"Lie down, please."

The doctor gestured towards the stone bed in the operating room, Zun Zhao looking as if he could barely contain himself as he hopped on. The stone was cold against his back, his shirt already removed on the way here. He could feel the pounding of his heart reverberate through the stone, each of his breaths caused his back to press against bed, the new lungs within him bloating like balloons. He wanted to get it over with. No, he wanted to already be done with it and on his way, his legs were itching to the point that he had the urge to claw out his nerves. Ah, how uncomfortable it was that he could still panic like this. As he was lost in his own thoughts like that, the doctor’s fingers reached his chest.

"I must remind you again, this is highly unprecedented. I have never performed the Shadowchaser surgery twice on the same subject in such a narrow time-frame. I have no idea what sort of complications it may cause, but I can assure you that it will be more painful than ever before. So make sure you steel yourself more than ever before. Think of your sister and the torment she might suffer, use your desire to save her as fuel to keep yourself going."

Zun Zhao instinctively shuddered as the doctor’s hand traced his chest, for a brief instant he felt as if the nails gently sliding down his sternum were claws. He felt like laughing, the desire to scoff and spit at his own weakness were festering in his chest. He just had to be reminded of the danger and he instantly reached a state where even his great benefactor felt scary, he really was so pathetically weak.

He bit down on the tip of his tongue until blood poured out freely, sliding down his throat. This taste had already become so familiar to him, both the taste of his own blood and the taste of other people’s blood. Yes, this taste was so unmistakably familiar now, each time he tasted it reminded him of his growth. He had grown, the scared little child who cowered in front of a mere Stone-Soul Scorpion no longer existed. He was able to stand up for his sister back then, and he would do the same now.

"I understand, Doctor. I won’t falter, I won’t stumble. I’m ready, so please do it."

Zun Zhao sucked in a heavy breath as he spoke, his eyes and mind like steel. He would die here, the good doctor had already warned him of that. But it was fine, he would live again. He’d grow stronger, he’d save his sister, he’d kill those who killed their young master, and then he would live in peace with his sister and possibly their big brother Chen. If the situation ever called for it he could also use his new strength to help those around him, it would be a shame to just let it go to waste, might as well put it to good use. The doctor’s hand rose from Zun Zhao’s sternum and reached his face, cradling his cheek like a father would when he wanted to treasure his only child.

"I’m glad. I am happy, Zun Zhao. Do you know why? Because this world has people like you in it,children like you. Life can be painful, existence can be painful. And when people find painful things, they try to run away and hide from it, they shut it out. But you don’t. You’ve seen the pain, you’ve felt it. But you still look at the world with those beautiful eyes of yours, you still move forward and do your best. Thank you, Zun Zhao. Thank you for being born, thank you for wanting power."

The doctor’s hand was warm, the gentle sensation of it resting against Zun Zhao’s cheeks made his earlier spot of fear feel even more ridiculous. But at the same time, he felt a bit bad about the doctor’s praise. He wasn’t such a good person, he was just selfish, it had always been selfish. But perhaps… When he was done with this all, perhaps then he could try to become someone worthy of the doctor’s praise. He didn’t know if the doctor could see his thoughts or not, but the gentle and warm hand left his cheek and slid back down to his sternum.

"Now, please die, and then, please live forever."

The gentle hand that had slid down to his sternum received a sudden boost of strength, the index finger effortlessly tearing through his bones and leaving a gash in his chest. The doctor stuck in another finger and then spread his two fingers apart, pushing open the gash until it revealed his pulsating lungs and his pumping heart. It was such a simple motion, the mere separation of two fingers. But it tore open his chest just like that, the two sides moving far away from the fingers that originally guided their path.

The sudden pain caused Zun Zhao’s mind to blank, a silent scream consisting solely of a stifled and trapped breath creeping out of his throat. This was completely unlike any of the other Shadowchaser surgeries, the doctor had always been gentle and careful, using as much anaesthesia as possible to ease the pain. But there was none of that now, which Zun Zhao could only attribute to his own urgency.

The membrane shielding his heart was torn open and his pounding core was laid bare for all, a single squeeze of it would be enough to kill him. The doctor held out his hand, light gathering above his palm. In the previous surgeries, the doctor had just brought out the parts that would be implanted, it was as simple as taking something out of an interspatial ring. But this time seemed different, a spectacle of light as something slowly formed above his palm.

As he looked at the slowly forming object, Zun Zhao felt his heart pound harder than ever before, threatening to jump out of his chest. It was a droplet, a pure golden droplet that looked to be carved from the sun itself. The inside of the droplet was filled with a liquid even deeper than the crystal that covered it, the colour alone was enough to nearly suck out his soul and shatter his mind.

He could feel it. The pounding thing in his chest told it to him in no uncertain terms. That thing was a heart. That simple yet exquisite crystal, that perfect creation, it was a heart. But what sort of being could have a heart like that? Was there even a living thing worthy of having something so perfect inside it?

