The barrier between reality and the Void is one delineated not by space, but rather by the speed at which time is perceived.

Or at least, that’s how I understand it. Here in the Void, everything moves at the speed of thought or something, so even though it feels like this fight against the Emperor has been going on for weeks, it’s really only been a few minutes in reality since we met face to face. The time differential makes it difficult to pay attention to what’s happening in Shi Bei while doing battle here in the Void, or at least keep track of what’s going on outside in what I would call ‘real’ time. Doing so would leave me distracted here in the Void long enough for the Emperor to put a figurative kettle on the stove and enjoy himself a cup of tea like a proper monarch would, or tear my ass a new one like the psychotic, blood-thirsty, all-conquering hegemon that the Eternal Emperor is.

Which I knew before going with the Hail Mary play, and as such, was prepared to stall for as long as needed for my prayers to reach the ears of those who could help. For the souls of the dead to respond to my call came as something of a surprise, even though I had an inkling suspicion that this was within the realm of possibilities. While the Eternal Emperor was light on the details of how he survived the apocalyptic battle which claimed the lives of his sworn brothers, the fact that he was able to salvage their souls and implant them into new bodies tells me that a soul can survive without a physical vessel in the event of biological death. For a time, at least, as I suspect the presence of starving Spectres in the Void makes good incentive for any lingering souls to make themselves scarce asap. After so many Demonic births and Ascensions here in Shi Bei however, loose Spectres are in short supply and promptly consumed, which enabled the souls of the fallen to linger for longer than they otherwise might in hopes of seeing this battle resolved, and therefore available to answer my prayers in my time of need.

A good thing too, because I doubt I could’ve stalled long enough for my original plan to take form, not on my own at least. As denizens of the Void, the souls of the dead were able to hear and respond to my Call almost immediately to lend their strength to my cause once more, and I gotta say, it felt good fighting alongside these heroes for one last hurrah. More than that, I suspect like the battle might’ve helped them in some way, freed them from the heavy burdens their violent deaths placed upon them, a cathartic release of grudges and regrets from this life before moving on to the next. I am merely a single man, one incapable of righting all the wrongs they’ve endured in life, or even fully providing for all the loved ones they’ve left behind, but at least they were able to relieve themselves of this last burden before moving on.

I wonder… What unresolved enmity did I carry over from my previous life to make me the man I am today? There has to be some reason why I was able to awaken memories of my past life. You know, aside from me being crazy, since crazy doesn’t usually dredge up prior incarnations to fill the role of split-identities. Or maybe it does. I don’t know. Whatever the case my be, I suspect my past life wasn’t all sunshine and roses else I never would’ve ended up like this, though I’m glad a part of Buddy made the trip over with me.

Grateful as I am for the aid from all these fallen heroes, I was never counting on them to win me the day, nor am I willing to let them throw away their chance at reincarnation either. Had the Eternal Emperor not brought it up, I wouldn’t have noticed the souls of the dead slowly succumbing to Unbalance around me until it was too late to save them. In retrospect, it makes sense since I know that souls expend emotion by virtue of their existence, and are unable to generate new emotions without an attached body and mind. Not unless they care to merge with an Elemental Spirit at the risk of being consumed should they ever become Unbalanced at least, which is just a whole other thing I don’t entirely understand. It’s all academic anyways, for the solution to their woes comes to me in a moment of Insight as I utilize Tranquility as a Keystone to emanate an Aura of calm serenity and something else to soothe the rage of the fallen souls and send them on their way. A simple thanks is a sorely lacking farewell to heroes who gave it their all in life and in death, but unfortunately, it’s all I can offer. I wish I could do more, but I don’t know enough about reincarnation to help them any more than I have, so all I can do is wish them all the best as I turn to face my foe once again.

But not alone, for though the souls of the dead have moved on, there are still others able and willing to help shoulder the Heavens for humanity.

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Eyes darting over to stare at one particular patch of sky, Lin-Lin squinted as hard as she could, but still couldn’t make out her beloved hubby, despite knowing he was right there.

Things had to be really, really bad though, because it sounded like he was asking for help, but she was more than happy to lend a hand however she could. Even though she wasn’t a Warrior, Lin-Lin was still really strong, so if hubby needed help shouldering the Heavens, then she would do her best and give it her all, because hubby never, ever, ever liked to ask for help. It was so silly, his stubborn insistence on doing things his way and making all the mistakes himself, but at least he learned from them eventually.

Arms wrapped around Luo-Luo’s waist, Lin-Lin nuzzled into the tall woman’s embrace and rested her head against Noodle’s soft, supple body coiled underneath the dress. Opening herself up to the Heavens, she reached for Balance and yawned deeply as she always did, believing Luo-Luo would keep her safe, and from the way she moved an arm to shield her, Lin-Lin knew she’d guessed right. There was no helping it though, because hubby needed help and this was the only way Lin-Lin knew how to, which meant falling asleep on the battlefield even if it wasn’t the most convenient place to do so.

