Chapter 773

Chapter 773

Not all Natal Souls are equal.

Yea, I said it. Not the most pleasant thing to hear, but its true.Updated from novelbIn.(c)om

We are not all equal, because we were not created equally.

Yes, we. I myself am also a Natal Soul, which makes it okay for me to criticize my brothers currently flooding the battle-field, but Im built different. To understand why, we would first have to examine what a soul really is, a concept Prime Me has struggled with for some time now. In philosophical terms, the Brotherhood would say that a soul is the eternal vessel that houses the essence of our unique being, one which persists throughout our repeated journeys through life and death. In more technical terms, one could argue that a soul is what separates a living creature with thoughts and agency from an inanimate object like dirt or a rock, though Im sure there are people who believe those have souls as well. Personally, I believe a soul is a core component of life as we know it, one that is imperceptible to the basic human senses, but exists all the same, a quantifiable element of the world we live in which humans and animals cannot do without.

At least, thats the theory Im working with, which admittedly could be wrong. If new information comes to light, then Ill review the facts and revise my theory as needed, because thats how science works, but otherwise, this is the way things are. As for whether plants, bacteria, or rocks have souls, this is a question best left for Prime Me to muse over, because unlike him, I have precious little time to waste. Sticking to the facts alone, we know that the Core is the medium through which Martial Warriors interact with the Energy of the Heavens, because Shen ZhenWu said so, and it made sense. He also said, Therein lies the key to humanitys success, as well as what may be our ultimate downfall, and Im beginning to think I understand why. If the Core is the medium through which Martial Warriors interact with the Energy of the Heavens, then how is it possible for base vanilla humans to regrow their teeth? That is a definitive example of regular, everyday people interacting with Heavenly Energy, which tells me that its possible to do so without a Core.

So if a Core is part and parcel of the soul, then it stands to reason that the soul is the medium through which humans and animals interact with the Energy of the Heavens without a Core. How the interaction is made is still unclear, as there are elements of Will, emotion, necessity, and various other triggers Prime Me has stumbled across during his journey through the Dao, but thats not important here. If we follow along with the previous line of logic, namely that a soul is the medium through which we interact with the Energy of the Heavens, then a Natal Soul can be defined as an isolated portion of ones soul, one which is not necessarily a carbon copy of the original, but merely cut from the same cloth, so to speak. While Prime Me created all of us Natal Souls in his own image for the sake of Balance, this isnt necessary for the creation of a Natal Soul. Dastans Natal Soul is a more simple and honest existence, one he crafted to help hold onto his dreams and ideals while he himself suffered through hardships which threatened to break his spirit. Sahbs Natal Soul is a wooden statue, one devoid of thought and agency which he uses to hone his skills within his Natal Palace while he goes about his day. Ulfsaars Natal Soul is a prison for his darkest, most murderous urges, one he sets loose every time there is blood to be shed.

And Baledagh was a puppet I crafted to behave like the person I believed was best suited for this world, a bold, headstrong Warrior who didnt sweat the small stuff and wasnt afraid of chasing after his dreams.

No, not I. I didnt create Baledagh. Prime Me did, a distinction I must heed lest I develop ambitions of moving beyond my station. Much as I hate to admit it, I am merely a tool, the right tool for the job at hand, but a tool nonetheless, one whose existence will end once my purpose is served. Though I fear death, it is failure which I fear more, because though I am merely a fraction of the whole, I share the same hopes and fears as Prime Me, which is how I am able to appreciate the stakes at hand. If I fail here, then Meng Sha will fall and people I love and care about could die.

And so I must not fail, because I am integral to the success of Prime Mes plan.

The vast majority of the Natal Souls were willingly severed by Prime Me for the sake of delivering usable Heavenly Energy to his allies. Usable being the operative word here, since most people dont have any usable Heavenly Energy to dole out, but as past experience has revealed, Prime Me has become a font of Heavenly Energy thanks to his merger with Blobby, the Heavenly Tear. Since they are merely vessels to deliver Heavenly Energy, most of these Natal Souls are inferior. I say this not to denigrate them, but because it is the truth, a result of circumstances as much as anything else. Prime Me was working with limited resources, so most Natal Souls had to get by with the bare minimum. This isnt to say theyre mindless puppets, because nothing could be further from the truth. As Lin-Lin pointed out, Natal Souls arent good or evil, theyre just reflections of the emotions contained within them. Thus, to ensure his Natal Souls stay the course instead of devolving into imbalanced Spectres, Prime Me made sure his Natal Souls were all Balanced as could be, specifically by ensuring they had the same personality and experiences he himself possessed. Not ideal, since Prime Me is a smart-ass at the best of times and all of us Natal Souls have inherited this same trait, but when push comes to shove, he comes through in a pinch, and the same can be expected from all his Natal Souls.

