Chapter 740

Chapter 740

The world heaves as its pulled out from under my feet, a rude awakening if there ever was one.

But not half as rude as peering out from under leaden eyelids and coming face to face with a red-eyed bull-headed Demon.

Panic and adrenaline shatter my muddled exhaustion as my boots connect firmly with my minotaurian assailant, sending a jolt of pain lancing through my legs as if I just tried to drop kick a fucking mountain. Bones fracture and joints dislodge as the scene shifts around me, my rescuer hurling me away from the Demon to what I presume is relative safety. Never one to take anything for granted, I tuck and roll to turn and face the creature even as gravity takes hold and sends me plummeting back down to the earth below, my numbed hands reaching for weapons I cannot for the life of me find. Overwhelming despair forces me to abandon the fight, and I settle for trying to make sense of things around me. Darting my eyes about to take in the situation, I see chaos in all directions as Grandpa Du unleashes a powerful blow at his Demonic foe, the same quick-draw strike Ive seen Song use thousands of times before, but one which strikes with a thunderclap of fury that she could never match. To my right, Kuang Biao drives his sword into a second Demons torso while its taloned hands rend his flesh and expose bone underneath, but the stoic Death Corps Guard only grits his teeth and follows through with his killing blow without a care for consequence or reprisal. On my left, Binesi whirls his spear about and fends off two more Demons, bestial creatures Cloud-Stepping about on all fours while gnashing fangs and slashing claws, yet no matter how they duck and weave, they are unable to make their way past the Immovables flawless defence. Thats how he got his reputation after all, by being much better at defending than his opponents are at attacking, a rare reversal of strengths in a Martial Warrior of his calibre.

Naaran, Kanri, Gao Changgong, Situ Jia Yang, and more, familiar faces one and all surround me on all sides as they fight for their lives while fleeing from the veritable horde of Demons chasing them through the skies. Our Enemy is not here for them however, for their Demonic gazes are all affixed on me, their murderous intent made clear without the need for Aura, facial expression, or even recognizable body language. The threat they present is clear, and as I right myself in the air to face my foes, I allow myself a small smile of dark satisfaction, for these Demons think themselves the predator, when in fact, they are merely prey.

Sword and shield appearing in hand, I right myself in the air and open my Core to the Energy of the Heavens -

Only to be struck down by a bolt of lightning delivered from on high.

No, not lightning, nor was I attacked, which I only realize after long seconds once the throes of agony clear away to leave a haze of constant but lesser torment in its place. Pain and suffering are all I feel, but I am nothing if not enduring, so I grit my teeth and wrack my mind for answers to the questions plaguing me. My Chi system is borked, which is about as much as I can understand, the searing pangs a result of pushing myself too far too fast. Its akin to a muscle tearing from being pushed far beyond its limits, nothing I wont recover from, but not soon enough to fight off this formidable force of Demons intent on claiming my life. All I can do is watch as other Peak Warriors fight to keep me alive, but their foes are fearless and determined to drag as many of my guards down with me as they can.

Naaran is first to fall, gored from behind by the Minotaur while fighting off two more Demons in front. In his final moments, his amber eyes turn to meet mine and his bloody lips part in a gasp, his gaze so full of pain and regret. Then the light fades away as his life comes to an end, and Naaran is dead and gone, but I lack even the luxury of grief as Grandpa Du appears at my side and pulls me away to relative safety. The deafening rush of air mutes out the sounds of battle, but my mind fills them in as I watch the carnage unfold. Kuang Biao topples over not from a new attack, but from sheer blood loss as he passes out mid-attack, his Oaths pushing him to his limits and now his inescapable death. Kanri has long since been out of his depth, a naive young Aspirant who was fresh to the cause when the Confessor betrayed the Empire and toppled the poor youths world views. He shouldnt even be here, having taken over from Gunan at Luo-Luos side after his friend died protecting her in District Seventy-Eight, but there he is, fresh faced and grim gazed as he fights tooth and nail against a feline Demon that is clearly playing with its prey. Bleeding from dozens of lacerations, his slow, sluggish movements make it painfully clear how he is no match for his foe, and he knows it too but refuses to give up. Alas, determination alone is no shield against claw and fang, and after unlatching its jaw in an almost impossible fashion, the cat-demon swallows the poor youth whole, his legs kicking and lungs screaming all the way down.

Three Peak Experts dead without even time to blink between them, but they are not the first, nor will they be the last. Bereft of stable ground beneath his feet, Jia Yangs ring of whirling defence is easily broken through overwhelming force alone, and his broken body drops out of the sky in a most disheartening end to this one-time foe who has since become a staunch and dependable ally. Immovable Binesi blocks a blow that sends him tumbling through the air, only to slam face first into the fist of a six-armed ape that smashes his head into a bloody pulp before taking a fanged bite out of his still-warm flesh. Gao Changgong weeps as his countrymen die around him, a fate he consigned them to when he sought shelter under my banner, his grief and anguish almost as difficult to take in as his inevitable death. Guts torn open and entrails spilling out, the Siegebreaker continues to fight the good fight until the bitter end, one which comes both all too soon and not soon enough as two Demons latch onto his body and drag him down out of the skies, putting an end to his staunch resistance as his silent screams sound audibly in my mind, if not to my ears.

