Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
꒾ CHAPTER 11 ꒾
ONE QUESTION THAT HAD ALWAYS PLAGUED Ju's mind, was what her family would have thought of her now. Would they be proud, disappointed? What about her sisters? We're they watching over her from above? Ju wanted to know.
With all these thoughts running through her head, Ju emerged out of her old home, venturing out. As she walked through her village, many children grinned and waved at her, while the adults nodded at her in respect. Ju took a deep breath as she arrived at her destination.
It was a small patch of grass, hidden in the green forest, filled with small gravestones of names for the people that were killed in the war. Ju slowly walked around each stone, looking at the names, until she found four, all laid out together.
Ju brushed away some of the dirt and vines covering the names of the stones, and with it, emerged four names worth saving.
Zhang Kai
Zhang Jin
Her parents.
Zhang Jun
Zhang Jia
Her sisters.
Tears began streaming down her face as she rested her forehead against Jia's stone. She could've saved them, but she was too late. She always was, and she always would be. Ju began silently sobbing against the hard rock. Thousands of thoughts rapidly flew through her head, her palms became sweaty, and her lungs started to close up, making it impossible to breathe.
Vines started sprouting around the woman, growing larger and thicker with every burst of anger radiating from her body. Flashes of her former life took control of her mind, crumbling down the stone walls surrounding it.
"Jun! Jia! Slow down I want to go train with you!"
A young Ju rushed outside of her family's small cabin. Strong arms wrapped around her, gently holding her toddler self to their body.
"Ju, you cannot go with your sisters-not yet," her father's soothing voice cooed.
Ju's eyes filled with tears, wanting to be as courageous and beautiful as her older sisters.
"Your time will come, my love, but for now cherish the small innocence of childhood you have left."
The scene changed, fast forwarding to when Ju was older, about twelve.
Her mentor, Ying Nan, was walking around her in circles, while Ju had a black blindfold on.
"Now remember Ju, in order to channel your powers, you must not think your sister's thoughts, nor your parent's," she paused for a moment, "only your own. Remember this for the rest of your life, or you may just suffer the same fate of my late-sister and her son."
Ju slowly took off her blindfold, curious.
"I thought she only had a daughter?" she queried.
Ying chuckled sadly, shaking her head. "My child, that boy's story has started terribly for him, and now the only thing we could do is pray to the ancestors for his safety."
Ju in front of her frowned. "What's his name Ying?"
The old woman looked at the child in front of her, innocent, but not for long. Same as the boy who was suffering miles away from Ta Lo.
"Never mind that child-now repeat the sequence you learned last week!"
The setting changed once more, mortifying Ju as she knew what day this was.
A fourteen-year-old Ju created green mist around a purple spirit, engulfing it. The spirit dissolved, making the teen grin to herself.
"Watch out!"
Ju ducked as a grey and black spirit flew past her. She looked around, attempting to find who warned her. Her eyes landed on her sisters, who both had worried look on their faces. Jun and Jia rushed over to their younger sister, visibly scanning her body for any injuries.
Said girl laughed despite the chaos surrounding them. Her older sisters quickly pulled her into a quick hug. Jun went to hold off other spirits as Jia turned to Ju.
"Stay safe alright? I won't lose my baby sister today," she exclaimed, causing both of them to grin.
"I'm okay," Ju responded knowingly, "Go, I've got this."
Jia nodded, a proud look on her face as she moved across the war zone to her twin. As Ju turned around, her eyes locked with her mother and father's. Her mother carried a warm smile on her face as her father created another vine to strangle a magenta spirit. Ju picked up a dragon-scaled spear as she found another misty beast.
Ju tightly sealed her eyes shut in present time, shaking her head. She wanted it to stop. But it was too late.
Teenage Ju was fighting off different dark-colored spirits, using a mixture of green mist, vines, and her dragon-scaled spear. She was keeping an eye on the rest of her family, who were multiple meters away, but still in sight.
Someone had yelled a, 'Watch out!', and while Ju had ducked, a certain spirit's hands clawed toward her. It all happened so fast, it was like a blur. The claws that were clearly not aiming for her managed to dig into her back, releasing a scream from the young girl. The cuts were scarily deep, and she would loose blood very quickly.
Yet herself was not who Ju was terrified for.
The spirit that had lunged at Ju was aiming for her sisters and parents, and was charging toward them at full speed. By now, Ju was laying on her back, head turned toward her family, attempting to scream out in warning while trying to get back on her feet.
As the purple beast clawed and scratched at her family, brutally murdering them, all Ju could think about was that she could've saved them. If she had only gotten up, stopped being a coward, maybe they would still be here.
Ju was lying on the ground, writhing in pain, screaming out in agony. It was unbearable, both psychically and mentally. To see your family get murdered in front of your own eyes, not being able to do anything because you couldn't get yourself off the damn floor.
It was pathetic.
Present day Ju's fingers brushed across her back, feeling the deep, long scars that resembled a wolf's claw. The scars never faded that much. Only a little bit, so it didn't looks fresh. Ju wiped her eyes roughly and stood up. She went to go back to her cabin.
As she walked away from the broken memories of her past life, she wondered what could've been.
author's note - hey guys! sorry i haven't updated this week yet, i've been spending time with my family. this chapter was more of a filler about Ju's past and family. did you guys like it? what were your thoughts? do you have any predictions for what will happen next?
love you guys and have a great thanksgiving if you celebrate it!!! ❤️❤️❤️
