A map with a single X was left on the table, as if fate had an invitation. Johan let a small smile play on his lips. Interesting, he thought. He reached for the map, his finger brushing the X. At that moment, a portal tore open in the air. Very interesting. Johan stood up, adjusting his robes.
Moments later, Li Ping entered, balancing a tray of soup and elixirs.
"Young master, it's time for your medicine—" Her words froze. The bed was empty.
"Y-young master?" she whispered. The tray clattered to the floor.
That's when she saw it, a portal, swirling with grey mist and flickering like a dying flame.
"No no no no no. Young master, you weren't supposed to touch the map! This is bad, very bad!" she cried, setting the tray down with a clatter. "The imperial physician said... he said... ugh!"
Without thinking, she approached the portal. "Young master, please don't go in there! It's cursed! It's dangerous!"
But Johan was already gone.
With a suppressed groan and a whispered prayer to the heavens, Li Ping jumped in after him.
They emerged in a forest unlike any Johan had ever seen. The air was thick with grey mist, curling around the trees like ghostly serpents. The trees themselves were twisted, bark blackened and cracked, their branches reaching out like skeletal fingers. The ground was damp, littered with bones of animals, humans, and something in between.
The sky above was a dull slate, and though no sun shone, the forest was dimly lit by an eerie glow that seemed to come from nowhere. Dead crows of nothing but bone and shadow circled overhead, their hollow caws echoing through the silence.
Li Ping clung to Johan's sleeve. "This is the Forest of Forgotten Echoes… The third prince, Mo Zeyan once said this place devours memories. He escaped from death narrowly. We shouldn't be here…"
In the center of the clearing stood a hut. Well if it could be called that. It was made of bones and ancient wood, lashed together with sinew and vines that pulsed faintly. Skulls lined the doorway, and a wind chime made of ribs clinked softly in the breeze.
Johan approached without hesitation and knocked once.
The door creaked open on its own, a draft of warm, metallic-scented air spilling out. Heat and a copper scent rolled out.
Inside, a cauldron bubbled in the corner. Above it stood the One-Eyed Oracle. Her black robes shimmered with strange, crimson symbols, and her long grey hair cascaded like smoke. A red third eye glowed faintly on her forehead, half-lidded as if dreaming.
"Sit," she commanded, her voice like cracked glass. "You've come at the right time. I need vessels for my new elixir."
Li Ping fell to her knees. "Oracle, please! My young master is poisoned. He needs aid! Please, help us expel it!"
The Oracle turned slowly, her third eye locking onto Johan. "Poisoned… and yet still standing. Interesting."
The Oracle turned, her smile thin and feral. "Why should I help you?" She settled on a stool, studying them with keen eyes.
"Why should you help me?" Johan met her gaze, calm as a corpse, settling onto the cold ground with a relaxed grace that seemed utterly out of place.
"Well... One-Eyed Oracle, that is totally up to you. You're free to spend your precious time and healing abilities on me on your own accord. You are the only witch in the Fenglan Realm after all. You do have a reputation to keep."
Silence stretched. The Oracle observed the man before her. She could smell fear from miles away, yet this person before her emitted none. Neither the fear of death nor the will to live. He was just empty.
""I'll help you on one condition," she said at last, her third eye narrowing.
"And that is?" He asked.
"Take me as your master."
Li Ping's gasp was loud enough to disturb the dust. "No, Young Master, you can't! We... we'll find another way!"
The Oracle ignored her, her gaze fixed on the man before her. "The Green Devil Mist has seeped through your veins. Your Level-Three Zen Martial Soul will shatter. I can purge it… or I can teach you to merge with it.. What do you say?"
"No, Young Master, you can't," Li Ping pleaded, tears welling in her eyes.