In a world constrained by the need for Balance, there’s nothing like the uninhibited expression of joy when reuniting with a floof.

I could disappear for five minutes and Aurie would be excited to see me, but after my twenty plus day coma, my sweet wildcat is so besotted by my presence that he literally can’t stay still. Zooming around the courtyard at never before seen speeds, Aurie makes three full circuits before finally feeling calm enough to avoid crushing me with love, but by then I’ve already been swarmed by the other floofs. The bunbuns headbutt and hop about in sheer delight while Banjo and Baloo wrestle me down to the grass, gurgling and nuzzling for all they’re worth. Sarankho brings me her favourite toy to play with while Jimjam comes down from his treetop perch to offer me a few friendly swats, and even Roc and the Laughing Birds flutter down to nuzzle me a bit, but the chaos is too much for them to handle and they soon retreat to the rooftops to watch from afar.

As for Ping Ping, she’s been with me all this time, but that doesn’t stop her from partaking in the festivities. Old and smart as she is, there’s a childish cast to all her actions as she mimics the animals around her, first chasing after Aurie to see where he’s going, only to give up when he laps her. Then, she does a few test hops and spins with the bunbuns before deciding that hopping is more effort than its worth, only to amble over and wedge herself under Banjo and squeak in vehement demand for her fair share of hugs and kisses. All the while, her rounded beak and expressive eyes remain wide and jubilant, so full of wonder and delight I envy her joyous and jubilant perspective. She is loving life as a tiny turtle and having a grand old ball running about with all her new friends, and I can see the other animals love her too. I’m so happy for her, I could almost cry, and it hurts knowing how lonely she must have been for so many years, sitting by the riverbank day after day with no one to keep her company.

No one except Guan Suo, who is now dead and gone.

Well... maybe not entirely gone. At the thought of the deceased Divinity, my eyes are drawn to my cherry tree, looking beautiful in autumnal colours of red and yellow hues. There, within the sparse sprinkling of multi-hued leaves, hides the chonkiest, grumpiest red panda I have ever seen, glaring at all the proceedings from his perch high above. As darling as he is, I can’t wholly appreciate his adorable expression or angry-cute mannerisms, because Luo-Luo ruined it by telling me what everyone thinks, and now I can’t unthink it. From what I can piece together, after I shouted for Mila to go combat ready, she woke up, came to her feet, and the next thing she knew, she was standing over my unconscious frame, with the diminutive Ping Ping and cantankerous red panda beside me.

And no dead Guan Suo to be found, pipe and all.

So... what the fuck did I do? Was it even me, or did Ping Ping make a pit stop during her ascension to Divinity and bring her friend back from the dead? I remember everything leading up to calling for Mila to wake, but anything afterwards is virtually non-existent, save for what I experienced in Zhen Shi’s dream trap. Ping Ping was about to turn into a Demon, and I tried to save her. That’s about all I know. I must have succeeded, considering she’s here now in her adorably Divine form, but I have no idea what I did or how I helped. I remember feeling good about accomplishing something in a dream, but now I’m not so sure it was a dream. At the moment, my best guess is I brought her back from the emotional brink and from there, she figured out the Path to Divinity herself. She was close, and I suppose whatever the Spectres tried to do showed her how to get over that last hurdle, but there are problems with this theory.

First off, according to Zhen Shi’s notes, Demons bring their hosts to the Peak of the Martial Path, but always fail to ‘shatter the void’, which is the last known step before Divinity. Knowing this, we can speculate that Demonification is a dead end path with regards to achieving Divinity, which is a good thing since it means Zhen Shi can’t crank out Demonic Divinities like hotcakes. However, if this is true, how can a failed Demonification show Ping Ping the proper path to Divinity? Does this mean I did something to help her along? I mean, it tracks, right? I might have forgotten what I did, but I remember accomplishing something, something to do with... acid and Panacea? Then afterwards, while stuck in Zhen Shi’s illusion, I was suffering through insomnia, clouded thoughts, migraines, and apathy, all tell-tale signs of Chi over-exertion. I must have done something involving Chi or Heavenly Energy, something big, and what’s bigger than helping a turtle ascend to Divinity?

