Chapter 204 The Twins & The Family

"The other tricksters want to see the twins?" Zixin snorted in disbelief. "I can't believe people are interested in them." Nabi and Zixin turned.

"The others don't openly talk about how they feel unlike you, Zixin. You're the most stubborn among the Family." Nabi jabbed at Zixin and the two moved forward. "Follow us." Lee Seng and Keng followed barefoot behind their older siblings. Lee Seng gave Keng a strange look which was returned with a shrug.

The scenery quickly changed. The beautiful oasis disappeared from view and they seemingly entered a well-used trail. Large flowers of many colors bloomed to the left and right of the path. Butterflies and weird small wisps floated amongst the flower field. They walked for quite awhile until Lee Seng and Keng saw anything remotely close to a village.

The village was pretty old fashioned. It reminded him of those fantasy villages in those animes his older brother always watched. Small foxling children ran past Nabi and Zixin. Zixin yelled for the kids to stay in sight and the children giggled as they moved further away from the village. The six-tailed siblings led their two-tailed look-alikes to the center of the village. A large pyre was burning as Fox spirits chatted away.

They all began to drag their attention towards the group, greeting Nabi and Zixin.

"Did the meeting go well, Nabi? Zixin?" One of the Fox spirits asked. There were a variety of different tailed foxes here. He noticed all of these foxes around them were at least three-tails or more. They didn't surpass the six tails that Nabi and Zixin had.

"It went well." Nabi nodded. She moved away and revealed Lee Seng and Keng to them. The group gasped and started to point at them. "As you can see, the twins have arrived safely."

"Is it your first time seeing twins?" A five-tailed fox asked a three-tailed fox. The three-tailed fox nodded.

"Does that mean the stories are true about humans? IF the human will is strong enough, the seed of the God King can really create two foxes?" Another three-tailed fox asked.

"Look closely, brothers and sisters!" Zixin shouted. He moved over and grabbed Lee Seng. "This one is the human while the other one is the Fox spirit."

"So are they really twins?" The five-tailed fox asked.

"We're unsure. Father didn't utter a word about twins. The Family has decided to call them twins to suit our needs." Nabi answered. The other foxes began to nod. "Chimera is still away, right?"

"Chimera's still off Realm." A four-tailed fox answered.

"Is Vix'i here then?" Nabi asked. The four-tailed fox turned and pointed to the largest building in the back. It was a huge stone tower with a huge circular dome at the top.

"Vix'i is in the Crystallium."

"Let's go, then." Zixin motioned. Nabi and Zixin led the two newcomers towards the Crystallium. Lee Seng noticed all of the eyes landing on him and Keng as they passed. They whispered and pointed at them. He felt unnerved when the foxes spoke about him. They specifically called him a strange name in comparison to Keng.

"The vessel," they called him. "It acts freely with the Fox spirit."

"Do you know the terms they're using?" Lee Seng whispered to Keng. Keng's eyes moved past Lee Seng, looking at the others and then back at his partner.

"Fox spirits are born from a vessel. They would pair with humanoids and the Fox spirit would normally take over. The blend of the vessel and the Fox spirit would normally clash until the pact is over. Two become one and they are a new being." Nabi explained.

"Ahh," Lee Seng nodded. Nabi and Zixin lead them up to the Crystallium door. Once they entered, the tower was vast. Books, papers and glowing orbs floated about.

"It seems Vix'i is in the middle of an experiment." Zixin grumbled.

"Don't let her hear you. She'll skin you alive and leave you hanging out to dry." Nabi elbowed Zixin.

"Come on… Let's just get this over with." Zixin moved over to the stairs and started to climb them. Nabi motioned for Lee Seng and Keng to follow. Lee Seng climbed the stairs. The Crystallium had a distinct smell that pulled him back to his childhood.

"Lavender and oranges?" Lee Seng mumbled.

"You must be smelling… I guess the word is Nostalgia in English." Nabi spoke. "It's… like an incense stick of sorts in this Realm. Vix'i uses it to calm herself when she's working." A loud scream roared through the tower.

"Guess she isn't calm." Zixin shrugged. "Prepare yourselves." They exited the stairway. Zixin grabbed a book as it sailed at him. A nine-tailed fox screamed as the books and papers whipped around her.

