Cultivator in a Zombie Apocalypse

Chapter Eighty Eight - A Gift From The Heavens

Part two of two

Ren Zexian's innersea was not like the beautiful landscaped garden within Nathan. It was unlikely it could be anymore different.

There was fire everywhere, not only the hot red and orange flames that Nathan often witnessed within his stove, but also there was a fire in the heart of it all that had flames that were black and scalding, threatening to disintegrate to ash anything that they touched. Winds blew violently through the sea of flames, whipping them into a frenzy and even causing whirlwinds of flickering red to burst into the burgundy sky. And there, two moons could be seen. One moon was golden, yet there were spiderweb thin cracks upon one side of it. The other was white-silver, yet there was a swirling mass of darkness violently throwing itself against the silvery edges.

In amidst of all this, Ren Zexian was standing peacefully, robed and with his hands clasped lightly behind his back. The flames did not touch him, just kissed the hem of his clothing once in a while as if as subdued and gentle as the vines guarding Nathan's gardens.

Worried his beloved would be terrified by his volatile energies within his innersea, Ren Zexian had left a projection of himself in wait for his beloved, while he quietly guided his own energies towards Nathan's body. That projection held out his hand to Nathan and the youth took it without hesitation.

The petals burned to ash, as they were swept along in the winds, feeding the flames which burned more hungrily. Then the droplets tempered them with their coolness and they fell back a little subdued. The steam and ash produced still held a soft glow and rose into the sky with the wind. The swirling mass inside the silver moon paused its battle and seemed to even retreat, however the wind had no time for it, instead, sweeping the unified energies into the web of meridians beyond the innersea.

Poison yin fled in the face of it, retreating and as more and more of the gentle glow of the foreign yang energy poured into the meridians, it found the routes of retreat cut off. It was corralled into the innersea, attracted by the black flames, yet resisting the attraction as if aware that in them lie only destruction. The swirling mass in the silvery moon became volatile once more as if demanding the taint to retreat, but there was no choice. It was swept into the shelter of the prison and became trapped inside.

Meanwhile, the scalding, windswept energy from had entered Nathan's innersea, burning the plants within his garden before the flames were subdued beneath a wave of water, drawn like a waterspout from the pond. The ash settled on the ground and from it, new stronger shoots of green appeared, their unfurling leaves verdant and with more vitality than before. The water steamed creating a mist in which the glow of the central flower seemed even more bright. The small flickering black flames that still burned here and there was both attracted and repelled by the light and the two came together and formed a sphere as they circled each other.

As the poison was no longer and issue, the glowing light had gathered more and more inside Ren Zexian's innersea, it too finding itself caught in dance with the black flames. Both spheres reflected the other and the energies that had been circling within the meridians, burning, soothing, stretching, easing, strengthening and healing were drawn towards the yin yang like spheres circling around them like asteroids around a sun, faster, more excitedly, more thickly until seemingly solid. This mass came in contact with the equalling growing spheres and the energies became less defined, became more compact until the mass could no longer spin due to weight. And then it cracked and exploded.

Ren Zexian's eye's fluttered open as the sparkling dust settled inside his innersea, landing on the sea of flames which crackled contentedly beneath a solid golden moon and calmed silver one. Beneath him, his lover still lie eyes shut but from the movement below his lids, he would also awaken soon. Overwhelmed with joy, Ren Zexian placed a loving kiss upon the youth's forehead, but felt it did not express a fraction of the emotion welling inside of himself at that moment. This youth, this beautiful young man, it was as if the heavens had given him a most priceless and invaluable treasure.