[Hehehe] The giggling ghostly apparition disappearing, changing direction without having to bleed off momentum, the hunter’s outstretched hand passing impotently where the ghostly figure was. Undeterred the hunter vaults itself with outstretched arms against the rough stone tower changing direction directly back in pursuit. The pleased girly giggles of the apparition tinkling pleasantly, enticingly. Shrouded in a misty dress of grey air the apparition giggles with childish euphoria at the game spurring the hunter on, neither knowing hunger thirst nor fatigue as they chase each other across the endless space.

The rough stone towers scraping the sky beyond, the dreamy mist of the waterlogged barren landscape the only changing thing in an endless forest of the skyscraping stone pillars.

Some of the stone towers reaching hundres of metres into the sky as thick as thousand-year-old Elder Trees, others mountainous beyond imagining. Here, in this jaggered landscape the hunter chases the phantom maiden endlessly. Here the maiden stays ever out of reach no matter the speed, trick, or skill the pursuing hunter displays.

Sachihiro

I open my eyes, phasing out of jinzen slowly as my senses groggily wake, my mind processing what the senses have been saying.

I blink a few times taking a deep breath. Nothing has changed in my situation, well a lot has changed but ultimately nothing has really changed. I look around stretching my neck and shoulders of any kinks standing wondering what I should do next; I have to be decisive whatever else I am.

Decisiveness is a virtue greatly underestimated in my view and though I’ve made many terrible mistakes in my short life...

[Sigh], with a mote of mana the crystals are in hand. Though I’ve made many monumental mistakes I know my priorities. Priorities that set the path I should follow in the confusing road of life.

With my orientation of space and time gone I don’t know how long I’ve been in jinzen meditative trance, but I feel different now than I did before jinzen. Less anxious. Maybe its just being out of that abyss; I look up feeling that the ceiling isn’t far off anymore.

Grabbing a pebble I fling it upward, [crack], it hits loudly against hard stone coming down to tumble somewhere in the darkness, a smile creases my face.

Having been to Anastasia the dwarven city in the Dawn I have a general idea of how it feels to live with hundreds of thousands of kilos of stone over me. This is the same feeling and I’m surprised to realise how comfortable I find it considering how uneasy I’ve been. Where ever I was before was deeper down than this, much deeper I suspect and the darkness there was oppressive, the weight of the world above oppressive even without me perceiving how far above me the ceiling was.

Probably especially because I couldn’t perceive the stones above me. I’m less worried than I previously was, less anxious though I haven’t lost any of my determination.

I squat into a comfortable position sheathing Honour in a single motion on my back. Okay, I need to get to my family but what do I have to offer that da can’t, that ma can’t, that Kuyoki can’t, that Shea or Isis or anyone else can’t? For the longest time I’ve had separation anxiety, probably ‘cause this whole translocation thing was so sudden, against my will and I was completely lost and trapped.

That was really fucked up thing to happen all things considered but going to them as I am though it would make me feel better would it be beneficial? I need to benefit myself and my people from this little excursion.

I wonder how everyone is, where everyone is. The goal was to get to the Foothills and though I don’t know how that’s going I at least know where to expect everyone.

With everything I’ve seen I now know how insignificant all my advancement and gains are in comparison to the things about in the world. Let me take this as the once in a lifetime opportunity it is and find these sources of power, riches, and freedom that this creature owes me. Otherwise what's the point of everything I've already been through besides disrupting my life.

I shake my head thinking about Phosphorus, if I knew who to complain to about spiritual bargains I’d go present my case about this. So much to learn, knowledge, didn’t I say I wanted knowledge as well? I’ve been swindled.

*

Faceless Slave

I’m standing sentinel duty at the sparring grounds watching the young Caspian go all out against Lady Mantra Aurenta’n and get his ass handed to him soundly at every turn. I’m fighting the urge to grin mirthfully watching the little fucker get heel kicked into the reinforced para-stone head first.

The stone adjusts taking the impact and dispersing it; the unmistakable sound of teeth and bone-breaking is as music to my ears. I practically giggle when the unexpected stomp to the back of the fucker’s head scatters his face in blood teeth and general red gore.

