Poor Cultivation (The Slayer of Heaven Book 1): A LitRPG Wuxia Series

by Alan Bard

Chapter 20

  WITHIN YOURSELF

  Thirty-three days before the Invasion

  I didn’t see or feel anything. Like a child in the womb, I found myself floating in emptiness... a vast, murky emptiness.

  I could hear muffled voices.

  “Open his hand,” Victoria said. “Give me the stone. Come on, Joe keep up!”

  “I think it’s too late.”

  “It’s not! He’s still alive. I can’t lose another fighter! Fight the abyss, Nick. Don’t give up! Can you hear me?!”

  I could, but I couldn’t reply.

  “See? Nothing. We’re too late.”

  “No... Nick, please. Please, don’t. Please!” Jelena cried.

  “Fucking vampire, fucking island!” Eli cursed, his voice full of sadness.

  “Do you hear that? Rio asked nervously. “Wolves. A lot of them. We must leave.”

  Panic filled my mind. I was wondering if they’d leave me behind to stall the hungry beasts. I was floundering, struggling in the thick brown muck to let them know I was here, but to no avail. No matter how much Eli and Rio wanted to help me, they would follow Victoria if she ordered them to.

  Silence fell. I was getting increasingly nervous.

  “We can’t just leave him. I’ll carry him,” Eli said, breaking the silence.

  “That’s unwise. How will we get him up the slope? He’s dead anyway. If we take him with us, we’ll end up dead, too,” Joe said, voice devoid of any emotion.

  You frickin’ hippie! We’ve been through so much together!

  “What’s the problem? If the beasts attack us, we’ll just fight back,” Rio said.

  “I’m sure we’ll manage. Victoria, please!” Jelena pleaded. “Do you want me to get on my knees? We really need Nick! He got that goat, and fish. He’s very skillful. I understand that this is survival of the fittest, but how will we live with ourselves if we leave him? He saved my life... This is all my fault.”

  Silence reigned once more.

  “Okay, listen up,” Victoria said in a cold, indifferent voice. I could feel her towering presence next to me. I could just picture her glaring at them, arms crossed over her chest. “As long as he’s breathing, he has a chance.”

  I would’ve breathed a sigh of relief if I could. I didn’t expect that from her. As for Joe... I’d pull through, get stronger, and punch him in that dumb face of his.

  I felt them drag my body off somewhere.

  As for my mind... I followed the current of the murk, carefully avoiding the brown threads around me. It was so strange; I felt like I had a body—I could feel myself waving my arms as I swam, but I couldn’t see them. The place seemed infinite, or maybe it was just looping. I didn’t see any boundaries. I no longer heard the voices. I didn’t know how much time had passed either. Did it flow differently here?

  How do I get out of here?

  I racked my brain trying to think of something. I was struggling to make sense of what had happened. All the while, my state seemed to be getting worse—the brown threads seemed to be getting thicker, threatening to drown me soon.

  I wanted to scream in frustration, but couldn’t.

  Is there a way out? I should at least try to find it...

  The thread was already the size of a rope. I swam to it and tried to kick it. It shuddered and I barely managed to pull my leg back. It sucked the energy out of me and increased in size.

  Well, that won’t work...

  Suddenly, something glowed in the murk. Hoping that that was my salvation, I swam toward it, against the current, avoiding the threads. Something called me from the glow, something I didn’t understand. The only thing I knew was that I needed to hurry. The threads formed a web. Luckily, the holes were large enough for me to slip through.

  I was swimming nearer and nearer to what looked like a huge dome with light streaming from inside of it. Trying to fit through the web, I accidentally touched one of the threads, making the entire thing shuddered and grow. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to slip in without being drained completely.

  Once inside, I found myself in a circular room, in the center of which the Core pulsed brightly, suspended in the air as if squeezed by a claw.

  The room had gravity. I cringed as soon as my feet touched the springy and porous floor. The web was now domed over me. I walked slowly around the Core and froze. In front of me was my crucified double, covered with something brown from the waist down. I could make out thin threads that looked like enlarged, swollen veins. They were growing from the double’s open mouth, reaching for his eye sockets. They had also wrapped itself around his neck.