Grumbling under her breath as Noodle shifted under Luo-Luo’s dress, Lin-Lin held back a girlish giggle. So lewd, letting Noodle crawl around across her bare skin, but if it made them both happy, then who was Lin-Lin to judge, ya?

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Holding the precocious Ancestral Hare close as she snuggled in close, Luo-Luo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the sight of Lin-Lin falling fast asleep mid-battle while still standing on both feet.

The poor girl had probably pushed herself too hard, running and jumping about the battlefield as if it were one of Lord Husband’s obstacle courses, only a thousand times more deadly, if not more. Wincing at the sight of her blood staining Lin-Lin’s dress, Luo-Luo fussed about for a clean handkerchief but came up short. Blood was notoriously difficult to wash out, or at least that’s what Sorya and Anrhi claimed, and Luo-Luo had no reason to doubt them. Oh how she hoped they were doing well in Meng Sha, and that they would get away before another Defiled army came to lay siege to the fortress once more. That being said, this battle was still not over and Luo-Luo’s spirit burned with courage and determination both, but her body was unable to match her ambitions as her strength and vigor fell short. The pain of her abraded fingers was almost nothing compared to what the soldiers endured here today, but it still troubled her so, mostly because the pain kept her from playing in proper time since she kept flinching every time she plucked a string.

Unable to continue playing for now, Luo-Luo raised her eyes to the clear skies above as she hummed beneath her breath, for singing had never been her strong suit. It wasn’t that she couldn’t sing, more that there was nothing outstanding about her vocals, which contrasted all the more when following her phenomenal instrumentals. Though the song she hummed was every bit as in tune with the Heavens and the battlefield as it echoed out for all to hear, Luo-Luo wasn’t sure why she’d chosen this specific melody which differed so greatly from the song she played on her zither. Not until her weary mind finally remembered where she’d last heard this tune, a silly little ditty with nonsensical lyrics which Lord Husband taught Tali to sing, a song dedicated to Mama Bun. A doting uncle he was, always full of smiles and hugs whenever he saw them, and Luo-Luo knew in her heart of hearts that he would be a fine father as well, assuming he ever saw fit to put a child in her belly. One only needed to look at the way he cherished his beloved pets, and looking after children could hardly be any different, right?

The worst part was she couldn’t even be angry about his refusal to bed her, because his reasons were so sweet and stupid, for he had long since won her heart, yet still he hesitated to accept her for fear of rejection. A wonderful, loving man, her Lord Husband, and Luo-Luo hoped he was doing well, though she knew not why she thought of him and this melody just now.

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The hound’s mournful, panicked howl gave the wolf a great fright, one which was doubled as he watched his packmate disappear before his eyes.

Blinking twice almost got him killed as the Demonic Divinity continued to fight, a feral thing of claws and fury which didn’t fight like man or beast. A tricksy one, especially since the wolf had fought only to distract it for the hound to Devour in one gulp, only for the floppy-eared glutton to miss his cue and disappear moments before he was to strike. Annoyed though the wolf might be, he worried for the little hound, a beast so silly and stupid that it belied all belief. How was it possible for a creature so innocent and inexperienced to have survived long enough to attain Divinity? Once this battle was over and done with, he’d been planning on teaching his packmate the instincts he would need to hunt and survive, but now the hound had just up and vanished into thin air, leaving only a vague sentiment urging the wolf to hurry up and follow along.

Swatting the Demonic Divinity aside, the wolf grumbled up a storm underneath his breath while struggling to come to a decision. Keep the Demon alive for his packmate to eat, or go on a killing spree and possibly ruin their hunt? Lashing out with a handful of Claw Intent, he crushed the Demon’s head with a single strike before moving onto his next target. No sense faffing about waiting for the hound to return, like a lovesick sea wife waiting by the docks for her sailor of a husband. If the hound missed out on his meals, well then he had no one to blame but himself, so maybe he would learn a thing or two about leaving his pack in the middle of a hunt.

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Eyes filling with tears of joy and pique both, Mila’s nose scrunched up into something halfway between a smile and a grimace. “Idiot,” she muttered, hunkering down behind her shield and bracing for yet another boneshaking block, one she Deflected as much as she could yet still almost knocked her off her feet. Happy as she was to discover that her beloved husband had remembered how to ask for help, she couldn’t help but resent his poor choice of timing, or the vague manner in which he asked without any words or instructions to follow. What sort of help did he need? A Chi infusion like what Lin-Lin shared earlier? If so, Mila had no idea how to go about doing so, especially since she had no idea where Rain was at the moment. Was he nearby, fighting Zhen Shi in Concealment? He had to be, and if he was here asking for help with his hat in hand, then his fight most certainly wasn’t going well. Oh how she wished he would stop being an idiot and just say what he needed, but he persisted with his vague impressions of required assistance without uttering so much as a word.

