by Feng Yue
“And me, I’m your senior. I was the best to you, Colt. Do you still remember me?”
“I was your first teacher, Colt. I knew that you would make a name for yourself.”
“Colt, I’m your younger brother. Did you forget?” The child under a raincoat hugged his arms and pleaded, “It’s so cold here and it’s raining. Let’s not stand here anymore and go inside to the fireplace.”
“Please come.”
“Yes, we’ve been waiting.”
They waved warmly and called for Colt but he involuntarily stepped back with a pale face. “I can’t.”
“Why?” They grew sad. “We’ve been separated for such a long time.”
“Because…because…” Colt stepped back. His features twisted. “You’re all dead.”
“No, Colt.” They shook their heads, smiling. “We just left you to a faraway place.”
“You’re all dead.” Colt gritted his teeth, his eyes darkening. “I killed all of you personally.”
In that moment, the cheers cut off. Screams and roars began. The rain washed their faces, washing away their skin. Their red flesh and menacing features were revealed. They screamed, clawing with sharp nails.
“It hurts, Colt,” someone cried. “It’s so dark here. Come help us.”
“I’m gonna rip you apart! B*stard, I’ve been waiting for decades!” someone roared. He tried to rush over but was stopped by an invisible barrier. “Coward, I’ll kill you! Every day! I’ll return the pain you gave me thousand-fold!”
“Come here, Colt!” they yelled and laughed hysterically. “You have nowhere to run to.”
Colt stumbled back but he felt cornered. “Where…is this?”
“This is hell, Colt,” someone said gently behind him. “You’re dying so you saw hell. Soon, you’ll crossover. After all these years, there are so many people waiting for you.”
“I won’t die!” Colt spun around and yelled, “I have such a bright future! How can I die?”
“You will.” The comer lifted his hood, revealing hair as white as bone. Seeing Colt’s blank stare, he laughed. He reached out, gripping Colt’s neck, and looked down on him. “I came from there and I’ll bring you back.”
His grip was like a vise. Voice like grating metal, he said eerily, “I swore before that I will find you. The world is so large but you have nowhere to go.”
“Ye…Qingxuan…” A shriek burst from Colt’s throat. His eyes widened, staring menacingly at the face before his eyes. “You won’t beat me…I can defeat you once, I can defeat you again!” Using all his might, he yanked out a sword and stabbed the figure’s throat. Blood spurted out. Roaring, he cut off the head. Under the black rain, the figure disappeared like a hallucination. The demons and beasts vanished as well. Hell faded into the distance. All that remained was the endless rain.
In the pouring rain, someone murmured, “You’ll return here. You will…”
Colt opened his eyes. He felt liquid fall onto his face. It was blood.
The cave was filled with the pungent and heavy odor of decay. He had taken out a sword without him realizing and stabbed it into the stone wall before him. The blade passed through a venomous green snake. It writhed in pain. Venom dripped from its fangs, only a centimeter away from Colt’s neck.
He stared at it coldly, watching it struggle and die bit by bit until it fell silent. Then he tore it apart, skinned it, and devoured the flesh. Blood dripped onto the broken blade. The metal reflected his bedraggled face.
After running wildly during the night, he had hidden inside this cave like a beast. Even his eyes were beastly now.
Weak morning light fell from a crack behind him. It illuminated the name he had carved onto the wall in pain. Of varying sizes, the scraggly names filled the wall. They all came from the same person and had all been scratched away by the sword.
“No one can stop me. I will live on,” Colt murmured as he chewed on the snake bone. He seemed to be reminding himself, to keep himself from forgetting.
As if the snake blood gave him strength, he recovered from the rink of death. His poisoned wounds healed and his fever abated. Reaching out, he yanked down the blood-sucking insects on him one by one. Then he used his sword to trim his unruly hair.
Finally, he crawled out of the cave. He had used all of his strength to shed his outer shell like a snake writhing in pain and stood under the sun again. The sunlight shone on his frail features but could not chase away the darkness in his eyes.
