Book 2: Chapter 28: A Moment in Time |
[Lots happened behind the scenes in real life and I'm finally getting back into groove! Thank you all for the constant support!]
Jun stared at the sprawling forest below her. A bright sky and distant horizon made it clear exactly how vast this place was. Her vantage point on the cliff only made it painfully obvious how difficult it would be to escape this place before her Ancestor went on a rage induced fit to get them out. Not that she thought it was possible to rip people out of what she assumed this was supposed to be.
An Inheritance Instance of some obscure hidden monster they were unlucky enough to encounter.
She wondered how strong her master would be compared to the owner of this place.
Jun shivered again.
This place felt wrong in so many different ways. It made her skin crawl just to be here alone and without the large umbrella and shadow that was her Ancestor’s protection. Everything was so much simpler when she could rely on him for everything. Now she had to not only find Shui, but make sure they both survived relatively unscratched in a place designed to test and break them if they weren’t worthy–
“What you sense now, Master’s Eldest Disciple–”
Jun snapped her head behind her and found a tall, regal woman standing just a few steps away from her. Still as elegant and noble as Jun remembered her to be ever since the fight against Shao Yating. That had been the first and last time she had seen it fully manifested into the world around her.
The She-Devil took a long stride forward to stand directly next to her. “–is the time manipulation within this spacial pocket first and foremost. Hours here are but seconds in the outside world. Day, minutes where Master is at. But that is not all…”
She had been surrounded by it for so long now, she could tell what it was a mile away and this place was stuffed full with it.
“Not only that, but it has an uncanny resemblance to your ancestors' previous abode.”
Jun perked up. She turned around and stared hard at the much taller spirit. “A-Ancestor’s abode?” She had never heard him talk about where he had come from nor what he had gone through. All she knew was that he was strong and had lived for longer than she could imagine. What that meant, she had no clue. “Tell me about it. What was it like? Were there flying dragons everywhere? How many phoenixes have you seen ascend and take on a mortal form to fulfil their immortal cycle? How about a thousand colorful waterfalls and… and… I-I can’t even begin to–”
She stopped talking, taking notice of the expression that her Weapon Spirit took.
Something is wrong.
It was an instant understanding.
The She-Devil’s shoulders sagged and a weariness unlike anything Jun had ever seen filled her being. The spirit took a few steps away and stood at the very edge of the cliff, almost as though she was standing on air, hands behind her back and staring at the distant fake horizon of the Inheritance Instance. It took her long moments of thoughtful silence before she spoke again.
“What many neglect in this race for power is that at the very top, at the pinnacle of power… it's lonely, Jun. Isolated. It's the only way to exist unless you figure a way out to seal away your power. Imagine the fear that consumes your Ancestor that he may accidentally kill all his loved ones by breathing too hard. Laughing too joyfully. Feeling anger, sadness, grief. As though the very world conspires against you, alienate you for eons at a time.”
Jun struggled to understand. “M-Master is… lonely?”
“That is correct,” the Spirit sighed, her expression changing into something human for the first time. “He suffers a deep sorrow and aloneness. One that has lingered for epochs and ages of time. Yet…” She whispered her next words so low, Jun barely caught them. “Yet, I can do nothing about it. None of us could.”
“Why not? I see you here. I've seen you when you first manifested and when you gave me enlightenment. Show yourself to master and he would care for you all as he does us–”
“That is not how manifestation works! You think we haven’t tried. Greater Spirits than us, maybe not in power but in virtue, have sacrificed themselves trying to show themselves to our master. Console him when he needed it most!”
“W-What happened to them?” Jun asked, intrigued by this hidden history that surrounded her Ancestor.
The spirit turned to her, eyes burning emerald flames. Jun took a step back, feeling the heat that came from them. “They all died. That’s how we first discovered the power he contained within him. For long he refused to show any form of energy or Dao. Longer he would stare into the distance for years at a time. We had no idea our manifestations had no chance to succeed. I know what you're about to ask–”
She sighed and walked up to Jun. The flames dissipated as her shoulders sagged and face grew long.
“–In order for a spirit to manifest by its own accord, we must invade the Nascent Natal Palace of our target. Most mortals have no ability to defend themselves and most cultivators only develop barriers to stop even the most basic spirit once they reach the first steps of ascension. I think that's around the Pinnacle ImmortalRealm in this Qi deprived world. For those that have reached such a realm, it's a question of power, cultivation, and the weight of your Dao that decides how strong a spirit must be to invade and manifest in your vision.”
“What would it require to show up to Ancestor?” Jun said, eyes wide.
Learning so much about her ancestor was a rare occurrence ever since he showed up. He only ever spoke to her in riddles and in vague metaphors that she and Shui could never understand. She doubted anyone else could either with how much he twisted words and spun in curricular talk to make sure no one could decipher exactly what he was meaning.
What the hell did ‘the oceans wave upon wave do not measure to the height of a swan’ mean and what did it have to do with how high he could jump? Worse part was that could possibly be one of the less vague sayings he had given them recently with all the Void Qi and First Calamity issues they were searching for in these lands. Everything about their master seemed to increase multiple fold ever since entering the Bleak Forests, including how mysterious he truly was.
“I doubt anything could. I’ve seen monsters stronger than your wildest imaginations turn into nothing but dust and wisps of light trying to manifest before him. Creatures that could stand toe to toe with any of Master’s most prized dragons.”
The more she learned about her Ancestor, the more powerful he became. It seemed like an endless ladder that kept climbing further and further than she could ever imagine. It almost felt futile to try. Maybe one day she could ask him and he would feel generous enough to answer her clearly, but she doubted that would ever happen. Seemed like a very normal thing for ancient monsters to always be secretive about their powers.
She hadn’t met one that wasn’t at least, as few as they were.
An explosion rocked the ground underneath her. Far in the distance a pillar of dust, dirt, and smoke rose hundreds of meters high into the sky. The forest below them came to life as creatures that had been hidden by the brush either ran toward the disturbance or ran away. She saw quite a few powerful creatures head in the opposite direction, making sure to run as fast as they could.
“That was the Ursine Primordial," the She-Devil said, stepping away from Jun and staring at the pillar of smoke that kept going up. “Your sister disciple has killed a guardian already. We mustn't lose to a little child and an overgrown bear!”
Jun couldn’t help the massive smile that began spreading across her face. “A competition then? One the competitor doesn’t know is happening?”
“Yes! A competition!” the spirit roared in laughter. “Off we go! Defeat the ugly, overgrown bear!” she stopped herself before she continued, thinking better of what she had almost said. She cleared her throat. “Err… and the wonderful, cute little disciple of my master.”
Hu Jun laughed, then dove off the edge of the cliff, free falling down toward the forest below.