It was times like these when Mila wished she could fall head over heels in love with a woman, but much as she loved her sister-wives, she still preferred Rain’s affections. His roaming hands, his eager lips, his hungry stare, the mere thought of this was enough to send a chill down her spine and set fire to her loins. A craving she could do without at this very moment, and one she lacked the energy to sate even if the battle ended this very moment, not that she thought Rain would even want her. Not only had she been stuck fighting in Shi Bei for the better part of fifteen days, she couldn’t remember the last time she bathed, because unlike those blessed to serve in Meng Sha, there wasn’t enough water to go around for quenching everyone’s thirst, much less washing their faces.

A sense of lust and amusement washed over her, emanating from Rain rather than from within, and Mila chortled at his perverted conduct which hinted at the depths of his love and lacking standards both. Oh how she loved her husband so, even if he frustrated her to no end, and she only hoped he would continue to frustrate her until their dying days. Or his, if she was being practical, but Mother forbid those days come too soon, for Mila was far too young to be a widow just yet.

Whatever he needed, she would provide without questions, save to ask what in the high Heavens did he actually need…

And just like that, whatever help Rain needed was provided and brought away, though Mila still had no idea what she’d done, and she gave it no mind as she turned her focus back to the Half-Demon trying to kill her.

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Emotional Aura was a godsend from the Mother Above for those who cared not for social niceties.

This Song wholeheartedly believed. There were no words exchanged, no pleasantries to feign, no courtesies to observe or body cues to remember. All it took was a brief moment of emotion to convey their respective intents, another moment to parse through them, and then Rain was off with whatever he’d needed from Song to go about his day. All he required was her trust, which he’d long since acquired, and then she sent him off with her best wishes to do whatever it was that needed to be done. The details were unimportant, nor was she worried regarding his ultimate fate, because despite matters having grown dire enough to come and ask for help, Rain was brimming with courage and determination both. If history was any indication, this meant that no matter the outcome, he will have given it his all, which was all anyone could ever ask. Victory or defeat lay in the hands of the Heavens now, and as the Mother’s Chosen Son, Song suspected Rain would emerge triumphant soon enough.

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The left flank seemed in danger of folding, so Yan dispatched a Wind Blade to support them, a finger-length sliver of Honed Air that hammered clean through the leading Half-Demon’s unarmoured face.

As her target dropped like a sack of rice, the other Half-Demons faltered and eyed her from afar, unable to see where the invisible attack came from but fairly certain she was responsible for their comrade’s death and wholly unwilling to become her next target. A good thing too, because she didn’t have too many more Wind Blades left to give, not unless sweet lovable Lin-Lin came back with another refreshing top-up of Chi for Yan’s Core. The Enemy didn’t know that however, so their fear kept them mostly in line as she supported her soldiers to hold the wall against these powerful armoured invaders. Though seemingly an improvement from your bog-standard Defiled in every possible way, Yan found that these elite Half-Demons were far easier to manage than the crazed masses of Defiled or hordes of fearless Demons who came pouring in without end. The Half-Demons were still human yet, retaining control of enough of their minds to feel fear and dread which she exploited to no end. A good thing too, because if not for their human failings, they might well have overrun all of Shi Bei in the initial push, as only their unwillingness to die for this forsaken city of sand kept them from slaughtering the defenders to the last.

It was obvious at first glance to anyone with Officer’s training, that a proper commander could easily have guided the Enemy Half-Demons to victory. They only had to coordinate and break through in a handful of strategic and eye-catching areas to deal a deathblow to Imperial morale, and fleeing soldiers were much easier to kill than ones willing to fight. A good thing Bai Qi was dead and gone then, and his chosen second sorely lacking in terms of command. It was either the handsome Mao Jianghong with his icy aloofness, or the even more handsome exile who sired Rain. Now that she knew how good he could look, Yan was eager to head home and stuff her husband’s face until he grew fat, or at least filled out to match his sire’s strapping physique, or Gerel’s which she wouldn’t mind a taste of. Rain would hate that, jealous man that he was, and while Yan would never do anything untowards without his blessing, there was a devilish temptation glowing about Gerel now that she knew he was Rain’s brother by blood.

Seriously. Brothers. What woman could say no to that? Yan was even willing to let Rain have a dalliance with Yuzhen, if that’s what it would take, though Gerel would probably be equally as unwilling. Birds of a feather they were, which in retrospect made it all too obvious why they couldn’t stand the other’s presence for more than few minutes.

Offering her beloved husband’s disgruntled presence a teasing smirk as she noted his arrival, Yan inwardly fluttered her eyelashes in feigned innocence, knowing how much he loved her wilder side and how it ignited his competitive streak. Though having long since resigned to spending the next century as a one-man woman, she didn’t begrudge him for his limits, though she would be lying if she claimed she wasn’t envious of his harem and yearned to have one of her own to match. It was all in good nature, because she knew her husband well, and knew that he would never intentionally do anything to disappoint her. Any unintentional mistakes would be quickly corrected as well, and he would rather die than see them hurt, which was partially why Yan had been willing to marry him in the first place, a decision she would never regret, so long as she should still draw breath.

