Katha Theodoros 28/Aretaphilla Myia X12 - Crisis of the Middle Life

Passes into the True Oasis were few and far between.

Speaking frankly, even as a Legate the positions would be hard to acquire, due to the land being held in trust by Strength Purity, who held a right of first refusal on the spots in the area. Still, the war in the Plains had been at something of a lull the past few decades. There was space enough, especially after the results of the unfortunate duel that had lead to her heading down there in the first place.

"Been a while since I had most of my everything ruined." The Thousand Songstress hummed cheerfully to herself, hobbling on crutches as she handed over a bathing token to a far too bored looking attendant.

"Not since the day I lost my eye during the previous Trials, in fact." She grinned cheekily to the younger woman besides her, "When was the last time you had a nice, long soak Junior?"

Stripped down to naught but a bathrobe and skin shimmering in the evening light, Silverlord of the Clan and sweltering in the heat, Saria Duca looked long and evenly at her senior in age and rank, yet junior in cultivation. "Not as long as you, honoured senior sister," she replied diplomatically.

It would have been easy to simply turn down the request. She was a Legate now, in charge of an entire Legion. She had duties to tend to, schedules to write, patrols to manage and training to oversee. She had to put on a good show for the Clan as one of its newest Silverlords and had to demonstrate the strength of the Clan for the good of the Clan. But one turned down Aretaphilla Myia at their own peril, even if Saria could probably beat her to death these days. Her strength came easily to her now, and she was fast enough that the Myia might never even see it coming. They were both silver, of a sort; but where the Summer's Bell was malleable, Steel was murderous.

Still, they conversed lightly. She was her senior, after all. And it wouldn't do for a Silverlord to harm a Single Pillar King. Tisamenos' little outburst had put a lot of scrutiny upon the rest of them, so they had to be much more mindful of their own actions these days. Oh, what she'd do to feed him his own fingers, one knuckle at a time.

"And you, Senior? Are the waters to your liking?"

"That's what we're here to find out," Aretaphila replied glibly, her smile remaining genial as they walked and or hobbled past the neutral attendants of the Inner Oasis. Companionable silence lay between the two, until the moment where no sound reached the superlative Clear Summer's Bell to be echoed back and observed.

A soft hum emanated in the empty air, obstructing potential eavesdroppers that would come after.

"It seems odder if a Foundation Establishment takes a bath in the True Oasis alone, even if they are a Single Pillar King." The smile falls away, a blue gimlet eye matching Saria's own, "Better that it appear to be an act of thoughtless indulgence by the wealthy and impatient." Aretaphila chuffs to herself.

"Don't want anyone thinking that my recovery is a matter of true urgency after all."

Saria craned her head at that as she ducked under headboards meant for shorter women. "I cannot say that I agree with what you tried, but I cannot say that I am surprised, either. We've only fought together once before, but considering what you tried to pull at Chunwang… Well. Will you stop flying so close to the sun, or has crashing down to the earth only emboldened you?"

All know of the legend of Icarus and Daedalus, after all. But few realise that Icarus survived and swore vengeance against the Sun, battling it three times as he emerged from beneath the waves, until he was finally exhausted and drowned in the surf. Or so the stories she heard went.

"This was a bit before your time," The Thousand Songstress replied, "But I tended to eat the dirt a great deal before ascending to Single Pillar Foundation." She raises a thumb to gesture at her chest, "This great me actually based the principles of the Heaven Shaking Song off the lessons I learned from all those experiences. Besides, it's hardly the first time I've picked fights with Core Formations or even Nascent Souls."

"Right, your famous fight against Old Jingshen. I won't even ask how many lifetimes of luck you burned with that stunt."

The pair continue their march, the wafting of steam finally reaching their senses as they near their arranged spots, "Unfortunately, my next big match is against those who are of similar exceptional make, rather than those in stages beyond my own." Aretaphila sighed, before beginning to prepared her bandages and casts for dipping into the healing springs.

"So how have things been for you after breaking through to Core Formation, Temporary XXI? Anything interesting happen on the home front?"

What was there to say? She had broken through to Core Formation as one of the Silverlords of the Clan. She was now strong enough for her bloodline, powerful and swift unlike any for thousands of years. Her voice rang with the sharp roar of command and all she needed now was a mere glance to issue orders that would be performed to the letter. She was no master of Formations like the other Silver Cores, but she could hold her own. She was immensely successful, fabulously wealthy, famous and respected and feared and loved.

And she was still miserable.

But she would never admit it. Not to Aretaphilla Myia. Not even to Aretaphilla Myia. "Nothing as impressive as what you did in the Yuan Mountains, my missions were largely just minding territory and working on my Legion and my Cultivation. Not the eclectic sort the DI Legio are, but they do their jobs well in the name of the Clan, pacifying the far east. I've been petitioning to Protostrator Sheng Yu for Clan spearhead duties, but he's been preferring more experienced Legions so far. None of we SIlverblooded just yet…"

She trailed off, a chime in the distance. There was so much she did not want to say, but also so much she had wanted to say. The dissonance, the dichotomy of it, was so very… vexing. "Tisamenos' stunt had consequences for the rest of us, but Absyrtus has been tasked with minding his small manners, so I will simply wait my turn. Beyond that, there's not been much else. Lady Destasia has wanted my blood for more experiments, but I couldn't tell you what for. All I can say is that my years have been quietly and steadily successful, nothing quite as exciting as yours."

Nothing like the whirlwind that Riala had been, either. Her sister was always the star of the show, the lead in the opera, her story larger than any other even as she appeared and disappeared from the lives of others seemingly without rhyme nor reason. All it would take was a single smile, a single pointer, and a single gift, and she would leave stories behind that would last generations. Meanwhile, all she had done was the menial mundanity she had always lived, only this time she was the one all others kowtowed to and feared.

What good was all this power, a traitorous part of herself mused, if she could never stand beside Riala as an equal in the only way that mattered?

"Exciting, hm?" Aretaphila mused to herself, "I suppose you could say failure piled upon failure is exciting after a fashion." A single blue orb stared off into the distance as the shorter Legate lowered herself into the healing springs with a groan of contentment, "Tell me, did you use that example of Icarus on accident? I won't hold it against you if you had done so deliberately."

It was, indeed, done deliberately. Saria sighed as she began to disrobe. "What if it was, senior sister mine?"

"In my youth, I had something of a one sided rivalry with the Golden King, who you met at ChunKWAB." The phrase holding a particular emphasis focused on it even as it was said by the Thousand Songstress, "In many ways, my path in Cultivation was set because I was eternally chasing her back in my youth." Platinum lines of hair sink into the murky waters of the churning Oasis, "For a time, I was something of a running joke before you were born. Beyond my fellow Indomitables, I actually didn't pay much attention to the larger Clan at all given my focus.

Aretaphila stared at her younger, taller companion, "Then I broke through, obtained true power, and came into my own. Silver King and Gold. Now more literal than ironic."

"Like…" She murmured quietly, "Mithril and Steel."

Saria stiffened, her bathrobe still around her waist. Those words carried meaning and recognition. The Silver King knew what she was talking about - or, at least, knew enough to guess at the rest. Conjecture that approached the truth, close enough to fish for answers.

"Stories, Legate Myia, nothing more. I couldn't tell you about my bloodline or about the Blood of Iron, only what you probably already know. Strength, speed, indefatigability, and without the lumbering weight of Iron."

"Hmm," Said Legate murmured again, "Then I hope this Junior forgives their Senior Sister's idle musings." A moment of silence passes, hanging heavy over the two of them as Aretaphila gathers her thoughts. Though Saria was decently in control, provoking the younger woman wasn't her intention. That was the point of Actual XXI after all, and the Silverlord before her was still likely murderously unstable for all the self control she exhibited.

"While the Grand Elder keeps his Dao to himself, among other things, I think that he serves as enough of an illustrative example that he can be used here; as he himself so deftly proves Junior, Shadows are malleable things. Just as easily a source of strength as they can be a choking shackle that you try to escape. If I were to indulge….I'd even say that they are like a great weight, tied to the limbs of some of us who need that extra bit of push to make due with effort where talent alone is insufficient. We choke and drown beneath them so that we may struggle, so that we may climb, so that we may ascend."

Saria said nothing, continuing to look at the Lord of the Dawn's Fist, the axis upon which it all laid. The workings of Aretaphilla Myia's mind were as enigmatic as ever. No one ever really knew what she was going on about. Though, in this case it was more like Saria tried not to acknowledge it.

"In a way I'm jealous of you Silverlords," Aretaphila Myia continued, "At least there's enough of you to go around. At least there's a way to make more. Even Katha Theodoros is not a singular existence for her bloodline. Escaping the fate of a broodmare is something I've only delayed through a persistent rise and the excuse of ensuring that there is a Myia legacy left for any would be heirs to inherit." She sighed.

"I've been ordered by the Council to produce an heir within two decades of the conclusion of the next set of Trials," The Thousand Songstress paused, sending a mysterious glance towards Saria, "I suppose the assumption is that if I can't get myself hitched, this Senior Sister will be forced to do her duty to the Clan once my position has been stabilised."

"My sympathies. I understand what that sort of pressure can do to a person." And how true that was. She had been given a stay on that before due to her weakened constitution, but sooner or later the Duca were going to bang on her door and request that she start doing some of her familial duties. Which was going to be annoying.

"Oh, nothing so dramatic. I'm actually looking forward to it! Speaking of which," Aretaphila Myia said, changing the subject, "I've recently discovered that an old friend of mine has found themselves in a similar sort of trouble, and I intend to help them however I can. Something about uppity vassals and branches trying to turn his only daughter into a broodmare, despite her immense promise."

A silver eyelid became lidded, gazing with deep killing intent, "Insisting that her crippling presents a serious issue. As if I would not spare every effort to see one of mine hale and whole and fulfilling her potential." Argent lips twitched into a smile, "Amusing isn't it, Junior? The idea that a bunch of nobodies would think to lay claim to what is mine without ever having lent a single hand to raising it up? The audacity of these fools, I swear." The Legatus of the DI sighed, sinking deeper into the waters.

"Not that it's any business of yours, of course. Forgive this Senior Sister for her venting, it's just that such stressful matters are terrible for the complexion, you understand."

It was bait, bare-faced and audacious. Where Saria had suspicions about Aretaphilla's intentions prior, the Silverlord could not delude herself about the Silver King's plans any further. And yet, she could not move past this one thing. Because that peculiar man is a traitor to the weakling she is, and the girl she tried so hard to ignore is undeniably her mother's daughter.

"What is happening to Katha?" Saria asked - no, could no longer not ask. Though she had broken ties with the Theodoroi, family was still family. One could only ignore this injustice for so long. A sin of the blood is a sin to the self. It demanded a response. "I know she went to the Yuan Mountains with you. What happened to her? Why is she now being put up like…"

…Like her.

"Oh nothing too big a deal," The Silver Bell chimed musically, "She merely challenged the stinger of a Nascent Soul Wasp, and was injected with its paralytic and surviving the process." The diminutive woman shook her head, "If it wasn't for the fact that a slow recovery regimen was recommended so that her body could naturally develop antibodies to burn out the venom directly, I'd have her join us even now to recover."

Left unsaid was the possibility that the Legatus had purchased the two tokens as soon as she had heard the news, only to be confronted by a physikers firm recommendation for the course Katha had wound up taking.

"That only explains the mission," Saria said.

"Of course it isn't all," Aretaphila Myia said bitterly, "Her brother appears lost in pursuit of something," She continued focused in the distance, "And though I don't know what he and his wife are looking for, the Quintia are certainly not happy about it. A fact that certain failures are taking as a sign of weakness, and moving the gears of bureaucracy to pressure that old friend of mine." The shorter woman sighed, tilting her head back to glare at the ceiling above them.

"I hadn't foreseen that intwining myself so deeply when I was at this stage would present a potential opening like this, and unfortunately I can not falter now. Thus, I have little choice but to act." The Legatus of the DI said at last.

So there it was. A power play within the Vanguard Houses. They were finally agitating for reunification, Core Elder or not, and now the families were angling for better positions and higher titles than they had before. All the while the Main House struggled, because they were missing an Heir and their most promising scion was currently badly injured. And where previously they had banded together to fend off the Quintia's advances, this time the ire of Georgos was now placed wholly upon her father's shoulders.

What a shitshow.

"I don't know how you feel about Tormenos," Aretaphila finally said seriously, "To be honest, there were centuries of time in which he lived where I had all but forgotten he existed as I thoughtlessly pursued my own objectives. Time for you to grow, become an adult, live, and be betrayed." Two dainty silver hands rose above the murky water, mimicking the balancing of scales.

"The position of the Myia was not so perilous before I had broken through," declared the head of the Myia, "Honestly, there was little practical difference in my family's fortunes before recruiting Katha Theodoros and when Tormenos decided to prioritise one daughter over two." With dread seriousness, a blue eye shot through with the light of fulmination turned to meet Saria's own gaze.

"I could have saved you great anguish as easily as overturning my hand, if only I could be bothered to have paid attention rather than chasing the shadow of Rina Callista. What does your blood say in answer to that, Saria Duca? That you could have lived happier, calling me Mother rather than Senior Sister? Is Tormenos still so badly to blame in light of even that?""

"That's not up to you," Saria said, her voice sharp, the words ringing as they cut through the atmosphere. She said so without hesitation, for the answer was baked into her from the day she lost the name Theodoros. "I don't care that I was sold to the Duca. I could have gone to the Quintia, or the Delphi, or the Callista or even the Sarantapechos. I could have gone to you and it wouldn't change the fact that he threw me aside. Even if I understand why, I can never forgive him that."

"Why?" Aretaphila asked, desperately curious, "I can't say that I don't understand the sting of betrayal, but holding a grudge over a well intentioned act of desperation seems alien to me." She paused, gaze growing anguished, "Not when I've seen far more grievous hurts dealt with far worse intentions."

"Because what good is a father who can't protect his daughters? Either of them?"

The statement hung over them like a pall of black smoke, staining all further conversation on the topic and disrupting the mood. All Saria could hear was the dribble of the spring, the distant murmurs of the other guests in the other baths, and the beating of her own heart.

"...There might have been hope, if Riala lived," Saria admitted. "My sister was… incredible, like you could not believe. Tell me, Legate Myia, would you hand over resources enough to reach the Tenth Heavenstage to anyone you meet on the road, simply because you felt you had progressed far enough? How many people can say they would give up the chance for more power, just because they were happy with what they had in this shitshow of a world? Because she did, several times. That was just how she was.

"And then she died. And I'll never pay that back."

The Silver King pursed her lips, "The person I once was would not have, no. By the time it would have made a difference for you, your sister was already dead. And I hadn't even given her a second thought, taking for granted that the risk of death was the cost of closing that gap."

Aretaphila doesn't have an answer beyond that. She's never been a parent. Saria blames Tormenos for failing in the filial duty. First in failing to care for her, apparently. And again for not protecting Riala from the consequences of her actions. Aretaphila has done nothing but fail everyone except herself and her family - except for her friends - by contrast. The reduction of all other concerns to a stark divide between "mine" and "not mine", and even now as a Single Pillar King, the [Heaven Shaking Song] is built on an empathy founded in a connection forged through shared suffering.

She doesn't know what to say to an aimless grief that blames someone for not standing in front of it.

She doesn't understand how Tormenos Theodoros could have ever been seen as someone able to protect others from the harshness of the world.

She doesn't comprehend how to feel betrayal from someone she never expected anything from in the first place.

The Thousand Songstress stares ahead, unseeing. Unknowing of how to bridge that gap.

"I'm sorry."

How can she make a demand of someone she can't comprehend? A suffering that she did not know how to nurture strength from? How do you bridge such an obvious dissonance?

"...Don't be. I understand you and Tormenos are friends, but this is a family matter, insofar as I happen to have half his blood. I'll cross that bridge when I'm good and ready, if I don't burn it myself." Truthfully, nowadays she wasn't sure. She would never forgive Tormenos, but that didn't preclude some sympathy from time to time. Or at least, it shouldn't.

Still, its painfully clear that there was an ulterior motive to this visit. Best to get that out of the way, so they can enjoy the most of this excursion before returning to the thankless toil of tedious tedium. "What would the Thousand Songstress like of this junior, pitiful she might be? Silver I may be, but silver are you as well. The comparison is hardly meritorious here."

"..." Aretaphila Myia paused, considering the answer to that question in the new context she had been presented with. What had she desired, and what could be asked in the light of the raw, alien hurt that Saria felt towards Tormenos? The Legatus of the DI Legio shut her sole eye and hummed in thought, putting them in order as she considered her answer.

"I apologize for misunderstanding you, Junior." She sighed at last, "It appears that I was about to do you a grave insult," The cyclopic gaze snapped open to stare at the steam-laced air above her diminutive form, "Would you be willing to…" A silver hand twirled meanderingly.

"Demure should anyone get any bright ideas of involving you in this feud? If you are truly set on distancing yourself from the affairs of Tormenos, then it would mean a great deal if you would be willing to step aside and leave we elders to our petty squabbles." An electric-blue eye met Saria Duca's own gaze through the steam. Held it.

"This Aretaphila Myia would rather not face you as an opponent, it would make things more difficult than I would prefer." A sardonic smile crossed her lips.

"Of that, we are agreed. Your friendship with him is not exclusive with my debt to you." Saria arched an eyebrow and craned her neck. "After all, you did help get me out of Chunwang. That alone means I owe you, if not a life, then a great deal. And beyond that… You aren't as callous or apathetic as the stories say. If anything, they are dead wrong. You care. You simply express it differently.

"So," the Silverlord said, "I'm happy to step aside. But Tormenos' affairs aren't necessarily my family's affairs. What can I do for Enya and my sister's gremlins?"

The Legatus of the DI frowns, the silver of her face straining and creaking. Finally carrying the weight of her centuries in this world.

"You are to say nothing of what I am about to tell you." A cold gleam enters her gaze as it locks upon the Core Formation Silverlord, and an indeterminate pressure lays itself upon her Misty Core, inexplicably shaking it with a subtle tune.

"Swear it."

"I swear, on the Archgetes and the blood of our ancestors." Another frown. Though her Core is insubstantial fog, it still holds itself with a surety impossible to lesser Cultivators. "Is this another daring game, Legatus?"

A scoff rings out, harsh and tingling the skin with a sense of unsound, deadening the air utterly around them.

"Game?" Aretaphila Myia grimaces, "No, our dear Rina Callista has simply been sabotaged by a miserable parasite and so she's seen fit to go out in a blaze of glory rather than risk corruption." The words come out quietly, suppressed not from some effort at being covert, but rather to crush down the dark and bubbling fury that underlies her qi even in this moment.