He panted and forged on, crossing the thorns and shrubs. He forged on, fell down, and climbed back up. He traveled across the wilderness, the forest, and the murky waters. He crawled on the ground, past the last quagmire, and onto a slope. Forward, forward…struggling on…
Finally, his eyes were illuminated by the sharp light in the distance. The long and narrow towers pierced the air. They extended deep into the clouds and stood like a forest. Heavy bells rang one after another, seeming to push the falling sky back up.
Pure singing floated down from the highest tower and spread in all directions. It was made of metal; the entire city was made of metal. Even the earth emanated with a metallic scent. It refracted the blazing sun with a burning glow.
Countless people passed by. Carriages rushed past, ships on the river whistled, and iron whales seemed to survey in the air.
The large city that rose up in levels was situated at the center of the world. It controlled the vast aether sea, balancing the aether density of the human world, guarding against the Dark World.
“The Sacred City…” Colt held his breath. This was the immortal city, the city of steel, the city of one thousand spires, the city of the phoenix…It was the center of the world, the peak of everything.
“The Sacred City!” Colt laughed uproariously in ecstasy. He danced, almost losing his breath from laughing. “I’m still alive! Do you see, Ye Qingxuan? You can’t kill me! I’m still alive!” He sprawled on the ground and kissed the dust that flew up from the road. Like a lunatic, tears and snot flowed down his face. The passersby glanced over in confusion.
At the end of the long road, a line of armored knights galloped over on his horse. They carried swords and shields. The shields’ emblem was two overlapped keys, representing the holy message. The leading priest looked majestic in his black robe.
In their path, the believers knelt and gazed reverently at their backs. But the knights stopped before a seemingly crazy beggar and half-knelt.
The black robed priest walked forward, holding a new robe in both hands. It was pure white with gold designs, radiating power and holiness.
“Lord Colt, under the Bishop’s command, you shall be promoted to the Ministry of Information.” He lowered his head and offered the robe. “I was ordered to welcome you. Please mount the horse.”
After a long, long pause, Colt laughed from the dust. It was a full and hearty laugh. He climbed up and yanked over the robe, covering himself with the pure whiteness. He transformed into someone majestic and stern, up above everyone else. His eyes seemed to burn.
“Let’s go.” Mounting the horse, he looked at the city of steel in the distance with blazing eyes. “To the Sacred City!”
He was still alive and he would live on. He would go to the Sacred City…and take back what belonged to him. No matter the consequences!
He would do anything it took to climb to the top!
-
It was a sweltering afternoon. The city guards were all drenched in sweat.
The mass of people surged; carriages streamed past the city gates. They included wealthy nobles, ragged believers who came by foot, messengers, and diplomats from various nations…
More than one-hundred thousand people passed through the Sacred City gates each day. However, this time, most of the people grouped at the gates and looked into the distance.
The market outside the city instantly became jammed. People pushing against each other took up every high spot. In the corner of the crowd, an old man with his bags and a c
ane studied them with a look of lament.
“The Sacred City truly is impressive. There are so many people even at the city gates. It’s eye-opening.”
“Old man, is it your first time here?” Someone beside him looked at his dustiness and smiled. “It’s rare for this to happen at the Sacred City too. You’re lucky.”
“Really?” The old man chuckled. “I guess my luck is not too bad.”
“Who’s coming?” someone asked.
“The hero from the Romulusian revolt. Who else? Of course, it’s the star of the new generation of musicians, the future scepter grandmaster!”
“Why did he come so suddenly? No one promoted it. Otherwise, there would be even more people here.”
“Ha, you don’t know.” Someone smiled mysteriously. “Apparently, Grandmaster Colt helped the Ministry of Information wipe out dozens of satanic cult locations after the war. His achievements even shocked the Sacred City. For safety, he traveled secretly and didn’t reveal his identity until he almost made it to the Sacred City.”
“I see.” The passersby nodded, impressed.