  It was sickening to look at my mangled body. My... other body? The original was in the real world, wasn’t it?

  Use your head, you nitwit!

  I knew that I needed to somehow connect my body and mind in order to wake up. But trying to free my body could kill the current version of myself. Is the risk really worth it? Then again, I’m just a... I’m not even alive right now... Existing like this is worse than dying... I really have nothing to lose... But how can I free my body without touching those threads...?

  There was not a damn hint from the Cultivator, I couldn’t feel it. I wondered if it was slowly dying, too. My gaze settled on the Core. It was a source of yet unfathomable power and possibilities. It was my Сore and the source of my power. My second heart that pushed energy through the golden arteries of the Contour.

  I found myself trembling with emotion. Sadly, I received no response from the Core. The remnants of the thing pulsed with a slowly fading light. The grip of the invisible claw tightened. I knew that it would soon crush the Core... and me.

  I needed a weapon.

  A cleaver or at least a knife…

  Why not? An odd thought suddenly occurred to me.

  I was inside of myself... This was my mind and my world. Why shouldn’t it obey me?

  I reached for the Сore, concentrated, and tried to visualize the weapon in detail. The light had become painfully bright. I was dazzled by it. I needed an image to cling to. I remembered the Bone Knife. I remembered every little thing about it. Opening my eyes, I saw... a flame in the shape of a knife. The handle was exactly as I had imagined it.

  After a little while, and some struggle, the flame took on the shape of a blade. Only I didn’t need bone, I wanted steel. So I had to act on intuition to create it. Afraid of getting burned, I quickly ran my other hand over the blade, imagining the cold metal. A moment later, I was a proud owner of a knife with a slightly curved blade.

  I had something to cut the abyss with, but it wasn’t enough. Gold intertwined with light and turned into a pair of gloves made of leather with gold threads.

  I didn’t worry about of the material. All I needed was some sort of protection.

  I picked up the knife and turned to face the other me, wondering what to do first.

  Hi Nicky, Alpha said. Good idea with the gloves, but they won’t save you. As soon as you touch the abyss, you’re a dead man.

  I turned around and saw a grin appear in the gloom. Next to a bald man stood the vague silhouettes of a woman and a young boy.

  We’re very happy to finally see you, Nick. I recognized Beta’s voice. It was so strange to finally face my inner voices in person.

  It was one of those moments when I felt so close to them. I didn’t need to listen to the boy to understand that he was Zeta—the voice of my fears.

  We’ll give you some time. Try and get out of here! Alpha said.

  I turned around and saw threads coming out of my body and slinking toward me. One of them touched my glove and left a burn. I slashed it, causing blood to pump from the wound. The threads twitched, gripping my double’s neck, almost snapping it in half.

  It was as if an invisible hand had gripped my throat and squeezed it so hard that my vision went dark. It dawned on me what Alpha had hinted at—everything that happened to my body happened to me as well. The shadows of my voices passed by and attacked the abyss. I felt slightly
better.

  Wheezing and gasping for air, I stepped forward and cut the threads that were strangling my double.

  Everything went black.

  ***

  I opened my eyes and found myself still lying in my “mind.” My neck hurt like hell. I couldn’t bear to touch it. But I was still alive. I got down on all fours and shook my head; it was all so blurry. I remembered that if one pressed a certain place in the neck, blood pressure would drop sharply, and the person would pass out.

  I straightened up. My vision was clear again. The abyss monster and the voices were gone. It seemed that the other threads didn’t care about me.

  Turning toward my double, I saw that a new sprout had grown from his mouth. When you cut off one of the Hydra’s heads, two more grow back. I needed to attack the source in order to destroy this thing for good. I could hardly imagine myself plucking the threads out of my own eyes. It’d probably hurt more than sawing off an arm. Not to mention that I’d probably go blind if I took my double’s eyes out.