A blown kiss and a warm hug, that was the sentiment she reassured him with, before sending him off in the same breath. Whatever his trials and tribulations, there wasn’t much she could do to help besides whatever it was he just did, so he would have to overcome them on his own. There was no need to worry though, because she had every confidence in him, and so long as her soldiers held and the Enemy remained leaderless and without direction, then it was only a matter of time before the siege of Shi Bei was lifted.

Now wouldn’t that be a pleasant surprise, for Rain to come flying to the rescue only to realize that Yan and the others had already solved the issue at hand. Her beloved fool of a husband had enough on his plate, so she was determined to ease his burdens by winning the battle between mortal powers before he made his triumphant return.

Another Half-Demon was about to gain the upper hand, so Yan sent another finger-length Wind Blade his way with a flick of her finger, marveling at just how practiced she’d become. “Hold the line,” Yan bellowed, speaking to herself and her flagging soldiers at the same time. “Victory will soon be in our grasp!”

Mother in Heaven, she hoped that was true, because Yan had never been more exhausted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The familiar presence made itself known in a manner so polite and understated that Kuang Biao almost overlooked its arrival, only to stagger back in sheer surprise when he recognized who it was. Burning with remorse and contrition, he offered his heartfelt regrets and apologies to the young Legate, for though Falling Rain had long since won Kuang Biao’s loyalty and respect, the Death Corps Guards moved at the Emperor’s orders. They’d been given no choice but to withdraw from Meng Sha and stand idly by while the heroes of the Empire fought against all odds here in Shi Bei, a decision which filled him with rage and grief, for he would have gladly fought and died alongside these vaunted heroes. Having borne witness to the entirety of the siege, his admiration for these provincial Warriors was second only to his contempt for the Supreme Families who even now treated the lives of their subjects like pieces upon the playing board.

There was no condemnation from Falling Rain however, not even a hint of displeasure, at least none directed towards Kuang Biao and his fellow Death Corps Guards. Instead, he was here to ask for help, and Kuang Biao gladly offered it, for if ever given a choice, he would serve Falling Rain over any Imperial Scion, even the Emperor himself. Gratitude and embarrassment were all he felt in response, and then the young Warrior’s presence was gone, but as Kuang Biao glanced around in bewildered confusion, he noted that he wasn’t the only one wearing a flustered expression in the crowd.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My adorable doggo appears in the Void alongside me, the first living being to respond to my call, with plenty of happy yips and frantic wags to greet me. It doesn’t last for long however as he spots the Eternal Emperor across from us, and his hackles raise at the mere sight of our formidable foe even as he takes shelter behind my legs. Though sweet as can be and utterly useless in a real fight, my doggo utters a deep, guttural growl, one full of warning and caution without any real threat. Ineffective though he might be as a guard or hunting, Buddy’s mere presence alone is enough to wash away my fatigue and bring me my second wind, though I suppose that number should be higher if we take into account all of today’s trials and tribulations. Buddy is my emotional support dog in every sense of the word, a furry little bundle of endless joy and love that I brought with me from my past life into this one, a feat made possible by the fact that Rayne loved Buddy so much that an imprint of Buddy’s soul was left on his own. This Buddy is not the Buddy’s real soul, which probably reincarnated into another life by now, but a reflection of the real Buddy, a soul cast in the same mould as the original, with many of the same emotions and memories.

They say love is magical, and it’s corny as hell, but there’s no denying the truth.

A truth supported by the arrival of the second soul following the departure of the recently dead, someone I never expected to see. It’s not Lin-Lin, who trusts me implicitly without any doubts whatsoever and would have responded without question, which I know because if she didn’t she’d never would’ve been able to make her way into my Natal Palace before. Nor is it Mila, Yan, or Luo-Luo, who I love dearly but don’t expect to see here in the Void for a little while longer, because they’re strong, independent women who have become my lifelong partners in love, and as partners, deserve an explanation even if I don’t really have one to give. The new arrival isn’t Taddy, who loves me like a son and harbours no doubts in his heart, or Dad who wholeheartedly believes I am his son, genetics be damned. I honestly expected Alsantset would be the first to arrive after Buddy, because my older sister has always been the one looking out for me from day one, but it turns out, I was wrong.

Because my older brother has been keeping an even closer eye on me all this time, without me even knowing it.

Not Gerel, my brother by blood, who I’m not sure will even heed the call I sent out since he’s not exactly the trusting type, but Charok, my brother-in-law who has been right here with me from the very start.

“You seem surprised,” Charok begins, greeting me with a familiar grin as he takes his place beside me, neither leaning too closely nor standing too far away which shows just how well he knows me. Alsantset would throw an arm around my neck, which I don’t hate, but don’t always love it either, while Dad would feel compelled to pat me on the shoulder or head. Mom likes to run her fingers through my hair, which I enjoy because it shows how much she loves me, while Gerel is every bit as awkward as I am and would stare me down to prove that he’s not awkward at all. This isn’t to say I don’t love all the people I just listed or how they show their affection, but I also like my personal space, so while hugs and pats are fine every now and then, there is a very finite limit I am willing to accept before I’m forced to tolerate it instead.

