16. Under Pressure
Under Pressure
Of all life’s great mysteries, the one Dustin was the most frustrated with was why time seemed to pass by extra slowly when you were staring at the clock.
It wasn’t the holiday that he was necessarily excited about; his mom always worked through it anyway, and his dad couldn’t be trusted to make ice, let alone a Thanksgiving dinner, so he and Chris usually just got takeout and watched football.
No, what he was really excited about was the chance to decompress over the long weekend and focus on his Elemental Sage training.
Unfortunately, Mrs. Pendleton had no intention of letting him escape early.
“Mr. Ying,” she said sharply, snapping him back to reality like a rubber band, “since you’re clearly fascinated by Shakespeare’s use of soliloquy, why don’t you tell us what Hamlet means when he says…”
A knock at the classroom door cut her off.
Every head in the room turned. Mrs. Pendleton visibly bristled, she hated interruptions, but she forced a polite smile and crossed the room to open it.
Standing outside was Bailey, damp from the drizzle and holding a pink hall pass like it was a court summons.
Mrs. Pendleton raised an eyebrow.
“Yes?”
“Hi Mrs. P! Dustin’s needed in the office,” Bailey said cheerfully, just convincing enough that only Dustin could tell she was lying through her teeth, “something about a permission slip for the Swim Team,”
Mrs. Pendleton sighed in the way only teachers who have already given up can sigh.
“Fine. Mr. Ying, please go. But take your things; class is over in ten minutes anyway,”
Dustin didn’t need to be told twice. He snatched his binder, backpack, and jacket in one motion, shooting Bailey a look that said, “I owe you my life”.
He stepped into the hallway and the door shut behind them. The second it clicked closed, Bailey dropped the pretense.
“Training time Dusty,” she whispered, already walking fast, “Chloe’s getting James out of his last-period calculus quiz. You sure Chris’s doctor cleared him for this?”
Dustin nodded.
“I obviously didn’t tell her he’s gonna be doing Elemental Sage training, but she said physical activity is fine, so long as he doesn’t take any more blows to the head for a while,”
The two slipped out the side doors, jogging through the mist toward the old, rusted bike racks behind the gym; the spot they’d agreed on for teleportation. The fog had already begun pooling around the asphalt, swirling unnaturally despite the still air.
James appeared first, hair sticking up like he’d sprinted across campus, and Chloe followed behind him, expression perfectly unbothered.
Chris limped up last, hoodie pulled over his head, eyes slightly dazed but determined.
“You good?” Dustin asked softly.
Chris shrugged.
“I guess,”
Dustin grimaced, but he didn’t push it. Chris hadn’t been quite the same since their battle with Leo. Dustin knew his pride was wounded, but the problem seemed to run deeper than that…
Unfortunately, getting Chris to open up about his feelings was about as easy as teaching a fish to walk.
He didn’t have much time to dwell on the thought, before Sima Yao’s voice drifted through his mind like a breeze over still water.
“Clear your minds. Attune your rings. Focus on the Palace,”
Everyone took their positions, forming the rough circle they’d practiced for the last two weeks. Dustin closed his eyes, reaching inward for that quiet hum of energy within him; a river’s current beneath his skin.
He felt Bailey’s presence first: warm, solid, grounding.
Then James: calm, bright, growing toward him like sunlight through leaves.
Then Chloe: sharp iron focus, disciplined and steady.
Then Chris: fiery, pulsing, restless; but stable enough to lean on.
The fog rose higher, swallowing the parking lot, and the group along with it. What came next was as familiar as it was disorienting; white mist completely overtaking their senses, blurring sight and sound in equal measure as they were transported across dimensions.
When Dustin opened his eyes, they were standing on the glowing tiles of the Palace of Radiant Clouds, the air humming with ancient power and the scent of distant incense.
Sima Yao waited at the top of the staircase, hands folded in his sleeves, gaze soft but solemn.
“Welcome back, young masters,” he began, “today, we begin the next stage. You have survived your first encounter with the Emperor’s Remnant, but the storm he prepares will not be so merciful. You must temper body and mind if you wish to survive the battles to come,”
“Body and mind? So we’ll need to do more than just master our powers?” James asked, quirking an eyebrow. Sima Yao nodded.
“To truly become one with the Five Elements, you must synchronize your mind and heart. Overcome fear, guilt, and attachment. It is the only way to become powerful enough to battle The Emperor at his full strength,”
“Great… fucking group therapy,” Chris grumbled, rolling his eyes.
“Stop being an asshole for two seconds,” Bailey impotently hissed, gently pulling Chris closer to her by the arm, “if it’s gonna help us prepare, then it’s necessary,”
“She’s right, we need to get to work,” Chloe said, rolling her shoulders back, “Sima, how should we start?”
Sima Yao turned his gaze to a stone wall in the far corner of the room, and it slid away with an echoing rumble; shaking the floors as it went.
The new opening revealed a beautiful, tranquil lotus garden; moonlight from an unseen source shone down on the water, illuminating it in a way that gave the entire space an ethereal bluish-white hue.
“This is the Lotus Garden meditation room. The other sages and I once toiled here to improve our understanding of ourselves, and the power we once wielded. Here, your innermost thoughts become an outward reality. You must work together as a unit to traverse the dreamscape; this will allow your five disparate elements to finally function in true solidarity. Only then will you be at your full strength,”
“So, all of our deepest insecurities are going to be on display for everyone to see?” Dustin gulped, “I... don’t know if I’m ready for that,”
“I understand that it is disconcerting Second Master Ying,” Sima Yao’s eyes flickered to the floor, knowingly, “but it is absolutely vital to defeating the threat at hand. What you see within this illusory realm will likely shake you to your very core, but it is paramount that you do not falter or attempt to exit the exercise before it is complete. I am not sure what effect this would have on your power, or on your spirit,”
Yeah… that didn’t make Dustin feel any better.
His pulse thudded in his ears. He wasn’t sure what terrified him more; the idea of facing the darkness of his own mind, or the idea of everyone he cared about watching him break apart in real time.
Chloe crossed her arms, her brow furrowed with determination.
“Look, we all have shit we don’t want to face. But none of us came this far to chicken out now,”
Bailey nodded in agreement.
“Whatever we see… we face it together. That’s the whole point, right?”
“Yeah. We’ll handle it together, okay baobei?” James said, slipping his hand into Dustin’s and squeezing it tight.
Dustin felt the touch, but he didn’t react to it, or answer James’s question. He was far too focused on Chris.
The way his eyes had been locked onto the Lotus Garden without blinking since the moment the doors slid apart. The way he was furiously chewing his lower lip out of sheer anxiety. The way he’d shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie to hide how badly they were shaking.
“Chris… if you aren’t up to this right now, maybe we can try again over the long weekend?”
Dustin had barely gotten the words out before Chris’s eyes snapped to him, blazing with barely contained fury.
“I’m not scared of some fucking ghost visions or whatever! Let’s just get this shit over with so we can go home,” he barked, pushing past Dustin and the others and charging ahead into the Lotus Garden.
“Should we pull him out? Going in there with that attitude can’t be good for anyone,” Bailey wondered aloud, but Sima Yao shook his head.
“Once a Sage enters the garden, none of you may exit until the trial is complete. Step inside, it is time to begin,”
With that, Dustin took a deep breath and tried his best to still the storm of emotions swirling within him. He shared one last glance with the rest of the team, before the four of them stepped into the moonlit garden, the wall sliding closed behind them…