That being said, even though youd think that being a font of Heavenly Energy would mean that Prime Me has an infinite amount of Heavenly Energy at his disposal, this is not the case. Hes limited by a number of factors, including how much Heavenly Energy he can store and utilize at any given time. This is likely due to constraints of my Core and/or soul, though there could be a multitude of other reasons as well, like time required to process or what have you. Admittedly, this is a far cry from what he accomplished in JiangHu with his million-strong army of Natal Souls, but circumstances were different then, as he had access to more well, everything, in a nutshell, the most important of which was guidance from the Heavens above in the form of limited omniscience. Combined with the ability to process an absurd amount of information in what amounted to practically no time at all, and how he was able to draw upon ambient Heavenly Energy from the world itself, this enabled him to do things that even now we still cannot wholly comprehend.

Bereft of the benefits he enjoyed in the Call Centre of the Void, benefits which came at far too steep a cost, there were only so many Natal Souls Prime Me could create. Whats more, each one was armed with the smallest sliver of Heavenly Energy possible, but theres another problem to consider. During the escapades of Buddy and the Natal Soul, Prime Me discovered that severed Natal Souls lack the ability to generate emotion. They still feel emotions all the same, but it comes at a steep cost, namely consuming some of the usable Heavenly Energy they were provided with. A curious relationship, emotion and Heavenly Energy, but if Heavenly Energy consumes emotion, then I suppose it makes sense if you can get emotion from breaking down Heavenly Energy, yea?

The mechanics aside, this means it is vital that each Natal Soul uses what little Heavenly Energy we have with the utmost efficiency, else all our efforts might be for naught.

This is where I come in. You could say that Im the number one Natal Soul around, created as a workaround to technical limitations. Just as an army requires a chain of command, so too does this battalion of Natal Souls, else they would be unleashing all manner of chaos and anarchy all across the battlefield by behaving as they please. Prime Me is acting as supreme commander, safely ensconced within our Natal Palace at the back of the fortress. While his ability to multi-task pales in comparison to his attainments in JiangHu, hes shown some improvements in just this battle alone, as evidenced by how he helped so many of the soldiers on the battlements earlier. With him manning our beefy PC battle station, hes perfectly poised to oversee his Natal Souls from a macro position, directing them all to where theyre most needed or most effective.

In contrast, I am the general in the field, the Natal Soul in charge of the micro, if you will. There are a handful of Elites, advanced Natal Souls tasked with critical missions, like delivering a bit more Heavenly Energy to Mila, Yan, and Li-Li, because nepotism, or other, more complex tasks that require more Heavenly Energy to complete. They dont need my direction, because they have their jobs already, and the same could be said of the Natal Souls directed to my friends, comrades, subordinates, and so on, but then theres the grunts, the rank-and-file boots on the ground who will be doing the bulk of the heavy lifting. Most of them are more than capable of making their own decisions regarding where to go and who to help, but there are only so many people willing to accept my assistance. As Prime Me discovered only seconds ago, not everyone is receptive to his help, because theres the whole inviolability of the soul to consider when doling out Heavenly Energy in soul-wrapped packages. As such, most of the soldiers on the ground are unable to receive Prime Mes aid, because they lack sufficient love, trust, or what I assume is faith in their Legate Falling Rain for his usable Heavenly Energy to break through the natural defenses a soul provides.

Meaning usable Heavenly Energy is different from regular Heavenly Energy, but also different enough from Chi to matter. Again, something for Prime Me to consider, while I handle business out here.

So how do I get my fellow Natal Souls around the seemingly impenetrable barrier that is the soul? Why its simple. We take a page from the Spectre playbook and trick Imperial soldiers into accepting our help.

Which turns out isnt all that difficult to do. Ive always known that Spectres and Zhen Shi are unable to read minds, because otherwise they wouldve long since uncovered all my weaknesses and discovered my deepest, darkest fears and secrets, but now I understand where their limits truly lie. Thoughts remain beyond my reach, but reading emotions is as easy as turning a hand, because when you get right down to it, humans and animals are emotive beings. Whether were happy, sad, angry, scared, or otherwise, we almost always convey how were feeling in some way or another, with words, actions, body language, or whatever. Even the most closed-mouthed and unreadable individuals are always broadcasting their emotions out loud, but in a way most people are unable to perceive, one in which even I cannot wholly explain. If Blobby is a font of Heavenly Energy, then humans are fonts of emotion which we emanate out into the world around us, like a cloud of charged energy cast off in our wake, a cloud Spectres and Zhen Shi use to gauge the moods of their unwitting victims and drive them ever deeper to despair.