Which Charok understands, hence his distant but not too distant greeting, and I love him all the more for it.

Throwing my arms around him in a hug, I cannot help but let out a joyous laugh. “I didn’t know you were close enough for my Natal Souls to reach.” Furrowing my brow in concern, a thought strikes me and I ask, “Were you captured by the Legate? Are Tali and Tate okay?”

“No and yes,” Charok replies, before furrowing his brow as well, which does nothing to ease my troubled concerns. “As far as I know.” Shrugging, he adds, “Or perhaps I should say as far as you know. I am not entirely sure, as I am not the Charok you left behind in the Citadel.”

And just like that, the answer comes to me, knowing without knowing before I even knew what I wanted to know. This isn’t Charok’s real soul, or even a Natal Soul, but rather a reflection of the imprint he left on my soul, the same manner in which Buddy was brought forth. While still processing this new information, my eyes are involuntarily drawn to Charok’s wrist, one gushing with enough blood to almost send me spiraling into a panic, but my brother by choice shoots me a calm, soothing smile which brings me back to the day he left this impression upon my soul, almost two years after I arrived at the village when I was still struggling to find Balance because of my fear. There we sat, around a little campfire which Charok just used to make a delicious lunch, when he stopped and asked me a single question which I have struggled to answer ever since.

“Why do you seek strength?”

I remember how I replied, with a joke about crushing my enemies and hearing the lamentations of their women, but he told me to go reflect on the question and come back with a serious answer. Of course, me being me, I did no reflecting at all and simply wasted some time wandering around before coming back to camp, at which point I tried to change the topic. Charok wasn’t having any of it though, and he asked me the question again, so I told him I wanted to be strong so I could defend myself, so I could fight back if anyone tried to hurt me. That was a lie too, and Charok knew it, and he needled me until I admitted the truth, that I pursue strength because I am driven towards it by fear, fear of losing control, losing my freedom, losing the people I love again.

So he sat me down and told me a story, the story of how he felt unworthy of being with Alsantset and how those feelings rendered him unable to find Balance. How he allowed himself to be guided by his fear, driven by it until he pushed everything else away. He hid his fear deep inside him until it consumed him from within, pushing him to the point of running out of the village half-cocked in the middle of the night to chase after a nightmare of his own devising. In doing so, he meant to show how fear, or any emotion really, doesn’t stop anyone from attaining the state of Balance. Being controlled by your emotions is what stops you, because then you have given into your emotion and in doing so, reject any and all aid the Heavens might render you.

And so in an effort to assuage my irrational fears, Charok swore an Oath to the Heavens stating that he would never allow anyone to take me away from the People, and if anyone should try, then they would rise up as one and wipe my enemies from existence. In doing so, he left an impression upon my soul, one nowhere near as real and complete as the one Buddy left, but one significant enough to materialize him here today in my time of need, with a little help from prayer and the Energy of the Heavens. Surprised as I am to discover this, after giving it a moment of thought, I feel like I shouldn’t be surprised at all, because like someone else said before, I am the combined effort of everyone I’ve ever met. Though I know myself as Falling Rain, the very essence of my being changes every time I meet someone new, because those experiences change me in turn for better or for worse. Charok’s presence here is proof of how he helped shape me to become the man I am now, one who has finally figured out the lesson he was trying to impart, to neither reject nor surrender to emotion, but embrace it and all it entails, a lesson which seems easy enough to understand, but difficult to truly accomplish. It’s been almost ten years since that fateful day, and I’ve finally managed to follow through, and in doing so, have found Balance, plain and simple.

A Balance I share with my loved ones as they appear in the Void to support me, or more accurately, the Natal Souls of my loved ones whom I’ve summoned here to aid me. Alsantset’s arrival is met with a smile from Charok which she returns in full strength, but even this impression left almost a decade ago knows better than to approach his wife while she’s working. Even though she just arrived, my ferocious sister is ready to rend and tear at the drop of a hat now that I’ve finally managed to pull my head out of my ass long enough to ask for her help, and she settles into a hunched stance with her spear in both hands, eagerly awaiting the start of battle. Appearing beside her, Dad takes a step forward to take up a similar stance, putting both of us behind him without blocking our avenues of attacks, emanating fierce pride and boundless joy at the prospect of fighting alongside us. Mom’s arrival is far more sedate as she reaches over to run her hand through my hair as expected, her radiant smile taking decades off her appearance before she moves to stand beside Dad.

