Pleased as punch at having executed order 66 and kicked off the (soul) Clone Wars, my plan to sit back and watch it all unfold comes to an immediate halt as a hurtling mountain crashes into the small of my back.

Or at least that’s what it feels like.

Upon further inspection, I discover what I suspected was a mountain was actually the solid boot of a burly grandfather who snuck up on me from behind. Large and hulking, but far from an actual mountain, which makes his kick all the more impressive. This rugged, barrel-chested Warrior of many years is fairly average in height, meaning he only stands a head taller than I do, but he more than makes up his unimpressive height through sheer width. Most of this is due to his thick, lacquered leather armour, gloves, and boots, a stiff and bulky affair that seems more awkward than a full suit of plated steel, but even without it, he’s probably twice as wide as I am, if not more. A rather boring leather helmet sits atop his head, a cheap, padded piece meant to cover his skull and little more, without even a chin strap to keep it from falling off. This leaves his weathered face and wild, unkempt beard on full display, with the former shaped by a life spent taking punches to the nose and the latter appearing as if it’d recently been cropped short with a dull knife due to its rough and uneven lines.

Function over form is the name of the game here, and this rough and tumble grandfather has my respect for keeping it simple. His armour is similarly plain and straightforward as can be without all the trappings of wealth and power, and much like Xing Ao Tian out in reality, the expressionless grandfather carries a spear and shield in hand while wearing a sword strapped to his belt. Similar armaments, but in a wildly different style, which is my polite way of saying the grandfather’s weapons are the product of the shoddiest workmanship I’ve ever had the displeasure to see. His spear is just barely taller than he is and the shaft is curved, if not straight up crooked, topped off with a crude and wide leaf-like blade that gives his weapon an almost spoon-like appearance. As for his shield, it’s not even made of iron, but rather lacquered leather much like his armour and patched so many times you can see the different layers in the dents which have yet to be fixed. As for his sword, even though it’s sheathed and tucked into his belt, I can already see that its craftsmanship is nothing to write home about, a piece of metal that’s been flattened and sharpened without even the addition of a handguard.

And yet despite his advanced age and antiquated equipment, there is no denying this Warrior’s strength as his spear lances towards my throat faster than I can blink.

The impact delivers a rush of agony which sends me hurtling away in the darkness of my mind, blacking out for an instant only to return to my senses, though I would much rather remain unconscious until the pain has passed. Waves of crippling torment emanate from the site of impact and course through my entire being, but I grit my teeth and find my bearings, only to howl as the spear embeds itself in my gut and lifts me off my feet. Gripping the haft of the spear if only to ease the pressure a tiny bit, I am helpless to act as I am carried up and over my opponent’s head only to crash into the hard, unyielding ground. Lost in a haze of suffering, my mind struggles to understand how a solid surface just appeared out of nowhere during out battle in the endless Void, yet the back of my head insists the ground is all too real given the world-shaking impact.

Or it would, if I was here in the flesh. Get it together Rain. This is a battle between souls, so stop playing by the rules of reality.

The spear stuck in my flesh and held fast in my hands grows hazy and indistinct as I Will myself away, but here in the Void, distance is merely a suggestion. Still convulsing in agony, I summon Tranquility to block my foe even as he appears before me and executes a flawless and powerful Pierce the Horizon to match Akanai’s best performance. Whereas my Grand-Mentor’s movements emphasize grace and harmony however, this anachronistic Warrior is pure violence, and momentum. His spear strikes the exact centre of Tranquility and sends it crashing back into me, and even though I am able to brace for impact, I am still launched through the Void as if shot out of a cannon.

Which gives me just enough time to gather myself and Manifest my Domain around me.