Bringing someone back from the dead, maybe, which begs the question: is that red panda Guan Suo reborn, and if so, how do I feel about this?

Weirded out. That’s how I feel. How am I supposed to cuddle a grumpy floof knowing he was once Guan Suo? God, how does Mila feel about her recently deceased father coming back as an adorable critter? Then again, is it really Guan Suo? Luo-Luo told me the red panda hasn’t shown any signs of having once been an Ancestral Beast and behaves like a juvenile red panda would. He likes clinging to Ping Ping, but he’ll slip out to chase bugs, roll around in the grass, or nap in the trees when he thinks no one is around. He’ll even wrestle with the bunbuns and raid the kitchen for eggs and fruit when feeling particularly adventurous, which I can’t wait to see. What’s more, he doesn’t show signs of being a Spiritual Beast, as I discovered first-hand from his weak little love-taps, and for all intents and purposes, is nothing more than the roly-poly red panda he appears to be.

I mean seriously, he’s so weak, he even gets bullied by Blackjack, forced off of the highest branches so the Cloud Chaser Hare can stand above all others. The good news is now I know little Blackjack is a hare-supremacist and loathes equality, so I suppose I can’t judge Taduk for falling victim to his bestial instincts.

Adorable as the red panda is, I can’t get over the fact that Ping Ping or I may have inadvertently remade Guan Suo into a floof. I mean, it sounds ridiculous, but considering Heavenly Energy is supposed to be this Big Fix Energy, I can’t exactly rule resurrection out. I love animals, but this is too much, even for me. If I really have the power of resurrecting people as floofs, there is no way I would ever use it in a moral fashion. I’d turn almost everyone into floofs, because people suck and animals are almost always better company. Stuck up noble? Floofed. Pushy merchant? Floofed. Cunning enemy? Floofed.

Of course, it’d be best if I could do it without killing the person first...

Oh god... what if I floof ALL the Defiled? Turn those crazed murderers into... well, house cats would probably be the most appropriate choice. Still crazed and murderous, but manageable and adorable. Ugh, this is what I’m talking about. I’m not even sure if I have this power, and already I’m imagining how I’d use it. Irresponsibly, that’s how.

But think of all the floofs...

Unexplained mysteries aside, the most vexing part of this whole experience is the fact that I’m still crippled. Attempts to enter my Natal Palace left me staring at the back of my eyelids, and my nightshirt was soaked in sweat after a brief, five minute Demonstration of the Forms. If I did have phenomenal cosmic power for a brief moment, I most certainly wasn’t omniscient, because I forgot to fix my Core and get myself back into fighting shape. Jokes about my stupidity aside, this makes me think I merely assisted in Ping Ping’s ascent while she did most of the heavy lifting, because I can’t imagine any circumstances in which I would leave myself as a broken shell of a Martial Warrior. If anything, I’d have overcompensated and given myself bones of steel and impenetrable skin to help survive Mila’s amorous advances, not to mention the stamina of a draft horse to deal with Yan’s insatiable appetite.

And maybe like... five or ten more centimetres in height. Not too much, because then I’d be too tall to properly hug Lin-Lin, but like... just a little taller so I can see over a crowd of normal people.

And bear hands, if I have some juice left over.

...Actually, let’s flip those last two priorities around. Who needs to be tall when you’ve got bear hands? Get mauled, motherfuckers!

A cursory attempt at meditation and a brief Demonstration of the Forms was all I had time to get through before Mom dropped by with Taduk to check up on me, and then the rest of my morning was spent narrating what I remembered and learning what I’d missed. They couldn’t stay for too long though, because not only are the Abbot and GangShu still recovering from their injuries in separate, undisclosed locations, Defiled activity picked up all across the front lines only a few days after I passed out, so everyone is understandably on edge. Three large Defiled armies are moving out from the West, while sizable roving warbands sweep through the areas between them, which means every fort on the front lines is under heavy pressure, including locations which hadn’t seen action in weeks.