Taddy swoops in almost unseen with Hua Lie at his side, both standing tall and ready to help shoulder the Heavens if they should fall. Despite being a thousand times weaker, Mila arrives in similar fashion without sparing me so much as a glance, her fetching freckled features scrunched up into an adorably fierce frown whilst brandishing her spear and shield in a protective yet aggressive fashion. In stark contrast, Yan offers me a sultry, pouty smile and a slow, suggestive bump of her hip before settling into a readied stance, so relaxed as she prepares for the fight of her life. Lin-Lin materializes on my back with her arms wrapped around my shoulders, and as testament to how much I love her, my first instinct to this unexpected intrusion of personal space is not to throw my unknown assailant head first into the ground, but rather to lean back and press my cheek against hers in a chaste show of love and affection. Luo-Luo is all smiles and sighs as she appears with her zither in hand to stand slightly behind us, and I position myself with Yan, Lin-Lin, and Mila so that Luo-Luo is beside us instead, because she is no unwanted concubine, but a partner among equals. As for Song, her arrival almost goes unnoticed because she’s busy quietly introducing herself to Buddy, though she spares me a bare fraction of a nod in greeting that speaks volumes to how she feels.

I count myself blessed to have so many people who love me, with still so many more to come, and I revel in the shared emotions emanating from one and all as they bare their love for me in full, love which I return in spades because I would be nothing without them.

This was the outcome I was aiming for when I put my hands together to pray, to call upon the Natal Souls of my allies to do battle against the Eternal Emperor here in his Natal Palace. Powerful though I might be, my time spent pursuing the Dao has been too short and too limited for me to overcome the Eternal Emperor, but with the combined efforts of various Natal Souls working in concert, victory is all but assured. That’s the answer that came to me in my moment of Insight, to join hands with my allies to overthrow the tyrant before me, but it took a little doing to accomplish. First, I figured that asking my allies and loved ones to risk their eternal souls in battle would be dangerous to the extreme, doubly so considering their bodies and minds were engaged in a literal battle of life and death on the fields of Shi Bei. So rather than ask them to show up in full spirit, because you never go full spirit, I had my Natal Souls become vessels for my allies to send back with a sliver of their Will and souls, ones carrying the culmination of their perspective of the Dao to help me do battle against the Eternal Emperor. It’s almost the reverse of what Zhen Shi did with Gen, in that he sent in a Natal Soul to take control, whereas I handed over a Natal Soul to surrender to my allies, one they then took over and sent back without affecting their ability to do battle in the real world.

The lessons learned from my brief battle with the souls of the dead tells me there will be a cost to this, but the cost of imbuing a sliver of Will into a pre-packaged Natal Soul should be negligible to most, even those close to the end of their natural lifespans. Hopefully this isn’t the straw that breaks the camel’s back, because I could never forgive myself if I accidentally convinced Grandpa Du to give up his few remaining years of life just to help me in a fight, any more than I could forgive myself if he took an arrow meant for me. That being said, whatever the cost they paid, I intend to pay back in full, since I should have more than enough Life Force or whatever to spare thanks to Pong Pong’s contributions and my own Ascension to True Divinity. I don’t need to live for millennia, because a single mortal’s lifetime is enough for me, so long as it is one spent in the company of my loved ones.

A sentiment I firmly believe in, and one I hold fast to in my heart as the floodgates open and Natal Souls begin pouring into the Void. Many are close friends who I treat as family like Fung, Zian, Huu, BoShui, Tenjin, Tursinai, and so many more. Others are actually family, such as Grandpa Du, Kyung, Gerel and Naaran, while still more are close allies who have won my trust, such as the Abbot, Nian Zu, Situ Jia Yang, Tam Taewoong, Seoyoon, Da’in, and Wu Gam. As for the rest, they are all Warriors I am proud to stand alongside, whether they be Death Corps Guards consigned to stand and watch from the sidelines, Royal Guardians who reluctantly heed orders to do the same, brave soldiers fighting in Shi Bei even now, or political enemies like Shuai Jiao and Yong-Jin whose consciences demands they lend their efforts to the fight, even if their actions indicate otherwise. Though there are at least a million Imperial soldiers still struggling to fend off the Enemy Half-Demons in reality, only tens of thousands of Natal Souls have answered my call, which honestly is tens of thousands more than I expected. I knew my family and loved ones would respond without hesitation, and maybe a few hundred Stormguards and Sentinels would take the leap of faith and follow soon after, but almost everyone my Natal Souls were able to contact have made it here to join me in this battle against the Eternal Emperor, an honour I am not sure I am worthy to bear.

Touched as I am by this overwhelming show of support, I fear there is no time for niceties. These Natal Souls are mere fractions of fractions, meagre slivers of Will being held together by little more than love and determination, meaning every emotion experienced will eat away at their limited existence, so time is at a premium here. Thankfully, in my newly acquired infinite wisdom, I made sure my Natal Souls passed along all the relevant information needed to clue everyone in to what’s going on, so there’s no need for me to give a second speech in hopes of tricking everyone into thinking the Eternal Emperor is actually Zhen Shi, rather than the other way around. A good thing Zhen Shi’s physical form looks exactly like the Eternal Emperor’s soul, to say nothing of how the current host and Emperor is clad in Imperial robes despite kneeling in chains next to the throne. The actual explanation would be too difficult to get into with any sort of brevity, but the people who responded to my call care not for the details. What’s more, unlike the first wave, these Natal Souls belong to people who are still alive, so there’s no need to share my Life Force with them to ensure they can reincarnate, as even if these Natal Souls are wholly expended, the real souls are still out there in reality, inhabiting their real bodies.

