Eastern Du province, Qing
Zhi empire
Zhi empire was the most beautiful in all of Chi, they favoured gardens and plantations over war and espionage. Their lifestyle was more of trade, less of war.
Their castle was an elegant structure, said to compose thirty rooms.
Zhi empire had taken over a quarter of the fallen Fu empire and Shaodian kept the remaining three quarters.
Sitted on the throne was no e other than Zhi Yi He. The father of Zhi Yi Ling, the medic princess, to whom Lotus was betrothed.
"Your grace, your grace" a servant charged into the palace resisting all attempts made by the guards to stop him from proceeding
"Hey!" The guards chased after him and we're about to fling him from the throne room.
The emperor raised his hand, signaling them to stop
"Your honor, we tried to stop him" a guard said
"Do not trouble this man any further" Yi He said calmly " he might have something to share"
"Yes, your grace" the guards said as they left the room
"Qi Fu, what troubles you?" Yi He asked
"Your majesty. The, the young master of Shaodian, singing d-drum, depression, Red-red lamp b-bar, d-dead" the slave said sobbing
"Organize your words dammit!"
"The young master of Shaodian, was attacked whilst in Red Lamp bar after ___"
"Speak no more" he said "Does Ching know about this. How do you know about this"
"Your subject had gone to deliver some of our most famed mijiu supply to the bar on an errand. Suddenly master Lotus entered and drank for a while. I wanted to make good ties with him. It was then I heard rumors, they say he failed some Qi drum test. Afterwards a strange man in a cloak came to visit the bar." He stopped
"Suddenly, the owner of the bar sent us all out after the mysterious man had a talk with him" Yi He was almost on the edge of the throne out of sheer interest.
"After a while even the bar owner left. Your subject was about to leave the empire but came back because he forgot to drop a product. He met the bar in ruins, and he overhead some soldiers saying a battle had taken place, blood was scattered around the place, and broken bottles of Sake and mijiu"
"How long ago was this"
"Three days sire"
"Hmm"
"I will pay Ching a visit make sure princess Ling doesn't get to know this"
"I already do Father" a voice called out sobbing "Is he really dead?"
"It's not yet confirmed sweety. He just might be alive"
"We were to marry today." She sobbed
"You will honey, you will" he said comforting her. Though the emperor himself looked worried.
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Lotus was at the province south of Youqin now. He had been walking for three days as he pondered on what to do with his life now.
Lotus had the dream again, the one he'd started having when he sixteen
Some strange man he'd never seen before. He had red pupils, it appeared to be the same kind of eye power as his own. The man had burning bright wings on his back and a giant phoenix behind him. The man was quite handsome though, his hair was also on fire so the colour wasn't certain but he had a fair face with a thick moustache which was well, also on fire.
Endeavour vibes.
He would have taken it as a fantasy dream, that was until he recognized the setting, Vexes, the place was as described in the myths, but what was more catchy was when he recognized that the man was talking to none other than Ichyksius, they were laughing about something , that was, until they saw The Dark Races, they fought some of them but soon after were separated.
Like each time before this one, as the flaming man died and scattered into ashes due to a backstab, he woke up
"Oy not again" he lazily thought as he stretched " It's been three days since I met Soge. Wonder what he's doing now. Meeting Soge was definitely a turning point in my life" he thought "I look forward to seeing him grow"
"Young master of Shaodian" an old voice called
"Who goes there"
"Chu Meng"
"Lady Chu?"
"Yes boy"
"They called you a mountain sage or something"
"That brat's punishment awaits him''
''Okay..."
" She sounded vengeful " he thought
"You and I however need to talk"
"Where are you even speaking from"
"Leave all that boy"
"You sound like Soge'' Lotus said softly
"You said?"
"Oh nothing in particular"
"...."
"Meet me at the foot of the mountain you look upon now as you walk"
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In the old lady's house again Lotus sensed an air of familiarity with the place, he felt like something, no, everything about his life had changed here.
" Have you been having dreams child?"
"The same one every single night for three years"
" Follow me"
And so they walked to the garden she privately took Hua to
"This was the garden. It was in this garden, I gave you the Lotus essence"
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Lotus examined the garden thoroughly, taking in the scenery. He couldn't remember visually as he was, well, 'blind' but he felt the connection"
"What did you actually see, when you were said to be blind I mean."
"..."
" I wasn't blind.."