"IT ISN'T RIGHT?!?" Vix'i screamed. Zixin sighed and moved out of the way so the others could come up. Lee Seng watched the nine-tailed fox fully extend her tails. They extended and grabbed at different things, pulling it in and slamming it on the table. "The equations don't make sense! Ugh!"

"Lady Vix'i." Nabi calmly spoke. The aura around Nabi quickly permeated throughout the room. Vix'i's turned her head and looked at Nabi. Lee Seng watched as Vix'i's anger slowly came to a stop. "We've brought the vessel and his spirit to you."

"Oh great." Vix'i rubbed her head. "I forgot about this. Another thing to deal with. Hold on, dears. Let me get this place in order. My equations were off and I have to reconduct the experiment again!" Books and papers whipped into the air and quickly found themselves in their spots. Books flew back into their shelves as papers sorted themselves and set themselves on the many tables. Vix'i turned to watch everything be put back into place and pulled her tails together. She turned to face the group.

"Alright, come in. Have a seat. The twins can sit here." She pointed at the empty space in front of her and two chairs flew and quietly landed in the space. Lee Seng gulped. He could feel the immense power coming off of Vix'i. Keng tugged him forward and the both of them moved to sit while Nabi and Zixin made themselves comfortable off to the side. Vix'i pulled spectacles from the table with a flick of her finger. She set the spectacles on and studied the two boys. Her orange eyes quickly zipped back and forth from the two.

"Exactly the same. Like a pair of twins." Vix'i nodded. "I guess introductions should be made. My name is Vix'i. The Family addresses me as Lady Vix'i. I spend most of my time in the Crystallium, studying various subjects across many Realms. What are your names?"

"My name is… Keng. I'm…" Keng turned to Lee Seng. "I'm his Fox spirit."

"The vessel and the host. Separated but paired as one. Interesting." Lady Vix'i bent over to stare at the two. She turned to look at Lee Seng. "And your name…?"

"Uh… Lee Seng Chang. I'm–"

Before Lee Seng even knew what was happening, he was floating up in the air. Nabi and Zixin watched quietly as Lady Vix'i's soft stare turned angry.

"You are the capturer's son?!?" Lady Vix'i shouted. Keng began to say something when an invisible force kept his mouth shut. Lady Vix'i loudly shushed Keng and pulled Lee Seng closer to her. "Why would the capturer's son be the vessel?"

"Well…" Lee Seng stuttered. Lady Vix'i's eyes settled on him. Lee Seng gulped. "I app-apparently ha-have…"

"Have what?"

"Brother Eshra's mutation ability somehow made its way into the capturer's son's hands." Nabi calmly explained. Lady Vix'i's wild eyes settled on Nabi.

"His mutation ability made his way into this Vessel?" Lady Vix'i hissed. "You're pulling my leg!"

"She tells the truth." Zixin spoke up. "Swear it by the God King, himself." Lady Vix'i's face softened and she shoved Lee Seng away. Lee Seng crashed into the ground as Keng's mouth released.

"Lee!" Keng shouted. He scrambled for Lee Seng, who grunted as he sat on the floor. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Lee Seng brushed Keng off. He sat up and took a deep breath. "Yes, I'm the Creator's son. It's crazy to think the enemy that captured one of your brothers is in front of you." He pushed himself up onto his feet and brushed the dirt off of the silk outfit. "I'm just here because I was told to come here by his majesty. I'm really clueless about this whole thing, so…"

"By the great God King, himself." Lady Vix'i shouted. She rubbed her temples. "Why does he like to test me? I've proved myself worthy time after time, again and he won't let me rest?"

"Be careful with what you say, Lady Vix'i. He could smite you for that." Zixin warned. Lady Vix'i waved her hand at Zixin. The chair rumbled and Keng quickly pulled Lee Seng away as the chair flew past and landed back in place next to the other chair.

"Sit." Lady Vix'i sighed. Lee Seng looked at Keng who turned to move back to his seat. Lee Seng gulped and moved back to his place. "Explain to me why you've come to me?"

"Chimera's not here to test their bond." Nabi informed the Lady. "So you must test their bond in Chimera's place."

"Chimera, why do you have to be so busy? Can't you see I'm–" Lady Vix'i let out another loud sigh and shook her head. A chair flew and landed in front of the boys. Lady Vix'i took her spot in front of them. "Fine. Let's get this over with."