"And thus she and certain other parties have elected to make the most of it. A task which I have decided to…" The coldly gleaming gaze narrowed, "Appropriate in the lead up to the Trials. I will be unable to assist my adorable Juniors at the time of Rina's planned play, though I assure you that it is not some idle fancy or intended sacrifice on my part. If all goes well, there should be no concern for the kids or you, but should the worst come to pass…" The Legatus sighs.

"Should the worst come to pass, and our efforts fail in some way, I will need you to look after your sister's children in my place until they can finish coming into their own, when they finish healing or return from their adventures at least."

"...Ah. Well, I can try, certainly…"

Putting the matter of the Golden King suffering at the hands of some unknown malady aside - a poison? Nevermind - it was, perhaps, difficult to ask. She could certainly watch over them. Perhaps protect them from the worst of the Clan's internecine politicking, though whatever happened within the Vanguard Houses will have to be their own doing given her own refusal to get involved again. But looking after them with a more direct hand is…

…Difficult.

"...So, yes. I will. They deserve that much, at least. The House is one thing. Family is another. Even if they don't know. And even if I don't care," she added, as if saying it would help herself believe it.

"Hmm," Aretaphila nodded, the delicate sounds of bubbling water returning with the motion, "That's all I can ask, Junior. For now, just relax and let the Dao settle. I hear these kinds of experiences are a must for the cultivation of the newly ascended, you know?" With that said, her eye curled shut, as the Silver King leaned back in relaxation.

Saria simply sank further into the spa, her exhaling breath a wash of bubbles identical to the churn by the rest of the spring. Then she closed her eyes, left alone with her thoughts again, wondering what to make of the newest developments.

And whether she really could just live with herself, knowing of someone who was being forced back onto an unfair path, after being lucky enough to escape it in the first place.

She sighed again. Another wash of bubbles. Oh, if she could just destroy the world…

----

As fine a treat as flash boiling ones Meridians in the Inner Springs had been, the fact remained that even as a Single Pillar King prolonged exposure to such energies would be detrimental to the recovery process. Even if Aretaphila lacked time to recover from her crippling in the caves beneath Yuan, she couldn't afford to rush. A strict, disciplined schedule. Management of pain and healing. Putting up a front as the torturous energies unleashed from Dao backlash were softened and untangled before they could necrotize in her solidified dantian.

Thus, lightly. Thus, tenderly. Thus, with grit teeth behind an easygoing smile did the Head of the Myia descend to the Formation Establishment level baths. Where the rigors of the energies would be less harsh on her metallic flesh, and the seeping waters would relax her softer frame so that it might heal in truth.

But time is Stavraton, and thus did Aretaphila turn towards the third reserved spot she had purchased with the wealth already pouring in from the DI's control of the Erinyes forts.

"Fancy meeting you here, XXI." The Legatus of the 501st Legion called out to the Junior she had decided to pin her hopes on. This wasn't going to be an easy conversation to have..

"Legatus," the youngest of her Centurions responded with a nod. Katha Theodoros, Qi Condensation, blessed with a body suited for Foundation Establishment after a harrowing trial at the Poison Crushing Siege - though, if you follow the whispers, she's had one since she stepped into the First Heavenstage. In that regard, she was so very like her aunt. "What brings you here? I figured you'd be wining and dining with the other Legates, wringing them for every favour and slip."

Her Legatus smirked as easily as ever, "Were it only so easy, Junior. Wining? Dining? Who has time to kiss ass when you've got this kind of height?" The Silver King theatrically mimes measuring herself, "I have enough experience checking out the glutes of our fellows without going out looking, thank you." Wrapping her towel around her metallic hair, Aretaphila sank into the bath alongside Katha.

An amiable silence persists between the two. Aretaphila attempting to relax, to put the worries and stresses behind her. The yawning chasm of deeds left undone, and trepidation even weightier than what she had experienced before. One moment passed. Two. But Katha was as iron, and stubborn besides - she kept her own counsel, too used to the nature of her Legatus to seek to dictate the pace of the conversation.

What a waste, Aretaphila thought to herself. Well, there's nothing to it.

"How do you feel about being seconded a chunk of the DI for a bit before the Trials?"

Katha raised an eyebrow - her good eye, given the other was now gray and dull. Still, she was not as surprised as one might expect. "What size chunk are we talking about? I saw this coming, since I know you're going to be doing something, but I figured you'd be taking the DI along with you for extra muscle. Unless it's one of those missions again?"

At this point, neither of them was a stranger to risky small team operations, where there was no phalanx to rely upon and no strength but their own to call upon. When they, as the greatest of their respective generations, have to defy Heaven with their own power in order to accomplish great things for the Clan, with the scars to prove it. Not for nothing were each of them now blinded in one eye.

Yet, for all that she was blind, Katha was as sharp as ever - and sharp enough to know that Aretaphilla was, too.

An unladylike snort escaped from the diminutive frame of Katha's commander, but in this place, with just the two of them, that bit of familiarity could be allowed.

"Yes…" Thin lips twisted into a bitter smirk, "And no, XXI. This isn't quite the mission you're thinking of. It's something a bit more final, than normal. Even though on paper you might ostensibly be of rank to be given the details, the specifics are something we'll be playing close to the chest until the very last second."

Aretaphila paused, words twisting in her mind. It was fortunate that she was already crippled, lest the nature of the Silver King's contemplations would risk twisting new fractures into her Single Pillar - whereas now she was simply far too damaged to make such stress even a meaningful factor. Doubt, was the Dao Killer. And for once, Aretaphila stared into the memory of searing lights and harsh fights she knew she could not win alone.

And she felt Doubt.

But to allay that, was part of the healing process. And the [Heaven-Shaking Song] was flexible to an extreme degree. Aretaphila need merely allay those doubts. Realize the new shape the Song would take. And upon that, the issue would be resolved.

"We're probably not coming back from this one, Katha." Her voice rings out softly, quietly, seriously.

"Ah." Her brow lowered, then her eyes closed. Katha sighed. "...Ah."

Her Junior reflected on those words thusly with a meditative silence, breathing deeply with her eyes closed, feeling every pop and every crackle of her lungs and flesh and bone beneath, still hollow and stiff from the poison that ravaged her over a decade prior. Maybe it was experience, or maybe it was the poison, but she felt more numb than anything else.

Or maybe that's just what she told herself, because it would be easier to let it glance off a body of iron than to process the reality of that admission.

"So when you say a chunk of the DI Legio… You mean the DI Legio."

"Not at first," Aretaphila follows up, her usual smile up to try and return some sense of levity to her troubled Junior, "This will mostly be you taking charge of the less polished units with one of the other Pilus - probably Aegus - to run Missions for the next twenty years or so." She held out a hand and waggled it back and forth in noncommittal fashion, "While myself and a gradually shrinking collection of our motliest and most experienced engage in a project I'm working on in the former Jingshen lands to help set things up for you during the Trials."

The Legatus glanced upwards into the thinner steam of these baths, "It's not that I expect to die, Junior." A small, silver hand stretched outwards, "It's just that for once I don't see a way forward for me. A great, huge wall. It's easy to sacrifice and risk yourself when you feel you have nothing to lose." An electric blue eye turned to meet Katha's own, a great scar sealing an unhealable wound forever, marring the surface of the perfect bell.

"I have a lot to lose now, XXI. And I don't want to see it disappear after I'm gone, should the worst come to pass." Her cyclopean gaze shut, with only a slight stiffening of her expression to mark the anguish that was wracking the Silver King.

"You up for a story, Junior?"

Given that the 501st Legion was only just at full strength and given that it's not even been sixty years since the Poison Crushing Siege - notably, the first time they went anywhere with more than the literal entire officer cadre - that still meant more than half of the DI Legio. And while Centurion XXI was on the senior side of the Piluses, Katha herself was a Principales, a junior officer. Her skills were reflective of that. Her strength was reflective of that. A Centurion, she isn't. Not really, not yet.

But there was a word she had cottoned onto, something that the Legatus had let slip, intentionally or not she could not know for sure. But she jumped at it instead, hoping for more clues to guide her.

"What's going on with the Trials?"

"A sacrifice." Aretaphila's expression grew hard, "A sacrifice we ought not to have had to pay, but one we could not afford to let pass." The Silver King inhaled, thoughts of the unfairness of it all swirling in her mind. The curse upon the Princess. The great gamble of the Blood Path in the Mountains. The horrors and betrayals she had committed to in the name of the Clan in the deep places of the world.

Doubt.

"We are in a good position, Junior." Aretaphila said conversationally, "It's easy to forget because for you, poverty and decline were always a relative thing. Where the Clan ascended, the Theodoroi were left behind." A silver finger pointed from Katha, to its owner, "In that we are the same. The Myia was also at rock bottom at the time of my birth and your grandfather's generation. Not as bad as the Theodoros, but it was enough for your grandfather and I to commiserate upon.

"But what you did not experience, is that same decline…affecting the entirety of the Clan. Before you were born, Katha Theodoros, the Imperial Optimatoi were on the verge of true extinction, locked in its three way detente with the Battle Blood Cannibals and the Jingshen. It's to your great fortune that you were not born in the days of Child Corpse Gulper, when Old Cannibal was at his most perilous. When these Oasis lands had to be bargained away for the opportunity to strike down a Heaven-Defying Genius seeking to consume the desert at large.

"You are aware that the Archegetes committed to a great gamble during those Trials, correct?" Aretaphila paused, "It was not so great. Now, it is so very clear, that the Archegetes dared to risk the death of our clan because from his perspective…We simply did not have anything to lose." The Legatus turned to look at her subordinate in expectation.

"Right… But that doesn't answer my question. Not really. What are we sacrificing, Legatus?"

Aretaphila gestures at herself, eyebrow raised.

"...So, for the trials, we're sacrificing you." Katha breathed deeply. "I'm not buying it. There's something else going on that you aren't telling me, isn't there?" She continued, not waiting for Aretaphilla to speak. "That's fine. I get it. But one life for a Trial is a bargain, no matter how you try to frame it. Which means there's more to it. Which means… It's not just you." Conclusively, the junior crossed her arms. "Correct?"

"Correct," Aretaphila nodded, "It's not that you're being kept in the dark, Junior. Everyone is. I have to essentially coordinate things between the involved individuals, and that puts stresses on my time that mean I won't be able to handle mentoring you properly to prepare for the worst should it come to pass.

"We can't go back to those times, Katha. I won't let them." Beneath the water, a fist tightens, "We won't. Unfortunately, the DI fulfills a role too critical to leave to disintegrate in the wind. It's the economic engine keeping the Myia clan's holdings going, and in turn the strongest supporting pillar for your main house. If the DI falls apart should the worst happen, the Theodoroi will fall with it." Aretaphila's eye narrows, "Even if I could not manage to save my house, I refuse to leave the Vanguards to fade away as a result of my actions. At the very least, you should live on." The Legatus stares into the distance, refusing to turn to meet the gaze of her subordinate. Air eerily silent, still.

Save for the subtle sound of grinding silver teeth.

"...Then this might be a bad time to mention that I intend on helping to secure the Colossus Footstep Pass."

The Legatus of the DI, Silver King, the Thousand Songstress, and Bewitching Breaker of Chains pauses. Stares at her taller subordinate.

"YOU IDIOT!" Even crippled, her Qi and Constitution carry her voice with the report of a thunderclap, "YOU STUPID GORILLA!" In an instant, Aretaphila Myia is behind the Ironblood, "WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BRAINS THE IMPERATOR GAVE YOU, HUH?! DID YOU STARVE THEM SO YOU COULD FILL UP THESE USELESS FLOTATION DEVICES?!"

A metallic slap rang out through the air, before the frenzied sounds of attempted drowning followed shortly after.

As she was choked underneath the waves in the midst of near-scalding water, the one named Katha Theodoros reflected that at least Aretaphilla's smaller stature and crippling injuries meant that she wasn't about to literally crush her windpipe through sheer rage. Nor did her diminutive Legatus have enough mass to meaningfully hold her down with body weight alone. So, sitting up, still with silver hands wrapped around her throat, Katha looked up at the sky and reflected that anger truly was something that had to be tempered.

This proved that whatever the Legatus was planning had to be at the Colossus Footstep Pass, and likely was going to feature more than just her. Legate Callista, maybe? The Ninth Prince? There were sure to be others, but even two Kings was telling. Something big was going to happen there. No wonder the payout was so high for so brief a mission description.

…She should file for hazard pay, given the choking hazards at the workplace.

At last, the Legatus gave up on the attempted murder. It would be counterproductive to kill her Centurion immediately after designating her her proverbial heir. Yes. That was the reason. Not the aching exhaustion in her tiny fingers, worn down to their worst since that time she had punched Rina Callista after Pleuron.

How…nostalgic.

"I had been hoping you'd join the Yuan force," the Silver King muttered tiredly, "But I'm hardly in a position to gainsay you for taking the riskier option." The diminutive Legatus shrugged, before sinking her body into the baths once more.

"Either way, you'll benefit from the preparations I'm making for you. You're all mustering at Pleuron, correct?"

"Most likely," Katha nodded. "I was considering helping raise the gardens, honestly, but then I realised that I'm going to be spending most of these decades in recovery, so it no longer became an option. Add that I need to be present for the current issues pertaining to the House, and helping the Pass was no decision at all." She paused, reflecting. "I refuse to do nothing. As long as Rathos is missing, I have to be around."

"Makes sense," Aretaphila nodded as well, "Your brother and his wife are too wiley to be taken down easily, and after…" Her cyclopean gaze goes slightly hollow, "The things with Qinglong, we should expect your brother's children to inherit your luck."

"Ah, of course, how could I forget. I also need to beat some sense into Mia." She clutched her head and sighed. "Legatus, you've been my shoes before. How do you deal with a little shit who has accrued that much power in a fraction of the time and a pittance in cost? Because Mia doesn't respect her power or her surroundings, and it's starting to really grind my gears sometimes."

"Humiliation," Aretaphila replies almost as soon as Katha had finished speaking, "If they don't know respect, then teach them humility." The Silver King glanced over her subordinate, "Those were good times. You were so young…" A heartfelt, nostalgic sigh filled the air, "But I'm sure you'll do a fine job, XXI. Just communicate in the same manner that all gorillas do," A series of unladylike grunts and overloud sniffs are joined by guttural pants and keening whines, accompanied by the scratching of armpits.

"How'd I do?"

Katha frowned. Then she closed her good eye, while fixing Aretaphilla with the dead one. Then she sighed, leaned back and let the spring's waters lift her up. "...Yeah, I deserve that. But also, fuck you.

"And for the record," she said with a sigh, "I didn't fill anything up."

The Legatus of the DI gaped in open disgust, "Junior, you are just a colossal waste of good fortune, I swear by the Imperator." With a shaking head, the shorter woman leaned back and soaked. A far more amicable silence falling between the two.

You'll do fine, Katha.

Katha said nothing. But imperceptibly, she relaxed.

They spent the rest of their time there in quiet company.

----

Hours later, after the silver of her body had turned slack at last, Aretaphila Myia retreated to her private suite in the Oasis Town, giving her thoroughly soaked body a chance to heal and absorb the healing energies of the waters.

The Second Elder was even now going towards Yuan to negotiate the groundwork for their grand stratagem with the Trial Lord, and while Aretaphila could not take to the field…That was less necessary, she thought. There was still work she could do, even during her convalescence. Her sole eye lingering on a barrel of Ten Millennium Rattleviper Venom Ale. Special delivered through Magnus' connections, brewed from the Ninth Prince's own collection of snakes.

"I suppose forgetting the stress of the day is as good an excuse as any to crack it open, isn't it?" The Myia Head muttered rhetorically, before the sound of a door being opened "drew her attention with a nearly audible snap.

The white-haired Legionnaire, tanned in ways his daughter could never be, frowned and dipped his head apologetically at her. "Ah, my apologies, Legatus. I assumed that you were available, given the door was unlocked."

"It wasn't."

"Wasn't it? Then how did my lockpicks work…" Shu Enya shook his head. "Nevermind. I had heard that you would be in the Oasis and thought to visit you. Are you doing well, Legate Myia?"

"I'm quite literally crippled from engaging in multiple Dao Contests against Core Formation Elders, Legionnaire Enya." She replied with a frown, her cyclopean gazing taking the man's figure in as she wondering if this was some kind of Qi Deviation-induced hallucination.

"Relatively speaking, I'm great." Her metallic head slammed backwards into her bedding, looking away from the heat stroke induced illusion.

"I see. That's good, then. That means there's still time." The Legionnaire walked towards her, until he stood by her bedside. Then, he fell upon one knee, and gently held one of her dainty silver hands. "Many years ago, Lady Myia, you approached me with a proposition. Do you remember what you said to me, back then?"

Exhausted, the Myia head heaved out a tired sigh, "Remind me? There have been so many opportunities to humiliate myself that they begin to blend together." At least this hallucination was thoughtful. A shame it was getting her hopes up. Insidious. Perhaps Saria had developed a taste for more subtle arts, in contrast to every single Ironblood that has ever existed?

It could happen!

"You said you wished to start a family. That you were being pressured by Clan and House to continue the Myia, and you wished to take it into your own hands your choice of consort. And I, for whichever reason, was your first choice." His face turned stony. "At the time, I refused, and I understand that I have slighted you with that. Whatever my reasons, I still refused.

"But you have left the option open. And I have come today to rescind my refusal."

What? Aretaphila blinked once. Twice. That dainty hand was pulled from Shu Enya's grasp as the Silver King rose up on her elbows, single eye staring him in the face.

"I'm probably not surviving past the Trials, you know."

Enya smiled sadly. "A calculated risk, Legatus. But you are more cunning and conniving than most women in my life, now or in the past. You will survive, I am certain."

"Hmph," She folded her arms over her chest, "How flattering." A smile struggled to spread. Surely there was no harm in playing along with this fantasy while it lasted?

"It'll have to be secret for now, then." She looked away from the white haired hallucination, unable to meet its gaze for some reason, "When you first refused, a number of other parties began pressing. Some of your in-laws, in fact." A petite fist is coughed into.

"We'll need to deal with them, of course."

Enya nodded. "That is understandable. It is why I reconsidered your offer. The matters pertaining to the House are coming to a head, Legatus, as I am sure you are well aware of by now. The Agamennos and Lycurgeos are pushing for reunification before the Trials begin and the Dianeid and Charos are finding it increasingly difficult to find reasons to stop them. With my son missing and my daughter crippled, it falls to me to protect them while I still can. And I am an outsider, a talentless fool with no right through might. This is the best I can do." He looked at Aretaphilla, firmly and fiercely. "And I understand this is a grave overreach of my station, but I am gladdened and relieved that you're interested in intervention as well."