" I figured so" she thought
" There was this black unending space, I-I couldn't see a thing but that was__"
" Did you see a man, cloaked in black, green eyes?"
" Green eyes... Exactly. Uh he held some kinda__"
" Some kinda staff"
" The hell? Exac- wait, hang on a sec, how do you know so much"
" Did you see anyone else there?" She snobbed his question
" Well yeah, some doosh with blue hair. Blue h_ wait, was it So..?"
" It wasn't Sogesuke it was F__"
''You know Soge?!!"
"I know all of you"
" All o' who?"
"The New generation"
"The what?"
" Have you ever heard of The Zone?"
"The endless black void where the guardian of continuity dwells? The heart of Frag? Yeah I have"
" That's where you were"
" The man, he was..."
" Yes, Holo Void, Guardian of Continuity"
" I thought the guardians disappeared?"
" From the history books, not existence. If they had died, Faterealm would have long been invaded"
" There are more realms?" Lotus asked as he sat down in the plantation utterly confused " it was after that, that Rosé..."
"There is yet a lot that you must know boy. The queen will tell you some of it''
"..."
"Melody Sonoro of the first dimension"
" Wait wait wait wait wait. I thought we were born with essences, why did you have to induce mine? ''
"Like your Jishu, your Essence was sealed."
" The Lotus essence isn't mine?"
" Well it isn't an Essence, you aren't even using an eighth of your essence yet. The Lotus shards I placed in your body are like keys, to your potential. There's a certain flower, the Nirvana Blossom, the keys are petals of that flower, you have to traverse the realm for more of those keys to understand what is actually going on. With each 'key' you find, you will understand your true destiny and know that you are not just some disowned prince. You are nineteen now. I lied to your mother that you would set out at twenty. If I hadn't she would've done everything to stop you. Out of love. Foolish love! As for your father, hmph don't get me started on him, he totally debunked the idea of you being fated for something greater. And that genera___"
" Alright old lady, I'm confused now, why is every bloody thing sealed? Why me? What is the new generation? Why was I in Frag? Why do my pupils turn pink and spin? Why did Soge come to...? And why is it all happening at once"
" You've wasted enough time boy, you must set off now"
" To where?" He asked
" To the dimensions"
" Now, but.."
" What? Your marriage. The Faterealm is about to fall into chaos. "
" How can I save the realm if I can't save my marriage?
"..."
"Three days boy, Nothing more than noon three days from now. Don't let anyone, any fucking thing, stop you. Not even your mother. A second more and I won't be able to help you, I also have other young'uns to attend to." She stopped then remembered something " No matter how much you trust anyone, do not speak to them of this conversation we have just had. For your own safety, not for mine"
'' I'll keep that in mind "
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Youqin
The castle had a gloomy atmosphere
Sobs could be heard. Lotus might've been useless physically but he was a most lovable prince
"We offer our greatest condolences Ching" Yi He said as he entered. "They were to marry today, Yi Ling is weeping"
"The burial, it-it'll take place in four days time'' Ching said sadly, "the wedding cannot take place"
Tong shook his head in lamentation
Sun appeared more dead than the Grim reaper himself
And Jin missed his older bro
Lily was weeping and Hua had almost run mad remembering Lady Chu " he's alive" she thought" I know it"
" Burials are for the dead father. Your son lives! " Lotus said
The palace almost screamed in excitement
" Second prince " they murmured
Yi Ling jumped on him
" Don't do that again Lolo'' she said sobbing
"It's alright Ling, when do we marry?"
"The wedding hasn't been called off ya lazy bones, get all the materials" Ching said
The palace roared in victory and a certain bar owner was also pleased
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Nightfall
Lotus' room
Yi Ling lay beside Lotus, who was bare chested.
"Lotus"
"Yeah"
"I heard you have TPC"
" True.."
" How does it feel to be unable to feel anything"
" When you're fighting, it feels excellent no? But whe__"
" You fight? "
" Sure do"
"..."
" I might not look like much, but I'm the Executor"
" Are you kidding"
" Nope, I ain't "
" That's so cool, why not tell anyone? "
" It's a long story. Plus, I've also got something to tell you"
" I'm listening"
" I have to travel, somewhere very far "
"... "
" Alone" he added
They locked eyes for a moment. She stood up to take something from her bag
"I'm sure you're going to fight"
"Something like that''
" Take this then" she tossed him a jar containing some kinda balm
"I don't__"
"Your friends might get hurt. Aura can be used to heal, but that has many more applications"
''Thanks then"
"Lotus"
"Yeah"
"Can we still?"
