pedestal between spinning metal rings.

Dustin breathed a sigh of relief; he figured Sima had some way of finding Chris without the Fire Ring, but he definitely needed something more concrete.

“He’s somewhere in Seattle, right?” Dustin said, immediately moving to Sima Yao’s side and looking into the crystal ball himself, only to realize he couldn’t see anything but more stars, “there’s a big storm brewing there. I figured it’s gotta have something to do with the emperor,”

“Your instincts are as sharp as ever Second Master Ying,” Sima confirmed, “I cannot say what it is that Qin Shi Huang is planning, but he is amassing an incredible amount of energy,”

“He must have the sword,” Chloe said, resolute, “send us in. We need to stop him now before he finds that Heirloom Seal thingy and this goes from bad to unsalvageable,”

“Wait, are we sure that’s a good idea? I mean, obviously I want Chris back like yesterday, but we’re rushing into this without fully understanding what we’re up against,” Bailey said, nervously pinching at the skin on her elbow. Chloe moved over to her and put a perfectly manicured hand on her shoulder.

“Listen, I’m not a fan of suicide missions. I like getting the job done and coming home in time to catch Gilmore Girls,” Chloe’s stern expression softened into a warm, but determined look, “we’re going to save him Bails. No matter what’s waiting for us out there,”

Bailey took a deep breath and simply nodded.

“Alright, yeah. Let’s do this,”

Dustin fell in line with the others as Sima finally turned to face them all; his face the same mix of determination and deep sorrow as the first time Dustin had ever seen him.

“Young Masters…” Sima began, but James cleared his throat.

“Elemasters. That’s what we’re called,” James whispered, like a director reminding an actor of their line. Dustin chuckled, Bailey shook her head and smiled, and Chloe pinched the bridge of her nose in affectionate frustration.

“My apologies Master Zhang,” Sima replied, the ghost of a fond grin on his even more ghostly face, “Elemasters. The battlefield you are about to enter may very well be a lethal one. In my time, the power Qin Shi Huang possessed was nigh unmatched, even by the combined might of our team. When I conscribed you according to the whims of fate, I did so not with eagerness, but with great pain at the magnitude of the burden being hoisted upon you. As the time arrives for you to meet the full weight of your obligation, I leave you with these words…”

Sima trailed off, his eyes briefly fluttering shut as though he was gathering strength just to say whatever was coming next.

“Ying Zheng, now the eternal abomination Qin Shi Huang, has taken countless lives, in my era and now yours. Your responsibility has never been to undo the sins of the past, but instead, to secure the possibility of a future free of this tyrant. Go now with purpose, and see your destinies finally fulfilled,”

Dustin could’ve sworn he heard something like a tearful waver in Sima Yao’s voice, but he didn’t have even another moment to question it before a sudden fog enveloped them all, sending them headfirst into the unknown with little more than determination and a dream.

Fair enough. There was nothing more to say.

It was time for action.

Dustin never thought he’d see the streets of a city as big as Seattle practically deserted.

There was no one on the sidewalk, no cars on the road, and it even looked like most of the big office buildings had been abandoned. The only sounds that could be heard were emergency sirens in the distance; likely the efforts of police and first responders trying desperately to control something they couldn’t even conceptualize.

As uncanny as it was, it absolutely wasn’t surprising…

Not when there was an enormous swirl of ominous black clouds overhead, surging with lightning in a way that looked anything but natural.

“Must’ve been a citywide alert for everyone to stay inside,” Chloe said as the group made their way through the streets, bracing against the intermittent bursts of wind strong enough to push them back.

“That part’s not surprising!” James yelled over a particularly powerful gust, “what’s shocking is that people actually listened!”

“I wonder what could’ve been scary enough to scare an entire city into compliance,” Bailey mumbled as the group rounded the corner… and immediately found the answer to her question.

Bailey screamed, James immediately shielded his eyes and nose, Chloe’s entire body stiffened, and Dustin dropped to his knees.

On the street in front of them, right in front of Seattle’s famous Space Needle, were the immolated bodies of at least a dozen people. Abandoned police cars and ambulances were parked at odd angles, sirens still flashing as their doors hung open. Caution tape had been hastily set up, but had since snapped loose and was now flapping violently in the intense wind.