Zuri rested, and heard the rustling of the door. The room often had visitors. A guard or two would drop by, escorting an imperial maid to pass them refreshments. Water. Food. Anything they could ask for, they could request from the guards and the guards would arrange the maids to obtain them.

They were prisoners, but cultivators were in a different class.

They were allowed to meet guests.

"Your brother sent me. Are you well?" A skinny, bald man with an unusually long mustache appeared, likely a random person that Wilber hired. A merchant's agent.

"As well as I could be." Zuri said, sitting on the only chair in her cell. It was a comfortable chair, though, so she wouldn't actually fault the imperial family for this.

"That is good, your brother said. He had a script that he gave me."

"Of course he did. That's exactly like him." Zuri grinned. Her brother must've penned it and passed it to the merchant.

"And he said that he spent a lot of time thinking about what you will say. He knows you are alright, but thought it is compulsory for a brother to check on his sister anyway."

And Zuri rolled her eyes predictably.

"He said you will roll your eyes and so I must say, 'You're welcome'."

Zuri wished she could smack her brother. The two were competitive since young, but somehow, it only made them closer. Her brother was fiercely protective of her, and she knew it. They were rivals, but forever family. "So what else did he say?"

"He says that everything should be fine. He's working on a solution."

"Yes, yes. Always a solution somewhere. That's not exactly helpful. What other nonsense did he say?"

"He says that he will be taking his spirit beast for a walk."

Zuri nodded. "I hope he enjoys his walk, then."

"He says that he will certainly enjoy his fresh air, and asks that you meditate and contemplate the Eight Noble Ways while you are under confinement."

The alchemist rolled her eyes once more. "My brother can come and read the Eight Noble Ways if he wishes for me to join a Temple Sect."

The man nodded. "That's the end, Lady Blackpetals."

"Really? Thank you, then."

"I'll take my leave." The man nodded, and left.

She inwardly found it amusing that a random set of phrases became a code for them to communicate. It wasn't sophisticated code, but it is likely the words they spoke here were also eavesdropped on by at least three other parties.

So, obscuring their meaning helped significantly.

It would take some time for whoever spying on them to figure out the message, and she was fairly confident they would. But, they needed all the time advantage they could get.

She wished she could be there to see what pill Lord Fox made for her brother, but she'd seen him work and seen his pills enough to know that he wouldn't disappoint.

Still, she wondered how long she would be placed here-

Then, a different guest walked in.

"I'm not sure if we've met, Lady Blackpetals." Grandduke Edrian emerged and stood in front of her door.

Zuri stared at the Grandduke, her mind scrambling to recall when was the last time they've interacted. The last time she saw the Grandduke was at Prince Gomerl's banquet. "My greetings, Grandduke Edrian. We have, but I believe we've only spoken a few words."

"Now, don't bow. I'm just an outer member of the royal family and do not expect the usual decorum. But seriously, you've made some rather troublesome minister hate you."

"I have?" Zuri sat back down.

"Of course. Some of them will hate you for existing. Some others will hate you for walking and being present in the city of Gomerlia."

"Oh." Zuri frowned. There was no winning that game.

"But that is normal, isn't it? Now... I hear from my sources that things are not going so well in your sect. Would you like to help them?"

The alchemist sat and looked at the old imperial uncle, and half-brother of the current Emperor. He had a crafty, cunning grin. She felt immediately suspicious, and decided to redirect the question. "What can I do for the Grandduke?"

"You see, Lady Blackpetals, I consider myself to be a diplomat, and in my dealings with the various sects, I've made many friends. However, somehow and perhaps due to time and whatnot, I stopped making new friends. Maybe, I was just too busy with all the new things I had to do."

Grandduke Edrian paced the comfortable hall. It was more of a 'house arrest', than an actual prison. Zuri briefly wondered whether all the even older people loved to monologue. Maybe, they've lost someone they used to talk to and now all they could do is talk to themselves.

