Hmmph... this junior is a good seed [Cultivation Management Quest]

[Quest]

Xiao Yingzi 38
[Turn 12]
[The Note That Desolation Plays You]​

Collab with @SeptimusMagisto / Lipp Galanis

This was fun to write. Both characters are weirdly similar in a lot of ways.

 

[Quest]

Xiao Yingzi 39
[Turn 12]
[Campfire Lectures]​

Steady light from spirit-stone lanterns lit up the area, casting long shadows from the many figures gathered in the sands, leaning forward to listen to better listen. Some had chosen to stand, while others had arranged blankets or carried in stones to sit on. They were all here for instruction or perhaps simply curious about what was going on.

They all focused on a man in the middle of them, talking animatedly in front of a large flat rock and holding a chalk-stone marker to illustrate his words. His words on the importance of step techniques and how they could be used to mitigate the weaknesses of the bloodline was interesting, but he wasn't the only man who had stood there and spoken there that night.

Last-minute instruction from one centurion had somehow turned into a series of lectures from all seniors to juniors. At some point, a sword cultivator had dragged in the large rock and sliced it in half to demonstrate sword intent. The ones after him had begun to use it as a board, turning their camp into a makeshift classroom.

Xiao Yingzi stood up as the current speaker finished up and began to walk towards the board, taking the chalk-stone from his hand as he clapped her back in encouragement. It was a strange sort of comradery. She supposed that she was fairly young for a centurion, only luck in cultivation placing her among those teaching rather than those who were being taught.

Still, she wasn't particularly worried. Luck had only brought her so far, the rest she had grasped through planning and preparation. That would have to be the core of her lecture tonight, but she took a moment to consider how best to go about that. She wanted to impart wisdom, but more than that, she wanted to make an impression.

She was going to recruit for her century soon, after all.

Xiao Yingzi glanced at the rock for a moment as she stopped in front of it, considering if she wanted to to use it as those before her had. After several lecturers opted for it, the board had become a common fixture in all the lectures. Using it would let her become more a part of her peers, but not using it would make her stand out in the minds of her juniors.

It was inefficient. She finally decided. Instead of using the board, she turned towards the legionnaires directly. Spreading her hands, she conjured a minor illusion in front of her. It didn't show anything but floating lights, but with a thought it could show an image that could illustrate her thoughts far better than any tedious writing.

Then, looking at the many juniors seated on the sand before her - she considered how to best begin. Perhaps a more practical exercise? "Early in my career, I was a scout." She began, looking at each of her listeners by turn. "The scouts are the eyes of the legion, allowing us to see the movements of armies in war in the same manner your eyes see an enemy's movements in battle."

Several of her juniors nodded at the comparison. Even those without any training in logistics and strategy could appreciate that sort of metaphor. After all, what kind of a legionnaire didn't know battle? Moving her fingers to manipulate the illusion, formed a map from her memory. "The reason I bring this up is because we are in enemy territory and this deep, we can all benefit from their lessons." She paused and turned towards the crowd once more. "Now, how many of you recognize what this map represents?"

Most of the hands went up at her question and several of her seniors looked at the map in amusement. Of course they all would know this place. She nodded to one of the raised hands - a young girl in the fifth heavenstage answered. Only in her thirties by the look of her - fairly talented but likely rushed to the front-lines.

"That is the map of the surroundings from the Dawn Fortress." The girl answered excitedly, seeming very eager to please. Someone to keep an eye on, perhaps? The centurion wondered. Those sorts tended to have the highest loyalty when molded correctly.

"Good," Xiao Yingzi complimented, making sure to smile at her. "Now, assume this is the information you were given by a scout. Can you identify which places would be the most likely areas you'd want to camp in, if you were invading the area?"

The girl answered quickly and confidently, trying to rely only on the map that had been given to her. Having trained in the area, it was obviously hard for her to separate what she knew from what she was shown. It was an admirable effort, though ultimately Xiao Yingzi knew she was still relying on certain assumptions.

Then she called up a boy who was itching to present a rebuttal and he did, offering several countermeasures to her invasion plans, obviously drawing on information from his own training. When Xiao Yingzi simply smiled and nodded at him, she noted how the girl slumped at the approval. She would definitely have to approach her later.

"As you can see, one of them tried to rely only on the information given." Xiao Yingzi replied, nodding at the girl who perked up. "The other relied on the information only someone who has lived in an area could possess." She stopped for a moment, letting the audience run through the implication before she continued. "This very much mirrors the information disparity between invaders and defenders. Can someone tell me what we are trained for?"

It was a senior who raised a hand this time, in age if not cultivation and Xiao Yingzi bowed, allowing him to answer. "We are trained as defenders. It is what us Golden Devils excel at." He answered, his voice addressing all present. "But now we are invaders. It would do us all well to remember the difference between the two."

The juniors, she noted, were looking at her map with a far more focused gaze. With a nod of thanks, she continued with the lesson. She quizzed the girl, who seemed to have double-downed on only considering information presented and as the boy replied in answer, Xiao Yingzi focused more on including the whole group so that none may be left out.

She asked various questions about how they would hide in the territory and what steps they would take to counter such enemies, pitting them against each other. Some questions were harder than the others, but there was always someone with a correct answer. By the point, she was half way through the time she had given herself, the entire group was engaged in the exercise she had started.

She had stopped asking questions at some point and fallen back to simply moderating the discussion they were having. Finally, she held up her hand and the discussion paused as the group focused on her once more. "First of all, good work with the discussion." Xiao Yingzi said, glancing at her impromptu students. "But now I want to show you a different area." With a flourish, she wiped the map and drew another one. "All of you were fairly knowledgeable when it came to the last territory. But who can identify this one?"

Again, there was a sense of recognition among everyone but the number of hands that rose were much less than before. "You." She said, pointing towards a man in the eighth heavenstage that was visibly old. He smirked at her as she called on him, likely grasping what point she was trying to make.

"That is Jingshen Territory." The old man told her. "In fact, it is the very territory that we are currently deployed in." Xiao Yingzi inclined her head in acknowledgement and the man sat down, already knowing she wouldn't call on him for the next part. She turned to the young and inexperienced ones. The ones who had little if any experience outside the Dawn Fortress.

"Now," She asked, smiling down at her hesitant juniors. "Who can tell me of the best points of attack and the likely countermeasures that may have been prepared?"

 

[Quest]

Link.
Link for Legion Post. This is a copy of what I made for Antonius FYI. Add this to Xiao Yingzi please.

Spoiler: Legions associated with Antonius and Xiao Yingzi

43rd Legion, The Best of the Best Men.
Legate Seneca the Physician
"Bronze when polished, shines brightest."
A bronze silhouette with a fist raised high on a field of black.

Revived by the Legate Alcaeus the Strong, it was originally a legion of body cultivators. Under his vision, he forged a legion that sought perfection of the blood of bronze, in both a physical and philosophical sense. While the resultant legionnaires are primarily warrior-philosophers, they have also developed a unique culture of nutritionists or health-focused food cultivators and bloodline-focused bronze-smiths. Every smith and nutritionist is also expected to maintain enough fitness to participate in battle and every combatant is expected to know enough to take care of their own bodies. The members of this legion generally lack any distinctive arts instead focusing entirely on the clan formations and when alone, their physical strength. That, along with their focus on discipline and self-mastery has led to a culture that favors soldiers over warriors.

They are highly militarised in battle and even during training, disputes tend to follow a well-established pattern of debate and formalised duels. With Alcaeus focusing much of his attention on training his legion, many of the less spectacular graduates of general training are often sent here. With his death however, the legion has been taken over by his late teacher - the thousand year old physician Seneca who only broke through due to Elder Duca's attentions. He is much more hands off compared to his predecessor and while much of the previous culture is still maintained, the competency has fallen except in the field of medicine as expected with a physician as Legate.
[Credit Quest 1 2]

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96th Legion, House Taurus
Legate 'Matriarch' Ariadne Taurus
"Blood above heart, but none above bronze."
A bronze spiral with a bull's head at the centre on an earthy field.

The 96th legion has been under the control of the Taurus House for millenia despite the mark-up for recruiting relatives into the same legion. They maintain a fund that is added to by each member that allows them to ensure that any blood relative or promising candidates are added to the legion. They are assigned to one of smaller cohorts within the legion - each dedicated to a specific speciality of the family. Members work here and are taught the advanced skill-sets necessary for their art. Legion members are assigned their speciality during an aptitude test before general training and upon graduating are allowed to take a second name that better reflects their ideals.

Much of this is tolerated due to the family's traditional devotion to the clan as a whole and the usefulness of their family techniques. As long as it's led by an elder in Core Formation, the Labyrinthine Thread technique practised by the Taurus family can create a metaphysical web of qi that allows sharing of power akin to the clan formations but put to use in the creation of arrays. Though it is most famous for its use in battle, it is most often used outside of that due to its vulnerability to the slightest tremor in one's dao heart. Primarily, its use is during array creation and maintenance where it allows incredible feats of productivity that are often crucial in the wake of the Hundred Year Trials.

Outsiders are sometimes recruited based upon talent and potential and are then added to an appropriate cohort. Originally treated as auxiliary vassals, the most loyal and skilled were further tied to the family through adoption or marriage. In its modern form, former matriarch Wilhemina has refined it into the Specialist system. Members of the House who don't show interest in their specialities or similar outsiders who were considered promising but who didn't fit with her family's arts are labelled specialists who are kept separate from the legion's traditional cohorts and allowed to operate freely. So long as they tithe a degree of contribution points to the legion funds, they were free to take any work they wished.
[Credit Quest 1 2 3]

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1178th Legion, The Unbowed
Current Legate: None
"Through Innumerable Deaths, Unshaken"
A Bronze Skull with a Banner of Black

An ancient legion that was known to resort to sacrificial rituals, using their deaths to harm their enemy or empower their allies. It was wiped out in the Hundred Year Trial that occured two centuries before Archigetes Konstantinos took control of the clan in a last stand that allowed others to escape against a powerful group of hunters. The current likely inheritor of the Legion is one Centurion Xiao Yingzi should she make it to Core. She has found two artifacts of the Legion - a Banner turned Spear that contained fragments of the wills of many former legates that had been lost in the Qiguai Secret Realm before the clan was forced into the desert and a Ring found in the site of the Legion's Last Stand that can feed on the willing death of legionnaires to empower centurions and store lives as a form of life-saving treasure.
[Credit occipitallobe, Quest, 1, 2, 3]

 

[Quest]

[Old Gold Facts]
By Adamasshield. ReaderOfFate, Quest, LordEdric, Curious

​

Hmmph... this junior is a good seed [Cultivation Management Quest] Original - Fantasy

Old Gold Facts 0. The Grand Elder is invincible. Old Gold doesn't read books, he stares at a jade until it gives him its secrets. Time waits for no man. But Old Gold is a God. Any argument in the desert can be won by Old Gold. Sometimes Old Gold breathes. It is not really a...

forums.sufficientvelocity.com

Link to the Old Gold Facts collab. Forgot to link this. Counting this for Xiao Yingzi

 

[Quest]

Just something I whipped up while writing my actual omake which covers what happened in XY's Turn 10 Qiguai Run. I also wanted to show how hard it is to tell if she is from the clan when she'd trying to hide. Hopefully, the ending turned out well. Was getting tired near the end.

Xiao Yingzi 40
[Turn 10]
[A Golden Devil Problem]​

"Greetings, Sister Yingzi." The Innkeeper greeted her cheerfully as he saw her descend from her room. She affected equal cheer as she smiled at him, waving her hand lightly as she took a seat at one of the serving tables the man had set up on his first floor. He walked up to her quickly, holding up a plate. "I assume you will be taking your usual choice?"

"Yes, please." She said, giving him a smile. He smiled back as he placed the food in front of her. Surreptitiously checking for poison, she turned to him and inclined her head in gratitude. "And thank you for your continued hospitality."

He rubbed his head sheepishly. "It's no problem." He replied, grinning before quickly schooling his expression. After that he continued a bit seriously. "So I take it you will be heading into the Qiguai Secret Realm today?"

Xiao Yingzi nodded, looking at him curiously. "Why do you ask? There shouldn't be a problem in payment, I believe I have paid for the entire month already?"

He quickly shook his head. "No, elder sister." He replied. "That isn't the issue. I am quite happy with you as my guest. It's just…"

She raised an eyebrow. "Speak freely." She told him. "You know by now that I am not the sort to react with anger."

He bowed his head. "Then this one shall do so." He replied, before looking back up. "Though I know it is not my place to ask, and I have nothing to offer you, would it be possible for you to handle some trouble I was having with some cultivators?"

"Cultivator troubles?" She asked, prompting him to continue and he nodded.

"There are two cultivators who have stayed in my Inn and today is the day that they will be entering the Realm as well." He replied, shaking his head. "However, they have refused to pay my fees and almost certainly plan to escape into the secret realm before the Qiguai Clan can intervene."

Xiao Yingzi considered that. "If they would be entering today, then they would be golden devils, wouldn't they?"

"Or those who plan to hunt them." He replied smoothly, giving her a significant look. Xiao Yingzi gave him a smile that had a bit of viciousness bleed into it.

"Or those who hunt them." She repeated with a nod. "Have no fear, brother. I will gladly take care of your golden devil problem for you."

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It couldn't have been a golden devil problem.

To begin with, the Inn was located in a district where the clan's enemies stayed and so cultivators who hoped to profit off of the clan frequented. It was in fact why Xiao Yingzi had chosen the location. While she did not have not any sudden urge to hunt down her comrades, she had burned through her bloodline on breaking through and this had seemed like a good test for how well she could hide her allegiance.

It was entirely possible that she was dealing with a devil who was uniquely foolish, but as most juniors had already entered the realm, it could only have been a pair of centurions. And Xiao Yingzi hoped that no individual who made centurion was quite so uniquely foolish as to stay in an enemy-ridden district, advertise the fact and then plan to shortchange their Innkeeper, giving all of those enemies the excuse they needed to attack.

So, to reiterate the point.

This couldn't have been a golden devil problem.

That meant that someone was using the golden devil name and merely got incredibly unlucky. That wasn't too difficult to believe and fairly simple to handle. Impersonation of an officer was a crime of the highest level and as a centurion herself, it was her right to execute anyone who did so. She would have to fill in a report, but she doubted anyone reviewing it would raise a fuss over someone who besmirched the golden devil name.

Decision made, Xiao Yingzi knocked upon the door that her targets had been staying at and freely projected her mind's eye, searching their aura for any sign of bronze. She was gladdened that there was none, though she felt a spike of alarm as those within felt her touch and heard her knocking. As they tensed and Xiao Yingzi felt one of them step forward in a disciplined manner, she revised her hypothesis.

These weren't clan members but they were also expecting trouble. Had they discovered her presence and concocted a ruse to lure her here? But then as they called out to her hesitantly, she revised her hypothesis again. "We are from the Jingshen clan," The man called out to her. "Please state your intentions here."

"I was told that some devils were causing trouble." She exclaimed, affecting an annoyed tone. "And I was pointed to here. Prove to me that you are who you say you are, or I'll kill you all."

There was a strained silence at that. Then a hushed discussion as they weighed their options. Then one of them slightly opened the door and tossed a pouch at her that hit the ground with a heavy thud. "Here's a bribe to look the other way."

Well. She thought. That was certainly one way to prove who they were. She knelt carefully to check what was inside, confirming the presence of a large amount of spirit stones before standing back up. "Triple it." She demanded, "Or I tell everyone else about the golden devil you were planning on luring here."

There was a choking sound from behind the door and then a quiet but heated decision continued. Finally, there was a sigh and then the man tossed her another bag of spirit stones, this time twice as heavy. "Take it and go." The man hissed, growling at her. She grinned back at him, only annoying the man further.

She wondered about pushing it for a moment, before deciding against it. Any further and they might actually decide to fight her, which she didn't want. It also confirmed her new hypothesis - They knew that a golden devil was here, but not who it was. Perhaps someone had leaked the information to them? It would make sense given their proximity to the clan.

