Chapter 227 - Threat of Death

Yuzu woke up.

It was a quiet, peaceful awakening. Where one feels refreshed and bright of mind. Where there’s no sense of urgency or danger.

The pain and tingling in her body was gone. The stress on her body and soul that had reached an unbearable peak was as if it never existed.

Her eyes opened and she saw a calm white world around her.

It was a new sensation, one that she couldn’t remember ever feeling before. Even before the incredible events that had changed her life, there was never a time in her memory that she woke up to peaceful surroundings, with nothing to do. At home there was always the noise of activity in the shop, or Zwei cooking, or Xiang bounding around and yelling.

But at this moment, she heard and felt nothing but calm.

There was a strange sense that she was missing something, something she couldn’t put her finger on.

She had been lying down, curled up on the white ground, and now pushed herself up to a sitting position. Her arms were whole and unblemished. Her hair was white and draped gracefully down her shoulders.

She turned her head and saw the massive black door wrapped in chains. It too, was calm. She didn’t even feel the oppressive aura coming off of it. It was as if it were a normal door.

A normal, massively giant door with arcane symbols and chains that she could comfortably stand inside.

She unconsciously raised her hand to her heart, and at that moment she felt a tug on her soul. She looked down and saw her white string of fate coming out of her. It was now smooth and whole, but there was something different about it. A “thickness” to the thread, a subtle barely noticeable change in its quality.

Ah.

The epiphany came to her gently, the realization of what was missing. The constant, barely noticeable ache in her limbs was gone. That feeling of weakness that defined her life after the death of her parents, a feeling that she had gotten so used to that she didn’t even notice that it was there anymore…

But now it was gone.

Even the porcelain vial of life hadn’t completely given her this sense of ease.

She frowned, looking over her body, not seeing anything out of place or strange. Her memories were clear. She recalled every moment prior to when she had fainted, from being forcefully puppeted by the entity behind the door, to feeling like something inside her had cracked, to collapsing to the ground as she felt her soul drain out of her body.

But now here she was, whole and healthy and at peace.

Her eyes fell upon the dark, ancient metal door. There was really only one reason that she could see that she was still alive. That entity behind the door must have had something to do with it. Nothing else existed down here, at the bottom of the white world, it was the only explanation.

She stood up, feeling light as a feather as she walked calmly up to the door. Though she should have felt apprehension, or fear, or anxiety over approaching the door, none of those emotions arose within her. Her spiritual intuition was calm as well. As far as she could tell she was alone at the moment.

Perhaps the entity behind the door went away for a while… She thought to herself. If that’s the case, I should try to leave.

She closed her eyes, willing herself to return to the physical realm. She concentrated on the feeling of solidness, locating her physical body which was currently housed within her aetheric body, and forming a spiritual connection with it. Normally, this would be enough for her to leave the white world and materialize in the physical world.

She frowned as nothing happened. She looked around, wondering if perhaps there was no physical location parallel to this place at the bottom of the white world, which might explain why the technique wasn’t working.

She looked up at the white sky, willing her body to float and fly upward as she had done several times in the aetheric plane. Once again she was disappointed. It felt as if the rules of this space were different from the rest of the white world, preventing her from leaving.

She looked around at her surroundings. There was nothing else apart from the door. The featureless white ground extended in all directions, blending in with the white sky. She half considered picking a random direction and walking that way, but it seemed like a bad idea. The door, as ominous as it was, was at least a solid feature in the otherwise empty world. If she left and lost track of the door, would she just end up wandering aimlessly lost through a featureless white void?

As terrifying as the mysterious locked up entity was, somehow the idea of being lost in that way was even more scary.

Noticeably missing was the ornate chest that Yuzu had dropped the last time she had been here. It was nowhere in sight. Yuzu tried to activate her spiritual vision to see if she could locate its string, but the only string she could see was her own.

Where did the chest go? Did the entity hide it, somehow? Or perhaps someone else had arrived here and taken it away?

