The orb pulled out of Keng's chest as the words began to fade. Keng spun around a couple times like Lee Seng was in the room.
"Silver fox what's wrong?" Jyu'so asked.
"Lee Seng!" Keng shouted. When he didn't see Lee Seng anywhere, the panic only grew in his face. "I-I heard him! I heard him! He was here! I just—"
"Little fox, your Vessel isn't here." Gorrum told him.
"He's not my Vessel. He's my partner!" Keng angrily corrected. His orb floated in front of his chest as Keng slammed the table. "Why does everyone call him my Vessel? We're in a working partnership. I help him, he helps me. That's the way it is, got it?!?"
'What's with the sudden change in attitude?' Gorrum thought. Keng sighed and grabbed the orb. He turned and rushed out of the room.
"Keng! Where are you going?!?" Gorrum shouted, standing.
"Let him go." Jyu'so stuck his arm out to block his feathery ally. "It seems theey are more in sync that we thought they were."
"Shouldn't we stop him? He's gonna go straight back at this rate."
"Don't worry about it, Gorrum." Jyu'so spoke calmly. "He cannot go anywhere. I made sure of it."
"Wh-what do you mean, Elder?" Gorrum's eyes focused onto Jyu'so. Jyu'so lowered his arm and folded his hands into each other in his lap.
"I put a spell on him. Even he wouldn't be able to break it."
Keng held the orb in his hand as he angrily moved through the village. He got weird looks from the others as he held his Soul orb in his hand. It was a strange sight for Fox Spirits to see someone holding their most valuable possession in their hands for all to see. Keng quickly sped to the closest exit as guards flagged him down.
"Where are you going?" The guards asked. Keng gave them a serious look before he glanced at his orb. "Is that yours?"
'Why can't I hear him anymore? That hasn't happened, ever. What's going on?' Keng wondered.
"Foxling, answer the question." The guard spoke up. Keng looked up and noticed the guards had moved closer. "Is that yours?"
"It's mine. Why do you care what I do with it?" Keng asked harshly. The guards narrowed their eyes on him.
"You should watch your tone, foxling. Show some respect." A guard stepped forward and went to grab him. Keng moved backwards, clutching on his soul orb.
"Don't touch me." Keng told them.
"Watch your attitude, foxling. Or else you'll get yourself into more trouble." The guards surrounded him quickly and pointed their weapons at him. Keng sighed and ignored them. He glanced at the gold and silver soul orb. The guards grabbed at him as he continued to ignore them.
"What's going on?" Zixin asked.
"Sir!" The guards all shouted in-sync.
"This foxling is holding a soul orb! It might be someone's."
"Don't worry about it." Zixin waved. "That's his and his partner's. Leave him be. He seems upset." Zixin watched as the guards released Keng and he continued to stare at the orb. Zixin moved closer to Keng. He could tell Keng was upset about something. "What's wrong, Keng?" Keng didn't answer for a while. He irritated yet quiet while focused on the orb.
Soul Orb has been temporarily transferred to the Spirit for the duration of 2.5 years. Any experience gained by the Vessel won't be added until the Spirit and Vessel rejoin.
'I've never seen this before… What's going on?' Keng thought.
"Keng?" Zixin's voice called him. Keng sighed and pressed the orb into his chest. The guards all watched in pain as Keng casually pushed through the pain and turned to look at Zixin.
"Hmm?" Keng asked.
"Everything alright?"
"Yeah. I just need to go for a walk." Keng passed Zixin and the guards. The guards began to move to stop him when Zixin put his arm up.
"Let him go." Zixin ordered. They watched him leave as Zixin turned.
"It seems he isn't running straight for the gate." Gorrum spoke. Jyu'so and Gorrum walked over to Zixin and the guards as Zixin and the guards saluted at Elder Jyu'so. "I thought he would go for it."
"He may not be going towards the Gate right now, but we should be cautious." Jyu'so nodded. "I'm sorry for the commotion. It seems he heard something unexpected. Let him be for awhile. If he goes to the Gate, we'll know."
Keng moved through the open field for awhile until he got to a shaded spot in the field. A single tree sitting in the middle of field as he let sat down and leaned onto the tree.
'I heard Lee Seng. I'm sure of that…' Keng thought. 'He can't feel the orb? And he knows I'm gone? Then what happened that day in his Soul world?' He brushed his white hair back as he contemplated what happened. 'I need to go back to him, but everything's so complicated… No one came for me, either… Are they letting me go to the Gate?'
p
Keng tossed himself to the left and flailed his limbs around. He had many options but the obvious one seemed like it was a trap. He didn't want to think about what he should be doing. Keng got up on his feet and started to walk back to Dat'e.
"There's nothing else to do. I have 2.5 years before I have to go back to Lee Seng. What can I do right now anyways?" Keng shrugged. "Lee Seng's done all of the work and now something's inside of him that isn't the Protocol. I need to get stronger." He reached for one of the daggers at his side and pulled one of them out. The daggers wafted and smelled of water. It had an odd calming effect on him.
'Maybe that's why I'm not running back to the Gate.' Keng thought. He had his questions about Daros and the Fox Spirits. He wanted to learn the ways of the Fox Spirits and also figure out why he and Lee Seng were chosen to follow some destiny.
Dat'e grew close by the time Keng looked up. He slipped the dagger back into place and moved past the guards as they gave him serious looks.
"Back already? Not gonna try to run or do anything?" Zixin asked. He moved out of side of the building and stepped into the light.
"I guess not." Keng shrugged. He continued walking. Zixin followed after him, sticking next to him as Keng made his way back to the building he came out of. "Why're you following me?"
"It's been a while since we've seen each other. I just wanna know how you're doing."
"I'll be fine." Keng answered.
"You wanna talk about it?"
"Not really."
"I'm here to listen if you need it."
"I won't be here long anyways."
"Hey," Zixin turned Keng. Keng was definitely pissed off. "It'll be alright." Keng narrowed his eyes and let out a sigh.
"Doesn't feel like it." Keng finally spoke the truth. "I don't got much time, Zixin. I need to get back to Lee Seng as soon as possible but everyone keeps on telling me I should train so I can be sure I can save him."
"Sounds like there's a big but here."
"But I learned that if a Vessel and/or Spirit focefully eject themselves from each other after they've merged souls, there's only a certain amount of time before they both turn to monsters and hunt each other down."
"Ah, become demonic spirits." Zixin nodded.
"You've heard about that?"
"Mmm, yeah. It's a warning story for every Fox Spirit. If a Vessel and Fox Spirit repel eeach other and try to split after the merging, it'll only cause more problems. Their combined full power lowers tremendously and they're reduced to a useless husk of nothingness before time crawls and they turn into a monster." Zixin told him. "So you should be ready for what's to come and go back before that time occurs."
"How long does it usually take to turn?" Keng asked.
"Mmm, in terms of Earth or Daros time?" Zixin asked.
"Daros time I guess? Could you tell me both?"
"Maybe 3 years in Daros time. About a 2 or 3 months in Earth time." Zixin answered. Keng's face grew dark as Zixin told him the timeframe. "That's why you're training here. There's more time for you to train and grow in a short couple of years. If you can train your hardest here, you'll do well." Zixin patted his back.
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