Shen

Shen Feng.

Shen Feng.

Shen Feng. Shen Feng. Shen Feng. Shen Feng–

It'll kill him.

It writhed, its ethereal blood seeping from countless wounds that marred its gaunt, otherworldly form. Limbs elongated beyond natural proportion hung limply, like tendrils of shadow in the murky embrace of the sea. Glowing eyes, once blazing with an unearthly radiance, now dimmed to a sickly ember, half-lidded in the throes of defeat.

How could this be? How could such a formidable being, born of the darkest realms, be bested by a mere mortal – an arrogant, flame-haired brat, no less? The creature's razor-tipped claws flexed in impotent fury, grasping at the fading remnants of the sky's reflection upon the surface.

As it sank deeper into the abyss, its mind swirled with thoughts of vengeance, of the unspeakable torments it would unleash upon that man. And in the depths of its malevolent heart, the creature knew one thing–

It’ll kill him.

Its countless twisted limbs unfurled with a sickening grace, each appendage tipped with barbed talons. A faint current carried the scent of warm flesh, and the creature's multitude of eyes snapped open, glowing with a soulless, amber hunger. It sensed the approach of its prey, a solitary shark drifting through the inky blackness, oblivious to the malevolent presence that had awakened beneath.

With a sinuous motion, the horror extended a grotesquely elongated tongue, its surface rippling with rows of hooked barbs. The appendage lashed out, coiling around the hapless shark and ensnaring it in a vice-like grip. The creature's maw unhinged, revealing a nightmarish array of fangs that glistened with drool.

The shark thrashed in vain as it was inexorably drawn towards the gaping maw. As the first droplets of the creature's caustic saliva touched its flesh, the shark's scales began to sizzle and slough off, exposing raw, quivering meat. With a sickening crunch, the horror's fangs punctured the shark's hide, and a torrent of blood filled its gullet. It gorged itself with a frenzied abandon, consuming every last scrap of flesh and bone, savoring the exquisite agony of its prey's final moments.

As the last vestiges of the shark's essence were devoured, a surge of primal power coursed through the horror's grotesque form. Its multitude of eyes flew open, burning with a ravenous golden glow.

Shen Feng. That cocky razor-sharp grin, flame hair tied in a loose manbun, eye piercing red.

It ate any fish unfortunate enough to swim over its emaciated corpse. One by one, devouring blood, flesh, bones, and their spirit force until its wounds closed up. Then it slowly swam back up to the dock.

Slowly, agonizingly, the creature lifted its grotesque head, a bestial silhouette emerging from the ocean. Its jaw unhinged with a sickening crunch, fangs glistening like obsidian daggers as they descended, drool splattering in thick ropes. Within that gaping maw yawned an abyss of infinite darkness, a void that seemed to consume any lingering light, greedily swallowing it whole.

The monster's eyes were two bottomless pits, endless night skies devoid of any glimmer of soul or mercy. It stared, unblinking, as if daring any foolish enough to meet that soulless gaze to surrender their sanity. Unnaturally still, it seemed to drink in its surroundings, an apex predator lying in wait, savoring the delicious dread permeating the air. Then it lunged.

Shen Feng was as good as dead.

---

8 hours later

"Master," Shen murmured, "You summoned me?"

The temple gardens hummed with life despite the morning hush. Vibrant flower petals unfurled like butterflies emerging from chrysalises, each bloom seeming to radiate its own inner light and warmth in the slanted rays. Ripe fruits hung heavy from the orchard trees, their skins glazed with dew's morning kiss. Even the vegetable patches thrummed with the promise of future nourishment for the blessed souls who called these sacred grounds their home.

But the gardens' bounty and beauty was lost on Shen as he knelt upon the lush grass, his brow furrowed and good eye screwed shut. Master Wen Bai's summons had come so suddenly, without preamble or explanation. Shen had rushed to answer, of course - his eternal debt and reverence for the man who had plucked him from the smoldering ashes of his childhood village knew no bounds.

