A thunderclap followed by an ethereal hum disturbed the peaceful landscape. Trees curled and twisted in shades of white, soft pink, and crimson red, dropping their petals onto a boy gasping for air and clawing at his chest on the ground.
Offshoots of wild magic shot out of him, crackling like electricity as he writhed in pain, struggling to contain it.
For a brief moment he went still before a sharp gasp brought life back into him. He forced himself onto his stomach, trembling as he tried to push up onto his hands and knees.
'It hurts,' Orion thought, clutching his chest.
The swirling orb of energy was already contained, reduced to a mere flicker of what it once was. His problem now was the strange magic tearing up his pathways, one he couldn't even remember calling upon.
Orion's body was a mess. His wounds had stopped bleeding after his escape, but the scars remained, and numerous bones were fractured or broken. Purple blotches spread across his skin from the wild magic tearing him up internally, multiplying despite his desperate effort to hold it back.
'What is this magic… it's too violent! Is this Pantheon's doing?'
"You are far from home, stranger."
The unfamiliar voice snapped Orion's eyes open.
The ground beneath him was layered with delicate petals in bright colors. His sense of smell returned, filling his lungs with a purity he had never known. Not Count Mei's Menagerie, not even the Cultivar, could compare to this clean air.
As his confusion mounted, the voice spoke again with a tone like a mentor.
"The balance within you is in turmoil. You must control it or you will die."
"You think I don't know that?" Orion groaned.
He raised a trembling hand. Blue arcs of wild energy danced between his fingers, forcing them to twitch and spasm in unpleasant ways.
His gaze finally rose to the figure before him.
A man in a light-blue tunic stood with armored shoulder padding and leather laced in curling patterns Orion didn't recognize. His arms and face bore scars. Brown hair was tied neatly into a man-bun. His stern expression carried the weight of experience, as though this kind of strangeness no longer fazed him.
When he spoke again, his tone sharpened, commanding.
"If you know then you must act. The longer you hesitate, the more you endanger yourself and others."
"I'm trying! This isn't my doing!" Orion wheezed, another surge of unstable energy ripping through his arms.
A drop of blood fell from his arm from skin that bore no wound and a purple blotch spread beneath it.
With forced determination, Orion looked around the lush surroundings. Beyond the man, past the crest of a red bonsai tree, rose an ancient building. The entire place felt dreamlike, a world apart from the Undercity's grim tone.
"Where… am I?"
"You are on the outer reaches of the Temple of Xuanain," the stranger replied calmly. One hand unclasped behind his back, gesturing toward flowers that released glowing blue pollen.
"This place draws on the spirit of the land. It is a place of healing and learning. But the magic within you disrupts the balance. It fractures the order just as it fractures you."
"I'd love to fix it but-" Orion winced as another violent offshoot burst from his leg, collapsing him onto his stomach. "I can't bring it under control. It refuses to obey me."
The stranger's expression tightened. He closed his eyes and formed a hand sign, appearing to focus deeply.
Despite the pain ripping through him, Orion scowled.
'Is he mocking me? What is he doing?'
This stranger approached him, lectured him, and now… what, meditating?
Orion was about to snap when the calm voice returned.
"It seeks to return to the land. Magic is wild, like the creatures of the wilderness."
He opened his eyes, locking with Orion's with compassion and a strange sympathy.
"Stop trying to control it. Do not bend it to your will. Release it freely."
"Release it freely?" Orion blinked, stunned. "That's the opposite of everything I've learned! When I don't control it it tears me apart like it is now!"
"This is not normal magic you're used to handling. Trust me or you will die, young practitioner."
Orion hesitated. The very thought of letting go filled him with fear. Yet with the magic ripping him apart, what choice did he have?
Closing his eyes, he clenched his teeth. The stranger's voice came again, steady and insistent.
"Release your control. Allow equilibrium to return naturally to your body and the land."
For a split second, he felt nothing but pain before the pressure that threatened to kill him dissipated. His body flattened completely against the soft earth as exhaustion overtook him.
"Thank you," he muttered, barely conscious.
"It is only natural," the stranger said evenly.
"Shen?" A small, worried voice called from the distance. "Why did you run off? Who is this?"
Orion wanted to look up, but he could no longer open his eyes. Still, he was relieved this person wasn't hostile as he could feel his consciousness starting to slip away.
Shen sighed, his voice layered with compassion.
"A lost soul..."