This delusion sure has a mouth on him, "Even if it weren't for my interest in you," Aretaphila began, "Or my connection to your children. Or even the ties of Myia and Theodoroi stretching back towards the first days of the Sea Conquering Army in this Turtle World." The Silver King sighed, "I would never have left Tormenos out to twist in the wind." Her eye shut, posture slumping in a newfound wave of exhaustion.

"What's the point of wealth and power if I can not save one childhood friend?"

A mirthless chuckle escapes her lips next, "But listen to me, taking a specter of my own imagination so seriously. This was a nice dream, but I have too much to do with what little time I have left." She waved at the figure beside her, before turning away and laying down once more.

"A spectre of your imagination, am I?" Shu Enya chuckled. Then, he stood. "That might be more apt than you realise, Legate Aretaphilla Myia." Then in a single sweep, he picked Aretaphilla off of her bedding and into his arms, staring deeply into her electric blue eye. "But if this spectre might be so presumptuous, would you not prefer to continue this good dream tonight, before the daily toil begins again?"

For the first time in a long, long time, the Clear Summer's Bell Constitution turns a color other than bright bronze and shining silver. A dusting of crimson flushes on Aretaphila Myia's cheeks, her mind suddenly thrown into disarray, confusion, and a desperate hope crushing the malaise and doubt that had pervaded her being.

A loud gulp.

"I s-suppose I would, Legionnaire." Aretaphila Myia gulps a second time, her sole eye wide and unblinking. Trembling with some unknown, unfamiliar emotion.

Shu Enya smiled broadly, his gray eyes perfectly calm and perfectly confident, promising stability and sanctity, a beacon of light in the darkness Aretaphilla found herself mired in. In his gentle and steady grasp, the ground felt so close yet so far, like she was falling in anticipation of a soft landing. He squinted slightly, and in a single gesture it promised that all would be fine. That they simply needed a little bit of faith.

"Then allow me, Lady Myia. For the rest of our lives together, allow me."


[Wordcount: 8532 Words]

Collab Link: Katha Theodoros 28/Aretaphila Myia X12

This was nice to hammer out at last, now that we're getting back into the swing of things, its time for Aretaphila to be forced to face her own mortality head on as she prepares...Well for her greatest clusterfuck yet. (8532/2=4266 Words)

While Secret Realms are immensely helpful to a Cultivator, they usually have some sort of caveat. They can only be used once, they're only available at certain times, and so on. The Chaos Gradient Realm has an unusual caveat. While it is technically possible to enter as many times as one wishes, the Realm's entrance appears in a different place each time it opens. The entrance resembles an infinity sign the size of a small building, with a vista different from it's surroundings visible through it, this being one of the few consistencies of it. Interestingly, no matter where the observer is positioned, the entrance will seem to be facing them, even if they're flying above it.

At any rate, despite it's name, the entryway is a constant, and allows easy identification of the Secret Realm. The internals, however, live up to the Realm's name. While the results of entering a Secret Realm vary wildly, in this case the exact nature of the Secret Realm changes each time it opens. In one instance, it was an impossibly vast, ever-shifting library that those who entered claimed held knowledge of other worlds. In another, it was a living jungle that held immensely powerful beasts the equal of any Core Formation Cultivator at their weakest. In yet another, it was a set of water-eroded caves. Beautiful, but unless one had a relevant Dao, of little use to a Cultivator. The point being, the Secret Realm's internals are so unpredictable, that if it weren't for the entrance, one would believe each visitation to be an entirely different Secret Realm.

This adds a whole new level of wild swinging to any uses of the Secret Realm. It might prove useless, or lethal, but it could also catapult a Cultivator from the first Heavenstage to Mid Core in a scant decade, or heal crippling injuries even of the Dao. Supposedly, there was even an instance where a mortal discovered and used it alone, and ascended to the level of Nascent Soul some ten thousand years ago, apparently having found themselves in a variation of the Secret Realm with ample Qi and with a massive dilation of time on the order of ten thousand times and yet they did not age as that would imply, allowing a moderate talent by Nascent standards to cultivate to the absolute peak of Nascent Soul without a problem, given they effectively had a hundred thousand years to do it. Legends such as these continue to draw Cultivators to it despite the danger. After all, great risk engendering great reward holds true for more normal Secret Realms, and it's even more true here.

What's more, there are no restrictions on entry, beyond of course fitting everyone through the entrance in a timely manner. Nascents have entered in the past without issue. Well, without issue for themselves. Quite a few of the other entrants have suffered for it. While they have found it just as much of a roll of the dice as everyone else, they too have benefitted. Artifacts, Life Saving Treasures, Lifespan Treasures, bloodline enhancers, and so on were all found within, even while other Nascents died ingloriously attempting to exploit the Chaos Gradient. As such, Nascents enter proportionately less frequently than their lessers, as their station discourages the same kind of risk-taking unless already in dire straits.

There are two other things of note about the Chaos Gradient. First, while it normally displays something recognizable as the interior, do not enter if it displays a black emptiness that seems to encroach upon the world, or a strange snow-like phenomena without any recognizable features. In the latter case, pray anyone insane or desperate enough to enter does not return. In the former case, no one ever has.

Second, there is another reason it is referred to as Chaos Gradient. While for the first ten kilometers in any direction from the entrance it is relatively stable and uniform in it's features, as the kilometers pass it grows more and more unstable. The sun might flicker between positions. Gravity may become... off. Exactly how quickly this happens is not set in stone either for a given iteration of the Secret Realm, or between iterations. It may change depending on direction, vary over the kilometers, and it is unlikely to match up to another iteration of the Secret Realm. In a few cases, while there was some loss of fidelity, it was reported that as far as a thousand kilometers away from the entrance was perfectly livable. In another example, 11 kilometers from the entryway was killing Core Formation Cultivators from seemingly random effects at random times, with at least one simply dropping dead for no apparent reason at all. As with much about the Chaos Gradient, it's impossible to predict how it will happen without dedicated survey, something that has proven difficult even when the Secret Realm was always open somewhere well before the Great Era.

As mentioned before, there have been a few incidents were the Chaos Gradient connected to the same space multiple times, such as at least three instances of connecting to a strange artificial tunnel system that the locals stated led to a variety of other dimensions, but without an easy method to return, those who decided to explore further largely didn't return. The place was a Qi deadzone, so few bothered with it beyond curiosity over how the Chaos Gradient had tied itself even momentarily to such a place. These repeat instances often lead to floods of hopefuls of those with relevant Dao, bloodlines, or Cultivation techniques entering, such as an instance where the Blacksmiths, centuries ago, found an iteration where precious minerals including rare Cultivation-based metals were easily available, an entire mountain of Jade within viewing distance. The small size of the entrance and the scant time the entrance to the Secret Realm remained open by Cultivator standards prevented significant mining, but some of what they did harvest was made into artifacts that remain to this day. This was the second time they had found such, with the first having happened shortly before their founding, the influx of rare materials catapulting their understanding of smithing and making them a true Sect rather than merely a handful of Cultivators who happened to be blacksmiths.

AN: So, I haven't made an Omake in a while, I'm thinking another Life Saving Treasure and use of a Secret Realm to catapult my guy up the Cultivation ranks. The idea of the Chaos Gradient Realm is that it was an experimental Realm back when the things were being made, and it's either got a ton of different 'biomes' inside that the entryway connects to somewhat at random, or it's actually just connecting to different spaces each time. The spectrum of results points to the latter.

If this is the case, then it has, as one might suspect, been an Isekai vessel in the past, as Cultivators chose to stay in particular iterations of the 'Secret Realm' in the past. As for what happened to anyone who entered when it displayed a black nothing or static... well, some things are better left to the imagination.

The OOC gimmick of the thing would be that you roll a couple additional dice to determine how useful the iteration of the Chaos Gradient Realm is, then roll to see what happens to you in there.

1240 words, discounting this line.

Qinglong Shu 35 And Katha Theodoros 29 - Unorthodox Daycare

"Ugh…I don't wanna eat my veggies, sis…"

Shu's own murmuring caused her body to flare up in pain. Her eyes snapped open and she hissed. For a moment, she was confused. Why was her bed so hard? And why was it so cold? She lived in the damn desert, cold was a myth out there! Then the sensation of burning pain spread out across her body and she decided to care for her surroundings later. Taking a shaking deep breath, she closed her eyes and focused inwards. The picture she saw wasn't exactly pretty she thought with a wince. Bones shattered, internal bleeding, ruptured blood vessels. It'd be easier to count what sort of injury she didn't have. Having Bronze Blood right now would've been very convenient. And despite all those rather ugly wounds…Shu opened her eyes, blinking in confusion. Not crippled. Shu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. How? After all the shit she went through in this damn Secret Realm, the wounds, the electric burns and what not, she expected her meridians to be fucked up at least. Well, more luck to her then.

Shaking her head, wincing at the ache at her neck, she then refocused her attention back to her surroundings. Before her eyes could wander for long however, they landed on a person.

A very tiny person. With a rather familiar feeling. Shu tilted her head, eyes slightly narrowed.

"A small Katha? Wait, no…"

Screwing with time on a scale like that was viable to make Heaven scorch the earth on basic principle. Not to mention that while Katha was in Yuan, she wasn't in Yuan like Shu was. A look alike? But no, children being in a Secret Realm was a ludicrous idea to begin with. And yet, this girl she had never met felt so damn familiar. Shu crossed her arms, furrowing her forehead. It was at the tip of her tongue, in the corner of her memory. She was sure she at least heard of-fuck.

"...Mia Theodoros, the fuuuun are you doing here?" Shu asked in utter disbelief, all her self control used to not actually curse at the girl. Why was she here? Wasn't she like three years old? How did she get in here?! What kinda crap supervision did she have, or lack thereof?! Could little kids even get tickets?! What kind of sick bastard would give a child a ticket?! Too many questions whirled around in Shu's head, with not a single answer.

The little girl, small in stature and shaped like a nugget, her hair disheveled and messy and infested with lice, simply blinked up at Shu as she scratched at her head. When she spoke, it was with a scratchy voice, one that had not said much in months, maybe even a year. "Who're you, lady? How do you know me?"

Yikes. Girl needed some water for that throat. And that hair. Still, part of Shu felt that if she did any sudden movements, it'd end badly. Something about the way Mia held herself was worrying. Shu scratched the back of her head before pointing at herself.

"Uh, did your auntie ever talk about me? Qinglong Shu? Can turn into a dragon? Cute junior of hers?" Shu licked her lips. "Anything ringing a bell?"

Nothing. For several seconds, the little girl in rags just looked up at her with a deep frown. But then suddenly realization sparked in her eyes and she suddenly breathed in deeply. "WOWIE! You know Auntie Katha?! You're her junior?! Wow! You look really weak, but if you know my auntie then you're probably not that weak!"

"Knowing someone doesn't relate to one's own strength at all, kiddo," Shu said dryly, deciding to ignore that Mia did not show any familiarity with her name. Then she pointed at a random bleeding spot of hers. "And of course I look really weak. That's what happens when you throw down with a Great Circle with lots and lots and lots of luck to win." Smirking a bit, she reached out to ruffle the girl's head. "Anyway, yeah, Katha's been a big help to me." She frowned deeply. "Now I gotta ask…why and how are you here? This isn't the best place to spend as a child your age." Shu paused before a horrifying thought entered her mind. "...how long have you been in here anyway?"

Mia Theodoros, who couldn't have been a day over eight years of age, blinked at her. She raised a finger to her chin as she looked out the corner of her eye, and she clicked her tongue repeatedly as she continued thinking, loudly and sharply and frequently, like a metronome. Eventually, she shrugged, making a little hop as she did so. "I met an older kid who had skin like me, not dark like all the… like you!" She said, suddenly happy as she made a connection. She coughed, clearing her throat, and spat the phlegm on the grass. "She told me that Auntie Katha was going somewhere and then asked if I wanted to go with. I did! So she gave me a weird rock crystal thing and asked me to get on a big cart! Then I got lost in the mountains for a while… But I didn't cry! I didn't!" She insisted. "Then I… I met this big beetle… And he's teaching me now! Looks after me, too!"

…Clicking aside, weird as it was, Shu took a small moment to look at her skin, narrowing her eyes a bit. She wasn't that dark, right? Then she processed the rest of the words and her mouth thinned. Ah, so it was a classic case of maximum stranger danger. And a classic case of one hell of a shit security, if she could be smuggled like that. She growled a bit, her features transforming just the slightest bit. She adjusted her blindfold, allowing a small peak at her glowing azure eyes before they were hidden away again. Then she paused once more. Her anger gave away to a shiver down her spine as she paled.

"...That beetle wouldn't happen to, uh…say words like…unworthy or aspirant, right?" No way. This was ridiculous. The odds for this happening were too crazy. It had to be some other, super nice and caring beetle, right?

Mia shook her head. "No, he just calls me Aspirant. Sometimes he says that U… Un… Unwordy… The U-word, but it's never about me! He just teaches me and gives me Qi, and when I'm tired of Cultivating he lets me run around for a bit! He even gave me something!" She held out a piece of beetle horn, hewn into the rough shape of a sword, superficially similar to the Hornsword that Katha Theodoros was so famed for. "He told me it's only temporary, though, and I should make my own someday. Dunno what he means though, it's cool!"

Shiiiiiiit. It has to be the same damned beetle. Shu gulped as she began to sweat nervously, mixing with the blood from her wounds. Okay. Just had to hope it wasn't here right now. Knowing her luck, it was, but at least she could try.

"Yeah, really cool." Shu coughed. "Sooo, how about I'm getting you outta here? Katha is probably sick with worry for you!" Sick and filled with fury that would murder everyone around her if she wasn't fast enough.

Mia looked at Shu weirdly. "Why'd Auntie Katha be here? The other kid said that she probably knows I'm here! She's just watching me in secret, like in one of those old stories, so if I'm ever in real trouble she'll come save me, or send someone to do it!"

Shu felt her eyebrow twitch. Knowing Katha, there was no way in goddamn hell she would ever allow this at all if she knew where Mia was. And at this point, she was starting to grow a faint suspicion who was responsible for this. There was only one person she knew of that had the balls to provoke a potential fallout with Katha like that. Though how this girl would mistake Legatus Myia as another kid is beyond Shu. Even if there was some sort of disguising art, one couldn't fake the "experience" she radiated. Alright, plan B then. Hissing as she rose to her feet and tapped her shoulder with her new weapon, she licked her lips.

"What about your parents? You sure they don't miss you?"

"Yeah… I miss mommy and daddy… But they're always busy, too! I don't ever see them…" Though she wilted like a flower saying that, the little girl suddenly perked up. "Oh, but mommy read me a story before I left! About a big girl who leaves home to become stronger, so she can save her family! I wanna be like that girl and get stronger, so I can't leave until I do! I'll be stronger, so when I go home daddy and mommy can spend more time with me!"

Damn it, how did big sis Xiu deal with this?! Shu only had experience as the funny auntie, actually being a responsible person like this was clearly her being out of her depth. Should she just knock Mia out and drag her out of the Secret Realm? It sounded like the best idea to do. But hitting a little girl didn't sit right with her. And to be honest…she wasn't sure if she should. That desire to be stronger, her wish of closeness with her family…Shu groaned, ruffling her own hair. Not to mention she doubted the beetle would actually let her go before it was done with her.

"Sorry to hear that. I know your parents love you very much and its great you are such a good girl." She pointed at herself with her thumb. "How about that, I'll stick around with you until you're done with your training. Would that be okay with you?"

The little girl clicked her tongue again, sharp enough to echo off the rocks around them. "Okay, lady, but… You don't look really strong… Can you really teach me anything that the Beetle doesn't?"

Was she imitating the beetle? Yikes. Good thing Shu arrived before the girl forgot the human language.

"Eh, there's more to life than raw cultivation and techniques. I have a vast array of stuff to teach you. Fun stuff, relaxing stuff, social skills all that." Shu tapped her own skull. "Gotta stay balanced." She then rolled her shoulders with a slight groan. "Besides, you need a human sparring partner too, so weakened as I am, I think I qualify." She looked around with a small frown. "Where is the beetle anyway?"

"...Well, I guess if you know Auntie Katha, you must be really strong." The moment she said this, Mia's eyes shot open. "Ohhhh! You're one of those guys that are really strong but pretend to be weak, right? Right? I'm sorry, you just look really messed up! If you wanna see the beetle, he's this way, at the Array!"


This girl was going to get herself killed with such a delusional perception level, Shu thought dryly. One more thing to add to the list. With that in mind, she followed the girl. Soon enough, they arrived, causing Shu to take a deep breath. Well damn. If she didn't have that experience with the Four Treasures she would be kneeling right now. Instead, she was just shivering nervously at the presence of a Nascent Soul staring at her, judging her, silently. Before Shu could say anything else however, she yelped when her Dragonbone Staff vibrated on her back.

"Ey, what the heck?"


…Now that the thing spoke inside her head again, with this deep growling voice, she only now truly processed that her staff…was talking in an entirely foreign language. If nothing else, tone was universal, so it was most definitely pissed for some reason. Hungry too given how it seemed to suck in the very air around them. Hangry basically. So with that in mind, she slapped the staff against the wall a few times, hearing pained grunts before she laughed awkwardly as she bowed with her hands folded together.

"Hahaha, apologies, honored elder. Ths Qinglong Shu is humbled to be in your territory."

The Overseer of the Man-As-Mountain Array, an especially long-lived Nascent Soul who had been inadvertently responsible for much of the politics of the Region, yet was completely uninterested in interference aside from where it might interfere with his function and responsibilities to the Array itself, clicked its mandibles at Shu. Then it turned to Mia, with all the gravity and power that a being of his stature could muster, and uttered a single word.

"Why?"

Shu was right. There was no way the beetle would allow Mia to leave. At that moment, Shu never felt so helpless. She'd have no chance to fight of a Nascent Soul, even if she went all out, even with whatever miracles this staff hid. At least at this moment, she and the staff synchronized as anger filled their souls, draconic wrath with no outlet. So she stood there, next to Mia, simmering silently.

"You said I could be an Aspirant, right? You said that when you said you'd teach me!"

"I said you would become a worthy Aspirant. Whether you are remains to be seen, child." The Overseer clicked its mandibles once, its limbs curled into its body. "Our agreement was never to bring another into the nexus of the Man-As-Mountain Array. You have violated the covenant writ between you and I for the purposes of the Contest. You are the only one allowed here. None other."

Mia stood her ground, pouting at the Overseer. "I don't even know what that means! She said she can teach me, and she's a friend of Auntie, so why not? I can still be your Aspirant! You can share!"

Yeah, no, she had to cut in here before the girl was going to get them all killed. She cleared her throat before raising her hand.

"I have no interest in gaining any sort of power here. All I intend is to stay here and escort this child out of here once-"

"Stop."

