Awakening: (The Necromancer's Legacy Book 1)

by Henry Andrews

  "Your special envoy? Who are you?" the girl asked.

  "I am Yin. I bear death on my back, throughout the universe, and appear only to those who contain part of me. You are one of them, Aurora. Twenty years ago, your father asked for my help. He agreed to build up my army and fight for me in exchange for your survival. I did it. I was the one who left you at your adoptive parents' door and I was the one who left the note signed by your father," she said.

  Aurora interrupted her, "Did my father sacrifice himself for me? Did you ask for his life in return?"

  "Don't interrupt me again, girl," the voice said, the body increasing twice its size. "Your father made his choice. He knew he would be persecuted forever. No school would shelter him. If he gave his life in battle, it was to give you a chance to survive. He fought until his last breath, his last gasp when the blade of the now leader of the Kaji School pierced his heart," she said.

  "If my father was so valiant, so brave, why didn't he have a nascent soul?" Aurora asked, the anger once again producing an excess of black chi that clogged his meridians.

  "Haven't you figured it out yet, kid? I am your nascent soul. Necromancers don't need to create a golden core for that. You don't need to spend dozens of years trying to be a god. Your body is also mine. It is the burden you carry. You can raise thousands of dead people, but death is the ending game for you. You do not have a second chance but to be reborn into another body and that is beyond my reach. It is from the domains of the Yami, Lord of Purgatory, and his minions to analyze and decide the destiny of each person's afterlife," the voice confessed, "I appear before you now to ask you if you will follow in your father's footsteps. I can feel the desire for vengeance flowing through your veins. I can give you the power to wipe out all the embassies of the Kaji School within a radius of a hundred kilometers from here. They won't even know what hit them."

  It took Aurora about twenty seconds before she answered, "I have a question first. If you were on my father's side, on the necromancers’ side before, why didn't they win?"

  She heard something being cracked and teeth shattering what sounded like a wooden log, but couldn't see anything beyond the black specter. "Good question. I was naive. I didn't expect my brother, Yang, to get involved in my affairs. He also has chosen people on this earth, people who walk among the crowd, possessing light powers, special healing powers, and others. He teamed up with Luan-Lu, the white-bearded old man who for decades ruled the Kaji School and overthrew not only all my necromancers but also the undead. It was they who took all my strength away from me, for I have only as much strength as my necromancers have. Your father still lasted long enough to bring down the old man. But his son, Quan-Lu, had a deity on his side and was strong enough to take advantage of our weaknesses. I only have two necromancers left. You're one of them," she told Aurora.

  "Why didn't they kill you?"

  "Girl, our time is running out. You must make a decision," the voice said, hasty as if it was afraid someone was listening and she could be located, "I am one of the two principles that govern this world. I cannot be killed. Only my disciples can, the reasons for my strength.”

  "I appreciate the proposal, but I'll do it alone. I don't want your help. My revenge is mine and nobody else's," Aurora said, taking Yin by surprise.

  "Idiot. One day, you'll understand what you refused. An immense power, the ability to raise dozens of dead, as many as your body and soul could raise. You'll lose months, maybe even years, until you reach what I could give you in seconds," she said.

  "I believe so, but I'm still gonna do it alone. I'll train for that. One day I'll kill the leader of the Kaji School with my sword and it will be because I made it happen, not because I accepted the easy path," she said.

  The voice laughed. "Foolish as your father. He, too, refused my offer until he ran out of options. Have fun wasting your time," she said.

  With a superfluous movement of the hand, black chi wrapped around her body and she vanished as soon as her body flew into the ground. The barrier dissipated seconds later. Sweat ran down Liu-Ken's forehead, the blue of his hands transparent and one knee already on the ground.

  "It was her, wasn't it?" he asked, gasping for breath, the words coming out one by one, separated by a brief pause.

  "She?" Aurora echoed, pretending not to know what it was about. She wanted to keep it to herself, her little secret. An underlying fear that Liu-Ken would abandon her when he knew the proposal that had been made to her. To Aurora, it could only mean that the evil within her was greater than expected, that she was rotten inside, and there was no salvation. The girl bowed her head, unable to look the mentor in the eye.

