The Palaces of the Twelve Sacred Beasts

The feeling of free-falling filled his senses as the fog from the cliff came full force into his direction. The bizarre wind screeched like souls with a vengeance by his ears as the chilling sensation cut Gu Ting Yu's skin like sharp blades.

The sheer cliffs and precipitous rock faces flashed by him like a fast-forwarded film. Gu Ting Yu could hear his heart thumping violently against his chest. At that moment, he seemed to recall a lot of things, but there wasn't any more time for him to go into detail.

The foggy wind that came in his direction stung his eyes as Gu Ting Yu helplessly shut them.

At the bottom of the cliff, it was filled with weeds, broken rocks and a few horrifying sets of skeletons that belonged to those wild beasts that fell off the cliff by accident. Their lives came to an end as they hit the bottom of the cliff. It was as if the skeletons were waiting for the next impact that would echo through the deep valley once again. Gu Ting Yu was falling in the direction of a boulder with sharp edges when two flashes of shadows dashed towards him from different directions.

"NO!!!!"

…

[I will keep everything that is important to me by my side and never let go of them forever.]

"Clan master, I want the stars."

"Silly boy, wait till your wings are fully grown then you can fly and get those stars."

"Hm! They are all mine."

"Haha, which is why you have to work hard on your aviation training yeah?" The clan master laughed as he looked at the pampered child.

"Clan master… there's something I want to…" says the young Liang Yue as he sits on the hillside. Suddenly, he saw a glimpse of a red glow at the far end of the sky - it was a scene that Liang Yue had never seen before that made him forget what he wanted to say.

"Clan master!!" Liang Yue turned to look to see the feathered clan's elder, Mu Hua, flying over frantically.

The clan master's expression changed as he saw the sky painted with a blood red color. He faced Mu Hua and asked, "What happened?!"

Mu Hua landed abruptly as he crashed onto the ground. The clan master quickly grabbed hold of Mu Hua and questioned, "What happened to you!"

"Hah… [Ming Lei] got stolen, Zhu Que went into a violent rage, they claimed that… it's the feathered clan's doing."

[Ming Lei] was a set of ten transparent crystal beads that was formed by the tears of First God, who was also known as the leaders of all Gods from the early historical times.

As they were talking, the blood red clouds started expanding as Zhu Que soared through the sky, creating waves of fiery ocean among the clouds. Smoke surged on as the resentment rocketed through the sky.

Facing Zhu Que's impeccable attack, the powerless feathered clan gathered together and formed a black wall as they protected their territory.

The mournful screaming echoed among the raging flames. The messy black feathers scattered all over the place as waves and waves of the feathered warriors fell to their end in that sea of fire.

"Mu Hua, you will bring all the young crows away from here." The clan master ordered as he spread his thick and enormous wings with eyes reflecting an unusual redness.

"No!! *cough*…" Liang Yue got choked by the black smoke. He franticly held on to the clan master's hand as he shook his head violently.

"Liang Yue," the war reeking of blood filled the air as the glow of the flames reflected off the clan master's deep soulful eyes. He kneeled and grabbed Liang Yue's shoulders as he continued, "If you escape this ordeal, I hope you will understand that there are many things in this world that can't be obtained even if you want them…"

"Clan master… it's me…" The tears choked the words in his throat as the air smelled of burned corpses.

"It's alright," the clan master interruptedLiang Yue because, at this point of time, no words would have any meaning. The clan master stood up and looked at Mu Hua with hopelessness and deep emotions.

"I'm leaving."

Mu Hua dropped his head and pulled Liang Yue's stubborn hands off the clan master. "Understood." He mumbled.

With the smoke behind them, they used a forbidden technique to escape in a flash.

Mu Hua brought the young crows to a safer area as he carried Liang Yue who still couldn't fly in his arms. Liang Yue could feel Mu Hua's trembling arms around him as the cold droplets of water fell onto his face.

The blood red sky isn't raining, then it must be Mu Hua's tears.

The remaining adult feathered warriors used their fragile bodies to defend against Zhu Que's attack. The heart ripping cries and screams cut through Liang Yue's heart like the edges of a sharp knife. He held tightly onto Mu Hua's embrace. He did not know who had fallen nor who was facing their death at this moment… the only thing he knew was that the feathered clan's massacre was solely caused by him.

The flames behind them became even more violent as a huge ball of fire suddenly exploded. The blinding light spread through the land, burning all life to nothingness.

Mu Hua's body trembled as he instantly fell onto the ground. He breathed heavily as he ordered the remaining people, "Continue flying ahead, there's a cliff just in front. Fly to the bottom, it'll be safe to hide there."

Not too far away, Zhu Que broke through the defense, leaving bits and pieces of black fragments in the flames.