"So, I do think it is my fault that I've somehow neglected to notice the budding flames that still burn in the garden, and it would be terrible of me if I allow them to be snuffed out."

Zuri wished the man got to the point.

"Now, Lady Blackpetals, what do you think of this entire royal shouting contest?"

The alchemist tried to get a sense of Grandduke Edrian's role in all this. She remembered that Grandduke Edrian interrupted the fight between the two Tenth Realm Sect masters. For that alone, his standing in the eyes of Prince Gomerl was elevated.

Functionally, his actions preserved Prince Gomerl's support from two Great Sects. So, was he interested in Prince Gomerl's victory? She also remembered that he was seen talking to Duke Hadrian and Tundra Fox. Wait. "Are you here at someone's request?"

The old man smiled. "Why, my actions are my own. Who would dare to make a request of the Grandduke to act?"

In truth, every single prince and royal family member received hundreds if not thousands of petitions from their supporters and allies to take action on many different things.

"I do not know, and do not dare to speculate." Zuri answered. She didn't want to name people who could help her.

"Wise answer." Grandduke Edrian laughed. "Now, do you want to go and see your brother?"

***

Wilber Blackpetals walked into the halls of the Sect Master to find him in pain. The old Sect Master came from the other powerful family of the Crimson Lotus, the Solfor family.

"Master Solfor." Wilber said, but in his current state, it is unlikely he would be able to answer.

The man was covered in burning red veins, a sign of powerful Dreadfire Poisoning. Something that can only occur when an innate fire spiritual roots was specifically corrupted through the use of a heavily purified and distilled essence of [Dreadfire Leaves].

It's not incurable, but most cures would require a tremendous amount of time. Master Solfor could only manage to look at him and nod.

His entire spiritual energy was spent battling his own burning spiritual roots.

"You dare to show your face after being away for the last two weeks?" Elder Sharran looked at Wilber and sneered.

"Do you rather I not?"

"Come back with reinforcements." Elder Sharran answered, and then the Sect's main hall shook. An explosion, as four others charged into the main hall.

"Master Solfor! Were you poisoned by that treasonous Wilber Blackpetals-" The traitor Great Elder walked in, with three other elders behind him.

"Traitor?" Wilber countered.

The traitor's eyes widened in shock, surprised to find Wilber present. "You were supposed to be at a breakthrough!"

"I decided it wasn't time yet." Wilber shrugged, his newfound cultivation realm masterfully hidden with a combination of special relics and artifacts. "So, what is this traitor thing you speak of? I was not aware that I was anywhere near Master Solfor during his... poisoning."

Elder Sharran rolled his eyes. The man was half crazy and didn't bother. "Cut the nonsense, Wilber. You four, as well. Come do what you've always wanted to do. Let's get to it, we all knew this was coming, Kavan."

The traitor Kavan smiled. "A pity you chose to sit on the other side, Sharran. It's not too late to change your mind."

Wilber looked offended. "You're not going to offer me a chance to switch sides?"

"The only Blackpetals I trust is a dead Blackpetals." The traitor answered. "Now, I would love to rip that foul tongue off yours out of your head."

The branch leader of Noria Firefields laughed. "I've always wondered how our sect master managed to keep this entire sect together when you've hated my family all this while."

Of course, the only reason it was tolerated was because the Blackpetals wasn't that strong before the current generation. Both Zuri and Wilber were exceptional cultivators that rose to the 7th realm, when their parents and the generation before them were mostly in the 5th and 6th realm. When they were weak, they didn't threaten anyone.

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The Blackpetals before Wilber were seen as the Solfor family's lackeys.

Elder Sharran didn't even bother to negotiate, and already a stream of green flame poured out of the man's mouth.

The traitorous elder laughed as the stream of green flame slammed into a stone wall. "Is that all you've got, Sharran?"

Sharran didn't bother. His fists were both surrounded by a purple light and would've smashed into the traitor's face. But Kavan moved too quickly, and quickly countered Sharran with moves of his own. They were both strong seventh realm cultivators.

