by Yuri Ajin
This made Rune’Tan start thinking. If the mark was still on the scroll, that meant that its owner was still alive. After death, all spiritual traces of a person disappeared from this world. Whoever the owner of the scroll was, they must’ve been above the Elementalist Stage, which wasn’t a common sight on Saha.
Determined to find the owner via the mark, Rune’Tan was very surprised to discover that his findings pointed to the southeastern edge of the Far Wasteland.
Kai, too, wished to find out who the mysterious cultivator was as he hoped that they could shed some light on Jongo’s mysterious past. Unfortunately, he had spent all his time training. The little free time he did have, he spent meditating. His original plan had been to go to the ocean and see the creator of the technique only when he was ready to reach the next stage. But his plans changed…
With the Fruit safely tucked away into his Ring, the thing he needed now more than anything was a place to hide from his pursuers.
The ocean was as good a place as any.
***
Although a couple of miles separated him from his pursuers, Kai still felt like they were breathing down his neck.
Having reached a cliff overlooking the eastern edge of the Plateau, he halted abruptly. Far below him, under a sea of clouds, glimmered the azure surface of the vast ocean. Somewhere out there, beyond the dangerous waters, was a distant country, now torn apart by a war among the ruling families.
Near the cliff was a clearing, in the middle of which was a stone circle. Mysterious symbols had been etched into its gray surface and the stone itself was saturated with an insane amount of energy and Forces, out of which those of the Path of Space were the most numerous.
Stepping onto the stone platform, Kai froze. There was very little time left until his pursuers finally caught up with him, but he didn’t know what to do next. Going back wasn’t an option and neither was jumping off the cliff. If he didn’t figure out how to activate this teleport soon, he’d die. No matter how confident he was in his abilities, even he wouldn’t be able to deal with so many opponents.
Unleashing a wave of sword energy, he cleared the platform of the grass, dust, and fallen leaves, and began to carefully examine the symbols. There had to be some sort of a clue somewhere. This place was far too important to be nothing more than a monument to nature.
Groping the stone in search of any sort of lever or button or anything, he felt the auras of the Bright Moons approaching. Not far from them were the Salamanders and the Sun Blessed. Kai felt fear grip him to the very core.
He probably had less than a minute at his disposal.
“Fuck!” he swore. “How the fuck does this fucking thing work?!”
The tension was slowly building up. Kai was struggling to remain calm and level-headed. Looking around in panic for at least a piece of wood to serve him as a weapon, his gaze fell on a familiar symbol, engraved almost in the very center of the circle. Immediately taking out the scroll from the Ring, he compared the two.
They were the same.
Breathing out a sigh of relief, he crouched and placed the symbol on the scroll over the symbol on the platform. The two aligned perfectly, down to the last brush stroke and scratch.
In the next instant, the rest of the symbols flashed brightly. The young man glanced over his shoulder in time to see his pursuers appear behind him, and then the light finally absorbed him.
Kai disappeared.
***
Seeing a bright flash, Shin Sei picked up his space. All three clans approached the glowing stone circle. The teleportation process was still going, but no one dared to enter.
Shin Sei stared at the symbols in confusion. Unlike everyone else that was currently present, he knew about the teleport. He had the history of his ancestors memorized to a T, especially accounts about the terrible war that had taken place a century ago. Salamander Elementalists knew about this strange teleport in the middle of the Far Wasteland, but even they were unable to figure out where it led and how it could be activated. The senior elders, the patriarch, and even the supreme elder of their clan couldn’t even damage it.
Shin Sei knew for certain that after that war, no one had ever succeeded in activating this teleport. But this guy, this bastard Kai...
He couldn’t let this chance slip through his fingers. If he followed him, he’d perhaps be able to achieve what his family had failed to do.
“We’re going after him!” he ordered and headed forward.
“But we don’t know where this teleport leads! Is it worth the risk?” one of his teammates asked. No one wanted to have to escape by using their token as that’d mean being disqualified from the Tournament. Also, if they were sent too far, then even the tokens wouldn’t help them return home. Not to mention that they didn’t know how long the teleport would remain open and whether there was a way to return through it or by any other means.
But none of them knew that Shin Sei had already made up his mind. Even if they were disqualified, that was a small price to pay for what the Salamanders could gain.
“It’s worth it…” Shin Sei whispered to himself and then stepped into the circle, immediately disappearing in the bright light. The rest of the Salamanders rushed after him.
Silently observing, the Bright Moons and the Sun Blessed seemed reluctant to follow the Salamanders’ example. They had no intention of attacking each other since their teams were relatively equal in strength, which made the potential battle too risky and unprofitable.
In the next moment, they felt the light slightly weaken, which meant that it would soon go out. There was little time for thinking.
At first, Yan Liang and the archer from the Bright Moon Clan thought to send some of their teammates after Kai. But, seeing with what confidence Shin Sei had entered the teleport, they were reluctant to do so. If the Salamanders were so sure about this, then they must’ve known more about the portal.
One by one, the members of both clans entered the portal.