Yuzu tried to rack her brain for more ideas on how to escape, but her eyes kept resting on the giant chained door. It was hard to ignore, being the only thing in the space. She was hesitant to examine it but she also didn’t have any other options. She bit her lip, pausing for another moment before taking a step toward it.

She slowly walked forward, alert for any signs of the entity, but the door remained inert. She eventually approached close enough to the door that she could reach out and touch it.

At this distance she finally felt the presence of the entity. A soft muted buzz emanated from the door, which radiated with a weak aura. As soon as she felt it she took a step away, but it was too late.

The air grew denser and her body tingled as the entity laid its attention on her. The aura bloomed, expanding out from the door as if the entity was waking from a nap. It was not as oppressive as it had been previously, but it was thick with malicious intent.

“Weakling.” The deep, tremulous voice uttered, full of disdain. The voice seemed to reverberate through the air all around her, though it was loudest in the direction of the door. It continued to speak in an unknown ancient language, but just as before Yuzu had no problems understanding him.

Yuzu frowned, clenching her hands subconsciously as she resented the label. Though she was facing off with an immensely powerful being, the accusation filled her with irritated resentment that countered her fear of it. “That’s awfully judgemental for someone who can’t even open a door.”

A tremor ran through the ground. The giant chains jangled as the air rumbled with the entity’s displeasure.

Yuzu was unperturbed as she continued, “If I’m a weakling, then you must be even more pitiful for continually asking me to open the door.”

“What is pitiful that your soul wasn’t strong enough to channel the activation runes. Imagine nearly dying trying to open a door.” The entity growled. “You would not be standing here were it not for my intervention. Show some respect!”

Yuzu raised an eyebrow as she heard these words, ”Is that why I feel… healthy, right now? Your help?”

“A clear waste of my vitae.” The entity grumbled.

Yuzu’s eyes squinted slightly, her head tilting slightly. She didn’t know what vitae was, but though the entity stated it in a chiding, derogatory fashion, his simple words revealed a basic truth. Even if it was just a tiny amount, he had expended something valuable to save her.

The gears started turning in her head as she stood a little straighter and looked straight up at the center of the door.

“…Why?”

A sudden boom shook the door, rattling the chains as a massive force slammed into the other side of the door. Yuzu’s hands instinctively shot up to her ears to cover them as she tensed up from the loud, unpleasant noise.

“Know your place, girl. Your sole purpose now is to serve me, lest I rend you apart painfully, piece by piece.”

“Try me.” Yuzu returned, unfazed by the threat.

Her whole body stiffened as invisible force gripped her and thrusted her to her knees as she was forced to bow down to the door. Her throat seized up, preventing her from breathing. Her eyes bulged out of her head as she made choking sounds trying to gasp for breath.

Her heart swelled within her as she felt the edges of a closed wound within it start to stretch and tear. Her mysteriously replenished life force once again began to leak out as her body began to ache with a familiar, unpleasant weakness.

The invisible force released her, causing her to collapse. Her fingers clenched tightly as she coughed and wheezed on the floor. Her heart ached, the wound in her soul stung with a deep, stinging pain.

“You shall listen to me, or you shall die.” He proclaimed, fully confident in his dominance over Yuzu. The earth rumbled deeply as the evil entity exuded a magnificent aura.

Yuzu pushed herself up, shakily supporting herself with her arms as her head hung down. Her face was obscured by her long white hair as she trembled.

She wasn’t trembling from pain or fear, or even irritation. Rather, a feeling of excitement had welled up inside of her. She knew now that the entity didn’t want her dead. It didn’t even want her injured. As soon as the crack in her heart had begun to swell it had immediately let off the pressure.

Without a doubt, this entity needed her more than she needed it. After this last test, she was sure of it.

“I’m sorry. I think we’ve gotten off to a bad start. I was rude, it was uncalled for.” Yuzu rubbed her throat as she struggled to her feet. She raised her head, eyes clear and confident as she looked straight at the door.

“I’m listening now. What’s your offer?”

End of Book 3 Epilogue