At first, I thought Zhen Shi was stupid for taking such a widespread approach instead of punching through at one point, but then I spent a second or two thinking about it and decided it was brilliant. The Imperials would have never stuck around to fight a single, unstoppable horde of Defiled, and even have measures in place to deal with them if they should try such a thing. On the other hand, these widespread engagements favour the Enemy far more than the Empire. First, there are a shit-tonne more Defiled than Imperial soldiers, and while training, tactics, defensive positions, and equipment go a long way towards evening the odds, even if every battle goes in our favour, we could end up losing in the long run due to attrition alone. No matter how overwhelming the victory, good soldiers still die, and we don’t have a vast pool of unwilling recruits to dip into, nor can our recruits go from joe schmoe to competent warrior in a matter of months. Continuing this train of thought, bloody, hard-fought encounters are conducive towards creating Demons and possibly even more Defiled, as Imperial soldiers come away from these traumatic experiences with unseen mental scars. Lastly, these battles are an opportunity for Zhen Shi to train his newly recruited Chosen soldiers and generals, who are more similar to traditional Imperial soldiers than most people care to admit. This is a new chapter in the war against the Enemy, one which is designed not to quickly crush the Empire underfoot, but to bleed us dry and grind our spirits down ever so slowly while the Enemy grows stronger and smarter with each passing day.

To pile more shit onto the sandwich, it’s not just the Western border we have to worry about anymore. There have been reports of Defiled mustering in the passes south of Shen Jin, which guards the only known overland passage connecting the Northern and Western provinces. This means we might soon be fighting on two more fronts if Zhen Shi decides to push North, which he could do by land or by sea. While the West has a dearth of wood and other natural resources, there were plenty of boats and ships docked in the province when the Defiled first invaded, so if the Western Imperials weren’t able to set fire to their fleets before the invaders arrived, then we’re all in for a bad time. And Mother help us all if the Defiled find a way through the Arid Wastes, because then the South is good as lost, since they have no fortifications built to hold against the Enemy coming from that direction.

For these reasons and more, Dad hasn’t been by to see me, since he’s been busy all night overseeing the withdrawal of the entire front lines. Shortly after waking, I heard that the call was made to give up ground and retreat to the second line of defences, but I fear the Enemy offensive has only just begun. Before she left to bring Dad breakfast with a full escort of guards, Mom informed me that Wraiths were active inside the Citadel and that there’d been numerous attempts on the lives of prominent Martial Warriors in the past two weeks, including half a dozen attempts on my manor. It makes me wonder if Zhen Shi’s nightmarish scenario was crafted to keep me in a coma so I’d be helpless and contained while he sent assassins after me in real life, but that doesn’t really compute. Why go to all this trouble just to keep me out of the way or have me killed? Sure, War Bonds did a lot of good getting money where it needed to be spent, but it takes time for my efforts to take effect, and with the war picking up steam, time is what I lack the most.

Then again, maybe he wasn’t trying to kill me. Maybe his target is Ping Ping, which makes much more sense. She’s a Divinity now, and a much friendlier one than Pong Pong, which means she might actually fight to keep me safe. Not sure how I feel about putting her in danger for a cause that isn’t her own, especially since she seems really weak and actually less physically powerful than she used to be, but it’s an option, at least.

Ooh! There’s another plus to my grand floofication plans. Powerful, adorable floofs to keep me safe from all the scary shit out there. Floofs can’t turn Defiled, because they’re too pure for the Father’s bullshit, or something. I dunno. Whatever the reason, that’s a plus, right?

...

Yea, I really can’t be trusted with that much power. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. If anything, it should be Ping Ping with the Floofy Touch, because she would use it responsibly. Probably. Or maybe not. Maybe she’d floofify everything in sight, because as far as I can tell, she loves all things floofy. Currently resting atop Baloo’s bouncy belly, the little girl squeaks up a happy storm while rubbing her face in bear fur, which is both utterly endearing and oddly maniacal at the same time. Noticing my gaze, she shuffles over and lowers herself none-too-gently onto my chest, where she nuzzles my chin and sinks in for a snuggle with a contented sigh.