Even without Spectres infesting the skies, Meng Sha is rife with gloom and doom, and not solely because of Zhen Shis foul workings, but because even though OuYang Min Jun is an adequate tactician, he is a sub-par leader who does not understand the true power of morale. If Hongji were here, he would deliver a rousing speech calling on the soldiers to stand firm, while Nian Zu would make a public appearance and deliver a crushing blow to the Enemy, but Min Jun is too focused on the raw numbers and calculating the odds to really pay attention to the wavering confidence of his soldiers. Luckily, he has Prime Me and myself to help pick up the slack, so I focus on the task at hand and set to work coordinating the efforts of my fellow Natal Souls, a few hundred at a time.

Thankfully, being the head honcho Natal Soul is not without benefits, including a notably larger package (ha) of Heavenly Energy to power all my add-ons. I also come equipped with extra processing power which enables me to multi-task almost on par with Prime Me, though I find myself less equipped to handle the influx of information which follows. Its a strange feeling, being able to perceive that Im doing a whole bunch of stuff at once, but not knowing exactly what it is Im doing unless I focus on one task in particular. Take this young soldier on the wall whose name I do not know, one of many faces among the crowd that I doubt Ive ever spoken to before. I dont know who he serves, where hes from, what he ate this morning, or even where he sits on the scale of strength, but I can tell he is deeply afraid of dying here today. Not solely because he fears death, but because he got caught up in all the excitement of a crusade and left someone he loves behind, someone hes thinking about right now. It could be a parent, a sibling, a friend, or childhood sweetheart. Im not sure who it is hes so fixated on, because Im too distanced from the emotion to tell, but I can sense he sorely regrets not expressing his love before leaving to retake the West. As he fights for his life, he is overcome with his regret, which the maleficent Aura in Meng Sha magnifies a thousand times over.

News of our imminent defeat should disturb me greatly, but I find Im more bothered by the fact that no one will ever acknowledge my efforts. Even if Prime Me reveals what hes done here today, my existence will be overlooked alongside the rest of my fellow Natal Souls. Regardless of our ultimate success or failure, none of us will ever make it back to our Natal Palace alive, because we are but temporary vessels created to be used until nothing is left. Thus, I must rationalize their deaths as a necessary and heroic sacrifice, because to do otherwise would leave me overwrought with guilt and anguish, but it doesnt change the fact that I, and others like me, are paying a high price for victory.

Is this compassion? Empathy? Or extreme narcissism? I dont know. I only know how it makes me feel, proud of my fellow Natal Souls and melancholic for their unenviable fate.

To keep myself from spiralling into despair, I check in on some of my loved ones and friends and share in their successes, for Li-Li, Yan, and Mila have all emerged unscathed from their respective trials and are that much stronger for it. The details of their efforts flow through my mind as if Im remembering it all firsthand, information left there by my comrades for Prime Me to grasp. Not sure if hes already assimilated the information, but its not like I stole it and no one else can have it ever again. Thats the beauty of sharing information, because the more eyes you have on a subject matter, the more perspectives you can learn from. Even though every one of us Natal Souls were created at the same time, the events that transpired in the short time since have forever altered our perspectives in a myriad of fresh and unique ways, meaning that I might glean something from this information that Prime Me misses, and vice versa.

Psuedo-Domain, Wind Domain, Blessing of the Sun, I take note of everything I see and reserve judgement for later as I move on to other friends and comrades. Joranis injuries are healing nicely, but his broken leg has effectively taken him out of the fight, though that doesnt keep him from bellowing orders and supporting his soldiers from the back, his Aura billowing out with just a hint of heroic spirit that elevates it beyond what a standard Aura can do. Old Bulat is dog tired and ready to drop where he stands, but hes never been one to quit while hes ahead, so he continues to fight the good fight and unleash Domain imbued bullets that Amplify on impact and shatter Runic armour like glass. Though Reinforcement is his weakest skill, Zian leaves it as is and doubles down on Amplification and Reverberation instead, finding Insight in the midst of battle and discovering how to turn the chiming strikes of his twin sabres into a symphony of resonating notes that tear a Demon apart from within. Concealed in plain sight from friend and foe alike, Ravil has become a force unto himself while remaining largely unnoticed as he stabs, shoots, and generally kills anyone standing in his way. Lang Yi needs no help from the Natal Soul on his shoulder save to bolster his base physique, but Lang Er works with his Natal Soul to emulate his older brothers efforts and become more than One with the Spear, marking yet another future Peak Expert in the making. Wang Bao, Siyar, Chey, Ral, and many others progress along the Martial Path and improve in their respective fields, but the one who benefits most from all this is Dastan by far.

For with the Energy of the Heavens at his disposal, Dastan stabilizes his burgeoning Domain and exerts his Will to Sever anything that stands before him. Demonic Chitin and Runic Armour prove no barrier to his Severing Axe, a Honed Domain affixed to his weapon which cuts clean through the very fabric of reality itself. This is his Path, the path of the vanguard who clears the way, for only then can he ensure the safety of the people behind him. This has always been who he is, a man who fights for the betterment of others, and now he finally has the tools needed to do so.

