Clash

This was the seventh day he had been working in the office of accountancy for Mira’s conglomerate of companies.

He had piles upon piles of reports and documents, which he had to inspect and double check for any errors. Fact checking and making sure everything was it was supposed to be.

Someone knocked on the door to his office.

“Come in” saying lightly.

In came a middle-aged woman, whose beaty had not passed. She still retained all of her youthful charm even though the sign of aging were starting to show. The mature air she gave off, made Kira not want to have her work underneath him, but Mira had insisted he take the role of chief while he recovered. This would be his punishment for being reckless.

The woman was dressed in an office suit, and carried in one hand a file, and in another tea made from Sky Grass.

Kira smiled at her and pointed towards the table.

“Thank you.”

The woman nodded lightly and gazed at Kira with the same wonder she had looked at him with from the second day of taking this job.

Mira had secretly asked her to check on his work, and make sure he would not make any mistakes. She had laughed at Mira, saying this young immortal would get bored of office work within minutes of starting. But went along with Mira’s whims.

Contrary to her expectations, Kira had not only been patiently working over twelve hours every day, but he had also been proactive in trying to compile an annual report for Mira.

She had always been the chief of clerical work, in Mira’s burgeoning empire, but never once had she enjoyed doing the annual report. Looking at the young immortal in front of her, she was in disbelief at his lack of reticence to bury himself in papers.

She showed her steady and iron expression saying “Have you meditated today yet? It is already evening and I dread to report to madam that you have not. An immortal must never forget his core is his soul, not his body”

Kira smiled gently at her “Yes senior Ayi. I have at lunch.”

Ayi showed an angry expression “So for only half an hour?”

Shaking his head lightly “Three hours. I was a bit reluctant to stop actually, since my body has almost fully recovered.” he smiled at her a bit embarrassed “I am ashamed to admit but, I am actually excited to return to full time cultivation.”

Ayi face turned understanding, feeling relieved inside. If he had said he was reluctant to leave, she would probably be replaced by him in a couple of years. He was that hardworking and diligent.\

“I am a transmuter, and although it is not the same as being a cultivator, I to, sometimes wish I would just stop for a moment. You are young. Do not let your spirit thirst. Mira has asked for you to take this report to her.”

She waved him off telling him to go now.

He took the report and left for the Silent Mirror. The main office was in a different building; hence Kira had to cross the street and go back to the hotel.

As he crossed the street, his eyes no longer could ignore all the buildings in his view. After an entire week of document and reports, informing him of the economy of Mira’s small empire, he now saw in the city in a different light.

All the shop and businesses on this street, showing him of how Jangala insides worked.

He arrived at Mira’s office and entered.

She was like always lazily shuffling her cards not even bothering to look up at him when he entered.

She motioned for the report.

As she read it, her lazy face turned into a small frown. She sighed lightly and said in a vexed tone “Today's report is showing trouble as well.”

He knew, some of her more important companies had trouble recently, but since he was compiling the reports for the entire year, he did not know exactly what was going on. Ayi was still in charge after all. He had merely been punished.

Mira looked up from her report towards Kira. She smiled and asked “How is your condition?”

“It is good, tomorrow I should be fully recovered.”

Mira nodded and took out a wooden scroll from her desk drawers, alongside a credit slate, sending them flying towards Kira.

Kira caught them in his hands, and realized it was his prize for winning the race that night.

“You have fifty thousand credits on that slate. I suggest you buy yourself a weapon. You’ll realize the difference after you have one.” she looked at him, trying to study his emotions. She saw him as always calm, and with a small smile on his lips.

“Thank you, Mira.” he then seemed hesitant but asked “Can I stop the clerical work now?”

“Hahaha! You don’t like it after all do you?” she laughed joyously at him, since so far, every time he would deliver the daily report, he would see completely fine with not cultivating.

Kira embarrassed, slightly nodded “Well, not exactly. I do not dislike it, but now that I can cultivate again, I can feel getting restless in that office.” turning serious at her he said “If that continues, my mind won't be fully focused on the task, hence why Ayi would definitely be better for the job”

Mira smiled ruefully “Ayi would do better at the job even if you were to train a decade.” her smile then turned genuine adding “Fine. You can stop now. Ayi was getting restless. Let's let her do her job.”

Kira nodded and turned to leave but, stopped and turned back in front of the desk again.

He looked at Mira straight in the eyes and asked “Why did you have me do this?”

He could feel that the past few days, had changed the way he saw the world slightly. No in a holistic way, the world stayed the same no matter what he saw of it. However, he now had an idea of how ability users, and in particular cultivators ruled the world.