The invisible waters of my Natal Sea surges out to engulf me in its weightless embrace, absorbing my momentum to bring me to a smooth and steady stop. Peace appears in hand as I meet my foe with sword and shield both, countering his charge with one of my own, but not one aimed to collide. Instead, I skirt right by him on his left side and hamstring him with Sword Force while narrowly avoiding his shield smash by the barest of margins. A counter made by reflex and instinct alone, one which would’ve cratered a taller man’s head, and it just goes to show how scary my foe really is, an experienced Warrior of a thousand battles unlike the scholar Zhen Shi or monk Vyakhya. It shows again in his speed of recovery, pivoting about on the leg I wounded without so much as a blink, when even Zhen Shi would grit his teeth every time I hit him with Sword Force. Not this nameless Warrior however, whose spear sweeps me off my feet with a light, surgical swing, one delivered after a quick and powerless thrust to get his weapon in place. Not only are there no wasted movements, he’s able to seize control of the tempo every time he acts, and there’s nothing I can do except dance to his tune as I utilize the currents of my Natal Sea to avoid his subsequent flurry of thrusts.

Or at least I try.

I’ve seen other spearmen fight like this before, with rapid-fire stabbing motions that come at you from a myriad of angles, but my opponent here takes it to a whole new level. Not only are his attacks too fast to be seen, but they’re also too powerful to be Deflected even by the currents of my Natal Sea, and without Pong Pong here to help me along, I am pierced a dozen times in the blink of an eye before I succumb to the agony once more. The pain is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before, not necessarily worse, but far more extensive in scope, an all-encompassing anguish that radiates out from the point of impact to cover every fibre of my existence. Jagged bursts of lightning covered in crushed glass and burning flames, that’s what it feels like as the destructive energies course through me, and in a moment of blissful, senseless unconsciousness, I realize that this is probably what Spear Force feels like.

No wonder Zhen Shi got so pissed every time I hit him with Sword Force. This fucking sucks.

Coming to with a gasp, I clear my mind and focus on the destructive forces running rampant throughout my soul to confirm my suspicions. The similarity to Sword Force is unmistakable, but it’s not as simple as swapping out the word Spear for Sword, as I would be unable to replicate this. It’s like hearing the same song, but played on different instruments, similar enough to be recognizable, but just because you know how to play the piano, it doesn’t mean you can play the same song on a guitar. Making the most of this precious breather, I reflect upon our brief battle back to the beginning and realize that his initial kick to the small of my back had a similar sort of feel. The pit in my stomach grows larger as I steel my nerves and make ready to fight once more, but the fact that my opponent has mastered two types of Weapon Force is disheartening to say the least.

Spear Force and… Foot Force? Haha. Foot Force. How about I force my foot up your ass?

The meme slips out as I channel my inner Red Forman and slam my boot into the tip of my opponent’s thrusting spear, a reaction made in a moment of Insight or perhaps using the instincts of the Warrior. Not sure, but while kicking a spear is generally a bad idea, I was aiming for his stomach and he adjusted faster than I could follow. The end result is still much better than expected however, because even though my attack lacks the same Foot Force he demonstrated earlier, my memetic shenanigans empower my kick with enough power to simply send me flying a short distance back. There are no waves of agony radiating through me this time, only an explosion of force which leaves me feeling a little shaken and frayed around the edges. My opponent is no worse off, but for the first time, I’ve managed to interrupt his rhythm and even almost match him in raw strength. There’s no time for celebration, however, for he is a Warrior through and through, wasting no time in thought and deliberation before resuming his offensive once more. Thankfully, our last clash helped me screw my head on straight and show me how I should approach this fight.

Out in reality, this grizzled veteran of a Warrior would carve me up like a Christmas turkey in no time flat, but we’re not in reality, nor are we truly doing battle in the Void. No, we’re technically here inside the Emperor’s Domain, but like I told Zhen Shi not too long ago, my Domain exists wherever my sword can reach.

Time comes to a standstill as I exert my Will and Visualize my Intent, focusing not just on the sensation of the water around me, but the actual sea itself. Out in reality, I can only Manifest my Domain in an indistinct fashion, there, but not there, because I am impeded by Natural Law. Even with the Heavens eager to comply with my Will, the sheer amount of energy required to Materialize an actual sea is far beyond what I can harness. Conservation of Mass and Energy as it were, a Law which I suspect not even a Deity can breach, but here in the Void within the realms of my Natal Palace, I am the Law.