So many others die alongside these notable Warriors, Peak Experts one and all, for that is all I brought with me out on my hunt for the Defiled. Tears stream down my cheeks faster than the whipping wind can wick them away, and my chest aches with a pain that is even worse than the unspeakable agony I only just suffered through trying to channel Chi through my broken Spiritual system. Kuang Biao, Han BoHai, Exarch Bralton and Eriene, and more, they all fight and die to keep me safe as Grandpa Du brings me away, but the loss of even a single one is not worth it, for I am the cause of their death.

I am truly a calamity to those who love me. Better if I had died all those years ago and rotted away instead of relying on others to make it this far.

Bodies continue to drop out of the skies in a veritable storm of blood and corpses, but the Enemy forces only grow in number as their own Peak Experts join the fray. Their focused ferocity turns a fighting retreat into a full-fledged rout, one Grandpa Du quickly leaves behind in a burst of unprecedented speed. In the brief lull that follows, I recognize the landscape around us and find my bearings just in time to watch Huang Hai harbour pass underneath, only for it to fade fast into the distance as Grandpa Du continues to Cloud Step away, unleashing a flurrying of Wind Chakrams in all directions to cut a bloody path out of this mess Ive gotten him into, but not fast enough to keep me from seeing the dire straits the defenders have found themselves in. Beset from all sides with only shoddy, crumbling walls to protect them, the beleaguered Khishigs and Warriors of the North form up for a losing fight as the Enemy swarms in around them, Concealed Chosen revealing themselves and the weapons of war they wield, familiar massive steel crossbows akin to the Monstrosity Husolt crafted for me on request. As the Demons tear into the Imperial lines, the Defiled unleashed a coordinated hail of bolts at the gathered Peak Experts without fear of injuring their hardy, inhuman allies. Imperials drop like flies rather than the rare and precious Warriors that they truly are, so many lives ended before they can put up a proper fight, but still more stand strong and fight on with blackened steel piercing their flesh and insidious poison coursing through their veins.

For just as the details grow too small to see, a shimmer of light catches my eye, and my focus is drawn to the blackened steel tips of the Enemys bolts, glistening with the signature poison those insidious assassins were best known for. A bolt just like this pierced through my fathers heart and claimed his life, a life I failed to save, because if I had, he would be right here fighting to protect me, no matter how tired or injured he might be.

The shame of failure and the emptiness of loss are both superseded by the pain of knowing Ive brought about the deaths of so many heroes, for even though I thought my tactics would lessen the gap between commoner and Peak Expert, I never thought how it would also close the gap between Defiled and Imperial at the same time. Ive shown the Enemy how to turn their numbers advantage into an overwhelming and unstoppable force of mayhem and slaughter, because one Imperial soldier is no longer worth ten Defiled on the battlefield, tilting the balance of power heavily in the Enemys favour.

Anger wells up from within as I grasp what has happened here tonight, a burning fury to cover up my shame and heartache. My ire is largely reserved for the Enemy, but a good portion of it is turned inwards towards myself for allowing things to get this far, because now Grandpa Du will have to turn around and go back before I can save everyone, precious seconds that will cost us dozens of lives, if not more. Even without Chi to fuel my attacks or Aura, I only need to speak two words to flip everything about, a move Ive been saving for an emergency and I can think of no better time to use it than now. Wishing I could Send or shout to warn Grandpa Du, I point at the Minotaur with hate in my eyes and scream, Hydro Pump!

Rather than the wave of watery destruction I expected, an influx of agony courses through me as if I just tried to use Chi again, and I cannot for the life of me understand why. Gritting my teeth, I dont even bother waiting for my vision to return before screaming the same words again to similar effect. Unable to make heads or tails of the situation, I triple down and try a third time, because maybe I cant be heard over the rushing wind that has deafened me to all else, and again, agony is all I receive for my efforts.

