Kai was stalling. Three hours remained of his first study day, but there was nothing left to do. They had worked out the issues with the screens by creating a simple operating system that sent visual data using a series of non-distracting notifications he could review later when he selected them.
They had gone through several revisions. His favorite included tactile feedback, letting him feel the screens, move them around by touch, and close them using very intuitive manual manipulation. He would have loved to keep that system, but using it around other people would have been awkward. He would constantly be seen moving his hands through the air as though he was touching things. So he said goodbye to the tactile interface and went to a purely mentally controlled operating system.
The screens in the new OS didn’t look like the screens of his soul space. Instead, they were simple amber wireframes that created a shaded translucent overlay. The text was an illuminated amber he could read in all lighting conditions. Each frame included small symbols he could focus on to close, resize, and reposition as desired.
Relay hadn’t wasted his time either, he calculated the relative movement displacement formulas and could now create visual and tactile objects Kai could walk around, and interact with as though physically present.
Kai picked up the two cultivation manuals and moved to the cabinet, securing them inside. He returned to the desk and sat down. With a thought, Kai summoned The God’s Eye Art in front of him. It fell to the table with a light thud. He picked it up and thumbed through it.
“Spatial positioning, tactile sensations,” he pulled the book up to his face to closely inspect it, “all seem excellent.” He took a deep breath through his nose, “Smells are perfect too. This is amazing work Relay. I can’t tell I’m not holding the real thing, even though I know I’m not.”
“Thank you, Sir.” Relay said, appearing from an explosion of blue mist near him. The Eternal hovered there, his blue orb thrumming, the silver plating reflecting the room's light perfectly.
Kai put the book down on the table, and flipped through it, before dismissing it. It vanished into a mist before disappearing completely.
His stomach rumbled, reminding him again that he was stalling. He stood up and straightened his green robes. He looked at the door. Why am I so hesitant? It’s time to get on with it. You can't stay in seclusion forever.
“This world is a scary place.” Relay hovered in place, rotating around to inspect the room.
“We’re going to have to work on you listening to my thoughts when I’m not talking to you,” Kai grumbled. “But yeah, it’s time to go back out there.”
Kai straightened his robes, he hadn’t changed in a week and needed to bathe. Food first. He opened the door and walked into the Archive. Glancing around he didn’t see the dragon.
“This one has finished studying for now,” Kai spoke out, “and would like to leave my merit.” He held out his merit coins and jingled them.
“No need,” the low rumble of Gao Jie’s voice echoed through the hall, “consider it my investment in your ascension. Take your merit and deposit it with the Elders, when you are strong enough to protect what you purchase then come back and exchange it for something useful to you.”
Kai’s brow furrowed. Protecting his merit was a concern if any stronger cultivator could rob him. This solved that problem and gave him a goal, to save enough for something useful. He looked around The Archive but couldn’t see the old black dragon anywhere.
“How much would it cost for the Soul Imprinting Method?” Kai inquired, sensing an opportunity.
“Master what you have learned before seeking more,” the rumbling voice seemed amused at the question, “only then will I consider your question.”
“This one thanks honored Elder Gao Jie, and will do as instructed,” Kai bowed in the direction of the sound, then retreated. His steps echoed in the silent room as he made his way out, down the hall, and back to the entrance.
He became aware that he hadn’t seen anyone else in the Archive, nor in the hall; it was as though the Treasure Hall was empty. When he returned to the entrance, only a single Elder sat on a dais, in meditation. The man came alert at his entrance. Kai quickly explained his intention to leave his merit on deposit and the elder called for a clerk to handle it.
Once done Kai took his leave and stepped into the inner halls of the Celestial Temple.
“So this is the Celestial Temple,” Relay appeared, this time in a brief flash of light. He hovered just to the side of Kai.
“You trying different visual transition techniques? Do you think just appearing out of nowhere is insufficient somehow?” Kai inquired. He walked down the grand hall staying in the center of the tiled floor. With his recently acquired “memories”, he knew the rough layout of the temple and where the initiate’s communal dining hall was. His stomach rumbled again.