She'd need to pass it on once she returned.

"Sure, sure." She replied, giving him a grin and blowing him a kiss as she collected the bag, playing to her character. The man merely frowned at her and she put that as another tally on the question of whether she was conventionally beautiful. Perhaps seduction techniques and the like wouldn't be a very useful investment.

Saying that, she headed back down, only to stop at the Innkeeper's who looked at her expectedly. "Here." She replied, handing him one of the spirit stones she had been given. It was more than enough to pay him. Only the Jingshen would try to shortchange a mortal innkeeper and then spend a fortune bribing a passing cultivator.

As he thanked her profusely, she simply waved him away, mind focusing on her coming visit to the Qiguai Secret Realm. The spirit stones she had gained would certainly be useful there.

 

[Quest]

Continuation and ending of this series. (5152 words)

Xiao Yingzi 41
[Turn 10]
[The Technique Palace 4: Working with Yahwen]​

In the territories overseen by Waycastle Taurus, there exists the Primeval Jungle. It is an image of what the desert was before the death of the third turtle-child and it is a remarkably persistent remnant that has remained so despite persistent efforts to remove it. It's continued presence is attributed to the Oath Keeper Sect, a group of cultivators bonded to an elusive expert-level spirit that has supposedly held on from those ancient times.

Before the clan came, they were claimed as vassals by the old Dragon Empire whose only heir today is the distant Divided Kingdoms. When the Sect refused their tyranny, they invaded anyway and cut away territory for themselves within the jungle itself. Settling cousins of the modern Ax-blooded to cut away any trees that regrew, they created the Forge Town that the clan has come to know today. A place of smiths, alchemists, carpenters and other artisans that depend upon the resources of the jungle.

When the clan first arrived in the desert, Proserpina Taurus, Legate of the Ninety Sixth, found the Oath Keeper Sect flagging in power and though Forge Town had expanded greatly, it's artisans found their resources dwindling rapidly as the jungle was depleted. The Sect drew power from a deep spirit stone mine, but millennia of facing their by-now ancestral foes and regrowing the jungle that they had claimed had exhausted it.

Faced with this situation, the Legate forged a shrewd bargain.

In return for more spirit stones, the Oath Keeper Sect would allow the clan to learn from the spirit, learning their secret rejuvenation arts that allowed us to create the arrays that maintain clan territory today and have since continued to provide a quota of skilled aspirants. In return for restoring the riches of the forest, Forge Town would grant a percentage of the resources taken from the jungle as well as make their goods available to the clan. Like living embodiments of the Taijitsu, the two would thrive in cooperative opposition and the clan would maintain the balance.

And in doing so, we would be paid twice over.

Though they are certainly ancient and quite capable themselves, much of House Taurus' current stability and modern success can also be attributed to the earnings from this wonder. Of course, over the millennia this balance has often been threatened both through simple blunder and enemy action. The first time this happened was in 240 EG…

"We're here, Centurion."

Xiao Yingzi looked up from the book she was reading. The scorpion-rider of the fifth step that she had hired for the journey was looking over, his head inclined ever so slightly in a subconscious show of respect. "We have arrived in Forge Town."

"Thank you, legionary." She replied, storing the book safely into her ring. She stepped off the scorpion and withdrew two spirit stones. One, she handed to the legionary he stored it away into his pockets and the other she fed to the beast for carrying her this far, as was customary.
She patted it on its carapace, as it joyfully consumed the treat she had given it before glancing at her junior who was fidgeting as he waited. "Did you have anything to ask me?"

"Ah." He looked sheepish at having been caught out, but gathered his spirits to ask what he wanted. "The trials are approaching, ma'am. May I ask for some - any - advice?"

There was a strange sort of desperation about him, the kind that was born more from tales heard than lived experiences. "The shadows of those disastrous trials hang heavy, I see." She said, for his ears but as if she was speaking more to herself than him. "I was there, you know, at Pleuron."

He glanced at her in surprise, grasping her meaning without elaboration. "You mean, you saw the Indomitable Thirteen?"

"Yes, alongside other heroes. I saw Jin Muyi when he was still Xiao Yi." She replied, smiling at his look of awe. He was likely at most a decade or two younger than her, though he certainly imagined her far older. "Remember this, when you feel fear - those heroes are now a hundred years stronger."

She saw hope and pride bloom in his eyes at her words. Now to distract him from these thoughts. Not truly expecting an answer, she decided to do so by asking him a question. "Now, legionary." The hint of command in her tone, an echo of every Optio in the Dawn Fortress, caused him to snap to attention. "I am looking for a pale-skin swordswoman from the Viridescent Blade Duchy - she would have come here about sixty years ago?"

The recognition that bloomed in his eyes was unexpected, but welcome. "I assume you are seeking Senior Sister Yahwen?" She nodded in affirmation. "I was actually the man to bring her here. If you wish, I could take you to her smithy."

A smithy? "That would be wonderful, thank you."

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Forge Town was a city of artisans, as her book had informed her. The sound of hammers and saws and roaring flames filled her ears, while the smell of smoke and myriad alchemical concoction invaded her nostrils. Practically every house had an attached work area and many also had shop-fronts through which she could see the artisans at work. She could feel their eyes upon her as she passed, eying the wealthy customer like wolves to a feast.

Still, she wasn't rushed as she might have been by vendors in other places. Whether that was from her rank or the bronze-skin she affected, it was hard to tell. At the very least, the children of the Ax Clan who patrolled the streets helped in that regard. They spoke to each other without reserve, and it was impossible to identify if they were Emeralds or Sapphires or even both. Indeed, they wore a bright ruby uniform that clearly differentiated them from their other kin.
Senior Yahwen's house when she reached it, was wider than most and seemed to have a smithy attached. From within it came the sound of iron striking iron and just by standing at the entrance, she could feel the sweltering heat of the forge. It was enough to make her sweat if she hadn't already begun to build her foundation. Though it was open, she still knocked on the door out of politeness. There was no reply, despite her senior likely having already sensed her approach.

Glancing in, she noticed that what was normally a shop-front had been converted to a sparring area, occupying a space that was large enough for two qi condensing juniors to fight comfortably. The smithy was located at the other end from the entrance and she saw a young boy wearing a metal mask seated there holding down a piece of metal between thick gloved hands. Beside him, with her back to the door sat a familiar black-haired beauty who needed none of that protection and hammered away in a rhythm that called to mind a drum's beat.

As if sensing her gaze, Senior Yahwen gave a lazy, exaggerated nod without turning but did not otherwise acknowledge her existence. The hammering continued with no signs of slowing down and after a moment of hovering at the entrance, the centurion spoke up. "May I take a seat while you finish your work?"

There was no response to her words, as her senior kept working. "Thank you for having me." She finally called out, and when again there was no answer, she took it as an agreement and entered the house, settling into the sparring mat and began to stare into the forge as they worked.

It was a method that she had seen demonstrated before, typical to the Blade Duchies where they took the crudest of iron and reforged it over and over, seeking to remove the impurities within in a mirror to their own cultivation. Should a swordsman be diligent, they claimed, the blade would grow to match the wielder.

She felt Elder Teleos stir in response to that thought. It absorbs their blood and qi. He surmised, observing the process through her eyes. With their bloodline's affinity, it would work incredibly well for even the most terrible smith and the crudest material - though only for the creation of swords.

Would such a thing work for bronze as well? Xiao Yingzi asked curiously.

The bronze equivalent is known as Gravebronze. The Elder answered cheekily. It's a touch harder to create than their version admittedly. The Blood of Bronze is more properly optimized for resonance with itself and serving as a base for adaptation over other concerns.

Xiao Yingzi committed that to memory. How do you think she will react to my presence? She asked after a moment of thought. Is there any particular best practice that you think I should keep in mind?

Just act as you would normally do? He asked back with a degree of confusion. Are you not companions who were willing to travel into danger with each other? Why would there be any concern?

Xiao Yingzi nodded at that. Ah, I see. You are not aware of the circumstances of our parting? It occurred after I had obtained the Banner-Pole Spear.

I wasn't entirely aware at the start. He replied, then he touched her mind with his own. Allow me to see what occurred. After a moment's review, she felt him retreat from her mind with a degree of trepidation. To be clear, you left her when she sought to save an ally - this Antonius Ambrosius from the Qiguai Realm? The one who they did manage to rescue even after you left?

Yes?

Walk me through your reasoning.

I went to the realm to acquire an advantage - I obtained it in the spear and the Soul Farseer. If I were to enter the realm again, I would be risking not only myself but everything I had earned. At the very least, my duty demanded that I returned you to the clan.

And so you decided that it wasn't worth attempting to rescue him.

Yes. Xiao Yingzi answered. It was also important to understand that with the level of his injury, and the reduced lifespan of his bloodline, it was very unlikely that any benefit he gave to the clan would outweigh what I was returning.

For a moment, the Elder seemed almost speechless. I don't entirely disagree with your choice, though it may not be what I had chosen. He finally replied, considering his words carefully. But honestly, what possessed you to appear in front of her once more?

I do not see the problem. Senior Corvina recommended her and she would have considered the possibility of a grudge. Even in the worst case scenario where she chooses to be violent, I am a centurion and she remains a great realm below me.

Well. He whispered, considering how best to approach this. You've played characters to fool enemies and force them to give into anger to gain an advantage during battle. Consider things from that perspective, placing your senior sister in the position of your opponent.

Ah. She replied after considering it. Insults to the fallen and perceived betrayal are classic triggers for anger. I believe Breaking Of The Mind listed how you can create such a belief in an unwilling informant simply by manipulation of information. Thank you, Elder. I think I can see which actions I would need to avoid.

You are usually quite aware of these things. Elder Teleos mused. I am surprised that you aren't over here.

She is my Senior Sister. Xiao Yingzi replied after a moment's thought. Why would I censor myself before her? It is she who has the right to censor information from me.

I see. He replied and then after a moment of hesitation, he continued. It would be best to consider whether a senior should have that right and what information they might be hiding from you, though perhaps not actively seek it out. Not all elders are what they should be.

I will keep that in mind, Elder Teleos.

It was then that was when the forging stopped.

Well, I am glad that I could help. The Elder replied and she felt the man's presence recede from her mind. I wish you the very best of luck, Xiao Yingzi.

Though she felt a touch more uncertain after the discussion, she put it out of her mind. If Senior Corvina did not think it would be an issue, then it likely wasn't. Taking a breath, she turned to face her senior sister who was now walking towards her with her stormy gray eyes, carrying the cherry-red jian that she had just forged.

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"Xiao Yingzi." Senior Yahwen said her name with relish as she walked towards her, casually swinging the blade that she had just forged in the air. Behind her, the boy who had been working with her began to clean up the forge. "Corvina mentioned you were planning to come. I think you wanted me to help with some step techniques?"

"Yes, Senior Sister. The Terrain-Traversing Ferocious Step uses various step techniques studied from beasts to allow movement in all terrains, primarily for the sake of retreat." Xiao Yingzi replied, giving her a slight bow out of respect. "May I assume that she shared the technique slip with you?"

"Oh yeah, I've taken a look at the technique." She replied, tilting her head with a grin. "Do you think that the reason the technique is better suited for retreat is because the beasts were running away from the cultivators seeking to study them?"

Xiao Yingzi blinked. "I didn't think of that." She said honestly. "I merely imagined this was the case because the technique was designed for Qi Condensation Juniors. Perhaps what you said is the reason it was relegated to juniors?"

"It could be, sure." Yahwen replied, shrugging absently as she held up the sword to the light. "So what made you pick this technique? You aren't a junior anymore. Why do you still want a technique better at running away?"

"I believe the technique has merit besides that perk which is why I wished to improve it with you," Xiao Yingzi replied. "However, I do certainly wish to remain alive."

"You certainly do." She replied, shaking her head. "Now, about the improvement of the technique. What I'm unsure about is your skills. I think a spar should be in order."

Xiao Yingzi looked at the blade in her hands. "Are you certain, Senior Sister? As I last recall, you had abandoned the path of the sword. Will you be comfortable wielding such a weapon against me?"

Yahwen blinked at that, the swinging sword suddenly falling lightly to the side. "Oh no, I'm fine with that." She replied, waving her free hand. "I think I've figured that bit out."

Xiao Yingzi glanced at her aura, which was hard to read as always. "Then, have you returned to the path of cultivation?"

"I mean, I'm maintaining my cultivation but I haven't progressed in anything besides swordsmanship." Senior Yahwen replied, running a hand through her hair. She paused for a moment and then straightened, narrowing her eyes at her. "Let's not change the subject though. Back to spar, are you up for it?"

"Of course, Senior Sister. I would be happy to spar with you,if you believe it will be the best method." Xiao Yingzi told her, before giving her a smile. "However, I must say: Welcome back."

Senior Yahwen just stared at her for a moment, causing Xiao Yingzi to raise an eyebrow. Finally, she let out a long, deep sigh. "You know, it's really hard to engage with you on this." She complained, shaking her head with a smile. "It's not even like I'm bullying you or something. It just slides off of you."

"I'm sorry?" Xiao Yingzi said with a frown. "I do not understand, Senior Sister. However, if you explain to me what you require, I will be better able to provide whatever it is you need."

Senior Yahwen sighed once more, placing her palm on her face. "It's fine. It's fine. This Senior Sister was the one at fault here." She replied, shaking her head. Then she perked up. "Right, let's do it like this."

Turning away from her, her senior sister nodded at the boy who had finished cleaning up the forge and was now quietly observing them. "Firstly, this is Ma Chao, my apprentice in smithing. Ma, pay your respects to your senior sister."

The boy removed his mask and held it by his side as he walked towards her, revealing the typical black hair and black eyes she herself normally had. However, she could spot hints of the prodigious musculature that was common among the axe-blooded. He looked at her for a moment, before bowing deeply. "I am Ma Chao of the Axe Tribes. I will be at your disposal, Senior Sister."

She reached out and placed her hands on his shoulders. "At ease, junior brother." Xiao Yingzi replied, pulling him up. "I will certainly keep you in mind."

He gave her a light smile before turning to Senior Yahwen. "What would you have me do, Teacher?"

"You remember wanting an axe with a good history?" She asked, before nodding in Xiao Yingzi's direction. "What do you think?"

He frowned for a moment as he looked between the two women, then his eyes widened in understanding. "Yes," He said, suddenly vibrating in place. "That would be perfect."

Yahwen smiled. "Will you be able to lead the forge-beat?" The boy froze at that and hesitated. She gave him a grin and patted him on the back. "Don't worry about it, I learnt to do it when I was a kid and you're about as good right now."

The boy looked into her eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath and then a firm nod. "If you believe that I am ready, Teacher."

Xiao Yingzi raised an eyebrow at the exchange. "What would you have me do, Senior Sister?"

"How much do you know about the Blade Duchies' dueling practices?" She asked her, while looking at her consideringly.

"I believe I have studied the basics."

Senior Yahwen nodded. "Let's go over it anyway." She said, before turning to Ma Chao. "Ma, tell her what you've learnt."

Ma Chao stood up straight. "In the Viridescent and Cerulean Blade Duchies where skill in the sword is paramount, official duels take place to the rhythm of a forge-beat so that both participants move at the same pace allowing move and countermove to shine through, rather than merely strength of their cultivation. The weapons forged during these duels are said to hold an echo of the spirits of the combatants and allow the eventual wielder great insight."

He paused, taking a moment to breathe. Finally he turned to Xiao Yingzi and bowed. "I am hoping I would have the honor of forging my axe in a duel between you and Teacher."

Yahwen nodded. "Would that be agreeable?"

Xiao Yingzi hesitated, before seeking the aid of Elder Teleos. She felt him touch her mind and respond to her with affirmation. I believe I have grasped it's essentials. Merely the qi and intent released in the duel being captured for future insight and commemoration. I do not see there being any issues.

With that, Xiao Yingzi nodded at her senior. "I believe that I will be able, Senior Sister."

