“They’re real Silas. We’re a real sect. The stars are in the sky, you just have to know where to look,”

Kio, member of the Beggar sect.

Aki woke in his own bed back in the small area that he, Endra, and Liam called home. He woke suddenly with a gasp and sweat on his brow. Endra was sitting over him, though, with a rag wiping his forehead. He looked up at her vivid green eyes and gave a sigh of relief after he caught his breath.

Aki found when he woke he was only wearing pants, and something wrapped around his midsection and then bandaged where he was stabbed. His hand felt at his side, and he tried to move a little, but grunted. The pain from the wound stopped him. It felt like it was more than a simple sword strike. He had been stabbed before, too many times. It never felt like this.

“Liam! Go get the doc!” Endra shouted at her son. He must have been somewhere close by because Aki heard footsteps running off as soon as she called out.

Endra looked back down at Aki with a smile, tears running down her face slowly. “We didn’t think you were going to make it. Mei and Jin gave you some herbs and Mei did something with her mana to help you, but….”

Aki looked up and smiled, taking her smooth hand into his own rough one. He squeezed her hand softly and shook his head. “None of that right now. I’m alive,” he told her.

“Barely,” the doc who had a shop next door said as he walked into the room. “When they got you back, you had a terrible fever. If you weren’t a cultivator and we didn’t show each other so many things, I don’t think you would have survived,” the doctor explained.

Aki looked up and over at the doc, furrowing his brow. A fever? How was that possible? Aki was now far enough in his cultivation path that something so simple shouldn’t have hurt him that badly. Well, if he survived the initial fight, something like a fever shouldn’t kill him. He wasn’t sure what to ask, though. He closed his eyes and searched for answers.

“Poison?” He asked, opening his eyes. Poison, of course, would work on anyone if it was strong enough.

The doctor shrugged and said he wasn’t sure. He didn’t think it was, but without testing Aki’s blood, he could never be sure.

“Not that I have the tools to do that sort of thing anyway, unfortunately,” the doctor finished with.

Aki frowned. In the end, it didn’t matter. He was awake and alive for the time being. The blade he was stabbed with was made from pure blood mana. With the corruption he felt from Paimon and the demon he fought, he figured that must be why he almost didn’t make it.

The doctor came and sat on the edge of the bed next to Aki. He then went about touching various spots on Aki’s body. His sides, and he felt around where the stab wound once had been. It had long since healed over. The blade was so small and thin. The doctor felt Aki’s forehead and frowned.

“You still have a bit of a fever, but as long as you do your cycling, you may be fine. I really don’t know what you cultivators can do,” the doctor said with a bit of a shrug. “Just take it easy and try not to get into any more sword fights for a little while,” he continued with a small smirk.

Aki nodded his head. “Thank you, doctor,” he said as he tried to sit up a little to give the doctor a small bow with his head. The best he could muster. The doctor definitely deserved a small measure of respect for saving Aki’s life once again.

The doc put a hand on Aki’s shoulder and stopped him from getting up too much, however. “Stay laying down. Thank you, I appreciate it,” he then said before he stood and headed for the door, leaving.

Endra followed him out and thanked him for attending to Aki so quickly. Once the doctor was gone, Liam joined Endra in the room. Endra sat on the edge of the bed next to Aki and Liam stood at the foot of the bed.

“Master,” Liam said with a cultivator's bow. “I’m sorry I was not there to help.”

Aki watched with a small smile, but frowned gently at the boy's words. “You did nothing wrong. Your place was here watching the inn. You couldn’t have helped in that fight. Not yet,” Aki told him.

Aki then smiled and asked, “have you been cycling and practicing your forms? Cycling without falling asleep, that is.”

Liam looked at the ground sheepishly. Aki just laughed.

“Once you can do that, you will truly be a master,” Aki told Liam with a small laugh. “Go on then, me and your mother have more to discuss.”

Liam nodded his head and left the room, presumably to cycle. Aki looked up at Endra and squinted his eyes at her curiously.

“Tell me I didn’t see what I thought I saw,” Aki told her.

Endra looked him in the eyes. Her own bright vivid greens looking into his soft grays. She gave a simple, quick, slight nod of her head.

“Something happened out there, Aki. There was a scroll….” She started and then went into the story about how she found the container in the sand and opened and read it. Then how she was struck with lightning. “It was like, it was like I not only had a core but…” she trailed off, not sure how to explain the feeling she had.

Aki smiled and nodded his head. He remembered one of the demons saying how they had the power of a kami hidden away in their treasures. He also remembered seeing the small unassuming tube that he figured held a scroll. Then, of course, there was the lightning blast. The sheer amount of power that struck the earth before he passed out.

“Yes. It held great power, didn’t it?” Aki asked Endra, who shook her head.

“What does it mean now, though? My body was covered in runes that glowed. They eventually dulled and some dissipated, but not all of them,” Endra explained.

Aki furrowed his brow and shrugged. “I suppose it means you can draw upon the power whenever you wish,” he said after giving some thought.

Endra shook her head. “I’ve tried a couple of times while you’ve been out. I haven’t been able to,” she told Aki.

