Garden of plums and serenity

"This place sure is as beautiful as the books say, but it certainly cannot compare to your beauty." Tashi whispered. Miko smilled back and thanked him, accepting his complement as her face turned pink like the lotus flowers on the pond. The two stared at the pond, both a huge blushing mess. Neither said anything and just cherished each other's company. For Tashi, it seemed like a romantic date to be cherished. However for Miko, she had more thoughts on it:

Life is short and fleeting. It would be great to just remain here like this, unchanging for eternity. If i had not fallen in love, and did not have a shortened lifespan, I would certainly appreciate any form of beauty less. However, I do not regret any part of it. Love is the most beautiful thing here.

When the sun had continued to set, slowly removing its rays from the land, Miko glanced at Tashi. The moon was now high in the sky, gleaming brightly. The orange hues previously in the pond now turned white and black in the presence of the moon and the night sky, as well as the lanterns now being lit up by the workers.

"Tashi, the moon is beautiful, isn't it?" Miko asked, sparing him a glance.

"Its a full moon, and its not covered by the clouds. Of course it is," He replied, glancing back at her," In fact, I wish we could stay like this forever. I don't want to leave, and I don't see why I should."

Miko laughed at his response, and replied, "But all things end eventually, just like the sunset. See those plum flowers? Eventually, they will wilt and die again when winter comes, but yet grow again in the next spring. It's a constant cycle, and all things end, good or bad. Even this moon will disappear eventually, when dawn comes again."

"Mhm," Tashi responded. Both of them admired the rare full moon for a little while more, before they left to grab dinner and stay at another inn. The next day, they had to start heading back.

It was late at night. Both Miko and Tashi were asleep at their own side of the bed. Miko's eyes fluttered every now and then, showing how vivid her dream was.

"Look Miko! Its your 200th birthday today! Are you excited?!" Miko nodded her head in exitement as her brother gestured for her to eat her slice of cake. Asura and Ryo were also present, clapping their paws in celebration. Miko blew out the candles and ate her cake. After everyone had their fill, they headed to an open spot in the village which was devoid of any foxes. Beneath the moonlight, Miko channelled energy and absorbed the moonlight's spiritual qi. It was special as one of the only times a fox would cultivate moonlight qi was on their hundreds' birthdays. Condensing the qi together, Miko gulped as she felt her behind turn more and more uncomfortable. It was painful yet itchy, an uncomfortable feeling. With a glowing light, a new pink tail condensed from the qi and attatched to her, swaying in tendom to her other tail, as if had been there long before.

"Yayy!! Congrats!!" Asura, Miru and Ryo cheered as their friend had became a 2 tailed fox.

"Hehe! Thanks guys!" Miko replied. Soon, a blinding light appeared as the settings changed. Miko was now sitting on the grassy hill top, sweating profusely. The sky was dark as lighning flashed and thundered roared every now and then. Miko remembered this scene. Its was when she first got her elemental cores at her fourth stage, and the process needed to form it was unbearable, so much she would never want to go through it again. Right after she passed her stage's heavenly tribulation, she had to condense her core immediately. This was because it was the optimal time to condense an individual's elemental cores, as the power of a god from the tribulation was still residing in their bodies, forming stronger cores. However, as Miko chose to form 2 cores, the pain and time to form them was doubled.

Miko bore the intense pain of her elemental cores forming in her body. It was painful as it was like developing a new organ while you are conscious. The cores had to move the organs to make space for one, much less two. This caused her nerves and blood vessels to sever and conect with each other again repeatedly. With the cores, she could cultivate elemental energy, so it was neccessary for her survival in this brutal world. After the pain had subsided, she blacked out from extreme exhaustion after undergoing this tempering for 5 days consecutively.

"Don't move too much, you are still recovering" Miru said. He was currently in Miko's tree hole, tending to her after she blacked out. Miru then called the others over, where they made sure she was okay. However, even late into the night when others had left, Miru stayed by her side, tending to her lovingly. Miko couldn't help but feel like crying at the amount of love she was recieving. She wanted it all to last forever, cherishing this moment- when suddenly, it was bright white again where the scene had changed.

"Fine! Go find that stupid human if you want, but don't ever talk to me again. At least, I don't want to be sad when you die." Miru's voice became quieter towards the end, where he stormed out of the restaurant with Yatsuko also watching him.

"Miru?" Miko wondered in confusion. How did the loving scene before her just now change into something so drastic and heartbreaking? At first, she was being cared for by her brother, and now she had just saddened him to this extent? She wanted to chase after him, but the moment she opened the door, another blinding white light enveloped her body.