A single word and Shu found all the air in her lungs stolen from her. The full presence of a Nascent Soul loomed over her, all attempts at diplomatic outreach failed before they could begin. "It is the nature of Cultivation to seek power, no matter its source. This is a place of power, so naturally you will seek to use it. It is not for you. You are not welcome here. Leave, before your presence becomes…"

Shu grit her teeth, refusing to buckle down. Not after she felt the Shadow of the Yellow Dragon. Not after finding Katha's family. It strained her, pushed her, and yet, she felt a sort of supportive energy suffuse her from her own staff.

The Overseer, the Nascent Scion Beetle, paused suddenly. Its mandibles clicked once. "That staff. How did you--"

She could barely open her mouth before the staff moved on its own. As if taking control of Shu's very own blood, gravity shifted around the weapon before it slammed itself right in front of the Beetle, intentionally cracking the ground and causing tiny pebbles to throw around, hitting Mia, Shu and attempting to hit the Beetle.


Shu silently screamed in her head as the voice echoed out into the cave. She still didn't understand a single damned word the lizard within the staff was saying, but she knew shittalk when she heard it!

The Overseer seemed to bristle, its limbs shaking, almost in rage. It spoke, in that same tongue, his voice a whisper that did not come from his mandibles, but from the cavern around them.

"Kenne deinen Platz, Besetzer. Dies ist meine Domäne. Gebe nicht vor, mich als Leiche zu bezeichnen, Knochen eines Drachens."( Know your place, squatter. This is my domain. Do not purport to claim me a corpse, bone of a dragon.)

Then, the Nascent Scion beetle returned its gaze to Shu, limbs clenched close to its body once more. Then, it spoke, with less hostility but still a great deal of suspicion. "Your… instrument. How did you get it."

"...I saw it chained up in frozen restraints. When I approached, it just…got released," Shu whispered, remembering the course of events. She didn't know why. It just…happened.


The Beetle nodded. Then, it began to shriek in short, sharp bursts. It took a few seconds for it to register as laughter. A mild chuckle, it seemed. "How amusing. You have power to spare, then. Power enough that this Array is beneath your concern."

"...I didn't get any of that," Mia muttered, digging her nose. She sniffed, then hocked another piece of phlegm at a corner of the cave. She was either too stupid to notice the clash of titans before her, or too used to the protection of the Nascent Scion Beetle. "So does that mean Shu can stay?"

The Beetle shrieked again, more ear-stabbing laughter. It turned to Shu. "Stay if you like. In the little one's off-time, you may teach her."

Mia wasn't the only one being confused. Shu blinked owlishly. That's it? Just like that? Wait what? The staff was this strong?! She felt it was powerful, and that was only a fraction? Hold up, considering the dragon was talking mad shit at a Nascent Soul…how much was this thing holding back? She stared at the weapon, this pristine thing.

"...Do you have a name?"

The voice chuckled. Then when it spoke, Shu hissed, covering her ears at the sheer static and noise she heard. She thought her ears were bleeding when it was finally silenced.

"What the heck, I just asked!"


The voice then turned silent, as the staff stopped glowing. After all, there was nothing more to talk about, right? The weapon did its duty, protecting its wielder from repercussions of their own foolishness. Carefully, Shu grasped the staff and holstered it on her back, Qi sticking to her body with an unreadable expression. Was it trying to say its name? Was it just mocking her? Both? Too many questions, no answers, how utterly infuriating to her Dao. Then she turned to Mia, clapping her hands together.

"So, moving past all that! Where you at in terms of cultivation and combat?"

"Not far enough!" Mia said with a smile. "The Overseer said that I have a long way to go until I'm wo… worth…" She clicked her tongue again, shockingly similar to the Overseer's mandible chirps. "Worth E?"

"Worthy, child."

"Until I'm worthy," Mia said with a nod, with confidence and a vocabulary that was not expected of eight year-olds.

How cute. Shu chuckled before raising her thumb.

"Alright, we'll gonna have a lot of fun then together!"

Thus began the years of Shu and Mia being stuck in a Beetle's cave and Shu wished she could make that sentence up.

///

"Alright, gotta warn ya, I never really used a staff before in any sort of real combat." Shu paused as she kept twirling her weapon as she paced around the cave. "Matter of fact, I never used it before, period. Usually rely on the good ol' fisticuffs." She shrugged with a smirk. "But I'm sure I can figure it out!"

She stopped twirling her weapon and cracked her neck. Then she drew a circle into the ground. Stepping into it, Shu pointed one end of her weapon at Mia with an inviting wiggle of her eyebrows.

"Ready when you are!"

Mia blinked at the circle before letting out a low growl. A mark of territory? Or a declaration of not moving outside of the circle? Either way, the girl accepted the challenge, the taunt, and leapt forward with feral energy. Shu raised her staff in response, a bog standard "hold it up" against the downwards swing on her. Her knees buckled as her wounds opened up a bit. She whistled with a strained expression. For a kiddo like that, she sure packed a punch! With an exhale, she twisted her staff, diverting Mia away from her. But the second the brat's feet touched the ground, she bounced back up, aiming for Shu's head again. The Azure Dragon swayed back, letting Mia soar over her, before smacking her butt with the staff. Yet the hit didn't even seem to register, natural given the metallic clang sound. Instead, Mia became a bouncing ball of fury, swinging her sword with Qi mastery that was mindboggling for a girl that age.

And people called Shu a genius! Mia even landed some glancing blows against her scales, causing many sparks to scatter in the air. Still, seconds passed between the two blurring girls. During that time, Shu began to get a feel for the staff. How to twist it, how to spin it, stab, swing. It wasn't enough to call it an actual style, but she started to get a feel where she wanted to go with this staff for now.

Defense. Buying time for her own insight to work. Obviously, such a tactic was increasingly annoying for the wild child, as her attacks only grew and grew in ferocity. Singleminded, yet sharp. Just like metal, like Iron. Yet if that was enough to land a solid hit on Shu, much less beat her, Shu wouldn't have lasted this long.

"So, got any favorite books?"

Talking while in combat. It was a common tradition, but it was usually done in the inbetweens of battle. That Shu spoke so casually as she parried and never left her self imposed circle just showed the gap between the two. Despite the potency of the attacks that could easily crush boulders, Mia had yet to land a decisive blow beyond scratching up Shu's body. Said small girl landed on her feet and for the first time stopped her assault, her breath only slightly heavy, as if she didn't just become a flurry of deadly rage.

Mia curled her eyebrows together as she looked at Shu strangely. "Book…? Iunno… Beetle makes me write sometimes… But he doesn't have any books. Anything I need, he teaches me. Why? Books are boring."

"Books are great!" Shu said with puffed up cheeks, her knuckles touching her hips. "They inspire us! Give us something to look forward to! Also it makes you sound cool if you brush up your word arsenal and improvise with it! Like this! Ahem, ahem!"

She only came up with it just now. But now that she joined the cool weapons club, like Katha, the idea just came to mind. It wasn't complete at all, how could it, since she only gained this weapon. But the image was there now, the possibility, of this special technique, this special finisher. Thus, Shu began to chant with a giddy smile, spreading her arms open like the conductor of an orchestra.

Mia's eyes remained furrowed, not sure what the point of all this was. In her mind, Shu was wasting time she could be spending on other stuff instead, like teaching - oh, or playing.

"The word of the Imperator is my law. The will of the Imperator is my leash. My entire being exists to serve, to kill, to break the frontlines my Imperator deems worthy."

Metal Qi formed within her body. It was nothing like the Iron that Katha Theodoros possessed. But that was simply the result of an inspired move, an imitation. Aiming for the real deal, while putting her own spin to it.

Slowly, her eyebrows uncurled, then her eyes widened as she realised and felt the Qi forming within. It wasn't all hot air, the little girl realised. There was more to it.

"May the swords of His enemies shatter against the armor that is I. May the shields of His opponents break against the sword that is I."

She felt the Qi resonate with her blood. Hardness began to generate crackles of energy, electricity covering her body. It wasn't Thunderbolt Fantasy, the strike meant to imitate Tribulation. Instead it was meant to enhance a physical strike, support a human move.

Mia leaned forward now, watching intently. Partly out of interest, but there was more to it as well. Ire, disgust, annoyance. The little girl didn't know it, but her ancestral lineage yearned to demonstrate true metal mettle.

"My blood is the strongest of Metals. My bones are the strongest of Steel. My veins, my skin, my being, all of it is born of Iron. No weapon shall surpass me for I am the mightiest construct of the Imperator. No retreat. No trickery. There is only the Vanguard of the Empire. Our home is amidst the lines of the sinners. Our beds are the butchered flesh of the unworthy."

She reared her staff back, over her shoulder. It was a clear, telegraphed move. One could predict that it was going to be an overhead strike, aiming to smash down on someone's shoulder or head, to shatter it whole. But that was simply the nature of Metal and Iron.

Being stupidly straightforward.

With baited breath, the little girl watched, the world hanging in the balance.

"Ave, Imperator. Morituri te salutant.( Hail, Emperor. Those who are about to die salute you.) Aut vinceres aut mori.( Either to conquer or to die) Aut neca aut necare.( Either to kill or be killed) Aut viam inveniam aut faciam. ( I will find a way or make one) Nil igitur mors est ad nos."( Death, therefore, is nothing to us)

Muscles tensed up. She lowered her center of gravity as she bend her knees a bit. Her mouth was wide open, almost drooling with concentration as the air around her was being electrified.

"Line up, o foolish warriors of foreign seas, and have your heads cut off by the blade that is I! [Imperialis Toniitruus Theodoroi!]" ( Imperial Thunder of Theodoros)

With those words, Shu leapt forward, basically horizontal to the ground. Her whole body weight was put into this leapt, making it impossible to adjust direction by conventional means. But it didn't matter, as she used this speed, this acceleration, to put that energy into her swing with a guttural growl that echoed in the cave.

Then, her instincts and blood cried out. This was no demonstration. It was the opening strike. She tensed, realising there would be no evading. And then…

Instead of smashing Mia into the ground like she appeared to have planned, Shu blurred past the girl with incredible speed. Like tribulation striking itself, she roared like thunder and swung her staff down, as she dedicated her entire body into the strike. A loud crash sounded and Mia could only blink, confused that she wasn't hurt. Slowly, she turned around, only to see the wide cut across the world, as Shu took deep breaths as she rolled her right shoulder, staff in hand.

"Owowow. Okay, lightning in body, kinda hurts." She shook her head before shrugging. Spinning around, she put her knuckles against her hip, a smug look on her face. "Cool, right? Keep up your education and you too can sound like this, hahaha!"

It was then that it was made clear. Shu could've easily hit Mia. It wasn't a mistake that the Azure Dragon missed. No, it was on purpose, as if to mock the girl, as if to show off her superiority, that she didn't need to hit the Theodoros to win. Well, actually, it was because Shu in fact did not want to murder Katha's niece. Cause that'd be bad, on many levels.

Mia blinked. Then, she blinked again. All the tension that had coiled up within her leaked out like a pathetic sigh.

Shu scratched the back of her head at that. Man, isolation with a spirit beetle and stuck in a Secret Realm really stunted her emotional range apparently. Most kids would be at least at awe of what Shu pulled off, chanting and combat wise. Like, really? No comment about her poetic genius? Boo.

"Hm, tough crowd. Okay, something more relevant. How about your Dao? Got any thoughts about that?"

"...What?"

"Y'know. Your Dao. What defines your being."

Mia still blankly stared at Shu. Shu frowned at that. She knew what a Dao was, right? If not, Katha and the rest of her family did a really poor job of raising this girl. Everyone knew what the Dao was. Everyone at least had some thoughts about the Dao. Unless Mia's Dao was the Dao of What. Which might be interesting to define, all things considered. But if there's one thing Shu realized, it was that Mia was not very bright. In spirit or in mind. She shrugged at that before rolling her shoulders.

"Well, guess conversing doesn't really work for you. Shame. You really gotta broaden your horizons, Mi-mi."

"...What?"

"I think I'm getting the hang out of this…" Shu frowned as the staff glowed. "Oh, why are you so mad now?! Defense is important!" She hissed one time before shaking her head. "Fine, I analyzed Mia enough anyway, stop bitching, I'm gonna smack her now!"

By then, the girl had girded herself with armour of Qi, iron skin and metal bone. She even dared for Shu to strike her, beckoning with the flicking of her fingers. She smirked, childishly certain she would win.

Well. That won't do at all. Ignoring the seething from her own weapon, Shu promptly dropped her staff to the ground. The action caused Mia to pause for a moment, unable to comprehend why her senior would do such a stupid question. Shu chuckled at that expression before she cracked her knuckles.

"Don't you remember what I said at the start?"

Suddenly, Shu leaned forward, her shoulders rolling before she dashed ahead, cracking the ground beneath her with a savage grin.

"Unarmed combat is my specialty!"

///

Was it petty to go all out on a child? Yes. Did Shu want to smack Mia's pride a bit? Also yes.

Objectively, a grown woman trying to beat up a young girl who was not even a teenager yet was immature and unnecessary in the extreme. There was often no need for an adult to do such a thing, save to slake their own frustrations. For those who have lived much longer, who are much stronger than the youth, they are more than capable of delivering cleverer solutions, with far more restraint and with far more patience than children would be capable of, or which they could manage their own peers with.

But Mia Theodoros was not just a young girl. She was a genius who had been blessed twice over, with a long lost bloodline and with a peerless tutor. She was blessed with strength surpassing elders who were ten times her age, and cursed with none of the humility needed to really use it. Most of all, she was successor to a legacy of muscleheads who lived for battle and respected only strength. She was Theodoros, eldest child of its primary heir. And she, like all Theodoroi, was an idiot.

There was only one way to deal with idiots like the Theodoroi. And Shu's hands were rated E For Everyone.

So it was only natural that later, seconds or perhaps a minute, Mia was on her back, lying on cracked ground as Shu's palm pressed against her face. The child was covered in bruises and colored skin, the shape of knuckles, heels and what else Shu used to hit her with. Nothing was broken yet, but that would come later. Little shit or not, Mia still didn't reach the double digits.

Nevertheless…

The older girl let out a whistle, cracking her neck once. She brushed her other hand against one of her wounds. Sheesh, the feral kid almost slashed her injury open with that sword of hers. If nothing else, Mia had more than enough viciousness as a cultivator. Shu felt her wiggle underneath her palm. In response, the Azure Dragon raised its claw just a little bit…before smashing it down once more with a loud thwab sound, accompanied by the noise of rock cracking.

"Sooooo, I believe I won this one?" Shu asked with a smirk, revealing her eyes by raising her blindfold with her free thumb. In response, Mia let out some inhuman noises, with spite in her eyes and still raring to go. A fire was burning within her still, tempering the Iron within her with the confidence that she would not lose a second time. After all, she now knew the annoying tricks of this inferior lady! No way someone unarmed with squishy flesh could handle the strongest metal of the Imperator!

At the sight of all that, Shu giggled, her dragon eyes glowing with mirth, before she covered them up again.

"Alright, alright, we'll do this again." She patted her own stomach. "But first, gotta deal with the munchies!"

Shu hopped off, leaving Mia to scamper onto her feet. The little girl went for her sword, before she found she couldn't even lift it. And as she caught her breath, the adrenaline in her system began to fade, and soon she was back on the ground, face-first and snoozing.

Overhead, the Overseer watched, legs canted. Still young. Still eight. Still a lot to learn.

The next few years might prove crucial for her.

///

Years passed, the contest continued around them went into full swing, and now the little wild eight-year-old was a less little but no less untamed eighteen-year-old, though she did not look it. By the blood that coursed through her veins, she had shed the lankiness of adolescence and was now very almost a young woman, in form if not in maturity. And while puberty still had a few details to manage, she was no runt now. Indeed, she was almost as tall as her aunt, and would likely match or surpass her given time.

Physically, Mia Theodoros was almost grown. Emotionally… There was more that needed molding.

What Mia lacked in discipline however, she more than made up with her raw talent. Over the years, she had received the guidance and blessings of the Great Beetle. Day after day, her body would become a vessel of cultivation, elevating her youthful body to levels unheard of outside of legends. The speed at which her Qi was condensed and purified, alongside with forging her body…indeed, there was no doubt to be had that Mia Theodoros was just a step away from qualifying for the crown of King. In that sense, she was equal, nay, superior to Qinglong Shu in cultivation. Superior to the one who was unable to cultivate due to her own injuries.

Then there was the growth in her martial skill. While more like a beast, even a beast could learn and grow with skill, but more importantly in ferocity. With each defeat, she increased the swiftness of her blade. She learned, if not through brute force then careful analysis. How to parry better and more properly, how to make her cuts heavier, cleaner, less open for counter attacks. Yes, as she focused on a singular weapon, her "roommate" had to split her attention between healing, using a staff she was unfamiliar with and her bare hands out of all things.

Thus, with all those factors coming into play, by nature, Mia was guaranteed to win a match against someone bleeding the floor red. At the very least add to the almost crippling injuries with her own blade.

Alas, if one wanted to live by nature, they wouldn't defy heaven through cultivation.

No blindfold faced Mia this time, as she swung her sword down, the blade itself twisting space. This time, azure eyes, inhuman, lizard like, glowed with amusement as their owner's legs flickered backwards like illusionary flames. Mia showed a feral grin at that before stopping her attack midswing, perfectly transitioning it into a step, at the same time as Shu's feet were off the ground. It hit the body straight up, but the sight caused Mia's growing smirk to vanish at what she was seeing.

With her sharp teeth, Shu caught the blade between them. Then, before Mia could react, the Azure Dragon twisted her body backwards, pressing her palms against the ground. At the same time, her legs shot up and squished Mia's head between her heels. An instance later, the Theodoros was smashed into the ground head first, while Shu did some flips before spitting the sword out. Once Mia freed herself from the rock, she saw Shu clap her hands with a bright smile, her eyes slightly narrowed in amusement.

"Smooth transition! Good job!"

Indeed, in terms of cultivation against cultivation, in terms of natural talent, Mia could be said to be superior, if only slightly. However, she was up against someone whose specialty was adaptation. Evolution through battle. And while Mia was learning fast, Shu was right there, seeing it all happen. Improving her understanding of what kind of existence the niece of Katha was. The way she breathed during her sleep, during mediation, during conversation. The way her pulse moved, quickened or slowed. The flow of her blood, the twitching of muscles. Not to mention that Shu was using her eyes on top. To say she could read Mia's habits in combat like an open book, even if the girl would cook up something entirely new, was an understatement.

Thus…Mia Theodoros, to this point, has never won a singular match. Which led to the natural conclusion of the girl having built up literal years of losses; that was to say, the girl was frustrated. So to hear Shu say 'good job'? Well, it was just one more "insult" to the pile.