The knot in his heart has come undone, for he truly doesnt care about his Oaths anymore, and seeing this, I expend a portion of my limited Will to help him unbind the shackles around his Core which sets his Chi to surging like never before.

This is not the first time Ive noted the flow of Chi, but I never really understood just how integral it was to a Martial Warriors strength. There are a myriad of details I have yet to work out, but thus far, it seems like the faster the current, the stronger the Warrior, which I suppose is why people are so amazed when others display Purity. Thats just drawing the Energy of the Heavens quickly enough so that others can feel the flow, but how it became synonymous with the absence of Spectres is beyond me. I mean, technically, Spectres are a form of Heavenly Energy, so I bet if you gathered enough of them and set them to racing about, a regular commoner would feel it too.

Oh yea. Where are all the Spectres? Ive gotten so used to their absence, I almost didnt even consider it, but during a battle like this, they should be amassing in droves. Even if Zhen Shi is herding them off to the Void en masse, I should at least be able to notice their presence as they leave, but the only Spiritual, I guess, presence in Meng Sha is me and my Natal Soul brothers. Comrades? Homies? God, I feel old. No, I shouldnt be feeling, because feeling is wasting Heavenly Energy.

Still multi-tasking to command my fellow Natal Souls in battle, I devote a few brain cells to uncovering the various mysteries plaguing Meng Sha. We already knew that the Energy of the Heavens responds to emotion, but flow is important too. How is that flow shaped? Through many different vectors. Visualization, Intent, Faith, and Emotion are but a few that I rely on, but as I ruminate over the experiences of the friends, loved ones, and strangers Ive helped today, I realize there are as many ways to shape the Energy of the Heavens as there are stars in the sky. All of it can be summed up under the umbrella of Will, yet thats like saying youve stepped in some liquid. You get the gist of whats happened, but the details matter, because stepping in a puddle of water is a whole different story from stepping in a puddle of piss, blood, or acid.

So if flow is so important, why dont I try and see the flow of the nefarious working dragging everyone in Meng Sha down into the pits of despair?

No reason why I shouldnt at least try, right? Passing a message back to Prime Me encapsulating everything Ive seen, heard, thought, and generally experienced here today, I close my eyes and open my senses to the world at large. Spiritual Sense is the working term everyones been using, and being something of a Spirit myself, I should be wholly in tune with mine. I know that Spiritual Senses are linked to the Domain, but a Domain is not a requirement to have them, it just makes it easier for your physical senses and hardware to perceive them. My best guess is that the Domain acts as a coupling to help merge the two sets of senses into one, working system, yet another way in which the physical and metaphysical intertwine together, but the why and how doesnt matter at the moment.

All I want to do is sense the flow of Heavenly Energy, and maybe, just maybe, prove my hunch right. Even though the Spectres are all absent in reality, my gut tells me they have something to do with the Aura-like effect pervading throughout all of Meng Sha. Mostly because this pall of desperation and discouragement is pretty much Spectre 101, save for the complete and utter absence of Spectres.

But if it looks like shit and stinks like shit, then chances are Prime Me stepped in a giant pile of it when he settled on Meng Sha for his base of operations.

Time passes as I parse through the mysteries of the Dao, a second, a minute, an hour, all in the blink of an eye. For the sake of my sanity, I check in on reality and find that Bulats latest bullet has travelled a fraction of a millimetre since I started, even though it feels like an eternity has passed since. Focusing all of my efforts on the task at hand, I uncover a loose thread in the metaphysical foundation of the world around Meng Sha, a wrongness that sticks out like a sore thumb now that I know to look for it. How I didnt see it before is a mystery to be sure, but I head over and do what I always do when I find something strange and unfamiliar.

I give the metaphorical thread a metaphorical tug. I mean, its just human nature, and though I lack a physical body, I am still human after all.

Dont! Prime Me Sends, a message that comes a split second too late, but a split second might as well be an eternity as the Void opens up before my senses and swallows me whole. The din of battle falls silent as the barren emptiness stretches out in all directions, until it is empty no more.

And so little worm has set itself upon the hook. Looming over me like a mountainous giant clad in robes of gold and horror, Zhen Shi sneers down at me from his perch on high. How kind of you to send coal in the midst of a blizzard, a kindness this Sovereign will not soon forget.

His wrinkled, gnarled hands reach out to grasp me tight, and soon all I can see is the ring set around his index finger, a horrific amalgamation of a thousand screaming Spectres whose fate I fear I might envy soon enough as they rise up and hold me fast in their cold and bony appendages.

Chapter Meme