Senior Yahwen smiled and looked between her and Ma Chao. "Then let's begin, shall we?"

| | | | | | | | | |​

Xiao Yingzi and Senior Yahwen stood across from each other, wielding their respective weapons as Ma Chao set up his forge. The golden devil held the Banner-Pole Spear in a careful defensive stance, the skills of its previous wielders and the nascent will that advised her both preparing her for a potential surprise attack.

The former-auxilia on the other hand bore a Jian that had only just been forged, the weapon still glowing from the tempering fires. Where her opponent wielded the spear in careful expectation, Yahwen was swinging the blade carelessly through the air as she tested its flexibility. For a moment, neither moved though but were aware of the other.

There was the sound of a hammer striking metal.

The spear tugged at Xiao Yingzi's mind, filling it with images of her opponent's potential moves. It would be far better to force her to respond to you. Drawing her spear back, she raised a foot in exaggerated slowness and pulled the spear back as if to throw it. In response, her senior stepped forward to stop her attack, swinging the Gentleman's Sword with a twisted flourish.

There was another sound from the forge.

They changed their moves, moving into the next steps of their impromptu dance. Xiao Yingzi responded by cutting the throw short and turning it into a simple stab downwards. Her senior continued with her assault, only angling her weapon in an attempt to twist the blade past her guard, but Xiao Yingzi hooked the spear into its hilt - fixing the blade in place.

There was another forge beat.

Senior Yahwen's motions suddenly changed, leaving her unable to adjust. Instead of replying with swordsmanship, she kicked with her leg and struck Xiao Yingzi right where her hand gripped her spear. Though the centurion was too strong to lose her grip, it was enough to jerk the spear - then the jian slipped past her guard and Senior Yahwen was suddenly pointing a sword at her throat.

Hammer struck metal once more and they separated.

"That was a point to you, wasn't it?" Xao Yingzi asked, settling into a defensive stance. Senior Yahwen simply smiled and moved once more.

This time, her movements were fast - spending qi to step to the side and then striking at her from where she wasn't defending. However, the advantage of a spear was it's length and with a spin of it's shaft Xiao Yingzi batted away the sword strike.

Abruptly, her senior's motions changed again and suddenly despite Xiao Yingzi batting her back, there were a hundred swords swinging at her. Sword Intent. Elder Teleos hissed and Xiao Yingzi wreathed herself in lightning, warding off the will of the blade with an echo of heaven's own.

As there was another forge-beat, she saw the cherry-red glow of her senior's blade suddenly intensify and burst into flames. He former-auxilia held the blade in a defensive stance, the edge angled towards her opponent.

Then before Xiao Yingzi could react, there was the sound of an explosion and then her senior was hurtling towards her at speeds even she had to think to react to. Luckily, she didn't need to. Her spear granted her the instincts of far-greater experts, and almost blindly she moved to block it.

This time, the sound of the forge was accompanied with a clang of metal that had nothing to do with the forge, as the two metals met and with her superior strength, Xiao Yingzi was able to hold strong. Then, she began to push her senior back. But then suddenly, just for a moment, she found resistance against her attack as her senior touched the earth.

That moment of hesitation was enough.

As another forge-beat filled the air, her senior struck. In a repeat of the same technique that she had attempted in the beginning, the Jian twisted around her spear and then stopped at her throat. Xiao Yingzi froze and then they both stepped back.

"I think that will be enough," Senior Yahwen replied, smiling and she raised a hand. Ma Chao's forging stopped and there was a hiss in the air as the resultant weapon was quenched. Xiao Yingzi looked at it curiously, and saw as the boy brought over to them a still-hot axehead.

He presented it to them with a degree of trepidation and Senior Yahwen studied the axe. "It looks good," She finally said, smiling at him and the boy relaxed. "Keep it and use it for your own weapon. You should have a good story to tell with it."

He bowed to her and then Xiao Yingzi. "Thank you, Teacher and Senior Sister." He said. "May I be excused to show this off to my kin?"

"Go for it." Yahwen said, nodding back. "But be back later - we'll need to make the haft and finish up."

"Yes, Teacher." Bowing once more, he turned to leave.

Senior Yahwen then turned to Xiao Yingzi. "You on the other hand… that spear lets you fight better?" Xiao Yingzi sent a query to the spear and after getting permission, she nodded. "Then yeah, it let you keep up with my styles but every time I switched you screwed up."

Xiao Yingzi frowned at that. "Can you explain your thought process during the fight?"

"Okay, so you remember me telling you about the five orthodox styles of the Blade Duchies?"

"I do."

"Right, there is one for each element and they are meant to flow into one another - Metal melting to run like Water, which feeds Wood, which burns to form Fire, leaving the ash of Earth from which one mines out Metal. Starting with Iron and ending with Steel, they called it."

"And you were switching between the styles mid-combat?"

"Right, so Metal focuses on becoming one with your weapon and mastering it's abilities - for the jian this tends to be the flexibility which can be used to move past your guard. While you stopped that, when I moved on to Water which focuses on speed and flexibility, using the body alongside the blade you were unable to adjust."

Xiao Yingzi frowned, thinking back to the match and the philosophies that she had studied. "Then Wood would have been the Sword Intent, the flames the Fire and when you almost stopped my attack - the Earth."

Yahwen nodded with a smile. "And then Metal again, to slip past your guard. Actually, even if I didn't slip past your guard, you ended up using your full physical strength at the end instead of relying on skill, at least as we define it so you'd lost control even before that."

"But I have faced opponents who performed similar switches - I never faltered like this before."

Senior Yahwen shrugged. "Honestly, most people are terrible fighters. Even if they change things up, they settle into a rhythm. I used a separate one for each style."

"Then what is the likelihood of me facing an enemy in this manner?" Xiao Yingzi asked, frowning.

"I guess people of this level would be more common among elders and experts, but it's probably going to be more of a problem when fighting multiple peers."

"And what would you suggest in order to allow me to cover this weakness?"

"Honestly, just firm up your fundamentals and you should do great so long as you have that spear." Senior Yahwen mused, before shaking her head. "But nah, this isn't about covering a weakness, this is about using a strength."

"What do you mean, Senior Sister?"

"So the art you wanted me to help with, that already kinda has this: multiple step techniques derived from multiple beasts." She answered, grinning at her. "I was worried about you learning all of it, but with that spear I think we can manage."

Xiao Yingzi raised an eyebrow at that. "Senior Sister, I believe all of those separate techniques were designed for different terrains and you are meant to prepare only for the terrain you need."

Senior Yahwen blinked. "Oh, is that so?"

"Yes. I believe so, Senior Sister."

"Fuck, well anyway I still think my idea is a good one." She nodded at the spear. "That little thing has a whole lot of skill. You could probably get away with something different in every fight and drop what I did to you on other enemies - probably way better than what I did."

"I would be interested in that, Senior Sister." Xiao Yingzi replied.

"Well, then." Yahwen said, grinning at her. "We can start tomorrow. I need to finish up with Ma Chao now but if you want you can crash at my place."

"I will be able to acquire my own accommodations, Senior Sister."

Senior Yahwen nodded at that. "Well then, meet me tomorrow at the jungle. The trees are always a good target and helpful to the community too."

Xiao Yingzi nodded. "I look forward to further instruction."

"Oh, and before I forget."

"Yes, Senior Sister?"

"Were you planning on heading back to Yuan before the trials?" Senior Yahwen asked her curiously.

Xiao Yingzi nodded. "I was considering it."

"Right, Corvina wanted me to mention this - with the Trials happening soon, she'll be busy and honestly I need some time to wrap up things here too. She wanted you to consider going to Yuan after instead - then when it opens, we'll be able to go with you."

Xiao Yingzi frowned as she considered that, then bowed in thanks. "I will give that proper thought and reply to you, Senior Sister."

Yahwen nodded. "That's fine!" She replied, before thinking for a moment. "Anyway! Place to stay, right? The Fallen Log is a good place. I was there for a bit before I built this place."

Xiao Yingzi nodded again. "I will consider that as well, Senior Sister."

"Oh okay, and then you'll probably want to take a look at the Sect - they usually hate the guys here but I know a guy…"

As the senior sister began to talk to her about her adventures here, she heard Elder Teleos whisper into her mind. So do you genuinely plan to stay back from Qiguai this time? He asked her curiously. It should be fairly safe - I explored the region for millennia after all.

I will go, of course. She replied, after a moment's thought. I need all the strength I can get for the trials.

She gained a sense of mirth from him. Yes, I thought you'd decide that. I will provide you with what information I remember once we have the chance.

Yes, Elder. She replied.

"Are you listening to me?" Senior Yahwen interrupted her thoughts with a frown.

Yes, Senior Sister.

….

"Hello?"

"Yes, Senior Sister. I am listening."

 

[Quest]

Xiao Yingzi 42
[Turn 10]
[The Song of Despair 1]

In the realm of strange and dread and wonder
Exists treasure beyond measure, and ancient plunder
But hold your breath, risk your death to reach under
In the darkness, seek value worth heaven's thunder​

Back straight, hands spread wide, she held her spear ready as she moved. Her feet strode upon islands, her fingers traced hurricane winds. Where she stepped, she felt the unyielding earth give way into sand and when the wind broke upon her, she breathed in the scents of the ocean. Despite the relative calmness of her current location, the signs of danger were still ever present. Above her was an enormous sky-sea, with creatures of the deep looking hungrily down below. In front of her, it curved down to form a wall of water that marked the very ends of the realm.

Though she did not recognise exactly where she was, Xiao Yingzi was undoubtedly in the Qiguai Secret Realm. She had expected that lack of knowledge to a large extent. When one enters this watery realm through the Doorway, one often depends upon their luck to see where they end up. Though many areas were seen more often and so were appropriately mapped, some individuals always faced statistical edges. Xiao Yingzi understood this implicitly from her first visit where her senior had ended up in a whorl of space that nearly killed him while whisking her away to the nascent level of the realm to be deposited before a clan inheritance.

That luck it seemed had not deserted her. Once more, she faced an anomaly though not one as extreme as before. Rather than any of the many mapped central regions of the realm, she had been placed at its periphery. None of her peers had been placed here with her, meaning that it was untouched and filled with unknown dangers and opportunities both. It could have been simply luck that she was placed here, but there was a strange rhythm in the air that called to her. Fate had been remarkably kind to her so far, she decided. That made her wary of what else it might have in store for her.

Elder Teleos, She asked the Nascent Will within her Banner-Pole Spear. You were sealed within this realm for millenia, were you not? What do you know about the Qiguai Realm's secrets?

There isn't anything particularly mystifying about this realm. The Elder told her happily. It's like a giant bubble made out of space and time, bouncing from place to place. Most of its opportunities come from being able to connect to many different times and places. Now, I know you are fishing for something specific. Just ask me whatever so-called secrets you want to know.

Xiao Yingzi nodded. Then what is actually at the edge of the realm?

It's mostly different parts of the endless sea. He answered her. Perhaps it would be a good idea to investigate what is here. Most of the creatures out here haven't grown in an environment starved of qi like you and leave much more high quality cores in comparison to what you normally encounter.

Xiao Yingzi nodded once and began to consider her next move. As she did so, she idly strained her mind, still seeking out the source of the rhythm. Was it a spiritual effect or just a sound at the edge of her hearing? I believe it would be more prudent to return to the center, She finally replied, though reluctant to leave the mystery behind. The sort of environment you mentioned would also create creatures stronger and more experienced than I, increasing the risk of what we would encounter.

She felt Elder Teleos consider her reply. I suppose I can understand your concerns, Xiao Yingzi. However, I believe if we were to avoid the edge, we would not be able to see the source of the sound you are hearing and it seems worth seeking out, regardless of the dangers.

Xiao Yingzi tilted her head at that. Why do you rate this sound so highly?

Well, for one thing. He told her nonchalantly. I cannot sense it myself.

There was a moment of silence from her as she slowly analyzed the words he had transmitted into her mind. Then abruptly, Xiao Yingzi came to a halt, going from a speed that outpaced the wind to absolute standstill. Do you not feel that? The Elder could access all of her senses and memories, whenever she chose to share them.

She felt him look through the memories she offered him, but the only response was a happy denial. No, I cannot. He replied, a smile in his tone. I can feel absolutely nothing like what you recall - though I can identify that it is a spiritual effect you are feeling through your Soul-Farseer. Can you sense it still?

Xiao Yingzi nodded and offered him the memory of the last few moments, the sound still strong, like a hum at the edge of her hearing, more a feeling or a sensation than anything else. That concerns me, Elder Teleos. Xiao Yingzi replied. There are many creatures in the deep that lure creatures to them through various illusions. I believe we should turn back.

What could be the reasons you can hear it but I cannot? He asked her patiently and she began to go through the information that she had. What is the difference between you and I?

You are a Nascent Soul, while I am not. You are far more skilled and experienced. Perhaps an effect only those within a certain realm can understand? She replied, her mind racing but he did not seem satisfied by this answer.

Consider a more fundamental difference. He replied. You are a cultivator, still growing strong whereas I am the mere echo of a man, not the true being. Consider it.

Xiao Yingzi frowned as she thought of that. Perhaps… the presence of a soul? And with that piece of the puzzle, the information she had fell into place into a complete image. Demonic Tunes. She replied, and she felt the affirmation from her senior. The song of souls, as was used by the Myia. She felt her curiosity spike as she mentally increased the worth of the secrets this avenue had to offer her but… she considered her options, weighing a potential prize against the potential risk.

The truth was, she had already gained much in this realm in her previous visits and that only made the risks riskier. She had a lot more to lose, especially against a spiritual effect she was unprepared for. I do not believe we should seek it out, Elder. She finally told him. There is no need to take unnecessary risks at this point. It would be more prudent to travel closer to the center to avoid most of the dangers.

So be it. The Elder replied. I am certain you will acquire some treasure here, Xiao Yingzi. We have researched several places of interest from prior recorded expeditions that we can visit instead.

Of course, Elder. She agreed, turning back towards the center of the realm. And if we fail to find anything useful or encounter any other treasures, we can always rob those who did get lucky.

Nodding to herself, she faced the direction she wanted to go in and it was then that she saw it. In the distance, at the edge of her vision, a shark-fin was speeding through the water, heading right in her direction, following… rain? She couldn't tell from this distance, but as it came closer, her sharp eyes made out the shadow of a humanoid form underneath the waters. She felt it out with her Soul Farseer and frowned, when she could not sense it properly.

How did I miss them? She asked, more to herself than her Elder. Could the song have interfered with the Soul Farseer?

The Soul Farseer works through echolocation not very different from demonic tunes, The Elder mused. Your unfamiliarity with the sound could be interfering with your ability to sense what is around you.
Xiao Yingzi frowned, but did not worry. Relying on her own unenhanced senses, she reached out… and then she froze as she finally sensed what was behind it. There were hundreds - no, thousands of presences that had suddenly appeared in the field of her spiritual sense. An entire army of the creatures, all at various levels of foundation building.

Avoid them, Xiao Yingzi. Her Elder said, cutting off her thoughts. His voice was filled with some urgency and she focused fully upon him. I faced their like in the nascent realm. They have adapted to aggressively hunt down any being they come into conflict with, regardless of any difference in strength. If you aggravate them, they will hunt you to the very ends of this realm.

Can they track from range? Xiao Yingzi asked him quickly, a suspicion forming as she studied the one rushing towards her unerringly.

Only if they have scented your blood or are close enough to feel your qi. The Elder answered her. If we ensure that we can avoid them now, we should be safe.

Xiao Yingzi nodded, but found that she wasn't as certain as her senior. She didn't move immediately, instead keeping her eyes on the creatures, trying to glean as much information as she could. They were coming right towards her, at speeds that meant they would catch up to her soon if she did not begin to burn more qi. More importantly, they cut off the entirety of the direction they came from, ensuring she couldn't easily get past them.

That was… incredibly inconvenient for her.

Suspiciously so.

She narrowed her eyes at the rain that was falling down, likely what the creatures were hunting. In theory, it could have been some natural phenomenon - the secret realm had stranger things… but with the song…. she looked up at the sky-sea and squinted to see the source of the rain. What caught her attention was a giant school of fish, running right into the bottom of the sky-sea and falling down to the watery islands as rain.