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Yea, this is way better than human Ping Ping. That’d be weird. What sort of animal traits would an Ancestral Turtle have anyways? Probably baldness, which I don’t love, or a hard-shelled back, which I hate. What if she had greenish-black skin too? Oh that’d be super weird. No, this is for the best. Ping Ping may not be physically floofy, but she’s floofy at heart, which is where it really counts. Even the floofiest lion is no good to me if he’s too murdery to hug. That’s just common sense.

Though I will hug a lion at some point, even if it’s the last thing I ever do...

Giving Ping Ping a kiss on the beak, I stroke her head and cuddle my floofs in hopes of allaying all my fears, but alas, they still linger in the back of my mind. It doesn’t take much to turn an orderly withdrawal into a massed rout, and from what I’ve gathered, Hongji was the one who made the call. This means Sinuji was facing a serious threat, which in turn means Alsantset, Mila, Yan, and Huu are all in grave danger. Rustram and my retinue too, as well as the Sentinels riding with Alsantset and countless other people I know and care about, but there’s nothing I can do to help them. I need to come up with something brilliant to turn the tides of war, something so powerful even Divinities will have to think twice before making a move.

Mila’s spring-powered Spiritual Guns were a promising start, but she stopped making those because she didn’t believe their design was ‘optimal’ or ‘perfected’, and she’s been waiting for Divine Inspiration to point her in the right direction ever since. Then there’s my whole endeavour with Runic Cannons, but the only things the Tyrant has given me thus far are bills and bupkis. Gunpowder is out of the question, since there’s no way to hold said gunpowder without giving Not-Gen and any other Fire-Blessed Defiled or Demon an inordinate amount of explosive fuel for their Chi-Fires. Chariots, crossbows, and catapults are about the only real weapons I’ve contributed, and those weren’t even unheard of. The Empire stopped using chariots because regular cavalry is more versatile and almost as effective, which meant using trained warhorses to pull glorified wagons was seen as a waste of resources. Crossbows and catapults were already in use too, as I’d seen soldiers firing them off of the Northern Wall and village hunters wielding slings and longbows, but the mindset is that Martial Warriors fight in close combat, and anything else if for peasants or cowards.

I just can’t think of any other weapon I could conceivably bring out to use against the Defiled. I know there are non-flammable explosives, but I have no idea where to even begin researching them. Steam powered engines might be useful, but considering any schmuck with a Spiritual Weapon could turn a tank into scrap iron, I’m pretty sure even I can’t afford to mass produce steam-powered vehicles of war and come out ahead. What would they even do anyways? Run the Defiled over? Chariots can do that for much cheaper and are probably more effectively once you take into account the angry bull or cow pulling it.

So where do I go from here? What other technological marvel can I pull out to help the Empire win this war?

...Maybe Zhen Shi has a point about my methods and mindset being flawed. I don’t mean the point he was trying to make about me weakening humanity as a whole, because that was utter horse shit, but a different, accidental, yet valid point nonetheless. All this time, I’ve been so focused on technology, I’ve overlooked a vital weapon in the war against the Enemy, and that’s the Martial Path itself. Or Martial Dao. Whatever. The Dao is all-encompassing, but we focus on the martial aspects because that’s what we need, but our understanding of the Dao is almost zero. Humanity as a whole is missing so many pieces of the puzzle that we don’t even know why 99% of the population fails at Core Creation. That’s literally the first step, which, if anything, proves that we can’t possibly be following the correct path. If the Mother, in all Her infinite wisdom decided that one percent of humanity would be responsible for defending the rest, then She seriously gimped us in the War against the Enemy, and I just don’t see that being true. Putting aside all the religious aspects of the Martial Path, I have to believe that the reason so many people fail at Core Creation is because we don’t truly understand what this first step entails. Those who do succeed do so through luck, but since Defiled have a 100% success rate, there’s obviously a factor we Imperials are missing. I mean, we can’t even explain how it happens aside from ‘find Balance’, because for most Martial Warriors, it’s as easy as breathing. One second, we’re normal, everyday humans, and the next, we’re channelling the Energy of the Heavens into our newly Created Cores.

