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Fates Parallel Chapter 159 - Sovereign
🕑 Added 2021-11-22 21:29:49 +0000 UTCYoshika stood frozen in the overwhelming presence of the mysterious xiantian level cultivator. He did not wear the same uniform as the demon hunters, and the casually oppressive force of his domain bearing down on hers reminded her more of the strange three-eyed demon she had seen during the descent than anything else. He swept his cold gaze across the group one time before sniffing in dismissal. His gaze settled on Yoshika—more specifically, Eui.
“A red-eyed demon who wields a blade of destruction—what a truly unpleasant image you evoke. That reminder alone is an insult worth slaying you for. Answer me swiftly and I will make your deaths painless—where is the sovereign’s blade?”
Yoshika blinked in confusion.
“The what?”
The surprisingly youthful man stroked his long white beard thoughtfully, frowning down at her.
“I sense no deception—do you truly not comprehend the nature of the essence it has left within you? Has its corruption taken root so deeply in your mind that you do not even sense it? Killing you will be a mercy.”
Yoshika frowned—there was no doubt in her mind that this man could kill her, yet she wasn’t afraid. The grim certainty was somehow comforting—knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was a foe she could not overcome made it that much easier to determine her next actions. First, stalling to give the mortals and weaker martial artists a chance to get as far away as possible. Perhaps if they made it far enough, he wouldn’t deign to single each one out to slaughter.
“We honestly have no idea what you’re talking about. Our mind is perfectly clear, thank you very much.”
The man raised an eyebrow, and Yoshika felt the oppressive force of his domain probing hers curiously.
“‘Our’ you say? Ah, I see—dao companions. How rare.”
Yoshika’s eyebrows furrowed in consternation. There was something off about the way this cultivator spoke—‘sovereign’, ‘essence’, ‘dao companions’...they weren’t terms that imperial citizens used. The lattermost was entirely new to her, and he said it without surprise or judgement—’dao companions’, as if they were an unusual curiosity rather than some sort of demonic abomination as the likes of Yan Hao seemed to believe. The pieces suddenly fell into place, and her eyes widened in shock.
“Wait, you! You’re one of them! The ones from the divine realm—like the demons that attacked the academy!”
Everyone except the man himself snapped their attention to Yoshika incredulously. He sneered angrily at the comparison.
“Mind your tongue, brat! Don’t lump me in with Longyan and his petty bandits. You may address me as Sovereign Shen in the last moments of your worthless life. Treasure the opportunity. Now then, I know you were present when the sovereign’s blade was released, and I can sense its essence upon you. Tell me where it is.”
Yoshika pushed down the temptation to snap back that he’d already asked her that. She knew what Shen was talking about now. She swallowed nervously, trying to figure out a way out of her situation. The best she could do was keep him talking.
“If we tell you, will you spare our friends?”
“No.”
Sovereign Shen answered immediately. Of course he wasn’t going to negotiate—he held all the power here, and in all probability was the avatar of an actual deity. Jianmo had explained it to them before—the gods couldn’t exercise their full power in mortal realms, so instead they sent copies of themselves made from divine essence. Like Rika’s qi clones, but far more intricate and complex. Yoshika shook her head ruefully.
“We don’t know. Jianmo doesn’t tell us where she goes or what she’s doing. She just shows up sometimes whenever she feels like it, and leaves just as arbitrarily. Truth be told, we’re more than a little irritated that her protection has been so worthless as to put us into this situation.”
Shen actually chuckled at Yoshika’s griping, though his smile was short-lived.
“Well, that’s what happens when you consort with demons. They know only how to take, not give. Without your other half, you would be no different. Even so, what do you add to your little arrangement, I wonder? Wouldn’t she be better off without you?”
The last part, he addressed directly to Eui, and though it made no difference to Yoshika which body someone spoke to, it still irked her to have someone intentionally speak past her to only one of her halves.
“Our bond is greater than mere cooperation or companionship. It’s more than just what one half does for the other, or how much each side contributes to the whole. Each of us raises the other up, and together we—I am far greater than I could ever be apart.”
She spoke with both voices in order to drive her point home, but the so-called Sovereign was unimpressed. He scoffed and shook his head.
“If you say so. I cannot fathom tying one’s power to another so. Such bonds can only exist as shackles, slowing you on your path. Why else would dao companions be so rare? If such a path was effective, then would it not be the most common method? The fact that it is not is proof enough of your inadequacy. May you heed my lessons well in your next lives.”
The conversation was over, and with that dismissal Yoshika could feel the pressure mounting as Sovereign Shen prepared to finish them off. Yoshika was at a loss for what to do—perhaps she could escape with her Steps of the Stalker, but could she ever live with herself abandoning her friends? Such an act would fly in the face of her domain and cripple her cultivation. But what else could she do? In the back of her mind, she felt a familiar pull—the same one that had guided her after she had stepped through the world of spirits to escape the academy and gotten lost in the wilderness. Her eyebrows climbed into her forehead when she realized what it meant.
“Wait!”
Her outburst gave Sovereign Shen a moment of hesitation, and she used it to plead her case.
“You wanted to know where Jianmo is? We’ll lead you right to her.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Speak.”