He was not in agreement with it. The unfettered soul he had, when he flowed with lightning in him, seemed far removed from the corporate rule the cultivators had over the world.

Mira looked deep into his eyes and smiled mysteriously.

“One should not go on a journey without knowing the consequences of his departure.”

Her smile turned a bit melancholic as she left her desk, and went to the glass wall behind it. She gazed at the Night District.

Kira now knew this was actually a district where nothing was outlawed as long as it turned a profit. This planet’s black market. Where people came to revel in pleasure and cultivation. Two coins of different colors.

“Do you think it's awful? How we use mortals to climb to heaven?” her tone flat. Kira could not see her face when saying this.

Kira smiled gently at her, shaking his head “No.”

She turned and looked at him saying “You do not think it is immoral? We use them to climb those stairs while they can only watch. Do you not think that is not how the world should be?” her voice devoid of emotion when asking.

Looking out towards the city, gazing at the horizon lined between the nuwa ceiling and the city scape, he laughed.

“Whether I live for a million years, or die tomorrow” closing his eyes and shaking his head gently “what difference does it make?”

Sighing lightly, he said “I don’t know what awaits me on this road to heaven but, right now, I do not feel I am any different than those mortals you keep talking about. Do I not revel in pleasure just as they do. Does my heart not seek ultimate freedom, just like theirs’ does? Why does having some power make me different. The things I see now, they are capable of seeing as well.”

She kept staring at him, peering into his soul. A man may lie to himself, but he may not lie to his soul. That untouched by though, that which has not been corrupted by memory and unconscious indoctrination.

“Because I am not far along this path, I say this with reluctance but, I feel, that whatever awaits me at the end of my path, might be something even a mortal could see.” he then smiled melancholically “If only they bothered to look up.”

Mira shuddered for a moment, his words not entirely a foreign concept.

Why would I Mira be the same as a mortal, when I can let go of my attachments and leave everything behind.

“You are not lying to yourself. That much I know. Well at the very least, your heart wont harbor demons at stepping on mortals.” she then gave him a cold look.

“For you will step on them. Thousands. Millions.” she did not look at him when saying this, rather trough him.

She then sighed and smiled with a tired look, waving him off “You now have an inkling at how the sector runs. It runs on mortals. Without them, the dynamics would be vastly different. We would no longer have these oligarchies and clan like governments. Who knows what this world would look like, if transmuting the body would not be possible.”

Kira laughed at her “I may be weak, but I know this even if a god were to descend in front of me and tell me otherwise. The world would be the same, not matter how we saw it.”

Mira laughed with him “You know what I meant. But I suppose, looking at the world with a material gaze for too long, poisons the soul.” she then frowned and seemed deep in thought, eventually shaking her head as if throwing something away.

She turned serious and looked at Kira “Work for me. I sense no confusion inside your soul, that I want by my side. I only have a handful of people I trust with important matters. You would become one of them.”

Kira fell deep in thought. Mira patiently waited for him to respond. This was not something that could be carelessly decided on. He would not be shackled to her, but an immortal's words were not as empty as one wished. If you said something with genuine intent, then turning back on it whimsically could tear at the heart.

It is not unheard of for immortals, to turn into mindless devils, if they choose a path of lies and deceit of oneself.

As for someone who lied knowingly, those were easy to detect. Even mortals felt when someone is genuine or not, only lying to themselves out of attachment. When attachment disappeared, even a mortal could see lie from truth.

“I, Kira, do not make promises. But as long as my heart wants to, I shall be here, helping you. I cannot say more than that. As shallow as that may be, promising you any more than that, would be a lie.”

Mira face turned angry “What the hell is that? How am I supposed to work with such a promise. What does that even mean?”

‘sigh’

Her expression showed her fatigue, shaking her head waving him off with her hand “Fine. Go. Find Miu and tell her I sent you to be her assistant for the task I gave her. Go help her out.”

She seemed to have reserved herself to fate. She slumped down on her chair, letting her head rest back on it.

Kira left the room; his feelings as steady as ever. He would not give someone he liked a half truth.

Mira was left alone in the room.

“Do you truly have to be that ambiguous, to have such a steady heart?” old memories flooding her mind, pictures she thought left behind.

…....................................................................................................................................................................

“I don’t understand. Why can't you run?”

Kira was once again riding Miu’s bike, heading towards one of the businesses owned by Mira.

“I am not a cultivator. I don’t have such fine control over my strength. I am so powerful, that if I were to run, I would cause some damage to the street, and security teams would be on my ass, giving me a hard time. Everyone must follow the rules, or the city would not be a city anymore. That’s what Mira says. Plus, I like the bike.”