That’s how it was for me, that’s how it was for the twins, and that’s how it was for almost everyone I know, except for Lang Yi and his fellow former slaves. They were all normal citizens of the Empire until Yo Ling and his butchers came along, and like most normal citizens, many of them also tried to Create Cores, but failed. Then, after months or years of torment and suffering at the hands of the Butcher Bay Bandits, Lang Yi and his comrades emerged as fully fledged Martial Warriors with only a modicum of guidance from Jochi and Argat. Sure, Lang Yi and co. almost turned Defiled along the way, but that doesn’t explain why they were unable to Create Cores as children and succeeded in a matter of days or weeks after living through their horrific ordeals.

Looking at things another way, Imperial dogma states that if you find Balance, you can succeed at Core Creation. Does this mean everyone who fails is unbalanced? Absolutely not, because if anything, unbalance would bring them closer to Core Creation like it did with Lang Yi. Given what I’ve experienced and read in Zhen Shi’s notes, there’s no fundamental difference between the Defiled Martial Path and the Imperial one. The Defiled just have the dubious benefit of Spectres helping them along, passing on Insight and Blessings with ease while driving their hosts to indulge their basest instincts. I saw this first-hand myself, back when I’d easily comprehend the Martial Path when meditating as Baledagh, yet lacked any and all understanding of what I did or how I did it.

That’s the difference between comprehension and understanding. Even the greatest Martial Warriors of this time can only claim comprehension of the Martial Dao, because no one truly understands it. Maybe that’s where I should turn my attention to, unravelling the secrets of the Martial Dao to elevate humanity as a whole, much like Zhen Shi ostensibly tried to do before becoming public enemy number one.

I just... have to explain a deep, mystical concept which has remained ineffable for all of human history without being influenced by evil murder ghosts and going bat-shit crazy. Oh, I also need to hope that my explanation somehow allows the Empire to churn out Martial Warriors fast enough to throw back the Enemy, and I need to do it before the Imperial defences are overrun and the Defiled torture and turn millions of helpless civilians, while slaughtering countless more. Easy peasy, right?

...It’d probably be easier to develop a conventional weapon of massed destruction.

Still, it doesn’t hurt to consider the possibility, since there’s nothing else for me to do. Mom is busy helping Akanai keep the Sentinel families calm while Luo-Luo heads out to her office to work. Grandpa Du is no doubt riding Dad’s ass for news about Yan, while Taddy left for the farm and Lin-Lin is still in bed. I can’t visit GangShu or the Abbot because their people brought them away to Mother knows where. Lastly, the Legate is all the way in the Central Citadel, so I won’t be meeting with him anytime soon, which is good because I’m not looking forward to that discussion. So with nothing better to do, why not ponder the mysteries of Core Creation? Besides, what I learn might help me figure out how to fix a Core too, so instead of doing anything productive, I idle the time away with my floofs while pondering the nature of the Martial Dao.

Which is where Grandpa Du finds me several hours later, at almost eight in the morning according to my pocket watch, though it feels much later thanks to how early I woke. “Good news,” he says, beaming from ear to ear as sweet Kishi joins my cuddle puddle. “The withdrawal was a success. Brigadier Hongji took grave injury, but he will survive, and his forces are all safely behind fortress walls now. Even better, Yan performed above and beyond all expectations and has many well-deserved commendations in her future.”

Even accounting for Grandpa Du’s penchant for over-exaggeration, it sounds like Yan pulled off a miracle and is now being heralded as the ‘Sanguine Storm’. A little derivative of Grandpa Du’s title, the Sanguine Tempest, but a well-deserved title nonetheless. Not only did she almost single-handedly cut her way through an intercepting force of Defiled, she even nabbed herself a bonafide Demon kill while also holding nominal command over the bulk of the retreating forces. That is a hat-trick of achievements if there ever was one, but she wasn’t the only person to excel. Apparently, Hongji sent back a list of heroes who went above and beyond the call of duty, a list which is even now making the rounds. Many of those heroes are now dead, names I recognize in passing like Xue Biqian, a stuck-up noble from the Society who Fung beat bloody during the Contest, or Ru Minsu, a kindly old warrior who presented Akanai with a written apology the day we first arrived in Nan Ping, one which acknowledged the wrongdoings his elders had perpetrated against her some five decades ago and offered remorse and recompense. There’s also Jin ZhiLan, the lovely, flirty, ambitious, and ultimately kind-hearted Warrant Officer who I fought alongside in Sanshu, who even now might be lying dead on a funeral pyre which has yet to be lit aflame, never to laugh or smile again.

