Tamasya finally said her goodbyes to Yue in a good mood as she left the den, turning into shadows.
Yue smiled and waved her hands until she made sure that Tamasya was gone for good.
The moment Tamasya’s presence disappeared, Yue’s legs lost all strength, and she collapsed onto the ground with a flop.
Midfall, Ming Long appeared in a moment and supported her, she silently helped Yue settle on a chair.
"Did those creatures attack again?" Ming Long asked. She had been hearing the whole conversation from afar, not letting Tamasya and Yue sense her presence.
She was a concerned mother, but her habit of invading Yue’s privacy was the sole reason Yue had decided to live away in a different empire instead of with her.
When Yue had came out of her divination she had noticed, her tight shounders, eyes that were about to melt into tears and bodylanguage that reflected despair.
That is why she had told her to calm down in front of Tamasya.
Yue took a deep and rough breath filled with anxiousness and despair.
Her wide eyes looked at Ming. "I wish it was those creatures instead of what I am carrying in my head. I wish it were all that simple."
Ming’s expression did not change; she had seen Yue emotionally break down many times. She did not judge too soon and simply consoled her lightly.
"Calm down and tell me what happened," Ming said as she cupped Yue’s face.
Yue looked at her master with a heavy expression that could break into tears at any moment. "I saw her death," she said.
"I saw Tamasya’s death."
Ming’s eyes widened. "What?!" she exclaimed, alarmed. "Are you sure?"
Yue’s face twisted and her chin tightened as she broke down. "No, I am not sure. Everything was strange. The fate line was burned down, and Tamasya hadn’t left the Prison of Gods. She escaped a few centuries later than right now."
"What?" Ming grew more alarmed. "What did you say? The fate line burned?"
Yue nodded, trying to gather herself. "Yes. Its membrane seemed melted and burnt. I can’t put it into words. Just looking at the charred wall filled me with a horror far beyond what those creatures could cause. It felt more like the carcass of something living instead of a fate line."
Ming’s brows furrowed. She glanced at Yue for a few moments as if making a decision in her mind before saying, "Come with me."
Yue came out of her despair and looked at Ming as she gestured for her to follow. Yue stood up and meekly followed her, curiosity mixing with her messy emotions as they walked deeper toward the end of the long den.
A few minutes later, Yue and Ming stood before another opening inside the den.
"Why are we here?" Yue asked. She was familiar with this chamber, though there was nothing remarkable or out of place that would make Ming bring her here.
Ming stood in front of Yue. "Take two steps back," she said.
Yue looked at her master skeptically but nodded and followed her instructions.
Ming raised a hand and, with the claw of her other hand, cleanly cut her palm. Red blood dripped from her hand onto the floor.
As soon as her blood touched the ground, the floor suddenly shook and a formation flared up beneath them. Inscriptions lit with blue translucent energy, and the formation hummed before the ground started moving.
With a shaky rhythm, the ground split into two, and a small passageway appeared.
Yue’s eyes widened. "What is this?" she demanded as she looked at Ming. Yue had spent her childhood in this den, yet she had never known about this place.
"Follow me." Ming did not explain anything; she simply entered the passage and descended the old rocky stairs.
Yue followed behind her after failing to get a satisfactory answer.
A few minutes later, Yue stood inside a small chamber with Ming, the ceiling barely high enough to allow Ming to stand straight.
Ming walked forward and entered through a small door into a larger room, though the ceiling was still low like the chamber outside.
Inside, Yue saw bones arranged in sequence. At first glance, it looked like a burial site. The creature whose bones rested here was definitely not a dragon, nor a humanoid, nor a phoenix. Yue could not understand what she was looking at.
Ming looked at Yue. "Who do you think is the best seer in the whole world?" she asked.
"It’s you, Master," Yue answered with unwavering certainty.
Ming smiled and shook her head. "No, I am not. You see these bones?" she said, pointing at the carcass.
"It’s a treasure."
Yue nodded. "Is the creature extinct, or does its marrow provide some benefits?" she asked as she looked at the skeleton.
Ming shook her head again. "No. The creature itself is unknown to me. I don’t know what species it belonged to. But the real treasure is what is written on its bones."
Yue’s brows furrowed. "Written? Where?" she asked, only to see Ming smiling.
Yue stepped closer to the bones and examined them carefully. Only now did she notice rough patterns on the surface that looked more like natural bumps than a written script.
"Those are not ordinary patterns," Ming said. "They are written in an ancient language."
She then began explaining the context.
"Do you remember the Fateless?" she asked.
Yue stood up and turned to her. "Yes, of course. That’s who we’ve been trying to find for the past few centuries, haven’t we?"
Ming nodded. "Thirteen years ago, while you were still in Riverdale, I was visited by someone who handed me this skeleton. She was mysterious and moved as if she knew every inch of this place. In a matter of minutes, she revealed my whole past and present and even my deepest emotions that no one else knew about. She was a seer."
Yue focused intently on Ming as she listened.
"That person told me to take care of this skeleton. The Fateless would come here one day to retrieve it."
Yue’s eyes widened in shock.
"This script was written by that person on those bones in front of my own eyes," Ming continued. "She told me that other than her, only the Fateless would be able to read this script."
Ming paused, still remembering that strange encounter as if it had happened yesterday.
"I asked her to take me as her disciple. Sadly, she refused."
"You what?!" Yue shouted, shocked to the core.
Ming simply nodded with a faint smile. "In front of that person, my control over the fate element and my abilities as a seer felt like a child’s play. She was truly an enigmatic presence."
"Who are you even talking about?" Yue asked. It was the first time she had seen her master praise someone so highly.
Ming opened her eyes and looked at Yue.
"I don’t know her name. I only know that her existence is on a level far beyond anything we could ever understand. She is beyond the Prime Astral Wardens, demons, and even gods. Compared to her, we are nothing more than punny mortals"
Yue clutched her head at that point.
Was the shock from her divination not enough that her master was now casually revealing things like this?
"Why are you telling me all this?" she asked through gritted teeth.
Ming sighed. "During our brief conversation, which unfortunately lasted only a few hours, I asked her how we would identify the Fateless." She looked at Yue with a faint smile.
"Do you know what she told me?"
Yue crossed her arms. she was irritated by Ming’s calm expression. "What?"
"Whenever Fateless leaves his mark on someone, their fate lines burn and become irrelevant."