As the rest of those from the Harmonious Citadel withdrew, Chikere pressed forward. She’d heard rumors of a great swordmaster in the area, and her instincts had told her they were true. Once she’d seen it was Rahayu? She couldn’t resist fighting. It didn’t matter why. She had the feeling that there was more behind the Harmonious Citadel’s motives, but she was here now and that was all that mattered.

She was quite pleased to not be instantly dead. That was what had happened on their first encounter, though of course she had improved considerably since then. Rahayu’s training had seen her improve greatly, though before he ascended she was not certain if she could have survived a single serious attack. After that point she had continued to grow stronger to be able to match against him- or someone like him.

But fate had led her here, to the real Rahayu. Her swords trembled under the force of his blade, even as they blocked him in pairs or triplets. That was expected when facing someone on the verge of augmentation. Some of her weapons shattered- but they were simply the dregs. She would have to replace them, but their loss was inconsequential. And it would only matter if she survived. There was always the chance she died here. Their relationship wasn’t such that it was impossible, especially if it aligned with Rahayu’s purposes.

Chikere was surrounded, now. But everyone stayed out of their fight after she cut a few people who got too close… and because Rahayu wasn’t particularly making sure his attacks didn’t affect them.

She was fairly confident that her image of him during her ascension had been correct, at least for a power at the peak of Life Transformation. Now he was nearly in Augmentation, the next section of ascension. That was amazing for only half a century, though it was impossible to say how long it took to actually cross that gap.

One sword matched against dozens, sweeping them aside in groups as he moved to attack Chikere from whatever angle he wished. He was fast, though her fighting style meant she was not tied to a clear front and back. Maneuvering her better swords to where Rahayu was took some effort though. A true swordmaster did not need to rely on a good weapon to be effective, but when facing off against a skilled opponent it still mattered.

The ground split apart as Rahayu’s slashes cut apart the world around them- even some clouds were separated, though the majority of his power didn’t reach that high. Chikere had some power of her own, but she had to admit she was unfamiliar with fighting using ascension energy. It was simply different enough to be problematic.

Then the moment came, and Chikere was ready. Even so, she saw a bloody sword sticking out of her shoulder, the point in front of her. That was still a thousand times better than where it was intended to go, towards her heart and lung. Whether or not Rahayu would have spared her like the first time or not she didn’t know, but she at least managed to defend herself from the one attack. And she even negated his energy so it didn’t slash her apart from inside so easily.

“I surrender,” she admitted. She thought she had improved, but it wasn’t as much as she wanted. There wasn’t more she could do at the moment, so there was no point in fighting.

Pain filled her shoulder as the sword was withdrawn, but the following flick of the sword didn’t cut off her head but instead cleared the blade of blood so it could be sheathed. “Not bad. You’re joining us now.”

“But she was with-” one of the nearby people began to protest, then stopped. Rahayu was simply using his aura, but it could be as sharp as a true blade if he wished.

Chikere was glad she was alive, though she knew there was still a long way to go.

-----

A change in the fluctuations of Paradise’s energy awoke Erin in the middle of the night. She was deeply attuned to his normal rhythm, but something had changed. Normally Paradise was content to drift along, but now he was moving rapidly to the east. Not only was that counter to his normal movements, the bursts of speed were generally short- such as to catch something particularly tasty. Beyond that, it usually involved diving underwater.

Erin could see that quite opposite of that, Paradise was actually holding his head above water, looking at the sky. She immediately called for an alert throughout the sect. Then they waited.

And waited.

After hours passed, they should have sensed something, but there was no indication. After a day passed, the alert was relaxed to a rotating schedule. As the head of the Island Tenders, Erin took more than a regular share of watches. She couldn’t help but worry.

Her concerns were answered in due time when she actually felt something up in the sky, after several more days. A strange power, one of fire and heat… simultaneously strong and weak. Familiar, yet unfamiliar.

Then Paradise dipped his head into the sea, raising it up a moment later to spray an enormous ball of water into the sky. The falling source of energy maintained its trajectory and even became visible to the naked eye as a burning fire. Paradise’s attack impacted the falling fire, and that should have been the end of it.

Instead, Paradise continued to move forward… and then suddenly began to dive. Since his dives were unpredictable Paradise’s back had already been prepared for it at any time, with the water flowing around barrier so as to not tear off the inhabitants and their structures. The natural trees, dirt, and the like were protected by Paradise to begin with, so it had simply taken some coaxing to make him apply the same to his permanent guests.

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As quickly as they went down, they returned to the surface. Erin wasn’t sure what the point was, until Paradise flipped his head up and something landed next to her. No, not something. Someone. Or at least what had once been someone. Now it was a charred corpse, not even breathing. There were no signs of life… except a burning core of natural energy. It was fading slowly, but not the same way a dead cultivator’s energy would extinguish.

