The scholar closed his eyes and stood still for a moment.
He entered his own mind, as he needed guidance. A projection of him stood before an altar crafted from the bones of creatures unknown. Creatures with skulls made of pure Qi, creatures with bones crafted from magma, creatures who even he did not recognize.
He had been around for many cycles, yet he did not recognize them. A testament to the longevity of his Lord.
He went up four steps made from the spines of men before he bowed deeply.
“My lord, this one is too arrogant and he values his individuality too greatly, even more so than his life, should we choose another?”
An invisible presence arrived at the peak of the altar, the scholar fell to his knees, even he dare not gaze at the true form of his Lord.
The skull shaped like a Xiezhi’s began to tremble before its empty eye sockets began to glow red.
“His demeanor….. It is necessary… A cowardly servant cannot do what I require.” a disembodied voice spoke to him, in a tone could hardly be described by language.
The closest thing to it would be the word ancient, as if it didn’t exist in the present.
The scholar frowned.
“He will find it…. Or he will be found.”
One of the other skulls on the altar began to shake, before shattering into tiny pieces that somehow turned to blood.
A skull shattering to become blood, the scholar was beyond perplexed.
The colorless blood began to sizzle, the scholar was pushed to the ground and buried, he could not stand.
Another presence had invaded his head.
“We must converse…..” the blood spoke before evaporating into nothing.
The Xiezhi’s eyes began to excessively radiate a dark red illuminating the dark space.
“HE MUST NOT DIE….”
The skull began to shake violently.
“I WILL NOT WAIT! ANOTHER CYCLE!”
The skull shattered along with the altar, and the scholar’s projection exploded as well.
His body within the library turned pale as he opened his eyes.
It terrified him that even in his own mind he could suffer like this, a mind that was even further removed from abstraction than a regular one.
He already resided in the Astral Realm as a thought and yet his thoughts which were even abstract to the astral realm were easily shattered by the mere words of his lord.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
He chuckled, the words didn’t even hold hostility, just their mere presence.
Now he looked at Feng Zhiming with a complicated expression, he had lost his high ground within this interaction.
Feng Zhiming saw his predicament and smirked.
“That’s right, you’re a loyal slave that can’t go against his master. He still needs me alive.”
The Scholar shook his head slowly after hearing the scalding words, of course a child who had not seen the world would think this way. However It was truly surprising that Feng Zhiming had deduced his limitations just by observing the situation.
“Maybe I did underestimate him.” he thought to himself as he considered his next move.
“Now that we’ve established you can’t kill me, you can send me back. I will go to the heart and speak to this great one at the altar, if he offers me a good enough deal I may work with him.”
The scholar thought deeply about his lord’s words, he could not let Feng Zhiming die.
“Oh and I wouldn’t mind if you gave me a book or two from this library. Who knows, get me hooked on some knowledge and maybe I’ll be more inclined to help.”
The scholar felt a switch flip in his brain, he understood his lord’s intentions now, soon it would be time for him to be born.
“You’re not qualified to read most of these, the world will not allow it.”
He held his hand out and a book flew towards him from the shelf.
Archives of Truth: The Heavenly Demon and the Wisp of Rebellion
“Since my lord already gave you a glimpse into this piece of history, it should be somewhat readable.”
Feng Zhiming held the book in his hand and realized something.
How would he take a book out of this dream realm?
He was about to ask before he was cut off by the Scholar.
“No matter what you do, do not trust the a-”
The realm vanished into darkness as he felt a sharp pain on his right cheek.
“I told you slapping him again was uncalled for, Dolly already cut the thread.” Ellia spoke to Lyra as she looked back at him.
“I just wanted to get him one more time to make sure he’s alive.” she replied, clearly lying.
Her smug expression gave away her true intentions.
Feng Zhiming slowly opened his eyes to reveal four familiar faces standing before him.
They all held distinct expressions, Ellia was genuinely surprised, Lyra seemed interested in something, Dolly was confused and Anissa looked deeply concerned.
“What the hell.” Lyra spoke her intrinsic thoughts out loud.
“Wasz wid za audianse?” He spoke as if he was drunk.
As Feng Zhiming slowly stood up he stumbled before almost falling, Anissa caught him to stop him from tumbling over.
His mind felt heavy, almost as if it was about to explode.
“Take him to a room to rest in, he’s clearly disoriented, we’ll discuss it tomorrow.” Lyra told Anissa.
Ellia nodded in agreement, Dolly who was still very curious held back her questions and went to the crows nest to assess the course of the ship.
Feng Zhiming, who still had a hard time thinking, was walking over to one of the rooms below deck, his arm resting on Anissa’s shoulder as she supported him.
He sat atop a hard bed as Anissa sat beside him, still silent, still holding her hands up ready to assist him at any point.
Any slight movement from Feng Zhiming was reflected in her own.
Slowly but surely he could feel his brain being mended, he began to understand, the book had not come with him physically, but it existed in his head.
“How are you feeling?” Anissa asked in a despondent tone, trying to stop her hands from shaking by holding them together.
Feng Zhiming turned his head to face Anissa and in the reflection of her unusually wet eyes, he saw it, his own face, and yet there was something unfamiliar about it.
Or more importantly he saw his eyes, one of his eyes had vanished and been replaced by a gaping hole in his eye socket.