The old man nodded in agreement, lamenting with them. He was tired from his journey. Setting down his cane, he sat down against the city walls. He started tuning his six-string violin, thrumming the strings. The melody was lost in the hustle bustle.
“Are you preparing an ode?” A little kid with a pinwheel looked at him curiously. “I heard that when hero’s come back, musicians would give odes.”
“Something like that.” The old musician smiled and looked at his instrument. “I will if I have the chance.”
The crowd’s volume increased sharply. Under the clattering of hooves, cheers rang out.
The hero had returned.
-
“That’s the new star of the Ministry of Information?” On the high tower, Mr. Hu looked at the rising clouds of dust. Beside him was an old and average-looking cardinal.
Hearing his question, he asked in return, “What is your opinion?”
Mr. Hu smiled and did not reply. He just looked down and studied the world.
“After being here for so long, you start thinking that many things are not important anymore,” he said quietly. “Just like in the legends, the Devas in heaven are immortal and know no troubles. The resentment and deaths on the ground do not even deserve to be spoken of in the sky.”
“Is that an Eastern legend?” The old priest sighed. “Some things are the same, whether Eastern or Western.”
“Yes.” Mr. Hu looked up. He studied the blazing sun and his eyes were covered in a sheen of dazzling gold. “There are no troubles in heaven. They do not know there is blood, killing, and fighting on the ground. They do not know eagles can assassinate the emperor, that meteorites can attack the sun, that the white rainbow can pierce the sun. So they do not know that…” His hand unconsciously reached to his waist but there was nothing there. His expression darkened and he sighed.
“…There is a sword on the ground.”
In that moment, the sword was pulled out. In the crowd, a hand held a pocket watch. Thus, ‘Faust’ opened its eyes.
“Time, please stop,” a desolate voice sang, filled with pain and hope. “Because you are so beautiful.”
405 Wash Blood with Blood
“Time, please stop because you are so beautiful.” Under the distant song, the climax of Faust was activated. Time turned, burning red-hot, and almost self-destructed. The time flowing through the aether sea suddenly stopped. All music score changes were forcefully frozen.
This time, the melody had followed the music theory of Abstinence, rather than targeting the ‘stopping’ of the material world. Instead, it acted directly upon the aether, forcing the aether sea to stop changing and reacting to the world. It cut off the path for musicians to resonate with the sea and forced all musicians below the Resonance level.
At that moment, an overlooked knight in the procession suddenly raised a finger. His armor shook and countless music notes flowed from his fingertip. It sketched out a vast structure, going toward the frozen aether sea. The surrounding air warped as if tugged at by a strong attractive force. The mature music theory was disturbing the materials, distorting reality.
It was the Distortion level! There was a musician only one step away from becoming a grandmaster hidden in the knights!
Endless changes were put into the music theory. The multileveled formulas operated instantly, measure by measure. They transformed into a burning hammer that shattered the ice.
Boom! Music theories collided. The piercing noise made everyone’s vision go black.
The expression of the ‘knight’ changed. His raised finger shook and splintered like a segment of bamboo. Fresh blood flew out. The droplets evaporated in the disordered music theory, froze, or disappeared. From his fingertip to his arms, the armor twisted like dried seaweed. It cracked apart, revealing mangled flesh.
“How…” he murmured blankly. Something broke inside of him and his organs shattered. He fell off the horse.
The aether sea froze completely.
In the crowd, many people paled. It felt like they had suddenly lost an important sensory organ, as if they had gone blind, deaf, mute, or could not touch anymore. Resonance musicians co-existed with the aether sea at every second. They rose up in levels and developed due to it. As the aether sea froze and their resonance with the source disappeared, they instantly fell from the Resonance level.
People yelped in shock belatedly. Riot spread through the crowd. Controlled by the hidden Mind score, terror, and panic burst. The crowd scattered and chaos formed outside the city gates.
