How did life get so complicated? The day was going so well too. We started with a hot breakfast, then took a merry jaunt through Yo Ling’s manor followed by a little light looting, trap finding, and treasure hunting, fun times for all. When will I ever learn? Quit while you’re ahead, dumbass, you should’ve gone to sleep and come back in the morning. While you’d still be left to deal with this mind-blowing revelation, at least you could’ve faced it after a full night’s rest.
So troublesome... I always assumed I transmigrated into a world with a dichotomy of power, the Mother’s Chi and the Father’s... Dark Chi. Whatever. Good and evil, light and dark, Yin and Yang, Empire and Defiled, two equal but opposite sides, wholly incompatible with one another. The metallic-stone brick in my hand lends credence to the theory. Sending a thread of Chi into the brick evokes the same response as any captured Defiled Weapon, reminiscent of holding a mass of furious, writhing worms. It’s not dangerous, merely highly unpleasant and utterly unusable, proof positive of two separate, distinct, antagonistic powers at work.
Makes sense, right?
Still wrong though.
It seems obvious in retrospect. In real life, issues of morality are rarely so black and white, so why should this be any different? The Azure Ascendant even pointed it out with his comments about livestock seeing humans as evil, but I ignored his argument because it seemed silly. Hell, the truth’s been staring me in face this whole time, but I’ve been too stupid to see it. According to myth, the Mother created this world and everything within it, and the Father twisted her creations to his purpose. The Demons are creatures of pure energy meant to taint the Mother’s creations. After things didn’t work out as He’d hoped, he taught his Demons to take physical form. In response, She taught humans and animals how to take in Chi, balancing the scales and putting both sides on equal footing. Assuming the story has a basis of truth, then it stands to reason that if the Demons are creatures of Energy, they’re probably made from the Energy of the Heavens.
Calling it the ‘Energy of the Heavens’ is misleading. It isn’t a tool of the righteous wielded by the suitably heroic in defence of all that is good and holy. It’s no different from any other type of energy, about as good or evil as fire or gravity. It's energy, it has no alignment. What Taduk uses to heal and the Defiled use to kill are merely two sides of the same coin. We’re all using Heavenly Energy, just in different ways.
The Spectres said it themselves: There is no Balance, only power.
It explains a lot, like how so many murderous assholes exist without turning Defiled. If getting angry was enough to become Defiled, then the Spectres would have won long ago. It’s not as simple as losing Balance, you also have to surrender to the Spectres which is as good as giving up your identity. The human spirit is dogged and persistent, so I doubt it’s easy to turn someone who’s already formed their own identity. It’s human nature to survive at any cost and I’d bet dollars to donuts the Defiled indoctrinate their children from young, prepping them to accept the Spectres’ influence as their ancestors, instead of the malevolent beings they truly are. Take Baledagh for example, he was young, vulnerable, and suffered great hardships yet still resisted the Spectres’ influence for years before succumbing in a moment of weakness.
To further combat the Spectres, the Empire catechized self-control, or Balance, as a means of resisting the Spectres. It makes sense assuming the State of Balance wasn’t a product of Divine Inspiration. Keep your emotions in check, remain Balanced, and avoid drawing the Spectres’ attentions. No Spectres, no risk of becoming Defiled, and everything is hunky dory.
Unfortunately, as Fung once pointed out, humans are emotional creatures unsuited for Balance. Only a small percentage of the Empire’s population are capable of reaching the State of Balance and even fewer able to harness their Chi for use in battle. On the other hand, every Defiled man, woman, and child are capable of fighting because their powers are fuelled by emotions, or rather an overabundance of certain emotions. In the battle of Balance vs Unbalance, it’s clear which is more suited for human nature. It’s not fair by any measure, but the Empire has held out against the Defiled for millennia by remaining united against a divided foe, at least until the Defiled recently got their shit together and started working as a team. Things aren’t looking great for the Empire, but we’re surviving, for now. Baatar threw them back at the Bridge and I can only hope the other provinces are holding out, but the odds are stacked against us.
Anyways, world-shattering revelations aside, why does it matter if we use the same power as the Defiled?
It doesn’t.
So there’s no holy power to banish the darkness, big whoop. Since we’re all using the same tools, the real question is: can I use this knowledge to my advantage? Not to say I’m the only one who’s figured this out, but bringing it up in normal conversation might be considered blasphemous, especially considering it’s mostly conjecture. I’ll keep quiet about it for now and bring it up with my Mentor and Teacher after returning home, but either way, it’s food for thought.