Then again, what separates a Natal Soul from a real soul? If you make a copy of the original indistinguishable in all ways, then what sets the two creations apart besides the time of their creation? A difficult question to answer that I would rank up there with the ship of Theseus and all that jazz, but right now, I have more pressing matters to attend to.

Because being the no-nonsense Warrior that she is, my Grand-Mentor’s Natal Soul kicks off the battle into high gear as soon as she arrives by launching a Ground-Shrinking Strike at the startled Eternal Emperor.

This is Akanai of the People, the Herald of the Storms, a peerless Warrior unlike any other and the first Demi-Human Divinity in history. Even more incredible is how I am able to perceive her attack, not just see it play out but also parse through the steps she went through to deliver it. Balance on Windy Leaf into Pierce the Horizon, that has been the full extent of my understanding of the Ground-Shrinking Strike up until just this very moment, which is the same as saying a Major League pitcher can wind up and throw a ball real fast. The information within the statement isn’t wrong, but it’s not exactly useful either, and I feel embarrassed for ever having tried to explain the Ground-Shrinking Strike using those exact words. There’s so much more to Akanai’s attack than the Movements of the Forms, so much more than I ever thought possible, for she is not focused solely on accelerating herself towards her opponent. That’s one half of the equation yes, eking out every last iota of speed and power her body has to spare, but at the same time, she’s also utilizing her Domain to pull on her opponent’s Domain and bring them both closer together. Given the limited strength of her Domain however, and the ‘inertia’ of her target, this generally leads to her opponent not budging an inch, but this subtle, metaphysical push-pull interaction is enough to drive her Ground-Shrinking Strike to speeds I could never previously hope to match, a metaphysical push-pull interaction to go along with the physical. Add in the scintillating Weapon Intent which appears to be a combination of Spear and Axe Intent even more formidable than my Sword Intent, and Akanai’s singular attack has done more damage to the Eternal Emperor’s soul than I and an army of the dead could manage.

All of which is made clear to me through her perspective of the Dao, one shared with me through the medium of emotion and Intent.

Maybe it’s because her Will is inhabiting a Natal Soul I prepared for her, but I can perceive almost everything she’s doing as if I were doing it myself. There are no thoughts or explanations to go with the sensation, just an awareness of the flow of Chi, the Intent behind it, and the emotions which empower it, like an echo ringing out into the Void. Amazing as it is to be given a glimpse into her mastery of the Dao firsthand, what’s more surprising is how damned proud she is of me, which given our history together shouldn’t be surprising, yet still is. She is my Grand-Mentor, my Grandmother, and my Mother-in-Law all at once. A triumvirate of roles one would not usually hold all at once for the same individual, but roles she wears with pride, alongside the responsibilities those roles entail. Though she’s never said it in so many words, her actions have all but screamed it, and she is pleased to have played a part in guiding me along my Path while eager to see where I will go next.

Akanai’s perspective is not the only one revealed to me, as Husolt charges into battle after his beloved wife. Out in reality, he is no match for his newly Ascended Divinity of a wife, but here in the Void, emotion and Intent matters more than arbitrary milestones of the Martial Path, and Husolt has always been a man of emotion. With his staff in hand, he delivers a powerful, two-handed hammer strike to the Eternal Emperor’s soul. Still bent double from tanking Akanai’s Ground Shrinking Strike, he is in no state to defend as Husolt’s first strike slams him into the stone surface of his Manifested court which he himself maintains. Never one for courtesy or face, my grandfather slash Father-in-Law uses this to his full advantage by unleashing a flurry of furious blows, and I see within them a glimpse of his Dao in full effect. Like the blazing fury of a red-hot forge, his attacks radiate a half-formed Intent, one that is neither Creation nor Destruction, but of both, and neither at the same time. This is the Intent he uses when forging a new Spiritual Weapon, hammering away at steel to cleanse it of impurities and shape it into the form he envisions. Right now however, he can only see hatred and death. In his eyes, the Eternal Emperor is not some ancient, insurmountable monster out of history, but the man who dared slight his beloved wife, the villain who summoned her to Central to bestow upon her a title as reward for her heroics, yet left her wholly unprotected from the greed and envy of his subjects.

And hell hath no fury like a loving husband whose beloved wife was scorned, as Husolt has held firmly to this grudge for more than fifty years, and this cathartic release sees his Natal Soul rise to the heights of Divinity to match his wife.