The gurgling splash of the clear blue waters rise up to encompass my entire being as I sink beneath the waves of my Natal Sea, one which stretches out in time and space. The Void sits empty and desolate in one moment, only to become an undersea paradise the next, with no transition or progression as my Domain takes shape in an instant. It doesn’t flow out to engulf the area around me so much as override it, and to my delight, I realize that this is a portion of my Domain in truth, a section of my Natal Sea rather than some conjured Water Chi flowing around me. This is but a fragment of the whole, with undersea currents coming in from one edge and exiting out another, with a good fifty metres of Materialized Domain in all directions at the very least. Leaves, twigs, seeds and more littering the surface of my Natal Sea, from the forests lining the shore where I crafted a replica of the village I’d come to love, which exist beyond the reach of what I’ve Materialized around me. Even then, the world within my Natal Palace behaves as if it were whole, with the wind howling as it passes overhead and rapidly cooling from contact with the waters. The sun shines high up above the skies, unseen but illuminating the darkness of the Void all the same, while off in the distance, I hear the waves crash against the concrete docks where I built the fountain for Blobby to play in.

Lin-Lin once marvelled at how realistic the winds were, enabling her to soar through the skies upon a hang-glider using instinct alone. That’s not all, because she talked about how she could feel the warm sunlight on her skin and how the air grew thinner the higher we climbed, but I never put too much thought into the details. I always just figured that’s how it should be, and I suppose my subconscious worked it all in years ago, though I had a part in a few things like the sun moving across the horizon and clouds drifting with the wind, stuff I considered ambiance and background noise to make it seem more realistic. Mostly because I have high standards when it comes to muh immersion, and with complete power over my surroundings, it was easy enough to adjust the details until they felt right, but only now do I realize how powerful a boon this can be. The more natural and realistic my surroundings, the less effort I have to put into maintaining it, because in my mind, I am no longer Manifesting my Domain within the Void, but rather have Materialized a portion of my Natal Palace within it.

A difference without a distinction? Maybe, maybe not, but it feels less active and strenuous to Materialize this entire section of my Natal Palace than it did to consciously manipulate a much smaller portion of Manifested Domain, and I suspect the realism of my Natal Palace is what makes it so easy.

Time resumes and my elderly opponent’s movements grow heavy and slow as he finds himself submerged beneath the waves with me. There is no surprise on his expressionless face, no shock or confusion to be seen, but he still requires a moment to adjust to his new surroundings, a moment I do not intend to give. The currents of my Natal Sea engulf and drag him down into its murky depths, and though his frantic struggles do well enough to slow his descent, it’ll be long seconds before he makes his way to my side once more, which gives me plenty of time to consider how to deal with the Warrior before me.

Or it would, if not for the actions of another old timer from a bygone era, this one dressed in elaborate, flowing robes so overly embellished that even Luo-Luo would balk at wearing them, all while playing a jade flute whose piercing notes drill deep down into my very soul. As if a regular flute wasn’t bad enough, the wrinkled Flautist’s blaring trills set my gorge to rising and my nerves aflame, but it’s not half as bad as the Warrior’s Spear Intent. The real issue is how the blaring melody speaks to me, reminding me of all the pain and suffering I’ve experienced today and all the fatigue I’ve built up along the way. I’ve been through enough, and now there’s this, which is everything I’ve already gone through and more, so why even continue to fight? I’m out of my depth and all on my own, while my enemies have numbers enough to block out the sun, a veritable horde of powerful souls moving into position to strike me down before I can even cross swords with the Emperor himself, so I might as well just give up and die.

So in other words, business as usual.