The list of dead continues, and I recognize every name there, because each and every one of them was a vaunted hero of the Empire whom I crossed paths with at some point. To my great relief, my loved ones on the list are not marked as deceased, so I am able to take great pride in their achievements. While Yan’s stands out the most, Mila and Alsantset are also mentioned by name, for their part in combating the Defiled cavalry and holding off a concentrated Demon assault. My fierce sister claimed three Demon kills of her own and is being recommended for a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel, while my fiery wifey got a special mention for assisting in the deaths of seven Demons. It’s stated that while Mila didn’t kill any of the Demons, her ‘unique’ weapon was instrumental in tying them down, which allowed other Martial Warriors to deal the killing blow.

Huushal and Ulfsaar are also up for commendations, as are Mister Rustram, Chu XinYue, Jorani, Ral, Chey, Wang Bao, Ghurda, Naaran, Tenjin, Tursinai, and even the irregulars, my merry band of commoner convicts, garnered themselves a small mention, but the most surprising name on the list is Siyar’s. The quiet, solitary killer apparently Condensed his Aura to fight off a lone Demon wreaking havoc amongst the Imperial lines and not only held out until reinforcements arrived, he even did what he does best and cut his foe’s throat from ear to ear. Though he almost died in the process, reinforcements arrived in the nick of time to snatch his ass out of the Ichor and save the rest of Hongji’s beleaguered force, reinforcements led by none other than Zian himself. Almost as an afterthought, Hongji closes out his list with, “And Lu Jia Zian, who has more than fulfilled the requirements of his provisional rank by single-handedly killing two Demons and assisting in the deaths of five more, an exemplary young hero and model of Imperial nobility we all should strive to emulate.”

Even though Zian’s appearance there was planned, it sounds like it was a close thing with so many Demons taking to the field. Hongji’s forces held though, and as happy as I am for everyone, I can’t help but feel like I’m being left behind, though I disguise my despondent mood as concern for the dead. Of course, this makes me feel even worse since I should mourn the dead properly, especially considering the fact that Hongji’s list only holds the names of those he deemed important. Who knows how many others died? Fifty-thousand soldiers were stationed in Sinuji, but many would have fallen in the days leading up to the withdrawal, and many more during the withdrawal itself. It sounds like the fighting was bloody, and I hate myself for not being able to help, so the next few hours are spent wallowing in self-pity and worrying for the future.

Which is how Lin-Lin finds me later on that morning, curled up in a floof pile in the middle of my courtyard. Shrieking in delight as she throws herself atop me, my sweet, honey-skinned wifey wiggles her way past Banjo and Aurie to slip into my embrace. “Hi hubby,” she says, after a long, wet kiss on the cheek. “Welcome back.”

And that’s it. There are no burning questions she has to ask or concerns she wants addressed, because she’s just happy I’m awake again and basking in my company. I envy Lin-Lin’s outlook on life, so happy and carefree because she focuses on the good and doesn’t let the bad bring her down. She’s probably just as worried about Mila, Yan, and the others as I am, but she doesn’t let that affect her happiness in this moment, or any other moment. Some might think her simple, but nothing could be farther from the truth, because she is cognizant of all the same problems I’ve identified and stress over, but to her, those problems simply exist without affecting her in negative ways. She prepares for worst case scenarios without letting doom or gloom intrude upon her happy mindset, and that is something I wish I could do.

Sensing my inner turmoil, Lin-Lin flashes a mocking frown which is so at odds with her dignified crown of braids and elegant, lady-like appearance. Breaking into a familiar grin, she scritches Ping Ping’s head and says, “Silly hubby. You’ve been awake for a few hours and you’ve already twisted yourself into knots.”

“I can’t help it. It’s in my nature.”

