The air in India was thick, almost alive — heavy with the scent of rain-soaked earth, crushed petals, and the musk of unseen animals.
Kael and Sena stepped off the river ferry into the bustling port of Varanasi, the holy city stretching along the water's edge in a cascade of carved stone ghats and temple spires.
Merchants hawked spices, pilgrims bathed in the river, and somewhere in the din Kael caught the faintest whisper: a relic of the Monkey King sleeps in the heart of the Vindhya jungle.
He tightened his grip on the Ruyi Jingu Bang. Half of it hummed faintly, as if the staff itself could sense its missing twin.
————
Meanwhile – The Tian Sect, Western China
High in the cloud-wrapped peaks of the Wudang range stood the Tian Sect's great hall — an expanse of jade pillars and silk banners that rippled in the mountain winds.
On a raised dais sat Tang Taizong, the Sect Leader, robed in gold and green, the Jade Tablet of Yudi resting across his lap.
With a casual flick of his hand, the jade shimmered and a dozen weapons sprang into existence — spears, sabers, and halberds — each suspended in the air around him like petals in an invisible breeze.
"You summoned me, Master?" Tripitaka stepped forward, his monk's robes plain against the grandeur of the hall, his eyes calm but keen.
"Yes," Tang said. "The staff of Sun Wukong has been seen in the hands of a foreigner." His gaze lingered on Tripitaka. "You, being the Golden Cicada reborn, will judge whether he is worthy."
At the edge of the hall stood Tao Ye, the Vice Sect Leader, his crimson armor traced with faint black lines, as if cracks of shadow had begun to grow within it. His Feather Fan of the Phoenix lay across his shoulder, the air around it wavering with heat.
"Judge?" Tao Ye's voice was smooth, but there was a bite to it. "Better to destroy him before he brings shame to the relic."
Tripitaka's eyes narrowed. "Destroying without knowing the truth is not justice."
Tang Taizong raised a hand before their words could escalate. "Tripitaka, you will go to India. Take Li Yan with you."
At the mention of his name, Li Yan stepped forward — lean, quick-eyed, and carrying twin dao at his back.
But Tao Ye's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Perhaps I should oversee this mission, to ensure… thoroughness."
Tang's gaze sharpened. "No. I trust Tripitaka's judgment."
Tao Ye bowed low, but in the shadow of his movement, the faint outline of blackened flames flickered behind him.
Later – The Unseen Pursuer
Tripitaka and Li Yan departed at dawn, heading south toward the great rivers that would take them to India.
Neither saw the lone figure that emerged from the misted treeline behind them, Feather Fan in hand, its flames burning just a shade too dark.
—————
The temple loomed above the jungle canopy, its weathered stone wrapped in roots thick as a man's torso. Golden monkeys watched from the treetops as Kael and Sena crossed the mossy causeway toward the entrance.
Inside, the air was heavy, filled with the scent of incense burned decades ago. The first chamber was a circle of stone lit by faint shafts of light from above. In its center stood a man of immense height, his arms bare, his skin traced with glowing script.
Around his forearms wound chains of bronze that pulsed faintly with golden light.
"I am Devrudra," the man said, his voice like rolling stone. "Bearer of the Chains of Dharma. Your journey to the staff's other half begins here."
Kael braced his staff. Sena readied her chakram.
They didn't last long.
Devrudra moved with impossible speed, his chains snapping out like living serpents — coiling around Kael's arm, yanking him off balance, sweeping Sena's legs from under her. In moments, both were flat on the cold stone floor, gasping for breath.
Yet Devrudra only smiled. "You have passed."
Kael blinked. "We… lost."
"You endured," Devrudra said, releasing the chains. "The first trial measures spirit, not victory." He gestured toward a door of carved ivory that had appeared on the far wall. "The second trial lies ahead. You will take different paths. Alone."
Kael's corridor sloped downward into darkness, lit only by the faint glow of his staff. His trial was one of mirrors, each reflecting his image — not as he was, but as he feared to be: broken, weaponless, alone.
He pressed forward, smashing through the illusions one by one.
Sena's path wound upward into a room where the floor was a shifting mosaic of scales, each tipping with her weight. Her chakram grew impossibly heavy or impossibly light depending on her choices — forcing her to fight enemies whose strength matched the weight of her own heart.
————
At the Temple's Edge
Far away, Tripitaka and Li Yan stood at the jungle's fringe, the temple rising like a giant in the mist.
Li Yan pulled a bronze scroll case from his back and opened it — revealing the Map of Ten Thousand Steps, its surface shimmering with ink that moved on its own, sketching the fastest route to the temple's heart.
"Found it," Li Yan said.
When they entered the first chamber, Devrudra stood waiting. "Another set of challengers."
Tripitaka stepped forward. "We seek the one with the staff."
Devrudra's chains lashed — but Tripitaka moved once, fluid as water, and the golden links fell harmlessly to the floor. In a breath, the monk had Devrudra pinned, his palm pressed to the guardian's chest.
Devrudra laughed, not in mockery but in recognition. "Golden Cicada… I know you now. Pass freely."
The temple floor rumbled, shifting beneath them. Tripitaka and Li Yan found themselves standing before two separate doors.
"We split," Tripitaka said simply. Li Yan nodded, vanishing into his path.
Li Yan's corridor was a series of rising platforms above a pit of shifting sand. He moved quickly — but something moved quicker in the dark behind him.
A thin shadow detached from the wall, its eyes glowing faint red.
Far away, deep in the jungle, Tao Ye stood with his Feather Fan smoldering black. "Now. Kill him… and let Kael wear the blame."
The shadow lunged.
But before it could strike Li Yan's back, Kael burst from a side tunnel, staff sweeping low. The blow scattered the shadow into smoke — but not before it raked Li Yan's chest, leaving a deep, jagged wound.
"Stay with me!" Kael shouted, but the smoke curled away, gone before he could finish it.
————
Convergence
The shifting floors groaned again, stone grinding against stone.
Kael emerged into a wide chamber just as Sena entered from the opposite side.
A heartbeat later, Tripitaka stepped through another archway — and froze.
Li Yan lay at Kael's feet, blood pooling beneath him, the jagged wound across his chest glaring in the dim light.
Kael still held the Ruyi Jingu Bang, its tip slick with something dark.
Tripitaka's expression didn't change, but the weight of the air in the room doubled.