The Ironblooded snarled, her blade roaring with Sword Qi. Sharp, violent, murderous, killing intent that sought to make good on its promise. This and more Mia unleashed, knowing instinctively that victory against Shu had to be done quickly. And nothing was faster than a single swing. She had to be faster than ever, more clever than before, unlike anything she'd ever been.

Instinctively, as Mia thought only of victory, her breathing calmed and her tension bled dry. Instinct took over where knowledge was absent, until the one that faced Qinglong Shu was, very barely, not Mia Theodoros. There was something else in control, the very will of the Vanguard House.

Mia exhaled, a single sharp hiss. Then, she moved. A single, resplendent, swing.


The girl bellowed, but she had already swung. A fatal blow, an opening wound, the starting line of an art designed to kill Dragons, though the girl didn't know it or even what she had just said. But though she swung, and she swung her sword beautifully, there was a catch.

One needs to hit their target in order to cut them.

And Qinglong Shu had already anticipated this, two moves in advance.

Shu exhaled. There was no fear for the specters of the past. There was no worry for an attack designed to kill her. Instead, she simply acted, even before Mia exploded into motion. Her form shifted, as her scales and claws grew. Then, she smirked, eyes wide with wonder at such a wonderful attack…before invoking her domination over the world's law. Two index fingers twitched and curled. Two things happened at once.

For one, just as Mia swung her sword, not even having reached halfway, gravity was twisted. That strike couldn't be stopped head on. So instead, it had to be diverted. Shu didn't move from her place, as the Cloud Chaser bent around her, hitting the rock instead. At the same time, before Mia could even process that her attack missed, the Dragonbone Staff hit her temple, slamming her away once more.

"Aim for my weakness, my gaps! Don't just keep swinging head on!"

This time, Shu didn't wait for a response as she rushed forward, a Spear Hand made of Wood Qi aiming for Mia's eyes, to cement her point.

She parried it, eyes blank and sparks and bark flying where wood met chitin. Flinching would have been normal, expected even, but the child did not do that. Mia Theodoros slid forward against it instead, watching Shu's movements with wide, unblinking eyes instead. Then, the moment came. She broke the slide, bouncing her blade off the wood and circling in the other direction. Then, blade twirling, she swung for the gaps in the Dragon's scales. Peeling even one scale free would be a victory. Exposing even a small patch of flesh would give her an opportunity.

One blow flowed into the next, a dance of the divine, albeit one emulated imperfectly. No, not even that. It was performed by a child, following half-memories that blurred the line between impression and imagination. But even this degraded, childish form had promise, demonstrated threat. It could be a danger to a Cultivator in the same Realm, who bore the aspect of a Dragon, who had suffered injuries that were still healing, who was goading her into improvement.

Even this proved insufficient.

To let one build up a flow was to invite a tsunami. To form a tempo meant to be on the backfoot, to retreat and thus leave themselves free to be cut down by a thousand cuts. So what was the solution to such a predicament, to a powerful attack that would only form even more powerful attacks if dodged? It was rather simple, really.

Just don't dodge. With teeth gritted, she relaxed her muscles, her defenses, to allow the blade to sink inbetween the scales. In that instance, between natural armor and frail flesh, she tensed her arm. Lessons of Bronze and Iron, of feet rooted on Earth, combined to form a prison that stopped all motion of a blade, with no blood drawn. Was the physical force itself painful? Of course. But that was the thing with pain. With how injured she was, Shu was more than used to it by this point. And if she only suffered agony for an opportunity? Well, it was an opportunity well bought.

With that in mind, she pulled Mia closer with a tug, before ramming her sword free elbow against her temple. And yet, the Theodoros didn't let go of the sword. Beautiful. Wondrous. As a reward, Shu offered even more elbows, keeping an iron grip in her biceps to keep the sword in place.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, think ahead! Predict me! See through me! What if I dodged?! What if I attacked?! Think, Mia, think!"

Thoughts formed in Mia's head, the emptiness and tranquility of the Iron tainted due to the words of the azure barbara. As mind and instinct began to war against each other within Mia, Shu was building up her momentum, as element fed into another element. Soft like water turning iron into poisonous rust. That rust turning into smoke with sufficient fire, smoke that was taken in by wood, which in turn fueled the soil. Soft throws, hard kicks, hard take downs. The arsenal that Shu brought out would be overkill for most other cultivators of Mia's age.

Unfortunately for Mia, the Qinglong fully respected and recognized her as a true genius that required everything but a full transformation of an Azure Dragon. Thus, Shu kept pushing on, physically, but also verbally as an excited laughter escaped her, wishing for Mia to grow even further beyond. Without knowing, Shu wanted to impose her Dao upon Mia, so close to refinement, yet not refined enough.

"[UNDERSTAND] ME, MIA THEODOROS!"

What Mia didn't realize, what the source of her messed up flow was, it became obvious from that singular word uttered by Shu. After all, what the latter knew about Understanding, and what Mia thought about Understanding were fundamentally as different as Heaven and Earth. One who was at the verge of the 13th, someone who was so close to earning the right to be King, could not be compared to someone who didn't reach that level yet. Thus, only Shu could say the word 'Understand' with such wide eyed conviction, with such open mouthed belief that bordered insanity.

After all, she was only eighteen. A toddler by the standards of immortals. A baby, a foetus. She did not know the world, so how could she possibly understand?

Ultimately, it was this misunderstanding that broke the spell that had settled over the girl. Suddenly, her blade fumbled as she was suddenly beset by doubt. A momentary slip of her fingers lead to her sword being torn out of her hands, and now she was wholly at the mercy of the older Cultivator. And Shu swung around, ready to deliver the final blow without mercy, without remorse, and without hesitation. Understanding fully that it was the only way she would learn.

She dashed forward, only to suddenly disappear like Fog. Mia blinked, whirling her head around, believing that Shu would've appeared behind her, because she would've done that, but then again maybe it was the wrong decision, and as she was wracking her head, to figure out where Shu actually went, she felt the static above her, the presence much, much larger than anything in this cave, sans the Beetle. It was as if the shadow of a massive beast was right above her, pressing its massive claw down, as if gently patting a cute insect. Slowly, Mia looked up, a shiver going down her spine as she saw Shu grin down at her.

"Good try, no cigar."


A mockery of Tribulation, yet at close range. A shadow of a Dragon's wrath, yet a dragon's wrath nonetheless. Mia didn't even get to feel pain as the lightning struck her, utterly dominating her mind before it went black. Who knew what her last thoughts were, before she fainted? Probably complaining and whining about how annoying Shu was and how unfair it was that she distracted the Theodoros with her dumb words.


///

Honestly, Shu had no idea if they ever would be able to leave that cave. That beetle didn't seem the type to let anyone get out, but apparently it did. Whether it was satisfied with Mia or dissatisfied enough to kick her out, Shu would never know, she wasn't there for the last part. Anyway, the fact that they were actually allowed to go outside now was jarring as hell. Still, at least they could get a chance to get home after…wow, ten years or so, geez. Now this trip out of the Secret Realm would be perfect…if Mia wasn't pouting nonstop. If this was what it was like to be a mother, Shu was glad she wasn't one.

"Stop complaining. You're literally on my Heavenstage. If anyone should whine, it should be me," Shu said dryly, rolling her shoulders, not even wincing as her wounds opened up once more and blood dripped out of the many extra holes she had.

"But you were injured! I was supposed to win! At least once!"

"Injured, not crippled, kiddo. And seriously? You're great. Anyone not me would have long died by the time you reached ten years old."

Mia continued to pout and sulk and pretend she wasn't. Then, suddenly, the Overseer appeared behind Shu, his eyes narrowing at her staff.

"...Aspirant. Are you well?"

Mia harrumphed and turned away. The Overseer did not react, simply turning back to Shu. "The Contest will soon conclude. The Array will fall silent once again. There is nothing more I can teach her. You are free to retrieve her, Staffbearer."

Hey, heart attack, hello old friend. Shu bowed respectfully before smiling a wry smile.

"Then I'll take you up on that offer. C'mon now, let's get you back to your fa…" Shu trailed off, blinking before letting out a sound she never let out, for Mia could never possibly cause such a noise: A pained wheeze.

"Oh heavens, how many people did Katha kill at this point…?" It's been ten years. Ten damn years. Shu wouldn't be surprised if the Theodoros went utterly insane and set everything on fire from iron friction alone. Blinking, Shu shook her head and took a deep breath. Problem for later. Clapping her hands, she nodded at Mia once more, smiling as if nothing was wrong. "Sooooo, time to leave!"

///

"Are you sure you heard wheezing? It must sound kinda weak." Still grumbling, Mia walked ahead of Shu with a long stick over her shoulders; the Beetle had not allowed her to keep her chitin sword, to her frustration. "Anyways, I know these mountains pretty well now, and I think I'd have noticed someone wheezing around here, so--"

"Over there!" Shu cried out. In the distance, amidst the tall grass, was a young boy clutching his neck, chest heaving with each breath as if he were hefting a mountain.

"...Oh."

"I knew I heard something!" Shu ran a hand through her hair, narrowing her eyes. Then her eyes widened as she connected the dots, the information flooding into her mind as she raised her blindfold. "How many of you Theodoros kids are in this damn Secret Realm?! It can't possibly be this easy! What the fuck are the people doing out there?!"

"The hell you mean Theodoros?! He's brown! I'm white! We don't look alike!" Still, Mia craned her head at the boy on the ground, frowning with worry. "...He looks like he's from the clan, though… And really young. How'd he end up here?"

"Kid, you're blood related, trust me on that, maybe a brother or something. And for the second I have no idea, the security needs some serious improvements."

No wonder this almost corpse smelled familiar, he had traces of Mia's and Katha's smell all over him! Poison ignored! Though that meant it was probably another kid of Rathas, or whatever his name was. Man sure got bus-

…Oh. Shu let out a hiss.

"Aaaand he's poisoned, that's just great."

"W-What?!" Now suddenly aware that she might have a little brother, Mia had become worried sick. "Do something!"

"I got it, I got it!"

Shu in fact did not get it. Contrary to belief, small as it might be, Shu was not omnicompetent. Which in this case meant that Shu was severely lacking in the arts of healing, mundane or cultivation. However, adaptation was her middle name, so only two seconds went by came to her.

It wasn't a good idea or even a decent idea, but it was better than nothing. Trivia knowledge fueled her actions. One of which was 'heart stopped, life stopped, equals bad'. And she didn't need her Azure Eyes to tell that this kid was flatlining. She pointed her finger down, while with her left she pushed Mia back.

"Clear!"


It was not exactly precise. But it still hit the heart and gave the dying boy a good jolt. Maybe even too hard of a jolt. Still, heart was beating again, so there was that. Boy was groaning in agony, so he was still alive and breathing. So that's good. Naturally, Mia had no clue about this stuff, so all she saw was Shu deciding that throwing small lightning at a poisoned person was the right thing to do.

"How did that help?!"
"I read that hearts need a shock to restart again." Shu paused. "I think."

"What about the poison?!"

"Working on it." Shu cracked her neck before exhaling deeply. "Eyes, don't fail me now…"

Swollen flesh. Rotting blood. Lungs will with fluids. Lots of symptoms, but none that actually tell her what the poison actually was or how to fix this. It wasn't like she had any ingredients on hand, only her body and her own Qi. And even if she did, her experience with mixing was limited to her own body. What was she meant to do, eat the poison and make the antidote in her own body before injecting it into him?

…

Wait, why couldn't she do that? Licking her lips, she looked down. She twitched, a bad memory resurfacing, of the first time she actually bit into flesh. Well, at least this time it was for a good cause.

"...He's not gonna feel it anyway."

Thus, without asking for consent, Shu took a bite from the boy's shoulder, where the skin was purple at this point. Fortunately, he did not in fact feel anything, as teeth tore away his flesh, leaving behind a bit of Shu's own blood in the fresh injury. Eh, that little wasn't going to be an issue. With that thought dismissed, Shu began to chew, and then started to groan in agony. Yet she kept on chewing, to taste, to analyze the poison that was assaulting her own body. A few moments later, she spat the flesh out once her veins stopped bulging out.

"Ugh, man, this is rancid!" Wiping her mouth, she rubbed her hands together. "Anyway, I think I got it!"

She mixed the Qi within herself once more, the mixture that worked to at least weaken the poison if not flat out erase it. Not that it was easy. She was on time pressure here and had to mix without making a mistake, while being injured herself. And yet…Shu was grinning like a loon nonetheless, once she succeeded in the elemental mixture of Qi within herself.

Still, she needed more, a carrier of sorts, to transfer the makeshift 'cure' into her patient. So naturally, she needed the same 'blood'. What good luck that she had a perfectly preserved blood bag right next to her. Without even asking, Shu dug her finger deep into Mia's nose, enough to cause it to bleed. Yanking her finger out, she immediately rammed it into the bite wound for direct injection.

Miraculously, the boy's breathing slowed down. Calmed down. Shu let out a deep breath before wiping her forehead. Whew, that was close.

"Ow! What the fuck?!"

"That should stabilize him." Shu let out an awkward laugh. "I think."

"You think? That's my little brother!"

"I'm using purely elemental Qi here. Antidotes are meant to be made by the poison used or herbs or something like that." "It should be enough to carry him out now and find him a proper healer. If we hurry, I think. Hey, do you have any other siblings I should be concerned about here? Now's the time to share before it's too late, Mimi."

Mia frowned at Shu, until her eyes were all but bulging out. "I don't know! Let's just hurry up, okay?! I don't want him to die!"

///

It is not long before Mia and Shu find themselves before a certain inn. it is a non-descript inn, one all too normal and plebian for the use of actual Cultivators. Which was exactly why Cultivators used it; in this particular case, it was a fallback position for those of the Clan who were operating in the Yuan Clan's territory, who needed swift retrieval back to the Desert. Shu had been given its location even though she had gone to the Trials and not for the mission; something that the Legatus insisted she get anyways, just in case.

As usual, she was right on the money. They needed the help, and they kicked the door open just to make that very clear.

"Yoo, anyone missing two kiddos? I need a little help with one of them!"

Inside, all the men and women wearing ragged clothes and nursing drinks shot to their feet. Many were of bronze complexion; Legionnaires. They visibly relaxed when they saw it was Qinglong Shu, one of the Silver King's underlings, and not an actual enemy. Instead, she was quickly ushered into a backroom alongside the girl practically glued to the boy she was carrying, where all the wounded of the mission were being treated.

All the Qi Condensation level wounded, anyways. The Experts had not returned yet.

But inside, being fussed over and groaning, was a certain Katha Theodoros, who was being fed by a certain Cerina Polya, who was more interested in getting her to have fun than getting her to have food. One look behind her, though, and Cerina's smile turned glassy just a shade.

"...I'll be right back! Eat your soup, Katha!"

"It's not for eating, it's for drinking," Katha moaned weakly, but by then Cerina was off. Bleary-eyed, she looked up at Shu instead, eyes squinted until they were almost shut. "...Shu? Why're you here? Did you do what you wanted?"

Shu blinked before smiling slightly. It felt like ages since she last saw her senior. She was looking…alrighty. Alive. That was good. Great. To see her now…it was rather relieving. Almost tear inducing. Still, she was a grown woman, so instead she only let out a sniff.

"Sure did. Lots of luck involved, but I did. " Then she smirked ever so slightly, deciding to gloss over herself in favor of Mia and the mystery boy. "Speaking of luck…did you happen to miss family members? Two in fact?"

Her answer was given before she could ask. The girl by Shu's side stepped forward, lower lip trembling.

"...Auntie?"

Katha could hardly move; her body was too heavy at the moment, and it hurt too much to do much. Still, she looked over at the girl, and though she had grown a great deal, Katha still recognised her. She smiled, more relieved than anything else. "Holy shit," she sighed, a half-laugh. "You're alive." She looked over at Shu, eyes wider. Now, Shu could see that one of her eyes was gray and dull. Lightless. "How… Where… Wait, two? Who's the other one?"

Shu winced before scratching the back of her head. No way to sugar coat this, so might as well come out with the truth.

"Kinda sorta dying a little bit. Not to worry, I did some first aid so he should be able to come through. As for how and where…weeeeellll…" Shu shrugged helplessly. "They were in the Secret Realm. Mia here was with the beetle for like ten years and after that I found that other boy outside."

"..."

Katha shook her head. "Nevermind the beetle or how Mia got into the Man As Mountain Array. The kid's dying? Anything we can do?"

Silence. Shu shook her head.

Katha's head slumped back and she closed her eyes. "Well, then I guess we'll have to wait and see until we go home. I'll deal with these two when I can move again. If I can move again." She sighed, though it was more like a groan. "...It's been a long decade for all of us."

"Tell me about it, I feel older already." Shu smiled weakly before sitting down on the bed, rubbing one gash of many on her body out of habit. "So, who gets to share first?"

///

Home. A place to return, to rest up, to be with family. And yet, Shu never felt so…foreign to these desert plains leading to the village. Everything looked to same. Nothing much has changed, beyond some extra houses, some more laughter, some greying hairs. So that meant that Shu herself changed too much. She saw Big Sis, already at the forefront, awaiting her. Xiu's smile wavered, seeing the extent of Shu's injuries. Coming to a stop, Shu let out a heavy breath before lowering her head.

"...I'm sorry."

Her eyes widened before they softened up. What did she apologize for? For being late? For being so injured? Or perhaps her behavior that led to the conclusion of all of this? It didn't matter for the matriarch, as she wrapped her arms around Shu.

"Don't be sorry," she whispered, patting the Qinglong. "You're finally home after all."

Tears ran down Shu's eyes, a weight gone from her shoulders as she leaned into the hug.

"Yeah…guess it took me some time."

"Is…?"

Shu nodded weakly.

"She's gone. And I got them." She reached into her pockets after taking a step back. "Here."

The four artifacts, the treasures of their history. Slowly, as if they could break at any moment, Xiu received them from Shu. For a while, she just stared blankly at them, not saying anything. Then, a shivering breath escaped her.

"It's strange. All my life I was meant to guard them, for the sake of the clan…and yet I feel nothing right now."

A part of Shu felt indignation at such dismissal. The rest of her, equally as tired, nodded slowly. So many lives suffered, so much was sacrificed, just for four items that fit in a small bag. A microcosm of human nature perhaps, that all sorts of evil would be committed for just…things.

"Better than feeling bad." Shu closed her eyes before folding Xiu's hands for her, giving them a weak pat. "You keep them safe."

"You aren't going to use them?" Xiu asked, shocked that such things were simply handed over like that. Shu shrugged in response.

"They've been used long enough. It's time they return to their intended role." A small grin appeared on her face. "Teach the kids a lot, alright?"

