Chapter 311 - Trivial Task

In the hallowed chamber in Ying Zhen, starlight shone down on the solemn forms of statues. They each stood in their own alcoves in the chamber’s circular wall, twelve stories deep, watching silently over the pedestal at the bottom of the chamber.

All was silent and still, until a white light began to blossom in front of the pedestal.

The aetheric body of a teenage girl with long white hair appeared from the light. Her bare feet landed lightly on the stone floor, The bottom of a white silk gown flowing softly around her feet.

The girl opened her eyes, grey eyes looking up at the statue carved under the stone pedestal. The sculpture of a grotesque four headed demon being crushed by the dais filled her vision. The demon was covered in shadow. The statues in the chamber seemed to look down on the demon, judging him for his sins.

Yuzu had returned to Ying Zhen, where the Demon King Jun Yi Kong was imprisoned.

She held a translucent disc-shaped white stone. It fit comfortably in her palm, its surface polished to a sheen.

This was the medallion that Jun Yi Kong had given her as a method to return to the pocket space that contained him. It was made of pure quartz, with a smoky interior.

“It worked.” Yuzu said softly to herself, looking down at the disc. A white thread connected from her heart to the center of the disc, then floated off into the physical world where her physical body sat in deep meditation.

The process to return was simple. The medallion was given to her by Jun Yi Kong. It had a spiritual connection to Ying Zhen, which Yuzu could access through the threads of fate. All she had to do was connect to the thread with her spirituality and Jun Yi Kong would draw her spirit in with some special power that he possessed.

A thick silver thread was wound around the statue, the thread of the Demon King. As before it stayed docile, not reaching out to her as he waited for her to decide to make contact with him first.

Yuzu stood in silence in the hallowed chamber, not rushing as she took in her surroundings. She activated her spiritual vision and the complicated cage of glittering golden wires blossomed in her view.

She walked around the chamber taking care not to venture beneath the shadow of the platform as she analyzed the cage with care.

Damn. She thought to herself, looking upon the complicated structure whose inner workings were still unfathomable to her. I guess I didn’t get any special knowledge from the God of Pre-eminent Wisdom about this.

The possibility of gaining insight into the mystical workings due to her accidental connection with the God of Knowledge was a long shot, but something that she considered possible. She had spontaneously learned several new languages, after all. Perhaps she had gained some other knowledge as well.

After making a full loop around the pedestal Yuzu faced the statue once more and reached out to the thread.

“Welcome back, Little Yuzu.” The deep voice of Jun Yi Kong filled her mind, “You’ve returned sooner than I expected.”

A heavy spiritual aura diffused from the center of the platform, dark and ancient, tinged with a thinly concealed malice. She followed Jun Yin Kong’s thread, her awareness plunging through the base of the statue down an infinitely deep well, where at the bottom a muscular naked man with runes tattooed across his body sat in a meditative posture.

Yuzu was about to speak, but hesitated.

“You’re speaking to me in Nianese.” Yuzu said, pausing herself even as she didn’t realize why it suddenly struck her as strange.

“That is your language, is it not?” Jun Yi Kong asked.

If Yuzu had not had the experience with the God of Wisdom, she might not have caught this detail. However thinking about it now, this ancient demon who was eons old was conversing with her in perfect modern Nianese.

She hadn’t even noticed but even his dialect was the same as hers.

Jun Yi Kong’s string was silver, the colour of threads attuned to the Kingdom of Humanity. This kingdom was in tune with the nature of humans, their body, spirit, emotions and mind.

“You can read minds?” Yuzu frowned, though even as she spoke her guess she felt that intuitively that this was not the case.

A soft chuckle echoed in her ears— but not the deep chuckle of the voice that she knew of as Jun Yi Kong.

This chuckle was soft, feminine, and intimately familiar to Yuzu.

Yuzu withdrew her consciousness from Jun Yi Kong’s thread. The shadows underneath the pedestal started to congeal, taking the slender, thin form of a girl with long black hair, a black dress and sunken eyes.

In the span of a blink Yuzu found herself staring at a mirror version of herself. This shadow Yuzu with porcelain skin perfectly mimicked her movements exactly for a moment, even capturing the suppressed look of surprise in her eyes.

“Impressive.” A light flashed across “her” eyes as “she” grinned, speaking in Yuzu’s own voice, “Most people never notice my methods.”