“It’s about personal style,” Relay explained, “I haven’t found one that feels right yet. On a related note. Is having me visible a distraction? I could shrink myself, and hover over your shoulder?”
Relay hovered beside Kai as he walked. Kai considered the question in silence for a moment as they walked, as before the halls were remarkably empty.
“I think you are correct, any obstacle to seeing what’s there may be a blind spot, perhaps shrink yourself and hover out of my normal vision, but not so far that I can’t turn to focus on you when I want, and make yourself,” Kai waived his fingers around, wiggling them to try to articulate his idea, “spectral or something. That will help me maintain perspective about your presence.”
“Oh spectral, I quite like that,” Relay bobbed energetically. He shrank down to about the size of a large apple, and then underwent several changes going darker, purplish, then ghostly pale, then a macabre red. He continued to shift in color and transparency as Kai walked down the hall, causing Kai to misstep when Relay morphed into a floating chattering skull.
“I didn’t mean literally like a specter,” Kai said, regaining a proper rhythm to his steps. Rounding the corner he sighted the entrance to the initiate's dining hall. Again he was struck by how empty the halls were. “I wonder what time it is? Maybe it’s the middle of the night?”
“Query. What is the measure of time here? How long is a day?” a pale transparent skull floated to the right of Kai, the skull was surrounded by green flames.
Kai shook his head at the display. “They use hours, minutes, days, weeks. A day is thirty hours though, and hours are one hundred minutes. Are you seriously going to be a green flaming skull?”
He made for the dining hall, finding it empty. The hall was a large space with long low tables. There were enough tables to feed thousands, with initiates sitting on the floor at the tables. Kai headed for the serving tables to find some food.
“Ha ha ha,” the skull cackled, “Think of what happens if someone can read your memories one day. They will just think you’re talking to an old ancestor or something?”
“It’s creepy,” Kai muttered under his breath as he approach a table with steamed dumplings. He grabbed a plate and loaded some on, before getting some rice, and vegetables.
“You weren’t interested in the exhibitions?” a woman from behind the serving tables inquired. “I didn’t expect to see anyone here before that was done.”
“Ah,” Kai scratched his head, “I’ve been in seclusion. I didn’t know about it.”
“That explains it,” she nodded, “Disciples of the Lunar Temple are here on diplomatic matters, there are exhibition matches scheduled all afternoon in the Stellar Arena. If you hurry you may still be able to see some.”
“This little one thanks you,” Kai nodded and hurriedly finished loading up his plate. With a full plate, and a mouth full of dumplings, he found a seat. Relay continued to cycle through various colors and shapes. Kai watched him take the shape of a soul, a planet, a star, then stranger things like a triangle, and other shapes.
“I like having a mouth,” Relay said taking on his normal blue and silver orb, only this time it had a realistic-looking mouth filled with too many white teeth, “much more expressive.”
“Please no. That’s even creepier than the skull,” Kai choked out around bites of crispy fried fish. He returned to his plate, splitting a fruit into slices and gobbling them down. He continued to watch Relay shift between different appearances, each with a mouth of some kind.
“Relay, let me ask you something,” Kai set down his food. “When you were the ship’s A.I. I called you Ship, now that you are the secondary relay, I call you Relay. In the years since my first life, did I ever ask you what name you wanted to be called?”
Relay shifted into a blue orb, with no mouth. He floated in position for a moment without responding. “No. I was reborn as a relay, so the name seemed natural. I never gave it much thought.”
Kai picked up another dumpling and moved it to his mouth before lowering it again, “I’m sorry. That seems wrong. You have preferences, desires, and feelings, why don’t think about what name you like? You don’t have to get stuck being called by your primary function.” He finished the thought and then set to work clearing off the rest of the plate. He was so hungry, that even when he finished everything he still wasn’t sated. He returned to the serving tables to get more food.
Relay hovered over the table silently, the only indication of thought the slow pulsing of his orb.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
When Kai returned with another plate he spoke. “Thank you…” he paused, “What would you prefer I call you Braxon or Kai?”
“Kai,” he replied with a shake of his head, “As far as I’m concerned Braxon died a long time ago.”