  "Yin. Only she has this kind of power. Don't ever get carried away!" Liu-Ken shouted. It was the first time he lost his composure. Even though he was tired, his fingers dripping with sweat and the folds of his robe frayed, he stood up and stared at Aurora. "It was because of her that your father died. I told him we were able to survive without help, but no, he had to sacrifice himself for her. Even after he had rejected her a dozen times." he said.

  "Do you... blame me for my father's death? She said he did it for me," Aurora asked.

  "Of course, I don’t. Girl, don't be an idiot," Liu-Ken replied, pressing the girl's forehead with two fingers and shoving her, "Your father did what he thought was necessary to protect you. I respect that. But she took advantage of him in a fragile and desperate moment. I will never forgive her for that. My only chance to fight back is to lead you through whatever path you choose, without ever resorting to her,".

  "Then you're also moved by revenge," Aurora finished off, with a slightly sarcastic smile in the corner of her mouth.

  "You're getting too smart for my taste," Liu-Ken replied and smiled. "What did she tell you?"

  "She told me she could help me destroy all the Kaji Schools within miles. You don't have to worry. I refused. I'll get there with my own skills and training," Aurora told him and sat cross-legged, "I'm sorry I destroyed one of the bodies. I feel so tired,"

  "It's normal. It's exhausting. This won’t be her last time talking to you, believe me. Do the breathing exercises and let the mana all around us energize you. I'll get something that can help you," he said.

  Chapter 15

  Liu-Ken walked into the house. Aurora remained seated, breathing deeply, remembering the woman's words. Gradually, they shattered into chunks, straying from her mind, only a whispering heard from afar. It was hard to keep focused. Even after absorbing the mana and recovering her stamina, she still felt tired. The problem was more deep-rooted than she had thought.

  Behind the white clouds. the sun rose as beautiful as a lotus flower. The rays of light ran from one end to the other, from the reflection over the lake to the forest shadows, also shining upon Aurora. Minutes went by. Liu-Ken had not yet returned when the girl got up and walked to the edge of the creek. She knelt and washed her face. The refreshing sensation awakened her, also freeing her from the melancholy that still resided in her head.

  "It feels good, doesn't it?" Liu-Ken's voice was heard behind her. He had a glass jar with a thick yellow liquid inside, "drink it to the end and all at once. The longer you take, the worse it will be. We'll start practicing with swords after. There's no time to rest,"

  "This is horrible," Aurora said, with a disgusted look as she sniffed the bottle.

  "I warned you. Drink fast. You can cover your nose while you do it, but don't stop until the bottle is empty," Liu-Ken said. He left the girl alone and walked back to the swords.

  A trail of the black chi that Yin had used to materialize was still lingering, trying to survive without a host. Liu-Ken inhaled deeply, without using his mouth or nose, a technique called embryonic breathing, as old as the first cultivator, and blew a jet of blue chi that dispersed the invisible black powder until it vanished.

  "This is horrible, but I'm feeling more energetic," Aurora said, hopping from the edge of the creek to the first rock. "Today I'm going to beat you," she added,
as she moved closer to Liu-Ken.

  The mentor flung his sword at her. The girl grasped it and placed it on the diagonal, beside the body, bending her feet, while keeping a strong look on the man's body ahead of her, his face blurred by the sun.

  The air had become stiff. They gazed at each other, the bodies moving as light as a feather, imperceptible to a common man's gaze. Aurora swung both sides, waiting for an opening, a small gap that would give her two or three-seconds’ advantage over her opponent.

  The seconds went by without anybody taking the initiative.

  Only when a beam of light blazed over the top of the metal of Liu-Ken's sword, momentarily blinding him, did Aurora advance. She ran as fast as she could and delivered a side blow. The celebration was canceled immediately, as soon as she realized that Liu-Ken's body was not there. She looked around trying to find any sign of the mentor. She had already given up when a foot landed on her shoulder. Liu backflipped and landed on the ground, as skillful as ever, without even having to put one foot behind him.

