It was a dark night, the full moon just went behind a thick curtain of clouds, watching from behind the veil what was happening on the ground. Ren was floating above where her old, discarded body was slumbering. She arrived hours ago but was waiting patiently for the right time and for the right people.
“You were quick.” She opened her eyes with a smile as three people arrived, namely Yanda, Lulu, and Toobu.
“We missed you Master! So if you send a message of course we are going to hurry here!” Lulu laughed, cupping her hands as they arrived.
“It’s good to see you again.” Yanda said, returning her smile while Toobu looked really nervous about what was going to happen.
“I’m ready for anything. I reached the 9th stage!” He said, looking up at Ren.
In the time while Ren was away he focused every second of his life on cultivation, seeing a tremendous rise in the speed of his advancement. Yet he felt as if he was sometimes acting like a machine. Calculating every move of his, reaching for the most optimal outcomes at all times. The only time his mind was jolted back and he felt human again was when he was with Qeena. In the year that almost passed, they finally formed a couple and she was the one who anchored down his feelings. A pretty vocal one at that, as she always reprimanded him and even more so, when she saw Toobu pushing himself too hard. Even though they had arguments about it frequently it just pulled them closer together and helped Toobu keep his mind alive.
“How is Wyland?” Ren asked, floating down to them.
“He… has a new teacher.” Toobu replied with a weird smile.
“Yeah!” Lulu nodded. “You missed something big, Master!”
“Hm? What happened?” She asked as she tilted her head as Yanda started to explain.
“It turns out Wyland is a formation genius! He completed your half-finished engravings and finished the teleportation formation!” Yanda sighed, still an unbelievable feat for him. “The most weird thing was, a person came through!”
“Not just a person!” Lulu rolled her eyes. “Elder Levictus.”
“Is he even a person?” Yanda asked with sarcasm. “I never saw him show any emotion, not even when Wyland refused to accept him as a master! He was only accepting him as a teacher. By the way Master, you won’t even recognise him!”
“Why?” Ren chuckled, happy to hear that Wyland found his way and showed his true talent.
“He slimmed down a lot.” Toobu answered with a satisfied smile. “He also improved on his stutter. It is still there but the constant work with formations helped his mind a lot. He is calm, collected… and honestly? A damned good looking guy! He had a few suitors already but turned down every one of them! He couldn’t come as he is in seclusion, reaching the 9th stage too!”
“Ahaha, I’ll see it for myself soon!” Ren grinned, looking at them. “You all look good, I’m glad!”
“Thank you, Master!” The trio bowed.
“We are going to catch up when time lets it. Soon I’ll be back to the Sect but first I need to do some things.” She clapped and thunder rumbled high above. “Are you ready for your tribulation?” She asked, looking into Toobu’s eyes who trembled a little but soon just answered with a deep nod. “Good…” Ren whispered. “Yanda, I need your powers! You need to clear the water to reveal the building under it.”
“Sure!” He answered, already controlling it and soon the dark waters receded far away, forming an empty, dry circle in the middle of the still backwater.
“Lulu,” Ren turned to her. “I’ll bring up the ruin but I’ll need to focus on something else so you are going to replace me and keep it stable! Do not let it sink back into the ground!”
“No problem, Master!”
It only took a few moments before the meditating body appeared once again, freezing the ground and air around him constantly. Toobu watched it with a serious expression and by now he felt a clear familiarity about that coldness. It was the same as when he used his own affinity, draining every particle of energy from nature around him, converting it into pure, usable energy. They could either be used for cultivation or fueling his spells, wielding the power of flame and ice at the same time.
“Is that?” Lulu asked, bringing Toobu out of his trance, watching Ren producing a strange looking crystal.
“A God Crystal.” Ren answered with a serious expression. “Toobu.”
“Yes…” He answered, with only a small hesitation, letting out a deep breath, already concentrating and the Sky started to rumble as he initiated his own tribulation to ascend into the Harmony Realm.
“Lulu!”
“On it Master!” She said as she sat down cross legged in the air as milky colored light spread from her body, encasing the whole building, keeping it stable, quickly forming respirations on her forehead.
“Let’s do this…” Toobu whispered, determined to go through it. For a moment Qeena’s face flashed through his mind, remembering her sleeping, innocent expression as he left their home. He was leaving without saying goodbye. He didn’t know if he would be coming back. He may have reached the 9th stage… but he didn’t know if his mind was strong enough to survive the tribulation.
In the next moment red lightning came from the Sky and just as it hit Toobu, tempering his body and soul, Kai also woke up once again in the hand of Ren, communicating with her.