Yoshika ignored him, turning her attention to Hayakawa and Rika, who’d remained frozen in place the entire time—no, held in place by Shen’s domain. She spoke in Jia’s voice—the voice of hopefulness and optimism.
“Girls, do you trust me?”
Rika nodded without hesitation, while Hayakawa’s face was a complicated mask of confusion and distress. Good enough—Yoshika nodded.
“I’m really really sorry if this gets you killed.”
She turned back to the increasingly impatient deity and glared at him in defiance. She hoped she wasn’t making a mistake, but she refused to let her lack of confidence show on her face.
“If you want Jianmo, then just follow me if you can.”
Before the scowling immortal could respond, Yoshika focused her domain inward and flooded it with the shadow essence she’d collected over the course of two years. Steps of the Stalker—a technique taught to Jia in a dream by the spirit half of her own soul—allowed her to control the essence of shadow in order to erase her presence. Not only did it make her invisible, but silent, scentless, and even partially intangible. At the end of her stay at the grand academy she had discovered it’s true nature. Steps of the Stalker was more than just a stealth technique, it was a technique that allowed her to travel in the space between spaces—the world of spirits. By herself, Yoshika was unable to perceive or comprehend the spirit world, but that’s where her spirit companion Heian came in.
Heian needed no prompting, instantly recognizing what Yoshika was trying to do. For the second time, Jia, Eui, and Heian all merged themselves into a single entity and slipped into the ethereal world of spirits. Like the last time, they were in spirit form—a single spiritual body shared between the three of them crafted from Yoshika’s self-image. The world around them became wispy and insubstantial, the people disappearing entirely. Meanwhile, one person who had not been there in the physical world appeared before them.
“About time, honey! You really need to work on your spiritual perception, I had to practically scream at you!”
Jianmo, with her spirit form perfectly matching her current physical form, stood with her hands on her hips and a disappointed frown on her face.
“Alright, we don’t have much time, get behind me.”
Something about Jianmo’s tone brooked no argument, and Yoshika quickly hurried over, glancing around nervously.
“What about the others? If you tell us we’re escaping without them I’m going to—”
Yoshika cut herself off when she sensed Sovereign Shen’s domain sweep through her. When she’d first used this technique to escape from one of the Empire’s Heavenly Host, she’d still been able to sense his domain—and Yue’s—but they had not been able to detect her. This time, Shen’s domain quickly focused directly on her, and she felt his oppressive presence crushing down on her, threatening to pull her back into the physical realm. Jianmo scoffed and the pressure suddenly lifted.
“Tsk tsk, none of that, now. I don’t hate show-offs like that, but we need him to come to us.”
Yoshika stared up at the tall demoness in confusion, but her words soon made sense as she felt Sovereign Shen’s domain coalesce into the form of a spirit before her eyes.
“A clever trick, stepping into the ethereal with the aid of an enslaved spirit, but I am—”
His face twisted into a furious scowl as he caught sight of Jianmo.
“You!”
Jianmo tossed her long purple hair over a shoulder and grinned in her typically carefree manner.
“Hah! You wish! Hi Shen, long time no see! It’s been, what, a hundred thousand years at least? Don’t you have something better to do than bully my poor disciples? No wonder the divine realm is such a shithole with so-called gods like you in charge.”
“You dare!?”
For reasons beyond Yoshika’s understanding, Jianmo immediately doubled over in laughter.
“Hahaha! He said it! Oh, I don’t hate that predictable side of you, Shen Yu. Right, here’s what’s going to happen. You wanted me, you’ve found me. You’re going to let my disciples go do their thing with their little friends and leave them alone.”
Sovereign Shen scoffed.
“Ridiculous! What could you possibly offer in exchange for such a demand? You always were an arrogant brat. You forget that you can’t hide behind your master anymore.”
“Offer? Exchange? Oh, no, no. You misunderstand, dear. Me and that cute little avatar of yours are going to have a little dance, and my disciples are going to use the opportunity to get away with their friends.”
Shen Yu stepped forward and pointed at Jianmo with a furious expression.
“Do not underestimate me, demon! My power may be limited by this avatar, but I can still crush you like the bug you are. Even here in the ethereal realm I could end those children with the barest thought!”
Jianmo’s expression hardened, her eyes turning ice cold—her earlier grin gone as if it had never existed.
“No, you can’t. Your domain is trapped here, and it will remain that way until I either die, leave, or decide otherwise. I might not be able to defeat you, Shen, but I can hold you.”
Jianmo ignored the deity’s sputtering response, glancing over her shoulder and returning to her usual playful tone of voice.
“Yoshika darling, you did a good job luring him here. Now kindly get the fuck out of here, and don’t turn back. Shen here might be arrogant, but he’s absolutely got the power to back it up, I can not hold him here forever.”
Yoshika swallowed nervously.
“Are you going to be alright?”
“I’ll be fine sweetheart, but only if you get moving! Your concern is touching but fuck off!”
Yoshika didn’t need to be told a third time, and Sovereign Shen was already beginning his attack. With a concentration of will, her two bodies appeared back in the physical world once more, met by the confused expressions of Hayakawa Kaede and Takeda Rika.
“No time to explain right now, run!”