The Eternal Emperor rebounds from these attacks in the blink of an eye and rips apart the husband-and-wife pair utilizing some Honed attack of Domain, Spirit, and more. Though their part in this battle is done, their actions have inspired the other Natal Souls into battle. This in turn triggers a deluge of information to flood through me as I am given a glimpse into thousands of individual Dao’s, a look at how every combatant perceives the power they wield and a chance to better understand the Dao as a whole. An intoxicating rush, for in the blink of an eye, so many mysteries are made clear to me, and the more I comprehend, the more easily I am able to put it all together to move myself further along my Path. Knowing how Mom delivers her shards of Domain and how Luo-Luo turns moving melodies into group buffs to everyone who hears them might not seem related, but put them together in the right orientation and timing and now I have a method to imbue a sound with my Domain to attack my foes through Sending. The little trick I played on Miss Rou’s guards, blaring a soundtrack to disorient them? If I were to use it again, those guards would be left dead and bleeding from their eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.

Nian Zu’s Shooting Star takes Amplified Resonation in the completely opposite direction as the Mountain Collapsing Stomp, as rather than increase the magnitude of forces, he compresses and contains them until there is power enough to literally vibrate physical matter apart, as he demonstrates by demolishing a solid chunk of the Emperor’s court in an attempt to bring him down. What would happen if I combine these two opposing rationales, increasing magnitude while compressing the results? Untold destruction as far as I can tell, but even here in the Void, I dare not try it, because there is no way I could control it.

Kuang Biao and the Death Corps Guards know nothing of the Forms, for those are a creation of the outer provinces, and instead train using a series of secret maneuvers and breathing exercises which help them strengthen their bodies, minds, and souls as well as purify their Chi. This explains the discrepancy between the Imperials and outer provinces, but there are advantages and disadvantages to both sides. For example, the Forms are loosely defined in order to guide the practitioner to become more familiar with themselves and seek out the best Forms for them, whereas the maneuvers practiced by the Death Corps are clear cut and precise, a rigid formula of perfection based on the body type of the creator. The former is a set of guidelines, the latter explicit rules, and while the Forms take longer to master, they have the potential to lead to the pinnacle of an individual’s Dao. In contrast, the Imperial method offers faster progress if and only if the individual’s body type matches well with the creators, but if not, then sooner or later, you’ll run into a glass ceiling and have to figure out the rest for yourself.

Mila’s Blessing of Sun borrows power from the actual sun itself, a feat replicated by Yan’s Blessing of Air through use of her fan, so why have I been trying to make water out of nothing? There was a time when I thought I could condense the water right out of the air, but I dismissed it as wrong, yet it wasn’t the method that was incorrect, merely the logic behind it. On the flip side, Yong-Jin utilizes his Blessing of Wood by mimicking Wood Chi with his own, without any borrowing involved, enhancing his Manifested Domain in the areas of durability, flexibility, and tensile strength. Shuai Jiao takes it even further by having his Wood Chi behave as Chi, forming a closed loop in which his Chi mimicks Wood Chi mimicking Chi, enabling his attacks to move beyond the physical realm and target the metaphysical as well. Where Yong-Jin can lock down joints with his Grasping Vines, Shuai Jiao’s also target the Spiritual System and interfere with the flow of the victim’s Chi, making it even more difficult to escape. Two different Paths to the pinnacle of Elemental Blessings, yet neither one is wrong or right, just different ways of going about the same general principle.

And all this is merely scratching the surface of my recent attainments, some of which would make defeating the Eternal Emperor a breeze.

There are no instant answers provided like with the limited omniscience of the Heavens, but a more intimate sense of comprehension based on my rapidly flourishing perspective of the Dao, one which makes this knowledge feel so much more like my own. That doesn’t necessarily mean I can retain it, or even explain it, the same way I can’t really explain how I track a ball flying through the sky and know where to run to so I can catch it, but I sure as hell am confident I can catch anything the Eternal Emperor might throw at me from here on in. The issue is, all the information feels too much like my own, except my Dao and perspective differs greatly from everything I am being shown. Like a man who spent his life in darkness, I am now being blinded by the sun, unable to find my way within this world of glaring light. The answers come too fast for me to keep up as I struggle to hold firm to my perspective beneath an avalanche of information threatening to wash me away where I stand. Had I not finished Refining my body, mind, and soul then gone on to affirm my Path, my Dao, and my sense of self, then I might well have been broken by this deluge of differing perspectives and Dao. Even after coming so far, I still feel myself coming apart at the seams as I lose myself in the rush of mysteries revealed to me en masse, unable to keep myself from drinking deeply of this enlightening nectar and plunder the secrets my allies have given over for my study.

Knowing without knowing, comprehending without understanding, this is where I stand upon my Path, but the knowledge provided is terrifying and vast. Frozen in indecision, I lose sight of the battle and the people who came to support me as I suffer a crisis of faith. Within these answers, I have uncovered a next step along the Path, only I am not sure if this is a step suitable for me. Defeating the Eternal Emperor, winning the siege in Shi Bei, dealing with the Supreme Families and their allies, all this and more seems so inconsequential as I deliberate whether to take this next step presented to me, one I must take now while I still can lest it be forever denied me again should I lose this ineffable state, but a step which could well be the end of me.

Chapter Meme 1

Chapter Meme 2

Chapter Meme 3