The spirit world is broken and in desperate need of a restoration. True heroes and ancient beasts that once walked are now a thing of the past. Between the empty spaces of forgotten treasure halls there are whispers of one who has returned. One lege...
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They were not standing at the entrance for very long before Ritsu wandered over to the far end of the Jade Pool.
"What are you doing?" Anari asked. The enclosure was large and from where they stood, seemed vacant. But she could hear the distinct signs of a crowd gathering near one of the walls that ran adjacent to the garden filled with nobles.
Ritsu knelt at the pool's edge and stared at the fully blossoming trees running parallel on either side.
"I get the feeling that I've been here before. Only instead of pear trees, there were peach trees."
Anari joined him. Swimming in loops at the water's surface was a cluster of rainbow koi. She thought back to how the guards had hesitated earlier.
"Let me see your staff, Sun."
When he handed it over, she used it to knock down the lowest branch. A fat pear easily broke from the tree and sank in the pool. When it bobbed back to the surface, it had transformed. Anari used the staff to drag the new fruit to them before the koi could devour it.
"Great Sage," Ritsu whispered as he fished a glistening peach from the pool. It looked identical to the ones in Ham Song's barf.
Anari handed back his staff. "Here you go." She fought to keep her temperature cool as his awe shifted from the peach to her.
"An enchanted pool?" Ritsu looked back at the water in uncertainty.
Anari nodded. "I don't think we're supposed to know. You should hide that peach."
He stuffed the holy fruit in the pocket of his hoodie. Anari wanted to ask him so many questions. Starting with, why are you traveling with a pig and a wayward monk? She was also curious about his fascination with the butcher earlier. It was no secret that the nobles capitalized off of the local spirits in nearly any way they could. The skeleton's story was nothing special. So why had Sun Ritsu pretended like he'd given a damn?
Maybe he wasn't pretending.
Relaxing a bit and drawing circles in the shallow pool, Anari said, "I wonder what would happen if you dropped that staff in here."
Ritsu held up the wooden replica and angled his head to the side. Despite his glamour, his movements gave away his feral nature. It also made Anari want to reach up and scratch behind his ears. Instead, she gently nudged him with one of her elbows.
"You should try it."
His ears reddened at the contact. "Alright. Let's see what happens." He held the staff upright and carefully dipped it in the pool. Anari sat up straighter when the water around the base of the wood began to bubble. The fish started behaving differently too. They turned into something more like a swarm, creating a tight orbit of multicolor scales around the pole.
Ritsu let go, but the staff stood upright on its own, slowly sinking into the bubbling rainbow blur. He and the spider leaned forward over the pool, following the staff as it melted into the tie-dye whirlpool. It descended until it disappeared under the knot of color and bubbles.