The shadow Yuzu giggled softly, copying Yuzu’s mannerisms. It was surreal to see an almost perfect copy of herself standing across from her.

“I don’t laugh like that.” Yuzu said with a disgruntled scowl.

“No, I suppose not.” Shadow Yuzu smirked, standing a little more aloof, with a masculine air. Jun Yi Kong kept Yuzu’s physical appearance and voice but dropped the act.

With just a slight change in mannerism Yuzu felt like she was now standing across a twin of herself with a different temperament, rather than a strangely behaving mirror copy of herself.

He’s a master of mimicking people… but he can’t read minds, even though he is insinuating that he can. He just really loves posturing about being more powerful than he actually is. Yuzu concluded this confidently. It’s part deception, part ego. Perhaps he may even be half insane after being locked up for thousands of years.

Notably, Yuzu did not sense any change in Jun Yi Kong’s expression or countenance from her thoughts.

“Domain of Emotion?” Yuzu hazarded a guess.

“Yes, and no.” Shadow Yuzu smiled, “The domains and kingdoms as you know them were only established recently, a new way for mankind to understand the paths of the Exalted.”

“You said catalysts didn’t exist in your era, and that the biggest problem with advancing was corruption. Then how did you manage to avoid it?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Shadow Yuzu teased, “Humanity has always struggled to find the answer to this. Why should I give up this secret to you?”

He’s tempting me. Yuzu thought to herself, keeping in mind that above anything else, Jun Yi Kong was looking for a way out of his prison.

‘Humanity’, ‘Mankind’, he speaks of people like he’s not a part of them. He’s immortal but doesn’t suffer from the threat of corruption.

Yuzu paused, something clicking in her mind, “You’re not human.”

“Does that surprise you, little Yuzu?” The edge of Shadow Yuzu’s lip curled up in a dark grin.

Yuzu considered the question with a tilt of her head, “Not really, actually.”

“Of course. You must know that I am more powerful than you can imagine.” The casually dismissive tone in Yuzu’s voice seemed to aggravate Shadow Yuzu as she met Yuzu’s eyes. The darkness within her pupils were a deep black void, “I am Jun Yi Kong, the Demon of a Thousand Faces! The unkillable Demon King. The scourge of Heaven’s Palace…”

As soon as I exposed him he dropped his act and started showing off. This guy sure likes to brag. Come to think of it, when we first met he was bothered that I hadn’t heard of him at all. Yuzu kept her expression neutral as she listened to Jun Yi Kong prattle on several more titles. He never ‘materialized’ in front of me before, but now that I’ve questioned his power he’s decided to show off… Despite his efforts to look powerful, though, he’s never stepped beyond the shadow of the pedestal. He’s trapped, looking for a way out.

“So then,” Shadow Yuzu stopped listing off titles as she looked at Yuzu with a self-satisfied smirk, “What is it you need from me? I imagine you didn’t come all this way to just have a pleasant chat.”

“No, but now I wonder if you can even help me.” Yuzu shook her head, a frustrated look on her face, “You’re not human, and catalysts didn’t even exist in your time.”

“Forget it, I’ll find another way.” Yuzu reached out to her string, preparing to return to the physical world using the medallion. Previously Jun Yi Kong had kept Yuzu trapped in the pocket space, unable to return to the physical world. However the quartz medallion that she had convinced him to give her gave her a method to come and go on her own whim.

“Wait—“ Shadow Yuzu spoke, her voice betraying her apprehension at Yuzu’s departure. She quickly recovered, posturing with an arrogant tone, “You think catalysts are beyond my understanding? You dare look down on me?”

Read him like a book. Yuzu withheld a grin as she raised an eyebrow at Shadow Yuzu.

“We’re the same height.” Yuzu looked her shadow self in the eye, “How could I look down on you?”

“I know what this is about. You are worried about the boy.” Shadow Yuzu said with bravado.

“Why would you say that?” Yuzu asked, feigning ignorance.

“The guru-chi plans to make a catalyst from the Hollow Ember, but of course it will fail. The boy’s path is incompatible with it.” Shadow Yuzu smirked, “Perhaps you’ve figured this out, and have come to me for help.”

“Wondering if I can help you, how stupid.” Shadow Yuzu sniffed dismissively, “Something like this is trivial for me.”