“Oh? It has been so long since I saw someone taking a tribulation.” His old voice said, laced with nostalgia. “Good kid. This is a proper Cleansing.”
“Cleansing?” Ren asked, watching Toobu who was going through the bolts one after another.
“Yes. The Cosmos cleanses a cultivator to let him or her continue forward and be more attuned to it. It is the same in every and all realm. No matter where you are, no matter how you cultivate, at one stage, if you do it right, the Cleansing will come. You can identify it by the red colored lightning. It is the signal of you being acknowledged by the Cosmos. Those who finish it can call themselves true cultivators. Before it, you are just a slightly powerful mortal. Along the way, there are two more similar events.”
“Really?” Ren asked with a surprised voice.
“Yes. The second Cleansing has black lightning and it washes the soul of impurities. It is not based on cultivation level but your understanding of the Cosmos.”
“And the third?”
“I don’t know. I knew nobody who took it and lived to tell the tale.”
“Nobody?” She asked again, with clear surprise in her voice as Kai fell silent for a moment.
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“When I was a Sect Master and one of the leaders of a whole realm, I was not even through my Second Cleansing. Even that is rare! The others who conquered us were led by one who overcame it. My own realm had never produced one such genius. The third Cleansing? I only heard about secondhand retellings of those who tried to make it.”
“And? Why do I need to pry it from you like this?” Ren groaned, gripping the crystal as hard as she could, already hurting her fingers as Kai was silent once again.
“When he failed the tribulation it blew up his own realm. Annihilated it with all the beings inside. Nothing remained. Not even a fragment to be picked up! Not a speck of dust nor a silver of a soul. Only void. A void in time and space.”
“Damn…” Leinor’s voice reverberated inside Ren’s head.
“The Cosmos’s tribulation comes at the same thresholds. Between those thresholds there are countless cultivation methods and levels to advance. Different from realm to realm. They may have even different tribulations along their road of cultivation. But those are just tribulations of their realms’ laws and whatnot. In the big picture, they are just different tools for reaching the same results. It is like opening locks on a door. When all locks are unlocked you can go through. If you have the strength to push it open, that is.”
“This is…” Ren gulped and Leinor could feel the endless excitement bubbling inside of her.
“So… what are your plans with me now?” Kai asked but he already had a guess.
“I’m going to give you my old body.” Ren answered, quickly coming out from her thoughts.
“Oh? So is that yours? It is flawed, but it can work. I won’t say no.”
“Geez… thanks, I thought I did a good job cultivating it!” Ren replied, almost pouting.
“It has some mistakes but nothing major.” His calm voice came, drawing a chuckle out from Leinor and a sigh from Ren.
“Touché… damn it… Enough, let's get on with it” She raised the crystal and when the last, red lightning came down, when it hit Toobu, Ren stepped forward, appearing before her old body, pushing the God Crystal into its hollowed out chest. The Sky itself trembled a little and just as Toobu finished, going through his tribulation. Ren was tapping into the residue in the air and trying to form a new one, without warning.
“Your body never went through the Cleansing.” Kai said with a small excitement in his voice. “Well… the world then was sealed so no wonder! No matter, this is good. I can use it to re-energize my soul and familiarize myself with your body. You have my thanks, Ren. I never thought I could experience something nostalgic like this!” Kai said and just like that, red lightning struck down at the old body of hers.
Toobu was just opening his eyes, seeing Ren, backing off from the meditating, frozen body as it was bombarded with the same tribulation he was battling with a moment before.
“What… happened? Did I fail?” He blinked his eyes but Ren just walked next to him, patting his hand.
“No. You are a Harmony Expert, congratulations!”
“But…” He stuttered, seeing the tribulation still ongoing.
“Leinor is proud of you! You managed to finish it and also help me out~”
He had no words for her but suddenly a deep relief came from within his heart. He was immediately thinking about Qeena and he never knew he would be this relieved to be able to feel the same warmth towards her just as before.
“I…” He tried to bow but couldn’t as Ren did not let him.
“Don’t thank me for anything. I should be the one doing it.”
“...” He just bowed his head, filled with happiness that was clearing away any cold thoughts before, setting him on a new road without any of them ever realizing it, but it was sparing Toobu from the same road that Ren walked in her previous life.
“What is happening?” Yanda and Lulu asked at the same time, watching the sitting body be hit by lightning, again and again. Watching it, it was clear that it was effortlessly going through the sudden, new tribulation.
“A revival.” Ren smiled. “You are witnessing the rebirth of a dead God.”