"Don't act like you can put all the burden on me."

Shu let out a snort at the chiding she received.

"Heh, right. I'll do my best."

Xiu put her hand on Shu's shoulder as they walked side by side towards the village.

"That's all I ever ask of you."

///
AN:
10518 Words

Thanks for @Swordomatic for the collab and finally finishing this boi up with me.

I can't even remember when we start it, but we definitely finished it today.

Always good to collab with ON on another piece. Mia truly is one of the gorillas of all time.

This slip holds a transcription of Elder Agatha's keynote address on the the Elder's Clan Cultivation Education review, undertaken Y. M Konstantions 225

Knowing too much about the nascent soul transcendence can cripple a promising foundation establishment cultivator.

Core formation requires certainty in the Dao. A pure unwavering belief in the truth you have found. Making it to the end of core formation requires a certainty far stronger than steel. It requires the kind of person who can not only ignore all objective evidence that contradicts their opinions (such people are after all, fairly common), but the kind of person who can actively begin to twist the world to agree with them.

Transcending the limits of core formation requires shattering that will, that certainty, embodied in the core. Admitting that the truth upon which they had based themselves, the solid certainty on which they had based up to five centuries building is rotted and riddled with holes. This is the first step of transcendence.

Knowing this fact has led to some of our most promising foundation establishment talents failing utterly. Generally, there are two ways this can manifest. Firstly, those who fail to surmount the core formation tribulation at all. The knowledge that they will eventually have to shatter the dao they have worked so hard to assemble introduces a fatal doubt in them, one which the tribulation of heaven strikes ruthlessly.

The second is perhaps more insidious. Even for those who might be able to overcome that fatal doubt, many of our finest young talents press and plot ever for best advantage. Some of these minds, seeking to make that far future test easier, seek out Dao's that are more…. confrontable. Ways that they feel can more easily be confronted with the inherent contradiction between the world and their dao.

Many who choose this path have succeeded in forming cores, but it damages the foundation of their dao. Their cores are weaker, less stable than their peers. For those who choose this path, ascension to nascent is virtually impossible. Such is the danger of trying to game the system with one's own soul.

Therefore, we restrict the information about the later mechanics of cultivation not for the sake of restriction, but as knowing ahead of time creates pitfalls that would strangle our juniors' attempts to ascend and destroy our clan's own foundation.

.....


Question and Answer session response



Q. Doesn't that leave our clan vulnerable to massive knowledge loss if disaster happens?

A. Indeed, that is a question that our ancestors most likely faced as well. I can only guess that the pattern may continue at higher levels, and that they came to the same conclusions as us: that if the knowledge was shared openly, the decrease it would cause in the number of people capable of ascending into that realm would be far more dangerous to our existence than keeping it secret.

Q. Hasn't history proved that wrong then?

The clan is alive, despite everything the heavens have thrown at us. So, no. The cost is great, but we are alive, and that is success.


AN: 540 words. A small worldbuilding omake loosely inspired by some of Aretaphila's musings the recent collab @TehChron and @Swordomatic . Still getting back into the swing of things.

Altar Lord watched as the last of the impromptu fighters in his little tournament screamed at him, her hands still stained with the blood of what had presumably been her friends and family. Or at the very least, those who had killed them. A Foundation Building Expert, yet her will hadn't been at all sufficient to choose death. Of course, that was in the nature of selection. If you forced friend to kill friend, brother to slay sister, ultimately you ended up with the most contemptible of the lot, those willing to break those bonds more easily.

He could hardly blame them for being weak-willed and cowardly after he had winnowed out the brave and heroic. An apt metaphor for everything he ruled.

These little tournaments had been an idea, and he had committed to it. Strike into Strength Purity or other Righteous lands, and force many of them into the Blood Path through whatever means necessary. Ordinarily it was quite detectable, but several talismans of his own making had managed to disguise them, by all appearances letting them draw Qi from the air around them when they in truth took it from a talisman that was infused to deliver life energies in commensurate amounts with the energy around it. It only worked for so long, though, but the talisman was tattooed onto the body invisibly and was quite undetectable.

Eventually, of course, they needed actual blood.

The first iteration of his plan had been a complete failure. He had forced people to consume with sheer might, and they had done so easily enough, before going back to the Strength Purity Sect, admitting their crimes, asked for death, and did so proudly, knowing they would hamper his plans.

So, he winnowed. Having a mother kill her child only begat vengeance. Forcing mother to kill son or son to kill mother meant that both knew they had a choice, and one of those was to die together. If you slew your own kin willingly, well, you were an excellent candidate for the Blood Path. Kinslaughterer had been the purest example of that.

The most contemptible were willing to do the worst things to survive, and thus it was with almost everyone he knew.

Ai'er was an exception, but the girl was useful. He would have liked to have been able to treat her as a true student and a confidante, but there were no more generations for the truth to be passed on to. The victory or loss would be decided in his lifetime, which was satisfactory. Of course, his actions would have little enough bearing on the outcome, which was less so.

Still, this was the best he could do for the moment. His Demonic Path was weak, consuming itself. There were just not enough mortals at this point in time. The Righteous Path grew ever-stronger as they denuded their own territory of all resources, desperately trying to hold on for a little longer. Had it not been for the Demon Grandfather of the Grand Abyssal Invasion in the south, they would've lost already. In reality he suspected that the Righteous Path might be able to win already, but feared the cost.

The Chosen had been a miscalculation on Heaven's part, he thought. They would end the war rather decisively, but it gave them a window for action. If you were the Strength Purity Sect, you had no need to attack desperately, no need to constantly use resources and grind down your elders and risk losing it all when your victory was assured. Perhaps more strident action would merely compel them into action and cause the loss of his Lord's great enterprise.

Something in him felt ever-so-slightly guilty, looking down at the weeping woman hunched over a pile of corpses.

It was no worse than any one of the tens of thousands of things he had done over the centuries, but perhaps it had been unnecessary? He had never forgotten that it was all this they sought to overthrow, the death and misery enforced by the nature and Law of the world. That it could not be overthrown except by greater death and misery was an irony he had never really appreciated, and had simply accepted as the necessary cost of change.

Hopefully it would serve to put Strength Purity off-balance and inwards-looking, however. Enough time to give the Demon Grandfather what he needed to shatter the trade links between the Golden Devils and the Righteous Path, allowing them to scoop up the remains of the Yuan and Qiguai once his own forces were driven out - or once they slaughtered the population and left, either-or. They wouldn't be able to resist the bait, and so would be separated from the Righteous Path further. He doubted he could get them to declare war on the Righteous Path, but it was enough to merely disconnect them, and to remove some of the sources of growth from the Chosen.

As long as the gamepieces could reach the other side of the board... as long as one could, in fact, there was a chance.

He shivered with excitement and fear. Fear. That was where the guilt was coming from. When the plan had needed a thousand years, the deaths were necessary. The cruelties to gain power could not be eschewed, for without power he could not execute the plan. Now, though... it was out of his hands. He could effect the outcome, perhaps buy a little more time here and there, but he was no longer the piece in play. He was on the board, and looked quite threatening, but it was doubtful the moves he made would determine the game one way or the other. It threw everything he did into doubt. If it all failed in the end, it could all well have been for nothing.

He shook his head. Buying a chance was all he had ever aimed for. Now he had done it, and five set their feet upon the path of his Lord. What else could he have asked for?

Qinglong Shu SS5 - The Streets

Gezi really liked boots. They were comfy like that. Made sure she didn't have to feel the itchy sand on her soles. Her fleshy soles, not her hooves. Upsides, downsides. She was glad none of the other guys wanted to ride her. She disliked the idea of anyone riding her. Or being in her horse form longer than necessary. After all…she was a human now. Which meant she actually got to enter those fancy restaurants and not be chased out like some of those rats. Haha, sucked to be them! As she and the rest of Shu's disciples, with Shu herself taking the lead, they entered the premises. Gezi let out a proud chuckle as she puffed out her chest, at the whispers and murmurs they received, as well as the stares. It felt nice to have such attention, especially about her human form!

"I heard good reviews about this place," Shu said with a chuckle as they ascended the stairs to the second level. With a polite smile, she gestured for a waitress to approach them. Bo hummed thoughtfully, leaning back with a smirk.

"Good enough for cultivators? Impressive."

"Thought I'd give my cute lil' stooges something nice, hehe."

Gezi giggled back, not understanding why the other three flinched. Stooges was a cute name, what was wrong about that? Human pride was so weird. Anyway, the waitress arrived, a mousy girl, bowing respectfully to them.

"Honored cultivators, welcome. What will you have?"

"Hm, still looking."

Gezi immediately raised her hand as Shu went through the list, a bright smile on her face.

"I'll take what she is having!"

Shu, without even looking away, reached out for her head and patted her. Yay!

"Green tea for now and some sweets," Bo ordered before leaning back with his eyes closed. Meanwhile, Feng hummed to herself before nodding to herself.

"Yes, I'm having the beef broth soup with extra onion."

"Give me spicy stir fried rice with chicken, and throw in some good pork dumplings," Qiao ordered, snapping his fingers at the waitress. The girl blushed before nodding obediently. Gezi blinked as she saw Feng stiffen up for some reason and then glared at Qiao. Y'know, the usual.

"Very we-"

"Actually, I want those pork dumplings as well, but also some extra sausages on top."

Everyone turned to the swordswoman, leaning forward with an innocent looking smile. And yet, Gezi could feel the fighting spirit radiate from her. She tilted her head in confusion. Wait, who was she battling now?

"Noted, we shall-"

Qiao leaned forward, clearing his throat. Gezi nodded wisely. Aha, it was the rivalry thing happening again. Mama Shu explained it to her, how people liked to be competitive. Beyond food for some reason, which usually led to raising their skills in one way or the other. It was fascinating, to see so much animosity, yet not having a single death or crippling injury yet. Human norms were weird like that.

"You know what? Who am I trying to front? We Hell Demons need some heat. Scratch my previous order. Get me a ghost pepper soup, add in a thousand year old egg and finish it up with the best ox tongue you got."

By now, even the waitress realized something was wrong with this, as she began to sweat nervously.

"Uhm-"

"Do you have animal hearts?"

The waitress let out a squeak as Feng's smile was gone at this point, her eyes not leaving Qiao as they glared at each other.

"Y-yes-"

"Good, I want every one you have, all deep fried together, served on a bed of the spiciest sauce you have. Spicier than some silly ghost pepper."

"I want chicken brains, enough to fill up a box, all mashed up inside poisoned potatoes that have been liquified." At this point, the two were leaning over the table, their foreheads pressing against each other, their tones barely at the level of civility. "And don't forget to give me the blood for seasoning."

"I changed my mind, I want a bowl of praying mantises." Everyone at the table turned their heads at Feng, who glanced at the waitress who was shaking in her boots at this point. "Not the tiny ones either, give me the gigantic demon ones you find in the swamp areas of the plains, blades and all."

"Pretty lady, could you bring this cultivator a bucket filled with dragonfish heads, wrapped in bronze wire?"

"Devil Tiger's teeth!"

"What now?" Bo asked, his expression starting to turn green. Meanwhile Gezi hummed thoughtfully. How did teeth taste like? Testing for later.

"Freshly ripped out of their mouth! Actually, matter of fact, any kind of spirit beast tooth will do! I want you to fry it with the largest fat block you got with lava from a volcano and cover it with crystals from the Icy Caverns for contrast!"

"Forget everything I said up until this fuckin' point! Give me the hardest opium you got, shove it up a horse's ass, slaughter it in front of my face and wrap it up in cactus skin, using the damn blood as oil to give it a nice searing on each side, and give me technique scrolls to wipe my face with it!"

"Fine! This is my order, for real for real this time! Give me a platter delivered on rotten thousand year old plum blossom wood, filled with scorpion stingers inside a cursed wolf's spine, the claws of a blood hunting eagle, all wrapped up inside a…!" Feng paused, as if struggling to think of something before she grinned widely and hitting her head against Qiao's head, both bleeding at this point. "Human! Face!"

The silence stretched out for minutes. Gezi knew, for she counted when nobody was reacting to her back and forth swaying, her humming or her waving her hand before the eyes of everyone at the table. Eventually, it was the waitress who found her words first, gaping still as she nodded slowly.

"...A human face."

Feng smiled brightly, turning her face so that Qiao was forced to be smooshed by her cheek.

"Yes! Preferably a righteous human face, with eyes and everything! I want heaven to strike me down with lightning for the extra kick!" She announced with pride. Yet only silence met her, while Gezi hummed thoughtfully. Would that actually happen if you ate a human face? Questions for later maybe. Mama always answered her questions, no matter what after all, since she was the best!


"Honored guests…" The waitress pointed down at the table, her disgust and horror overwriting any sort of mortal reverence she should have towards cultivators. "You do know we serve food here, right?"

"Not for them." Shu flicked her two wrists with a snarl before either of the two could respond. "Find your own food out there, you filthy savages!"

Gravity twisted and took ahold of the Lei and the Yu. They both could only blink before letting out panicked screams as they were propelled out the window at blurring speeds. A loud crash later, a sound of pain…before steel was brandished and gunfire sounded in the area, incoherent yelling ensuing between the two rivals.

So your average day, Gezi mused as she swung her legs up and down with a curious head tilt. Her mother dusted her hands off before shaking her head in exasperation. She nodded at the waitress with a handsome smile, who in turn blushed a bit red.

"Apologies for the inconvenience."

"I-It is alright, honored cultivator!"

Bo meanwhile managed to get his skin color back from his hair pigment back to normal. With a deep, controlled breath, he sent a long suffering glare at his family.

"Why didn't you throw them out earlier, grauntie?"

"Sheer morbid curiosity how far they were gonna take it." Shu made a dramatic bow, as if making a grand apology. "Alas, such is the burden of my Dao. Understanding truly is suffering, my dear disciples."

"Hahahaha, that was fun!" Gezi giggled as she hugged her mother, getting her head patted in return.

"Just don't do what they just did, baby girl."

"Kay!"

Gezi didn't understand why, but she assumed it was part of the 'don't make others uncomfortable' clause of doing the human. Either way, she was a good girl and good girls listened to momma. Shu clapped her hands together and turned back to the waitress.

"Aaaaanywho, two vegetable soups please." She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. "Normal, vegetable soups. I leave the vegetables to the cook."

Oh, vegetables. Gezi hoped they had carrots in them! The spirit beast clapped her hands in excitement, showing her approval of the order. Meanwhile Bo raised his hand as well.

"Make that three." He turned his head away, shuddering. "Can't look at meat for a while…"

The nice lady was rather fast in getting their orders ready. Steaming, warm, soup. It made Gezi's core tingle, but she ignored it. Hot food was better than cold food, it was just fact. Especially the seasoned, boiled water. She almost dove in with her mouth before Shu stopped her with a palm at her forehead. Gezi blinked before letting out an 'oh' sound.

Right. Human tools. Had to use them. It was slower but she supposed she didn't want to dirty the nice clothes momma gave her. With that in mind, she sipped away at the soup, letting out a delighted neigh with each bite.

Cooking was a nice human invention!

///

"How about we split up?"

Gezi let out a whine. She was excited at discovering what the town had to offer, but she wanted to be with mommy. Alas, Shu made it clear that she was going to do a lot of boring stuff. Talking was important, but the talking would have way too many numbers involved. Numbers were neat, but too much was too much. Meanwhile, Gezi's adopted nephew, and wasn't that funny, raised his hand with narrowed eyes.

"Uhh, you sure?"

He not so subtly glanced back, at the singed Feng and cut up Qiao, arms crossed, grumbling and turned away from each other. Meanwhile, in the background, a horse stall decided to take that chance to collapse, next to the building that was still smoking after Shu extinguished it swiftly. Gezi nodded at the dumber horses, letting out a noise of encouragement to calm them down.

"Gotta let you guys spread your wings. Also it gives me an excuse to break your spines when you start shit. I'm not pointing any fingers."

Shu didn't even bother with glancing. Instead, she put her palms on her knees, lowered her self, and then looked straight at the two culprits' faces from below. Even through the blindfold, the glare was penetrating. The two blushed furiously at that.

""Hey!""

"Not pointing fingers, am I?" Shu said dryly before straightening up her back. Then she twirled her hand in demonstration. "Also, why you acting all offended like that? You literally just started shit! You're getting your spines shattered either way, so clench your booties when we get home."

The two paled before lowering their shoulders in surrender. Gezi didn't know what the issue there was, training was always fun, even if her lungs were burning and her stomach was always emptied from barfing. Qiao shook his head before rolling his shoulder.

"Guess I'll check out the smithery…"

"Hey, that's where I'm going!" Feng shouted, sending a death glare at the gun user. The latter narrowed his eyes himself before waving his hand in dismissal.

"Then go somewhere else."

"You-"

"So much for splitting up…" Bo muttered under his breath, before steppin between the two, hands raised to seperate them. "I'll go with you two. Heaven knows you can't be left alone."

""Who made you the boss of us?!""

"Shut it before I choke you fuckers!"

As they moved away, yelling at each other with weapons and fists ready to be thrown, barely under control, Shu took that chance to ruffle Gezi's hair with a wistful sigh.

"You're a good girl, Gezi."

"Hehehe!"

Soon enough, Gezi was left alone as she wandered through the streets. She didn't have a specific location in mind, just browsing the nearby stands, emptying the food stalls in specific. Big girl like her needed her food, even in human form, and she had a lot of money from doing all those board missions. Who knew that they even paid you for delivering stuff? Easy money right there. She leaned her back against a wall, munching on some sweets as she observed the streets. Human culture was always a neat thing to see, if something that wasn't wholly new to her at this point. Children playing with their toys, people arguing over prices. Casual talking, courting, all the like. Still, as regular of a sight that was to Gezi, she still enjoyed it, the nuances of human interaction that just didn't exist for spirit beasts.

"You dare?!"

Gezi blinked, stopping midbite before grinning as she put her food away. Ooooh, a cliche line she read in my books! Gezi swiftly peaked around the corner with curious eyes, her ears twitching with anticipation. Her sparkling eyes dimmed when she saw what was actually happening. Instead of a young master taking on an unknown, but talented martial artist, or a lot of people ganging up on a wandering warrior…she saw something that wasn't worthy to tell stories about.

Instead of an equal or an underdog, the white bearded man in rags could only be described as a victim. On his knees, with his head bleeding, he prostrated himself before the text book definition of a young master. With a sneer, he brushed his long hair back, pointing down at the old man before giving him a light tap with his foot. By cultivator standards, it was nothing. To a mortal, it almost snapped his head off. Gezi was already moving before she even processed the situation. Just as the pale young man was about to punish the homeless more, the Spirit Beast stood in between the two. Both blinked at the sudden intruder of their little event. Immediately, the young master reached for his straight sword with a snarl.