If nothing else, getting the Fruit was worth the risk.
***
The first thing Kai felt when he got to the other side was tremendous pressure. It was only thanks to his abilities that he had managed to remain conscious. But, even so, it was hard for him not only to stand but also to breathe. The slightest push of one of the more powerful Forces would certainly manage to knock him out, that much he was sure of. How the hell someone without his abilities would survive here, he had no idea and he prayed that he wouldn’t have to find out.
Looking around, he tried to figure out where the pressure was coming from. It seemed like it was coming from everywhere. Picking a random direction and following it for a bit, he quickly realized what he was dealing with. If the unsettling feeling in his stomach was to be trusted, this power belonged to the aura of a monster at the peak of the Tyrant Stage. It took Kai a while to realize that the pressure wasn’t directed at him. It was just a side effect of being around a monster that powerful.
The place he had ended up in turned out to be rather curious. To his surprise, he wasn’t drowning although he was very deep underwater. A translucent dome was the only thing preventing tons of water from crushing both him and the temple that stood in the center of the area he had found himself in.
The temple was a tall structure, with walls that emitted a soft, dark green light. By the looks of it, that seemed to be the only source of light down here. Beyond the dome was nothing but pitch darkness and whatever horrors lurked within it.
After a few seconds of looking around and getting used to the pressure, Kai headed for the temple. As he got closer, the structure got even taller and more impending. Soon, he found himself in front of huge gates, next to which there were two statues depicting mighty warriors, clad in armor and armed to the teeth. Something told him that they were there for more than just decoration.
I can bet my ass that they’ll come to life… I can feel it in my bones.
Coming a bit closer to better examine the gates, he sudde
nly heard a loud scraping sound.
…Well, who would’ve thought? All those games and movies seemed to have lied to me…
The eyes of the statues flashed and the gates began to open silently, almost beckoning him to enter. Of course, he accepted the invitation. His gut told him that he was doing the right thing.
As soon as his figure disappeared into the darkness of the passage, the teleport flared up again. Shin Sei staggered but quickly regained his composure. He had already reached the Source Creation level and his will was unusually strong, so the pressure couldn’t break him as easily as it broke many of his teammates.
Almost a third of the Salamanders instantly lost consciousness, barely passing through the teleport. The same happened to the Bright Moons. But the five disciples of the Sun Blessed Clan weren’t affected.
Arming themselves and preparing their techniques, they quickly realized that no one was in a hurry to attack them. The aura affecting them turned out to be non-hostile. Many breathed a sigh of relief.
However, with some of their teammates unconscious, the Salamanders and the Bright Moons were overpowered by the Sun Blessed. Shin Sei and the archer immediately exchanged glances and nodded to each other. Yan Liang grinned.
“Don’t be scared. I won’t attack you just yet,” he sneered. “As I’ve said, we’re only interested in the Fruit and the Tiger’s Crystal. Although... If we find something more than that, I hope you wouldn’t mind sharing?” he added with an even bigger grin.
Shin Sei’s face turned grim. He didn’t think that the other two clans would follow them through the teleport. He didn’t like this at all. He didn’t want to share with them what he expected to find in this place. Or the rare Fruit, for which even beasts were ready to sacrifice their lives.
To his displeasure, however, he couldn’t do anything. If he attacked the Sun Blessed, the Bright Moons would definitely not help him. They’d probably watch the fight and then finish off the winner. And if he attacked the Bright Moons, the Sun Blessed would do the same. The presence of a third party was holding them all back.
Besides, incapacitating people was much more difficult than killing them. However… They were no longer on the Tournament grounds.
If our heirloom is here, Shin Sei thought, we’ll have to use the artifact. I hate that we’ll probably be disqualified and banned from the Tournament if we kill these assholes, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. The end justifies the means. If the heirloom really is here, then I don’t give a damn about anything anymore...
Having thought it over, he ordered his teammates to go to the temple. Picking up their unconscious friends, they moved forward. The Bright Moons did the same. The Sun Blessed, having had no causalities, had gone before everybody else. One of theirs rushed to the slightly open gates to peer inside and see what was waiting for them on the other side. Yan Liang felt his gut turn as soon as his friend touched the gates. But before he could warn him and tell him to move, the stone statues shot four lightning bolts from their glowing eyes. The young cultivator was reduced to a pile of blood, ash, and gore in an instant.
The rest of the cultivators froze in horror. Cold sweat dripped down their spines as they exchanged worried and frightened glances.
“Beware! Only one can enter!” thundered a cold, hollow voice.
***
The inside of the temple seemed even bigger than the building itself. Kai almost stumbled over his own feet, too busy staring everywhere but where he was going. Most of all, he was struck by the ceiling. Or rather, by the lack of thereof, as it was so high up above him that he simply couldn’t see it. He was aware that the temple was big, but so big that he couldn’t notice the dome above? No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t see anything but darkness looming over him. What if it simply didn’t exist? What if the temple was infinite in its height and the dome outside was but an illusion? What if the temple itself was just a cover for something much more sinister?