As she traced the patterns the fish swam in, she finally spotted what she was afraid of. Behind the school of fish, in the direction that they fled from was a strange sea beast swam beside the school, guiding them like a dog guiding sheep. It was something almost akin to a giant turtle, with a long flexible neck ending on a blue carnivorous head reaching out from its shell, snapping at the fish to scare them away. It pushed itself with nine tentacles, each having long needles like a hedgehog's spines rippling out from under it to propel it along the water

It rejected easy classification, so she sought a closer look. That was when it happened. At that moment, the beast had met her eyes. Yes, she decided after some more observation. It was staring right at her with naked malice. Though it was too high to sense unaided, she would be surprised if it wasn't focused on her entirely. Elder, She said carefully. I do believe there has been a change of plans.

The only response from him was a sense of anticipation.

| | | | | | | | | |​

As she moved closer to the edge of the realm, almost unconsciously she had begun to angle herself in a certain direction. It was in the direction of the song - grown strong enough to sense the intent laid within it. Too profound to glean any meaning from the small part she could feel but unmistakably from a living soul. This was no natural phenomenon, though it felt incredibly strong. It did not entrance her as if from some spiritual seduction, but it still intrigued her. It called to her. As if… some cosmic truth would be at the end of the path.

She wanted to understand it. To comprehend this phenomenon… yet the risk weighed upon her. Though the sea-beast continued to stalk her from the sky-sea, she knew that it was not the source of it. But both the song and the creature drew her to the sky-sea, she was certain of it - because of how the path to the song remained open for her. She focused upon the imminent threat, considering the ways the shark-men behind her had been led, like the moves of in a shatranj board, cutting off her paths of escape. The army was in position, leading her to its king.

She fled for a day, before they caught up to her.

She had missed them closing up on her, distracted by the rising hum of the Song and accustomed to the Soul Farseer's advance warning. The first sign was something falling upon her. Out of reflex, she struck out with her spear and cut the object into two separate pieces. As she jumped back, brandishing her weapon, she saw that it was a fish. Then she heard the sounds of many living things, wet and heavy, striking the ground and the waters around her. A glance up confirmed to her that the strange sea-beast had reached her, still too high up for her to truly sense.

Then a snarl filled the air and she looked down to see an overly muscular shark-man climbing onto the island she stood upon. It snapped a falling fish out of the air with its many rows of triangular teeth, and while its focus remained upon the falling fish as it began to circle the island, it eyed her hungrily. She glanced down for a second, noting the fins snaking around the island and then at the fish she had cut, now bleeding into the water.

They have your scent, but you are not yet a target. The Elder confirmed.

Without a moment's hesitation, she turned and ran.

Behind her, she felt hundreds of foundation-building beasts rise from the waters, noting her presence but most of their attention on the meal falling from the sky over attempting to chase her. Another fish fell upon her as she ran and she caught it with her hand, burning it with a casual pulse of lightning and then eating it as she moved. A glance up showed the creature in the waters had swum around the school of fish in order to stop them, but once she began moving it began diverting them to fall upon her once more.

She felt the shark-men behind her being led, and she changed her direction, running not in a straight line towards the sea wall but parallel to it. She ran past the sharks, distracted as they were and a glance up showed the creature moving to adjust once more, but it was too close now and she did not make it easy. Once more, she shifted directions, this time towards the center of the realm, attempting to run between the mass of enemies that had been drawn to her while she was distracted. The creature adjusted again, moving frantically but the constant adjustments were too much. Unable to maintain cohesion and the fish burst apart, swimming away in many directions and leaving the creature without ammunition.

Xiao Yingzi was free to move without any issues.

She took a moment to look up, to ensure that the enemy could not act against her. Though it was too far to sense and it's features too alien to read, she could still feel the anger seething from it. Unfortunately for Xiao Yingzi, that moment of inattention cost her. She was forced into a halt as a thin, emancipated shark-man was pushed aside from the fish by its stronger brethren and suddenly walked right into her path. It spotted her, and considering her easier prey, it jumped to desperately attack her.

With no choice but to defend herself, she struck out with her spear and the creature was cut into two. She could only watch as the pieces of its corpse fell to the ground and then slowly, the blood spilled out from it, staining the earth and then flowing into the water around them. As soon as the first drop touched the water, she felt the change around her. The shark-men froze and she suddenly felt all of their attention on her. Then their eyes turned blood-shot and killing intent filled the air and frenzied roars erupting from their mouths.

She let out a breath as began to move backwards, running away from the horde now intent upon ripping her apart and she felt her Elder's grim acceptance as she needed to fight. His will melded with her own, as the horde closed in on her and she drew upon the skill of the fallen clansmen within her spear to defend herself. A bolt of lightning formed in her hand and she held it high, the shocking radiance leaping out in arcs from her palm in an attempt to push the creatures back. With her other arm, she spun her spear and struck any shark-men willing to brave her attacks.

In the single moment that her tactics brought her, she bolted once more. It was impossible to face them all at once, so she ran in the hopes of making distance between her and them. She felt the shark-men follow, ignoring the feast of fish at their feet to pursue her and she grimaced, eyes seeking any place in the landscape that would give her a tactical advantage. But this realm of sea water and islands was barren of any useful landmarks. She bore down towards the wall of the sky-sea, the only place she could now think to go.

Was killing one of their people such a taboo? She wondered grimly.

Yes, The Elder answered, his tone hard to gauge. They breed quickly and this serves as a form of self-defense, keeping other creatures wary of them. There was little choice in this situation, however.

She glanced up at the creature in the sky sea as she ran, how it was observing her intently and she gripped her spear tighter. She had hoped to defeat it with her previous gambit, but that had failed. Now she had to move to where the sea-beast had been herding her. She had realized that, yet there were no clever solutions. There was no manner in which she escaped its jaws unscathing, gaining a daring tale to embellish for wide-eyed juniors. She would have to brave the beast in its own territory, as facing the horde behind her was suicide.

Perhaps…

She ran at full force towards the trap, having no choice but to spring it. Taking a breath, she increased her pace, channeling qi to outpace the creatures at her back. The sharks followed her with a roar, many of them leaping across islands as she did and others still chasing behind her in the waters, attacking her in vulnerable moments in an effort to strike at her back. She drew a spirit stone from her storage ring, charging her qi as she fought back and listening to the song ahead as it called to her.

She could feel the gaze of the beast above and she dearly hoped that her prize was worth it.

| | | | | | | | | |​

Spear clad in roiling power struck out, taking lives and spilling blood. Lightning flashed, burning flesh and releasing acrid reek into the air. The islands gave way to coral reefs and the hurricane winds into sea spray as she came closer and closer to the edge of the realm. Dancing upon the corals drenched in blood and ravaged by her power, Xiao Yingzi fought against the shark-men of the Qiguai Secret Realm.

For days, they had been coming at her, uncaring of the dead that littered the waters beneath them. Surviving on the supplies of food and spirit stone within her storage ring, she had been able to stand against them but the constant battle was wearing her down while the carnage only seemed to bolster them, summoning more and more of the shark-men until she was pushed back by sheer numbers.

She grimaced as she found her back against the wall of rushing water and her qi flagging as she used the last of her spirit stone reserves. She stood her ground there, unsure of how much longer she could continue. Here at the edge, the song was louder, beating into her soul like the pulse in her blood and the beat in her heart, drowning it all out even as she drew upon her shadow self and allowed it to draw upon the emotion invoked within her in the hopes of making it through this debacle.

There was only one way to make it out.

Sparing a moment from her battle, she glanced at the sea wall, finally seeing the creature that had orchestrated this appear behind her. She could see it far more clearly now, as it moved between bubbles in the water, its long serpentine neck snaking out of its shell and its mouth opening hungrily, as a long tongue streaked out to lick teeth in rows akin to the sharks that pursued her. Its nine limbs stretched in all directions, pushing against the water to move it close to the sea wall, close to her with one limb alone reaching outwards, the sharp spines along its length standing and falling as if they were grasping fingers.

But what stood out to her was the scars all over it, made by human weapons not fangs or claws. She could now grasp its strength, close enough that it was to sense it. In the Great Circle of Foundation Building, it towered over her while Xiao Yingzi remained at the fortified pillar, though with enough skill and ability to be unmatched in her realm. However, this creature seemed no different from her. The scars upon it told a story of constant battle, yet it seemed incredibly self-assured, having honed itself in a sea full of peers.

It was clever as well, forcing her towards the water and lured her into its territory. Just as she stood above others in skill and abilities, this creature did as well. And now that she noticed it, she could see the way it eyed her - it was furious at her and would likely not stop until it had killed it. It won't leave you be, The Elder said, voicing her thoughts. For whatever reason, those of the third sea hate the humans living upon its body and hunt them down whenever possible.

She grimaced at that but nodded in acceptance. It wouldn't be an easy foe, but perhaps she could use it's obsession.

In that moment of distraction, a shark attempted to sneak in from her blindspot but she sensed its presence and cut at its grasping hand with a crackling spear-tip. The webbed claw of the hulking brute flew to the air as it screamed and held a cauterized stump. Xiao Yingzi used the moment of freedom to shove the butt of her weapon backwards, sending a clever would-be assassin back into the water and killing it with a shocking lance through its body.

The hulk in front of her was still alive though and attacked her with redoubled fury. However, the pain and the rage it felt had it focus entirely on the spear that had wounded it. She held the speartip in the air and in the moment its eyes wandered from her, she kicked its legs from underneath it and then slashed it in the throat as it fell. She kicked it into the waters to maintain a place to stand as in a few moments, she knew the creature would have been replaced.

She had to get out of there.

She took the opportunity and turned her back to the shark-men, turning around to face the sea-beast, her spear at the ready. It awaited her eagerly, limb outstretched towards her, tip penetrating the wall of water and sending a ripple through its surface as it waited for the moment she stepped into its domain. She grit her teeth at such an obvious trap and then felt with her mind's eye the other monsters behind her.

Now.

Spending no time considering another course of action, she responded with action. She leapt forward, stepping on the surface of the sky-sea wall. With her qi billowing out beneath her feet, she treated the water as if it was a solid thing that would not break as her knees bent with the force of her jump, putting her close to the surface of the sea. The creature stared at her, limb frozen between her legs as it adapted to her sudden move. It recovered quickly and immediately, the beast rushed towards her, spiked tentacles reached out to rip her apart.

She struck at it with her spear and with a look of victory, it wrapped its limb around her weapon. In that very moment, she jumped off, wrenching the creature out of the water and into the colors beneath. She soared over the horde of sharks, diving with arms out and spear free, but the sea-beast who had pursued her stumbled through the air, its limbs splaying out as if it was still underwater.

She landed gracefully, one knee bent and the other kneeling with a single fist on the ground. With her spear held up, the air around her crackled, giving her a moment of respite from the hordes around her. She used that moment to glance at the creature as it smashed into the ground in front of her, sliding forward with the force of the landing and causing the corals to shake. It's spines dug into them as it brought itself to stop, and it turned towards her with annoyance.

She affected a grin, gesturing towards the sharks that now surrounded it as well - placing them both at their clutches. It looked back at her with rage before it finally realized the meaning of her gesture - and then mirth exuding from its aura. Smile plastered on her face, she glanced at the shark-men who had hunted her so long and so far and found that their fury had begun to ebb. No, there was none of that unrelenting bloodlust. Instead, she felt a strange sense of hesitation from them and perhaps… of all things, fear?

Elder Teleos? Is this expected behavior?

I've never seen them hesitate. The Elder replied, his tone tense. As the creature raised its limbs and the shark-men began to move at its command, surrounding them but not yet attacking, the confusion in the spear she held was growing. Perhaps for the first time she had known it, the Elder seemed utterly at a loss for words. There must be a reason they fear it.

As if to answer his question, the creature began to hum.

It was the Song she had heard. The song that had drawn her here. The fear in the shark's aura spiked but they did not dare flee, frozen in place by the creature's command to remain in place. Do you hear this, Elder Teleos? Xiao Yingzi asked, and to her surprise, she felt affirmation from the Elder.

Xiao Yingzi, this isn't the Song from your memories. He informed her quickly. It is an echo of an echo. A superficial product recreated by the creature's voice and qi. I can feel it and understand its nature quite easily

And yet, they held the fear. If it is harmless, then what is it that those sharks are afraid of?

The true Song. If these relentless beings are afraid of a mere imitation…

Would they be willing to do its bidding enough to attack me?

The Elder took a moment to consider it, spending precious qi to accelerate his perceptions. No. He finally surmised, and so Xiao Yingzi did not hesitate. While it was still lost in the show of force, she moved forward smoothly to attack the creature before it could turn upon her. It responded quickly, its neck striking at her in response. Like a snake, it undulated through the air and its mouth opened wide to bite down upon her, perhaps to rip a chunk out of her. She jabed her spear at its throat, attempted to stab it with the edge that could pierce even Core Formation.

Instead it coiled around the blow and wrapped around the spear's haft, its mouth closing upon the hand that held it. Xiao Yingzi released it, instead unfurling the long banner upon it and grasping it with both hands to send a surge of lightning through its length. The creature buckled and though it felt the pain, it only bit down on her spear tighter, spined limbs digging into the coral reefs to give it leverage. Though it was a creature who had never faced heaven, it bore the echo of tribulation she unleashed. All the response she got was the laughter echoing up its throat and for a moment, both man and beast struggled.

Then the banner was wrenched from her arm with overwhelming strength and the spear went spinning into the air as Xiao Yingzi stumbled backward to avoid the mouth that was now free to strike her. With qi speeding her movements, she ducked under the grasping jaws and felt as much as heard the crash of the teeth closing in the air above her. She held her hand out, summoning her spear towards her once more as she jumped over it but as it spun down towards her, the sea-beast gripped it with a limb and smashed it into the ground, spikes extending to trap it there.

She felt the Elder reach towards her as she moved towards the creature, offering her his mental strength but the sea-beast took that moment to grab the fluttering banners with its other limbs and pin her weapon to the ground. Struggling as much as it could, the spear did not budge. Xiao Yingzi grimaced and focused on the connection between her and the spear, hoping to channel enough energy to hurt the creature when - impossibly - she felt the connection strain.

Elder Teleos? She called out mentally.

She felt his hesitation, then grim resolve. Good Luck, Xiao Yingzi.

The line grew taut, then it was torn apart with a pulse of qi. Xiao Yingzi felt her connection disappear and felt the supernatural skill that she had come to rely upon began to slip away from her fingers. A strange emotion seemed to overcome her for a moment, before she pushed it into her shadow and reclaimed the calm mind she needed to survive here. First, she needed another weapon. In a practiced motion, she drew her gladius from her side and grimaced as it lacked the fluidity that she usually had in battle.

She faced the Sea-Beast, blade between them, noting that it did not reach for her as it had before. Even if it would have let her go, she could feel the sharks around her finally begin to act. Her eyes went to them as they began to snarl and jump. Once more, she looked at the spear held to the ground, unable to be summoned by her power and unable to hurt the creature that had begun all of this.

You want me to seek the Song, and you cannot tell me why. You cannot even accompany me. What secrets do you want me to seek? The Sea-Beast awaited her, spined limbs reaching into the air and beckoned her closer, secure in its victory. Her eyes turned towards the sea wall, bubbles of water formed as air met water, trailing into the endless ocean where a song beckoned…

She was a mere Expert of the Fortified Pillar, facing the Apex of her Realm.

She couldn't win this fight.

Lightning burst from her body in uncontrolled arcs, causing both shark and beast to shield themselves from her. Seeing a hint of a chance, Xiao Yingzi had no hesitation. She jumped right into the sea wall, water rippling away as she swam through it. She felt the Sea-Beast's surprise behind her as it took in her choice, and before it could react, she drew upon her qi and kicked away, leaping into a bubble for a moment to breathe and then another one as she moved further. She heard a splash as the sea-beast entered the water behind her, speeding up to catch her but the precious moments of surprise had cost it.

Xiao Yingzi had fled too far.

