Again, I sit in my room, my flute held to my mouth. The Twelve Requiems of Illusion lies open in front of me, as I carefully breathe in and out.

The Third Requiem: Murder

The notes start low and haunting, echoing eerily through my room.

The world changes around me, a different vision this time.

Three men whisper quietly around a campfire, the forest silent around them except for the music of my song.

Soon they fall asleep.

The same woman from my usual vision appears, her movements completely silent as she walks through the campsite.

Carefully, she raises her sword above the neck of one of the men.

Her eyes meet mine as she looks at me.

Then a long drawn out note comes to an end.

A discordant note plays out.

Her eyes stay on mine as her sword cuts the throat of one of the men.

The other two don’t notice as the man dies instantly.

She walks silently to the second man, her eyes meeting mine again.

Another discordant note plays out.

Her eyes stay on mine as her sword cuts the throat of the second man.

Finally, she walks to the third man.

My fingers want to stop.

My breath wants to freeze.

I know what comes next.

Her eyes meet mine again.

A third discordant note plays.

Her sword slices through his neck.

The song isn’t over.

She walks to me, her movements still completely silent.

I place my flute down, starting to sing.

The words burn my throat as my body copies hers again.

Words solidify into my spirit, their letters glowing a dark red color.

Movements of The Silent Monster

I gasp as the song ends, my throat hurting from pain. My hands start to shake as I reach for a pitcher of water.

She looked at me. She saw me and knew that I looked at her.

What if she came looking for me?

I gulp down water, gasping for breath when I’m done.

No. She is just an illusion created from my music. It’s not-

I pause as the Qi in my body starts to rapidly move.

Immediately, I sit down in the lotus position, trying to guide the qi rampaging through my body.

Knowing what this is, I do my best to slowly guide the qi to one of my blocked meridians.

It's an agonizing process, and I know that qi rampages like this commonly destroy the cultivations of unprepared cultivators. Keeping the hold I have on my qi strong, I guide it to one of my meridians. The qi rages against the blockage, causing me flashes of pain that nearly break my concentration. I keep at it, refusing to give up.

I don’t know how much time passes before I open my eyes.

Relief fills me as I feel the strength of my qi.

I am now a fifth level Qi Awakened at the age of thirteen.

I can’t wait to brag to Jing Xia.

Standing up, I stretch my body, almost giddy with the power flowing through it.

Once I calm down a bit, my mind returns to the strangeness of that illusion. It bothers me. I’ve never seen a Requiem change like that one did.

Looking over at The Twelve Requiems of Illusion, I consider immediately playing the fifth requiem. Maybe it could give some insight into why the third Requiem changed?

Something tells me that isn’t the best idea. I want my qi to settle before doing that.

I grab my sword and place it around my waist, then I leave my room. The sky is cloudy today as we get closer and closer to the cold season. I find myself walking to the clearing that the portal resides in.

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A Master I don’t recognize sits meditating near the portal. He opens his eyes, observing me.

I bow to the master, and he nods his head in response before closing his eyes.

I sit down in a lotus position, observing the portal with my spirit sense. Wisps of the death filled spirit still escape from the portal, slightly weaker than they had been. I haven’t been focusing on cultivating my spirit lately, instead focusing on making progress in the Requiems.

Tai Qiu has gotten much busier with political positioning and cultivating herself, so she doesn’t have as much time to personally speak to me.

I don’t really mind. I understand that the more power she has, the more it benefits me.

Small droplets of rain start to fall, more of a mist than a rain. I appreciate the sensation on my skin, the cold not bothering me with the warmth that my qi provides.

A sudden change in the spirit coming from the portal catches my attention. It’s subtle and I can’t quite place my finger on it.

I look over at the Master to see him still meditating.

The spirit seems… stronger all of a sudden, it’s presence becoming more obvious to my senses.

A crack appears in the portal. The Master is at my side in a moment, blocking my vision of the portal. A staff of light appears in his hands, his full attention on the portal as he yells at me “Run!”

I don’t hesitate to follow his instruction, the spirit coming from the portal making me feel an instinctual fear.

The sound of shattering hits my ears and a wave of force sends me sprawling off the path and rolling into a creek.

The death filled spirit fills the forest and I instinctually activate my newest technique.

Movements Of The Silent Monster.

My movements become softer, not quite as silent as the woman in my illusion, but nearly unnoticeable.

