The Great Vermilion Beast

Jason must choose between the life he knows and the legacy written in his blood.

Jason Wu had spent most of his life trying to find his place in the world. He always knew he was adopted. The agency that handled the adoption had been open with the details, but Jason never pushed past that. He didn’t feel the need to. As far as he was concerned, Lee and Lina Wu were his real parents. They raised him, loved him, and made countless sacrifices to ensure he had every opportunity they never had.

College had been both a dream and a trial. He entered with ambition, driven by his parents' support but in his second year, everything changed. His mother, Lina, the strongest woman he had ever known, passed away from cancer. Jason had known she was sick. She’d been quietly undergoing treatment, always brushing off his concerns with a smile and a "don’t worry about me." He never expected to lose her so soon.

He was halfway home to visit when his father called with the news. That moment was seared into him forever.

In his fourth year of college, something unexpected happened. He met Eileen Grace.

Jason hadn’t been looking for love his focus was squarely on graduating, not just for himself, but for his mother. Even in death, her memory pushed him forward. Eileen started off as a study partner, casual, friendly, helpful. Then came the late-night texts. The calls. The laughter. And before he knew it, Jason was falling hard.

Eileen introduced him to her family with some hesitation. She’d warned him about her grandfather’s outdated views and worried that Jason, as an Asian American, might not be accepted. But the visit went smoother than she ever expected. Jason charmed them all with his quiet respect and sincerity. He brought her father a special smoked maple wood edition of Jack Daniels. He gifted her mother’s favorite chocolate. And her younger brother? Jason won him over with the newest Call of Duty game and a two-hour co-op session that Eileen eventually had to break up.

Jason loved Eileen’s family, but his heart always pulled him home to Ohio, to check in on his father. Lee Wu had grown quieter in the years since Lina’s passing. He’d often go days without calling or texting, slipping into stretches of silence. Jason started calling every day, even if it was just to say hi or talk about nothing. He didn’t want to lose another parent to time and distance.

It was during one of those daily check-ins that Jason told his father he planned to propose.

Lee’s joy was immediate, but beneath it, Jason sensed a familiar sadness the ache of missing Lina. Still, Lee was genuinely happy. He had met Eileen during a trip to Ohio, and he’d pulled Jason aside afterward to say, “She’s special. Don’t let her go. And when you have her, never take her for granted. You never know when you’ll lose the ones you love.”

Jason took the words to heart.

A year later, he and Eileen were married.

Jason graduated with a dual Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Business Management, and landed a job at Diamond Digital, where he was eventually promoted to manage the business division. For the past five years, he had built a steady life work, home, family. He and Eileen had been trying to start a family of their own, but so far, it hadn’t happened. Some days, they clung to hope. Other days, the silence in the house was harder to ignore.

Then came a Saturday unlike any other.

Jason was in the garage sorting tools when his phone rang. His father’s name flashed across the screen. He smiled, expecting a routine check-in.

“Hey, Dad.”

But Lee's voice on the other end was strained...urgent, almost panicked.

“Jason,” he said, “I need to see you right now. I’m coming over. There’s something...important. You need to know the truth.”

Jason stood frozen, heart thudding. “What? What’s going on?”

“Just please, son. Be ready when I get there.”

The call ended.

Jason turned to Eileen, who was folding laundry on the couch. “My dad’s on his way. Something’s wrong. He sounded...off.”

“Off how?”

“I don’t know,” Jason admitted. “He said he needs to tell me the truth. Something about my real father.”

Lee Wu arrived just past noon. He looked older than Jason remembered his face tired, shoulders heavy with something deeper than grief or age. He stepped inside without his usual smile.

“Dad...what’s going on?”

Lee didn’t answer right away. He just gestured for Jason to sit. Eileen brought them water, then quietly gave them space.

Once they were alone, Lee took a deep breath.