"Who-" Then he actually processed Gezi. Looked at her pure white hair, then at her curves, her legs. A lustful glint appeared in his eyes as he smirked. Gezi only raised an eyebrow. Was it that easy for humans to wish for copulation? Must have some really short periods between heats. "Hoho?"

Gezi tilted her head, a curious hum escaping her. Not only at the situation but that weird warmth in her chest. She pointed at the homeless like he was an interesting item.

"Why are you beating up a weakling like this?"

Something about the way she asked must have satisfied the young master. With a prideful huff, he looked down at the homeless before spitting at him.

"He was in my way, even though he long saw me approaching. Such disrespect must be punished with death!" He made a dramatic arm gesture, as if presenting himself as the main actor of the show. "Step aside, o fairy maiden, and this Gong Chen shall get rid of this filth for you."

Gezi turned around, her back at this Chen. She ignored how he stared at her butt, instead looking at the old man. Shivering from the pain…and yet his eyes were alive. Vibrant. Compared to the young master, he shined so much more despite the dirt clinging to his frame. She giggled, nodding to herself as the heat in her chest built up. The old man blinked, confused at what he was seeing, his determination to not yield giving way.

"Hm. The strong can do whatever they wish with the weak, yes."

"It is good to know that others share my wis-"

Gezi shrugged before he could finish, as the fire in her chest went out of control. She realized what that feeling was, but it still begged one question.

"But I'm mad anyway, I wonder why?"

"What are you-"

"Bam."

To stand behind a horse was to invite death at any time. After all, the mount of the people didn't have anything that could be called an attack, besides the usual. A tackle. A bite. Maybe a stomp from above. But the one thing to guarantee a kill was a simple one.

The back kick. A flick movement, after stomping on the ground with the front legs, for maximum power. Naturally, in her human form, she didn't have that. Instead, she only had one leg to use. Still, the physical power of a Spirit Beast still carried over, so Gezi was rather proud of her leg strength. Add Qi to that, and well, the result was obvious.

One moment, the young master was confused at the words this cute yet dumb girl was uttering. The next, his head almost spun a hundred and eighty degrees as Gezi bent forward in order to shoot her right foot high behind her, right against his chin. Naturally, the Spirit Beast didn't go all out. Corpses were bad, annoying to get rid off and a lot of other stuff would happen. So his head was not frozen into ice and shattered against the wall. Instead he just slumped down against the wall. Gezi flexed her stretched out leg, wiggling with her toes before putting it back down on the ground. Then she reached out with her hand, letting out a small giggle. The homeless man scratched his long, unkempt beard before accepting the hand, allowing himself to be pulled up with ease. His feet momentarily left the ground before Gezi gently put him back down, dusting him off a bit. With a hunched back, the old man lowered his head, coughing a bit.

"I thank you for my rescue."

"Eh, it's fine. I'd have done it anyway. He irritated me."

Gezi waved the homeless off, yet the man narrowed his eyes at her words as he patted his own back.

"Careful with that mindset, or else you will end up like him."

Tilting her head, the Spirit Beast looked at the old man with a curious blink. She knew that mortals and cultivators lived in different worlds. The ones unable to defy heaven were nothing more than cattle, at the mercy of those that have ascended. And yet, here, this old man was lecturing her without hesitation. What a peculiar thing, she thought with a small smile.

"You really aren't scared of me."

"If you reach my age, as a mortal, you lose your fear eventually." He smiled with amusement. "May I know this honored cultivator's name?"

She let out a laugh, before putting her left fist against her hip, her right finger raised at the sky as she puffed out her chest with pride.

"Qinglong Gezi, I'm a horse!"

She hummed in delight when the old man's composure and bright eyed look dimmed for a moment. He blinked slowly, as if he didn't understand her. When she didn't care to elaborate, all he could do was slowly nod his head.

"...I…see…"

"What's your name?"

The man ran his hand through his beard before letting out a chuckle.

"Hm, I have lost my name many years ago. I am only known as Old Man."

"That's weird. You're weird," Gezi said, pointing ath im. "There are many old men."

"Well, yes, but I get to write with capital letters," he responded, nodding sagely.

"I don't get it."

"And you do not have to."

"But I want to."

"You are a curious child, are you not?" Old Man said, laughing heartily. Then a groan sounded. The two of them turned to the Young Master twitching on the ground, causing Old Man to frown deeply. "Perhaps we should leave before he wakes up."

"Before we do that."

Gezi walked up to the body and began to rummage through his clothing. Then she found what she was looking for and grinned. Turning around, she offered a pouch filled with coins within to the homeless man, who stared at the money with wide eyes.

"There you go, for your injuries."

Instead of receiving the money however, he gently pushed it away from him.

"I can't accept this."

"Why not?" People needed money, right? Money was used to exchange for goods. Rejection made no sense. Shaking his head, he let out a tired sigh.

"Theft is bad."

"Ooooh, right." Gezi frowned, money still in her palm. "Though mama told me stealing from baddies is good."

"And who can decide who is a baddie or not?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. She on the other hand immediately pointed at the guy she stole the money from just now.

"He is."

The two stared at the twitching Young Master before Old Man cleared his throat.

"...well, yes, in this case, that's true, but one cannot just decide like that. There are consequences too."

"Eh, I can handle it." Gezi was strong after all. Mama was even stronger. And the boss of mama was yet even stronger, if a meanie from what she heard. Still, if he didn't want the money, more for her. Maybe she could use it to gift something to Shu. With that in mind, she pocketed it. "Alright, I'll keep it then."

"At least he still gets to keep his clothes," Old Man muttered, causing Gezi to blink.

"Why would I want his clothes? They're lame."

"Hahaha, I suppose they are!"

With that said, he began to move, with Gezi stepping behind him. He turned around, eyes wide for a moment before deciding to let her tag along. Soon enough, after taking many corners, away from the rich and well maintained streets, they reached more decrepit roads, until they were only surrounded by what could be described as ruins rather than houses. Not to mention the inhabitants. She could see the bones beneath the thin flesh, pressing against their very skin from malnourishment. Not to mention she could see that Old Man was the best dressed out of everyone. Some people barely had rags to hide their private parts. By all means, they should be wasting away in despair, no strength to live properly, no wealth to improve.

And yet, there was a vibrant energy to the place. Children were laughing, playing with broken toys. Fathers offering what little they had to their offsprings. Then there was the brightening mood just from Old Man's presence as he approached them. He opened up his cloak, revealing a bag of rice. It wouldn't be enough to feed ten people. But people still treated it like a gift of pure gold. Old Man turned around after ruffling a child's head and bowed with respect at Gezi.

"May fortune be with you, young Gezi. Perhaps if fate wills it, our paths shall cross again."

She didn't leave immediately, just staring as they shared the grains, making sure that everyone got their part. Eventually, as the sun turned the sky scarlet, she would leave. By all means, she should've forgotten the pitiful sight she saw.

Nevertheless, it was ingrained in her mind anyway.

///

"How long are we staying here, mama?"

"A week or two. Why?"

"I found something interesting."

///

Days went by. Old Man worked hard to hammer the planks into something that somewhat resembled a roof. The rain season could arrive at any time and when that time came, he'd be damned if he didn't protect at least one more person from a cold or even drowning. Just another day of working with what he had at hand for the community.

That was what Gezi saw and figured before speaking up right next to him.

"Heya, fate willed it, here I am."

He jumped just a bit, putting a hand on his fast beating heart. He took a calming breath once he saw who it was. Shaking his head, he raised an eyebrow at her.

"I was wondering why people were talking about a weird stalker." He pointed at her as he put the worn out hammer away. "Did you have to stare at my people without blinking?"

"Blinking interrupts observation and I wanted to learn," Gezi explained without hesitation. Whether it was from around the corner, from the rooftops or right inbetween them all, she watched. Silently, as if she wasn't there, ignoring any inquiries, any attempts of talking. Her interacting with them would ruin the whole experience of what their life was actually like. So eventually they stopped trying and went on with their day, if a bit nervous at the unnerving look they received. Old Man chuckled awkwardly as he walked off, patrolling the area.

"From us homeless? My, better not let the children hear this, their ego would inflate." He paused, waving to some kids before glancing at Gezi. "...Were you also the horse?"

"The guards bothered me, so I transformed and covered myself in mud."

Old Man nodded slowly, trying to process what he heard, yet was unable to.

"...That is very creepy."

"For you maybe." Gezi smiled brightly as she dropped something from her pockets onto his hands. "Anyway, have some money."

Old Man sighed in response.

"Once more, I am honored but I cannot accept stolen-"

"It's my own."

"...truly?"

Gezi pouted. Why did he sound so doubtful? She wasn't a weakling and she learned her lesson. Then she puffed out her chest as she gestured at herself

"Uhuh. Beat up some guys on those pictures and got the banty."

"Bounty."

"That!"

"Why?"

She opened her mouth before she realized he wasn't asking why she murdered Ooga Booga Axeman or Swish Swoosh Toothpick Guy. She saw how he looked at the money. She pointed at him and then waved her arm across the area.

"You guys are pitiful. Weak. I don't get how you are alive. Out there, the weak die fast. Caring for the weak gets the strong killed."

"..." It wasn't a growl he let out, but the leader of the homeless glowered at her with narrowed eyes. Gezi giggled before patting his shoulder.

"But I'm not out there anymore. And mama taught me…that nice people should live well."

A quiet scoff escaped him. He nodded slowly before lowering his head.

"Words to live by. I am in awe of your and your mother's wisdom, honored cultivator." He pocketed the money before motioning at her with his head. "I suppose you wish to follow me?"

"I wanna see what you poor people do with money!"

"You have to mind your words. They may be taken as insults," he said with a wince at her enthusiasm. In response, Gezi tilted her head.

"Then you simply have to grow thicker skin?"

"...Alright then."

Some time passed. Shops were visited. And the curiosity of Gezi gave way to complete bafflement. After all, she saw firsthand what Old Man went for in terms of goods to buy. She saw how hard he negotiated to get as much as possible. But it wasn't for anything she expected him to buy for the people, the other homeless. She held the items in her hands, because he bought as much as he could. They seemed sturdy enough, but nothing compared to rich families showing off. They weren't meant for grace, but to last.

Those metal drums, those string instruments and other such tools used for music out of all things. Suffice to say, Gezi did not understand why a homeless person would use all her bounty money for stuff like this. Old Man met her eyes as he happily hummed to himself, brushing the flute in his hands as if it was a divine artifact.

"Why not buy food? Or a good house?" Gezi asked with a frown, causing the homeless man to chuckle.

"You do not seem to understand the value of coin I see. As for food…hah, we can always find our own food. We Lost are resilient like that." He raised his flute and pointed at all the things in Gezi's arms and on her back. "But these? You don't find them on the streets, haha!"

"But you are starving. Suffering," she pointed out. "Food now would help. I can get more money too. Enough to change your life."

"I am thankful for your consideration. We all are. But coin alone won't change the fundamental state of our existence," he replied, shaking his head with a tired sigh. "You cannot change society. Powerful as you are, your actions wouldn't change the basic issues. Lack of room. Lack of resources, of work. You cannot take care of us forever, thus whatever you do will be temporary. It's not something that can be dealt with violence either. Treating the symptoms doesn't change them."

"Then why survive at all? Why not buy food and make your lives easier just a little bit?" She licked her lips. "Why…music?"

Old Man got a far off look as his eyes misted over. Memories unknown to Gezi went past his mind, an entire history that was hidden from her. Then he took a deep breath, his body visibly relaxing.

"We survive so that we can live, Lady Cultivator. It's not about making it easier, not in that way." He pressed his fist and the flute against his chest. "So what if the world is against us? So what if we go hungry? As long as we can find joy in life, that is all we need. The world would be a bleak place if we only cared to live for another day and nothing else."

They arrived in the slums, the homeless district, whatever it was called. At the sight of what Gezi was carrying, the entire district came to life underneath the moonlit sky. Many adults openly wept at the drums and what not. Even Old Man's eyes were wet as he bowed at Gezi.

"So once more…I thank you for your gift." With a deep breath he turned around before clapping his hands together. "It's time for a party, people!"

"YEAH!!!"

Soon a large fire was started, the people forming several circles around it. Then the beat began in a slow rhythm that was slowly building up. Gezi leaned against a wall, her arms crossed as she watched.

It was pointless.

The noise was chaotic. The strings sometimes made a scratchy noise as they picked up the tempo and volume, following the hitting of metal. Some children played as well, quite clumsily.

It was meaningless.

The ones without instruments began to dance. There was no sense or rhyme. Just arms moving wildly, stepping randomly. Some bumped into each other. Yet they were laughing as they danced to the tune, led by Old Man's flute playing, his body twisting and turning with passion.

By all means, what she saw was worthless. She exhaled, her arms uncrossing.

And it was the most beautiful thing Gezi had witnessed. With that in mind, she jumped into the fray. She spread her arms out and began to twirl, letting the sounds brush against her body and guide her. The Spirit Beast had no idea about dancing, but it wasn't like anyone else knew what they were doing. Right now, she only felt the pleasantness of the world…no, of Humanity. It resonated with her core, of what she learned from this bottom of society, of the discarded, of the forgotten.

To be human…meant to see the light, no matter how dark the Heavens were, no matter how hopeless it might seem. The ability to feel hunger, pain like this…all was meant to contrast these beautiful sounds! Her steps intensified, the wind moving as she spun back and forth even harder. A singular sentence filled her mind, to explain what she had learned, what Old Man and everyone else represented.

This ( Agony) too shall pass.

Time was forgotten, as the songs intensified. The musicians sweated profusely as they were playing away at their instruments, their drums akin to a herd of horses. To sync up with that, she stepped up herself, faster and faster, ever faster, as if the spirit of all ascended and soared through the heavens, until at last, the final note was played. With one last stomp, Gezi hit the ground, arms wide with a giddy expression.

"Yoisha!!!"

It was like a dream, in a world of fantasy, to have so much fun. She looked at Old Man, who was out of breath, yet content. Yes, this was indeed a dream.

And like every dream, one had to wake up.

One moment, everyone was in bliss, laughing in the aftermath of their impromptu festival. The next, a hole opened up in Old Man's stomach, blood exploding out of him. The world, so vibrant, so colorful, turned grey, with only the crimson fluids retaining their colors. She absentmindedly realized that some strangers entered the vicinity, that one of them was that Young Master. They were yelling something, but she ignored it all, instead instantly appearing at Old Man's side. She pressed her hands against his wounds, the cold forming and slowing down the bleeding, freezing it, but the hole was too large. As her breathing became erratic, a hand gently touched her arm. She turned her head, seeing Old Man cough up blood with a weak smile, the light in his eyes dimming too fast, too quick.

"Protect…them…"

His head went limb. She no longer felt his heartbeat. Gezi could only watch as Old Man died, with her on her knees, powerless for all the power she wielded. Slowly noise returned. Screams. Crying. Sobbing. But it was drowned out, drowned out by the jeers, the mocking laughter. Slowly, she turned her head. She couldn't recognize any of them, as they were nothing but humanoid shaped shadows, monsters that dared to ruin such a beautiful moment.

"So you're the one who assaulted my little brother. Hmph. This young master shall educate you! Three mo-"

The next words that flowed out of her mouth, originating from the searing heat that build up in her chest, were so poisonous, so raw in their guttural growl, that everything Gezi ever said up until this point…felt like a lie.

"YOU FUCKING PIECES OF SHIT!"

She exploded off the ground as the Qi shone from her, as she reared back her arm, aiming for the closest of the murderers. In that moment as she soared through the air, ice took form in her right palm, taking on the shape of a halberd.

"Ice Qi?!"

"I'LL KILL YOU!!!"

She smashed her makeshift weapon into the ground, causing spikes of ice to form up. To her catalysmic rage, they dared not to die from this, having dodged just in time. They surrounded her, causing her to snarl. In her left palm, a sword formed and she screamed as she swung, with no hint of technique, with nothing but whatever was ingrained in her from Shu's lessons. She focused on speed, on cutting as often as possible to kill them.

Alas, she was alone. Swords cut her flesh, while she missed more often than not. Yet when she hit, she saw the flesh rot from the sheer cold of hers. Whenever her ice weapons shattered, she simply reformed them. As a spear, as a shield, as a mace, whatever she randomly choose to inflict maximum violence. Still, due to her wrath, she didn't realize it, until she suddenly dropped to her knees, wheezing for air. Her arms were shaking from the exertion, from the burning of Qi to create her ice. She saw how injured her enemies were, four or five people standing, yet limbing. But none of them were dead. She pushed her body, rising to her feet again. But just as a sword aimed for her throat, a loud bang sounded in the area, forcing the man to retreat with a hole in his shoulder.

"Oi, fuckfaces."

Their heads snapped to the rooftops, and Gezi felt part of her rage give way to gratitude as she saw her fellow students loom over them all. Qiao aimed his smoking musket at the enemies, while Bo and Feng landed next to Gezi, arms raised, sword drawn in the latter's case.

"What do you think you're trying to pull?" Qiao asked, tapping his shoulder with his other firearm, earning himself a snarl from the bastards.

"More peasants?!"

"We leave you alone for a few hours and this happens." Bo paused, seeing Gezi's expression. He frowned deeply. "Are you okay?"

"I will be," Gezi growled. The three of them looked at something before nodding slowly. Feng exhaled, eyes wide with murderous focus as she aimed the tip of her blade at her chosen target.

"You will be."

Various kinds of Qi flared up. Of steel, of fire, of wind, of ice, increasing in pressure, enough to ruin the entire place-

"I think that's enough sharing pointers."

If it weren't for the enormous presence brushing against them all and halting them in their tracks. They immediately turned to the source, who slowly emerged from the shadows with calm steps. Walking with the confidence of a lion amongst mice, Shu stepped between the combatants with an emotionless expression. One of the Young Masters hissed before pointing accusingly at her.

"Qinglong! You da-"

Shu raised her hands in a placating manner, a smile on her face. The expression tore up Gezi's heart. Why would mama smile in a situation like this?!

"Now, now. It's just a simple sparring match that has been going overboard. No need to make more out of it than it is. Both sides have learned valuable lessons from this match. I humbly ask of you to be satisfied with the results." She nodded once. "Naturally, I shall personally compensate for any damages that occurred."

Paying them. Paying them after they murdered Old Man. The inferno in her heart surged once more as Gezi wanted to take a step forward.

"Mama-"

She was stopped by the glare through the blindfold immediately, as Shu radiated killing intent for an instance.

"Silence. We will talk later."

It was then that she realized that Shu's right foot was twitching. Twitching with rage. Not at her but at the entire situation. Gezi bit her lip hard enough to draw blood and took a step back, deciding to have faith in her mother.