I quickly crawl out of the creek and hide behind a tree. I shiver, my technique preventing me from moving my qi to warm myself up.

Carefully, I turn to look at the portal.

The unknown master picks himself off the floor, obviously disoriented from the blast. His staff returns to his hands from where it fell as he moves into a stance.

A black boot made of leather steps out of the portal.

The master immediately attacks the foot with his staff, but a blade writhed in shadows swings from beyond the portal, blocking the strike.

The blade carries enough strength to push the man back.

A man walks out of the portal, his clothing of a different make from anything I’ve ever seen. He wears a black cloak, the hood covering his face.

“Where is this?” The man asks, the voice carrying qi with its very presence. I cower away from the qi, surprised to see that it travels over me without seeing me, my technique masking my presence.

“This is the Flowing River Sect. You are trespassing on our grounds. Please leave.” The Master’s voice is firm, but I hear a slight echo of fear.

“So you are the one with the courage to swing at me.” The man says, not responding to the Master’s words. His sword flashes, and the head of the Master falls to the ground, separated from his body.

My breath catches for only a second at the sight disrupting the technique hiding me, my body trembling with fear. That second is enough.

The man turns his head towards me, stepping forward into my direction.

My body freezes.

A spear of light, moving faster than I can see, hits the ground where he stands. The man moves just as fast, appearing several steps back from where the spear landed.

Four Elders appear, surrounding him. The Martial Elder Quon Li, Elder Zhu Chen, Elder Li Mei Wu, and a final elder I don’t recognize. I watch in surprise as a woman I recognize only from her description forms out of the very water of the creek I fell in.

Patriarch Hua Wang steps forward out of the creek, her clothes completely dry and her movements elegant beyond compare.

She moves first to the dead Master, the other Elders silent.

She bows to the dead Master, whispering something I can’t hear, then turns to the man who caused his death. “Why did you kill him?”

The man shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. “He swung at me first. I simply replied in kind.” The qi in his voice is more cautious, like a snake waiting to strike.

The rain becomes heavier, turning into a true downpour.

“You broke the seal my Elders placed on your portal. He was right to strike first.” The Patriarch says. Rain gathers in her hand, forming a long elegant sword. “You have trespassed, and you have been warned. Now, you will die.” She says simply.

Everyone moves faster than I can follow and the fight is over in a second.

The Patriarch’s sword pierces the heart of the strange cultivator, while a shallow cut appears on her own stomach. Elder Li Mei Wu hunches over another cut in her side, her face grimacing in pain.

The Patriarch draws her sword out from the body of the strange cultivator, watching carefully as he slumps to the ground. After a moment of the man not moving, her weapon dissolves into mist.

“Are you alright?” The Patriarch says, looking directly at where I’m hiding.

I carefully move out from behind the tree. “I-I think so patriarch.”

The other Elders turn to look at me in surprise.

“Good.” She turns to look at Elder Li Mei Wu, “And you?”

“I will be fine, I was simply careless.” Elder Li Mei Wu responds, her hand stemming the blood flowing from her side.

The Patriarch turns back to me. “It’s best if you head home, I will have someone come to speak with you about what happened later.”

I realize that I am still shivering and cancel my technique to start warming myself up with my qi. I bow to the patriarch. “Of course.”

Then I start walking back to my room.

Jing Xia is waiting at my door with a smile on her face. The smile disappears as she recognizes my strange mood.

“Are you alright?” She asks, moving next to me in worry.

I nod to her, feeling a little dazed from everything. I open the door to my room, continuing to walk forward.

“You don’t seem alright.” Jing Xia says, placing her hand on my arm to stop me.

“I don’t know what to feel.” I say, frowning.

Jing Xia looks into my eyes, after a moment, she pulls me to the bed and sits me down. “Tell me what happened while you dry off. You’re soaking wet.”

I don’t know where she finds a towel, but I take it gratefully. “I decided to go outside after my latest advancement.” I start, eventually telling her everything that happened. “I don’t know why I’m like this. I see people die all the time.”

Jing Xia frowns at my last sentence, “We’ll talk about that another time. Tell me Sister Jia, what was different this time?”

“I- I was scared.” I whisper the last word as I start sniffling. “He- he terrified me.” My emotions spill out suddenly as I start crying.

Jing Xia pulls me into her arms, holding me close as I sob into her shoulder.

“Don’t worry. You’re safe.” She says, humming a little song as I let out my pent up emotion. “Everything’s alright.”