"I'll deal with Sharran. The rest of you deal with Wilber."

The three elders charged. Fire, Earth and Metal energies filled the hall, all aimed at the Branch Leader of Noria Firefields.

Wilber groaned. "What, must we fight? Can I offer to join you three and we gang up on Kavan and Sharran? I'll be the new sect leader and the three of you will be the grand elders. Come on, Portsen. We're old friends, are we not?"

Wilber never got along with Portsen, one of the three elders with a heavy focus on Earth element cultivation methods. The three clearly didn't care about him either, and so they began trading blows, though Wilber mostly stuck to evasive and blocking moves.

The branch leader intentionally used spiritual artifacts to conserve his energy.

All while Sect Master Solfor suffered in pain.

Elder Sharran didn't seem particularly pleased with this turn of events. For now, Sharran and Kavan were evenly matched in raw strength, and Sharran's equipment were of a higher quality, and thus he could suppress the traitorous Kavan. "Kavan, why?"

"Oh, now you want to ask why? Ask how precious resources have been given to the Blackpetals and the Solfors! Tell me why my nephew was allowed to die at the battle of the Seventh Gate!" The traitor Kavan's fire began to squirm. "Tell me how Solfor allowed the Blackpetals to even take leadership of Noria Firefields, a city that should've belonged to my family!"

Wilber, who was clearly eavesdropping while deftly dodging the attacks of the three elders, shouted. "As I recall, you didn't want Noria Firefields! You claimed the management of the Firefields was too time consuming and unprofitable!"

"Silence!" Kavan countered, as an unusual energy began to swirl within Kavan's chest.

The Elder Sharran took three steps back, as Kavan's cultivation realm broke past the peak of the seventh realm, and entered the eighth. "You fool! Did you think you would be able to control yourself when exposed to such corrupted power?"

Kavan's flesh began to change, as Zuja's corruption spread through his body. A tentacle-like appendage revealed itself. "Today, it all doesn't matter. Today, the Crimson Lotus is MINE!"

A powerful dark flame emerged in Kavan's fists, and it slammed into Sharran's protective barrier. The barrier crumbled. Sharran frowned, as a bangle hidden under his robe activated. A powerful second barrier emerged.

"You may have the Sect Master's treasures, Sharran, but you are not powerful enough to use them!" The slightly mutated Kavan said, his strength rising to the very height of the eighth realm. Each attack from Kavan's fists contained the essence of the dark flame, powered by Zuja's parasite.

But the elder tried to hold on. He said nothing, and instead focused his strength.

Wilber at this moment, activated an artifact and moved behind Elder Sharran. "Let me help you with that!"

Kavan laughed, as his fists slammed into the barrier. It cracked even more. "Hah, and I thought there's only one fool, but I guess there's two! Two seventh realms are still just two seventh realms! There is a reason that the major realms represent a gap in power!"

The other three elders stood next to Kavan, and then, they too called on the power of their parasite.

"The rest of you too?" The mad elder Sharran frowned. "Even if you win today, you have won nothing. You have merely served someone else's goal!"

All four were now in the eighth realm, though Kavan's infestation and link to that power was far stronger than the other three.

"So this is why you're so confident!" Wilber said, as the four traitors displayed the power of eighth realm. Their combined strength began to overpower the barrier with raw strength.

"Even if this is a powerful barrier, in your hands it is still not good enough!" Kavan laughed, as the barrier teetered close to breaking point.

Wilber looked at Sharran, and then at the Sect Master. "Elder Sharran, take the Sect Master away. Pass the barrier to me and I'll hold them off."

Sharran looked at Wilber, their eyes locked. Wilber noticed the searching look in his eyes, but he was a smart man, even if eccentric as hell. He touched the bangle, and then, it jumped into Wilber's hands.

"Did you think you can run, Sharran? You won't be able to outrun us!"

Wilber grinned. "So this is the Great Crimson Defensive Formation."

