2.0
"Welcome back Huntress. Not bad for your first mission. How do you feel?"
Pann smiled at her from his seat and beckoned to Huifang. There was an extra seat at his table. The man had even brought out a stove and was boiling hot water in a kettle.
"I'm done with missions. Send me to hell." She narrowed her eyes at him.
The smile remained on Pann's face but it lost a few degrees of brightness. "You want to go to hell?"
Huifang sat down opposite his chair and folded her arms. "Yes." She bit out.
"Why would you want to? Isn't it more exciting to see different worlds? Experience all kinds of new-"
"Pann, if you're not sending me to hell then stop wasting my time."
His smile distinctly got more fox-like. "So you know then. I see Aini has been a naughty raven."
"Sure I won't send you to hell. But your only other option is to reincarnate. I can't send you back to your world if you don't cooperate with me, Huntress." His long and narrow eyes lifted in a feline smile. "What do you say?"
"I'll cooperate. But I want to add another condition. I need you to save Illidan and change his fate." Aini wouldn't lie to her, Huifang was sure of that.
The man laughed in response to what she had just said. "Do you even know what you're asking of me? It means I'll have to undo everything Huntress. All that hard work you did. Gone. Is that what you want?"
Not really, but she was willing. For Illidan. "Yes, I want that. Make it happen." Huifang was aware that Pann could refuse but she was gambling on the fact that there was a reason she was chosen out of all the people that kept dying every day. She schooled her features into a hard look that showed an attitude of being non-negotiable.
Pann introspected with steepled fingers. She could see the calculations in his eyes. When he finally made a decision, Pann made eye contact and snapped his finger. Immediately, the dull graveyard turned into a blur of pixels and revealed the scenery of a sunny blue sky and trails of white clouds. They were floating on a small island in the sky. His ugly hut had turned into an oriental lumber home that reminded her of traditional architecture from her home country. But the most important change was Pann himself. His hair was much longer and he wore a ruqun styled Hanfu that was white in colour and had red cranes embroidered on his wide sleeves. Huifang was quite sure that 'Pann' was also just a pseudonym.
"Huntress, you know what, since I'm in a good mood today," He exposed his pearly canines in a smile. "I'll save Illidan. But it's you who will be doing the leg work. Do you agree?"
"Agreed," Huifang answered immediately.
Pann shook his head at the eagerness with which she answered. He had had this happen before. His agents would get too attached to their charges, end up sabotaging their missions and losing their wills only to be forced to drink Meng Po's soup. He hoped that Huifang was smarter than the fools he had received before.
"Alright then, Huntress, I'll give you a basic rundown of what happens." He poured tea for both of them and began explaining.
"You can consider me as a sort of high-level manager of a section of the all-encompassing universe. I ensure that the worlds here remain stable by interfering if I get any reports of instability or incidences that lead toward a collapse of such worlds. And I do that by resetting the timelines of the world and manipulating the characters. But if that proves to be futile, I have little agents like you running around and changing fates."
"You can reset the timelines?" Huifang was in awe. How powerful this creature before her was.
Pann had an androgynous beauty about him but you wouldn't mistake him for a woman at all. He had his own masculine charm despite his face. He tucked in a few wayward strands of hair behind his ear and side smiled at Huifang. The longer she looked at him, the more fox-like he was starting to appear.
"Only thrice. And even I hesitate to reset it after the second time. Resetting compromises with the integrity of the world. I've seen a colleague lose control of a world after a third reset. The fabric of space and time changed in ways that led to a shift in the physics of that world. Ultimately, the world collapsed." Pann appeared satisfied at what he had just narrated. He was happy about his colleague's failure.
"So how many times has the elven world been reset?" She was nervous about his answer.
Red eyes turned into crescents. "I'll tell you after you finish every world I ask you to. I'll take a chance and reset your precious Illidan's world Huntress. But the rest will be up to you. And don't worry so much, there aren't that many unstable worlds. Maybe 5 or 6 missions." He generously supplied.
5 or 6 was alright. Huifang had been fooled once and she didn't want it to happen a second time. "How do I know you'll keep your word about Illidan? You lied to me once already Pann. I don't trust you."
Producing a tasselled fan from his sleeve, Pann fanned himself. It wasn't even that warm of a day. In fact, the temperature was perfect. This fox was a pretentious young master.