She had burnt her qi recklessly, leaving trails of lightning behind her to slow it down even as she speeded ahead. She escaped not into land but swam deeper into the sea, the very domain of the creature hunting her, following that song that echoed within her soul. But then, as she moved deeper into its direction, traveling to where this path of bubbles led, she felt the creature hesitate and she suddenly understood. It could hear the song as she did and the sound scared it.

It would not dare follow.

While she had no choice but to follow it to its end.

| | | | | | | | | |​

The path through the deep ocean was laid out before her, paved by a trail of countless bubbles. Though broken down and spread apart haphazardly by the currents, they nonetheless seemed to come from a single direction. The further she went, the larger the number of bubbles seemed to get. Where once they had merely been large enough to dip her head into and breathe, now they were large enough to fit her entirely and were growing still. She could now move much faster, gripping the bottoms of the bubbles with qi and jumping from air pocket to air pocket, dipping into the water for only moments as she traveled.

As she moved, the song became louder and louder. It filled her head and her thoughts. Her steps seemed to be in time to its rhythm and even the beat of her heart seemed to ring out its notes. The Qiguai Secret Realm seemed such a distant thing as days and distance seemed to meld together. The sea beast that had once harassed her seemed so long ago and where she had once fled it, instead she moved forward for her own sake. She was drawn by the song, seeking the feeling at its core and she could not stop.

It was a perilous journey.

One attempted by so many others besides her.

She had passed many others every now and then. An endless parade of creatures of the sea, and they never dared to follow her. It was another reason to keep moving forward, to face them all again when they were forewarned of her passage… She pushed the thought out of her mind, seeking instead to understand the Song. Even without her spiritual sight, it's thrum permeated the waters and soon, she saw the reason no beast had followed her so far.

In the distance, in her path was another beast of the sea. Yet, there was something off about its aura. It seemed to sing the Song she heard, not a mere imitation but the true song or at least an echo of it. It seemed utterly uninterested in the surroundings, focused entirely on the song even as it was starving to death. Yet as it felt her leap and disturb the waters around it, she felt its claw rise up to grasp at her and its song increased in volume.

It lacked any intent to hurt her, she immediately realized. Instead, the groping motion had a strange desperation to it that she could not understand. As if it wanted her to wait and listen, but she could not understand its song, much like how she could not understand the Song around them. She did not wait to study it, instead moving past it into another bubble and escaping it. She moved unfazed, for though it tried to follow her, the motion was so half-hearted it would never succeed.

More and more of the creatures she encountered were like that. Some were in that strange lifeless stage, others long since starved to death. Others still seemed to have reacted entirely differently, slain by wounds of bites and claws that matched their own natural weapons. All those that could, sang to her the song. She opened her mind to it, let it echo through her very being but she was unable to truly comprehend it.

They slowly fell in number as she traveled further and the land began to fade behind her, the light of the realm dimming and the blue sea turning black. Her mind turned to the Banner-Pole Spear she had left behind and the Elder, whose guidance she now missed. He had mentioned creatures who drew prey to them but the corpses strewn around her untouched… that did not seem like the acts of a predator.

What was it that she faced?

The beasts she saw would have been consumed in some manner, not dying of self-neglect. Perhaps it was an adaptation to live close to the brighter Qiguai Realm, that left them catatonic in these darker seas? She would have died long ago, if there was no trail of air bubbles and she couldn't depend upon her Soul Farseer to sense the things around her. And yet, that theory was far-fetched. She found it difficult to believe it didn't have anything to do with the Song.

As she traveled, the darkness began to part. Pockets of light began to litter the water and Xiao Yingzi found herself in some other oceanic realm, areas of utter blackness separated by strange glowing plants that flowed with the current like seeds carried by the winds. They were vaguely reminiscent of the plants she was familiar with but with tendrils instead of branches, serrated edges instead of leaves. They grasped for any creature foolish enough to swim into their radius and bound them tight, edges digging in to bleed them for nutrition.

There was a strange ecosystem here, with its own living things that moved that had adapted to live here. The living creatures that she could sense were both utterly complex and remarkably simplistic - a manner of design that was alien to her. Their qi flowed like living arrays rather than the qi pathways she was familiar with and nothing in their aura indicated the presence of a greater mind. They drank directly from the song she heard and - how loud it pounded now. It was no petty vibrations but reverberations of a soul, crying out with its heart.

Her mind shuddered.

In that moment, when her mind focused on the world around her and all the information that she had collected finally began to piece itself together. With a sudden insight, she understood and an unfamiliar dread began to rise up within her. As she stepped through this dark sea, for the first time in her entire existence, she felt such a strong emotion. She held it back with an iron will and with long experience, she pushed into her shadow… and more spilled out.

Terror and dread and despair erupted from within her, as if her soul had been filled to the brim and only now, she had overfilled it, the emotion had begun to spill into her thoughts. Where before, her emotions had been merely fear and rage and spite and defiance against the heavens, this Song caused her to shudder in ways that were utterly unfamiliar. Even her shadow, strong enough to face the heavens was overwhelmed by its might.

Because it wasn't an attack.

She understood.

Her steps faltered and she lurched forward. The grip she had with her qi failed and she found herself falling between the bubbles to be lost forever in the sea. There was no voice in her mind telling her to resist, screaming in defiance. Instead there was that gnawing hole that seemed to suck the life from everything. All she felt was the cold absence. The lack of everything that mattered, now lost forever.

She reached out with her mind, seeking the guidance of her Elder but he wasn't there. Only the same grief she felt herself felt, echoed back at her. She stared at the trail of bubbles behind her, finally seeing them slowly being pulled apart by the currents. The way back was fading, but what did it matter? Nothing mattered. Not any more. Not since you failed. Not since you lost her. All that was there was you, your failures and the Song.

Always the Song.

DESPAIR.

This was the reason that no creature dared come here.

DESPAIR.

This was the reason only creatures without minds could thrive here.

DESPAIR.

She had thrown away her emotions like a fool.

DESPAIR.

And that was why she had despite sensing it, she had never really understood it in time.

She was gone forever.

And it was all my fault.

 

[Quest]

This was originally the first half of a larger omake, but having trouble with the second half so splitting it into two.

Xiao Yingzi 43
[Turn 10]
[The Song of Despair Part 1]​

My life truly began then, on that day and moment.

The day that my queen walked into my life. She was just a tiny princess back then, but as always she was beautiful, like a doll given life with a skin of creamy jade and eyes like shining emeralds. She peeked out at me from behind her father's legs and clutched his clothes so tightly. I didn't know it then, the fear she felt and the way her heart beat while looking at me but looking back now, it is undeniable.

Though it was she who was to be my queen, and I to be her guardian, it was not her who had my attention then. I was young and put her out of my mind, easily charmed by her father's incomparable greatness and uncaring of her potential to be greater still. When my knees bent, it was to him that I knelt.

And it was to him, so vast and strong, and not her, so terribly small, that I gave my solemn oath. I swore that I would protect his princess with all I could offer. That I would be with her till the end of my days. That I would teach her and raise her as if she were my own. That I would protect her with my final breath and the only thing that could ever separate us would be my death.

He looked into my eyes in response and it seemed as if my soul would burn away. His eyes were twin suns and I felt as if they would swallow me whole. They judged me for an eternity and I stood frozen as I burned. Then, finally he looked away from me and released me from his hold and unbidden, I found myself following his gaze.

That was how my eyes finally fell upon the tiny girl who would soon become my charge. Though her eyes held only a tiny sliver of her father's grace, I found myself captivated by them nonetheless. There was a heat to them, but born of emotion I could comprehend not the immortal intensity that had just judged me.

There was such suspicion in her as she glared at me. I wasn't a guardian to her then, merely the being who would be separating her from her father. The man in question simply smiled as he looked between us, undoubtedly grasping everything between us with an elder's knowing gaze. With a swift and fluid motion, he stepped behind his daughter and pushed the little princess forward.

I remember how lost she looked when she was suddenly thrust before me, bereft of anyone to hide behind. She simply stood there frozen and he knelt behind her, looking at her as sternly as he had looked upon me. However, there was a gentle warmth to the gaze rather than the soul-tempering fire that I had faced.

A word from her father finally got her moving. Only then did she carefully grasp her verdant attire and begin to curtsy. But her thoughts were elsewhere and so nervous she seemed to me even back then, that when she tripped I'd half expected it and was already moving to catch her. She was small and light back then, enough that I managed to steady her with just a single limb.

Her eyes went to her father immediately after she composed herself, worried about disappointing him but he simply looked on with an amused smile. Her tiny limbs wrapped around my own and she pulled herself back up, carefully not meeting my eye. Then so clutched, I began to lead her towards her palace alongside her father who carefully watched us.

She looked back towards her father every now and then, who just nodded as I took her forward and I looked back with her, hoping that he was happy. Together, the three of us explored the palace that she would live in, so large and imposing, yet still so very empty on the inside. This would be where her father left her and so I was focused on showing it off to him. I never noticed then, how as we traveled from room to room, her hands clutched mine all the tighter.

We looked through every room and every hallway. I showed them the barracks where the soldiers would one day stay and the grounds where our many beasts would roam. I showed them the rooms the princess would frequent, from the room where she would live to the bedroom where she would sleep. I even showed her the kitchen where her meals were to be prepared until finally, it was time.

Her father had to go.

We sat together on the palace's high ramparts as he finally left, wishing him farewell. He bid us the same as he went but she only turned her face away. He smiled back at that with a knowing look in his eyes, as he gave her his goodbyes. I just stood there taking it all in beside her, watching the being who captivated me leave. So focused had I been on him, that I didn't really notice her silence.

And then we were alone.

And then so wretched was the sound of her silence that it grew into an impassable void between us and deafened any words I hoped to speak. She refused to even look me in the eye when I turned towards her. Instead, tiring of my presence, she simply turned away from me and left, giving me nothing but a single blank gaze before retreating to her sleeping chambers.

It was devastating to me back then and I could only follow her dumbly, unsure of what to do with myself. When she closed her door behind her, I did the only thing I could think of and merely stood outside of it, like a dutiful guard. I was quite a successful guardian that night I think, ensuring that no one in that empty palace would harm her.

It was late when I heard the first sound.

It was a whimper that immediately had me alert. Then, as the sound grew a little louder and a little more steady, I slowly realized what it was - the princess I was meant to serve was beginning to cry. I felt uncertain, my life and my training preparing me for none of it. Yet I knew I had to help her and so, I stepped into her bedroom.

I didn't know what to do, when I first saw her sitting there with tears in her eyes.

Perhaps it was a good thing that I didn't. I don't think she cared who I was when she rushed at me and held me tight, burying her face into my body. She truly cried then, bawling out in a manner that was unbecoming of a princess but perhaps not of the child she was. She clutched me so tight that I could feel her tears wetting my skin.

I only stood there bearing this with an awkward silence, uncertain if a word from me would shatter this moment between us. However, I couldn't help but want to say something that would cheer her up. Anything that would make me feel less like an object of comfort and more like the guardian I felt I should be. And so, I steeled my will and then raised my hand. I patted her head and told her that everything would be alright.

That helped, in a manner of speaking.

Like dawn breaking through the night, the fury in her eyes rose to meet me. Finally realizing who I was, she pushed me away, glaring as she did so. Her mouth opened to finally speak to me and despite her countenance, I felt a flicker of hope in my heart despite her demeanor - then the words left her mouth like bolts of fear and spite that shook my heart as I received them.

I would never take their places, she swore to me. That no matter what I schemed or how hard I tried, I would never take the places of her father or her siblings. The accusations left me shaking, but though they struck me, they did not pierce through me. I had never intended that, not even in my innermost thoughts. Hearing the feelings behind those words, I think I finally saw her for who she was.

A scared little girl who missed her father.

I reached out for her, despite her trying to escape my reach. How could I do anything but pull her into my embrace and hold her tightly? How could I do anything but patiently bear her gentle blows as she tried to push me away and only tired herself out? I sought for them but failed to find any words that could ease her burdens.

My efforts did not go unrewarded. Slowly, the heat seemed to fade from her as her efforts seemed ineffective and she finally fell silent once more, exhausted into acceptance. Then I tried my best to coax her to speak, to fill the void between us and only then, knowing no other way to escape my embrace, did she begin to tell me of her fears.

She told me in her stuttering words of her siblings, ninety strong, all so grand and beyond her. She spoke to me of those born with her, eight in number who grew as she did and finally, of her father, magnificent enough to eclipse them all. She spoke of how she missed them all and then she spoke of her deeper fears.

How she thought she would fail them.

Her anger returned then, though no longer turned against me. As she held me, in one breath she questioned if they ever truly loved her and in another, she screamed defiance at their unfairness to force her away and disowned them. I just sat with her and listened until she was all cried out, her voice was too hoarse to say anymore.

Then as I wiped her tears, she glared at me again and I couldn't help but be captivated once more by the look in her eyes - not shining emeralds but burning stars, though still distant ones to her father's suns. No words came to me that would console her. No great acts that could make her forget. So I did the only thing I could think of.

I began to hum.

The princess stared at me with such blank confusion that I couldn't help but smile at her.

And then I began to sing.

I sang to her about my own worries. I sang to her about my own dreams. I sang to her what I thought of her - so tiny and precious, it was a wonder she didn't break but so full of bright and powerful emotion, as if she could fill all of the seas with her heart one day. It made me want to see what she would be when she was all grown up.

She'd be so big and strong, I was sure. Bigger than all of her siblings, surely. Bigger than even her father. When she'd see her siblings again all grown, she'd be the biggest of them all. They could never forget her, because how could they? So beautiful and precious she was to me already, they must be so much more precious to them. And when her father would see her again, she'd certainly be the apple of his eye.

How could I ever take their place? I finally wondered out loud.

She looked away, unable to meet my eyes.

I smiled at her then and I promised her that it would never happen. Mine would never be the kind of love that would take the place of another in her heart. It would only add to what she had and then one day when she stood before her family as equals, she'd have all their love and mine as well. Such was the love I promised her and the praise I heaped upon her, that she stopped crying and listened intently. Slowly, she began to blush, turning red from head to toe.

But my princess was not satisfied so easily.

Petulantly, the princess turned up her nose at me and closed her eyes. As if to say that my flattery would get me nowhere. So precocious was her affected disdain and so thankfully far from her previous emotions, that I could not help but beam at her. Her cheeks puffed as she saw my expression, peeking at me through a single eyelid and then she turned her face away from me with an affected huff.

Make an oath to me, she suddenly demanded. Like you made to my father.

My smile froze then and she carefully waited to see how I would react. It would be so easy to repeat my oath, for I had given it truly. Just not to her. I realized then and perhaps she sensed that in me too, for I saw a heat rise within the girl's eyes once more, enough to challenge the heavens and I knew I had to give it to her again.

And so, I took a breath and knelt once more, my face a visage of utter solemnity. And then under her shyly shifting eyes and inability to affect her father's regal air, I spoke my oath anew. I swore that I would protect her with all I could offer. That I would be with her till the end of my days. That I would teach her and raise her as if she were my own. That I would protect her with my final breath and the only thing that could ever separate us would be my death.

She examined me then, seeking for some sign of mockery or deceit but there was none to be found. This oath mattered to her deeply and it mattered to me as well. As I spoke, my heart settled. Perhaps I may have begun in an attempt to console a child, but I saw the echo of her father in her, alongside the potential to be greater still. The potential to be an Empress.

My Empress. I swore then.

She nodded in return. I accept your oath.

Something changed at that moment. For both her and for me. She waited as I rose once more and bowed to her, and as I called her my mistress. She had hoped to look upon me with a stern gaze like her father, but though my little princess had so much potential, she had yet to grow and the look only amused me, as I barely restrained my smile.

Unable to contain her emotion, she simply turned up her nose again and looked away. I couldn't contain my smile this time and she turned red again, looking away until she finally demanded that I sing to distract me and recover her composure. I smiled and complied, singing a song of praise which only made her turn redder. She simply huffed and turned away, and I continued gleefully, songs of adulation on my lips.