As Zun Zhao was enraptured by the golden heart, the doctor proceeded with the surgery. Well, that was if it could even be called a surgery. He plunged his hand down, the newly formed heart crushed against Zun Zhao’s own heart, drowning his consciousness in endless darkness.

But contrary to what Zun Zhao expected, the darkness did not last for long. An uncountable number of lights started to appear within the darkness, flitting about as they followed their own patterns, some revolving around each other while others danced about seemingly without rhyme or reason. Before he could take a good look at them, Zun Zhao felt something tug on his consciousness and he was pulled away from the lights.

The lights grew distant as he was pulled away, a sensation similar to passing through a screen of water washing over him. He then saw it, the bubble surrounding the dancing lights, the border that stopped them from moving further. More lights appeared around him, but he kept getting pulled away. The same sensation washed over him several times, bubble after bubble revealing themselves. Before long, the world he saw was nothing but bubbles filled with lights, an uncountable number of small bubbles clinging to 81 large bubbles.

But then the sensation washed over him again and he saw that even that gathering of bubbles was surrounded by a bubble, even that vastness had a border. But beyond that border were several more bubbles just like this one, an uncountable number of small bubbles clinging to several larger bubbles within each one. There had to be at least 200 of these gargantuan bubbles, the number of small bubbles reaching a number so ludicrous that Zun Zhao didn’t want to think about it.

But then, just when he felt like he was reaching the limit of his understanding, he felt that sensation again. Once again, a bubble appeared before him. Even these gargantuan bubbles that housed so many others, even they were surrounded by a border, one vastness that cradled them like a loving father. Zun Zhao couldn’t tell why, but he felt like crying as he looked at that, this thing that he instinctively knew to be the final bubble. Ah, how his heart ached as he looked at it.

But then he felt it, right there behind him. Was it his soul? His very existence? His heart? He couldn’t quite tell, but something was screaming at him about the thing behind him. His consciousness spun around and he saw it, his vision filled by nothing but it.

Another bubble, one separate from the final bubble that was now behind him. But this one… there was no word he could use to describe it. Just the final bubble behind him was so large that it couldn’t even be described as a vastness, it defied reason. But this one, the one slowly beckoning him, it was at least two or three times larger, it seemed to cover all of existence as it loomed there.

But… It looked sick. It was bloated, bulging and rippling. A few smaller cracks had already started to emerge across it, each ripple tearing at them. Just a bit more, if it grew just a bit more then it would surely burst, the bubble that seemed to cover the world would explode and fade away. And as he had that thought, his consciousness was sucked into the bloated bubble and darkness overcame him.

——

A tinge of light reached Liang Chen as he stepped out of the Void and returned to his ship. He’d kept on talking with Kongxu Zhuren after the ruler made his request, time flowing away like sand between his fingers. He looked at the bed, but Yan Ling was no longer there, the scent of food coming from the adjacent room. Voices also spilled out from beyond the closed door, Lan Yun being the loudest among them as she seemed to be teaching Ao Fentian something.

"Welcome back. Learn something new?"

Yan Ling greeted him warmly as he stepped through the door, placing a few more dishes on the table that Sheng Lian and Lan Yun were currently busy setting up. Well, saying that Lan Yun was helping was an exaggeration, she was holding the hand of the infant Ao Fentian and helping him walk so she really only had one hand available. Yumao was curled up on her head, probably choosing it as the best place to keep an eye on the two so that they didn’t trip.

"A lot, but how much of it will end up being useful is questionable. Has there been a battle nearby?"

Liang Chen wrapped his arms around Yan Ling from behind, taking a deep breath. It was peaceful. It wasn’t often that they could afford some peace like this so he appreciated it now while he could. But there was something at the back of his mind, a soft sound that tugged at his soul.

It wasn’t an unfamiliar sound, it was the indistinct rushing of thousands upon thousands of screams mixing together. If he heard that then it could only mean one thing, his embryonic Prime Law of Poison had found a spot that housed an untold number of souls drowned in anger. Their lives had faded, but their resentment remained in the land like poison, screaming out for those who would listen. And Liang Chen, with his wrath, had become one of those who would listen to their pleas and sorrows.

Yan Ling put down the plate she had been holding, turning her head slightly to peer out the window. Her eyes narrowed cutely as she rummaged through her memories, it was enough to almost make Liang Chen temporarily put aside the sound at the back of his mind. She eventually seemed to recognize something beyond the window, her head tilting slightly.

"We should be getting close to a place called Stormbeak City, but that place is controlled by a sect known as the Storm Dancers. They’re generally quite peaceful, a good two-thirds of their techniques are ritual dances meant to worship their deities. There shouldn’t have been any battles in their territory, they don’t really tolerate them. But we can stop by and ask them about it, that okay?"