After Bai Yunfei had left, Wu Hong remained behind in the palace by himself. Wu Hao and Wu Ren had left the palace already, and Wu Ping had left rather unhappily with them to go back to her ‘lesson’. Behind in his own resting quarters, Wu Hong sat upon his throne and appeared to be deep in thought.

After a while, his right drifted across a piece of space in front of him, an illusionary door about a meter tall appearing where his hand trailed.

Rays of silver light was shining forth from beyond the spatial door. From beyond, a room could be seen, but before anything within the room could be made out, the spatial door blinked out from sight.

However, there was now a new addition to the room Wu Hong was in after the door disappeared.

A sword.

It was a little over a meter in length and about three fingers wide in blade width. The blade was translucent, but of delicate make.

Shiny in light, it felt like this long sword was made from crystals almost.

It also didn’t seem like there was really an ‘edge’ to this sword, and that it’d shatter if swung.

Wu Hong had taken this sword from beyond the mysterious spatial door earlier, but the sword itself flew out from the room rather than Wu Hong physically retrieving it.

“Soul Slayer, is that feeling you had still there?”

Surprisingly, Wu Hong opened his mouth to say something, but aside from him, there wasn’t any other ‘person’ in the same room as him!!

But when he spoke, he was looking at the floating crystalline sword as if....as if he was waiting for the sword to respond back to him!!

The real surprising thing was what happened after that. The crystalline sword trembled for a moment, and then....

“The feeling is long gone. It was only at that moment when I connected to you that I felt it. But I didn’t feel anything afterwards, I’m starting to doubt if I even felt the right thing or not.”

A voice that sounded neither like a male or female rang through the room, and the source of that voice felt as if it was...coming from the crystalline sword!

“It isn’t too likely that you were mistaken. With your perception, is there even a way being mistaken is a possibility? At the same time you felt it, I could have sworn that there was something special that was calling you.”

“Do you think....this sensation is due to another ‘Regalia’?”

The sword he called ‘Slayer’ responded then. “Only a sentient soul armament would have the same fluctuations in its aura like the one I sensed. And only those types of fluctuations would pique my perception as it did. Unfortunately, I was only able to sense that this fluctuation was ‘familiar’ before it disappeared from my senses....”

“A familiar sensation?” Wu Hong exclaimed, “Then was it really a Regalia?!”

“If we are to speculate based on that feeling alone, then I would surmise that a sentient soul armament was just born. If I were to speculate a little more, then I would say that the ‘Throne’ was finally given sentience.....” Light shined again from the crystalline sword as it talked, pulsating slightly with each word ‘spoken’. “The familiar feeling shines a new light on the situation, however. If I had to put my finger on it, it was the feeling of an ‘old friend’. But the feeling was hidden quickly afterwards—intentional perhaps—so I was unable to make sure of which.”

Wu Hong looked pensive. “But if it was a Regalia, why hadn’t my brother’s ‘Ironheart’ feel a thing then?”

“Of all the Regalia within the Royal Palace, I am the one with the strongest perception. If even I was unable to sense anything more for just a single moment, then ‘Ironheart’ not feeling it wouldn’t be unnatural. I spoke just now with ‘Flame’ and ‘Hundred’, neither of them sensed anything.”

The sword paused here for a moment as if to sigh. “I cannot even be certain if it was an ‘old friend’, why would they ‘hide’ from me then? Ai....if ‘Seeker’ was here, he’d be able to find out just who it was....”

Wu Hong sighed with him, “The Ten Great Regalia my ancestor gathered....the Tianhun School have spent a thousand years to look for all that were lost to us. From beginning to even now, they were all gone from us, gone without a trace....

“Ah, Tianhun....he was a master beyond all others I have seen in my many years. A youngster like you might be considerable for your time, but Tianhun was far beyond you.” Slayer replied wistfully. “It was unfortunate he did not take me with him when he left. He said then, that ‘we Regalia would have their fates with another’, and he took ‘Seeker’ and ‘Underworld’ with him to disseminate to the world. I truly wonder where they are now....”

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Wu Hong wasn’t angry at being called a ‘youngster’. By all rights, he was one. “The Patriarch was a genius beyond all else without anyone being his equal even now. There is no way I’d ever be able to compare to him....tell me, if the sensation you felt really belonged to one of the wandering Regalia, which one do you think it’d most likely be?”

The sword was quite for a moment before it responded. “I would surmise that it would be one of the ‘soul’ Regalia. ‘Soul Seeker’, ‘Soul Sealer’, or ‘Soul Sentinel’. The three of them are most likely. ‘Underworld’, ‘Heart’, and ‘Throne’ are the less likely.”

“Seeker, Sealer, and Sentinel....” Wu Hong repeated the three. His eyes flew open as he repeated the last one, “Sentinel!! I remember....there was something on Bai Yunfei’s head...”

“What is it?” Slayer asked, “Have you found a clue?”

“I saw a person with a long cloth strip wrapped around his forehead. If I’m correct, that must be....’Sentinel’?”

“You saw so yourself? It was wrapped around the head?” Asked Slayer in astonishment, “And not around space itself? It seems unlikely....if that were true, you should’ve been able to tell.”

“Yes, that was what I thought too. But if there really is a Regalia, then I would wager it to be very likely that person has one.” Wu Hong sighed. “But how in the world would that person come to own a Regalia....?”

“If possible, why not send some people to investigate?” Slayer recommended. “Do not tell me you would try to steal it away in that case then? Whether this person has a Regalia or not isn’t even verified yet. I strongly advise you try not to take it away if the Regalia has accepted that man as its master....”

“Steal?” Wu Hong repeated in surprise, “Worry not. As you said before, a Regalia will have their ‘fates’ with another. I have no desire to steal any away. I only wish to pay attention to any that show up.”

......

Back on North Seventh Street, Bai Yunfei headed straight home from the Royal Palace. With the strictest orders to not to be disturbed, Bai Yunfei secluded himself in his room. Xiao Qi stood by the window next to the door while he sat on his bed and began to investigate how his body was faring.

It was a while later that Bai Yunfei reopened his eyes with a sigh and a shake of his head. “It was only a small outburst and yet my body was hurt again. The road to the recovery of my soul is a long and bumpy one....”

Even now, his head felt quite light and his cognitive abilities a little scattered. Unable to rein in his emotions, Bai Yunfei had nearly fallen prey to his stomach on the way back. There had been a stall selling some steamed buns when Bai Yunfei came across. His mind suddenly had the urge to eat, as if he hadn’t already for days on end. It was after he took several steps towards the stall that Bai Yunfei realized now wasn’t the time to eat. He had his injuries to look after and heal still....

Massaging his temples, Bai Yunfei muttered to himself, “I shouldn’t try to use anything like a soul attack for the time being....”

He touched at the Soul Sentinel Scarf on his forehead to think about the instantaneous outburst from it during his battle. “If I wasn’t wrong, there was a ‘resonance’ from it as if it sensed something alike to it. What was it that it sensed? Could it be....the Royal Palace had a ‘Regalia’ there as well?!

“It’s possible, how could the Royal Palace not have a Regalia, if not multiple? Then....was I found out? Or was it not found out with how quick the outburst was?

“I can’t even imagine what would happen if someone else were to find out I have a Regalia. I hope I can keep on hiding that....as long as I’ve the strength, no one should be able to find out....”

Unfortunately for Bai Yunfei, Wu Hong was already guessing that Bai Yunfei had a Regalia on him. Fortunately for him, Wu Hong wasn’t planning on anything bad towards him....