Life is suffering, with mine more unfortunate than most, and it’ll take more than a shitty song to bring me low. The Flautist stands just outside the boundaries of my Natal Palace, and I discover that even though I can move freely within the Materialized area, the boundaries do not move with me. Expanding the Natal Palace might work, but between Meng Sha, Shi Bei, and everything else I’ve been up to today, I’ve pretty much reached my limits, whether they be physical, mental, or spiritual. That being said, just because my new foe is standing outside my Domain doesn’t mean nothing inside can reach him, so I decide to fight fire with fire and Manifest a set of industrial sized concert speakers upon a raft pointed directly at him. Leaping onto the floating surface, I grab the mic and yell, “Learn to play a real musical instrument, you hack!” The feedback sets my ears to ringing, but does little to interrupt the Flautist’s shrill, warbling blasts of noise until I Will the speakers to erupt in the distinctive melodic chords of the one, the only, Epic Sax Guy.

So taken aback by the dulcet tones and my hypnotic hip movements, the Flautist forgets himself for a moment and stops playing, his wrinkled, neutral expression growing even more slack, but soon he mechanically resumes his trilling, discordant warbling, and I sense a different purpose behind it. He’s changing up the pattern and rhythm in an effort to counteract Epic Sax Guy, to break through the music and attack me once more. If Luo-Luo were here, I’m sure she could come up with some musical theory to explain it and somehow counteract the Flautist, but I lack the musical skills and background to know what to do. A good thing this isn’t battle of the bands then, for I am not limited to music alone. Summoning Peace to hand, I wind up and deliver a massive, underhand throw which leaves my arm outstretched. The Flautist swerves to avoid my blade, but I Guide the projectile true to plunge deep into my aged opponent’s chest. Rather than Sword Force however, I have a different purpose in mind as my fingers close around the solid cord of Manifested Domain connecting Peace to my wrist.

“Get over here!”

The guttural declaration erupts from my throat as I pull hard on the cord, but it is not my voice which we hear as the Manifested meme drags the Flautist to stand before me. The follow-up is so natural and instinctive I don’t even need to think as I execute a flawless uppercut that sends the retired musician high into the air and off my raft before sinking into the Natal Sea below. A pulsating current of water sends him careening down to join the Warrior beneath the waves, a battle well fought if I do say so myself, but before I can even figuratively pat myself on the back, I am beset on both sides by two more formidable foes. A billowing ball of flame crashes into my raft as I leap into the skies to avoid the explosion, only to discover a sharp pain emanating from my neck due to the short sword jammed into it. Frightening as it might be to find twelve inches of shoddily-forged, sharpened metal embedded in my throat, I am not here in the flesh, so without a Weapon Force to empower the blow, this is merely an inconvenience at best.

The sword belongs to a slim, svelte Warrior clad in all black silks that contrasts sharply with his grey and white hair, and I instantly nickname him the Ninja. The fireball came from some asshole in a hide cape, one just as old as the others and wearing a crude crown of animal horn and holding a sceptre shaped from what appears to be a human leg bone. Old Asian Joffery will be his name, one which fits all too well because this asshole has the most punchable face I have ever seen in this life and the last. The arrogance is just baked right into the creases of his skin, and combined with his high, jutting cheekbones and the set of his thin, bloodless lips make him so instantly hateful and deplorable that I loathe even the idea of learning his real name. That being said, Joffery’s ability to conjure fire is nothing to sneeze at as his next fireball erupts mid-air to cover the sea in flames. Cloud-Stepping away from the elderly Ninja to buy myself a moment to breathe, I come to a crashing halt and look down to find a barbed leather bull-whip holding me in place, because apparently this Ninja Grandpa works part-time as a dom on weekends, which is an image I will never get out of my head.

The fiery inferno consumes me and I learn first-hand that these flames can indeed hurt me, even worse than the Warrior’s Spear Intent as they draw the air out of my lungs and render me incapable of screaming. Again, I know I have no lungs or air to breathe, but the pain is no less real as I instinctively dive towards the waters only to crash into a sea of flames. A brief struggle sees me through to the other side and the cooling currents underneath, but the damage has already been done. Though still wholly intact, I feel as if my body is covered in horrific burns and melting fat, without the added benefit of melted nerves to end the sensation of pain. What’s more, my throat feels as if I drank a bottle of acid and I’m slowly coming apart from inside, the work of the Ninja’s poison which he no doubt slathered across his dagger. No, not poison, but some Chi working that resembles it. Again, I reiterate to myself that I am not here in the flesh, but spirit, a simple fact that is all too easy to forget as I shake off the pain and go after my ancient opponents who are desperately making a beeline towards the boundaries of my Natal Palace.