In time, I began to sing her other songs, though only when I felt that she'd had enough of my teasing and then we sat in her bed, me singing and her listening until she finally fell asleep. Sitting there beside her, I did not feel the need to retreat outside. And so I watched the princess as she slept, guarding her until she awoke.

| | | | | | | | | |​

Her father's gifts began to arrive.

First came the wealth. Seemingly endless in number, it was delivered into our lands in an unending stream. The father did not want his children to starve after all and with that wealth came what was needed for my little princess needed to eat and grow. It was a fun time then, with just me and her with everything we needed right there with us.

We played in the palace as she grew older, the princess growing as we did. She grew to match me in size and then began to grow further still. The land she ruled over grew with her, from a little patch of soil to the size of an island and she still didn't seem to stop. It was a joyous time for her as she seemed to grow just as I had promised her, but with age came responsibility.

Her father sent us his menagerie.

Like the wealth, they came in endless varieties. From birds and beasts, to fish and bees, and stranger things also. Finding a home for them was difficult and many of them had different temperaments, but in time we managed that. We played with those creatures too, running with the creatures of the earth, swimming with the creatures of the sea and watching those who soared in the skies.

There were five creatures that I found that she loved the most and so we made a place for them in the palace grounds. One each we placed on every side of our palace who quickly took to their homes and made them their own. A particular serpent, a prideful and prickly beast, won the most of my princess' affection and so was given a place in the very center for all to see.

Then, from somewhere came those peasants.

Uncountable in number, they were clever and prolific little beasts, getting everywhere and chewing through everything. They were creatures very different from our loving beasts and hard for me to understand. I could scare them away to protect her, but I could not bring them to heel.
One could not tame them or put them in their proper place. They were things to be ruled, and though I was a guardian and a protector, I was no princess or queen.

It was up to her, my little princess to manage it all and all I could do was watch. It was after a long while that I saw my princess falter here. Though she had grown greatly in body, in her mind she was still that little girl that I had first met and in the beginning, she had little idea what to do.
Though her father had taught her much, her knowledge wasn't a substitute for experience and she found difficulties in putting it to use.

She stammered her orders when she gave them and she still tripped when she tried to be regal. The peasants ran when they heard her voice and cowered when she fell. Those peasants fled from her and she fled in turn, running to me like she always did and confessing to me of her many failures.

She cried a lot in those early days but I was always there for her. I wiped away her tears and sang away her woes. She couldn't do it, she would tell me every night. She couldn't be who she wanted to be. Who, she thought, I wanted her to be. I did try my best to console her, to tease her and distract her but that only worked for a while.

In time , she saw through what I was doing and then everything I tried only made her feel worse. This couldn't go on, I finally decided. I may not have been a princess or a queen, I may not have known anything about what she needed to learn, but I found I could not simply watch. And so I resolved to help her in every way that I could.

Every day, we would go over everything that she did wrong and figure out how she could improve. We tried many things and not all of them worked but enough did to give her confidence. Once, I placed a weight on her head and made her walk the whole day without letting it fall. It was so adorable, the way her face scrunched up as she forgot everything but that and walked around trying to balance herself.

She failed, she tripped, she got hurt. She gave up, she cried and then she tried again the next day. But she never gave up. She kept trying until she could go the whole day without the book falling and then until she didn't even notice it was there. We then increased the weight to twice and then thrice. She gave up after the fourth increase, but she never tripped again. Such was her presence after that, that those peasants found themselves rooted in place in her presence.

Another time, I decided to teach her how to sing. She was so very terrible at it that I couldn't get through a verse of hers without falling down laughing. She'd turn red like she always did and I'd need to run after her and make it up to her, coaxing her back into the lessons. It was difficult work but I kept her at it. She practiced until her voice was hoarse and in time, she surpassed me also. It was vindicating now, when they scurried to obey her whenever she spoke to them.

I watched as the little girl I'd known began to grow. Her ebony hair grew down to her feet, flowing like the night sky. Her white skin began to glow like a layer of snow shining in the bright jungle sun. Her emerald eyes danced with sparks of mischief even as she walked with a regal air, drawing love and respect from all who beheld her. But even this wasn't enough to get those peasants in order, and so I had no idea what to do.

This is where my little princess grew beyond me.

This is where my little princess became a queen.

I always knew that she was a diamond, but oh, how she shone. Her father had cut her masterfully of course and I'd like to think that I had polished her well. But the shine she had now was because of all of that, and perhaps none of that. That shine she had was all her own. Her ideas were something I could never have considered, but they made so much sense when she spoke of it.

If those peasants didn't listen, she reasoned, why not simply give them the incentive to do so?

She used the wealth she was given and used it to bribe them, though she called it just reward. Those peasants responded annoyingly and remarkably quickly to that, not only doing what she wanted but even growing in station, becoming ever more useful to us. Slowly but surely, she began to get her lands in order, teaching the peasants and assigned them some proper roles.

She taught them to dig from the ground, and how to farm the earth so that they could grow in harmony with the land. She taught them to hunt properly, as the beasts did and though they weren't the best at that, many creatures out-running them and out-fighting them, they still learnt and absorbed the lessons. She taught them to live so that they could grow without hurting the land and then she would grow alongside them.

She even allowed them into the palace.

Like the four creatures we had raised in the four sides of our home, four peasants took up a place in the same direction, styling themselves in the creature's honor. And then in seeing that, others still occupied the empty corners as if directions had some inherent worth. One particularly audacious one, a favorite of our little queen, even made his home in the center of our palace.

And what a disaster it was. The next day, it wasn't merely the nine who had occupied our palace. No, our home was filled with the peasants - the servants of our servants and the children of those as well, all spreading throughout our home. You couldn't turn a corner without running into them and there was no sense to it.

I thought that perhaps my princess would run to me, but she didn't cry or complain anymore whenever a problem came. Instead, she squared her shoulders and stood strong. My little princess had grown and a glimmer of that young empress I had once envisioned now stood before me. There were more people around her besides me as well, her favored beasts and servants. Together they all went and did her bidding, bringing her land to order.

And what a strange order it was.

Not everyone listened to her and I thought perhaps that she might need me, but my little princess was clever. She rewarded those who were loyal more and began to raise warriors of her own. They became her army and defended her lands, ensuring everything was in order. And finally, when she couldn't handle it, it was her father who stepped in, discouraging them with his stern gaze, even at a distance and sometimes destroying or expelling them.

I still stood behind her the whole time, ready to catch her as always, though now she never needed that. I never needed to sing away her woes, though she still asked me to sing for her. I no longer needed to teach her, though she insisted she still needed me to help her grow. She didn't anymore, not really. She had others as well now, besides her. Though their shapes and faces changed as my princess grew, they all stood next to her just like me.

It was such a bittersweet feeling.

Now grown so much more and with her lands in order, she reached out to others even more. She spoke to her siblings with letters who all had lands and guardians of their own. Some were already grown and sent her wishes with advice. Others still faced the same challenges and they had all responded in the manner they'd been taught, but the specifics differed with each of them and I enjoyed seeing my little queen argue with them on which idea was better.

She taught them all the things that she had learnt and then learnt from them in turn, what they had been taught. It was nice to see her connect with her siblings, telling them how she hadn't missed her at all even though I knew that she had. It was lovely to see her brighten when they finally admitted how they had missed her too. And it was flattering, when she bragged about me to them and I certainly didn't blush, no matter how often she looked.

But when it was just me, standing alone as I missed the closeness we used to share, I couldn't help but feel that bittersweet feeling. And then the song would come, so terribly clumsy and I'd look to see her peeking at me, trying to cheer me up. Her songs of adoration were met by a face of stubborn resistance. Her songs of adulation were met with a look of disbelief. But eventually, I always cracked and together, the two of us smiled.

And I would look upon my little queen and think of her future. About how young she still was and how much she still had to grow, but how all of that would come with time. We were happy then and her future was bright. I looked forward to who my little queen would become and I couldn't wait. Everyone would see her and they would all be green with envy. I would always tell her that of course, and then as always, my little queen would become red.

All she needed was to grow into her role.

If only she could.

 

[Quest]

Honestly feel like this could be much better, but I've been sitting on it for a while now and I'm having trouble making it perfect so I'll just post it as it is and hopefully its turned out well. A reminder that this is more emotional and metaphorical than it is literal and events may not have happened just like this.

Xiao Yingzi 44
[Turn 10]
[The Song of Despair Part 3]​

I remember when they came.

They arrived with increasing frequency, filled with fear and worry as they spoke to us of lumbering titans that came to threaten us all. They spoke of spears of twisted metal and the shaking of the earth as a hundred billion feet marched upon our lands in their eerie synchrony. They came with invading armies of blue-eyed men with golden hair, bodies fortified with strange perversions of Metal.

Without any warning, they struck us - lands torn apart and people slain with such arrogant efficiency as these invaders made us aware of their arrival. The letters that once filled my little queen with joy and anticipation, now only brought us more tension. There were enemies now knocking upon our doors and they were so strong that we felt as if we could not hope to defeat them.

My queen began to cry to sleep again those nights.

Though I sang to her and helped as best I could, I could not wave away these worries. I found a new way to distract her in those days, as her own fears trickled down to her subjects, causing the peasants to act out in fear of the distant threat and beasts to rampage. Yet, despite a few incidents, to the peasants the war was a distant thing and that helped distract my queen as well.

Though I stayed strong for her, as reports continued to arrive my own worry grew as well.

In a flash, it seemed that they had conquered so many of her siblings and threatened all others, save her and the other eight close to her who were forced to hide, retreating into our palaces. These invaders seemed to care little for us, dismissing my queen in her youth and that is perhaps what spared us their attention.

They hunted the greatest of my princess' siblings first, and even then they hunted down our peasants, before they sought anything else. The father used that opportunity to marshal his rage and his power before they could turn upon him and he faced them alone, attempting to slay them with all of his available strength.The coin he sent us slowed to a trickle as he prepared for war.

But they resisted him with utter contempt, continuing on even as the father exhausted himself upon their greatest. We watched it as it happened and she huddled in her palace, clutching me as she had once so long ago as titans strode across her land and her father fought for the sake of his family. The palace, once so carefully ordered, was now chaotic and ruined from the turmoil.

Then something changed.

I knew it when a great wail filled the air, the sound screeching from the world itself. Not a sound transmitted but as if every atom of it was screaming. It left us shivering, not out of force or power though it had that but out of the sheer emotion in the voice. I didn't recognise it at first, so different from the man I knew. It was only when my queen screamed with him that I recognised the voice of her father.

I did not see it or feel it happen. I looked up at the skies and my eyes were burnt for my troubles, the only thing I could understand was the heaven-shaking thunder and my queen shivering into my body - seeing far more than I could ever hope to. I could only feel the heat upon my skin, the light burning into my eyes, the roar in my ears until it began to consume my very soul.

And there was death in the air, the intent to bring death, the intent of the dead and the intent of the dying, all filling the air. Finally, the light in the skies dimmed. A shadow filled the sky, perhaps black dust thrown up by impact and it obscured the furious flames. It was enough for me to finally see - as those clouds were pierced with furious lightning even as the shadows wrapped around it, trying to extinguish the light in turn but to no avail.

They struggled against each other as wails filled the air, one after the other, echoing into my ears until they were the only thing I could hear. The only thing we could comprehend. Then I felt one wail separated from them all - my queen screaming into the sky as the other sounds began to finally grow distant. Then suddenly, all of those wails were silenced. We had been pushed away by the father - even as the battle raged on.

| | | | | | | | | |​

Finally, the invaders attacked us.

A titan ferrying an army but with them came a sliver of attention from the father as well. The gifts that had come to us once returned, having grown in splendor in order to prepare us for the war. Our beasts grew to strength never seen before and our peasants were organized into armies, now greatly empowered. They joined together with the armies of all the other royal children and were sent to face the enemy where they were needed.

They took our weapons, forged for the little queen's protection and twisted them into foul objects cast in their metals. They took the very peasants my little princess had trained and inducted them into their ranks, turning them against us. Her lands were taken from her and held by the invaders against us, hurting only her as the battle continued. The earth shook as lightning fell and rage filled the air, enough to strike dead any being it was turned against. Still, the enemy did not so easily yield, grasping for what was not theirs and clutching it tight, even as they were so slowly broken.

I found that I could not stand to see her cry any more.

Power filled my veins, as I finally strode forth from her palace. The father empowered me as much as he could as my rage echoed with his own will. I strode out to meet those devils, to protect my queen and our home. I struck with powerful waves of force and fought with every part of my being. No longer would they hurt my queen and I would break them, with my own strength if I had to.

Yet, my own strength wasn't enough.

When I had looked upon their faces and seen the faces of the peasants my little queen favored reflecting back, I had hesitated and given them mercy. And yet, that had cost me, when they returned to face me once more and spit upon all we had done for them. That is when I truly understood what we faced. They were devils one and all, inhuman creatures animated from living metal.

They did not die when they should and any peasant they took, would die or worse become the mockery of flesh that they were. Perverted pretensions of humanity, they could lull you into mercy but with a single call from their leaders, they rushed into their deaths with no thought of their own lives. They died like chaff before me, automatons cut by the millions but it still wasn't enough.

Our very land was turned against us, fortresses built where once there was once our home. Wealth stolen that was not theirs to take. Foul black towers jutting into the sky, bleeding red the skies above. The father's fury fell upon them with all of the force he could gather, but even that exalted fury, they managed to somehow turn aside within their homes.

Though we marked them all with the father's power, revealing their true nature to all who would see their face. Though we struck them with the father's power, burning down to the soul, any who dared to stand unshielded. Though we ripped the wealth from the lands they took and turned the very fates against them. It still wasn't enough. They still fought back.

I struck at them with all of my might, but they always retreated into those blasphemous towers that rejected my queen. There was a heretical strength in them that twisted the world and tried to rip it asunder. So many times I chased those monsters but the Father's blessing faltered within as even in his blackest rage, he could not bear to see what they had plundered.

When he looked upon the lands that both he and his daughter loved, his power left me, furiously seeking to heal the world even as they broke it. I spit and raged, I stalked the edges of their territory. And yet those demons remained cowering within, safe because of their desecration and I was forced to turn away in my anger, returning to my queen.

But they always returned,seeking to take from us once more and expand their stolen domain. The very world cursed them. Lightning fell from the skies, heralding the father's anger and it alerting me to them and I left once more to face those who dared to hurt her. Filled with divine strength and righteous fury, I always broke those metal automatons and chased them back to their stolen fortress.

Then she came.

A construct golden of form and platinum of hair with an alien beauty that did nothing to hide the cold arrogance in her eyes. She strode across our lands like she owned it and swept her eyes across us as if it was us who were the invaders. Though she wielded a brutal weapon of bronze, the worst was the mockery in her lips as she turned beautiful songs into weapons of war.

I met her in battle, protecting my charge. We fought a battle of titans but she met my strength with overwhelming strength of her own. But with the blessings of the father, she was not able to overpower me. Finally, her lips moved and a song was sung - the notes of it resonating across her body as if she was a living instrument.

And it was wrong.

Songs are meant to open your heart to another. It is to share your thoughts and feelings so that you can be understood. It is to bare out your soul, so that they can see you. It is to raise your neck and show them your weaknesses, knowing that they would never rip out your throat. That is the kind of song that I shared with my queen and this devil perverted even that.

She forced an absurd parody of a song upon me, digging into my heart with claws of cold metal and pulling out all of my weaknesses by force. Those notes of depravity sunk into my breast like arrows and then twisted the wound, trying to hollow it out. My righteous heart was thinned into glass as I fought to resist and my body felt so heavy as I tried to strike, and there, I faltered.

Her boot was on my neck.

And she sunk her blade into my heart.

It was a bronze blade, jagged and cruel. She leaned in and sneered, sinking it deeper into my prone flesh. Then a final sound fell from her lips. She reached into my exposed heart and then she shattered it. A feeling bubbled to the surface, one I had never felt before. It was a deep dark sort of hopelessness that was impossible to bear alone.