"And you are a fool for cancelling your breakthrough! You should've focused on that!" Kavan laughed. "You might be able to buy a few more weeks and months for your family before I crush them!"

The Branch Leader grinned. "I really dislike your constant gloating."

The barrier's strength suddenly surged, and the entire hall vibrated. Kavan caught on instantly. "Impossible! Everyone! Attack Wilber now!"

Wilber smiled. There was no need for words, when power and action could roar.

The formation's barrier quadrupled in strength, and pushed back against the four traitor's attacks. Then, a second barrier emerged. And a third.

Kavan then knew it was a trap. "You've already broken through! But that's not enough to win!"

The traitor was decisive, and his body immediately transformed to call on more of Zuja's power. The body of the man turned from mostly human shaped with some unusual tentacles, now into a creature that was more of an aberration.

It's strength barely touched the ninth realm.

The powerful formation, one of the Crimson Lotus's great trump cards, activated its killing formation, the [Crimson Pillar]. Powerful pillars of intense red flames emerged and poured into where the four traitors stood. It was so powerful that the roof of the Crimson Lotus Spire's hall was blasted wide open.

Wilber poured all of his spiritual energies into it. The flames were so bright that the entirety of the sect and the city was momentarily painted, blinded by an intense crimson light.

The blast tore through the three weaker traitors and turned them into ash instantly.

"Not enough!" Kavan, charred, but not dead, slammed into the barrier with all of its remaining might. The barrier had nothing left to offer, and broke.

Sharran activated a powerful protective talisman, but it too crumbled in a single blow to the might of the ninth realm. The second blow couldn't be blocked, and Sharran could barely manage to keep his main body intact. His arm was blown apart, and part of his head torn. It is only due to the nature of the seventh realm that he could still walk and live.

Another strike, and this one slammed his body across the hall and out of it. Sharran's remaining spiritual energies barely kept him alive, but now he couldn't fight anymore.

Wilber groaned as he stared at the monster. "You're a fool if you think any of us want to be monsters like you."

Kavan laughed. "And you'd be a fool to think I'd offer this power to someone like you!"

Wilber strained to withstand the pain throughout his body.

He didn't have much left in the tank. He knew he had to save all of his spiritual energy as a newly ascended 8th realm to activate the Crimson Pillar. His mind whirled and arranged to use his spiritual artifacts one by one.

"Hah!" Kavan slurred, his voice more monstrous than human. "I would love tearing you apart, piece by piece. Like picking flower petals apart, piece by piece."

It was clear to Wilber that Kavan was reeling as well. The Crimson Pillar hurt the creature quite badly. Wilber blocked the next attack. But barely. Kavan's tentacles then wrapped around one of his arms.

"Got you!" Kavan laughed and began to pull. He was playing with him. "Let me see how confident you look without your arm!"

And he pulled. Wilber screamed. And he pulled some more.

He screamed, and then, Wilber's left hand was torn out of his flesh. Wilber screamed as he felt the loss of his limbs. He felt himself weakening, as blood dripped on the floor.

"Now I'm going to get your other hand." Kavan slurred.

Wilber glared in defiance, even as he felt he had no strength left in his body. "Come and get it."

"Gladly." Kavan approached Wilber like a spiritual beast, his walk was on multiple limbs provided by Zuja's extra appendages.

The branch leader had no strength left, and still tried to block the creature's strikes and counter with what remaining spiritual artifacts he had.

"Beg." Kavan said. "Beg me and I'll spare your family."

"No. Never." Wilber countered. "I'd rather die."

"Hah. I would love making a mess of your sister next. That arrogant upstart-"

It was at this moment, a flying ship flashed and appeared right above the Crimson Lotus. It was one of the Imperial Family's heavy warships. Zuri stood at it's opened door, and next to her was Grandduke Edrian.

"Did I come at the right time?" Zuri smiled.

Wilber flashed a rare smile. "Sister."