  And then it dawned on me… I finally felt the Cultivator. I mentally reached for the bracelet, and it responded. A moment later, I could see it on my arm. I could also see the double’s thigh glowing red, right in the place where I got stabbed. I should’ve known... It seemed that I’d be saved only if I cut my leg off.

  Did that mean that I would lose a leg in real life?

  In all honesty, I was more worried that I’d pass out and fail. If that happened, I was sure that the abyss would kill the double, and then me.

  Coming closer, I saw a lump on my right hip. I cut a hole in it and scraped off the brown scab. I turned away, not wanting to look at the abomination that looked like a cross between a brain and tree bark.

  The pain would knock me out, and there was no guarantee that I’d survive. But I had no other choice. Either I’d die in agony, but with a slim chance of getting out of this shit, or I’d die for certain. Joe had told us about how some players became strange creatures after their fight with the abyss. I didn’t want to become a monster.

  I examined the hip more closely.

  Wait, Nick. This is your mind! Why not create some sort of anesthetic?

  The idea was sound, but no matter how hard I tried, all I got were colored blots of incomprehensible substance.

  The room was slowly growing darker and the Core more clouded. The dome was closing in on the patch of uninfected space where my double and I were. I gripped the knife’s handle, took a step toward my double, swung... and dropped my hand.

  Come on, Nick! Just do it! So it’ll hurt a little…

  The hand lifted and descended again. I was seething with helpless anger. I took a deep breath, slowly raised the knife again, and... The blade was so sharp that it sliced through to the bone without causing pain. My hip started to burn, and the pain only got worse from there. A red mist filled my vision, blurring everything—I couldn’t see what was in front of me so I cut by memory.

  I lost consciousness before I knew whether I had succeeded in completing what I had begun.

  Chapter 21

  RETURNEE

  I saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

  Take me into it…

  I felt my body slowly sliding forward and myself fighting against the headache and the terrible throbbing in my hip. Remembering what had happened, I opened my eyes, and found myself lying on the same gray, porous floor. My double wasn’t there, but there was blood all over me. I couldn’t make myself look at my hip. The bloodied knife lay right beside me. I reached out to touch its cold hilt and realized that I couldn’t feel my left arm. My right seemed to have become paralyzed. I seemed to have reunited with my body.

  I rolled onto my back with difficulty. The brown dome was still there, and it was still shrinking. I had eliminated the source of the disease, but I was far from having defeated it. Having gripped the knife, I got up and went to the Core. I cut through the threads, and felt a sudden rush of warmth. For the first time in a while, I felt alive.

  I relaxed and closed my eyes. When I opened them, there was only darkness and... snoring? It took me a moment to realize that I had regained consciousness. They hadn’t left me; they had carried me to the hut. How much time had passed? I felt like my torture had lasted a thousand years.

  After all that I had been through, I was sure that I could endure just about anything.

  I opened my mouth. I wanted to call someone. I wanted to be heard. I needed someone to confirm that I was alive.

  I let out an inhuman growl that turned into a wheeze. For a moment, fear overcame me. I prayed that I hadn’t turned into a monster.

  “Nick?” Rio asked.

  “S-s-h s-h-h.”

  My voice was hoarse, too hoarse to talk.

  “You jerk! You scared the shit out of us!”

  I was so glad to be alive that he calling me a jerk was more of a compliment than an insult. I heard commotion, followed by Eli’s annoyed grunt.

  “Wake up, you twat!” Rio shouted. “Nick’s awake!”

  “Why, what, huh?”

  “Oh thank God!” Jelena cried joyfully.

  A moment later, a shadow leaned over me. Someone’s hair was tickling my neck. A hand had been placed on my forehead.

  Jelena.

  “How are you?” she asked. “We thought… that you wouldn’t pull through.”

  “Aa-h-a,” I tried to say how glad I was to see them.

  “Shh! You need to rest! Here, this will restore your strength.” She held a flask to my lips.

