Page 72 of Elemasters

“Based on what I have been told about Qin Shi Huang searching for artifacts from our time, I believe he was searching for two things; his ceremonial sword, and the Heirloom Seal of the Realm. The sword contained more stolen dragon scales and fiercely amplified his power over storms, and the seal was shaped from magical jade that allowed him to exert his will over his subjects with absolute authority. With them in hand, he will not only be able to exert full control over Master Ying, but he will become a far more dangerous opponent. However, hope is not lost. With the five rings in our possession, we can potentially bond the Fire Ring to a new host,”

“Wait, what?!” Dustin immediately blurted out, “we should be fighting to save Chris, not finding a new host!”

“Dusty, just hear him out, okay?” Bailey assured him.

“All five elemental energies exist within all living beings. Each of you, as with all people, have a single most dominant element that governs which ring you bonded with, but you have access to the others as well,” Sima Yao began.

“Wait… are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“Second Master Ying, I believe the best course of action is for you to assume temporary control of the Fire Ring, so that you may command its power to free your brother.”

“Wait, is that even possible? And why ask me to do it? I’m not… I can’t be fire. I can’t be like Chris,”

“To wield two elements simultaneously,” Sima paused, a contemplative look taking over his face, “it is certainly a risk. One that I do not ask you to undertake lightly. I understand the potential threat to your body... and yet, I cannot imagine another solution to our dilemma. As for your other hesitation, I do not ask that you become your brother. I simply ask for you to step into the version of yourself that blazes with the same ease that you embrace fluidity,”

Those words felt like an explosion to Dustin. The idea that his old self and his new self could co-exist? The flamboyant Colorful Trauma frontman and the disciplined star swimmer… the two Dustins that existed entirely separately in his psyche.

Fire and water. Within him at once. It was liberating… and fucking terrifying.

“If you can pull it off, and I know you can pull it off, it might give us the edge we need to make sure part two of our plan works,” Chloe said, fidgeting with the zipper on her cropped hoodie to calm her nerves. Clearly whatever ‘part two’ was didn’t have her full confidence.

“What is it?”

“Well, Sima says that he can bring Chris back here, so long as all five of us are touching him with all the rings active at once. That’ll let him power through Qin Shi Huang’s influence, but once we get him here, we’ll need to get him into the Lotus Garden,” Bailey explained. James nodded, clearly more into the idea than Chloe was.

“It’ll basically act like a spiritual purification chamber or something. It’ll split the emperor’s soul from Chris’s, and if we can reach him before Qin Shi Huang can take control back, it might just force him out of Chris’s body,”

“It is truly a desperate plan, but one I believe could work,” Sima Yao confirmed, “though I will need to take additional steps to fortify the Palace, to prevent the emperor from corrupting it as well. He will be much more powerful on this spiritual plane,”

Dustin’s stomach was a weird slurry mix of hope and abject terror. Sure, this was the closest thing to an actionable plan they had since Chris was taken over, but it was clear that there was no margin for error. If they fucked this up, his brother would be gone forever.

And it would be entirely his fault.

Not because he couldn’t save him. This wasn’t about managing Chris, not anymore. He’d been forced to do that his entire life and look where it had landed them.

No, it would be Dustin’s fault because he failed to reach Chris. To finally meet his twin where he lived instead of looking down at him as a problem to be solved, or an impact to be braced for.

He couldn’t fail this time. He wouldn’t.

“Give me the ring,” he said, voice trembling ever so slightly as he looked down into the water. Sima Yao closed his eyes, seemingly not in concentration, but something almost like grief. Another pillar of mist rose from the water, the bright red Fire Ring floating on top of it like an offering.

Dustin breathed deeply… and slid Chris’s ring onto his middle finger.

“Second Master Ying, you now command the power of fire. Ardent and enrapturing. Dazzling and creative. But take heed that your willingness to accept this new burden does not immolate your truest sense of who you are. Balance, young master, is the key to integration,”

Sima’s words faded out as Dustin’s surroundings shifted.

Suddenly he was standing alone beneath a complete torrential downpour; the intensity of the rain impossible to even see through.

But before he could even get his bearings… the raindrops became hotter. And then somehow even hotter. And then he realized it was now raining fire.

Dustin screamed and collapsed to the ground, trying to cover his head with his hands, but his bare skin was completely exposed to the flaming monsoon.

Was this what Sima meant? The two identities failing to coalesce cleanly, so fire was completely overtaking him? Accepting water as an assignment was simple, he’d spent his whole life being defined by it both literally and in the abstract. But fire? Maybe he needed to anchor it to something the same way water found its root in him without even needing to try.

That’s when the spotlight hit him.

The flames and rain were gone, and he found himself on an elevated stage in front of a roaring crowd; no longer naked, but instead wearing his favorite black mesh crop top that showed off the bellybutton piercing Chris talked him into getting sophomore year with a forged ID.