The Dawn of the New World

Ma Jiang slowly opened her eyes upon hearing the voice call out to her.

The voice itself sounded like an echo coming from somewhere very far away while the person standing in front of her was just as mysterious.

Firstly, it was a female but she couldn't tell whether or not she was human because there were numerous ethereal wings stretching out endlessly behind her.

Her figure was flickering constantly and every time it was a little less radiant than the last.

She was beautiful and with an absolutely perfect form, well, other than her eyes which were sewn shut. It was the only flaw in an otherwise unmarred work of art.

"Y-You know me?" Ma Jiang stutteringly inquired.

She nodded, "I am known as Xu Qing."

"Xu Qing...?"

Ma Jiang silently repeated under her breath. The name sounded a little familiar but she couldn't place it anywhere. And that face certainly wasn't one she had seen before.

"Why...were you waiting for me?"

"I need your help bringing him back," she said gesturing towards Hao Xuan.

"M-ME?! I can't! Sister Ceni is the one who knows how t-"

"She can't do it alone. There is a perverse magic keeping her from finding the soul core. Once you find the core she will have to break the spell to free him. Will you help him?"

Xu Qing was smiling as she asked because she already knew the answer.

Ma Jiang only had to think about it for a second before she nodded in agreement.

"Yes, if I can."

"Good child. Come here," she extended her hand and with some hesitation Ma Jiang walked over to the other side and took it.

It was a little cold to the touch and very fragile. It felt like if she held it with just a little more force it would simply disintegrate right then and there.

"What should I do?"

"Clear your mind of all thoughts. Focus on my hand and open the seal."

The moment Ma Jiang heard about the seal she immediately pulled back her hand and took jumped back.

"NO I CAN'T!" she screamed in a panic, "The seal keeps it locked, it could wake up if I don-"

"Hush, child."

Several of Xu Qing's wings came forward and wrapped around Ma Jiang. Although she tried to struggle at first but the very next moment all resistance was washed away by those two words from Xu Qing.

Her eyes glazed over.

"There is no reason to worry. As long as you are here the seal will not break, I will make sure of that. My domain will keep it at bay. Do you trust me?"

"....."

"Yes," she calmly replied after a moment and held Xu Qing's hand once again as if in a trance.

Ma Jiang closed her eyes and mumbled an incantation under her breath.

Back in the physical realm her body began to change. Small tree roots sprouted from the skin on her back and started taking shape.

They snaked left and right creating a complex magic circle that covered almost her entire back. Once it completely showed its true form thick, concentrated mana began to course through the roots making them expand until her shirt couldn't contain it any longer and it burst open.

A concentrated explosion of energy created an aura around her before the mana was passed onto Hao Xuan's body through the same roots that ran all the way from her back to his.

They pierced his skin and poured copious amounts of pure mana into his body. It was so much infact that if Hao Xuan did not have the Demon Devouring Physique to help process it he would have imploded from the sheer quantity.

His injuries began to heal much quicker although that was just a small side effect. The roots appeared in his mind palace and began climbing up the sidewalls and pillars. They still glowed with a bright green hue and within seconds the mind palace was overtaken by them.

Xu Qing placed her other hand on Hao Xuan's forehead forcing the images around them to change at several times the speed.

The images became brighter and brighter until they were all just a white screen and their light was intense that the empty void was now filled with the same kind of divine light.

But in complete contrast, Xu Qing's own body dimmed to the point of turning invisible.

Her wings pulled back returning Ma Jiang back to her senses. She immediately withdrew her hand despite what her senses were telling her.

"What was that?! I-I could feel your soul!" Ma Jiang exclaimed but Xu Qing gently shook her head.

"No, that was...my divinity."

Ma Jiang frowned and whispered, "It felt...broken," to which Xu Qing did not reply.

Instead, she pointed at Hao Xuan.

"This is the one," as she said the words the same image showed up on all the screens around them. And against the white background it looked much different.

It showed a newborn infant resting in a hospital bed.

"This is his soul core. I have separated it from the other fragments for now. The world it will live in will be a creation of his subconscious and you both will have to enter it and bring him back. To him that world is as real as anything else but you must convince him otherwise. He has to accept the truth to break free."

"Wait, did you say both? Does that mean I also have to go in?!"