Because they set foot within my Domain expecting the Flautist’s music to keep me under control, but I threw off his musical enchantment before they even arrived. While both the ninja and Asian Joffery are capable of injuring me, they know they have no chance of winning now that I am of sound mind and spirit, for here in my Natal Palace, my Authority reigns supreme. An effort of Will closes off my Natal Palace from the Void, and a second extinguishes the flames blanketing the sea, for here in my Natal Palace, Asian Joffery has no Authority to wield the Energy of the Heavens. Unable to leave, he turns to fight alongside the Ninja who disappears from sight, but I could find him even with both eyes closed because I hold the home-ground advantage. Rather than try and kill them, I opt to capture them alongside their friends, because to be honest, the only way I know how to hurt them is with sword force. A wave of water rises up to drag them both under the sea, binding them in swirling currents before carrying them over to their other two companions who even now continue to struggle to break free.

It almost feels unfair, bullying these heavy hitters like this, but that’s what happens when you intrude upon someone else’s Natal Palace. So long as my throne remains in my possession, I hold all the cards here where I stand. That being said, I’ve only Materialized a portion of my Natal Palace, this deep-water section of the sea, so I’m not sure how anyone could gain access to my condo and Throne which have not been wholly Materialized. Then again, considering they both ran towards shore where my condo is located, maybe I’m wrong and I’m risking everything by Materializing my Natal Palace and not occupying the Throne, like the first Emperor over there whose ass is plastered to his seat even in the midst of his struggle with Zhen Shi. Now that I have some time to breathe, I notice I haven’t missed much of their battle, which is less kung-fu magic and more staring deeply into each other’s eyes while grimacing something fierce, though I imagine they’re locked in a bitter battle of Wills taking place within their… minds? Souls? Whatever. This is the stuff of nightmares, in my opinion, sharing an intimate, soulful connection with myself, and the fact that one is a hairless twin of the other really makes it that much more unsettling.

Much as I would love to leave this place and go back to my body, my efforts bear no fruit and I remain trapped within the current Emperor’s Domain. My next thought is to dismiss my Materialized Natal Palace and interfere with the battle of Wills between the first Emperor and Zhen Shi, but the four seniors trapped under the sea are merely a drop in the bucket compared to the vast army of Natal Souls trapped within the first Emperor’s Natal Palace. No, not the first Emperor, but the current Emperor’s Natal Palace, or rather the person everyone thinks is the current Emperor who is actually chained up and kneeling at the first Emperor’s feet. ZhenWu’s brother, or maybe half-brother, and Xing Ao Tian’s too, and it’s possible the other representatives were also half-siblings given how the first Emperor mentioned something about uniting brothers against him. After playing back the conversation once more, I realize it really was a rebellion, because ZhenWu might well have realized that the current Emperor was not actually his older brother, which is why he was so desperate to unite the outer provinces behind him. He needed them and the Five Supreme Families in order to have enough leverage to negotiate with the first Emperor, which was enough to convince the body-snatching Ying Zheng to part ways amicably.

And the scariest thing? Even with the Five Supreme Families and the outer provinces more or less united against him, Ying Zheng wasn’t afraid of losing a fight. No, he backed down because he was worried there’d be nothing left to rule in the aftermath of their showdown.

All the more reason for me to get gone, but I find myself surrounded by a veritable army of Souls on all sides, tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands spread throughout the Void to encircle my Materialized Natal Palace. Every last one of them wears the same dead-eyed expression, as if they’re unaware of their surroundings and merely going through the motions, but their actions show signs of deliberation. They’ve learned from the old Flautist’s mistake and stand well clear of the boundaries of my Manifested Natal Palace to avoid being dragged in by my sword. It comes as something of a relief to see that a number of them are even gathered where my Natal Throne should be, but have yet to take control of my Domain. I suspect it’s because they have to ‘come in’ to my Natal Palace first before being able to vie for control of my Throne, though I might well be wrong. Much as I’d love to eliminate the risk and dismiss my Materialized Natal Palace, I’m fairly certain I would be ripped to shreds and burnt to a crisp by the four imprisoned elders still struggling to break free of my Natal Sea, to say nothing of the army of Souls all around me.