She accelerated the bike, and passed through cars, letting the purple nigh light hit their face.

One of their businesses, had been attacked by an unknown assailant. As they arrived at the scene, they saw the remains of what looked to be a low-rise building, looking as if it had stepped on a by a titan.

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The bike trembled over the cracked street, hundreds of meters away from the center. They left it a way off from the building, and went on foot from there.

The buildings on the street, had cracked walls, and not a single window was left intact. Debris were clogging the street, making impossible to pass through with a car.

The damaged turn more horrifying, as they neared the center of the disaster.

Kira was a bit shocked and asked “How strong could someone be to cause this much destruction?”

The buildings on a two-hundred-meter radius had been damaged severely, and the adjacent ones to the alchemical business they owned, were completely destroyed.

A mound of debris and split wooden beams stood at the center of it all.

Because wooden beams were used in the construction of these buildings, their flexibility allowed for the adjacent buildings to hold some semblance of their former shape, even as their corpse laid collapsed.

Miu said in a heavy voice “At least as strong as I am.” shocking Kira. It seems, she could not just snap me in half, but blow me away., when I fought her at the time. Laughing at the idea of calling it a fight.

“You would probably survive a couple of slaps from such a cultivator” saying it in the most serious of ways.

“We have already contracted a clean-up crew, to come clean this mess up. The insurance company will foot the bill. It's not really the buildings turn this into a situation, but the delayed time in production and loss of employees.”

Miu shook her head regretfully saying “It takes time to find good alchemists.”

Kira asked in confusion “Since the city has rules, and this is a yellow zone, an area that has security, who would bother doing this.”

Miu’ face turned cold “Someone that has issues with big sis. Her financial situation has been getting better and better.” she then turned to him saying “But there is only so much meat to go around. The more she has, the less others can eat.”

She went to a group of survivors, who had already been interrogated by the security team. The Mortal Adepts in the group told her, that a man with chaotic energy had attacked the building, psionically saying calamitous things.

Miu frowned, not knowing what to make of this. It sounded as if he did not have anything to do with Mira, but she also thought, a lie, would be a much better conclusion.

When Kira heard what they said he asked Miu, “How often does someone as strong as you suffer from soul deviation?”

She shook her head “Usually it’s a cultivator, no one would invest resources into a transmuter who has a weak spirit.”

“Hahaha what do we have here? Did princess Miu run into trouble” a gruff provocative voice reached their ears.

Miu’s eyes turned cold, the air around her turning heavy.

A man in a black cultivator robe, appeared out of nowhere. Kira had not sensed him coming. He had short cut hair, and a thick beard. A long scar running down his face. From his left eye, down to his right cheek.

His cultivator robe, was lose up top, while he wore nothing underneath, showing off his bare chest muscles.

Miu sent a transmission to Kira, “Watch out, you're probably going to get tested since they saw you together with me. They will assume you work for Mira.”

Kira was momentarily surprised she could transmit her voice this way, but immediately focused on the man in front of him. The pressure the man emanated, was not lower the Miu. He was worried they would trade blows.

“Lycan you half step immortal, do you think I will not remold that ugly face of yours?” she then looked at the buildings around her “Did Furya stopped caring about his face, and decided to reveal he was a snake instead of a dragon?” her spiritual pressure made everyone around tremble, the very clothes on them shaking.

“You dare insult Lord Furya?!”

The ground underneath him cracked, and the air started turning purple, blowing all the people around him.

“Hmph!” Miu grunted and the ground underneath her cracked as well, two spheres of energy surrounding them pushing against each other.

The air was shaking, the already damaged buildings quaking and looking as if they would collapse at any point.

They each took one step slowly towards one another, pushing their energy fields crashing into together.

The air at the center of the collision, crashed and thundered as it suffered the pressure of being squeezes and twisted under the two fighters. Dust and debris flying in every direction.

A car pulled up some distance away, out coming a man dressed in the same type of robe Lycan had. The man looked young and had a vicious smile as he watched the titan collide.

He then gazed at Kira, as if he were no more than pray to be farmed, for cultivation materials.

With immense speed, he darted at Kira.

Kira sensed the unbridled killing intent, as soon as the man arrived.

For the first time in his life, Kira felt something akin to disgust as the man approached, “What a revolting presence” not bothering to disguise his slight berating tone.

“Haha!”

The man reached Kira almost immediately, punching without restraint. Kira felt like he did not hold back at all.

With lightning flickers left behind, he pulled back dodging the hit.

Seeing he had missed, he once more struck, this time his right hand filling up with torrential amounts of psionic energy. He charged at Kira once more.

Once again in front of Kira, he shot a right hook towards him, leaving a trail of energy as he did.

