“What is the meaning of this?” Lena scowled at Micro, apparently out of breath. “You sly little—”

  “You look tired,” Micro replied. “Let’s have some soup.”

  “I’ll have your head!” Lena approached him while summoning energy to her hand, forming an ethereal tiger’s claw just as Azar had done in their previous confrontation. However, as Micro summoned a more powerful suit of armour, Lena suddenly stumbled and fell to her knees, her energy dissipating before she even hit the ground. Micro released his own armour and ran to inspect her, and realized quickly what was wrong.

  “Your core is still too damaged to be using it like that,” he said while extending his hand to her. He looked over his shoulder as Margo peeked out the doorway at them. “Margo, could you prepare some more soup?”

  “As you wish!” she nervously replied, then ran back to her home.

  “Explain yourself, boy!” Lena seethed as she disregarded Micro’s hand and struggled to her feet with her own power.

  “We can talk, but you should eat first,” he replied, then began to walk toward Margo’s stone hut, gesturing to Lena to follow him. “It’s very good soup.”

  ~

  Micro sat across from Lena at the small wooden table in Margo’s stone hut. After serving the two cultivators a bowl of soup, she backed away quickly and left the two alone in her home. Micro smiled when he heard the sound of Blue and Spark laughing together outside as the sun began to set, but the air around Lena made him uncomfortable as he took a sip of his own soup.

  “Back at the tournament, after you escaped with the girl…” Lena began, her anger quelled by her fatigue. “The Imperial Envoy declared you unworthy to be called an enemy. I sent Azar to find you, but he disappeared after she disappeared… Then you left the city…”

  “Yahari cut his arm off,” Micro casually replied. “He didn’t seem happy to see me, but Yahari was nice.”

  “Azar was meant to find and assist you before the city fell into a state of panic, but I was too weakened to observe him. You suffered as well, judging by the state of your eye…” Lena continued with a bleak expression. “I saw you prevent the soul from entering the hero’s vessel. Had you failed, we all may have died, though some of the weaker cultivators among the crowd may not fully recover for a long time…”

  “I was pretty tired too,” Micro nodded in agreement. “But this mountain is a good place to cultivate. I made a new core here this afternoon.”

  “I noticed your core felt different, renewed even,” Lena said with glowing eyes, though she soon grimaced as the energy she was channelling flickered. “You’re close to ascending to the amber stage, while I’m still in the process of repairing my own. The Imperial Envoy may have cleared your name, but you truly are a monster. What was Azar thinking though, to go against the order of the empire…?”

  “I’m nothing like a monster struck, but I guess you wouldn’t know the difference,” Micro stated with a pitiful expression that caused Lena’s eye to twitch. “Eat your soup before it gets cold. It tastes—”

  Micro’s eyes suddenly widened as a thought occurred to him, and his mouth suddenly began to glow. Margo looked across the table at him with an expression Micro couldn’t quite describe. She looked like she had something to say, but Micro was too excited to wait for her to speak.

  “Spirit Taste!” Micro shouted. “I should try it now!”

  Lena stared quietly at him as he reached into his bowl of soup and pulled out a piece of meat, analyzed it, then tossed it into his mouth. His eyes watered as he savoured the morsel for a long time before swallowing it, then he slurped down the remainder of his soup in a single motion before sighing.

  “It’s like every flavour tells a story…” Micro explained to the disinterested Lena. “You really should find a Spirit Taste card!”

  “As if I have time to pursue the skill of some hedonistic eastern sect,” Lena scoffed. “Enough of that. Tell me what you’re doing here. We had a deal, did we not?”

  “Oh, I was heading back to Kel’s house,” Micro explained.

  “And what of our arrangement?!” Lena fumed.

  “I figured you’d turn up eventually, but you found me really fast!” Micro answered. “How did you do that?”

  “It would be stranger if a cultivator with a sapphire core couldn’t track you when you’re letting your aura burn like a lantern, but you seem to have discovered a way to conceal it,” she explained. “Did you think you could hide that easily?”

  “I just didn’t want to make the locals sick.”

  “I see…”

  “Shall we go visit Feng now?” Micro asked. “I was hoping to check in on Kel, but he should be fine.”

  “You’re serious?” Lena spoke softly, bringing her hand to her aching head.

  “After you finish your soup,” Micro insisted. “The forest is full of car thieves. You’ll need your strength.”

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  “Fine…” Lena relented, bringing the bowl to her mouth with a shaking hand. She drank its contents slowly at first, but her pace quickened as she drank. When she finally placed the empty bowl on the table with a hollow thud, she sighed. “Oh, that really is…”

  “Take a minute to rest,” Micro said as he rose to his feet, pleased to see more energy flowing through Lena’s core. “I’ll go find Blue, and I should thank Margo before we leave.”

  ~

  The villagers stood behind Margo as if hoping she would shield them from some terrible outburst as Micro approached her. She stared at him for a moment, unsure how to address him, but he was the first to speak.