God, if what Zhen Shi said was true, each one of these souls was taken from a prospective Emperor of the Azure Sea. It would appear the Eternal Emperor has a penchant for keeping the souls of his puppets and lining them up like they’re in attendance for court, a sick, twisted play which began with the founding of the Empire and has continued to this day.

Why keep the souls though? Isn’t that a risk, given how any random soul could break free and claim the current host’s Natal Throne for themselves? Maybe the Eternal Emperor does it to stroke his ego, or maybe he’s sentimental about the bodies he collects, or maybe it’s a power play like what Zhen Shi likes to do. Regardless of the why, knowing this is an army of full-blown actual souls makes it all the more unnerving, especially in light of the ancient, rotund scholar standing who appears to lead them. I call him a scholar because of the style of robes, a wide-sleeved, full body cloak that goes down to his ankles and is held in place by a sash that wraps multiple times around his portly belly, complete with a hat that is more rectangular than round. It’s a style still seen in the Empire today amongst the noble elite, though his are fashioned from coarse hemp rather than light cotton or noble silk. Contrary to his coarse fabrics however, his white hair is meticulously groomed, and though wrinkled as the rest of the seniors I’ve fought, it appears as if this old man took better care of his skin, as his creases are not as deep or weathered. Much like the four imprisoned in my Natal Sea, there are no distinctive markings or sigils embroidered upon this portly fellow’s clothes, but I sense a threat emanating from him that dwarfs the danger I feel from any three souls residing in the Emperor’s Natal Palace, including the ones I’ve already fought who, as far as I can tell, might well have been the strongest of the bunch aside from fat grandpa over there.

Which explains why he’s planted right between me and the Emperor’s Natal Throne, where the current Emperor’s soul watches everything unfold with a look of awe and hope etched across his youthful features. Though he looks like he’s in his early forties out in reality, he seems even younger than his brother ZhenWu here in his Natal Palace, and maybe a year or two older than the lovely Miss Rou, who I doubt is much older than I am. It seems that whatever mind-mojo the first Emperor uses to enslave the souls of his meat puppets takes a long time to kick in, or maybe Ying Zheng needs the host’s soul in good working order before moving out and into the next Emperor.

This year should be the thirty-ninth year of the current Emperor’s rule, with eleven more to go before the next Emperor takes over. That’s how it works here in the Azure Sea, which is odd considering I now know it was all put together by an eternal, body-snatching monster. Why switch bodies every fifty years? Seems inconvenient and needlessly risky to fight a host soul for control every five decades, especially when there are better options available. I mean, taking over a half-beast every five centuries seems much easier, or Ying Zheng could bring his host up to Divinity and have an even longer lifespan, or so I would assume. All this means that there has to be a reason why he switches every fifty years, and I doubt it’s something silly like placating the five Supreme Families to ensure a different bloodline takes the throne every half-century.

Maybe he switches every fifty years because he has to? When he mentioned his predecessor, who was supposedly ZhenWu and the current Emperor’s father, Ying Zheng spoke of a story told upon his deathbed. Seems odd considering how young the former Emperor’s sons all appear to be, so is it possible that Ying Zheng’s body-snatching shenanigans uses up the host body’s Life Force at an accelerated rate? Dunno. Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t know enough to say, but despite studying the souls out in the Void and captured within my Natal Sea for what feels like a fair amount of time, I’m unable to tell how Ying Zheng is controlling them, and thus unable to come up with a method to free them. The current Emperor is the only one who is chained and forced to kneel, but also the only one capable of expressing emotion, so full of bitter anger and despondent hope as he watches everything unfold around him. As for the rest, they might as well be automatons, though I note down a few similarities I previously didn’t register. The powerful souls I’ve already fought are the exception to the rule, as most faces in the crowd are full of youth and vigour, which lends credence to my theory of the body-snatcher requiring vast amounts of Life Force to sustain himself. Why else would the Emperors all take the throne when they’re still so young? Granted, ‘young’ could still mean they’re in their forties like ZhenWu and look barely old enough to have kids.