“What?!” The trio stumbled at once.
“Just watch!” She said with anticipation in her voice.
When everything calmed down, the cold started to recede until it was sucked back into the slightly open mouth of Ren’s old body. His eyes gently trembled, opening them for the first time since eons. They were deep red in color as he scanned them, standing up, shaking off the ice flakes from his body.
“It was such a long time that I had a proper body.” Kai sighed, watching his fingers move.
“It is weird watching that particular body move…” Ren said, while the rest also nodded but for different reasons. Kai only smiled, not explaining it either, keeping it between only them.
“Damn… a true God…” Lulu gulped, slightly hiding behind Yanda as they watched him come closer.
“Not anymore.” Kai smiled. “I am nowhere near that state and won’t be any time soon. I have a good body, but it is nothing more than a hollow shell for now. I am nothing more than a walking, talking relic from the past.” He shook his head. “A tangible ghost of the past if you will.”
“How long would you need to recover?” Ren asked.
“Fully?” Kai scratched his chin, walking before them while his long hair fluttered behind him. “A full epoch, at least. But it is almost impossible. I sacrificed my powers once to create this realm. Then to raise my disciples. Then I was defeated and destroyed. Even if I rise back again, the cracks are there. I am old. I am fine with being able to move once again and see what the new generations will do. Especially you…” He explained, looking into Ren’s eyes. “But expect nothing from me, besides being an advisor.” Kai said, shaking his head.
“Good enough for me.” Ren grinned.
“Did our Master just get a God as a helper?” Lulu whispered into Yanda’s ears, who just nodded quickly. Toobu’s jaw almost dropped to the floor, hearing them. “Will she name him 05?” The second question came from Lulu’s lips and it was too late for Yanda to cover her mouth.
“I don’t know what this 05 entrails.” Kai laughed. “But I am interested in it. I appreciate you not destroying me.” He said as he cupped his hands towards Ren and she immediately returned the gesture. “But let me say something that may offend you.”
“Go ahead.” Ren nodded, watching his eyes.
“You need to let go of the soul, you so strongly hold between your fingers.” Kai explained slowly and with a soft voice.
“I… can’t…” Ren answered as the three behind her suddenly recognized what they were talking about and Toobu’s voice immediately trembled.
“Master?!” He looked at her back, wanting to see the spirit of Leinor.
“She has a fragment of a soul inside of her, shielded by her own.” Kai said as he turned towards them. “I get that it is someone who is close to you all… that is why I say this. You need to let it go and let the soul reincarnate. You protected it from annihilation but if you hold onto it for long enough, the Realm’s laws are going to reject it in the end. It won’t be allowed to go into reincarnation and the only future waiting for it is going to be destruction.” He warned her with a serious voice. “He was born here, from this Realm. His soul is part of it and always will be. Right until the Second Cleansing. Only that can free it from the laws he was born of.”
“I… need some time.” Ren said, with a lowered head.
“Sure.” Kai nodded, reaching out, patting her shoulders. “I’ll follow you from now on. I’ll answer your questions if you have any. I want to see what has happened in my Realm since I was put to sleep.”
“Mm, that sounds good.” Ren said, still in thoughts before turning towards her disciples. “Go back, tell Sect Head what happened. I’ll be back in a few days.”
“Yes!” All three of them answered at the same time before leaving.
“Kai…” Ren spoke up after they were gone and she was watching the night sky clear up and the twin moons showing themselves once again.
“Mm?”
“How much time do we have?”
“A year. At most.” He replied after a minute of silence and feeling out Ren and Leinor’s souls. “You are keeping it stable with your own. It is nothing but putting back together a broken vase with a bandaid.”
“If I strengthen it back…” She started but Kai quickly cut in.
“You have a good grasp on it, developing that Soul Tearer technique of yours. But it is based on the laws I created. That is why you could protect your own memories while going through reincarnation. That is why you were able to kill those souls who were born here. But feeding him with others? That would hasten the speed at which the realm starts rejecting him.”
“Because I mix him with others…” Ren whispered.
“So you do realize the problem.” Kai nodded. “I’ll use the same analogy as before. You are putting back together a broken vase from other vases’ parts. It may look like the one that was broken when you finish it, but it is going to have patches of different colors and patterns all around it.”
“Ren…” Leinor spoke up but Ren just shook her head, wiping her eyes.
“Give me some time… okay?”
None of them replied as Ren rose up to the sky, flying back towards Thunder Valley, ever so slowly. Kai just followed her from a distance, letting her be with her own thoughts for a while.