  I drank the concoction that tasted like a mix of mint tea and dirty socks with the eagerness of a man who hadn’t drank water in decades. I missed that rancid taste. I tried moving my legs, and although they were numb, I found that I could slightly raise them.

  “Don’t strain yourself,” Jelena said, alarmed. “You’ve been delirious for three days. You need to rest. Try to get some sleep.”

  Three days?! Time does pass slower there then...

  I blinked a couple of time, restoring my vision, and saw Eli staring at me with interest.

  “So, how was it?” he muttered, embarrassed. “I hope you’ll be able to tell me soon, man. I’m so glad that you’re back,” he added with a grin of genuine joy.

  I nodded and closed my eyes. I was exhausted and in pain, but I was happy. I could move my arms and legs. I wasn’t paralyzed. I hadn’t turned into a monster either.

  What did Joe say? No one has ever survived fifty-one percent of Deformation?

  Well, I’ll be the first. It’s my second birthday today.

  “I need some sleep, but I’m fine,” I muttered.

  ***

  I was back inside my mind, at the place with the Core. A long and tedious task was ahead of me: every nook and cranny of this place had to be cleaned of those abyss threads. I picked up the knife, approached the dome, and swung. Then I swung again. And again. And again. Soon enough, there was a huge pile of brown muck in front of me. My body was still struggling. I was gasping for air and my heart was racing, but I couldn’t stop. The sooner I got rid of all this, the sooner I would get better.

  When the pile was up to my waist, I decided to burn it. A spark slipped from the Cultivator and set the threads ablaze. They squirmed, as if in pain. The air stank of burnt hair. However, the pile remained standing. I tried chopping up the burnt threads into pieces, but they regenerated and fused together. I hit them with my fists, but to no avail. How does one get rid of something that can’t be destroyed? It’s not like I can hide them somewhere and just forget about them.

  I mentally reached for the Cultivator.

  The gloves turned green.

  What’s that supposed to mean? Should I grind them into a powder?

  Stupid as it seemed, I still gave it a go. However, my efforts were for naught. I needed something else, but I had no clue what that something was. What could I do against immortal foes?

  Goddamn it, Nick, you idiot. It’s so obvious.

  I remembered a very
important memento from my childhood—the big trunk and the biker poster that my grandfather had left me. I had been keeping my secrets in that trunk, and neither my mother nor her boyfriends had ever looked inside it because it had a lock. If there was any symbol of strength and reliability in the world, it was that trunk!

  There was no chance that the abyss could escape from such a sturdy prison.

  But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t visualize the trunk. I collapsed, arms outstretched and eyes closed.

  ***

  I woke up in the hut. The daylight hurt my eyes, so I squeezed them shut. I could hear the clang of weapons and shouts. The crew was training, while I was here, chilling. It was in that moment that I realized that something was lying next to me. I turned my head and saw Jelena’s head resting on the edge of my bed, hand holding mine. She was probably at my bedside all night.

  “Hi,” I croaked.

  Startled, she jumped up and fluttered her lashes. Smiling at me, she could hardly contain her joy.

  “Hi, Nick. You look... pretty good, actually. Seems you’ll be all right, thank God. Victoria asked me to call her when you wake up, but... I don’t really want to.”

  “I think you should.”

  Jelena nodded and left, returning with Victoria after a couple of minutes. Blond hair tied in a bun, she stared at me with her ever cold eyes.

  As long as he’s breathing, he has a chance.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “What for?”

  It wasn’t long before everyone else arrived: the sweaty Eli, the out-of-breath Rio, the indifferent Joe, and the ever-energetic Ksandra. Jelena was the last to enter. She froze at the door.

  I had to answer her in front of everyone.

  “For not leaving me behind.”

  “If you think you’re incredibly valuable to me, you’re fooling yourself.”

  Perhaps she would’ve answered differently had it been just the two of us in the room. She had to keep pretending so that no one would suspect her of having actual human emotions. A few days ago, I would’ve hated her for that answer, but now I just smiled.

  “I don’t care what your motives are. But thanks to your decision, I’m alive. And for that, I thank you.”