Seriously. How does he have a twenty-something year old daughter already? He looks about the age where he should be wrangling rug-rats and maybe even changing diapers for his kids, as opposed to butting heads over who they’re gonna marry.

Another point of interest is the fact that the handful of older faces among the crowd appear to be on the weaker end of the spectrum. No idea why, though I suppose sharing your body with an ancient soul would do wonders for progressing along your path, like a friendly old ghost grandpa who wants to take over your body and bang your giant harem of wives. Ugh. That’s like the worst form of NTR ever, getting cucked by your own body being controlled by someone else, though I don’t suppose the… host has much time to…

A familiar face leaps out at me from the crowd, and though I recognize him at first glance, I can’t believe what I am seeing. “Err… Seneschal?” I ask, moving to the edge of my Manifested Natal Palace to get a closer look, and on the way over, I dredge up his name from the back of my mind. “Solitary Sword Zhang Jun Bao? What are you doing here?”

The old Seneschal looks the same as he did in life, save for his fancy new threads which would’ve been unsuitable for a mere servant, yet they look right at home on his lithe frame, lending him an air of heroic bearing. The sword in his hand is the one I saw him use to cut down a Half-Step Divinity Wraith in a single pass and send five more fleeing for the hills, though that seems much less impressive now that I know my old boss was in cahoots with Zhen Shi all this time and allowed himself to be injured. No matter how many times I call out his name and title however, the Seneschal offers no response whatsoever, and I heave a sigh at having lost this exemplary Warrior, a stand-out talent of his generation who might even have been a Divinity, or close to it. “Did Liang Wu Di sacrifice you too?” I ask, if only to hear my thoughts out loud. “I thought better of him, thought that he respected you as a man and maybe even saw you as a father, but it seems I was wrong.”

Or was I? A glimmer of something flashes in the Seneschal’s dead eyes, briefly and only for an instant, but I know I saw it before it disappeared. Before I can figure out what to try next however, an intrusion worms its way into my consciousness and Natal Palace both. A moment of panic threatens to unmake me before I’m hit by a familiar torrent of joy and love which eases away all my fears and worries as I turn to greet Buddy in my Natal Sea. “Good boy!” Lifting my doggo into my arms to hug him close, I give him a kiss on the head and ask, “How’d you get in here?” No idea why I’m even bothering, as Buddy doesn’t understand English and I don’t speak dog, but he’s just happy to hear my voice again. That being said, a brilliant idea comes to mind while greeting my dog with cuddles, and I descend down to the surface of the sea to try and make it happen.

Putting my dog aside on a floating raft which I Materialize out of thin air, I cup his chin and look him in the eyes, or I try to as he avoids my gaze because he’s a sweet, docile doggo. “Alright Buddy,” I say, rubbing his cheeks with my thumbs so he knows I still love him. “You want a treat?” His ears perk up at the sound of his favourite word as I point at the souls caught in the waters below and ignore the churning in my gut. “There you go! Go get ‘em!”

Buddy’s disappointment is immeasurable and his day is ruined as he looks at the four souls, then back at me, his eyes filled with chagrin and confusion because he doesn’t see any treats. I suppose these souls are too Balanced for his tastes, or rather for Blobby’s tastes, so there goes my plan of having my dog Devour the Eternal Emperor’s soul army. Materializing a grilled steak for him to chow down on, I stifle my sigh and try a different tack once Buddy finishes his snack. Knowing there’s no way he will ever understand my words, I conjure up an image of the Emperor standing in the palm of my hand, but not the Eternal Emperor currently doing battle against Zhen Shi. The image in my hand depicts the Emperor in reality, Ying Zheng’s meat puppet standing on the sands of the Western Province, right down to his armour and hair. “See this guy?” I ask, showing Buddy the picture and praying he understands even though I know this is the longest of long shots. “I need you to go back out to reality and bite his fucking dick off.”