“Thank you, Kai. I’m not unhappy with Relay, but if I think of something better I’ll let you know.”
Kai nodded and busied himself cleaning his second plate. He almost managed to eat it all before feeling stuffed. He took the plate and dropped it off before darting out of the dining hall, and heading for the Stellar Arena. Relay hovered just over his shoulder, a smaller more translucent version of his normal blue orb.
Without the distraction of his hunger, Kai found himself struck by the opulence of their surroundings. The walls were adorned with intricate murals, each one telling a story from the Temple’s history. Soft light spilled from the spirit lamps that hung from the ceiling, casting a warm glow on everything in sight.
The floor was made of smooth, polished marble that shone underfoot, but the unmistakable wear of generations of cultivators could be seen in the wear of common pathways. Columns that lined the hall were carved from precious jade, their surfaces etched with delicate patterns that seemed to glow in the light, but if one paid close attention one might notice the delicate portions of the jade relief were missing here and there, having broken off long ago.
“Oh,” Relay exclaimed, “Look at this.” He floated over towards a mural that spanned the height of one wall. It was woven from golden thread and covered with detailed depictions of legendary beasts in colored thread woven throughout; the phoenix, dragon, turtle, and multi-tailed fox were easy for Kai to identify. Others, a serpent with wings, a part horse part dragon, a mixture between a lion and dog, a fantastic cat that reminded him of a sabertooth tiger, those he didn’t have a name for.
Relay shifted into one of the mythical beasts, first adopting the same art style as the mural, but quickly a more realistic style. A glorious bird, surrounded by a golden glow hovered in place, flames licking its wings.
“In keeping with this world’s aesthetic I can take on one of these forms. Plus they all have mouths!” the bird’s mouth moved as Relay spoke. It was a bit unsettling to hear Relay’s voice come from the small flaming bird, but it wasn’t as creepy as the flaming skull.
“Nice,” Kai remarked as he watched the bird morph into a serpent with wings. The sleek body of the green snake glistened as it undulated in the air. After a few flaps of his wings, the serpent morphed again into a translucent white nine-tailed fox. It promptly fell to the ground, landing on its paws with grace.
“I like this,” the fox strutted around; with the shake of its tail, the nine-tails became one. The fox looked back at its single white tail before smiling. With a leap, the fox jumped up and settled around Kai’s neck. Kai felt the almost insubstantial paws grip his shoulders as Relay made himself comfortable. “This is better, I don’t have to constantly be calculating flight paths, obstructions, clipping. I’ll just ride on you and let you worry about all that.”
Kai looked at the reflection of the fox in the glistening fibers of the tapestry. The fox was small, with barely any weight. At the least, it’s better than that creepy glowing skull.
“Yes! And If I have to work on something back at the hub I can just shut my eyes here and pretend to sleep. That way I don’t have to keep popping in and out like I’ve been doing.” The fox closed his eyes and lowered his head to rest, a smile on his face.
With Relay settled Kai continued, heading around a corner when the sound of low whispers caught his attention. The hall had been so quiet that the whispering stood out.
“I did not find him among the initiates at the exhibition.” The whisper was soft even delicate Kai determined, but the stone floors carried the sound. Kai’s eyes opened wide as he processed what he heard. Looking around he found a large jade column flanked by two sculptures. He quietly darted to the side, pulling himself behind the column.
“Neither did I find him in the initiates wing, or at the training grounds, or in the library.” Another voice echoed around the corner. A moment later two girls, wearing white and blue robes, entered the hall. Kai glimpsed them from behind the column. The robes were unfamiliar, but the girls seemed young. Still older than me.
“Did you hear what they said?” Relay perked up, his small black eyes flicking open.
Shhh. Yes, that’s why I’m hiding here. Do you think they are looking for me? Kai thought.
“No, I mean about the library. There’s a library!” the fox exclaimed. “We have to go there and read everything!”
“That only leaves the dining hall, if he’s not there, maybe he’s in seclusion?” whispered the girl with her hair pulled back into two clips.
