Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

"Yes, Xiu Luo Yang, the one you call Dragon of the Sun, is my younger cousin. Then again, they're all younger cousins to me."

The serpent chuckled as she looked at Xue Yue curiously. The pressure lessened as she restrained her aura. 

"Say, you have another voice within you, how peculiar. I wonder whom I am speaking to."

She looked back at the creature, trying to speak under this pressure. 

"It doesn't matter to you, does it? She woke up recently and our body is weak. Whether or not, you want to speak with the other voice, you can only speak with me, the current owner", she replied. 

"I see, I see. Well then, you've met my younger cousin then. How is he doing? Ever since the three continents were broken, I haven't seen him at all. I've been too focused on my own recovery", the serpent asked. 

Xue Yue then explained quickly of what had happened between her and Xiu Luo Yang only to get a wistful stare from the serpent. 

"Is that so? That is... sad to hear. Then again, it is always sad to see those of the younger generation die before you. A shame but three thousand years, that's quite good for being a Dragon Emperor. I should thank you then, for helping my kin."

The serpent looked at her before straightening herself. 

"I am Yin Bing, the World Serpent. Xiu Luo Yang may have thanked you before but I will thank you as well. Even a favor is not so unreachable, he was one of my more cherished cousins."

She lowered her head just a bit but that simple act gave the two commanders even greater shock. 

"Who is that girl?" they thought.

Shen Varuna gasped as she watched the exchange. 

Xue Yue looked at the World Serpent in surprise. 

"The World Serpent?" 

Yin Bing looked up before laughing.  

"Ahahaha, yes, yes, I forget you're a human and I have yet to appear in some several hundred years! Yes, I am the World Serpent, a being that has been alive for over ten thousand years. You could consider me... a god perhaps."

"A... a god? Then what are you doing here?" Xue Yue asked. 

"Perhaps, deity or something like that. In any case, wherever I am, life will bloom. When the world was destroyed by the Heaven's Anger or the Calamity as some may call it, I am here to revive it. That is my purpose as the World Serpent, I am a healer."

"Then this lake? The fact that you're in the Demon Continent..."

"Of the three lands, this one was in the worst state. You've seen it, haven't you? The destruction laid upon it. This lake used to have nothing, it was only a quarter of its size and so cramped to rest in. But now, you've seen it, the World's Energy is coming back, returning and coalescing into this lake. And after another thousand years, it will burst out and rejuvenate the rest of this land."

"A thousand years?!" 

This time Ming Yue spoke out. 

"That would be too long, by then the war would be over", she said. 

"You're correct", the serpent answered. 

Suddenly, both Xue Yue and Ming Yue felt shocked.

"If I can see that there are two of you, it is quite obvious that I can also hear both of you. In any case, that would be good, wouldn't it? The land would be healed once again and that war would be long finished."

Yin Bing looked at them nonchalantly. 

"But tha- so many more demons will die. By then, there might be no one."

Ming Yue looked at the serpent from within her own mind, trying to reason with her. However, Ying Bing only spoke in a calm and unconcerned manner. 

"What of it? Even if there are no demons, there will always be life. Perhaps, there will no longer be demons but there are other beings. Flora and fauna, ores, gems, so long as the land is flourishing, that is all I care about. I've been alive for over ten thousand years, little child, I have seen races spring forth and recede to nothingness. One more will only be replaced by another, that is life, an endless cycle."

Ming Yue was silent, fully knowing that the serpent had no reason to help stop the war. However, Xue Yue had other ideas. She looked at Yin Bing with a look of interest. 

"You said that a favor would not be impossible right?" she asked.

"What are you planning, Xue Yue?" Ming Yue asked, carrying a tone of warning in her voice. 

While she knew that Xue Yue would have good intentions, there was no doubt that her other self was more ruthless and violent. 

"Don't you dare go too far or I will force back control."

Xue Yue smirked, not responding to Ming Yue but instead looking at the serpent. 

"Would it be possible to take me to the other side of the lake as quickly as possible? There are children that we both want to save", she asked. 

Ying Bing blinked before laughing at this request. 

"This I can do easily, you will be there in mere minutes."

She then descended back to the lake, showing only a sliver of her body which was plenty of space for one person. 

Xue Yue smiled before landing on that spot and bowing. 

"Thank you, senior. If I had been up there any longer, I might have fallen into the sea and died."

Ying Bing laughed once more before going. 

"Well then, let's depart!"

The serpent moved, picking up speed with every second until they were going at a speed that neither Ming Yue nor Xue Yue had gone. It was at least a dozen times quicker and yet, they weren't blown back by the winds. It felt nothing more but a gentle breeze to them. 

While on this short trip, Xue Yue had something of a smile on her face, conversing silently with Ming Yue. 

"What? Don't trust me? What did you think I was going to ask?"

However, all Ming Yue did was sigh in relief. 

"I don't know but I'm just happy you didn't anger her", she replied.

"Hah, I might not be you but I'm certainly not an idiot. Still, if we stayed in the air any longer, our body would not be able to handle it. We actually would've fallen and both of us would be in that little world of ours", said Xue Yue. 

"Could that really happen?"

"I don't know but I certainly don't want to find out."

Just then, Yin Bing spoke up. 

"Considering that you're both parts of the same soul, It's strange to find that the both of you are so balanced. It's rare to find something as peculiar as you."

"Is it that rare?" Ming Yue asked. 

"Of course! Most of the time, the soul would crumble away and the body would nothing else but an empty vessel. Other times, they would come together only to cause chaos and send themselves into madness. You are a chance within millions", the serpent explained. 

"Really?" 

The both of them were slightly dumbfounded by this, not knowing that they were this lucky. 

Moments later, the other side came into view. 

Xue Yue looked forward. 

"There it is, let's hope that we aren't too late", she muttered.