God, I feel like a horrible pet parent even asking my dog to do this, and I really shouldn’t use such harsh language in front of him, but I’m desperate and this is the only chance I can see. If Buddy kills the current Emperor, then his Domain will disperse and his soul will do whatever souls do whenever their latest life comes to an end, and then Ying Zheng, Zhen Shi, and all these creepy enslaved souls will be left exposed to the Void. Even though it doesn’t seem all that different from the inside of an empty Natal Palace, I’ve stepped outside into the grand vastness of the desolate Void and it is not a pleasant experience, I’ll tell you what. More importantly, I suspect that if the current Emperor dies and his Domain disappears, then Ying Zheng will no long be able to hold me here, meaning I can just go back to my body and make sure the current Emperor is dead as a doornail.

As for what happens to Ying Zheng, Zhen Shi, and the rest of these souls? Who fucking cares. Sure most of these souls are victims of the first Emperor, but let’s be real. Where there is life, there is hope, but these guys are all long dead, except the current Emperor who hopefully soon will be.

I spend a good amount of time and effort trying to convey my intentions to Buddy, but my sweet dog is dumber than a bag of bricks. Even with the ability to conjure up life-like illusions to show him every step of the process, I’m not sure he understands that the small, brown-furred, floppy-eared dog he sees savagely tearing into the Emperor’s nether regions time and time again is supposed to represent him. God, I bet if Mama Bun were here, she’d figure it out in an instant, and she might well already be working on the Emperor’s ankles even as we speak. Pong Pong most definitely would get it, but my efforts to contact him don’t even make it out into the Void, stopped by the same almost solid barrier keeping me from leaving the current Emperor’s Natal Palace. Then again, I suppose Buddy probably couldn’t get out anyways, so after trying for far too long and wasting who knows how much time in reality, I give up and pat my sad dog on the head, who is only sad because he thinks I’m mad since he doesn’t understand what I’m trying to tell him. “…Good dog,” I conclude, unable to think of anything else to say, and he perks right up and jumps into my arms for a hug.

“How intriguing.” The cold, passionless statement shakes me out of my thoughts as I turn to see the Eternal Emperor standing next to the fat grandpa, just outside the borders of my Materialized Natal Palace. Hands folded behind his back and head held so high his nose is pointing at the sky, the body-snatching monstrosity looks none the worse for wear after his tussle with Zhen Shi, who is nowhere to be found within the Emperor’s Natal Palace. Taking in the sights of my Natal Palace, the Eternal Emperor shows the tiniest hint of interest, not exactly excited by what he sees, but intrigued none the less. “The impossible made possible once again, with the same child at the crux of so many miracles.” Fixing his predatory gaze upon me, his eyes glow with a bleak heat that sends a chill down my spine, for I now understand what it is he wants from me.

“Not since the founding of the Empire has this Sovereign seen so promising a subject,” the monster continues, stepping forward past the boundary and into my Natal Palace, and even though I take this opportunity to hit him with a blast from a water cannon, he doesn’t even notice the impact. “Your boundless potential is merely the appetizer, but this Sovereign is surprised to see that the Laws of your Natal Palace are so complete.” Conjuring up a barrage of water, munitions, Sword Force, and anything else I can think of, all my efforts are for naught as he reaches out to take me in hand while his lips twitch in the barest hint of a smile. “Yes, you will make a fine host for this Sovereign, and perhaps even the final host once your secrets of Life Energy are laid bare.”

I continue to fight the good fight, but nothing seems to faze him, and though I refuse to give in to despair, I fear that there is nothing I can do stop the Eternal Emperor from hijacking my body. His outstretched hand grows larger and larger until it blocks out all light, and I grab Buddy close and clutch him tight, praying for a miracle to come save me.

Because by god I’m gonna need it.

Chapter Meme 1

Chapter Meme 2

Chapter Meme 3