DESPAIR​

I struck back at her with all of my power. The demon was not expecting it. How could she? She was a caricature of a being who could not comprehend the love I felt. Even in the darkest pits, I would rather die for my queen rather than wallow in my despair. The blow struck the demon and pushed her back, shocking her. She fled from me there, perhaps unable to understand how her darkest art had failed against me.

DESPAIR​

Yet, it had not.

Left alone on the battlefield, blade still in my body, my heart bled both red blood and black emotion. The twisted song left my mouth. No longer merely her song, but mine. It was a dark crone of agony and it was a fell thing. I did not want to sing it. I wanted to rip out my throat to prevent the blasphemy that left it and yet, I could not bear to.

DESPAIR​

I sang this song of despair, hoping that someone could understand what I felt. The beasts around me fell catatonic, the men died singing a dirge of unhappiness. None of them could bear my song, not the entirety of what I experienced. If only there was someone who could understand, even if for a single moment. An image formed into my mind, of someone I wanted to understand me, someone who might even be able to bear it.

My Queen.

DESPAIR​

And there I understood its true horror.

The true horror of that song of despair. It wasn't that the golden ones did not understand what they sang of, no. They understood it very well. Because in my darkest moments, where none who could understand me, she knew what I would yearn for. I would yearn for the ones I loved, to make them understand.

To teach them of my…

DESPAIR​

With a dark, fell strength I forced myself to move, crawling towards the palace in which my queen resided. The song of despair upon my lips was my herald and a trail of blood marked my passage. A part of me screamed at me to stop, to take my own life before stepping before her but my very love for her became my weakness. I dug deep into my heart, yet I could not stop.

DESPAIR​

And so I kept moving, heedless of anything but her, I dragged myself forward. Those eight self-styled lords stood before me, to stop my rampage. So quaint I had thought of them once, yet now they were my salvation. I sang to them and they understood. Then I cut them down where they stood, before they could run to my queen.

DESPAIR​

The palace gates were shut, the lord of the center unwilling to face me. I sang louder and louder, hoping she could hear me but in my heart of hearts, I was glad. At least now the little queen that I loved would be safe. I would end my days now, having taught her and raised her as if she were my own. I would protect her here with my final breath and we would be separated by my death.

As things should be.

And yet.

The palace gates swung open and she came to me.

Tears streamed down her eyes, as she heard my song and finally reached me but she did not falter. Not like the others who had heard it. All who dared to follow her were consumed by their own anguish and when I raised my bloodied hands, whether to push her away or hold her tight, I knew not, she merely clutched them and held them tight.

Her hands had become so big.

With one hand, she could bear my weight and turning away all my pleas, she pulled me in, back into the palace we both called home. She sang to me then, as I had done so long ago. She sang to me about how she worried every time I went into battle. She sang to me of her father, of her people and her siblings, all trapped in a war they did not want. She sang to me of her dreams. How she hoped that she could see her family again some day and show them how big and strong she had gotten.

About how it was all because of me.

She sang to me of how I was so big and strong, how I always seemed to know what to do. She told me that I would be big and strong again. With songs of adulation on her lips, she dragged me to her room and laid me on her bed, ministering my wounds as she did. Her singsong voice accompanied my thoughts as I slowly drifted into sleep.

| | | | | | | | | |​

When I awoke once more, I saw my queen watching over me. I felt her love and worry, the care she took as she held me. There was no need for us to communicate, for the song I had sung had ensured she understood me well. And I understood her in turn, for she had sung to me as well. Such feelings welled in me then as she looked over me, that the specter of that song almost seemed to be banished from my heart.

Almost.

Beside my queen stood her many lords and beasts. Though the beasts welcomed me as one of their own, the lord of the center watched me warily and the directional lords stood back with outright fear, all hiding behind my queen, trying to evade my sight. Only a young servant boy was strangely unaffected by my presence and his red eyes studied me with interest. I dismissed them all from my thoughts and turned once more to my queen.

Her eyes were on my chest and I looked down to see that though I had healed quickly, bI had also done so terribly. Though my wound had closed, the blade still pierced my heart, jutting from my chest as none could come close enough to pull it out. And yet, it wasn't the most painful feeling. No, it was that worthless song that was like ash in my mouth and the echo of it chased after every beat. As if it was just waiting for me to release it once more.

The memory of that burned in my mind. What could become of a guardian who had failed to protect her queen? I had become so weak, unable to serve or fight. I turned away from my queen, unable to face her. I heard a song from her then, filled with wry amusement. It was a song of love and fear as well, the fear of losing me and of the love that she felt for me still. The amusement came from a memory of when she was young and I had consoled her.

I blushed.

I then heard the laughter in that song as she began to praise me, singing songs of adulation and adoration. She sang to me about how I would be okay. About how we could overcome anything together. She tried to make me turn back to her once more, singing about how I'd once again be strong and how we were a happy family.

She stopped then, when she realized that she couldn't console me. Finally, her anger spilled forth. She instead sang me promises of vengeance, telling me how her siblings were amassing their armies, and she would send hers as well, all so that they could root out those devils that hurt both her and me. I embraced the rage she inspired, the idea of vengeance and it helped push back against the memory of that song.

I thought it was a futile thing at first, but where love had failed to truly close the wound, I found hate to more easily fill it. Our meetings became councils of war, as we planned the assault upon their fortress, to finally rip them out root and stem. With lords and beasts in attendance we discussed our strategies and how to end the enemy.

I noticed then once more the red eyes among the lords. More and more of them walked through the palace unbothered. As if those peasants could slay the lords that I had failed against. I raised the possibility of taking to the field myself but my queen decreed that she would not let me out of her sight. Her siblings, she claimed, had sent an adequate replacement.

And so they set out with her armies, to root out those golden devils once and for all while we waited there in her palace. Days passed as news came. When my queen asked how I was, I would smile and lie and tell her I was okay. She would ask me to sing to her, but I found I could not and she would then know that I wasn't. My heart would hammer in my chest, beating at it to be released, yet I just took a breath and slowly pushed it aside.

Instead, it was now she who would sing and tell me how I'd be okay.

I listened to her, trying to return to how we were but though her presence consoled me, it was the news of the war that truly gave me life. I learnt of a lord under my sister's siblings, my replacement who had come to them bearing wings of vengeance and empowered as I had been. He learned to draw upon the power of the father as I did and he too, held a grudge against those demons, who had slaughtered his people without provocation.

I eagerly awaited news of him until a red-eyed directional lord finally stood before us, giving us his report. Of how the man had walked into what they had thought was their innermost sanctums, and tore them apart. How he had shattered their black towers, freeing the land from their influence and killed their generals. The one who he held a grudge against and the one who wounded me too.

And just like that, it was done.

I felt the wind leave my lungs and I settled back, that dreadful song beat anew in my heart. But the man had not slain the lesser devils. My queen suddenly pointed out. And she was right. He had slain the titans and returned to his home, yet others remained marching like ants on the ground. My eyes searched for our generals, those whose tasks it would be to hunt the devils down.

It was then that I noticed him. The lord of the center, now red-eyed as well. He stood right by my queen, wielding a knife that was incredibly heavy. He moved with a purpose that peasants rarely had as he surveyed the room that I was placed in. I didn't like how he looked at me or at the queen I loved. Still in the end he was just a lesser servant, and he couldn't do much harm to her.

I quickly dismissed him from my thoughts, heavy as they were with my own troubles. Instead, I gave my orders to my generals, telling them to hunt down the last of the invaders. They ran to obey, in time having overcome their fear of me. My queen nodded at my words and she swore that the devils would be ended.

And so, I relaxed.

Then it happened.

The world screamed once more, but the scream was a familiar one. I stumbled from my resting place, as the palace shook and shattered. Where before it had been thrown into disarray, the very walls broke down as I walked past them. Seeking the source of the screaming, I found the red-eyed peasant lord standing over my queen - his blade sunken at her side.

I froze at the sight, unable to comprehend anything for a moment. The man's gaze fell upon me, only growing sharper and I finally realised the terror behind his eyes. It wasn't like the gaze of the golden devils I so despised, arrogant and dismissive as if they owned the world but a considering look as if wondering how I might taste if he ripped out my insides.

A chill gripped my heart as I grasped what was happening.

The advisor at her side smiled, red eyes shining as he looked at me. He gave me a wicked smile as he wrapped his hand around the little queen and picked her up in his hands. I didn't wait. I didn't think. I screamed as I jumped towards him, leaping out to strike at him. I drew upon every bit of strength within me. What bit of my power had returned, I focused completely but when I called upon the father's will, it found that it was focused elsewhere.

He just grinned and struck, ripping a chunk from my flesh and stepped aside. I was left bleeding on the floor as he tasted my flesh before shaking his head and dismissing me. That little queen woke just then screaming as she tried to reach for me, but the imposter just struck at her and sent her back to sleep.

He grabbed at her, strong enough now that he had no need for deception. Holding her aloft, he simply left me there, pulling the doors apart and then he let them close behind him. My heart leapt to my throat as I saw her disappear from my sight. I dragged myself after them, unable to leap to my feet once more - that was when the earth began to shake once more.

My queen's screams echoing through the halls. I moved through familiar halls now turned dark and twisted. Emptied of servants all, the silence was deafening, hammering into my ear with a familiar rhythm. Yet, my queen still lived. I knew it, I understood it with my very being. I heard her screams ring through the palace after all.

I could still save her.

Then, the screams stopped.

DESPAIR​

It was as if the world had died. And it had. The earth quaked and the palace cracked. The heavens wept and turned away their eyes. But that was no concern of mine. What concerned me was my queen. With what strength I had, I pushed myself forward. As if I pushed just a little bit harder, I could still save her.

DESPAIR​

I dragged myself up, moving after them still. I looked through every room and every hallway. My princess was nowhere to be seen. I looked at the barracks and the bedrooms. I looked at the grounds. All of it was torn and ripped asunder but my princess was nowhere to be found. Until finally, I went to the one place I hadn't checked.

The one place I hadn't dared to look.

DESPAIR​

I found her there. What was left of her. Then with shaking hands and a shattered heart, I slowly closed the door. I had sworn an oath. I had sworn. I had told her that I would be with her till the end of my days. That I teach her and raise her as if she was my own. That I would protect her with even my final breath and the only thing that would separate us, would be my death.

DESPAIR​

But I was left alone in the palace, blade still in my body, my heart bleeding both red blood and black emotion. A chunk torn out of my body and that old twisted song finally leaving my mouth. It was a dark crone of agony and it was a fell thing and I wanted to sing it. To let the world know of my sins and my despair. Let them know all that I had done.

Let them know of my despair.

 

[Quest]

Xiao Yingzi 45
[Turn 10]
[The Song Continues]​

Like ripples upon the surface of a lake, her thoughts stirred into wakefulness. Then feeding into each other, those ripples grew, turning into waves that broke into reality and suddenly, Xiao Yingzi found herself aware of her surroundings, trapped between continent-eroding currents, tossed and turned as the dark ocean was churned. Yet though the forces around her were titanic in their scope, they carried her with a gentleness that left her completely untouched by that heaven-shaking strength.

Then as if sensing her awakening, the forces began to slow, forming what felt like a protective cocoon around her. A beam of light struck her face like a bolt from the heavens and the shadow under the ocean was suddenly banished. Rising to full alertness, she looked up at the image of the sun above her and realized that she was not in the depths of the ocean as she had initially surmised but on the surface of it, and the light of the sun had previously been blocked.

Blocked by…

A single eye blinked as it watched her and suddenly, what she had dismissed as part of the surrounding came into sharp focus. A beast so large, that the one eye that bore down on her was alone ten li in diameter. Elder Teleos had compared the Qiguai Secret Realm to a mere soap bubble but he had spoken metaphorically. In the vastness of both size and power, to this creature that metaphor may be literally true. Such was the weight of its gaze that the realm would have popped if the being were to stare into the realm.

A bubble…

For a moment, that thought felt strangely important but she truly could not not understand why. Shuddering, she turned her eyes from the creature's own and closed them, focusing inwards into the sudden need that had arisen in her. It was as if closing one's eyes while staring into the sun, she was still blinded but the gaze was gentle upon her and it was enough for her to turn her attention to her body. She felt it then - the burning in her lungs as it ran out of air - had run out of air long ago, with only her cultivation keeping her alive.

She opened her eyes, keeping it carefully angled away from the eye that looked upon her curiously and she turned to the surface of the water above her. She was undoubtedly far closer to it than she was to the depths, yet to her it was still as heaven and earth - an icarian task she immediately dismissed. Instead, she followed through on the initial thought that she had - the bubbles that had led her here, allowing her to breathe while traveling the depths.

As if summoned by her need, an enormous bubble of air descended on her. It traveled through the monstrous waves around her without even a ripple, the water gently pushing it into her. Larger than any of the bubbles she had been in before, it was as if a small world of its own and it swallowed her whole. She closed her eyes and she breathed in, absorbing the life-giving element into her lungs.

After a few moments of solace, she opened her eyes once more, feeling the surface beneath her give strangely but not break with her weight. Such was the lack of force upon her that she could imagine she was sitting in dry land, watching the illusionary recreation of the ocean through the thin film. Only then did she think to seek the source of the bubble and she followed the rapidly dispersing trail of smaller bubbles that had formed in its wake, eyes falling upon the creature's body and then following it to it's back.

No, to its hump.

This beast was of an easily recognizable strain. A great whale of incredible size and the bubble that she was in, as well as that endless trail of bubbles that she had followed had come from the creature's outward breath. No, that wasn't its breath. Only what remained after the ocean and its own movements had torn the air bubble from its back apart. She turned slowly and met that eye, whose gaze she could still feel upon her.

She could hear it now, at least when she strained to hear. That familiar hum in the water - an echo of that song. The whale wasn't singing it, not right now. But that did not truly matter. Its will suffused the water and the beat of its heart sent trembles up her feet. The song was a part of it now and there was no way to miss it in its presence. Not for her. Not when the song had become a part of her as well. She could feel the echo of it in the cycles of her qi - it was merely a note of the Song, but it called to her.

How strong was this whale, that it could bear the full weight of that Song? Even the Archigetes himself would be but an ant in comparison. It was unfathomably strong and… looking into its eye, she was suddenly aware of the sheer age of this creature - old enough to have an ecosystem evolve underneath its unmoving body. She had grasped only a portion of the song, twisted through her own shallow understanding, but if what she had seen was this creature's history sung to her in that song of incomparable despair, then…

Her heart beat faster as she turned away from its eye, to once more look at the beginning of its back but she did not stop there this time. Looking further as the sun rose from its back like from behind Mount Tai itself, she saw it. There, slicing the light of the sun apart in a dazzling brilliance was a brutal bronze weapon, the shining bronze from the blade still cracked and shattered, lodged into a great cut that was thousands of li long - a cut that was still healing.

Further down, a massive chunk of flesh had been removed from its body and then more cleanly healed. The shape was so regular that she could almost imagine the assault… as if something had simply scooped out part of the whale's body with a spoon. A strange feeling filled her - pure, unadulterated emotion that she felt she had the context to describe. The heady lightness many associated with high altitude somehow merged with a sinister dread that dragged her right down to earth - it was awe and fear.

It was to be expected after all.

This, Xiao Yingzi realized while uncharacteristically trembling in its presence, was the Dao Protector of the Third Turtle-child.

That princess she had dreamed of was the embodiment of the very continent that she had grown up on, that ancient rotting corpse that was all she knew and all she could imagine. This creature was older still, having watched it grow and then despairing as it died. This was a creature who had stood at the vanguard of heaven and seen the Sea Conquering Army at its height. It had stood before even the Demonic Soup Chef in his final rampage and though it had failed to defeat him, it had survived even that.

It had always survived.

That indeed was the source of its despair, having lived when its charge had died, having failed in all things it had held dear and then still lingering on. As she took in the entity before her, she felt her emotions shift once more - as if unchained by the Song and let loose in ways she couldn't understand. It wasn't defiance she felt, that strange mix of spite and anger she had experienced when she had first encountered tribulation. It wasn't even the utter despair of the Song, that deep pit in the gut that could only be dug by a being that had wallowed in its failure for ten thousand years.

