Chapter 7: The Demon's Eminence

The Temple.

Shendu gazed obsessively at the Pan'ku Box resting before him.

It was a crystalline puzzle box, deep blue and etched entirely with ancient, flowing incantations. It was the master key, the bridge between the mortal realm and the Netherworld.

At the temple entrance, the figures of Jackie, Uncle, Tohru, and Viper appeared.

"Shendu! We're here to stop you!"

"Dark Hand, intercept them!" Shendu commanded. The four members of the Dark Hand, losers by habit, charged forward in a desperate swarm.

Shendu reached out toward the Pan'ku Box, but a jolt of electric pain instantly surged through his entire body.

"Blast! The box is protected by Noble Magic!" he roared.

"Aiya! Jackie, get the box!" Uncle shouted, pointing toward the altar.

He quickly brandished a blowfish enchanted with Chi Magic, firing a streak of green energy at Shendu. Hit dead-on, Shendu was sent tumbling backward.

He looked toward the center of the temple. The Dark Hand "professionals" were being utterly crushed by the J-Team, who were bolstered by the power of the Talismans. Their luck was bad enough on a normal day; against a Talisman-enhanced J-Team and a long-range wizard like Uncle, they were disintegrating.

"You four useless simpletons! The box is warded against evil; I cannot touch it directly. Grab the box!" Shendu howled at the sky.

Hearing the order, the Dark Hand scrambled toward the Pan'ku Box on the floor. Suddenly, a shadow fell from above as Tohru planted himself in their path like a mountain.

On the other side, Shendu traded magic blasts with Uncle while desperately trying to use his sleeves to lift the box indirectly. But in the blink of an eye, the Dark Hand had been wiped out and lay sprawled on the floor. Shendu found himself cornered by Uncle and the J-Team.

"It's over, Shendu! You've lost!" Jackie said firmly.

"No... I have not!" Shendu clutched the box through his robes and roared, "My brother! How much longer do you intend to watch from the sidelines?"

"Brother?" Jackie asked, bewildered.

In the next heartbeat, a blast of violet-black Demon Chi slammed into him from above, sending him flying into a wall with a sickening thud.

Zoran floated at the temple entrance, his feet never touching the dust. Blinding light poured in from behind him, casting his silhouette in stark relief.

"Jade!?" Jackie gasped, but he didn't have the strength to stand back up.

"Jade, aren't you supposed to be on a plane?" Tohru asked, his head spinning.

"I'm no caged bird. Besides, the only one going for a ride is you!"

Zoran flicked his wrist, sending a wave of concussive force toward Tohru. Even the enforcer's massive frame was powerless against the impact. He was sent soaring into the wall, landing directly on top of Jackie.

"No... you're not Jade. Who are you?" Viper asked, her voice trembling with fear.

"That is not Jade!" Uncle's expression turned deathly serious, masked by a sudden, chilling dread. "She is possessed by a demon, another demon!"

Uncle's blowfish fired a beam of Chi Magic straight at Zoran.

"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao... Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao..."

Uncle balanced on one leg, pushing his Chi Magic to its absolute limit.

Zoran flashed a mocking grin. With a flourish of his wrist, an identical blowfish appeared in his hand.

"Chi Magic? I know a few tricks myself."

Two massive beams of energy erupted from Zoran's hands, colliding with Uncle's spell and blowing everything in their path to splinters.

"Aiya! The demon has stolen Uncle's secrets!"

Viper, relying on the Snake Talisman, had barely begun to react when she was blasted backward by a second wave of Chi Zoran had prepared specifically for her.

The temple fell silent and empty.

The two demons stood on opposite sides, sharing a knowing smile.

"My brother, I knew you would reveal yourself at the pivotal moment!" Shendu said, sounding almost touched.

If Zoran didn't know Shendu's treacherous nature, he might have actually been fooled by the performance.

"Enough talk. First, we kill Jackie Chan so they can't interfere," Zoran said, his eyes gleaming with a predatory light.

He wasn't some incompetent villain from a children's cartoon. Now that he was a demon, the only logical path was to eliminate any future threats.

Before Shendu could even react, Zoran began channeling a second, more lethal wave of Chi.

Against the far wall, Tohru shook his head, clearing the cobwebs. Seeing the incoming blast, his instincts kicked in as the Rabbit Talisman began to glow. Like a streak of lightning, he threw Jackie and Uncle over his shoulders, tucked Viper under his arm, and vanished through the exit.

"Protagonist plot armor, hmm? Hmph." Zoran lowered the blowfish and tucked his hands into his pockets, looking at the Pan'ku Box resting on Shendu's sleeves.

"My brother," Shendu began slowly, his gaze toward Zoran filled with newfound wariness, "you reminded me just now of our glory days eons ago. The Netherworld failed to dull your wisdom or your fire. Even I find myself... a bit intimidated by you."

Despite the fact that he was facing a young girl barely four feet tall, the sheer intensity of the aura Zoran projected forced Shendu to remember their ancient eminence.

The Netherworld had broken most of them. Many had lost their regal, demonic pride, merely acting out the roles of who they used to be. That was the true cruelty of the Eight Immortals: even if a demon escaped, they were often just a hollow, weakened version of their former selves. Once cast into the abyss, one usually lived forever in the shadow of their own past.

But Zoran felt different to Shendu.

Even in spirit form, even inhabiting a child's body, his poise and temperament felt like the true Tso Lan, the Moon Demon who once ruled the heavens alone.

He hadn't changed. He was still the elder.

Hiding his inner trepidation, Shendu spoke loudly: "Now, let us study this artifact together, release our brothers and sisters, and reclaim the glory of the mortal world!"

In his excitement, Shendu's hand accidentally brushed the box, and he was instantly zapped again. He looked a bit embarrassed as he fumbled with it for a moment, unable to find the secret. The artifact was almost entirely alien to him.

Zoran drifted through the air, floating toward Shendu. He reached out a hand, and gravity pulled the Pan'ku Box toward him.

Without resistance, he took it. The Noble Magic on the box had no effect on him whatsoever.

"This is why I say, trust in the wisdom of your elders. It pays to read a book once in a while."

Gravity enshrouded the box. The runes on its surface lit up one by one, shifting as easily as a master solving a Rubik's Cube. The box twisted.

The hexagram representing the first gate revealed itself.

"It seems the first opportunity goes to our sister, the Mountain Demon, Po Kong," Shendu said, his eyes lighting up with excitement.

Zoran gave a cold chuckle. Gravity continued to work upon the Pan'ku Box. The Gen hexagram, representing the mountains, slowly rotated and dimmed.

"Tso Lan?" Shendu froze, using his brother's true name in his confusion.

A second later, the Kan hexagram appeared, and a phantom image of the moon instantly filled the temple.

Zoran whispered softly, "It seems Po Kong will have to wait. The opportunity goes..."

He looked Shendu straight in the eye.

"...to me."