“Jason,” he said, voice shaking. “I’ve always promised to tell you the truth one day. I just hoped...I’d never have to.”

Jason sat forward, his pulse racing.

“As you know,” Lee continued, “I’m not your biological father. But what you don’t know is that your mother Lina and I weren’t just your adoptive parents. We were...guardians. Assigned to you.”

Jason blinked. “Assigned?”

Lee nodded solemnly. “We come from a very old lineage one tied to the ancient Clan of the Great Vermilion Beast. And now...your birth father has come. And with him, the truth of who and what you really are.”

Jason stared at his father, unable to speak, as the world he thought he knew began to shift beneath his feet.

Jason stared at his father no, his adoptive father as if he were speaking another language.

“The Clan of the Great Vermilion Beast?” he repeated, the words tasting strange in his mouth. “Dad...what are you talking about?”

Lee’s eyes softened. “I know it sounds like something out of a legend. That’s because it is. But it’s also real. And you, Jason...you’re part of that legend.”

Jason rubbed his palms down his jeans, the air in the room suddenly thick with a heat that hadn’t been there before. “Start from the beginning.”

Lee nodded and leaned back in the chair, the old wood creaking beneath him. He looked toward the window, as if seeing something far beyond the quiet Ohio street outside.

“Thousands of years ago,” he began, “the world was watched over by five celestial guardians great beasts of unimaginable power, each tied to one of the Five Elements. Wood. Metal. Water. Earth. And Fire.”

Jason’s brow furrowed. “Like the Chinese elemental phases?”

Lee smiled faintly. “Exactly. What most call mythology...is history. The Five Phase Gods were real cosmic beings who chose champions to carry their essence into the human world. Vessels. Your bloodline traces back to the Vermilion Beast the guardian of Fire, Summer, and the South. Known as Ling Guang, the Great Vermilion Bird.”

Jason sat still, heart thumping. “And...what does that mean for me?”

“It means,” Lee said carefully, “you were born to carry that fire. You’re descended from the royal bloodline of the Vermilion Clan those chosen to become vessels of Ling Guang himself. Your birth father is part of that ancient line. You are his only heir.”

Jason shook his head slowly. “I don’t feel like anything special.”

“None of them ever do at first.”

Lee stood and crossed to the mantle, pulling out a slim, wrapped scroll from behind a framed photo of Lina. He unrolled it carefully on the coffee table. The paper shimmered faintly as if heat rippled from within it. Inked in bold crimson strokes was the unmistakable image of a fiery bird with wings outstretched; the Vermilion Bird, its body adorned with ancient sigils, fire spiraling from its talons.

“This is your legacy,” Lee said. “The Vermilion Clan once stood as guardians of balance. Our people were chosen to carry the flame of Ling Guang not just as warriors, but as guides, protectors, judges. Every few generations, the true vessel is born a soul who can house the living essence of the Vermilion itself.”

“And that’s me?” Jason asked, voice low. “Why now? Why didn’t you tell me any of this before?”

“We weren’t allowed to,” Lee replied, guilt clouding his face. “The royal line has strict protocols. The vessel must live a normal life until the Fire calls. You were supposed to have time. But something’s changed.”

Jason leaned forward. “What do you mean?”

“Your birth father, the Flamekeeper, has arrived. He wouldn’t have come unless something serious is happening in the spiritual realm. The balance among the Five is breaking. Which means...”

“Which means it’s time,” Jason finished, the realization crashing down on him.

Outside, a wind kicked up out of nowhere, rustling the trees though the sky remained cloudless. The temperature in the room spiked for just a moment before fading.

Lee exhaled and looked his son in the eyes. “You have fire in your blood, Jason. And soon...it’s going to awaken.”

Jason stared down at the scroll, watching the red ink shimmer like embers. He didn’t feel chosen. He didn’t feel ready. But something deep inside something ancient and warm stirred for the first time.


Word Count: 1492
Written for: "The Adam West Conspiracy"