But before he could even begin exploring the temple in search of the reason behind its existence, the mark on the scroll suddenly activated. Several blue lights appeared in the hallway ahead of him, illuminating a statue of a man. Coming closer, Kai realized that what he was looking at wasn’t really a human although it did resemble one in appearance. The stately warrior had small horns that pointed backward, a tail, as well as an elongated neck and gills.
As soon as he approached, the statue’s eyes flashed for a moment, making him stop dead in his tracks like he did in front of the gates. He waited for a couple of seconds, but nothing else happened. There were no unusual waves of energy or Forces, no trembling of the floor followed by a door opening, or roars of some guardian that had been awakened from its slumber.
Having regained his composure, Kai was about to come closer and study the statue in greater detail when he suddenly heard a voice.
“Why did you come here?” someone asked.
Kai froze dead in his tracks yet again. His heart skipped a beat. Turning his head slowly to the left, he saw the shimmering figure of the warrior depicted on the statue.
“Are you a Shadow?” he asked.
The translucent figure chuckled.
“Only partially. I am a Spirit, I am an array, I am my creator’s will and memories, I am a keeper and a guardian,” he explained without having really explained anything. “But you did not answer me, why are you here?”
Why was he here? What did he come here for exactly? Why did he end up here of all places? To hide from his pursuers? Or to wait until the poison wore off and try to reach the next stage? But was this what he had in mind when he planned to follow the imprint’s trail? Not really. He had another, more important goal. He longed to continue his development and become stronger. For this, he was ready to risk everything.
“I want... No, I have to become stronger!” he said.
The smile on the flickering figure’s face grew even wider.
“A worthy answer... What is your name?”
“Kai Arnhard.”
“Do you know where you are?”
“I can’t say that I do.” Kai sighed.
“I thought so. I do not feel the blood of my creator in you, you are not his descendant. Judging by the clothes and the mark on your hand, you are not even a member of his clan... But you have the scroll. You were able to find this place, and the guardians let you in. Therefore, you must be worthy...” The Spirit was silent for a while and then continued. “You are in the Temple of the Sea Dragon, and as its guardian, I can give you a chance. You have to pass the test.”
“A test?” Kai was surprised.
“Yes.” The Spirit nodded. “But before that, please, answer me honestly — where did you get the scroll?”
“From my granddad. Well, he was more like a guardian to me. We weren’t related, but he gave his life to save me. He left me the scroll.”
The Spirit bowed his head. He detected no lies in Kai’s words, so he just nodded.
“What was his name?”
“Jongo.”
The Spirit’s face immediately darkened.
“There is no one else left then, is there? The war took everyone away, as I thought...”
“Did you know him?” Kai asked quickly. “Please, tell me about his past! Who was he?”
The Spirit was silent for a long time. Kai was about to ask him if everything was all right, when he spoke again.
The keeper of the temple told him a story that had begun over a hundred thousand years ago. In those days, monsters ruled Saha. There were no people on the planet then, only rare walkers from other worlds.
One day, however, one of the animals stumbled upon an artifact from the civilization that had come before its own. Thanks to it, the ordinary water monster became a Sea Dragon. During its long life, it had become the strongest creature on Saha.
Having gone above the Tyrant Stage, the Sea Dragon gained sentience and learned to assume human form, which Kai was now looking at. The System even granted it a name, U
’Shor, in honor of its achievements. U’Shor continued pursuing knowledge and strength, with his main interest being Forces and their manifestations.
Unlike humans, animals didn’t care much for nor did they do well in Paths since they weren’t as intelligent. It was only after completing the Elementalist Stage that they could understand the true value and benefit of Forces.
But U’Shor was different. Even before finding the artifact, he possessed an incredibly sensitive mind for a beast. Because of that, already at the Soul Stage, the future Sea Dragon began to show interest in the Forces, which were widely available at that time due to the higher level of prana.
That was why by the time people arrived on Saha, U’Shor had become the true ruler of the planet. All other developed animals bowed down and served him, so they heeded his order when he told them to be kind to the guests. As he was interested in these strange creatures, he very soon took people under his protection. After that, the Sea Dragon Clan was formed. It was the oldest clan on Saha, founded more than forty thousand years ago.
U’Shor had two sons — the Thunder Serpent and the Flame Salamander, who after several millennia left their father’s clan and formed their own. At that time, the clans had just started forming on the Celestial Plateau.[1]
Centuries passed like this until U’Shor suddenly discovered something that the System called the Cold Void. To study it further, he entered deep meditation that lasted many decades. Once he finished, he had become completely different.
Armed with new knowledge, he created a special meditation technique based on the Cold Void, the Underwater Temple, its guardian, and an artifact. All of this would be passed on to the followers of his clan. But then, shortly before the global decrease in prana levels, he simply left Saha.
His children and numerous followers begged him not to leave, but he remained adamant. He explained to everyone that during his meditation a small particle of the true essence of the universe was revealed to him, and he realized that he had sat in one place for too long.