  “Thanks for the soup, and good luck with the road!” he said. “I know you don’t have any power tools, so don’t worry too much if it isn’t perfectly flat. Proper drainage is more important, along with making sure it’s wide enough.”

  “I’ll pass your order along to the guild as soon as I can,” Margo replied stiffly. “Thank you, young master.”

  “It’s time to go!” Micro waved to Blue, who was busy chasing Spark up and down the base of the mountain. Blue immediately changed course and flew directly to his shoulder, but she was followed by a distraught Spark.

  “Hey, Micro!” Spark tried to climb up Micro’s leg, but he picked her up and held her at eye level.

  “You take care of your sister, Spark,” Micro spoke softly. “You might also have to take care of your father’s hammer until he’s better. Can you do that for me?”

  “But—”

  “Hey, kid!” Blue interrupted the little girl, an amused look on her own face. “You’re an interesting human. Let’s play again.”

  Spark took a deep breath before nodding at the pixie on Micro’s shoulder. She wiped her watery eyes as Micro placed her back on the ground.

  “Okay,” she said with resolve, then ran into the hut where her family was still resting.

  Micro was about to turn to leave, when Ember’s pale face appeared in the doorway. He paused to look at her for a moment, unable to decipher her expression, but she retreated back into the hut before he could greet her. Micro shrugged, then noticed Lena standing beside him with renewed vigor.

  “This way,” Micro said, pointing in the direction he was already walking.

  “You’re certain?” Lena asked doubtfully.

  “It’s not far, but it may take a while,” Micro replied. “There aren’t any roads…”

  “The forests of this region are famously difficult to navigate,” Lena said with a suspicious glare. “You’re certain you can find such an elusive master twice?”

  “I’m not an expert on forests, but I’m good with directions,” Micro reassured her.

  Still wearing a doubtful look on her face, Lena followed after Micro as he walked along the base of the mountain and into a wooded area, leaving the humble mining village behind. The moon shone brightly in the sky, and the air was cool, but Micro felt warm as he walked more confidently with each step. Several silent hours passed as he maintained his straight course through the thickening woods, only disturbed occasionally by the sound of Micro tripping over a rock or root and quickly correcting himself.

  “Slow down, boy…” Lena pleaded, clutching her chest with a strained look. “Just a moment, is all I need…”

  “No problem,” Micro replied. “Hey, Blue. Any good trees to sleep under?”

  “Hmm…” The pixie on his shoulder squinted into the dark forest around them, then frowned. “Oh, this is likely a problem.”

  “What happened?” Micro asked.

  “The good news is there’s a place to hide,” Blue explained quickly. “The bad news is that we need to hide! Go!”

  “What? Where should we—” Micro looked around, uncertain what threat Blue had discovered. Lena also looked worried, but she was too tired to voice her concern.

  “Just go! That way!” Blue shouted while pointing to the left. “There’s a knot there!”

  “A what…?” Lena mumbled as she followed behind Micro.

  “A knot,” Blue repeated, looking over her shoulder anxiously as Micro ran. “It’s a portal. Pixies hide them in trees! Hurry!”

  Micro looked ahead and saw an old dying tree emerge in the darkness. It stood out from the tall pine trees surrounding it with thick, curved branches and broad, orange leaves. A large burl stood out to him as he inspected it with energy channelled to his eyes, and the aura around it reminded him of a dungeon gate.

  “Just touch that and hold your breath,” Blue quickly explained.

  “Why would one need to hold their breath?” Lena asked suspiciously.

  “Who knows where it could lead?” Blue shrugged. “We could end up at the bottom of a lake, or above a volcano. Anywhere is better than here though so hurry up and—”

  Just moments before Micro reached the tree, Lena suddenly grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. He yelped in confusion, but he was more surprised when the tree suddenly burst into flames. Blue jumped off his shoulder and dove into the flames to try and reach the knot in the tree, but she quickly retreated as the heat intensified.

  “Crap…” Blue mumbled as she tumbled to the floor near Micro and Lena. “They’re already here.”

  “Blue?!” Trill suddenly jumped out of Micro’s pocket with a nervous shout. “Orders, Blue?”

  “Ugh…” Blue grunted, wiping soot from her face. “Just… stay quiet.”

  “Uh—Understood,” Trill replied with wide eyes, then retreated back into Micro’s pocket.

  “I sense nothing,” Lena said, looking around indifferently. “I’m sure your pixie friend is just confused.”

  “What did you see?” Micro asked.

  “It’s more of a foul Odor,” Blue grumbled. She walked past Micro and Lena with a weary expression. Micro turned to follow her, but she stopped several paces away from him as two bright lights appeared in the dark woods. Micro and Lena squinted instinctively, but two figures quickly emerged from the light.

  “Pixies…?” Micro asked as two small creatures, a similar size to Blue, hovered above the ground. However, their wings were more like a butterfly’s than a dragonfly’s, and rather than blue or yellow, each of the creatures had glowing, white skin that seemed to radiate every colour at once. “They look like flying oil slicks…”

  “Oh my…” Lena gasped. “Those are—”

  “Ugh…” Blue sighed. “Fairies.”