Chapter 516: Miracles

Chapter 516: Miracles

From the day he first arrived in Sinuji, Mitsue Hideo never once left his room, not even to wander the bustling barrack halls much less step out into the courtyard. Father had long since disappeared, no doubt resting in a spacious Officers tent with all the luxuries which came with it, while Hideo languished forgotten in the cramped confines of his windowless billet with no one but his jailers to keep him company. Though he yearned to bask beneath the midday sun or feel the brisk winter air brush across his skin, his jailers would hear none of it and left him to suffer his solitude in silence. If they were Warriors from his family, he might have tried winning them over with stories of their shared past, but the four Peak Experts whod accompanied Hideo and his father on the journey to Sinuji disappeared alongside Father, only to be replaced by many unfamiliar faces.

This meant Father had gone outside the family for help, a bad sign considering the grievous nature of Hideos crimes, the penalty of which would be severe and far-reaching. Even Mentor Juichi would be pulled down from his lofty heights if the Empire were to discover his Disciple had turned Defiled, and with no less than two Domain Capable Experts keeping him company at any given time, Hideo could tell the jailers were growing suspicious. Father had undoubtedly done his best to hide their identities, but as one of the most prominent youths of Central, a leading member of the Hwarang, and the successor to a Living Legend, it would be strange if his jailers didnt recognize him at first glance. Though his jailers were formidable warriors and lions among men, Hideo still gave himself even odds if he should try to fight his way out, but he was certain any attempt would be tantamount to suicide since there was probably a Peak Expert watching him from the shadows.

One no doubt tasked to kill Hideo and his jailers if he should reveal his tainted condition, for how else was Father supposed to keep the family from being implicated in Hideos crimes?

Days went by and he passed the long hours in quiet meditation while trying to forget the crimes of his past, but every time he laid his head down and closed his eyes to rest, Eri-Hime would be there waiting for him, her smile bright and eyes dull while the blood pooled beneath her severed neck. She was exactly as hed left her, sitting atop his tea table while he devoured her carcass, stripping flesh from bone with his bare hands and gnashing teeth. The abominable memory appalled him and filled him with self-loathing, but at the same time, he couldnt get the savoury, aromatic taste out of his mind and yearned to dine on human flesh again, a chain of thought which usually ended with him emptying the contents of his belly into the chamber pot. Oh how he prayed and begged the Mother for aid and absolution, for the strength to resist the Fathers whispered lies and for Her guidance to bring him back into the light, but She didnt deign to answer.

But Eri-Hime did.

Haunted by the memory of her ghastly grimace, he couldnt quite remember when she started speaking to him again. Shed appeared before him back home, a delusion to help maintain what little sanity he had left, but now that the veil had been parted and the truth set free, she made no effort to dance around the subject of her death. Big Brother Hideo, her disembodied head would croon, using the same lyrical lilt she had in life whenever she wanted something from him. Are you really going to sit here and let all the soldiers gush about how Dastan Zhandos killed a Demon? You should go out to the battlefield and remind everyone who the real Number One Talent really is: Mitsue Hideo, successor to the Obsidian Shadow and master of the Mountain Collapsing Stomp, a peerless young Talent the likes of which the Empire has never seen.

Big Brother Hideo, you heard it too right? Falling Rain was injured while defending the battlements, but not by the Defiled. The stupid savage hurt himself pulling someone to safety. Such a disgraceful Imperial Consort, if Eri-Hime were married to him, she would kill herself in shame.

Big Brother Hideo, arent you bored of sitting around? Eri-Hime is bored. You should talk to Uncle Hiroshi and tell him youre all better now. He loves you so much and hell believe you if you demonstrate Purity, and Eri-Hime is positive Big Brother Hideo can do it.

Big Brother Hideo, if you sit around like a statue, people will think theres something wrong with you. Why dont you ask for brush and parchment to practice calligraphy with? Eri-Hime loves watching you work.

Big Brother Hideo, that sneaky savage is meeting with Healers now, probably trying to drum up support for his cause. You should warn Uncle Hiroshi, or maybe slip word to Uncle Watanabe. If Falling Rain dies, then the Mitsue family can only benefit.

No matter how she pestered him, Hideo never responded, for to do so would be to acknowledge her existence, and he still couldnt face her. Not yet, not after the horrors hed committed, and perhaps not ever again, but she was as persistent in death as she was in life, if not more. Seek calm and walk the razors edge, shed tell him, time and time again, repeating the mantra until the words were forever etched into memory. You still have a part to play.