Mantra Eriyana’n on the other side of the sparing grounds grins making eye contact with me somehow, I school my face. Fuck, she caught me slipping, that capricious bitch is going to get me killed one of these days. I concentrate with all my attention on guarding the door and my eyes forward hardly blinking, left hand on my erect shampoo flanking the entrance.

‘’ I bring news,’’ Lord Axone flies in, sauntering towards the refreshment table.

‘’Go on,’’ Mantra Aurenta’n says appearing at the table wiping blood off her hands. The others drag the young master, Caspian, to the healers; we have it tough but the Bantu-jin are completely insane when it comes to their own training.

‘’Your son gonna be alright?’’ Lord Axone asks as he sits popping almonds in his mouth.

‘’Speak your piece, I still have more of these to train.’’ The Mantra says indicating to all the scion of the Family that have completed their body tempering waiting at the periphery for their turn.

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‘’The Moya have found a baby world they’ve been hogging to themselves, its said to have vast resources.’’

‘’You know this how?’’

‘’I have my way,’’ Lord Axone says mysteriously. Most likely some whore told him so he’d stop hurting her, or him.

‘’Where is the entrance?’’

‘’The old gate in Newb valley, its well guarded though so stealth is unlikely to get us in.’’

‘’Are the other gates open?’’

Lord Axone throws up his hands, ‘’I don’t know I just found out myself.’’

‘’On it,’’ Mantra Eriyana’n says at the signal from Mantra Aurenta’n.

‘’You come,’’ I hear in my head and am joined by three others we’re flying off towards the gate led by my least favourite Mantra.

Two hours later.

‘’What!?’’ A furious Lady Mantra Aurenta’n exclaims destroying the room, my bones rattle being so close to her rage.

The mad bitch Eriyana’n just keeps nodding adding fuel to the fire.

‘’Apparently everyone knows, the other families already have expeditions farming the world for resources.’’

‘’And we’re the last to find out?!’’ her shrill crackles the air about her, my mask splits open at the cheek. Foam filling the gap so fast it’s hardly noticeable to anyone not paying attention.

The bitch keeps nodding pleasantly, ‘’I fried some opportunists at our gate but I’m sure they had a large haul in all this time. They even extorted a fee from the mortals to let them through, but I set an example.’’

[Dududu] thunder has the walls shaking as the Mantra’s temper reaches a peak ripping tears into the mesh of the bodysuit; I really wish I didn’t have to stand here.

‘’It’s said the Kota’s send their mortal armies to test themselves against the natives in hopes of finding new talents to groom, honestly now that I’ve looked I don’t know how we didn’t know.’’

‘’We have been too focused on our training, but I see now the folly in our ways.’’ The Mantra’s voice is cold, low but piercing.

‘’You will take ten of our most promising young in the 1st Continent, five in the 2nd Continent and two In the 3rd Cultivation Continent followed by our most industrious mortals. They will lay claim to all they lay eyes on with the mortals collecting and consolidating our gains.’’

‘’3rd Continent Cultivators, isn’t that a bit overkill for a baby world?’’

The shock I feel at the line-up is surpassed only by the petty bitch being the voice of reason for once.

‘’We will not be surpassed by any of the other Families, the name ‘’ ‘n ’’ will not be taken so lightly again.’’ The madwoman says already in her own world, ‘’leave me.’’

I’m out of there at all speed.

*

Luthando

[Har ahahaha grrmmm] Luyolo grits his teeth pupils pin pricks as they put him on the stretcher, the sweating healer nervously asking again about the injury. I watch the Faceless interact with the nervous mortal keeping his eyes far from us yet even further from his patient only kept safe by the two Red Faceless here that escort all healers.

The Faceless know nothing, only that the weapon was such as these, showing one of the many implements we’ve looted from the natives.

‘’I’ll have to take some samples.’’

‘’Absolutely out of the question,’’ Noluvuyo shuts down the request quickly giving the Silver Faceless a silent command that has it backing up bowing.

‘’As you say Mantrano Moya’’ the healer bows quickly and repeatedly. ‘’I meant no offense,’’ he quickly looks for answers elsewhere, pressing buttons on the stretcher but clearly not liking what he sees.

A syringe of some elixir is pulled from a smoking opening then jammed into Luyolo’s shoulder, nothing changes. His crazy eyes stay crazy, his grey red face stays grey red, missing right arm stays missing.