  "You waited for the right moment, but once again you got too excited. I don't need to see you to know where you are. Next lesson. You have to know how to keep your chi low profile, as unnoticeable as possible. Emotions are your greatest enemy.”

  "And teaching me how to do that backflip?" Aurora asked, the sword stumbling through her fingers.

  "One day. First, you have to know the basics. We've already spent three days and you still can't lift a body. Just the two of us won't go anywhere. There are worse evils on the lookout," he said.

  "Why do I feel like you're not telling me something? Yin said there was one more necromancer alive. Why doesn't he help us?"

  "Girl, forget it."

  "No, no way. I'm tired of being pushed aside. I want to know," Aurora said, the pores opening, black wires wrapping around her arm. "Now."

  "Aurora, control yourself," Liu-Ken said and took a step forward. "He didn't help us the first time and won't help us now."

  "If they know of his existence, why doesn't anyone kill him?"

  "Because he rejected Yin and isolated himself from the world. His undead army controls every floor of the inhospitable tower where he lives. Several legions of cultivators and even martial arts warriors dared to try and none of them returned alive. The reward for his head is the highest on this continent," Liu-Ken told her and placed his hand on her shoulder, "now control yourself. We can't risk going into other towns if you can't keep your black chi in total control,"

  Aurora still hadn't answered when he realized why. The black wheels of smoke had infiltrated his fingers and were slowly seizing the veins in his arms, rising to his neck. They didn't stop there. Aurora watched, incredulously, her mouth still half-open, the black lines filling Liu-Ken's face. His skin wrinkled over a dozen years within seconds. It withered until the bones stood out, his cheekbones able to cut.

  "What... what's happening?" Aurora asked him.

  "I needed you to see this," Liu replied. A wrinkled voice, empty eyes about to jump out of their sockets. "it's not only the mana that you can absorb but also other people's essence. It starts with chi and when there is no more, it sucks everything else in. A normal villager would have died by now. Even I won't last more than 10 minutes if you continue. The ring gives me extra strength, but not enough. Focus. Don't let fear control you."

  "I can't stop this. I'm trying," Aurora said, trying to move her hands, taking them off, but nothing worked.

  "Look at me," Liu told her, his face already a mixture of white layers of porridge, "take a deep breath. Think of the reasons that brought you here. You got this. Now focus. Don't cry. Don't complain."

  Aurora closed her eyes. Her adoptive parents' faces appeared before her. They smiled and told her that everything was going to be all right. And, even though it was only a memory, Aurora could have sworn that they were there, that they were aware of what was happening and, supported her even though they did not agree with her decision. It was for them that she was there. She regained her fingers' sensation and closed them as she breathed deeply, savoring the mana around her, absorbing it, spewing the toxic chi out of her mouth.

  "Open your eyes, Aurora. You have to see the consequences of your actions," Liu-Ken said, the voice now sounding healthier.

  Aurora opened them. Black powder flew around the two, blending with scorched fire feathers. One by one, her fingers freed themselves from the invisible chains that held them together as if they were glued to the mentor's body. Liu's skin rose, returning to its place, the black lines receding throughout his body.

  The girl yelled. The black chi returned to her body, clashing with the already absorbed mana. Such a slender, still fragile body was not able to hold that much energy for a long time. She pointed his hands up and fired black chains across the air. They mixed, zigzagging, rotating around each other until they rose high enough to be shielded by sunlight and absolutely vanished.

  They both lay down on the ground, breathing irregularly, their fingers tumbling on the ground. Under the blazing sunlight, all the marks, spots, signs, and traces stood out.

  "Are all your days so... busy?" Aurora asked and laughed despite the chest pains.

  "Believe it or not, my days were much more peaceful when I lived alone," Liu-Ken replied, also laughing, some of the bones snapping as he bowed his head.

  "Boring, you mean."

  "Maybe. Not that I missed having to run away," Liu-Ken said, his eyes resting on an orange-beaked bird that rested on the roof.