Though imprisoned within his room, it was still a normal barracks quarters where the walls were not built with security or privacy in mind, so it didnt take much effort to overhear snippets of conversation going on outside. As far as he could tell, the Defiled had attacked the fort on the day after he arrived, and again five days later to no effect. The second attack had been little more than an afterthought, with the Defiled horde measuring no more than sixty-thousand strong and only outnumbering the Imperial forces by a pitiful two-to-one ratio. A suicidal temper tantrum at best, the attack was doomed before it began, and again, the soldiers spoke quietly of how Dastan Zhandos and his traitorous comrades had emerged unscathed, fighting for five hours alone and unaided until the Defiled surge dwindled to a mere trickle and they were finally called to stand down. Hideo cared little for the exploits of slaves, for no matter how strong he might become, Dastan would forever remain at the bottom rung of society, a warrior doomed to fight until he could fight no more to make up for his crimes against the Empire.

Or at least, he didnt care until he overheard some base-born soldiers joking about how Mitsue Hideo had been bested by a slave.

Fools one and all, Hideo only lost because they fought their match upon a floating platform instead of solid ground. Had he not been afraid of ruining the platform and possibly sinking the stage and ruining the First Imperial Grand Conference, Hideo would have crushed Dastan into a pulp with a single Mountain Collapsing Stomp, defeating the fool slave as easily as turning his hand. Not that those idiot soldiers understood, too weak to properly understand the benefits a Domain brings, for back then, Dastan Zhandos had yet to Develop his while Hideo had been well on the way towards mastering its use. Even now, he was confident he could beat Dastan with ease, so in a fit of rage, he tried to storm out his room to first teach those idle soldiers a lesson before rendering that traitorous slave into a pulp.

And for his efforts to escape and reclaim his former glory, Hideo was granted a savage beating at the hands of his jailers. He remembered little of the fight, but he remembered one moment with startling clarity, at the tail end of their bout. Gazing up at his assailants, he found it strange that he would see fear in their eyes while he laid flat on his back, injured and defeated, but he would never forget how they looked at him, as if seeing a monster for the very first time.This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

Then the world went dark and Hideo passed out, but when he woke again, the jailers were gone and Father sat at his side, studying him with an unreadable expression. When Hideo moved to sit up, he found hed been strapped to the cot with heavy steel chains, one for each limb and two more encircling his chest and hips. Instead of asking to be released, he simply sank back down into his cot and stared back at his father, searching the familiar face for any sign of love, affection, or even concern to no avail. Seconds turned into minutes as father and son traded stares in silence, and in the end, it was Father who broke first. Why?

One fact which lent credence to the legend was how the peak was not only flat as a plain, but also almost perfectly circular and still wide enough to house hundreds of visitors every day. At the centre of the peak was a small stone dais, often used by visiting Martial Warriors while they gave lectures or pointers to the masses, either in a bid to raise their fame or perhaps garner goodwill. Hideo had recreated it in his Natal Palace and claimed it as his throne, so he took a seat and surveyed his inner realm with a careful eye, tracing every familiar shadow, crack, and crevice to ease his troubled mind.

How long since he last visited? Weeks? Months? It felt so good to be back...

When he came to his senses, he found Eri-Hime nestled in his lap, whole and healthy as she had been in life. Beaming from ear to ear, she rested her dainty head on his shoulder and snuggled into his embrace with a soft sigh, and Hideos guilt and troubles melted away at the sight of her contented expression. The past didnt matter anymore, for they were together now, just like shed always wanted.

His mind unburdened and guilt resolved, Hideo shut away his doubts and resumed his journey along the Martial Path, only this time he had Eri-Hime to guide him along. Together, they uncovered hidden gems hed overlooked on his way to the Peak and fixed the flaws in his fundamental skills, for Heavens secrets were no barrier to sweet Eri-Himes inquisitive mind. A simple, innocuous question could lead Hideo down a path of Insight and observation, and with her help, he unravelled the mysteries which seemed so far out of reach only a year before, yet now were as simple as reaching out his hand to take them.