Kira felt his blood go cold, witnessing the power in that arm. This time he was not fast enough to dodge backwards, and he was locked in, so simply dodging in any other direction would mean he would get hit head on the next turn.

Covered by lightning snakes, he leaned to the left swiftly sending his left punch for a counter attack.

His movement were abrupt like lightning, startling his opponent.

boom

As the fist connected with his opponent's face, the ground underneath Kira cracked. The cultivator was launched backwards a couple of meters, stumbling trying to stabilize his footing.

He gave Kira a death stare, a red mark forming on his face. A drop of blood dripping down the corner of his mouth.

He then flicked his robe making it flutter in the air, pulling a sword from his back. The sword was jet black and had some purple lines on it, tainting the blades color.

The blade lit up with energy, making Kira unsettled. He had never fought someone with a weapon before, while Mira kept mentioning it uplift someone's battle power to whole different level if used correctly.

The blade kept getting brighter and brighter forcing Kira to react.

He shot forward leaving a trail of flickers behind, coming to the left of the cultivator, and punching straight towards his head.

The cultivator showed fear at Kira’s speed, pulling back while showing fear.

Kira immediately chased, his arm exploding in a mist of blood.

The cultivator paled “Oh no!”

Kira smashed his other arm into the man's face, this time filling his arm with all the psionic energy he could muster.

boom

As the first connected with its target, Kira could feel the bones crack underneath his strike, the ground underneath them exploding into dust.

“Hah!” he gave a shout and launched the man flying.

The cultivator flew into a debris pile, sending pieces of building into the air, an explosion of dust.

“Hahaha! Lord Furya sure seems to know how to pick his men!” Miu could not help but mock his lord.

Their clash ended with a draw, none of them could pressure the other into a submissive position. Lycan went to pick up the fallen cultivator.

The piled of debris exploded, the cultivator buried underneath, jumping high into the air. His clothes were tattered, but overall, he seemed fine.

There was a red imprint on his face, satisfying Miu, making her nod in acknowledgement.

“It’s not over. You just try that again with me” poison in every word he uttered, landing near Lycan.

Slap! Fuh

The cultivator flew into a building a hundred meters away, making it shake and leaving an imprint of his body on its wall.

Lycan did not bother looking at him and said as he left “He did not even use his weapon.”

He got up from the ground, his face swollen and bloody, leaving not bothering with anything else.

“Lycan, if you think this” pointing to the ruble around them “will go unanswered, I suggest you renounce pursuing the heavens, you would be to dumb.” saying this in a low tone.

“Hahaha! Lord Furya had nothing to do with this small accident. You think he actually cares for the crumbs the wench of Night City has to offer?” leaving without even looking back.

Miu frowned, not knowing if she should believe his words. Her intuition told her he was not lying. But then again, half-truths, were more dangerous than lies.

Kira looked at Miu and asked “Who were those people?”

Miu shook her head “Men belonging to someone in conflict with big sis.” she then looked at him seriously, taking in his bloody arm and once more shaking her head, this time in awe “You really need a weapon. Just make sure you don’t treat it as you treat yourself.”

They then left to go report to Mira.

As they drove back home, the night had already fallen on the city, the purple sky shining down, powering all the neon lights around the city.

The warm light of the nuwa leaves, calming down Kira, turning his thoughts smoother.

The arm had been injured, but the level of damage was not that high. It might have looked horrific, but in fact it was a wound not requiring more than a day to heal. He was more worried about the kinds of enemies Mira had. They seemed cunning and not something you could fight head on.

While working as a clerk for Mira’s, he learned more about the city’s rules and ways.

While you were allowed to fight someone, you were not allowed to wantonly kill, and cause destruction. You could not just murder wantonly, unless in self-defense, and damaging your surroundings was forbidden.

The only place to fight without restraint was at the Sky Arena.

If someone damaged buildings, security teams would send hunters after them. If they could collect credits, they would, if not they would send you to the mines.

Surveillance all over the city, made it hard for faction wars to occur, therefore, if this Lord Furya had something to do with the alchemical lab, it was done in a roundabout way.

“Is there someone to contract to destroy on such a scale?” asked Kira trying to figure out, how this could occur.

“No. Not someone this powerful. Only Mortal Adepts work such jobs, and most of them are small time gigs. If you were not working under Mira, someone would have noticed you at the race that night, trying to lure you with sweet credits. Loose cultivators are not that uncommon. But people tend to group together, no one wants to fight alone.”

Kira nodded in acknowledgement.

“Anyway, get a weapon first thing tomorrow. Make sure you choose well, you can buy a decent weapon with the cash you have, so it will last you a while. Don't choose based on what you think looks good.”