Just then, as if the fates were looking for answers, there was a knock at the bedroom door. The one who knocked didn’t wait for an invitation to come in; instead, the old man in the conical straw hat and dull white and light gray robes walked in. He was smiling his usual grandfatherly smile.

“Master!” Aki exclaimed. He tried to climb to his feet, but a sharp stabbing pain went into the side of his gut.

“Don’t get up. You need your rest, my student. You have a long road ahead of you,” the Elder said with a glint of amusement in his eye.

The old man looked at Endra with his own bright eyes and a smile and gave a soft bow of his head.

When Endra tried to excuse herself so they could be alone to talk, he stopped her. “No, I think you both should stay here. There have been a lot of things that have happened to the both of you,” Aki’s master said.

Endra nodded her head and took her seat at Aki’s side once more. She reached and grabbed his hand, squeezing it. Aki returned the gesture and looked up at his master.

Did Endra see who the old man really was? Did she know the power this unassuming beggar-looking man had? Aki wasn’t sure, and it wasn’t quite his place to tell her. At least, not right now, while the Father himself was looking down at them both behind his bushy white eyebrows.

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“You found Paimon’s scroll, didn’t you?” He asked Endra, his eyes still giving a soft glint.

Endra stammered, trying to give him an explanation. To this, though, he just raised a placating hand. “It’s alright, my dear. Without it, you wouldn’t have been able to save Aki here,” the old man said.

“Yes, I found it and read the scroll,” Endra then said. “I’m not sure what happened to me.”

While the two spoke, Aki just looked between the two in thought. “What does it mean? Can she still cultivate normally? Or…” Aki asked.

The old man chewed on his lip a little, looking at them both. “Well, Paimon was right; that scroll wielded the power of a Kami. Kentaro, to be exact, if you hadn’t guessed it. The thing is though, it’s not a heavenly treasure. Paimon made it herself,” the elder explained.

“Then how…” Endra and Aki went to ask at the same time. To this, Aki’s master lifted a hand once more to stop them.

“Even the Kami can be tricked,” was all he said.

This left both Aki and Endra with confused looks. The Elder smiled and laughed a little, nodding his head in understanding. “Well, I can’t give you all the answers. Where would be the fun in that?” He gave them both as a response to their confusion.

Minutes passed, the elder just sighed and closed his eyes in defeat. “Alright, to be honest with you, not even I know. Paimon has her own agenda and her own workings. That’s what you’re going to have to look into, my apprentice.”

Aki gaped, but nodded his head.

Another knowing smile from the elder. “You’re going to have to return to the Empire. These shores do not have the knowledge of the Kami that the sects back on your continent do,” he told Aki.

Aki frowned and gave a moment of hesitation. He looked at Endra, who frowned and lowered her head. All she did was give a slight nod of her head. “Plus, it seems like there are darker workings within the sects. At least as much as the royal sect.” Rei continued. He was referring, of course, to the Akutamori Temple.

“Alright, we’ll go,” she said.

Aki looked over at her. His eyebrows rose into his hairline. He figured they would talk more about it later, after his master had left. After the father of the Kami, and the world had left their humble inn.

Would she sell the inn? What about Liam? Aki didn’t really live the kind of life that allowed a nice little family life. Not the life they had now, that was for sure. The Master even lifted his bushy white eyebrows and looked over at Endra. One of those large grandfatherly smiles then adorned his lips, and he nodded his head.

“Excellent. The empire will be a much better place for the three of you. You’ll be able to progress along your individual paths much easier, I think. Liam, I think, should go to a school. I know a lovely little school with some masters who might be perfect to show Liam how to use the wind core. The style you have will not be quite for him, I think,” the Elder explained to the both of them.

He stroked his chin a little and pulled at the long beard he had in thought. “With the sword forms you’ve been showing him, he’s going to be much more a classic sort of fighter. Very unlike you,” he continued, looking at Aki.

Aki nodded his head. In truth, he had been thinking the same thing. He had been trying to train Liam to be a much better sword fighter over the past months than he had ever been. His technique manual where he got his mana techniques from also had sword techniques. None of which were particularly suited for Aki. He used the ideas behind them, adapting into something he could use with his cane sword.

“Have you heard of the School of the Tranquil Lake?” The Elder looked over at Aki, still smiling.

Aki nodded his head. “I have, I think. I never had time to see it, but it’s somewhere above the desolation, isn’t it?”

The Elder nodded his head and confirmed, “It is in between the Desolation and where the forests grow wild once more. There is a lake that feeds into the ocean on the eastern side of the continent,” the old man explained.

Aki nodded his head. He had no business going into the woods or the desolation, so he had never seen it. It was supposed to be a very tranquil area, and while the school specialized in water techniques, wind and water both had plenty in common. “Yes, we will look into it, Master. We have a lot of decisions to make,” Aki told him.

Endra was still sitting there, her head still lowered. This was another blow. First leaving her home, and then her inn. Aki looked at her and frowned a little. They would have much to discuss. He gave a sigh and looked back at his master. “Thank you,” he told him.

The Master nodded his head and took off his hat. The large conical straw hat held in both hands, he looked at it for a moment. Inspecting it, a far-away gaze in his eyes. The other two just sat there watching him, silent, unsure of what to do or say. The Elder put the hat on the bed at Aki’s feet.

“You take this. With everything that has happened and is happening, I’m afraid I shouldn’t walk around anymore like I do. I have things to attend to,” Aki’s Master said as he put the hat down. He was slowly shifting, shifting away from that old man that looked and acted like everyone’s favorite grandfather. He was becoming younger, slimmer, more defined.

The long white hair that grew from the back of the mostly bald head shifted, so he had a full head of white hair. It was much a different style. Hair was now full and thick, not as long, maybe ear length, but it was worn up with strands falling behind his ears. The beard also grew fuller and was tied at the end. Those starlight eyes Aki had seen when Rei fought, Paimon now shined through the blaze of white power he radiated.

Even Endra looked up from the sad stupor she was in to see the transformation. His robes were still white, but instead of dull, they looked clean and crisp and bright white. The old man, gone and replaced with a younger man that looked the very definition of powerful. He still had that grandfatherly smile that Aki knew and loved as he looked down at both of them, the white light slowly disappearing from view as well.

Aki struggled to his feet, and this time Rei did not stop him. Endra stood as well, and they both got on their knees, pressing their foreheads to the ground beside the bed. “Master,” Aki said from the ground.

“Get up,” Rei commanded them. His voice had also changed to match this new form of his. The older man's voice was gone. He had a deep voice that was smooth and velvety on the ears.

Endra stood and helped Aki to his feet. Aki held his side while he stood. The stab wound was still there, while it was closed over and not bleeding. It still hadn’t fully healed for some reason. Rei grabbed the straw hat from the bed and put it on Aki’s head with a smile.

“There, now you are The Beggar, be good with my sect,” Rei said with a last nod of his head. He looked between the two of them and then turned and left. None of them spoke another word.

Endra and Aki just exchanged looks. Aki didn’t know what to say to her, so he forced a small smile. Endra was still wearing the sadness of moving to the Sasaki Empire on her face. Losing Liam to go train in a proper school was just icing on the cake. Aki went over and wrapped himself around her in a tight hug.

Days later, early in the morning, Liam and Aki were sitting down by the water, where they trained in meditation. Aki kept sensing Liam’s spirit, making sure he was doing alright. The boy had grown well since they first formed his core and had been making progress everywhere Aki could hope. He was trying to make sure the boy was a better cultivator and better trained than Aki was.

While Aki’s master may have turned out to be the literal father of the Kami, his teaching was lacking in many areas. He didn’t doddle on Aki and didn’t spend hours going over forms and techniques with him like Aki had been doing with Liam. Rei took a much more hands-off approach to training. Rei made sure Aki had all the tools and manuals and weapons and items he could ever need. When it came time to actually show him, however, his master couldn’t be found.

Aki learned how to cultivate from books and make mistakes. Was this a bad thing? Aki wasn’t sure. Aki had no issues with his cultivation. He was progressing nicely. His fighting was a little iffy, he thought, but he hadn’t been killed yet. He supposed they were both decent enough ways to train, as long as the student was focused. Aki had no choice. He cultivated and learned how to fight to survive.

Then there was Endra. This new power she had. It had flared a few random times, and she ended up smashing a pot through the kitchen table. Or when she was hanging a new painting on the second floor of the inn, she put the hammer through the wall. Her runes flaring up each time. Aki had to learn how to help her control it. Then, on top of that, she hadn’t been able to grow her core. She had her channels formed and ready, but when they tried to form the core, nothing happened.

They had tried a few times in the past few days. Aki sensed her spirit, looking over her to make sure she was doing it right, and as far as he could tell, she had made no mistakes. She was doing everything she was supposed to do, exactly like he had done. Exactly as Liam had done not too long ago, but it still didn’t form. Aki reached out, tried to find Rei and see if there was something he could do to help or point them in the right direction. He never answered. The kami was gone, back to the Heavens, Aki supposed.

Aki sighed and opened his eyes. He couldn’t concentrate on cycling at the moment. He looked at Liam and smiled, feeling the boy's spirit. The wind circled around Aki’s apprentice as he cycled. Aki looked up towards the morning sun and smiled. He looked back at his time on the continent.

He had trained some people. Train them how to be cultivators and adopt them into The Beggars. He had fought to save the townspeople and fought for his own and his new little family's freedom. He had even met the demonic kami, the lords of the hells. It had been an interesting time here in the west, but Aki was ready to go home. He had more questions that needed answers now more than ever.

He had to uncover what was happening with Endra. He had to figure out what the Akutamori was doing with Demonic Cultivators. Then there was the stab wound on his side. It still hurt, and the wound was still there and gave him pain. So that was another thing he had to understand. Maybe he’d be lucky, and when he got Liam to The School of the Tranquil Lake, their healer could help him and know what was wrong with Endra.

“Come. It is time to practice your forms,” Aki commanded Liam and climbed to his feet.