According to Dastan, he was taught to draw strength from righteous fury, and Baledagh is living proof you don’t need Balance to be strong. My former bandits aren’t paragons of Balance either, so I’m sure I’ll find more examples among them if I look carefully enough. If Balance isn't 100% required, maybe I can figure a new method to raise warriors without drawing the Spectres’ attention. Power is power, and if it does attract the Spectres, then at least I have the tools to deal with them. I’ll need to take into account the long term consequences, like what happens after I die or whatnot. The last thing the Empire needs is a whole bunch of Gens cropping up inside their borders.
At the speed of thought, it doesn’t take long to explain my observations to Baledagh, but my little brother merely shrugs and nods when appropriate, never one to waste brainpower on more esoteric issues. He’s not dumb, just indifferent. His major takeaway from all this is that his strength and power comes from the same source as my own, which brings a rare smile to his face. Although he’s never voiced his reservations, I can tell he’s feeling less conflicted about devouring Spectral remains. Why should he? After Blobby does its thing, the Spectral corpses are probably pure Heavenly Energy. What else can it be? Truth be told, I kinda want a taste for myself. I’ve refrained from partaking because, let’s be real here, it’s icky eating what I've deemed as Spiritual Herpes, but knowing what I know now, the Spectres have become nothing more than delicious little power ups for me to consume.
Having convinced myself things are looking up, I study the fruits of these poor workers’ labours once more, the odd brick of metal/stone hybrid. What a waste. I doubt we can use them to make Heavenly Weapons since it’s been ruined by including human remains. At least, I assume the human remains are what’s ruined it since the stone itself is prime Spiritual Heart material. Gerel has everyone busting their humps collecting as much of the untainted stone as possible, but we’ll have to come back for it unless we feel like splitting it with the Society brats.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
After raising my concerns, we all come to a unanimous decision to cut the Society out of the loop. Turns out, BoShui has serious issues with his Clan despite being the actual son of the current Han Patriarch. Working together, we agree to hide the cavern’s existence and keep all the Spiritual Hearts for the Bekhai, BoShui refusing any and all shares. Since the method of crafting Defiled Weapons isn’t common knowledge, no one will wonder how Yo Ling found so many Spiritual Hearts so the secret ends with us. The only issue is if Zian and the others insist on an Oath before we leave, but I’m banking on good old fashioned greed to see us through. I mean, yea we agreed to split everything 50/50, but if none of them try to squirrel a few small valuables away, then I’ll crab-walk around the island a hundred times. Worst comes to worst, I’ll have BoShui bring something small and valuable to the others and make them complicit in his smuggling scheme.
As for the tainted bricks, we delivered the shipment as intended. After separately questioning a number of workers, we learned the second tunnel leads to a dead end, where they exchange the full wagon for a waiting empty one. While they’ve never seen anyone empty it, or anyone who isn’t Yo Ling, another worker, or a corpse, it’s obvious the island isn’t as abandoned as we once believed. Yo Ling must have been an optimistic man, leaving his workers behind to craft weapons and armour for his Defiled army. Can’t say I blame him either, I’m still surprised we won. Dunno how it happened, but go team Empire.
Woooo.
Leaving the mystery of what awaits us at the smithies for tomorrow, we’re now left with the uncomfortable question of what to do with Yo Ling’s cavern workforce. Gathered in the corner, they shuffle and squirm while wringing their hands, anxious after they’ve been told to stop working. Fear etched on every gaunt, pale face, these poor workers – no, slaves, it’s an ugly, harsh word, but it’s the truth. These slaves haven’t seen the sun since they were consigned to this underground cavern of death and despair, toiling day and night without rest to fulfill their quotas, a disposable workforce for Yo Ling’s army. Now they wait and wonder if their time is at an ending, powerless to change their fate.
It’s a shitty situation, made all the worse since I’m considering having them all killed.
With one hand on my shoulder, Gerel turns me to face him, jaw set and eyebrows drawn. “I know what you are thinking, but they know too much and cannot be trusted. Their existence poses a threat to the People. I promise it will be swift and painless, an end to their misery. Go now. I will handle the rest.” There’s no room for argument in his tone, or at least that’s what I tell myself. Truth be told, I’m flooded with relief since I see a way out. This is above my pay grade, the decision out of my hands. Gerel’s in charge here and he’s asked me to leave. I can head up, go to sleep, and not feel guilty over their deaths, because I’m only following orders. My hands are clean, right?
Not all of my darker impulses can be blamed on the Spectres, as these thoughts are mine and mine alone. Out of greed and self-interest, I’m considering stepping aside and letting these poor slaves be murdered just so we can keep this fortune a secret. That’s what’s happening here, there’s no two ways about it and it makes me sick to my stomach.
