Well, the Snowfall Arc has definitely been the longest arc by far. Who would have thought? Thanks to all the readers, voters, and commentors, I'll be releasing the ending to this arc on Saturday, and we shall begin a new arc which will ramp things up.
Tac Tac Tac
The icy ground crunched as the Snow God slowly walked to the fallen youth. When he was merely 30 meters away, but a hairs breadth of distance to a martial artist, Lineir began to stir in the snow.
"Crap. I knew the technique was draining, but it really is shocking to have ALL my Qi drained at once. I don't even have enough power left to fight back against a common martial artist of the mortal realms right now." He thought as he struggled to rise from the cold snow. His landing had created a small crater around him and he was hard pressed to rise from the dense material. However, as he freed his limbs he looked up and saw the Snow God looking at him with a lost expression. His face was filled with nothingness, but a different kind of nothingness than the one it had in the sky. It was one of someone who had discovered they had lost something precious.
"You've returned. Do you remember what happened to Bing Wei?" Lineir said with a calm expression. He did his best to stay neutral though he feared the worst. The Snow God clenched his fists.
"I...I've been dreaming. Who are you? In my dreams we fought but I cannot remember why. Why did we fight? Where am I? This is...Snowfall Mountain?" He said. Lineir could only shake his head piteously. While he did not know the whole story yet, he understood much of what had probably occurred.
"You were under the possession of an ancient ghost. His name was Li Wentao. Do you remember falling under his spell?" Lineir tucked his legs under him and then stood up smoothly as the Qi of the Higher Realms began to flow back into him. He revealed the blood red orb and the howling spirit inside.
"That...I was in the mountains searching for something in my training. I found an ancient cave and began to train there. It's benefits were miraculous, weeks worth of cultivation I could achieve in a mere day. But then...nothing." The Snow God said and Lineir nodded while pointing towards the orb in his hand,.
"This spirit must have found a way to seize control of your body while you were meditating. It has been several years since then. Before I freed you from its control, you....it captured your wife. She had attempted to activate the final formation of Snowfall Citadel to seal you with her. I'm afraid her fate is known only to this spirit and maybe you now."
The Snow God's complexion paled even more. His ivory white skin took on the same color as fresh fallen snow.
"I...I don't remember. I need to know. Which way is the city!?" He said looking around wild eyed. Lineir stopped him before he could leave.
"Wait! Your children, take them with you." He said and yelled out, "Spirit of the Estate! Let them out!"
A second later the monastery gates opened and the two Wei girls emerged.
"Papa!!!" Twin voices cried out. The Snow God's eyes widened,
"Girls?" He said and more tears leaked out of his eyes into the frozen air. He looked at Lineir as he took them into his arms.
"Thank you! What is your name?" He asked and Lineir said with a nod,
"You can call me Lineir." He saw no harm in using his true name. The Snow God nodded back,
"Lineir then. I am Jue Wei. You will always be welcome in Snowfall Citadel so long as I still reign. I would welcome you for freeing me but I need to face...my wife. I must go. But what do you plan on doing with that festering spirit." He said as he pointed to the orb. Inside the spirit swam, coiling inside of its miserable space like a coiling snake.
"Don't worry. This spirit will never harm anyone again. Go do what you want." Lineir said as he clenched his fingers over the orb, shrinking it. The Snow God took one last look at the thing which had stolen so much from him and gathered the girls who were quiet, sensing the strange mood.
WHHOOOOSH!
With a swirl of snow, the Snow God blasted off the ground and after a second of looking around in the sky, rocketed off to Snowfall Citadel. Lineir walked over to the monastery once more. As he entered the doors and greeted the Estate Spirit he sat down and crossed his legs.
"Man...I'm beat."
*************
Whoooooooosh
In the walls of the citadel not a single voice sounded. A cold gust of wind rattled as the Snow God landed directly from the sky. He put down his daughters, saying simply,
"Later. I need to see your mother. Stay here." Then he created an icy igloo around them as he headed towards the palace.
"Papa?" The girls said but he continued to walk as the ice closed off their voices.
Toc....Toc...Toc...
The Snow God's footsteps in his armor were heavy on the ground. He looked about the city which was trashed and ruined from the mass exodus of its civilians. Here and there were many bodies of those who had been trampled in the panic. The buildings, though damaged and different jogged his memory. It was as if he had woken from a dream of a place he had been, only to find himself walking in the very place he had dreamed of.
"So it is true. Bing-er really did activate the cities' final defense formation. The question is, what happened to her after. I can't...can't remember." He muttered as his feet felt like they had turned into bricks. Every step became heavy and the ground was as quicksand. Slow...time was moving so slowly, almost as slowly as the dream, yet his heart was beating very fast. As he entered the roofless palace of the Jin Clan, the torn banners of their colors fluttered like dying butterflies. The Jin Clan had shined brightly while he had been under the spell of the spirit, but in the end they had burned out and died from the very sustenance which brought them greatness.
Toc....Toc....Toc....
The floor was scuffed and shattered here and there from the battle earlier. Out of the sky, flakes of snow came as if to bury the citadel. Here in the cold Snowfall Region, without the defense of great formations, nature would quickly reclaim the land. The chill invaded the Snow God's soul though he remained unmoved as he saw various corpses of Jin Clan members, all their blood essence drained from their bodies. The once magnificent palace had become a damned place of the dead.
Toc.....Toc.....Toc....
Finally the Snow God came upon the room which had once been his chambers. A pair of Jin Clan guards were lying, their desiccated corpses sucked dry. No matter where they were they had been easily been claimed by the hungry spirit's mechanisms. With a heavy hand and a heavier heart he slowly pushed open the grand stone doors. As he entered...
"No..." The Snow God fell to the floor. "Forgive me!"