If nothing else, that flare of murderous aura was enough to make the Young Masters pale a bit. The oldest one growled before sheathing his blade.

"...I won't forget this humiliation."

"As long as we can have peace for now." Shu tilted her head ever so slightly. "After all…this was nothing personal, right? Because it would be a shame if something so unimportant would be made important."

"...Yes. A shame indeed." The bastard tried to keep the shiver out of his voice before turning his back on the area. "Let us go, brothers. We have wasted enough time with things beneath us."

With them gone, Gezi exhaled, no target left for her anger. She turned her head, seeing the corpse surrounded by his people, mourning and weeping for him. She saw the bloodstained flute, broken on the ground. She tightened her hands into fists, her fingernails digging into her flesh.

"Diplomacy is really tiring, hah…"

Gezi turned to her mother, who took her blindfold off. Shu put her hands on her big child, looking her in the eyes with a tired expression.

"I know you're angry. That you want to kill him and everyone around him." A shudder and a far away look before Shu gathered herself again and tightened her grip a bit. "But we can't continue this cycle of violence. Not only because it's wrong…but because the city won't be able to handle it."

Gezi then saw it. The frost damage, among other things. How the area was even more in ruins than before. The gashes across the earth. Patting her shoulders, Shu then wrapped her arms around Gezi, who rested her head on her mother's shoulder.

"Keep it in your heart and never forget. So when they will try to strike back at you, you are on a better stage to return it a hundredfold."

"...okay mama…"

///

"Hey, mama. I decided to be homeless."

"...Gezi, girl, I admire the determination in your voice, but I need way more context."

"The old man died because of me."

"Baby-"

"They don't have a leader anymore. Nobody to protect them if anything goes wrong."

"Being a leader is hard."

"Nothing worth having is easy."

"Heh. What a good girl. Just tell me when you need help, okay?"

"Hm!"

And that was that. Two days later, Gezi returned, having revealed her intentions. The one who took charge after Old Man's death, who was half his age, smiled weakly.

"There's always room on the streets. Now then, let's get to distributing the goods!"

"Yoisha," Gezi replied before following the man on his errands. During that time, she saw something at a certain stall. A book about forging. She was reminded of how frail her weapons were. How easy to break they were. She then thought back to what the Old Man said.

It wasn't just about surviving, it was about living. And living included creating things properly, right?

Improvement and Understanding, one step at a time. With that in mind, she walked to the book stall, target in sight.

///
7025 Words

Flavius was incredibly grateful to Captain Narses. The man was a true mentor to him, having introduced the young cultivator to the art of pankration. Yet, the Captain had done even more than that. When Flavius first began taking missions outside of the Dawn Fortress, Captain Narses had pulled some strings to see him assigned to protecting trade caravans moving through the mountain passes.

It was a perfect job for Flavius. The successes of the Golden Devils meant that bandit attacks were relatively infrequent and rarely serious threats to a cultivator of even his low stage. Even better, the most common routes saw him traveling through the village of his birth with some regularity. They always celebrated his visits, a far cry from when he has been tolerated at best. Indeed, he had been offered quite a few hands in marriage, though those were always rejected. Of course, the people he enjoyed visiting the most were his parents. Though they did not understand his path, they were very proud of him. They aged gracefully, strong of body for all that they had barely progressed along their path of cultivation. Flavius feared the day he visited his village to find his parents were no longer there to greet him, but such a time had not yet come to pass.

Still, there was something off about his current trip. They had passed by his village already, and made it into the mountain passes, but the man at the master of the caravan was looking around as if every shadow was personally out to get him. It wasn't uncommon for civilians to grow nervous within the passes, but usually it wore off quickly, especially with experienced travelers.

Well, there was only one way to learn what had this man so concerned, and that was by asking. Thus he approached, stepping loudly to alert the caravan-master of his presence, and spoke, "What has you so nervous?"

Never before had Flavius seen a man who was not a cultivator jump so high. How could someone so focused on his surroundings be so oblivious?

"W-what makes you think I'm nervous?"

Flavius gave him the Look. The Lesser Guilt-Revealing Dominance Look was a powerful technique he had learned from Captain Narses, which had broken even the most stalwart of legionaries. Upon seeing its fearsome effects, Flavius had dedicated himself to mastering its use, and spent hours practicing it every day. Truthfully, he had thought the technique mastered, but when Flavius had shown it to Captain Narses, the man had simply broken out laughing.

It was clear that the gulf between his technique and his mentor's was so wide as to leave them incomparable. Indeed, the Captain had refused to even give Flavius the name of his own Look. Flavius had instead named his own technique, clearly labeled as lesser that that of his mentor's. Still, even Flavius' inferior Look was enough to break a nervous civilian.

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you. I was out drinking in Chengshipolis and I may have let spill that we were carrying a ten leaf fire bloom lotus of purity. Those things are worth a lot of money, you know! Maybe more than everything else on this caravan combined!"

Flavius felt a tinge of unease, though he didn't allow it to reflect on his face, "You should not be concerned. We are still in Golden Devils territory, and bandits are far less common than they have been in the past. Besides, I can handle anything but a cultivator of greater ability."

Strangely, the caravan-master did not seem reassured. Thus, Flavius continued speaking, "If we are attacked by a powerful cultivator, here's what we'll do…"

Bandits and enemy cultivators still existed after all, not to mention the spirit beasts that roamed the mountains. It was always good to have a plan in case of the worst, however unlikely it may be.
They made it most of the way through the passes when things went wrong.

It was the animals that felt something was wrong first. It was strange to see Giant Scorpions grow nervous. They slowed down, but if anything they grew even more aggressive, snapping at the air as if it had personally offended them. This caused the scorpions' handlers to grow concerned in turn. If they turned on the caravan, they would surely be able to do significant damage before Flavius could stop them. From there it was a cascade effect, until even Flavius himself was on edge.

Then, a man stepped out of the shadows. He was tall and broad, with handsomely rugged features. That alone would not be enough to halt a whole caravan however. There was something in his presence, however, that rooted all the civilians to their spot. It was the sense that they were being sized up by a predator, alive only because he had not decided which to devour first. Flavius' eyes couldn't help but dart to the man's savage smile, a grin filled with sharpened teeth. This man was a follower of the blood path, and certainly stronger than a mere Fifth Heavenstage Cultivator.

"Hello, prey. I believe you have some valuables for me."

Flavius heard the caravan master swallow nervously. The man was clearly scared out of his mind. It was doubtful he would be able to carry out his part of the plan. It fell onto Flavius, then.

"I don't believe this caravan has done any business with a practitioner of the blood path."

"I think you misunderstand. Give me all the goods of this caravan, and maybe I'll consider not devouring you all."

The blood path cultivator licked his lips at those words. Flavius grimaced, but continued on, "You say you want all the goods of this caravan, but I see you've come alone. Rather than everything here, then, would it be more correct to say you're after this?"

As he had been speaking, Flavius had walked around towards the front of the caravan master's caravan. With a flourished, he grabbed an ornate box sat next to his terrified employer and lifted it into the air. Immediately, the blood cultivator's eyes honed in on it, and the pressure in the air seemed to double.

"The ten leaf fire bloom lotus of purity. With that, I could even break through to foundation establishment."

So the man was at the Ninth Heavenstage. Flavius truly was in trouble. "It is worth more than everything else on the caravan combined, including the people. If I brought it back to the Dawn Fortress, even the total loss of this trade caravan could be forgiven. Perhaps we could come to some sort of arrangement"

The blood path cultivator laughed, "And you Golden Devils claim to be so much better than us! But what's stopping me from just killing you, taking the lotus, and devouring all these people?"

"Well, that would require you to be able to kill me."

The mirth immediately left the cultivator's face. His nostrils flared. "I am Man Eater, and you will be nothing but a snack!"

The self-proclaimed Man Eater disappeared in a burst of speed, hand like a tiger claw plunging for Flavius' heart. Yet, just before his strike landed, he froze. Flavius had raised the box holding the lotus like a shield, such that the strike would have shredded the precious cargo to bits.

In that brief moment, Flavius dropped. Pankration was a martial art that made heavy use of grappling, and as a result had many ways to bring an enemy to the ground. In this case, he engaged a simple leg sweep. Man Eater, unprepared for his foe to survive even his first strike, had left his stance unbalanced, and the hit dropped him to the ground.

Flavius did not stick around to watch the man's recovery. Even in a grapple, the gulf between their cultivation's would be too great. Instead, than, Flavius bolted, and with swift movements began to run up the side of the mountain pass. It was steep, but not so much as a cliff face, and he had long since planned out a path. It was something to do while bored, when escorting caravans back and forth. Truthfully, Flavius was quite pleased to find it had been a useful hobby.

Flavius heard Man Eater roar in anger and begin to scramble up the rocks. The blood path cultivator was faster than Flavius, but his footing was unsure. Even while making his own ascent, Flavius could hear the man slipping and cursing in his own ascent. The pass grew steeper and steeper, before abruptly giving away to a ledge. Pulling himself atop, Flavius looked back to see Man Eater, face red with anger, literally tearing his way up the side of the mountain. He turned back, but in front of him now was a true sheer cliff face. He longed to scale it, but challenging the mighty rock now was too great a risk. If he fell, it would be into the jaws of a cannibalistic madman.

Instead, he began to run along the ledge. Flavius had never been more thankful for his training. Someone inexperienced would run as fast as they possibly could, tire themselves out, and inevitably be killed. Unlike such a person, Flavius had pushed his limits enough to know them intimately. He knew exactly what pace he could maintain for hours and days on end. He could only hope it was fast enough.


It did not take long for Man Eater to catch up to him.

"Did you really think you could escape me, prey?! You will suffer for your insolence!"

Despite his words, Man Eater was panting. His face remained red, but Flavius wondered if it was more from anger or a lack of breath.

"Strange," Flavius couldn't help but speak, "is this all that the Ninth Heavenstage offers? Is it truly so far from reaching the heavens themselves?"

"You would taunt me even now, coward? So close to your demise?" He had stopped shouting, and seemed to have caught his breath. He approached slowly. Man Eater's eyes, however, were narrowed in barely contained anger.

"I just can't help it. I've heard stories of blood path bandits before, how they advance in cultivation quickly, but that their technique is actually quite poor as a result. Part of me had not believed that a cultivator who could survive being hunted as you must could be so incompetent. It's fascinating to learn that the tales were not exaggerations."

That was enough to set him over the edge. His hands flashed out, nails seemingly forming into true claws, and he struck at Flavius. They flew for his heart and head, and he barely managed to avoid the strikes by pressing himself into the cliff face. This time, however, Man Eater had not overextended. He slammed his claws to the side, and Flavius had to throw himself under the blood path cultivator's arm, barely making it behind Man Eater as the claws raked along the rock, leaving deep gouges.

Flavius threw a foot forward, trying to hit the back of his foe's knee, but Man Eater stepped back, twisting to tear his claws from the earth and once more towards Flavius' vitals. He had to freeze once again, however, to avoid slicing the lotus' box into shreds, giving Flavius the chance to take another step back.

Flavius was outmatched in terms of strength and speed, but he held two advantages. The most important was that he held the lotus' box. To avoid destroying the lotus, Man Eater had to stick to precision attacks, and restrain himself while Flavius used the box as a shield. The second advantage Flavius held was the terrain. The ledge they stood on was not very wide, extending perhaps three foot lengths from the cliff. This far along the path, the steep drop had become a sheer one, and the fall seemed lethal. Flavius had trained to fight in just such a location, but it was clear Man Eater had not. The blood path cultivator had no choice but to attack Flavius head on, where he could most easily shield himself with the box.

All that in mind, Flavius was losing. For all his advantages, Man Eater was simply too much faster and stronger. Flavius was forced further and further back by Man Eater's attacks, and it took everything he had just to stay alive. Then, Man Eater threw a strike for Flavius' heart, and when the Golden Devil raised the box up to block he lashed out with his other claw. Flavius stumbled back, his arm dripping red.

Man Eater raised his bloodied claw up to his mouth and licked it clean. "You're just making things worse for yourself, prey. If I can't kill you with a single strike, I'll do it with a thousand cuts."

"I believe you promised to make me suffer either way."

"That is true, isn't it? And I will—"

Man Eater was cut off as Flavius slammed his foot into the ground between them, "Earth Shaping Art: Shatter Stomp."

Cracks spread out from Flavius's foot. Man Eater lunged forward, claws outstretched as he realized what was going to happen. Yet, Flavius stepped forward, throwing his arms out into a mighty shove. The blood path cultivator's forward momentum was halted, and he began to fall, the earth crumbling beneath him. His claws raked bloody streaked into Flavius' sides, but for once their sharpness proved a negative, as they failed to find purchase. Then he began to plummet.

Flavius stumbled back, bloodied but alive. He waited a moment, but heard no screams of rage or thuds of a body hitting the ground far below. He looked over the edge cautiously, and stepped back against the cliff face in shock. Man Eater was hanging about half way down towards the ground, claws buried in the rock. And he was beginning to climb. Once more, Flavius turned and ran.

While they looked bad, Flavius' wounds were actually quite superficial. As a member of the Golden Devils who possessed the Blood of Bronze, his skin was somewhat tougher than normal. Furthermore, he suspected Man Eater had been holding back, so as to allow stopping his attacks at a moment's notice and avoid destroying the lotus's box. All that aside, they were still bloody open wounds, and Flavius had no doubt a blood path cultivator would be able to track them. Given that Man Eater had swallowed some of his blood, it was possible he would be able to track him with some sort of technique regardless of what Flavius did.

Unfortunately, that meant their conflict was not yet over. Flavius had hoped that Man Eater would simply plummet to his death. If nothing else, he had to admire his foe's tenacity. The same trick certainly wouldn't work again, and he was still wholly outmatched in a straight fight. Thankfully, Flavius still had one more trick up his sleeve.

As he ran, the cliff almost seemed to recede, growing increasingly less steep. One of the advantages of helping to guard this particular caravan route was that Flavius had access to many of the clan's maps op the mountains. As a result, he had a pretty good idea of where he was going. The mountain was extremely steep on this side, but it grew less so as he followed along the ledge, eventually reaching the point where he could begin to hike diagonally up and around, away from the ledge. It was a more challenging climb, of course, and the higher up he got the more dangerous things became. Flavius had been incredibly lucky the first time he had attempted to ascend the mountain. There were spirit beasts here that could challenge even Man Eater. But then, that was what he was counting on.

Soon, Flavius found himself surrounded by trees, and he grinned. He was almost there. Which, naturally, was when he felt a heavy pressure in the air. Instinctively, he ducked, and that saved his life.

Man Eater flew over him, claws outstretched in a hungry pounce. He twisted in mid aid, landing in front of Flavius with a hungry grin. "No more running, prey."

He didn't give Flavius time to respond. He pounced once more, and Flavius threw himself to the side. Yet rather than hit the ground, Man Eater's feet pressed up against a tree, and he sprung forward once again. The blood sect cultivator bounced around the trees like a deranged pinball, and it was all Flavius could do to not immediately die. Once again, it was the box that saved his life. Man Eater couldn't arrest his momentum mid air, and was repeatedly forced to abort his attacks to avoid destroying his prize. Even so, Flavius couldn't block or fully avoid every attack. It wasn't long before his body was littered by scrapes and scratches from those fearsome claws.

It was getting to the point where even Flavius' endurance was wavering when, in one final spring, Man Eater flung himself straight at the Golden Devil. He held up the box in defense, but Man Eater had, for the first time in the fight, sheathed his claws, tackling Flavius to the ground.

"I'm going to enjoy cutting you open," Man Eater growled, raising his hand high, nails forming once more into claws.

That was when a massive tiger slammed into him, throwing the blood path cultivator off of Flavius. He didn't spend even a moment processing what happened, he just got up and ran.

Behind him, he heard Man Eater shout, "I am not the prey! Face a Thousand Swipes of the Bear's Claw!" Followed by a loud cry of pain from the spirit beast. It had only slowed the man down for a few moments. Even so, that was enough. He had made it.

"Now there's no where left to run."

Flavius spun around to face his pursuer. Man Eater was covered in blood, as if he had torn straight through the giant tiger's chest. Which, Flavius supposed, he probably had.

"I suppose this time you're right. I can't run into the open sky, after all."

Flavius had led them to an opening in the woods. They were at the top of another cliff face, even larger than the last. And, notably, on a different side of the mountain from the pass.
"But then, neither can you," Flavius raised the lotus box a final time, though not as a shield, "so I wonder how exactly you're going to get this."

And with those words, he threw the box over the edge. Man Eater shouted, and then charged. He leapt off the edge, hands outstretched, barely managing to wrap them around the box. And then, of course, he began to fall.

Even if he could survive that drop, there was no way he'd make it back in time to catch Flavius or the caravan.

With a sigh, he turned around, and began to jog back the way he'd come. It would be far too dangerous to linger here. He'd gambled that Man Eater would prove a more tempting target to the spirit beasts native to this part of the mountain. The man's presence was like a direct challenge to any other predators in the area, after all. Flavius in his current state would be easy prey for any others that came by, however.

It seemed he still had a long way to climb, before he could reach the top.

After the battle, Flavius returned to Chengshipolis, informing the Golden Devil garrison there of the blood path bandit he had encountered, and seeking treatment for his wounds. After getting patched up, he set out to catch up to the caravan. It had taken a few days of hard running, but he still managed it. Admittedly, with the city on high alert following his report, Flavius doubted the caravan was in any particular danger. Still, he'd been hired to do a job, and he was going to do it.

Though it seemed like his dedication was a surprise to the caravan master. "You survived! Not that I doubted it for a moment of course, I always had complete faith in your abilities. Only, that Man Eater fellow seemed quite scary… I was even worried for a moment you were going to abandon the plan and let him have us!"

Flavius scratched at one of his bandaged arms, "You should have more faith in the services you pay for. I admit, he was far stronger than me, but I would never have given you up to him. Though, I had to trick him into jumping off a cliff, and I'm afraid I lost your lotus box in the process. Please accept my sincerest apologies, and allow me to reimburse you for the loss."

The caravan master laughed, "Enough with the humility, it's I who should be rewarding you! In fact, come along, follow me."

He led Flavios to the back of the caravan, climbing into it to open one of the boxes. "Come, don't be shy, take any one of the stones here. I understand Medium Grade Spirit stones are especially valuable for budding cultivators, after all."

"I really can't—"

"Nonsense! Without you, I would have lost the ten leaf fire bloom lotus of purity, and probably my life as well. Go on, take one."

Reluctantly, Flavius reached into the box. After some deliberation, he withdrew a stone. This one seemed like a good pick. It was sitting right next to the lotus, after all.