Chapter 31

Once inside the white void, I saw the same scene that I was met with last time. However, this time it was a bit different. The orbs that were floating were glowing with a faint dark aura and the Qi was being channeled from the middle orb, which is the biggest and is the Dantian towards the other five smaller meridians.

The damaged meridian was fully fixed and the giant black hole in the ceiling was releasing the same feint black aura.

Nocturne was sitting on the throne contemplating the whole scene.

“What is going on here? Is this a sign of a breakthrough?”

“No, actually this is far from it… it seems that your Qi is changing, no longer will it be using natural Qi to cast spells, but it will be using energy from this black hole… this opened the moment you killed a person…. And it will always be here, for every one in this world they can only use spiritual energy to cast spells or reinforce their bodies, however, you are harnessing energy from somewhere else… somewhere dark.” Said Nocturne

“Do you know about it?” I asked

“Why wouldn’t I? when I was alive I had something like this, however, it was much smaller and much less noticeable. It seems your link to the god of death is rather peculiar… as his descendant, I guess in the long term you will be able to wield more power than I ever had, however still, you must reach that point. Even geniuses are considered trash if they don’t reach a place of power in their lives. Blessed by the heavens means nothing if you die early, so live and strive and once you hold the world by your hand can you truly call yourself his descendant.” Said Nocturne while gazing upon the dark hole.

“So what was it that you wanted to train me for?” I asked

“Before that, sit down. The Body and Qi refining pill has yet to be fully consumed. Let me help you with that.” He said as I sat down and Nocturne appeared behind me.

The moment his hand pressed on my back the whole white void shook. The small orbs began to shake and tremble while the giant one remained still.

Cracks appeared on the smaller five orbs and an unimaginable amount of pain rushed through my physical body and I felt it even here.

“Cleansing the body, and linking the meridians, this is the first step.” Said Nocturne.

The orbs then shattered and the meridians gave a never before seen a sheen, they were black in color, but they gave a dark ray and aura.

The Dantian, however, didn’t budge or showed any signs of change.

“I know what you are thinking about. However, you have yet to reach the breakthrough point for the sixth level of Qi connections. You managed body refinement which is the first step in a much faster way than many people. However, to breakthrough, the second step will need you to absorb enormous amounts of spiritual energy to gain an understanding of the world and walk your own way.” Said Nocture without bothering with the happenings in the white void.

“This should do it for the pill, now all that remains is for you to cultivate diligently and breakthrough to the next level. From now on, until the tenth level, it will be just grinding spiritual energy, once after that, I will show you the method to break from the second step of Qi connections to the spiritual link with heavens.” Saidnocturne as he moved away.

“Now, let me show you how to use your body properly.” Said Nocturne as he charged forward with a scythe in hand and a creepy smile.

Here we go again…

After many hours of pain and death. I was let out from the white void.

It turns out that Nocture can really make one’s life miserable with how strong he is within that space. He really had much to show and so far I seem to have only seen the tip of the iceberg of Nocturne”s real strength.

Once outside the cabinet where I was staying, I saw that it was getting darker.

Crossing the gate that had no guard I went deeper into the forest. The wind was howling rather viciously this night. The walk to the depth of the forest was somewhat lonely and calm. I still kept monochrome vision up to see if there is anything unusual with the surrounding. Finding nothing out of sorts I kept walking forward.

Of all the places around me, some gave feint spiritual energy, even the ground would release small specks of spiritual energy that would float and merge with trees, air and the world as a whole.

However, one spot was not releasing anything, no it was as if it was absorbing the world’s energy. The space around that spot was pitch black, as an enormous sink that would consume anything that got close to it.

Removing monochrome vision to see what it was and discovered that it was a small dun of dirt.

“it seems that this is the place where the scythe is,” I said to myself as I got closer.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

It took me a while digging in until I found the hilt and pulled the weapon up. It was a bit dirtied but once I got it closer to the book it disappeared within it and the dirt fell on the ground.

“You still need a name huh… I have been thinking about it for a long time, and I think I found something suitable…”I said as I looked at the book.

Summoning the scythe back again, I saw its feint luster under the veil of the darkness of this forest. a frightening blade, able to harvest the lives of mortals with a single hit, and can claim the lives of them with ease… a weapon to make others remember their mortality. Against it nothing can remain, nothing can stand supreme…

“I name you… the Mortal Reminder!” I said as I held the weapon high.

Almost instantly the weapon vibrated shining with a great sheen as it jerked itself away from my hand as it hovered around me.

“A fine name you chose,” said Nocturne.

“What is happening?” I asked

“It is truly acknowledging you as its master, now you will be given free reign to it, and will be able to truly wield it. you used it as a tool and now it will be your friend and compared.” Said Nocturne

The blade hovered and vibrated for a bit and an inscription was now written on it, it was the same strange symbols on the book but they were now on the side of the blade. Written in a majestical way.

