Chapter 355 Shadow Assessment

"Where am I?" Keng asked as he took a look around. The black landscape and fog covered everything around him. He recalled touching the shadowy flames like Jyu'so had instructed and then ended up in this place. "Elder Jyu'so! Florabelle! Is anyone there?!?" He called out. He continued forward through the fog for awhile until a burning flame caught his attention.

He neared the shadowy flames. They burned the usual bright red and yellow colors. The fog circled around him as he watched the flames.

"What do I do?" Keng asked. The flames continued to flicker. He slowly reached up to touch it, feeling the heat of the flames. "I guess we're not touching the flame… What am I supposed to do then?"

"Keng…" Lee Seng's voice called out. Keng whipped his head backwards. He could hear someone walking around him in the fog. He turned to start walking into the fog when Lee Seng's voice appeared behind him. "Keng… Help me."

"LEE!" Keng turned and watched Lee Seng burn to ashes. Everything around him turned to ash as he leapt forward for Lee Seng. Keng landed with a thud on the dark stone bricks as sounds of flames erupted in front of him. Keng watched as Lee Seng turned to look at him before turning the corner.

"Lee!" Keng jumped up and started forward. A stone brick sunk in as the room started to shake. A huge rumbling grew behind Keng as he turned to watch a large boulder come towards him. "Oh shit!" Keng sprinted down the hall, turning to watch the boulder quickly move forward.

Keng turned the corner, sprinting to the right as the boulder flew straight into the wall. The wall shattered crushing against the boulder's strength as the debris flew straight for him. Debris bounced across the walls as they crashed into dust around him. Keng turned, watching a large piece of debris fly straight towards him. The debris flew straight into his back, slamming him into the ground as more debris pelted him. Keng groaned as he pushed himself up. He dusted himself off as his tail shook to push the debris off.

"Ouch." He brushed the debris off his head. "I didn't think it would shatter like that. What is this place even? Where's Lee Seng?" He looked around. Most of the larger debris that didn't rocket off was, somewhat, blocking his way backwards. He turned to look at the way he was going, noticing Lee Seng moving into the left corridor.

"What's going on? He can't be real… I'm on Daros… right?" Keng thought aloud. "Elder Jyu'so said he would test me after he Assessed me… This couldn't be his work, could it?" The puzzle pieces slowly fit into place and he nodded after thinking about it for awhile. "This must serve some sort of purpose. Could he be testing me with all of this? Why would Lee Seng be here then?"

'What does Lee Seng have to do with any of this…?' Keng thought.

Five Days Ago

"So why am I here?" Keng asked. "I must've came here for some reason, right?" He looked at General Halys and Elder Jyu'so. They sat with their arms crossed.

"Because you're here, we know that there's something wrong with Lee Seng and you." Halys summarized their conversation. "With that, we need to figure out what you need to do during your time apart from your Vessel."

"What would I do then?"

"Training." Jyu'so suggested. He glanced in Keng's direction. "You could train while you're here with me."

"Elder Jyu'so, you're proposing he trains here for the time being? Who would take him under their supervision and train him?" Halys asked.

"I can train him." Jyu'so proposed. "It could be Destiny." Halys and Chrono glanced at Elder Jyu'so, giving him a knowing look. Jyu'so closed his eyes and nodded.

"You want to personally train me, yourself?" Keng asked.

"Correct."

"And the reasoning is… Destiny?"

"You're right."

"Destiny has a game to play with this…? Hmmm, what does destiny have to do with this?"

"Accept my offer and maybe you'll figure it out." Jyu'so smiled. "General Halys and Chrono have sworn their duties to Eldest sibling, so no one you know could train you. You could get to know your homeland. There's much to learn and much to do with me. It won't be a comfortable life, but you'll get to see more of the world."

"Elder Jyu'so is right." Chrono spoke up. "We don't have much time. We have to get back to our duties on Earth. Elder Jyu'so would be the best to train you as you're a Savior. You could see more of the world with Elder Jyu'so than a trainer in Revit or Dat'e."

"True," Halys nodded. "We wouldn't be able to give you the training you need. We can't risk anyone seeing you on Earth, either. If anyone see's a Lee Seng look-a-like, it could cause a lot of problems."

"So what do you say, Keng? Are you up to letting me show you the ropes? You'll be by the sea, too." Jyu'so asked. Keng puckered his lips slightly like he was going to bite his lips.

'I can't go back to Earth or else I might just get caught for looking like Lee Seng… They know where he is, too, so being here would be better… If I train here, I can learn hunt and grow stronger.'

"Wait," Keng spoke aloud. "If I'm away from Lee Seng, will I even get any souls? He was the one who technically was able to read the Soul orb-bead thing and know how far along we were. Could I even progress without him for who knows long?"

"Those are good questions." Jyu'so nodded. "But a question you must answer first is 'are you doing this for yourself or for him?' If you can't answer this then why waste your time being here?"

The question echoed in Keng's head as he rounded the corner of the hall. He had been thinking about this question for the last couple of days and couldn't figure it out.

'I'm attached to Lee Seng by soul so of course I would want to fight to save him from whatever he's going through…' Keng thought. 'But Elder Jyu'so makes a good point… Is my purpose really to be by his side? Do I want to be known as the Fox who stood by his Vessel's side until the end?' Keng let out a loud groan as he looked up. A large wooden bridge laid out in front of him. The sea of darkness sat in front of him under the bridge.

He let out a frustrated sigh as he stepped onto the bridge.

"I am worried about Lee Seng but I surely don't fight just for him, do I?" Keng whispered. He started across the bridge, slowly holding onto the rope as he crossed. Wind whipped loudly below him, occasionally shaking the bridge. Keng did well to keep his balance as he made it halfway.

"Am I doing this for myself or him?" Keng whispered unable to stop thinking about it. The sounds of mechanical whirring moved in the background as the wind whipped loudly in his ears. Keng slowly inched towards the three-fourth mark. Arrows fired out, releasing a loud whistle piercing through the wind. Keng's ears twitched as arrows sailed in front of him and behind him.

Arrows pierced themselves into his sides as he let out a grunt and started to move faster. Arrows sailed as he quickly lit himself up and picked up his speed, shattering the wood as he blurred forward. Keng bobbed and weaved, occasionally catching an arrow in his body as he continued forward. By the time he landed on the other side, blood oozed down his body as he pulled the arrows out.

"Grah!" Keng grunted as he pulled all of the arrows out. His body quickly healed as the bloody arrows splattered across the floor. Arrows continued to fire behind him as he took a moment to catch his breath. "Is the test just about running? I need to listen harder for these triggers… That wind was capturing a lot of my attention. Maybe I need to use my senses more?" Keng continued forward, entering stone brick hallway. He watched as Lee Seng poked his head out and ushered him forward.

"Lee Seng? Where you going?" Keng shouted. He picked up speed and moved down the torch-lit hallway. Keng followed Lee Seng for quite awhile, always finding him rounding the corner. Keng's desperation grew as he pushed himself farther. "Lee Seng! Come here! Don't leave me! Don't you remember me?!?"

Lee Seng walked straight into a wall as Keng slowed to a stop. He banged on the wall as he let out loud breaths.

"Lee Seng!" Keng gasped. "Where are you? Where are you?" He repeated the question over and over again, pounding on the door. "Please, Lee Seng! Let me in! Please!"