Song

Chapter 26: Empress

Shu looks towards the source of the voice. A gale sweeps across the field, and from the winds appears Shen― a Purger with sleek black hair that veils over half of his face. The Blossom's doctor and miracle worker strolls towards them, neither looking hostile nor friendly towards the boys.

"What're you talking about?" Shu asks.

Shen nods at Song's corpse. "He has passed the test, and as such, Father has decided to give him a second chance at life." When Shu looks even more confused, Shen gestures towards his Soldier. "Emperor of Demise, may I ask for a moment with your partner?"

Emperor of Demise? Shu isn't sure where that new title came from, but he can't help but trust in Shen's words. He nods.

"Thank you."

Shen reaches out and touches Song's chest. The warmth in the air intensifies, and now Shen appears to be radiating in a glow of white light. Suddenly, a figure bursts from his back, a ghostly skeleton thrice as tall as him, with a tattered robe dangling from its frame while wielding a long staff.

The Yin of the Empress. Shu tenses and is about to move in, but Long stops him. The look on Long's face suggests that there's nothing to be worried about, and somehow Shu trusts him despite their past differences. What else could he do? He has nothing left to lose.

The gigantic spectral skeleton raises its arm, and ghastly wisps begin to gather around its palm. Meanwhile, Shen's hand is still on Song's body, the glow of light still too bright for Shu to look at them directly. A thumping sound booms from the skeleton, forming a steady rhythm, like the sound of a heartbeat. The wisps eventually gather into an orb in its hand, and the phantom reaches out to Song, planting it into his body. The light intensifies, and Shu is now forced to squeeze his eyes shut.

Shu suddenly senses a change from Song through his shared senses with the Golden Soldier. He opens his eyes. The light is gone. Once his vision is clear, the first thing he notices is the twisted piece of charred thing replacing Song's severed arm.

But more importantly, Song is breathing.

"Song..." Tears well up in Shu's eyes, and he chokes. "SONG!"

Shu buries his face on his resurrected partner and cries without restraint, his emotional bawling bordering on a half-shout. The ghostly creature behind Shen dissipates away, and the doctor's stoical expression changes into one of warmth as he watches the scene before him.

"Now if you'll excuse me, you have one more friend that needs tending to," Shen says.

From the battered gates, Lin staggers towards the courtyard with Mei's corpse in his arms. White petals carried by a mysterious gust of wind wrap around the legendary doctor, and almost instantly, he appears right before the Purger pair. Though looking composed on the surface, the desperation in Lin's eyes betray the front he's trying to put up. Lin literally saw Shen resurrect Song just moments ago with his very eyes; he knows Shen will do the same for Mei, and yet he still looks as if he's about to break down any second.