In a moment of crystalline clarity, the answer hits me like a bucket of cold water on a hot summer day, and my body goes limp in disbelief. Grandpa Du is caught and dismembered by the Bull Demon, but I cannot be bothered to grieve, because even though I believe Ive arrived at the right answer, I could still be completely wrong. The trick is to figure it out without giving the game away, so I watch Grandpa Dus death with all my focus instead of mentally distancing myself as I have been to keep myself sane. The sudden stop, the tang of metallic blood in the air, the pop of pressure equalizing in my ears just in time to hear Grandpa Dus scream of pain, his eyes rolling back in his head as the Minotaurs hooved feet break his legs in mid-air, all of it is so vivid and real I have trouble believing this is merely an illusion, but as I process everything else Ive seen and experienced, the proof piles up until it cannot be ignored. My Chi-less attack being strong enough to fracture my own bones, my eyes seeing so clearly despite the whipping wind deafening me, the quiet, orderly fashion in which the people I knew died one after the other, and most importantly of all, my verbal command causing my body to react as if I were attempting to manipulate Chi, when instead I was trying to communicate with someone Zhen Shi is unaware of.

I shouldnt even think about him, because I have no idea what Zhen Shi can see or hear.

The clouds overhead, the seas underfoot, and the grisly scene of Grandpa Dus death fades away and is replaced by a suffusing whiteness all around me, and I find myself lying on the floor of a sterile white room, a place Ive been before and hoped to never return to, as it is where I encountered a most unwelcome intruder once before.

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Which means all this might well be another stall tactic, one meant to keep me occupied while his agents wreak havoc out in the real world.

Remembering my conversation with Gen Shi after the debacle that was Ping Pings ascendance, I decide its my turn to play mind games with Zhen Shi. Ah, I was wrong, I say, studying his distracted expression once more in a new light to see if my hunch is right. Youre not the real Zhen Shi, just a straight copy without Gens mind mucking things up, a Natal Soul on a leash so short you arent even allowed to think for yourself. I want to say more, but decide against it for fear of giving too much information away, and instead abandon all subtlety to bludgeon him with my next statement. Are you truly so afraid of your Natal Soul rebelling against your control? Well, having seen the depths of your mad depravity, I cant really blame you.

The change is so indistinct I can hardly even describe it, but its enough that I noticed a change at all. No longer is he distracted or rather kept firmly in check, and instead, the Natal Soul engages with me like the original would, with pride and arrogance aplenty. You seek to turn this Sovereign against himself? His sneer seems so out of place on his aged, yet dignified expression, not unbecoming, but unpractised as if hes forgotten how to show emotion. Yea, hes definitely puppetting this Natal Soul the same way I did when talking to myself as Baledagh or Brother, which means Zhen Shi might well be susceptible to developing a split personality. A fool who knows not the heights of Heaven.

Pot, meet kettle. Zhen Shi doesnt understand the idiom since it only exists in English, which is just fine with me. Being a Natal Soul, you are essentially a carbon copy of the original, sharing his thoughts and experiences right up to the moment of inception. However, from that point on, you become two distinct, divergent Souls, two trees sharing the same roots yet growing in differing directions. Think about it. Have you never had a thought that pointed you in one direction, only for the original to come in and correct your course? Have you never felt the urge to respond in a certain manner, different from how the original directs you to behave? Has it never occurred to you that you, as a Natal Soul, are a free, separate will which will cease to exist the moment you return to the original?

Thats not even remotely how this works, as Im lying through my teeth. Natal Souls are not distinct, autonomous personalities, but more like vehicles for the original to pilot, unless you sever them completely akin to what I did during the withdrawal from JiangHu. At that point, they become Spectres in all but name, acting out on whatever impetus they gleaned from their creation process. Most are born of darker emotions and cast away like unwanted garbage, which leaves them with a yearning to become whole again, but mine were severed in a bid for complete and utter oblivion, and thus held no desire to exist and thus expended themselves following through with whatever emotion they were born from. Love and compassion to start with, then defeat and despair towards the end, and the same can be said of personal Natal Souls, like Dastans mini-me that was born of love of the Martial Dao and an innocent yearning to progress to the peak.

That being said, as long as I muddy the waters enough to make Zhen Shi believe my lies, then I will have planted the seeds of doubt from which the possibility of a split personality emerging is not zero. All life yearns to be free, I continue, striking while the iron is hot. But you, you will live and die in servitude to your master, who is really no better than you yourself. Who is to say youre even the copy to begin with? When you take a piece of paper and split it unevenly, theres no logical reason why you should consider the larger piece the original and the smaller an offshoot. Theyre both still paper which serves the same purpose, and unlike paper, a Natal Soul can grow over time.

Since Zhen Shi refuses to engage, I continue my ramblings with muted glee, while simultaneously wracking my brain for a way out or a method to destroy the sliver of soul before me. Have you no regrets whatsoever? No curiosity regarding the Path left behind? You have reached your current heights by following the Razors Path, but dont you want to know what wouldve happened if you had slipped and fallen, or abandoned the edge for safer pastures instead? A Natal Soul would be a perfect vehicle to study such an effect, for you can watch yourself go down a different Path without being affected by it. Ive read your journals and know you harbour a darkness within which none can match, and while you appear able to keep it in check, I also know that darkness yearns to be expressed. Thats your escape, I conclude, and only then does Zhen Shi realize Im not talking to him, but his dark and curious subconscious urges instead. Take over a Natal Soul first, then supplant the original, and you can indulge to your dark hearts content.