No, this was a deep bone-chilling fear.

After all, everything this impossibly powerful, incredibly broken creature had lost was because of her clan. The bronze blood that had once flowed in her veins was the very source of the failure that was at the center of its despair. It hated the very existence of her people, considering their golden bodies to be facsimiles of living beings, hateful entities that must be destroyed and rooted out. Understanding that and being at its mercy, how could she not feel fear?

And with that fear came clarity.

No longer was her mind a calm, unmoving lake whose ripples were hidden away underneath but a lake frozen by fear - but both were equally unmoving. For a moment, she was in her dao palace, that desert of glass, staring up at that pillar of melted sand that had attempted to breach the heavens. Within its twisted coils, she saw her true self reflected back at her, that little orphan girl with the hint of bronze now in midst of panic. Yet, that may have been her true self but that wasn't the face she showed the world.

Her fear melted away, taken by reflection and her shadow, leaving her mind clear as she crafted a mask - the mask she needed to use here. There was no trace of blood in her body, burnt away by her tribulation in accordance with the machinations of Elder Teleos. The very Elder who had put her here, depriving her of the spear she relied upon - a spear that was obviously a weapon of the Sea Conquering Army. In that case, it was impossible for the whale to know what she was - not unless she gave it away with her own actions.

And with that insight, she did what she had always done.

She lied to herself.

She was a child of the third sea, mourning the fallen princess with its guardian. With that understanding her fear eased. This was the creature that protected the very continent that she grew upon, serving it to the very end. They both mourn its passing. Closing her eyes, she bowed to it, feeling it's song reverberate through her and she mourned with it, repeating the song back to it in her own clumsy manner.

The wave of emotion that filled her surprised her and it took her a moment to understand that the emotion was not her own. It came to her from the song they shared, the song of souls - the technique known quite ironically as Demonic Tunes. Though the hollowing despair remained, it was tinged with an undercurrent of heart-aching relief.

The whale had been alone for ten thousand years, wallowing in its own failure and the very song it sang, hoping that another could understand, had destroyed everything that might approach it. The very life around it had evolved not to think to avoid it. How lonely must such a creature be, after losing the one thing it loved? Her shadow had allowed her to bear the song and make the journey to it, even comprehending its anguish to the smallest degree.

Only a single note of its song.

But even that much was enough.

It had called to her, hoping for solace in the shared despair that she had understood. Xiao Yingzi clasped her hands together and bowed deep, thanking the whale for its service. The whale's response mirrored her own, gratitude layered within the muted currents of despair. For a short eternity, they looked into each other's eyes with only the muted tones of the songs in their hearts as their only means of communion.

But that moment passed.

Xiao Yingzi reeled as the connection broke and then she realized that she had been changed. Not merely by the song that now reverberated within her, but there had been a quantitative increase in her power. The amount of power and comprehension in that casual exchange had imparted upon her enough power to equal sixty years worth of cultivation and philosophical understanding. Once more, she was struck by the amount of power the creature held. Not even nascent souls could wield such power so casually. What level of power was this?

And could she one day reach those heights?

A part of her sought out more, but the whale turned its eye away from her, afraid of hurting or overwhelming her. As it moved, it caused the sea to churn and her bubble to tremble. With a single casual swell of its aura, it encompassed the limits of her senses and then reached even further. The song they had shared now granted her a sense of the creature's enormity in comparison to her, not out of arrogance or disdain, but the simple truth of her in its reality. And the emotion that accompanied this observation was simple concern.

Were she to remain here any longer, it would mean that she would be lost to the song. And so, it offered to return her to where she came from. She bowed once more, deeper and in a flash of insight, she attempted to sing her gratitude in the manner she had comprehended. The whale's response was mirth at her awkwardness and then a terrible nostalgia that built up like a volcano before erupting into despair. She felt her heart break at that and she knew that her emotions were beginning to affect her.

Realizing her sudden urgency, the whale's attention returned to her and with a swish of its fin, it sent her a wave that shoved the bubble she was in away from it. Tears began to drop from her face as she was pushed away and a scream left her face. She tried to reach out with her hand, unable to bear to be away from it after the intimacy they had shared.

But hurtling through the ocean, she was unable to move. She felt the whale watching her as she left, even as it shrinked in her vision, though it never truly faded. The bubble she was in twisted and warped from the force, but it didn't break and held her tightly, leaving her physically unaffected by the speed with which they moved.

She felt the speed at which she was moving begin to slow and the bubble began to finally break apart. As she slowed to a halt, she found herself plunged into the water and then a moment later, she was in the open air with the smell of sea spray in her nose. Instinctively, she adjusted her body and landed on the corals below.

Then the rest of her senses adjusted.

The rough feel of coral reefs beneath her feet stood out to her mind and then the sound of roars and a snarl filled with utter shock reached her ears. She had returned to the midst of her enemies. The flow of qi in the air opened itself to her mind and she could see past the song now to sense the entirety of the army of the sharks arrayed before her.

Glancing to the side, she set her eyes on the turtle sea-beast that had harried her, its long neck contorting as it recoiled back from her, its blue carnivorous head hanging open in surprise. The nine limbs still anchored her Banner-Pole Spear to the ground with long spines, but it held now with some degree of hesitance.

Xiao Yingzi drew her gladius to defend herself and then began to walk, humming a tune that was so familiar to her now. The horde around her froze in place as if she were whispering a spell and even the sea-beast stared in alarm. It was torn between dual desires, to deny her the spear and to leave it behind, fleeing into the ocean.
She glanced at the beast, studying it for a moment and then she held out her free hand with fingers splayed out. Though she did not speak, the meaning of her gesture was clear and finally the creature fled, abandoning the spear to her. All around her, the shark-men began to scatter, taking the example of their fleeing leader.

As they ran, she began to walk towards the spear that had been left behind. Foundation improved to the equivalent to the Fourth Pillar, with qi entirely restored. Consolidation required, said a deeper logical part of her mind. Still outmatched by the enemy, survival due to psychological disability. Suggested destruction of the army, followed by capitalisation of enemy weakness.

And how to destroy the army? She wondered, as she grasped the spear in the ground. She felt the many fragmentary core wills within as they empowered her, granting her skill and poise that belonged to beings centuries her senior. However, the one Nascent Will that held them all together did not make itself known.

She ignored him for now.

Instead, she sought more specialized knowledge. She'd lacked the capacity of many of the abilities the spear could provide, yet now there was one hole in her skillset that she could fill however crudely. As she continued to hum, she walked towards the rapidly fleeing enemies, the sea-beast even running away from the sea because she blocked that path.

Finally, she had it.

She remembered the song she had heard, a tune that would perhaps remain with her till the day that she would die. It was a rhythm so easy to fall into, with even her heart beating to it. Yet she could barely remember its substance. Even as she thought of it, her recollections seemed to blend together until it was a simple tune - but she could still remember some parts of it.

Xiao Yingzi took a deep breath, steadying her emotions and then breathed out once more a single note from the song she'd heard.

"[Despair]"

What left her tongue was a sound hard to describe. It resounded across the waters, leaving a moment of silence in its wake. If she was forced to describe it, then maybe it was something like glass shattering or steel suddenly bending. Something tense and strong, seemingly unbreakable that seemed like it could resist for an eternity suddenly and irrevocably giving way.

It was the sound of shark-men screaming, blood spilling out of their eyes and the foam oozing out of their mouths as they tried to roar into the heavens of their soul-crushing despair. It was the sound of a scream cut short as a creature of the sea bit out its own tongue and coughed up blood, but was still unable to stop the tears flowing from its eyes.
It was the sound of a little girl, standing and watching all her powerful heroes cut down, a man who seemed to embody them die defending a gate long before thirteen heroes could avenge them. It was the sound of a woman, suppressing her own desires, cutting out pieces of her own soul in service of her clan, in the hopes that others would survive where she might not.

It was the sound of a junior, betrayed by her elder.

The sound of despair.

She felt an emotion come over her, causing her to shudder and fall but for the moment she ignored it. Instead, she walked towards the sea-beast who had perhaps not survived the note, but still hadn't finished dying. It began crawling away from her, but there was no will behind the act. The fragment of the song she'd sung had broken some part of it.

Gone was the hunger and the wariness. Gone was the refined will and many machinations. All it knew was despair and that she was the source of its despair and so it sought to flee from her.
Xiao Yingzi spun her spear in her hand as she walked towards the creature. It was too weak to run fast and this wasn't an environment it was suited to. She didn't even need to run. Then, with a boot to its neck she pinned it in place and held up the spear, aiming it carefully.

Then with a single blow, she sunk the bronze blade into its heart.

It struggled as soon as it was pierced, not dying quickly from that hit and in that final moment before death, determination filled its eyes. The spines on its limbs all sharpened and with the last of its strength, they wrapped around her, attempting to avenge itself. However, she was ready for that. She leaned in and spoke once more.

"[Despair]"

The Note of Despair leapt from her tongue. It exploded between them, rushing to fill the empty space and the beast froze mid-attack, gurgling ineffectually before Xiao Yingzi sent a burst of lightning through its heart and burnt the last of its life away. As its body collapsed like a puppet cut, she almost felt a sigh of relief from it - release from its torment. Xiao Yingzi sent another blast of power through it, just in case it would arise once more.

When it lay there unmoving and there was nothing else but other corpses besides her, she collapsed to her knees. Touching her face, Xiao Yingzi found tears streaming out of her own eyes and she had to take a moment to spit out the blood from her mouth. With it came a pink muscle and she realized that at some point, she had attempted to bite her own tongue off.

It was strong, she decided, but the technique had a powerful backlash on her as well.

Forcing herself to her feet, she looked around. The sharks had all perished, even those far beyond the range of her voice. That she realized was the true strength of the Song of Despair. It made you want to spread your despair, like any song. It made you bare your soul to others, wanting to be justified and understood.

And with that understanding you awakened an equal despair within them, causing others to sing in turn. She had comprehended only a little bit, a tiny Note of Despair, but even that much was enough. Now that note echoed within her forever, echoing in her heartbeat, giving rhythm to her breath and even driving her cultivation. She would be chasing the echo of the song forever, hoping to recreate it in its entirety.

Even now, her mind sought to unravel its mystery.

It was the nature of the song to spread and ruin. Yet, in a flash of insight she realized that the song had not originated from the whale that had sung it to her. She remembered the song of its history, how it was a cultivator of the clan who used it upon the whale to begin with. What moment of despair had the clan experienced, that its notes echoed through the eons to meet her?Though she understood a note of it, it was only an echo of an echo of the original event.

It was beyond her for now.

For now, she could only use it as a weapon, an army killer - but as she drew upon the Ring of The Dead to heal her severed tongue, she knew she couldn't use it lightly. She was certain that she could use it to shatter entire armies of her peers as she had just done, but it would affect her as well, rebounding on her and eventually leading only to her own destruction.

If you thought of it in that manner, it was likely that of all the wounds that had been made on the whale, the song was the greatest wound of all. A wound that she now shared. No, she decided. It was a tool to be used but sparingly and even then only when it was absolutely necessary. Still, she took a moment to thank the nameless elder whose inheritance she had received in this round-about manner before moving on.

Taking a breath, she turned and looked around at the corpses lying around her - all beasts in Foundation Building. They were all valuable parts and there was no point in letting good corpses go to waste. She began to pick them up, starting with the sea-beast that she had murdered and began to carefully skin it and preserve all of the useful parts, placing them into her storage ring.

As she worked, she extended her mind into the spear. Elder Teleos? She asked, her tone devoid of any inflections.

Xiao Yingzi. He replied, in a similar manner. I see that you have succeeded in acquiring the fragments of the song - a Note of Despair, as you seem to have called it. I suppose you would have questions, now?

Yes, Elder Teleos. She replied, nodding at him. If I may attempt my own deduction beforehand? She felt his encouragement and began her explanation in the familiar manner of a report. Then, I would like to clarify my assumptions. Would it be fair to assume that you had encountered the whale during your time in Qiguai?

It wasn't I who encountered it, but one of my centurions. He did not survive the encounter but was able to send a piece of his will to me to inform me of what occured.

I see. Did you plan on me encountering the whale from the very beginning?

It was one of many pieces that I felt was important. In fact, one of the reasons I designed your tribulation was to remove your bloodline in case the beast took offense to it.

I see. And the beast attacked me because of a prior encounter as well?

No, He answered, sending her an apology. I hadn't intended for you to encounter the whale at least until you were Core Formation. This was… very early, the heavens smoothing our way as it were. In fact, had the beast not forced us, I would have at most had you meditate upon the song in preparation for the future.

The Song is a fantastic weapon and I thank you for it, but I cannot imagine the weapon was the only reason for all of this risk. What else were you seeking, Elder Teleos?

It was a necessary part of your path. You needed exposure to the true history of this world and the realm that you had to pretend to be aligned with, in order to better deceive the heavens. He replied, and then there was a hint of pride in his voice. I had been worried about the emotional effect but you bore it with minor issues. I had expected at the very least a resurgence of your emotional self.

I felt my emotions. Xiao Yingzi clarified. But I had an insight towards dealing with it.

Is that so? He asked, curious about it. What method did you employ?

I imagined a scenario where I reacted in the manner that was ideal for what I desired and then I believed in it enough that I became it. She replied, her voice steady. She took a moment to stop her work and then stand. As I am doing right now.

Xiao Yingzi, I am-

Why didn't you share this with me beforehand? She asked, her voice trembling with anger as she began to stalk the corpse-ridden corals.

It would have put the plan into jeopardy. What if the whale sensed your intentions? No, it was far too much risk.

I see. Xiao Yingzi replied, before stopping and taking a moment to breathe. You told me that once I reinforced my pillar, we would forge my path together. Have I not fulfilled your condition?

This was necessary-

Have I not? She interrupted him a bit more forcefully, a touch of heat in her mental voice.

There was a moment of hesitation from him. You have not.

Explain. She said, the word nearly a hiss.

No. That would put my plan into jeopardy. He replied, shaking his head. Some knowledge must be kept from you until it is time, even if you can hide it perfectly.

"Answer the question." She demanded out loud and then glancing at the sea-wall near her, she held out the spear. "Or I will speak of all of your plans and then release your spear into the sea."

Xiao Yingzi. He scolded, voice filled with reproach. You are losing control of yourself. Calm your mind and speak with it. You never know who might be listening.

"Do not push me, Elder Teleos." She told him, the tip of the spear piercing the water.

For a moment, neither of them budged. Then the Elder spoke carefully and precisely. I lose all future possibilities with either choice. It is up to you to choose your future.

Her hand wavered and then gritting her teeth, she pulled it back. Fine then. She replied, walking back to her previous spot, as her angered steps caused the coral to crack. It was only after sitting there for many moments, her anger draining away as she considered what had happened that she thought to ask the last question. Perfection was your dao, wasn't it?

Yes, it was. He answered, confused by her sudden question.

Would it be alright to assume that you never embarked upon the path that you chose for me?

No, He said, the word almost forced out. No, I did not.

So you have not walked the path you intend for me yourself?

No, I found out too late the limits of my own initial path. This was in the end, what allowed me to shatter my core. However many others who I knew did walk similar paths, as did some of those who I taught.

Xiao Yingzi considered that, feeling her anger and emotions finally fade completely. Then she nodded to herself and spoke frankly. This may not be my path, Elder Teleos. Wisdom is but the dao and aren't we all but slaves to it? I must walk my own path to the end.

I understand your frustration, but I also cannot freely share what I wish to because of concerns that you are very well aware of. He told her. Then after a moment's hesitation, he spoke once more. There exist rare items - the Waters of Lethe for one, that can erase memory even from the soul.

I see. She answered, considering that as she worked. How difficult would it be to acquire something like that?

At least, decades of effort from a specialized Core Formation. He told her. If we want to ensure minimal side-effects.

I see. She replied, and then nodded to herself. I will have to see if there is any method to acquire it then.