His hero, his savior, his immortal guide now sat mere paces away on the carved stone lip of the central fountain. Though remembering his burning village made his good eye wince, his mind falling into that familiar darkness.

-The houses burnt as men on horses rode on, tossing torches and lighting everything ablaze-

-Armed invaders dragging woman by the hair out out of their homes along with their husbands and slaughtering them all without prejudice-

-The screams, the ashes that clung to his throat, the scalding as a man on a horse with an eyepatch knocked him in the eye, sending him flying and landing in burning debris until all he could feel was-

"Peace, Shen," the elderly master murmured, his deep voice a soothing balm. Master Wen Bai placed a calloused hand atop his student's head. The simple touch from his revered master grounded Shen, and the tortured recollections evaporated from his consciousness like curls of fog burned away by the morning sun.

Shen exhaled slowly, giving his head a small shake to fully clear the lingering phantoms. "Thank you, Master." He dipped his chin with the utmost humility and respect. It would not do to become lost in the nightmares of the past when Master Wen Bai had summoned him for an important purpose.

"There is an esteemed visitor making their way to Xian Jiu Guan," Wen Bai stated, his wise eyes studying Shen carefully. "I wish for you to act as their escort and protector during their stay with us."

Shen stiffened instinctively, the hilt of his sheathed broadsword pressing into the small of his back as he straightened his posture. To be personally selected for such an honored duty by the monastery's venerated master...he swelled with pride even as bewilderment furrowed his brow.

"Yes, of course, Master," he replied without a hint of hesitation. One did not question the decisions of Master Wen Bai. "But...who is this visitor?" The words slipped out before Shen could catch them, laced with the slightest tinge of childlike curiosity.

A low chuckle rumbled from the elderly monk's chest. Shen felt heat bloom across his cheeks at his own impertinence. Seeking clarification from one's teacher was acceptable, but his phrasing reeked of brash entitlement unbefitting a humble disciple of the monastery's ways.

"I believe this will be good for you," Wen Bai said at length, each precise syllable a weighted droplet in the stillness between them. "You will be forced to downsize your...capability for destruction, because you must keep an escort safe."

The words hung like an ill-fitted yoke across Shen's shoulders, and he swallowed thickly against the sudden dryness in his throat. Of course the old master knew—he always knew. Shen's reckless solo pursuit of that ancient, malignant spirit, his failure to follow protocols, the calamitous wake of collateral damage he'd left in the city below...

Unbidden, the image of that massive form thrashing amid the shattered wreckage of an entire city block blazed behind Shen's eyes. He could still hear the deafening crack of its limbs smashing through concrete and rebar as easily as a man might brush aside cobwebs. Could still smell the charred reek of its spirit blood and multiple eyes as it ate through steel and stone alike.

He'd had no choice but to chase it—to end the rampage before it grew unstoppable. Hadn't he?

"Now you know I trust you beyond belief, Shen." Wen Bai's words skipped like stones through the turbulence of Shen's thoughts. "I would trust you with my life if the time came to it."

The old master's gnarled hand found the crown of Shen's head, ruffling his sweat-damp hair with an affectionate ruffle that somehow made the sting of reproach worse. "Believe in yourself more—in your strengths. Everyone makes mistakes, even I do."

"You never make mistakes!" The protest burst from Shen's lips before he could swallow it back. He shook his head vehemently, feeling years younger than his two decades. "That's your mistake—you can't make any. You're perfect—"

"I'm not perfect, Shen." The words came firm but unembroidered, Wen Bai's tone carrying a fortifying warmth. "I made many mistakes in my life leading to now, and I still do. Even I learn something new every day...You will too, by escorting this person."

As his master turned away, robes whispering across the tile, Shen felt something molten and unyielding take shape within his chest. He would not fail again—would not allow whatever careless arrogance or unchecked impulse had led to his blunder to compromise this next task. Jaw set in a hard line, he spun on his heel and strode through the gate, the heavy wooden doors groaning wide to admit him. This time, he would do everything by the book. He would be the consummate professional, a perfect instrument of restraint and focus...

