And now his dying wife had attempted an impossible journey because she’d overheard that their lost daughter had finally been found.
He burst into his study and imdiately activated the communication array, a complex formation of crystals and luminescent pearls that allowed for instant contact across any distance, whether in the depths or on the surface. His hands moved with practiced precision, channeling energy into the array, calling out to the one person who could confirm his fears.
"Long Chen," he commanded, his voice resonating through the magical connection, thick with worry and barely controlled panic. "Long Chen, answer . Now."
EARTH - LONG CHEN’S APARTNT
Long Chen had been deep in sleep when the communication crystal on his bedside table suddenly blazed with urgent golden light, his father’s voice thundering through the magical connection.
"Long Chen, answer . Now."
He jolted awake, disoriented for a mont before his training kicked in. His hand shot out, activating the receiving array without even fully sitting up.
His father’s face materialized in the ethereal projection above the crystal, and Long Chen’s sleep-fogged mind cleared instantly at the expression he saw there. His father looked terrified, an expression Long Chen had only seen once before, the day they’d realized Shuyin was truly missing.
"Father?" Long Chen sat up fully, pushing back the covers. "It’s quite early for a call. What...."
"Your mother," Long Tian interrupted, his voice tight with barely controlled panic. "Have you seen her? Has she contacted you?"
Long Chen’s blood ran cold. "Mother? No, I haven’t heard from her in days. Why? What’s happened?"
"She’s gone. Missing since last night." His father’s composure was cracking, centuries of regal bearing crumbling under a husband’s terror. "Our conversation last night about finding Shuyin, she must have heard us. Check the dinsional barriers. Check for any crossing signatures. Now."
Understanding crashed over Long Chen like a wave. Oh no. Mother heard we found Kailani...
He was already moving, swinging his legs out of bed. "Checking now."
He crossed to the corner of his apartnt where he maintained his own monitoring arrays, smaller and more discreet than the ones in the Celestial Palace, but still capable of tracking spiritual fluctuations and dinsional crossings. His hands flew over the crystal formations, activating the detection sequences.
The array humd to life, displaying streams of data in glowing characters that hung in the air. Long Chen’s eyes scanned the information rapidly, his heart sinking with each passing second.
"There," he said quietly, his voice heavy. "There was a crossing. Last night. Around the Hour of the Rat."
"Who?" his father demanded, though they both already knew.
"A powerful celestial signature passing through the dinsional barrier into the mortal realm." Long Chen’s throat tightened. "Father, it’s her. The energy signature matches Mother’s essence exactly."
Through the projection, he saw his father’s face go ashen, saw the way his hands gripped the edge of the console as if it was the only thing keeping him upright.
"She went to find Kailani," Long Tian whispered, and it sounded like a man watching his worst nightmare unfold in real ti.
"Yes," Long Chen confird quietly.
For a mont, there was only heavy silence on the connection. Long Chen could see his father’s chest rising and falling with harsh breaths, could see the anguish written across every line of his face, an expression of pure terror he’d never seen on the Celestial Lord before.
"In her condition," Long Tian finally said, his voice breaking. "She could barely sit up in bed. Could barely breathe so days. The energy expenditure from transforming to legs, crossing from sea to land, traveling to the surface realm..." His hands were shaking visibly through the projection. "Long Chen, it could have killed her. It probably is killing her right now."
"Father, I’ll go to Kailani’s ho imdiately," Long Chen said, already moving toward his closet, the projection following him as he grabbed clothes. "I’ll check on Mother, make sure she’s safe, and contact you right away."
"I’m coming over to Earth," Long Tian said imdiately, decisively. "I need to....."
"No, Father." Long Chen’s voice was firm as he pulled on his shirt. "Stay there until I communicate with you. Mother hasn’t seen Kailani in five years. After everything, after thinking she’d lost her daughter forever, after the grief that’s been killing her, let them have this reunion first."
"My wife is dying!"
"And I will make sure she’s safe!" Long Chen insisted, shrugging into his jacket. "But Father, think. Mother made this journey alone, in her condition, because she needed to see Shuyin. After five years of thinking our daughter was dead or lost forever, after the grief literally consud her, they needed this mont. If you cross now, in this state..."
"I don’t care!" Long Tian’s composure was completely shattered. "She was lying beside in bed last night, barely breathing, and now she’s on the surface having used what little life force she had left..."
"Which is exactly why you need to let handle this first," Long Chen interrupted, grabbing his keys. "I’ll assess the situation. If Mother needs you, if she’s in imdiate danger, I’ll contact you imdiately and you can cross. But let go first. Please. Let make sure they’re both safe."
Long Tian looked like he wanted to argue, his face a mask of anguish and frustration. But finally, he gave a single, jerky nod. "The mont you arrive. The mont you see her. You contact . I don’t care what state she’s in, I need to know."
"I promise," Long Chen said, already heading for the door. "Stay by the communication array. I’ll reach out as soon as I know anything."
"Long Chen....." His father’s voice stopped him. "If she’s... if she’s already..."
"She’s not," Long Chen said with more confidence than he felt. "Mother is stronger than you think. She survived five years of grief thinking Kailani was dead. Now that she knows our daughter is alive, she’ll hold on. And Kailani, Kailani won’t let anything happen to her. I’m sure of it."
User Comments
0 comments from readers