“If we don’t find him the Grand Matriarch will be wroth with us,” the taller girl said. She had the cool serene expression Kai associated with a noble. As the two approached he slipped around the column, keeping the column between them.
“We can hope Yunfei had better luck,” the pair of girls passed by his column. As they passed he could see the back of their robes. A small crescent was embroidered in white near the neckline. If they hadn’t been so close he might have missed it.
It’s the Lunar Temple, why are they looking for an initiate here? They said their Grand Matriarch was looking. It can’t be for me, I’ve done nothing to attract the attention of anyone grand.
Kai waited silently. When the two were some distance away he slipped out from behind the column and strode purposely around the corner and headed to the initiate’s wing.
I can’t risk going to the exhibition matches if they are looking for me. Since we know they already searched the initiates' wing, I’ll head there and take a bath.
“Or you could head to the library,” the fox countered, “imagine how nice it will be to copy all those books. I’ll be able to analyze them and give us a much better understanding of this place.”
It’s a good thought, but we’ll save it for after I’ve rested. I’m exhausted, I haven’t felt rested in over a week.
Though the way to the initiate’s wing was clear his nerves were frazzled. Kai felt the need to maintain high alert, but they didn’t encounter anyone on the way. He navigated smoothly to his hall with no problems, entering his room he pulled some clean garments from his wooden chest. He looked at his bed longingly but resisting the temptation he turned and snuck down the hall to the communal bath.
Once there he found the dressing room and stored his clean clothes on a bamboo shelf.
Kai stepped into the steam-filled hot bath, took a deep breath, and enjoyed the hot, moist air filling his lungs. Steam rose all around the rocky hot spring, casting the room in a perpetual mist that preserved privacy unless one was very close to another. Softly glowing lights created a peaceful atmosphere as he surveyed the room, noting the absence of cultivators. Perfect.
He found a small rocky pool, connected to the main bath, and disrobed, causing Relay to jump to the floor. Lowering himself in, Kai felt the heat seep into his bones. The bath was supplied by a hot spring that was infused with spiritual energy. The energetic water encouraged improved body circulation and energy flow, making it an ideal place to cultivate at the end of a grueling training day.
Kai submerged himself and focused on his internal energy, letting his mind return to the new cultivation method he’d learned. The God’s Eye Art was a cultivation method that required precise control over the practitioner's internal energy flow; the principal goal being able to quickly shift energy flows through the body’s meridians.
Kai thought back to the progression of The God’s Eye Art: the meridians create the symmetric shapes, the shapes create the yantras, and the yantras create the sigils. It started with being able to instantly move one’s energy around one’s body.
I’m getting ahead of myself.
Kai came up for a deep breath, before lowering himself back down. To be able to effectively create shapes, the author claimed, the cultivator must refine their spiritual energy to align it with their intent. The process of refining one’s energy was known as purifying and required a long cycle from the core, through every principal meridian, then back again. Repeating this cycle, again and again, brought the energy under complete control of the cultivator, attuning it to the cultivator’s body.
“Kai,” Relay interrupted his thoughts, “there’s someone else here.” The fox sat, fully alert, looking over towards the neighboring pool.
The interruption from his thoughts caused him to surface and inhale a large lungful.
“Little brother,” a girl’s shy voice echoed over the silence. “I did not expect anyone to be using the bath during the exhibitions.” The girl was submerged to her neck in the spring, not far from him. She was covered by a tightly bound bathing cloth and looking in his direction. Kai noted that her hair was tied up on top of her head, and her face was flush red.
“Exhibition?” Kai pretended not to know about it. “Forgive this one. I have been in seclusion.”
“I see. Can I trouble you to look away, little brother? I’ll take my leave first,” She asked bashfully.
“Of course,” Kai turned. He heard her slip out of the bath, the water dripping, the padding of her feet back towards the changing room. He turned to see her enter the changing room, a white robe with blue stripes in hand.
Kai submerged himself again.
“That was a Lunar Temple disciple. Coincidence?” Relay yawned before settling back down.
Let’s just hope she wasn’t looking for me. Kai settled down and began circulating his energy.