Erin called for medical aid. She wasn’t sure exactly what they could do, but they had various sorts of medicines, even if their stock was limited. But as she looked carefully she recognized the figure’s cultivation technique. It was familiar, and though there was little to recognize she thought the charred body was that of a friend. At least she could contact the Order with what she had found, though saving Anton might not be possible… if he was even really still alive.

-----

Scenery suddenly changed as Velvet, Devon, and dozens of others from the Order completed their teleportation to Aicenith. Their energy reserves were drained out of necessity, but using what they had left they quickly began to move. Information had come in from Paradise, and the Rising Waterfall Sect had sent people to retrieve him. If it was true that he was alive- though even the Island Tenders seemed to be dubious on that point- the Order was going to do their best to save him. They would repay those who provided the aid immediately before they could reach them. At least swift communication had been possible.

The weaker cultivators among their group began to grow weary first, and though Velvet was tempted to push on without them she was aware that taking some time to rest would be more effective. And her lacking medical expertise wouldn’t do much to help.

Along with that, Idalia was supposed to be on the way. She was one of many whose lives had been personally touched by Anton, and she was one of the most trusted healers on the continent. Not necessarily the best, but one they were certain was on their side.

Their speed could have been faster if they beelined their way, but following approved roads was not only safer- though Velvet doubted there was much that could be a threat- but also more acceptable to the various sects and clans who claimed different areas. It was better to avoid causing tension where it was unnecessary, especially since they didn’t know if they could help. So far Velvet hadn’t received news of a change in Anton’s status, but she could think of many reasons why that might be. None of them were helpful.

But eventually they reached him- transferred to Marvelous Rabbit Mountain on the mainland instead of out on Redfin Reef. Velvet couldn’t help but grimace as she saw the body. It was hard to say it was anything but… except there was a spark of energy. Velvet reached towards it, careful not to touch it or affect Anton’s body in any way. He wasn’t breathing, his blood didn’t flow- if he even had any- but there was something burning inside his dantian. A star, and not simply the Order’s technique. And hidden beneath that star, much more faint, ninety-nine others. She had to count several times to believe her own work, but it was true. A hundred stars- without ascending. It was somewhat disappointing the final one only used natural energy, but it was still an advancement. Though it only mattered if he survived.

“What can we do?” Devon asked Idalia.

“Nothing, right now,” Idalia said. She looked to the nearby doctors, “What medicines have you tried? The results?”

“Salves on the skin have little effect. As for pills or liquid medicine, it is consumed by the fire inside him.”

“Good,” Idalia said.

“That’s good?” Devon asked.

“If they just sat there, then he really would be dead. The fact that something happens gives me some hope.” She started popping various concoctions into Anton’s mouth, frowning every time. “I don’t know if it’s helping at all. It might just be disappearing. If the medicinal effects are in there somewhere, it has no way to circulate around his body. We’d have to start with the meridians and dantian, but without him doing anything…” Idalia looked at Velvet. “You’re one of his frequent companions, aren’t you?”

Velvet nodded. “I’m not any good at medicine, but I can help gather whatever you need. Devon is his grandson as well.”

“You-” Idalia pointed to Devon, “I do have some things to get. It’s a decent trip, but you’ll need to be quick about it. As for you,” she looked to Velvet. “I need you to help circulate his energy.”

“I- that’s dangerous to attempt.”

“I know, but Devon doesn’t practice the Ninety-Nine… Hundred Stars. And the rest of your companions have already ascended, haven’t they?”

“That’s true,” Velvet said.

“Then you’re the best bet. Especially among those here.”

“I can try but…”

“Just be slow about it. Methodical. He’s lasted days already, the chances of suddenly fading away now is low.”

Velvet nodded. She was reminded of something from her past. Anton had helped her with an energy deviation early in her cultivation career. That brought danger upon himself, whereas here she mostly had to worry about hurting him. Not that it made her feel better about possibly messing up, but she knew she had to try.

Using natural energy to recover from wounds was something cultivators learned early on, though not all of them were particularly good at it. Guiding someone else’s spiritual energy to help them recover, however, seemed to be more difficult. Even so, Velvet did her best to carefully grasp onto a strand of energy from the strongest star burning within Anton, doing her best to guide it through what was left of his meridians and throughout his body. She thought maybe some of the soft energy the medicines had in them came along, though it wasn’t clear. Something about the energy she was holding made everything else harder to sense, despite how weak it was.

The first circulation was difficult, because Anton’s body was basically destroyed along with his meridians. They felt as if they were filled with ash or charcoal, and maneuvering around without causing further damage was difficult. She wasn’t sure how many hours it took to make a single circulation, and she still felt no different. The same was true for the next five, and the ten after that. By that point it had been a couple days, and though the amount of energy she was using was trivial, the precise concentration and lack of sleep was starting to wear on her. But she actually felt something, some slight stirring of activity… and so refused to give up.