"Huntress, I give you my word. I will help Illidan if you help me first. Consider it a business transaction. That's all I can say to you." Huifang just couldn't 100% trust his foxy face. How had she not seen his deceitful looking face for what it was in the beginning? She blamed Pann for changing his features the way he had his environment.
"Ok, Pann. I'll take your word for it." She had no choice but to. "Am I going off into the next mission now?" She asked him.
"Not yet. Show me your left hand." He snapped his fan shut and looked at the arm.
Huifang was confused but lifted her arm and she remembered the pattern that was imprinted on Lanaya's wrist back then. It was now on her own wrist. "What is this?"
Pann peered at her wrist in fascination. The pattern was similar to the Celtic knots she had seen in her world. Tri cornered, the knot had no beginning or end. It looped within itself. What had Fenrir done? The man himself had appeared surprised at what had happened.
"That is amazing. I can't exactly tell what the effects would be. But I can tell you this much, there is a connection between you and the elven prince. It will be very difficult to undo. I'll have to quarantine the world and study its magic." Pann spoke with the excitement of a scholar that had found a new topic of interest. He held Huifang's hand in his and lightly ran his thumb over the mark. "I've sealed some of its potency. Let's see what happens." His eyes gleamed with interest.
"Ah, that's right! Come with me." He began walking towards a grove of trees. Huifang followed the man. And soon they came upon a door in the air. There was no house attached to it. Pann turned its knob and pulled the door open.
"Get in." He motioned to Huifang
It was completely dark inside the door and she couldn't see what was within. Huifang hesitated to enter.
"Huntress. I don't have time for you to dawdle around." He tapped his booted feet impatiently.
He wouldn't try to kill her right? She was his employee. Huifang swallowed and took a step into the darkness. When the lights came on, Huifang saw that she was in a mechanical cabin of some kind. It was a single-seater and quite spacious. She sat down on the seat and wore her seatbelt. No instructions were given but the seatbelt indicated safety.
She was then jolted by a sudden voice. "Welcome Huifang." An AI announced and the equipment in the cabin began turning on one by one. "Let's begin our training tutorial on the basics of operation."
---------------------------
After what had felt like months inside that door, Huifang stumbled out. She had cabin fever and missed the sight of the sun. Her soul ached from the brutal training that she was forced to repeatedly undergo by the slave driver of an AI.
Finding her way back to Pann's cosy home, she sat down and waited when she found him missing. After a few minutes of dipping her hands in his ornamental fish pond, Huifang saw a long white serpent flying above her. It was like a beautiful ribbon fluttering in the air. As it came closer, she saw Pann seated upon it.
Landing close to her, Huifang could finally see the serpent in detail. White scales like porcelain shone as if it had been meticulously polished. It was a dragon.
"Is that real?" She asked with wonder.
"His name is Tianlong and he's very real." At the mention of his name, the enormous dragon snorted and lifted his body for flight. Huifang wondered if she could also sit on his back. How amazing it would be right? A dragon rider!
"Ahem." Pann cleared his throat to get her attention.
"You're sufficiently trained I hope. Ready to go?" He asked.
"Where's Aini?" Huifang hadn't seen the raven since she had arrived.
"Taking a rest." Pann impatiently replied. "He is still just a baby and yet ended up overexerting himself. He won't be joining you in the next world."
Huifang would miss Aini so much. Was Aini fine? Would he come back? And how would she do this alone? "Are you sure I can solo the next world?" Because Huifang did not have that kind of faith in herself. Not after her first experience.
"Who said you're going solo?" Pann smiled mysteriously. He raised his hand and pressed his right index finger on her forehead. Huifang couldn't see it but a bright red flame appeared and was absorbed in her skin. "I'll be with you. Call me in your mind when you need me and I'll be there."
"Off you go Huntress." He tapped her on the head with his fan and Huifang was hit by nausea again as the world began to spin. She absolutely hated this way of travelling.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
winterblossom
winterblossom Wow I actually published a new chapter so soon! it probably feels really short after that humongous last chapter but fear not reader, you will have more humongous chapters. American burger sized chapters. Freedom chapters! I hope this answers lingering questions. I also want to point out that Pann isn't the only liar here. The author is a liar too. I will deceive you in the comments. Don't trust what I say. And you probably have guesses about the next arc but I like to surprise you. You know?
— New chapter is coming soon — Write a review
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone