I arrive at my room frustrated. I can’t believe that I accepted like that right after they warned me. Am I stupid?

I fall onto my bed and grab my pillow, then I scream into it.

After a couple seconds of screaming, I feel better.

I turn over in my bed, my gaze landing on my flute. I’d set it down on my bed last night during my trance.

I sit up in the bed, grabbing the flute to distract myself from my emotions. The Twelve Requiems of Illusion, responding to my desire, opens to a new page. I’d gained access to another two requiems with my advance in cultivation. I think it’s time to see what kind of gains the requiems can give me.

I place the flute to my lips, pausing for a moment as I read the notes on the page of the cultivation manual.

The Third Requiem: Murder

The music starts out slow and haunting, each note almost ethereal as it flows into the next.

The world changes around me, my empty bedroom turning into a wealthy home. Ornate paintings line the walls and smoke flows from incense.

The smoke flows and twists with the music through the air.

A young woman in a silk dress walks through the smoke, her movements matching with the notes as the music becomes crisper, less haunting.

An older man smiles at her, his eyes focusing on her.

The woman smiles back at him, her hand resting on the sword at her waist, moving up to him as she kisses him.

A blush comes to my face, but I continue playing the music.

A long, drawn out note comes to a stop as the woman backs away from the man, breaking the kiss and still smiling playfully.

For a brief moment, there is silence. Then a dark, discordant note comes from my flute.

The woman draws her sword, chopping through the man’s neck in one stroke.

My mind freezes as my fingers and breath continue to play the notes of a haunting melody.

The man’s body falls to the ground, his head still connected by a thread of skin. Blood spurts out, covering the beautiful woman’s dress.

The woman turns to me, my melody becoming softer and darker.

Again, I set my flute down, words whose meaning I do not know coming from me as I start to sing. My voice hurts at the darkness of the words, but I don’t stop singing.

The woman reaches for her sword.

I stand up, entering the same position that she had, my sword still at my waist. The eerie music continues around me, as I copy her movements.

Again I am taught swordsmanship, but this time it is darker, malevolent. Each slash of her sword is meant to kill and draw blood. It is not meant for the killing of a battlefield, but the silent and swift murder of others who can not defend themselves.

Words solidify in my spirit, glowing with a dark light; the name of the technique being taught to me.

Whispers Of The Silent Raven

After an unknown amount of time, I collapse onto my bed, falling asleep.

***

I wake up, my head turning to the evening sunlight which still filters through my window. The light feels nice on my skin, warming me up with its heat. It is around the time that I should be meeting with the master scholars for lessons, but my mind and body feel exhausted.

I get up from the bed, and open the door to my room, looking both ways. The servant who lights the lanterns for my room is dusting the painting in the hallway. I take the chance to finally take in what she looks like. Her black hair is pulled back into a bun, and her eyes show a hint of a smile as she hums softly to herself. Her body is lithe and thin, her servants robes giving her plenty of room for movement.

I clear my throat to get her attention. She turns to me, bowing when she recognizes me. “Forgive me young miss, I did not sense your presence. What is it that this lowly one can do for you?”

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“Could you bring me some soothing tea?” I ask, my voice surprisingly sore from the usage of the third requiem.

“Of course young miss.” She responds.

I close the door, and return to my bed. I look out at the sky through my window, my thoughts aimless.

I grab my flute, putting my lips to it as I stare at the sky. Soft sounds come out, slowly turning into a song my mother used to play for me as a child.

I’d seen killing before, but it was never like that. She kissed him, and then….

I play a wrong note, so similar to the discordant note that I had played when she used her sword to chop through his neck.

My mind refocuses on the song my mother played, focusing on the soft and playful notes.

There was no remorse in her eyes at the man’s death. Only a hardness that scares me.

A knock on my door interrupts my thoughts and my music.

The servant enters my room with a tea set, gently pouring the tea with a practiced hand.

I thank her and she bows to me before leaving the room.

The tea soothes my throat, and brings some calm to my mind. The sunlight coming through the open window warms my skin, reminding me that not all is dark in the world.

I rub my arm without thinking. My gaze wandering to the slowly darkening blue sky through my window.

Another knock on the door again breaks me from my thoughts.

I gulp down the rest of the tea in my cup, hoping it’ll help me swallow the lump in my throat.

“Come in.” I say quietly, adjusting my hair which had been messed up from my unplanned nap.

A servant I don’t recognize opens the door, bowing to me as she enters the room. “Master Tai Qiu wishes to see you.” The servant says, her head still bowed.

I look at the servant in surprise, “Did Senior Sister Tai Qiu say why she wanted to see me?” She has never directly called for me before, instead seeing me in the library when I chose to visit.

“Master Tai Qiu did not specify to this servant why she has summoned you.” The servant replies formally, her expression not revealing any of her thoughts.

I frown, trying to place what her reason could be for calling for me. Something to do with my cultivation of spirit perhaps? It is what most of our meetings are about after all. But, I don’t understand why she would need to summon me for that.

I place my flute in my robes, then stare at the sword given to me by the elder. The sword now lies in its sheath on the bed. Images of a similar sword cutting through a man’s throat flash through my head. Shaking my head, I grab the sword and tie it around my waist. The servant patiently waits as I prepare myself.

Once I feel presentable enough, I turn to the servant, motioning for her to lead the way. She bows again before leading me out of my room.

The sect is surprisingly calm, with less disciples on the paths. Most are in their lessons given by the master scholars, as I would be if I had chosen to attend them.

I notice more gazes on me than usual, whispers coming from the few people still on the paths. The servant ignores those we pass, not even glancing at them as she leads me down a path I haven’t traveled before.

My hand drops to the sword at my waist as I realize we are walking down an unfamiliar path. Sister Xia and Sister Lai’s words of caution echo through my mind. My gaze locks on the servant guiding me. What proof do I have that she is truly leading me to Senior Sister Tai Qiu?

Fewer people walk the path we are on as we leave the main buildings of the sect, and enter a forest grove. A small stream flows along the side of the path, the noise of the brook sounding almost like music to me.

I ignore the thought of the brook as my grip tightens on my sword. The servant appears to be at the same cultivation level as me, but if I strike her using The Whispers Of The Silent Raven, I think that I could kill-

I shake my head, loosening my grip on my sword. There’s no need for that kind of thought. I have no proof that she isn’t a servant of Tai Qiu’s. No need to think of killing until it is actually needed.

The path gets narrower until we reach a beautiful clearing, sunlight shining down on an array of flowers and a lone woman watching something I can’t see. A breath of relief escapes me when I realize that Tai Qiu is standing there, her arms behind her back in a thoughtful pose and her master’s robes flowing slightly in the wind.

Tai Qiu glances up as we enter the clearing. The servant bows to her before immediately leaving back down the path.

Tai Qiu’s eyes flicker to the sword at my waist before looking back at my face. She lifts an arm, motioning me over, before turning back to what she was originally studying.

I move to where she stands, looking at what she is studying so intensely.

A faint shimmer in the shape of a doorway stands slightly above the ground, blurring the tree behind it.

Questions fill me at the strange sight, but I stay quiet, waiting for her to speak.

A few minutes pass as she continues with her silence, and I start to notice something strange about the shimmer. The spirit of the doorway, it feels different compared to all the spirit of the forest around it.

“Why is the spirit of the doorway so different?” I ask before I can stop myself.

“It is the spirit that fills the land of wherever this portal leads to.” Tai Qiu says thoughtfully, before turning her gaze to me. “Tell me, what is so different about the spirit you sense through this portal?”

I frown, trying to place what it is. “It feels… harsher. Darker? I don’t really know, but it reminds me of…” I pause, thinking about how it reminds me of the battlefield from the The First Requiem. “A battlefield.” I finish.

Tai Qiu nods. “The spirit from the other realm is tainted by death and blood, much like a battlefield.”

“Another realm?” I ask, surprised by Tai Qiu’s words.

“Indeed. Wherever this portal leads, it is not within this realm. Thankfully, the Elders and I closed it before anything on the other side could come through.”

A flash of fear fills me as I think about what kind of person would come from a world filled with so much death.

Another minute passes as Tai Qiu and I watch the portal.

I glance at her, noticing how she still gazes at the portal intently. “What are you looking for?” I wonder out loud.

“A reason.” Tai Qiu responds, her gaze not leaving the portal. “Portals like this don’t just come out of nowhere. They are created. And I want to know why.”

I nodded in understanding, before the question I had originally wanted to ask finally makes itself known. “Why did you have me come here?”

Tai Qiu finally smiles as she looks at me. “All the Elders are busy while I am left to guard this portal. I thought you might make some gains in spirit cultivation from studying the spirit leaking out of this portal.”

“Thank you Senior Sister.” I say, bowing to her before immediately sitting down in a lotus position. My spirit sense expands around the portal as I study the dark spirit coming out of it.