He had to be. Anything less than perfection was unacceptable.

---

The Next Day

The morning sun had only begun cresting over the mountaintops when Shen arrived at Xian Jiu Guan's only entrance, the faint light reflecting off the razor edge of his broadsword. The blade was as long as the young warrior was tall, its steely length embedded into the hard-packed earth as he leaned his muscular frame against the hilt's worn grip. His chiseled features were set in a perpetual scowl, fiery amber eye glaring out from beneath furrowed brows as intense as the elemental chi smoldering within.

The guards flanking the entrance stole sidelong glances at the imposing swordsman, quickly averting their gazes when met with his molten glower. They knew better than to risk provoking Shen's notoriously volatile temper. Fear was a small price to pay for self-preservation around one who wore his formidable power and arrogance alike as thick cloaks against any perceived slight or deception. Betrayal was the greatest sin one could commit against him.

The thought made Shen's scowl deepen into a sneer of disdain. Diplomats, the whole pompous arrogant lot of them with their honeyed words and false smiles. How quickly their platitudes turned to falsehoods, their allegiances made air. At least terror kept men truthful when their very lives hung in the blistered balance.

Where was this envoy Master Wen Bai had sent word was arriving? And more puzzlingly, why had Master tasked Shen - ill-suited and ill-tempered as he was - to escort and guard them? Diplomacy wasn’t his strong suit. Wouldn't one of the more level-headed inner circle members like Dove or Dolphin have been better suited?

Shen's calloused fingers drummed restlessly against the grooved hilt as his eyes narrowed, scanning the vacant dock jutting out onto the vast tranquil waters surrounding the island monastery's craggy shores. For all its natural defenses of towering peaked barriers, the isolated sanctuary's only way in or out for visitors was by sea. Yet not a single vessel broke the mirrored surface this early morn.

Except today, Shen could see it in the distance. A grand ship, rocking back and forth lazily in the cam sea setting towards their dock. He glanced at the guards to see them leaning back against the pillars, yawning. They were complacent because Shen was here.

“Tch.” Shen grunts, his eyes narrowed to slits of molten amber as he surveyed the guards flanking the dock's entrance with a mixture of disdain and impatience. Their languid postures reeked of complacency born from his mere presence. A low grunt of disapproval rumbled in his throat as he whipped his head towards them.

In a blur of motion, the broadsword sang through the air, its razor edge shearing a few precious strands from one guard's scalp before embedding in the pillar beside his ear with a dull thunk. The man's already sallow complexion blanched further as his eyes bulged with terror, frantic breaths rasping in his throat.

"Stay alert," Shen's gruff baritone sliced through the salty air like the swing of his blade. "This is the least scary thing to come aiming for your head." His words hung heavy with the weight of brutal promise.

Wrenching the sword free, Shen resumed his watchful stance at the dock's edge. The unmistakable silhouette of an approaching vessel cut through the tranquil waters getting closer. As the ship drew nearer, its towering masts and tattered sails emerged from the hazy distance. The rhythmic creaking of wood and flapping canvas accompanied the dull thrum of Shen's pulse in his ears, his body coiled with a predator's patience. His gaze traced the scurrying deck hands securing the moorings, finally settling on the lone figure positioned at the hull.

Twenty agonizing minutes crawled by before the weathered gangplank bridged the gap between ship and dock. Shen's arms folded across his barrel chest, hands gripping opposites biceps as he regarded the newcomer through the veil of his lashes.

Though every fiber cried out to meet this stranger as a threat, years of ingrained discipline smothered the instinct. Instead, Shen swept into a formal bow, posture rigid with forced propriety. "Welcome to Xian Jiu Guan. Master Wen Bai sent me to be your escort and guard."

Straightening, the feral grin he had fought to subdue split across his features once more, mirroring the pride in his skills flickering behind his eyes.

"You won't have to worry about a thing," the words seemed to reverberate with the promise of violence underlying their nonchalant delivery. "You've got the strongest master watching your back."