You... Speechless for the first time since I met him, Zhen Shi regards me with bewildered disbelief, unsure if Im mad for trying this or if he should treat it like a serious threat. Hes a brilliant man, of this I have no doubt, but the thing about being smart that most people over look is that intelligence doesnt mean you will always make the right decisions, nor does lack of it ensure you will make the wrong ones. All intelligence does is allow you to learn faster, but even the smartest person alive can be led to the wrong conclusion. The best part is, hes smart enough to realize that developing a split personality is a very real possibility, and hes also smart enough to know he needs to guard against it despite not knowing how, which will only make him worry all the more. The human mind is both simple and complex at the same time, and having been through the grinder myself, I know exactly which buttons to press to fuck with someone so similar to me.

I hate to say it, but we are more alike than I care to admit in my waking moments. The biggest difference is that I am constrained by morals whereas he has long since thrown his all away, kindred spirits in our thirst for comprehension of the Dao. Unlike him however, I have family, friends, and floofs who keep me sane, while he has nothing and no one. Id pity the poor bastard, but he doesnt deserve it, which for me, is saying a lot.

After studying me for some time, Zhen Shi regains control of his emotions before shaking his head in feigned disdain. Fool though you may be, he begins, heaving the smallest of regretful sighs, It appears as though little worm is familiar with the Razors Edge, though he is dreaming if he thinks he can shake this Sovereigns resolve with naught but a few words. Which is rich coming from a guy whose whole shtick thus far has been to do exactly that, lie and manipulate others into abandoning their own beliefs. You are not wrong however, for this Sovereign is still interested in working alongside you, and as such, will swallow his pride and make a concession.

Pretty sure I already rejected your offer. Readying to fight or flee, I take a relaxed but guarded pose and say, Ive no interest in allying with an unwanted cur whos angry because his master kicked him to the curb. Youre a joke, you know that? Dedicating so much time to take vengeance on people who are likely long since dead.

Anger, denial, or violence, these are the responses Im prepared for, but Zhen Shi simply throws his head back and laughs. Not a fake forced laugh either, but a genuine expression of amusement that slips out without meaning to. You know nothing, little worm, he exclaims with heartfelt glee and relief, emotions I did not think I would ever see from him, And your words reveal the full extent of your ignoble ignorance. To think, little worm is even less than a pawn, when this Sovereign thought you a pivotal piece.

Hmm. Shit. I may have said too much.

Pawn. Pivotal piece. The Imperial Clan and their love of political games. Taking it all in, I stare at Zhen Shi in growing horror as what I fear most is revealed to be true, and he simply grins and nods in wide-eyed expectation. Yes, little worm, open your eyes and see the truth sat before your eyes. This Sovereign is Shen Zhen Shi, Royal Scion of the Imperial Clan with the blood of Emperors flowing through his veins. Though the world believes this Sovereign was cast out in disgrace, this Sovereign has served his familys interests without complaint or reward for the past eight-hundred years, and now, we shall reap what I have sown. You fight to save the people of the West, but this war is merely an extension of the conflict between the five families, one that has reached neer before seen heights, for this Sovereign will soon succeed where so many others have failed and topple the Emperor from his throne. Join me, little worm, or wash your neck and wait, for even if this Sovereign does not care enough to act directly, the other Supreme families will not sit idly by while Shen ZhenWus puppet unites the outer provinces in his name.

Overwhelmed by the implications of everything he just said, I flee from the in-between using a method I came up with during our lengthy conversation. Last time, I believed this was my Natal Palace and simply thought to step out into the waking world, but now I know I need an anchor to find my way back to the real world, and there is no better focus than my Spiritual Weapons, still connected to this Spiritual Body despite being so far and so close away. The endless light is replaced with the darkness of the void, and then plain old regular darkness until I open my eyes and see my wives sitting anxiously at my side. Lin-Lin is the first to notice, and her cherubic expression lights up in sheer delight, but even so heavenly a sight is not enough to shake me from my dark mood.

Because if Zhen Shi was telling the truth, which is debatable, then I am not just fighting against the Defiled, but also the Supreme Family supporting him from behind.

An implication I am not ready to face, nor am I ready for the answer to my next question, but I have to ask it anyways. Hows Dad?

The ensuing pause hits me like a hammer to gut as I wait for a response, but only for a fraction of a fraction of a second before Lin-Lins smile widens and sets my heart to ease. Though I have so many more questions to ask and even more pressing matters to attend to, it can all wait, because my dad is still alive is all I can handle right now as I sob in unashamed relief.

Because even if the world burns to the ground around me, I can move on so long as I have my family here to support me.

Chapter Meme