“Ye Qingxuan…” Within the mess, Colt stared at the musician’s broken face. He looked up in all directions, yelling, “Come out, Ye Qingxuan! I know you’re here!”
No one replied.
In this afternoon, under the hot sunlight and among the flying dust, a hoarse song traveled from the distance.
“The final judgment will arrive; fire will spread through the graves, burning the organs. The souls will wander from the underworld.”
Under the city gates, the old musician strummed his instrument. He sang quietly to bless the hero, “Oh, Lazarus, how will you repay your debt? Oh, Lazarus, are you panicking?”
Colt’s head shot up and looked through the crowd. In the back of the crowd, the musician sang with his head lowered. As if a switch was turned on, the eyes of the black-robed priest behind Colt suddenly went blank. He raised his hand subconsciously and pulled a crossbow out of his robes.
As if he had practiced this thousands of times, he pressed it to the back of Colt’s head and pressed the trigger. The springs let go, and a poisonous dart shot out. That moment, Colt lowered his head and rolled off the horse. The arrow scraped past his messy hair and nicked the shoulder of the lead knight. Only scraping the skin, the knight instantly fell off. Half of his body went numb, and his lips quickly turned dark blue, his face bloating.
This was not toxic poison. It was something more terrifying—blood clotting agent. Choir musicians used it to stop gravely wounded soldiers from bleeding. If the decimal of the density level was changed, it could turn the wounded into a rubber toy. All the blood would coagulate, and nothing could fix it.
“There is no way to break the curse, to medicine to heal you, nowhere to go. To where else can you go to plead?” the musician sang. “Oh, Lazarus, how will you repay your debt? Oh, Lazarus, are you panicking?”
Missing the first one, the priest aimed his crossbow again and pulled the trigger. Colt grabbed a knight’s shield and blocked the arrow. Whistles and crashes sounded continuously. Arrows landed on the shields, caving them in and shattering them. The shields were pulverized by the frightened horses.
Behind a shield, Colt pulled out his sword and stabbed the neck of the priest’s horse. The stallion screamed and stood up. The blank priest fell off, and the panicking horse quickly trampled him into ground meat.
However, until death, the priest’s e
yes were still blank, and his mouth was open, murmuring something silently.
“Ye Qingxuan…” Colt spun around. He glared at the musician menacingly. “I knew it was you!”
“Time is short, and death is rushing,” the musician sang hoarsely as he played his instrument. “Look, fire is burning my body. It’s burning my soul, seeping into my bones. There is nowhere to hide, no way to run. There is nowhere to run to!”
“Capture the attacker!” Colt roared to the knights. “No, kill him! Kill him now!”
Controlling his horse, he studied Ye Qingxuan’s face coldly. “Stop dreaming, Ye Qingxuan,” he murmured. “You can’t kill me in Hell, and you can’t kill me here! I’m the winner, and it’ll be like that forever!”
If he had been terrified before, he was no longer scared now. Ye Qingxuan had gone completely crazy… This was the Sacred City! There were so many different schools, grandmasters, and musicians here. The world’s largest enchantment enveloped this city day and night. The Starry Temple controlled the aether waves of the human world. This was the most guarded place in the world!
Even the Secret Keepers could not protect him here. The moment he chose to act, he already became the enemy of the entire Sacred City!
No one could save him anymore!
But for some reason, Colt felt a tinge of panic. Why…didn’t the Sacred City do anything yet? He glanced at the city gates with his peripheral vision. The bustling streets were still the same; nothing had happened. No one had realized that there had been an assassination attempt right before the city gates!
With every second that passed, the unrest grew. What was happening?
Clenching his jaw, he gripped the reins until his knuckles turned white.
The knights unsheathed their swords; the stallions panted, and the metal hooves sounded like a thunderstorm. Dozens of knights urged their horses over, galloping and dragging their heavy swords, gouging the ground.
Besides Colt, the knights took off their helmets. They performed a music score, gathering the aether. Though they were no longer at the Resonance level, they could still perform countless restraining scores under coherence.