How’s the saying go? All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
Swallowing hard, I shake my head and muster every ounce of determination I can. “We don’t have to slaughter them in cold blood,” I Send. “We can leave them here, alive and well. They have food, water and shelter, plus we can use them to collect the ore while we’re gone. Worst comes to worst, when we’re done, we’ll leave them here with no boats. No one else knows how to get to the island and we can send shipments of food every now and then. They’ve suffered so much, let them live out the rest of their lives in peace.”
Gerel’s gaze softens as he sighs, locking eyes with my obstinate stare, daring him to say otherwise. “You take on too many burdens, Rain. You can’t save everyone. Such is life.” Breaking contact so I can’t retort, he strides away and Sends, “This is your expedition so we will do as you say, but should word of this ever spread, then every death which follows will be on your head.”
Well, that went better than expected, though it occurs to me Gerel might've been looking for an excuse to spare them. Dizzy with relief, I give orders to prepare for my feast. All of Yo Ling’s slaves are Tainted worse than Dastan or BoShui, which means they’re chock full of Spectral goodies. Just call me pacman cause I’m about to ‘wakka wakka’ all up on these Spectral bitches.
While I stand in the pool and wait for everyone to gather, Blobby emanates a sense of satisfaction, apparently familiar and comfortable with these waters. I'm gonna take a wild guess and say Blobby was the one who filled the pool with Heavenly Energy in the first place. After collecting all the spare energy left behind, it's gotten bigger, which probably means Blobby wasn’t being stingy when it sent out a single droplet to protect me from the caustic Demonic fluids. It only sent out a droplet because a droplet was all it had. After so many millennia floating around Sanshu, Blobby is on its last legs, forced to bind with me to recover and replenish its Energy.
I still have no idea why it chose me. It’s not because of Baledagh’s Spectre devouring prowess, since it tried to eat him on day one. My best guess is it has something to do with how I invade Demon brains, but how it knew I can do that, I can't even begin to guess. Whatever, the why isn’t so important right now. It’s an all you can eat buffet, and Baledagh and I are the only ones in the restaurant.
Once all the slaves are standing in the pool with me, I raise my hands for silence, a grand and needless gesture. Trembling from head to toe, the slaves stare at their feet with shoulders hunched and hands clutching their chests, resigned to their fate. My heart twinges in pity but I resist the urge to speed things along. With BoShui watching from the sidelines, I’ve decided to add a few theatrics to the proceedings. He’s sworn to never speak of this, but if I can draw him closer to my side, then the People will have a steadfast ally in the Society. “Luckless children of the Mother,” I begin, ignoring Gerel’s eye-roll, “I sense the Father’s Eye upon each and every one of you.” Dastan’s look of adoration hurts to look at, his man-crush on me growing by leaps and bounds. Sorry buddy, I'm flattered, but I’m not into the whole muscles and moustache thing. “Through no fault of your own, you have drawn His gaze and served His interests, working with His vile servants to corrupt the Mother’s bountiful gifts.”
A small wail escapes the lips a slave and my heart wrenches inside my chest. “But fear not,” I say, skipping a few lines ahead, “For I, Falling Rain of the People, am here to free you from His clutches. Kneel and accept the Mother's forgiveness.” Obedience ingrained into their bones, they follow my orders without protest, their frightened mewls and silent sobs painful to hear and look upon. Moving to the first slave, I place my hands on his quaking shoulders and force him to look into my eyes. “Be cleansed of His Taint and returned to the Mother.”
Quickly switching places with Baledagh, my little brother unceremoniously dunks the slave’s head underwater before devouring the Spectres. After a silent count of three for the sake of emphasis, Baledagh pulls the gasping slave out of the water and follows the script. “Welcome back into the Mother’s light, child.”
Baledagh's performance could use some more umph, but the slave’s transformation is obvious at a glance. His formerly dead and empty eyes fill with surprise and hope as he clutches our hand. “Thank you Great One,” he stutters, voice pious and reverent. “Thank you for my redemption!” Weeping with joy, the man kowtows before us despite his obvious exhaustion. As my guards bring him away to eat and rest, Baledagh glances at the watching crowd. The look in their eyes slowly transform to match Dastan’s, with BoShui’s excitement plain to see. Kneeling with his retinue, they watch the proceedings in silence, with more than one person’s lips moving in prayer.
Hmm... Too far? Even Jester Wang and his cutthroats are looking at me like I’m the Pope. If only I lacked morals, I could start my own religion and exploit devout Mother-lovers for all they’ve got. I’d probably get some pretty sweet titles too. I can see it now: Falling Rain, Blessed be his name, Divine son of the Mother, Vessel of Blobby, Wielder of Peace, Shield of Tranquility, Guardian of All Things Cute and Fluffy.
I actually really like that last one. I think I'll keep it.
Chapter Meme