Chapter 284 The Path Of Music & Light

"I went in and began to hear beautiful music. Music that could possibly calm any being. I followed it, forgetting the game and found Rox'su with a woman. She was playing music and Rox'su was sitting on the ground, watching her. I was so drawn to the music, I sat next to Rox'su and he said to me, 'I guess you found us.'"

"Us? Who's us?"

"I had found Rox'su and the goddess Tear'a. Tear'a stopped playing and told Rox'su he was interfering with her opportunity. They argued and then they both told me they wanted to choose me as their Blessed."

"Two gods wanting to bless the same person? Is that possible?" Lee Seng muttered. Lily nodded her head. She turned to reveal her right cheek.

"They told me I was special. Two paths had joined into one and Rox'su and Tear'a both seemed to come to the same conclusion. They would both Bless me so I could follow my path." Lily told them. Lee Seng watched as her cheek lit up. It was a circle, half pink and half gold. The gold-half resembled a sun while the pink-half lit up in notes. Lee Seng could see the faint outline of a string instrument.

"Blessed by two gods? Is that possible?" Lee Seng shifted in his spot. Lily nodded, adjusting her neck to look directly at Lee Seng, again.

"Dad taught me a bunch about the Sacred. That's what we call any chosen Fox Spirit who gets the attention of two or more gods. They become Sacred. Most people just call them Blessed, though."

"So the Sacred are people who are Blessed by two or more gods?"

"Yup. And that day in the cave, I was blessed by both Rox'su and Tear'a. I was told to follow the instructions I was given. I was then told about you and Keng." She pointed at Lee seng and Keng. "Rox'su told me to prepare myself for two different personalities from the same person. 'They both look exactly alike, differing like the two suns. One taking on the aspect of my brother, Vox'su, and the other one as me. You'll meet the one who became two. The Second who guides the First. The First who speaks for the Second, speaks boldly. They are one in two.' Rox'su spoke riddles. Tear'a told me I would get my chance to play while I protect. It would be at that point, I would understand everything.

"I found Commander Chimera by happenstance today. The Commander asked why I was so far from home. I told them I was simply following my path to meet the Sun Blessed Savior. That's when the Commander told me to come with them and I would see one of them. That piqued my interest."

"Get this," Keng spoke up, raising his eyebrows. "She can't fly either but she managed to save me with ease!"

"Commander Chimera took me along with them. I managed to save your friend, Ritsuka, too. I aided the group and learned what being a Sacred Blessed means."

"And what's that?" Lee Seng asked.

"I feel the embrace and the power bestowed upon to me. I can deeply feel the forest calling for aid, the people's tunes fighting for their lives trying to eradicate the curse. I can hear how softly Vox'su's Blessed plays. The quietness that comes with Keng. It's overwhelming, but I was so in tune at that moment, that I simply added more music to it all." Lily set her hand on her chest, taking a deep breath. "It was the most beautiful music I've ever heard."

"So why did you want to see me?"

"I wanted to understand what Rox'su meant when he said 'you'll meet the one who became two.' It's a… odd phrase to use. Even Mom doesn't say anything like that."

"So, what do you think then? Lives up to his description?" Lee Seng raised his eyebrows at Lily. She narrowed her eyes, taking a good look at Lee Seng. She looked at him, up and down, for awhile and then spun in her spot and looked at Keng.

"You two are definitely exact copies of each other. You're like twins but you aren't. Your hairs are different colors. Keng has streaks of white while yours is black and brown." Lily pointed out the hair colors.

"I dyed my hair like this. I naturally have black hair and the dye is finally fading. That reminds me… I need a haircut." Lee Seng grabbed a piece of his hair and tugged at it. It had gotten long in such a short amount of time.

"Is that all you have to ask, Lily?" Keng asked.

"Mmm, I guess that's it." Lily nodded. "I don't know what else to ask, really. All my questions are about Earth."

"Like what?" Lee Seng asked.

"What is it like? Mom says there's loads more people. There's these settlements called cities that have huge buildings that tower over you and everything. She says humans fight amongst each other all the time like the Fox Spirits do, too. And that there isn't much variety in nature."

"Ah," Lee Seng nodded. "If you wanna know about that, I guess I can tell you about Capitol City." Lee Seng began to describe the city. The business of the city with the massive walls that protects the citizens. He explained he used to live outside the city in a small little suburb with his parents when he was younger. Lily asked for the meaning of 'suburb' and Lee Seng explained it all to her.

"And that's basically life at Capitol CIty. It's hectic and it's dangerous going out the walls." Lee Seng finished up.

"Ahhhh, Earth is a strange place… Walls that move. People who both protect and fight each other. Cities and towns that got destroyed because of the Biohuman serum… Mom was right. It sounds way more hectic than Daros." Lily summed up while nodding.

"Yup," Lee Seng nodded. He had started to pace back and forth in front of Lily while Keng took the other seat next to Lily.

"It's really cool to see it all though." Keng told Lily. "Though it's from Lee's eyes, I enjoy learning about the world."

"Not as cool as here." Lee Seng shrugged. "But I guess I'm biased cause I've been there my whole life."

"If the monsters weren't a problem, you could venture out of the city without having a reason to?" Lily asked.

"Yup." Lee Seng nodded. A knock came at the door. "Who is it?" Lee Seng turned to face the door.

"It's me." Ritsuka's voice came through. Lee Seng moved over and unlocked the door, opening it.

"What's up?"

"Just wondering if you're done talking. Commander Chimera wants to see you three." Ritsuka pointed.

"Yeah, we just about finished, I think?" Lee Seng turned to look at Lily.

"If Commander wants to see us, I guess I can ask my last question later." Lily spoke.

"You sure? I can answer it here and we can go."

"No, let's not make Commander Chimera wait." Lily stood up and Lee Seng nodded.

They made their way back to the front of the base. The door were open and voices came from outside. Ritsuka led the pack down the steps. The suns were shining down on them. It looked like it was just past noon. Chimera, Lady Vix'i and Halys were chatting amongst each other while the rest of the Fox Spirits stood off to the side together. It looked like they were all waiting for them.

"I found them." Ritsuka pointed.

"Oh, good." Lady Vix'i cleared her throat. She gave Chimera a hesitant look before pulling away from the two men and moving over to Lee Seng and the others.

"What's up…?" Lee Seng asked. Lady Vix'i gave him a nervous look before recomposing herself. She seemed awkward by his presence.

"Chimera wants you here to hear about the scouting and address the group." Lady Vix'i told him. Lee Seng simply nodded and followed the cosmic fox over to the rest of the group. Lee Seng and the others squeezed themselves off to the side.

"Well," Chimera's voice boomed. "Now that everyone is here, let's get down to it. Scouts have searched the forest and have notified the General and I that there is no sign of the curse." Everyone began to cheer. Lee Seng's chest felt lighter. He didn't notice the weight on him from the curse until now. Chimera raised their hand and continued. "It seems like a lot of the forest is still recovering. It's up to the leaders of the Saviors to choose what to do with this, but I would like Lee Seng and Keng to come up and speak about this."

Chimera motioned for the two to come. Lee Seng looked at Keng before being pushed forward by Ritsuka. He and Keng moved over to the front and stared out into the crowd.

"Well," Keng cleared his throat. He looked over at Lee Seng. "We're, uh, glad you guys helped us cleanse the curse that's been plaguing this land…" The crowd all stared at him. Keng was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable by their stares.