The first thing he learned was how to Listen, to slip his Domain past the Sound Barrier erected by his jailers and use it like a cup pressed against a wall to eavesdrop on the soldiers around him. Eri-Hime had a knack for uncovering information, but Hideo had always liked to see and hear things for himself. The Defiled attacks were lessening in both strength and frequency, and Falling Rains traitors all still breathed, though from what he could gather, the Healers were unanimously recommending the unit be taken off active duty and given time to rest and recuperate, lest these elite slave soldiers die needlessly before their time. Uncle Watanabe would not allow it of course, and luckily, Colonel Hongji had indefinitely delayed his return to Sinuji and all but abandoned Falling Rain to his fate.

No, Falling Rain asked Hongji to stay away? Nonsense. Only a fool would keep his allies away in this desperate time of need.

The next skill Hideo learned was Scrying, though Father and everyone else called it Watching instead. Regardless of what he called it, this was far more complicated than Listening, for it involved not only stretching his Domain out into the world, but actually severing a portion away to leave there and reflect what was happening outside. Time and meditation would eventually bring his Domain back to full strength, but a single use of Scrying would degrade over time, and if used too often, could leave him diminished and vulnerable. Worse, he couldnt Listen and Scry at the same time, for it required more skill than he possessed, but even then, he used these two skills as often as he dared to spy on Falling Rain. He watched the scrawny runt have tea with Nian Zu, chat amicably with Taiyi ZhuShen, greet the rank and file with a fawning grin, smirk hatefully while being bathed by the beautiful Zheng Luo, and worst of all, pleasuring himself whenever the mood struck him at all hours of the day.

Hideo quickly learned to avoid Scrying Rain in his tent and turned his attention to others in the runts camp. It soon became apparent that Zheng Luo wasnt favoured by Rain, for not only did she bathe him while fully clothed and standing at arms length, they also slept separately and spoke sparingly at best. A beautiful flower planted in dogshit aptly described their relationship, for he cared more about his lurid novels and the honey-skinned, half-hare mongrel by his side instead of the divine beauty, Zheng Luo. Then again, it quickly became apparent why this was so, for the half-hare possessed the same delightful charm as Eri-Hime, a vibrant, joyful spirit who took great delight in life and never let a moment pass without appreciation.

Mei Lin, he learned her name was, a captivating young lady who charmed Hideo from start to finish. How... unfair! What right did Falling Rain have to monopolize them both?

Then Hideo stumbled across the copper-skinned cat-girl during her morning spars, whom he noticed only because he saw Dastan Zhandos, Tam Taewoong, and a half-dozen other notable Officers greeting her cordially as she arrived and patiently queuing for their chance to face her. Cold and aloof, this Li Song dispatched each and every one of her challengers with graceful ease, her blade reminiscent of a calligraphers brush dancing across the canvass. Yet another top-notch beauty always at Falling Rains side, Sinuji was rife with rumours which claimed she was Akanais daughter and therefore Falling Rains betrothed, which made little sense since Hideo had heard the Lieutenant Generals daughter was supposedly a fetching, red-haired beauty with a blazing temper to match, not a frigid brunette with consummate saber skills and an uncrackable stony facade.

Strength. Hideo needed more strength, then he would stride into Falling Rains camp and force the scrawny savage to watch while he defiled his women. He would conquer them and make them his, become one with each of them as he had with Eri-Hime and bring them with him on his journey towards the Peak of the Martial Path.

How many days had passed since he arrived in Sinuji, he could not say, but when the time came, he demanded his jailers send for his father. Arriving with more white hairs and wrinkles than Hideo remembered him having, his father looked down at him with an impassive glare, a stern mask meant to hide the fear and hope lurking deep within his heart. What do you want? Father asked, his tone wary and posture stiff.

I want us to be Father and Son once more. Coming to his feet, Hideo stood tall and channelled the Energy of the Heavens into his body, churning the Chi within his Core as fast as it would move. Demonstrating Purity, the Empire called it, but it was utter nonsense, Hideo saw this now, yet Father, no, Mitsue Hiroshi did not.

The man who Hideo once called father visibly sagged with relief before his arms shot out to embrace him. Good, Hiroshi said, clutching Hideo close and stroking his hair. Good. After so many weeks, so many months, my son has returned, and all is well.

On Eri-Himes suggestion, Hideo squeezed out a tear before burying his face in Hiroshis chest. Yes father, he lied, All is well.

And just in time too, for it would not be long before the Imperial scouts discovered the massive Defiled Army headed their way. Even without this act, Hideo would soon be freed from this prison, but that would not do, for Falling Rain and Dastan Zhandos were marked to die by his hands.

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