  "What's next?" Aurora asked, changing the course of the conversation. She couldn't know what the man next to him had already gone through, but she realized how hard it had been for him whenever his voice trembled at the end of the sentence like a long memory that faded with time.

  "Lunch. Recovering energy. Then go back to basic training. You will climb the rock."

  "Again?"

  "And a dozen more. It's good for you. The more times, the better you'll control your chi. Besides, that water is good for you. It has medicinal properties. You really didn’t think the house was built here by accident, did you? Whoever built it knew exactly what he was doing. It was the same water I laid on your forehead," he said.

  "He could just like the view."

  "That's a bonus," Liu-Ken said, and he let out a rough laugh again. It took him a few seconds to be able to walk. He wasn't gliding on the floor anymore. His muscles were stiff and heavy. He walked up to the shoji, "I'll make lunch. Don't take long," he said.

  Aurora lay there for a few minutes. The sky seemed different to her this time. The clouds moved at an unusual speed. Her muscles were sore, and her vision darkened until she could only see a thin blue line up there.

  "I'll do it. Even if it's alone," she whispered. The words gave her strength. Misfortune had befallen her and yet she was hopeful that better days were to come. She had not told Liu-Ken but had already thought several times of raising her adoptive parents' bodies. Perhaps there was even a way to give them a semblance of human life. She would do it, even if she had to give them a piece of her soul.

  She got up and headed for the kitchen.

  Chapter 16

  Liu-Ken cooked pasta with tuna and added red pepper for a spicy touch. It was not uncommon to hear the demon grumbling behind them, words dragging across the air, dissipating along the way. Aurora had not come near him again.

  No one spoke for the whole lunch and both finished quickly. Both were miserable. Aurora had little endurance yet and Liu had not spent so much of his power in a long time.

  Even when he had invoked Kagu, emotions had not mixed with chi itself. For that was the evil of falling into the trap that the emotions promoted; for all the extra power they could give, from anger to love, the consumption of chi was enormous.

  Dao, the origin of all things, living or dead, could not give without taking back. Even immortals, the cultivators beyond mere mortals, who dared to look it in the eye, to face it, to kneel before it, and then to benefit from a
power beyond the imaginable, were obliged to accept and embrace such changes. They lived beyond chaos, death being but a brief glide in the face by the hand of those they dared to love in life. In return for eternal life, they had to agree to pursue an unfruitful life of happiness. It was the total commitment to a cultivator's life, the only true sacrifice.

  Half the afternoon was spent sleeping. The sun was already down to half when Aurora finally woke up. Slim streams of orange lights reflected on the ground through the translucent blue paper that covered the entire window. She stretched out and got up. Outside, the flute’s sound dulled the moment. Aurora looked out the window. The only thing visible was Liu-Ken's lower right leg, the waterfall, and the small circular stream—calm as usual.

  Aurora made her way to the garden. Her body had returned to its normal state and even her thoughts had calmed down. Only the idea of getting stronger had remained. Facing Yin made her realize that she still had a long way to go.

  The world was full of fantastic characters and surreal adventures, everything she once thought was just myths and legends, and now she dreamed and recreated epic journeys in her head. As much as Bardolph had told her stories he said he'd heard in the cities where he used to go to sell old material in exchange for a few copper coins, he had never told her that there was any real fact in each one. He hadn't even told her about her father. Not that Aurora didn't get tired of asking about her parents, at least until she turned 15 and got tired of the same answer.

  "One day we'll tell you everything."

  That day never came. It was now for them that she clenched her fist on the way to the creek. For the time that had been taken away from them. But Aurora would not give up. She could not do it.

  She had no family. She had no home. All she could do was dive in her adventure, on her training, in the bloody world of gods and deities, which had been awaiting her all her life.

  Her fingers were already red and swollen when she walked past Liu-Ken. She nodded her head briefly and kept moving. She jumped over all the steppingstones that connected the edge of the creek to the main rock. She saw nothing else ahead but the oval monolith, with a small flat part on top, ahead of her. She climbed it on her first attempt.