Lotus looked at her for a moment trying to understand what she was saying but as he saw the blush on her cheeks he clearly understood
"Oooh" he scratched his head
"No problem there then"
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3 hours later
''If-if you see a cute lady there. Which I'm very sure you will. I-Im not stopping you but"
He put his hand on her lip
" Shh. You'll always be my first love"
He hopped up from the bed, took his hat, took his daggers, and replaced the engagement ring on his hand with a marriage one.
"If anyone asks, tell them I was kidnapped. But if my dad asks, tell him I'll be back. Hell understand"
She nodded obediently
''I'll be waiting for you, be safe"
He nodded and with that
Rosé
Whoosh
" He really was" she thought as she smiled " I just know he's gonna find someone else" she added albeit regretfully " that's just the way he is. Free as the wind" she smiled again
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" Old wretch I'm back'' Lotus told her
"Even your father wouldn't dare tell me that" she shook her head.
"Where's the jumper?"
"Jumper?"
"For the old DJ y'know"
"This is not the generic exploration of the dimension your people do, you're hopping to another dimension entirely"
" So? "
" You tear open a rift"
Lotus remembered Soge's words about his grandad
" Boy, I'll give you a quick rundown." She paused " Even I don't know which dimension you're gonna land in, it depends on how fast you jump. If you enter the tenth dimension don't fight their monarch, he always wins. Always"
" How always is always?"
"Always, it's got something to do with his Jishu. Your main aim is to find the other members of the new generation and the Nirvana Blossom. As long as you don't have the Final Doh, you've not found all of them.
" I don't even know what that is"
" You'll find out trust me"
" And when I find them? "
" You'll know what to do".
" Okay, so you're sending me to another dimension without telling me anything about the expedition, and I'm supposed to believe you? "
" Faith child, faith"
" I'm only going because I want to get stronger and because I want to see Yksdrasil myself, you said the Faterealm is in danger but from what exactly, I don't know. I'm just supposed to go into other dimensions and risk myself getting killed all because you said so. Why? "
" If I wanted to explain to you, you couldn't grasp it. An eons old ploy is unfolding and I've seen the signs, only you can stop it. So please, forget all this and try to find that flower and those monarcs. The shards will guide you."
"..."
The room was silent for a moment
" When do we open the portal"
Chu Meng smiled
Snap
At the snap of her fingers a Gate like structure appeared accompanied with a triangle divided into thirteen unequal parts with a spindle currently pointing at the third part lying on the floor right before the gate
Chu Meng poured aura into the structure and the gate opened with the spindle spinning uncontrollably across all divisions
"Do I run?"
"As fast as you can"
"Ro__"
"Silly boy"
He stopped
" Don't get carried away in that gate. Don't move at all"
Ro__
"You just might meet the man of your dreams."
"..."
"You're only going on this adventure because I healed you right?"
"Yeah, I figured you wouldn't have any harmful intentions"
" You guessed right. I'll send Sonoro your way boy. Don't stop, no matter how many people die. Don't stop"
" What does that mean? "
" The portal's closing"
Rosé
Whoosh
Lotus charged into the gate, it closed and the spindle rotated wouldn't before stopping at the 1st compartment. That was until after a while it blinked red and pointed to the fourth one
''Of all dimensions" she thought shaking her head
She drew a circle with her hand and a picture of the first dimension emerged
"Sonoro"
"You called, Elder Meng"
"I sent a brat your way, but the fool accidentally changed course"
" What dimension? "
" 4th"
" Of all dimensions"
" He'll probably be on a tour back to the second in no time"
" If he survives"
" He will"
" What did you tell him to do? "
"Find the Nirvana Blossom"
" Eight leaved lotus? Its scattered across the dimensions"
" He will find it "
" Why do you have so much faith in him"
Chu Meng smiled
" I can feel it, he's the one Holo saw, plus I had a vision"
" If you say so"
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Traveling through a gate was like drifting through space, you saw different star systems, nebula and stuff. Unless you couldn't or rather rather shouldn't move haphazardly, otherwise you got ported into another one which might not always be as pleasant as the one you were going to.
She warned him but he got carried away never having seen it before, that was how he unknowingly set a course for the fourth dimension, unsuspecting.
He didn't know what awaited him there