Giggling as Banjo rests his chin atop her head, Lin-Lin slips out from under the bear and reverses their positions, propping her head atop his big bear snout before taking my hand in hers. “Well, you should change, hubby. Whatever will be, will be, but we’ll face it together.” Poking me in the cheek, she flutters her lashes and peers out at me from behind her large, lovely eyes, sitting atop her plump, rounded cheekbones which I do so love to kiss. “Now, why don’t we have breakfast, ya? Even if you’re gonna worry, you shouldn’t do it on an empty stomach, and I need to eat before I leave to help daddy at the grove. Packed lunches just aren’t as yummy, and I can’t keep bothering Char-Char everyday for lunch.”

“...I’m sure he doesn’t mind, but how’d you know I skipped breakfast?”

“Hehe. Luo-Luo told me.” Coming to her feet with remarkable ease, Lin-Lin pulls at my arm and fails to heft me up beside her. Not just because I’m laying here like a sack of potatoes, but also because Baloo is fast asleep and snoring, though Ping Ping heard the word ‘breakfast’ and is already scampering around my wifey’s ankles, no doubt eager for scraps. Unable to refuse either of their pleading gazes, I gently shift out from under Baloo’s bulk and make my way over to the kitchen with Lin-Lin on my arm and my floofs at my heels. She’s right about taking things as they come, as she usually is, but it’s not easy to keep my neuroses in check. Out of curiosity, I ask, “I’ve been thinking about Core Creation, and how no one really understands it because it’s really an all or nothing experience. Either you find Balance and Create a Core, or you don’t. Was it like that for you? Or were you more like Yan, and had trouble for a few years until it just... magically made sense.”

“I dunno,” Lin-Lin replies, without even stopping to think. “I was too young and don’t remember. Daddy says I was four when it happened, but he also says that’s when I started walking and talking too, so I think that’s just the age he gives when he doesn’t remember the truth.”

Yea, that sounds like something Taddy would do. He probably celebrated her first step as much as he celebrated her ten-thousandth, not because he wasn’t excited for her first step, but because he gushes over everything she does with the same level of enthusiasm. Honestly, I don’t know how he does it, but I admire that about him, and I admire Lin-Lin more for not being a spoiled princess, because with a father like Taduk, that must have been supremely difficult.

Spending time with Lin-Lin is good for the soul as we eat, feed the floofs, and generally enjoy one another’s company. All the while, word from the front continues to trickle in, which leaves me with mixed feelings. BoShui also performed admirably on the battlefield, albeit in a different clash some hundred and fifty kilometres north of Sinuji, while Ryo Da’in, the Isshin brothers, and Gulong all accomplished something to stand out, but the news is pretty much all downhill from there. The bulk of the Imperial forces stationed on the front lines were able to make it back to the second line of defences, but the casualties were not light. A preliminary report which I should not have had access to puts the casualties at somewhere north of twenty percent, meaning one in five soldiers stationed on the front lines didn’t make it back to the second line. While we killed an absurd amount of Defiled and Chosen in the process, as I pointed out before, Zhen Shi has more than enough to spare, and most of the attacking Demons escaped alive, including one exceedingly dangerous Demon Hongji dubbed the ‘Dark Child’. An Esoteric Blessed monster responsible for killing eight Peak Experts and many more Demon Slayers, it even grievously injured Exarches Bralton and Erien in a hard fought battle which lasted hours. Luckily, the formidable husband and wife pair held on long enough for reinforcements to arrive and are expected to make a full recovery, but that was only a single dangerous Demon, and almost half the Demons who assaulted Hongji’s forces escaped with their lives. To make matters worse, who knows how many more powerful Demons Zhen Shi has waiting in the wings?

There are no Spectres needed to bring down my mood, because the bleak reality of the situation is enough to do that on its own. The Empire might be celebrating a successful withdrawal, but all I see is the impending downfall of civilization and a future in which humanity is ruled by a crazed, seemingly immortal monster in human flesh, one who sees survival of the fittest as his religion.

And like he said, if I am fate’s champion set to oppose him, then Zhen Shi has all but won.

Chapter Meme