‘’I’m going to have you boiled alive for this,’’ Luyolo barks fermenting at the mouth mad with pain.

The four Silver Alpha Faceless struggle to hold him onto the stretcher as they start floating towards the horizon at the healers instruction. Veins bulge along his meaty neck he shivers, his left arm over the stump of his right, still bleeding despite the best effort of the healer.

Luyolo contorts in visible pain even with the pain array field on on the stretcher before finding another semblance of control. The scare on his face isn’t deep but its ugly, I have to give it to the mortal for almost taking the fucker’s head before it died, a feat I’m not sure I could pull off.

‘’You hear me?! I’ll have you boiled in oil! I’ll break you, I’ll break all your bones and melt them into ornaments. I’ll have them sold as hair pins [hahahaha arrgghhhhh hahaha]!’’

They crest over a ridge and I see no more of them, a shiver going down my spine. Those threats were awfully specific for someone seemingly in the grips of immerse pain.

‘’You have made a dangerous enemy little cousin, tell me. What is it that you and Luyolo where doing all by yourselves so far away, not enough fun with us [mhmm]?’’ Noluvuyo asks with a sharp smile, fuck!

‘’Just exploring cousin, your disputes bore me,’’ I say waving her away moving to the edge of the platform where an array has been setup showing all that has been mapped.

Noluntu and a group of Faceless are out sacking the villages visible in purple outline once they have been cleared of the native and green once looted of valuables.

‘’You will have to be more specific than that,’’ Luvuyo shifts from his floating lotus, [vooo] covering the distance between us, I feel him coming but I won’t be fast enough to dodge so I don’t even try. [Thump] a heavy hand lands on my shoulder that has my girdles groaning.

My body filling with energy I slap his arm away, [bam] feeling the concussion hard on my forearm. With a Blink I step past his grab blocking a punch that has me flying from the platform,[bwarrr] I bend unnaturally contorting from the sudden pain on my back as he appears behind me. Mana Barrier.

With the barrier up I crash into the ground without feeling the impact, Reconstruction. I get up pulling on the ground within my Domain, rock spikes shoot out of the ground pulled by my permeating mana. One after another they are plucked from the air crumbling like dry clods as he backhands them casually from the air.

[Vooo] Shit, I lost him [woosh] I duck under the kick [bam] only to have another clobber into my face lifting me into the air.

My teeth scatter cheekbone caved in with my jaw broken by the attack. Shit, he has a movement technique, why the fuck do they all have movement techniques at so early a stage of cultivation? Reconstruction.

I land on my feet shoring myself up with the ground shifting to my manipulation buttressing me up as I take the incoming superman punch on crossed arms [Bam]. I rattle, my arms flying apart like loose sausages as they break but I keep my footing with the ground crumbling behind me from the force distribution.

[HAAA-]

Nature’s Call shoots out of my mouth in an energy beam, Luvuyo walks through it like it isn’t there. Shit, I forgot!

[Kghgaar] the punch to my abdomen silences my higher reasoning, [crack] something breaks, I hear the whimper but it can’t be from me, can it?

[Wam]

I find myself blinking to consciousness as Reconstruction does its thing.

I wake again in excruciating pain, a bloody savage daemon standing over me, Reconstruction trying but failing-

The sky is so blue, the crisp feel of the air washing away the scent of blood that clings to me as I come to consciousness. I’m moving, I’m on a stretcher not unlike how Luyolo left not so long ago, was is it still the same day?

‘’Rest young master we are nearly there,’’ the voice is unfamiliar but I find I can’t resist it. My lids are heavy.

‘’Where are we going?’’ I ask trying but failing to resist the drag back to slumber.

‘’Home.’’

The word shoots a spike of dread down my spine, I try to get up realising I can’t move.

All my training, all my careful planning, all my schemes and deceits to get myself the chance to prove myself here. All the favours Uncle Kolisa had to pull, the years under Teacher learning the art of mana manipulation, the excruciating medical baths and gruelling training just so my constitution would measure up. My body shakes my chest rising high and falling.

All for what, to what end?

‘’There is no shame in defeat warrior, let your tears wash you anew,’’ the voice says and I realise I’m sobbing.

Defeat.

The word rings in my head as my tongue darts out what should normally have teeth.

Defeat.