"It's my fault… it's my fault… I thought those beads are stars that fell onto the ground…" Tears fell from Liang Yue's pale face as he cried, "Return it… I will return the beads to him, I'll beg him to let the clan master to come back alright?"

Mu Hua laid on his stomach panting heavily as he shook his head with difficulty, "It's too late, Liang Yue… you…"

He was the feathered clan's youngest and most pampered child. Whatever things Liang Yue wanted to have, he would try every way he could to obtain it. Mu Hua was once very appreciative of the child's tenacious attitude and dedication. But now…

"I just want to have them… why did it end up like this…" he helplessly looked at Mu Hua as his tears fell into the edge of his mouth. That unfamiliar salty taste reached his taste buds as a sensation spread deep into his heart. It was sour and painful.

"…" Mu Hua propped his body up with difficulty and managed to stand up. Facing a child that knew nothing, he really didn't have the heart to blame him. He turned his gaze towards the approaching Zhu Que, "Liang Yue, I have to go and help the clan master…"

Liang Yue held the ten crystal beads in his hand and presented in front of Mu Hua - "Return it to him! All these, I don't want them anymore…"

Mu Hua shook his head, "It… it doesn't matter anymore. Keep it. But Liang Yue, someday you will find something even more precious than these beads."

"Even more precious than the stars?"

Mu Hua smiled gently under the blood red sky. "There's something in this world that will make people yearn for it till life or death. Some people will become even more important than ourselves."

[We, the feathered clan, will only love one person for the rest of our lives… Dear child, you will understand it someday…]

—

"NO!!!"

But it was too late. The outstretched hands were only enough to touch Gu Ting Yu's hair. Liang Yue witnessed with his own eyes how Gu Ting Yu's fragile body was ruthlessly slammed onto the solid boulder as dust flew up from the impact… he could almost hear how Gu Ting Yu's bones shattered from the fall.

He laid there with his eyebrows frowned together as the striking red blood seeped out from his body. Those bright colors painted the giant boulder like a blooming flower.

Everything went silent.

Liang Yue's breathing halted as he withdrew his large black wings and kneeled by the side of Gu Ting Yu.

Why did it become like this! Why did it always end up like this?!

"… I just wanted him to be mine…"

At the same moment, Huan Sheng paused in mid-air. He had his hands over his mouth, he could feel his heart almost ripping apart.

Sensing Gu Ting Yu's impending danger, he was stopped by Jue at the barrier gates.

Even if he used all his powers to attack the unsuspecting Jue, even as he forced his way through and rushed out, it was still too late.

Gu Ting Yu who was almost within reach was already lifeless, but Huan Sheng could not step up and pull him into his embrace.

… He did not protect him.

That was how it was, right from the start.

A pure white glow formed in front of Gu Ting Yu's chest; the divine powers were rapidly leaving his body… that white glow rose towards the sky and finally disappeared without a trace.

In a daze, Gu Ting Yu could feel his own body becoming even lighter. It was as if he could almost float up in the air. The powers that stayed in his body for the past thirty odd years were now leaving… did this mean that, everything had finally come to an end?

He opened his eyes with difficulty as he sensed the heat disappearing from his body. He could feel that he was wrapped in soft, black feathers. The chilling wind blew through the deep valley creating a sad song that never ended.

The more you hold on tightly, the more you will lose it. Liang Yue was clearly holding Gu Ting Yu tightly in his arms, but he could feel his life force rapidly disappearing…

When he first saw Gu Ting Yu, he heard him calling himself an 'angel.' And when the man was smiling at him, Liang Yue's heart was already wavering.

He wanted him to look at him even more… to only look at him.

His willful, rash actions in his younger days caused the disaster that lead to the clan's demise. From then on, Liang Yue's character changed completely - he had relied on torturing others to numb the pain in his heart.

Although he was torturing others, it seemed more that the target was in fact himself.

"The beads… I didn't drop it…" The glow was starting to dim as Gu Ting Yu could hear his own voice weakening.

"Enough!!"

"I… won…"

"Don't sleep."

"…"

"Please I beg you, don't sleep!!!"

However, the glow had already extinguished. Gu Ting Yu peacefully lay in Liang Yue's embrace, no longer breathing.

The silence dragged on as Liang Yue stood above the giant boulder not moving an inch.

He finally understood what Mu Hua said a thousand years ago - "There's something in this world that will make people yearn for it till life or death. Some people will become even more important than ourselves"

Ah… so that's how it feels…

"PA!!" a dark green beam of light stopped Liang Yue's self-destructing movement.

Huan Sheng leaned against the stone walls as he controlled his emotions. "Do you know why the First God chose this human as the God's Messenger?"