The beautiful but eternally lonely moon shone over the forest. The silence, typical of a place so far from human eyes, was broken only by the rustling of grass under the massive feet of an anthropomorphic lion. A little rabbit would dart by there, a bird would hide in a hollow here, and in the distance would remain only a young deer, its antlers not yet grown, but proud nonetheless.

Azure took a deep breath, filling his lungs with fresh air. His tired but gentle eyes watched the fireflies. His large paw, covered with calluses from a hard life as a warrior, reached out toward the fireflies, which immediately scattered.

A faint smile appeared on his face. The cold penetrated his bones.

"Alive."

The word sounded so sweet on his lips when he said it.

"Alive."

He repeated it like a mantra. As if he was afraid it was a lie. That it was an illusion or a mockery...

But no.

The cold was real. The wet grass under his feet was real too. And the pain from the wound on his arm, left in pieces, was also real. Azure laughed quietly. He wanted to shout these words so loud that Buddhisa himself would hear them... but he had to be quiet.

His mission was not yet complete.

Straightening his shoulders and adjusting his cloak, Azure headed toward where he believed the mountain to be. For now... the day of their meeting was still far off. So he could relax and enjoy the tranquility of the forest.

"It was clearly warmer now than when he had first returned... and that bright white flash... it must have come from where Wukong was. Where there is chaos, he is always there... but why had the temperature changed so much? Maybe... some kind of ice de?— though it doesn't matter. The main thing is to find the traitor."