It soon came to me and I grabbed it. instantly I felt a rush of spiritual energy coming from it. almost as if this weapon was imprinted in my soul.

The scenery of where I stood changed and I was now looking from high above on a strange and almost deserted place.

There was a sole man standing, wearing the same set that Nocturne had. Before him stood thousands of creatures of different shapes, some were humanoids and some were giant creatures that looked massive, like that beast that was absorbed by that spell the scythe used that day.

“Where is this?” I tried to ask Nocturne but no one answered. I tried to move but couldn’t. I can only watch.

“King of Humans,” said a man that was probably the leader of these creatures. An old looking hunchbacked man with dark pustules spreading on his body.

“Why must you challenge us? You know full well that your end is nigh, surrender your kingdom and your lives so that we may spare your kind. You are strong indeed but courage can’t beat numbers.” Said the old man while opening both his hands, it gave him a dignified look despite his disgusting appearance.

“Vile thing,” said the man whose voice sounded exactly like Nocturne.” You should know that you are nothing but a pawn, used to call upon the power that is backing you. You shall die today and your minions will follow. My people will not be dragged by this and you shall lose your life this day along with these things.”

“No need to make this last any longer,” said the hunchback. “Kill him. He is only one” he said as he waved his hand forward.

The beasts began to shout and howl like maddened creatures as they charged forward like a ruptured dam.

The man grabbed his weapon and spoke some words, it was a scythe… clearly, this must be nocturne when he still lived.

Immediately the man turned to two, then four then eight. Each of them ran forward to a portion of the incoming creatures.

The contact with these beasts and the copies of Nocturne were like explosions as they were knocked back, up and sideways as he sliced through them with extream ruthlessness and wrath.

The scythe moved as it harvested the lives of any that came in contact with it, reaping lives and spilling blood, without pause rest or mercy. Before it all the beasts fell to the ground, a single slice is all it took to cull the lives of anyone that met it.

No matter who it was, a beast of an enormous size of a midget of extream quickness they were all ripped apart.

It seems that the wave of beasts that were attacking was pushed back almost instantly.

“Dark Harvest!” roared one of the eight copies as he summoned a dark ball. It looked like the spell that killed that beast that time, only… it was much bigger, much wider and ridiculously more powerful.

The beasts began to howl madly and squirmed away trying to run away from the sphere pulling influence, however, it was to no avail.

“Dark Tear!” roared another of the eight as a horizontal slice cut through the wave of beasts as a hot knife through butter.

A dark arc of energy would rip anything it crossed its path apart, it was as if the fabric of the world was tearing away.

Another of the eight that looked to be moving like a ghost, he appeared and disappeared from sight as a shadow.

No, he actually was moving through shadows, jumping from the shadow of a creature and ripping his head apart then disappearing into another’s shadow, appearing few hundred meters away every time.

“Death March!” roared one of them as hundreds of ghost-like people appeared from nowhere and charged forward tilting the battlefield and culling lives.

One lone man stood against an army, and he was enough to tear through them like nothing. If this was not a show of power… nothing is.

“Impudent!” cried out the hunchback man

“You, nothing but a weak singularity trying to claim the power against a servant of the death god. You are curting death!” said the voices of the eight copies of Nocturne as they kept on shredding their enemies apart.

Though I wanted to see how it would end… my mind was forcefully pulled from that space and I was back to where I stood. However, instead of night, it was day… it seems that a lot of time had passed while I was looking at that place.

“Finally back? What did you see Basara?”

I shuddered at the voice of Nocturne as I said with a smirk.

“A monster…” I said

“Kekekeke, indeed a monster,” he said as his laughter grew in the background.

“Teach me…” I said

“Teach you what?” he replied while fully knowing what I meant.

“That Dark Tear of yours… also how to properly use the dark harvest… also that movement where you moved through shadows… everything. I want to learn everything… that death march was especially powerful!” I said while smiling like a madman.

“I will, for the moment, I can teach you how to use the Dark Tear and the Shadow Walk. You already have the items for them, the Death shroud that you gained can make you walk through shadows. The Dark tear is an ability that you can utilize with your scythe, and also the Dark harvest is another one of the Scythe’s abilities… however, to split yourself, and to use the death march, you still need the boots and the chest piece of the armor… and to empower them all, you will need the gauntlets… once you obtain all of them you will be powerful enough to match me in my old days. Kekekek”

“Very well. Then should we start?”

“Not now, you still need to reach the tenth level of the Spirit realm. Then you can use my abilities without destroying your body like what happened that time.” Said Nocturne

“Alright! Time to train then!” I said as I headed back to the school…

Nocturne’s strength is praiseworthy, if I were to fight those things, I need the power of a servant of the death god. Then and only then can I truly be free…

A position as an elite enforcer can surely give me enough freedom from others, but the power of a servant of death can actually destroy the shackles of anyone trying to either control or use me…

With a goal set, I moved with wide strides to the school. Time to start working for real!