We Just Met Though?

Excitement rushed through Ria. She'd spent her entire life alone in that forest with Otou-san and Tyrant, and now - now she can meet her twin! An actual sibling who wasn't a moss-covered bird or a dad who disappeared for months at a time.

Ria stepped forward, trying to peer through the haze of heat distorting her senses, but just got vague shapes.

Right, the heat was evaporating everything, and no moisture meant no vision. She'd just imagine him instead, then.

He probably has white hair, the same as hers. Lark said they hatched together, so presumably they'd grown at similar rates and be at the same height. Ria pictured herself, but maybe slightly taller with broader shoulders. He probably looks like if she'd dressed up the way Nao did - binding her chest, wearing men's robes, and tying her hair back in a messy ponytail.

Yeah, that seemed about right.

A voice suddenly cut through the heat.

"No one escapes Mansfell when I'm emperor. Not even the Suisen."

Ria's imaginary twin brother dissolved instantly.

That voice -Reign's voice - didn't sound anything like hers. It sounded too… adult? She'd pictured someone her age, maybe a month or two older max, but this person sounded like they'd spent years making important decisions while she was learning which mushrooms made you shit yourself.

"Y-you know about me?"

"Of course, that's why I hurried here. I wanted to see my sister foremost, but I also want to ask for your help."

"Now hold on-" Otou-san started.

The temperature spiked. Otou-san's protest cut off with a strangled noise.

"The old man can wait his turn."

Otou-san raised both hands. "Ok, ok, I won't interrupt again. Just please don't execute me!"

Then he dropped to his knees and attempted what Ria assumed was supposed to be a grovel. The floor must've been real hot enough to cook meat, because he recoiled the moment his forehead touched it. He prostrated himself again and again until he finally gave up, settling for kneeling with his forehead just above the stone.

Ria felt no remorse for him. After everything he'd put her through to get here, he could suffer a hot forehead.

"What favor?" Ria finally asked.

The heat lessened slightly, enough that she could sense a bit of water coming back. It wasn't much, but enough to make out a tall figure standing several feet away. Four distinct tips rose from his head. Horns, like Ibuki's, except Reign had two pairs instead of one.

"I intend to end this war through something other than conquest. Hui-t’ien Stones are what allow it to continue. Without them, neither humans nor demons would have the power to keep the bloodshed going, and the mountains would no longer be worth fighting over."

That... actually made sense. Ria had seen what the stones did to Ibuki or rather, how they made her body deteriorate while everyone exploited her abilities. Then there was the Ashen Dragon with the stones embedded in his neck, forced to fight in that arena.

"So what are you going to do?"

“Remove every stone currently embedded, then seal the remaining deposits so thoroughly that no one will ever be able to mine them again."

Wait, isn't this it? The grand destiny Nao kept insisting T'ien-ts'ai were supposed to fulfill? It didn't involve slaying demons, but actually ending the war by eliminating the root of the cause.

"When do we start?" Ria said eagerly.

"We've already begun. However, I've realized a complication. Once a stone takes root within a living body, removing it is often fatal. Most bleed out within minutes. However, with advanced water manipulation, someone could control the blood itself and prevent the bleeding."

"Are you asking me to heal people? Because water magic doesn't work that way."

"I'm not asking you to heal. I'm asking you to manipulate blood the same way you manipulate any other water. Stop it from flowing where it shouldn't, and keep it flowing where it should. Nothing more."

"That's..." Ria trailed off, thinking. She'd never tried controlling water inside a living thing before. It seemed invasive and really wrong. But if it meant saving people's lives, keeping them from bleeding out...

"Only a Suisen can do it," Reign continued. "Fire cauterizes, but it destroys skin. Earth and wind are too blunt. Water is the only element precise enough, and I trust you to do it."

"We just met though?"

She'd imagined this moment differently - finding her brother, maybe learning they were searching for each other this whole time, discovering some shared memory from when they'd hatched. Instead, Reign wanted her to perform delicate magical surgery on people while he watched.

"We're siblings." Reign said simply. "That bond exists whether we've spent years together or minutes. And if we work together on this, we'll have plenty of time to catch up."

Otou-san made a strangled noise. Ria could sense he wanted to say something - probably several somethings - but his mouth stayed shut.

"Something to add?" Reign said.

"Nope! Not a thing! Sibling bondin' sounds great! Wonderful idea, really. You two should spend plenty of quality time together while cuttin' magic rocks out of people!"

The temperature spiked, shutting Otou-san's babbling off. He pressed his forehead closer to the hot stone floor again, then immediately realized his mistake.

Reign must've sensed Ria's hesitation by now, because the temperature dropped back slightly.

"How about a demonstration? I found a couple stragglers on my way into the prison. Let me show you what we're working with."

Ria heard him snap his fingers. Small flames erupted down somewhere - she couldn't see them directly, but the sudden heat told her enough. The fires moved, herding something - no, people. She heard footsteps being guided forward by the threat of flames.

"Come along, there's nothing to fear if you cooperate."

Ria strained her senses, but the oppressive heat was still making everything hazy. She caught vague outlines - two figures, maybe three?

Otou-san seemed to have shifted behind her. She heard him take a breath, probably about to say something stupid that his forehead got burned again, when she heard it.

"Ria?"

Ria knew that voice. She'd heard it drunk and sober, confident and flustered, friendly and angry.

"Nao?"