Grandduke Edrian smiled. "Ah, one of the foul bugs. I'd love to quash you right now."

The monstrous Kavan stared. "What in the-"

A spiritual apparition of a golden dragon emerged, and in one powerful strike, it consumed the monstrous Kavan.

Kavan, the traitorous leader and Zuja mutant was dead.

Wilber laughed, and then fainted.

***

Wilber did not expect to wake up.

"Brother."

Nor did he expect to see his sister seated next to him. He looked around. His limbs were back. It took a few seconds before he remembered what happened in those last moments. It felt so hazy.

He looked around and found himself in one of the few undamaged buildings of the Crimson Lotus's main sect.

"Stupid." Zuri said. "Real stupid of you. Why didn't you ask for help?"

"I did. But the traitors must've-" Wilber immediately felt his own body's fatigue catch up. He couldn't even muster the strength to continue the sentence.

Zuri waited a few seconds, but Wilber felt his body refuse to respond. His sister quickly realized he wasn't able to continue and teased him.

"Good. I like you like this. Quiet so that I can talk." Zuri countered with a mischievous grin. Though Zuri was not young anymore, when they were with each other, his sister still often acts like a little child. "Quiet and not giving me reasons and excuses at every counter."

All Wilber could respond with was a glare.

"Elder Sharran's in recovery. Sect Master Solfor's condition is improving, but it'll take months before the Dreadfire Poisoning can be reversed. You, too, need at least one year of recovery before you get your full strength. What I've done is mend your flesh, but some things you'll have to fix internally."

Wilber groaned, as his own assessment of his strength agreed with his sister's analysis. It is the price to pay for victory. At least they won.

But after Zuri's statement, the two siblings looked at each other, and for a moment, they both knew in their hearts that they were relieved.

Zuri didn't want to imagine the immense sorrow in her heart if she lost her brother, and she knew her brother felt the same.

By some stroke of fortune, they've managed to get through their darkest moments by a sliver of a chance.

The door to the makeshift recovery room opened. "Am I interrupting?"

Zuri shook her head. "Come in, Grandduke Edrian. My brother is still exhausted, so he has few words to offer."

Grandduke Edrian smiled. "I don't recall we've met, Lord Wilber Blackpetals, but I have seen your sister around a few times in Gomerlia. It's truly unfortunate that there's been some incident involving your sister."

Wilber wondered how the Grandduke got his sister out of prison. Unless Prince Gomerl himself specifically authorised her release, it would be quite difficult for any grandduke or minister to procure his sister's freedom.

Zuri looked at the Grandduke, "Well, since both of us are here, tell us both, who exactly asked you to help us, and how?"

Edrian laughed. "Well, let's just say a certain Lord Fox boosted my reputation and value in the eyes of my nephew, Prince Gomerl. After all, in the eyes of everyone, it is I who prevented a conflict between the Great Sects. Naturally, I had to repay that favor."

Zuri and Wilber both looked at each other, and Wilber laughed weakly. He gave Zuri a look, and Zuri shook her head. "It seems I've troubled the man too much."

"I don't think so." Grandduke Edrian smiled. "He has similar ambitions as me, a man with the talents to pull it off. In time, I hope that we can build an alliance to bring peace and suppress the warmongers that seek to make all of us fight each other. It is a glorious idea, don't you think so?"

"Peace." Zuri repeated. It tasted so strange for cultivators. All cultivators hoped for were long ceasefires. War was just a matter of time with their long lives, and so cultivators all prepared for that eventuality.

"It sounds naive, I know. But a few thousand years of peace makes a huge, huge difference. Together, we will lay the seeds to build something better." Grandduke Edrian said. "Rest well. Elder Fleck has already arranged for the city to be sealed for at least a few months, while we flush out the rest of the traitors. This war has barely started, and we'll need all of you, if we are to purge the corrupt from our imperial ranks."

Wilber looked at the Grandduke, and even though he was too weak to speak many words, he still mustered a nod.

***

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