Her words of advice, resonating with him. He would have to be careful when choosing a weapon. He did not know what that cultivator would have done, if he had attacked with his weapon, but he knew it would have been extremely dangerous for him.

........................................................................................................................................................................

“You said chaotic energy was swirling around him?” curiosity was in Mira’s voice, as she asked Miu to clarify.

“The witnesses claimed it. But someone as strong as me going insane.” Miu said in doubt “We would have heard of it in this small place.”

Mira nodded while pondering.

She then looked at Kira and his bloody arm and smiled “What do you think? Do you believe it was someone who suffered a deviation?”

She had asked out of curiosity, but his next words made her blink in surprise “When I went hunting deep in the jungle, as I returned, I came across an enraged immortal.”

Kira frowned and tried to explain what he felt that night “The energy flow around that person, seemed chaotic, like it was not under any control. The energy itself felt as if it was just pulled out of psionic space, and shoved into the material world.” he looked at his palm, “My energy feels like a part of me, as if it is part of my body, not just an external tool. I can sense that as soon as it enters my body, it already has my imprint on it”

Mira looked at him deeply, but then asked hurriedly, “How strong?”

Kira shrugged “I don’t know. It definitely felt like something I could not touch, but the man only powered up in front of me. I left right after. It seemed too dangerous to linger around. The things he was saying were also unnerving.”

“What did he say?”

“Something about taking revenge on the city.”

Mira eyebrows curved upwards; she did not know what to make of it.

“Show me where it happened.” she pulled out a map of the city.

Kira pointed to the spot with complete accuracy. Mira nodded and got up from her chair.

“I'm going to check it out. Stay here. I'll be back in a couple of minutes.”

She went to the balcony and lifted in the air, disappearing soon after.

Kira’s face had shock written all over it. Pointing toward the spot she had vanished from.” I did not sense any psionic fluctuations. How little energy does she use!”

Miu showed a smug face, proudly saying with her eyes closed “Big sis has consolidated her realm decades ago. She has reached the peak of her stage, and no longer leaks out any energy. Her control is so sublime, her movements akin to mortal fairies.”

Kira asked Miu with a bit of awe leaking out “How strong is she?”

“Hmph. Her nickname is the devil of night city.” shaking her head while looking outside “Besides Lord Yamato, not one person on this planet can hold a candle to her.”

“What!?” her power sounded so horrifying; he could not imagine her power level anymore.

He calmed down, and asked with a steady voice, looking at Miu meaningfully “What about Furya. Could he give her trouble?”

Miu's expression turned sour saying in an awkward voice “He, yes, he could trade a couple of blows with her.”

His face barely containing his laughter. Even a monkey could tell, her tone contained half-truths. It seems this Furya, was not an ordinary person either.

A tea cup’s worth of time had not elapsed, and Mira had returned. To Kira, she simply reappeared on the chair, lazily looking up at the ceiling.

Could this woman not knock before she enters?

Suppressing his shock, he asked “What did you see?”

She nodded her head slightly “Same thing I saw at the alchemical lab. Same residual print left in the air. It’s similar.”

“Why did he attack this lab? Is that cultivator not insane? Can he tell which is white and which is black?” he could not see why it was their lab getting attacked.

Mira shrugged “I don’t know. What I do know is that there is a high chance we will get attacked again.”

Kira shook his head, it did not make sense to him “If he has the sense to attack you specifically, the perhaps he also will steer clear of you. Now that you are watching your properties, I doubt he will strike again.”

Mira thought about it and agreed “Miu! Go out tonight, and tell all the branches they should be alert as I am leaving the city. Tell them I am leaving tomorrow and will be back the next day.”

“Big sis you can't! What if he strikes again.”

Mira waved her off “It’s a ruse Miu. This way if what Kira says is true, then my spiderweb will catch that madfly, and I can squash it underneath my feet.”

Miu nodded but added “We need to be careful about Furya and his men. I sense they are somehow related to this.”

“Maybe. But worrying about it will not help. He cannot attack us in any direct way, so all he can do is rely on trash to stink up our house. Don’t worry too much about it.”

She then gave Miu a piercing look, and asked “What about you? How long till you are stabilized?” Mira had an electrified smile on her face. A child looking at a toy they craved, would not be too much of a stretch.

Miu grinned coldly “Soon big sis. Just a little bit longer.”

Mira nodded and waved them off. “And you! Go get a weapon. Preferably one which forces you as far away from enemies as possible.” sounding angry and vexed.

Kira wondered why Mira was angry at him, but left without asking. She looked to be busy, and it somehow felt, innocent. He left with this question in mind.