“[Ah,]” Lu whispered, the hard edge of a cuirass scraping across his own armour as the group huddled together. “[A bit cramped, isn’t it?]”
Bo made a noise somewhere between a grunt and a sigh. “[Sorry bro. Not a lot to work with here.]”
Lu nodded, but his friend had already turned back to face the wall. The three swampmen were spaced out in a triangle, their hands pressed to the edges of the small chamber to keep the muddy sand from collapsing, while the disciples took up the centre. The room, if it could be called such, was spherical, and was maybe about a quarter the size of his bathroom back at the sect.
It would have been incredibly uncomfortable if he hadn’t been encased head-to-toe in ceramic. Actually, it’s quite uncomfortable regardless. And the mortal peril certainly isn’t helping things.
“[How long can we be expecting to wait?]” Hu Kuon questioned, his tone soft.
“[Couple ’a hours.]” Sweat was beading on Dreamfever’s brow, and not for the first time Lu had to remind himself that outside his temperature-controlled suit, the climate was positively broiling. “[It’s stronger than usual. Might be four or five.]” His words were clipped, strained. Lu could feel ki running through the walls of the chamber, but the exact purpose or mechanics of what the warriors were doing escaped him.
Likely they’re hiding us from the Sun, somehow. But the amount of effort… All three were gritting their teeth, expressions determined. Bo and Bone Softener didn’t seem fatigued at all after emerging from the ground that first time we ran into the Sun. Was it a difference in location? We were still in the swamp, then…
Or maybe it was a difference in strength in the Sun itself. According to his spiritual sense, any water that seeped away from their little mud-bubble was immediately being turned to steam – even with several dozen metres of earth between them and it, the mere presence of the Rotting Sun might cook them alive. Forget a broil, this is more like being in a furnace.
“[Do you think we can last? Perhaps we can go further down..?]”
Bone Softener answered Lu’s questions with a shake of his head. “[Any further and we hit stone. And we want something between our shelter and where the pus will pool – no, this is as far down as we can go.]”
“[With all of us working together, I’m sure we can tunnel down while sealing the path upwards-]”
“[Lu.]”
He startled slightly. As far as he could recall, this was the first time the Warboss had called him by his name.
“[If we start throwing power around, it will find us. It doesn’t actually know where we are – it can probably tell that there’s something, but it’s just hitting the entire area right now. But if it sees us…]” He didn’t finish the sentence.
Lu swallowed. “[Ah, I think I understand.]” So is there nothing we can do but wait? The warriors look terrible; I can’t imagine they’ll hold out for multiple hours. Maybe… “[Can it follow us, if we move away? I have-]”
Splat.
He was interrupted yet again, this time by the roof caving in. Exclamations filled the space as something coated in sickly bright flames broke through the ceiling, falling onto the ceramic-clad disciples and writhing.
“[Ack-!]” The thing flailed wildly, striking helmets and shoulders. Sand mixed with molten glass and off-white sky pus began streaming in, and the warriors immediately abandoned their posts to plug the hole. Lu’s faceplate was fouled by the mixture immediately, the cleaning array straining and failing when faced with the viscous waxy material. It sizzled against the enchanted glass, the material – which should have been near un-corrodible – becoming mottled with the contact.
“[Get down!]” Ging’s yell bounced around the small chamber as he lunged, his gauntlet catching the invader and pushing it clear of the group. Everyone pressed themselves to the walls, attempting to avoid the caustic substance eating through the floor, while Ging wrestled with the flaming figure. It was human-shaped, but the proportions were wrong; too-thick limbs on an angular torso, the details obscured by the fact that it was still on fucking fire.
Fluctuations in the ki sounded out as each disciple prepared to attack or defend, but Ging raised a hand even as the thing continued to bat at him, flecks of flame catching on his armour. “[Wait. This is…]”
This is..? Finish your sentence, Sir Ging! But despite any misgivings, Lu let the Wind Cutter in his hand fall apart. The figure’s thrashings slowed and then stopped completely as Ging held it under the mud, the flames guttering out as the tension dragged on. Within moments all the positions had reversed themselves; now the warriors were in the centre, holding the ceiling up, and it was the disciples making a ring around the perimeter. I can feel the heat where my back is pressed against the wall.
Ging dragged the thing out of the mud, and as it fell off in clumps Lu recognised a familiar white material – corroded and blackened, like iron left in the sea for a decade, but still obviously a suit of Sealed Beast Coffin Armour. Ah, the proportions- I mistook them for inhuman because of the thick plating.
“[So, we had a tagalong?]” Lady Scarlet’s words were phrased dismissively, but her tone was baffled.
“[Looks like it.]” Rubbing at the faceplate, Ging attempted to look at the disciple’s face before giving up and using his sense. “[I don’t recognise them. Anyone?]”
Spiritual senses gently enveloped the heinously damaged armour. It looks more like a corpse than a person. Horrifying. But the appearance was deceiving; as Lu’s sense inched inwards, slowly and carefully to avoid damaging the occupant’s soul, he found that the flesh within was untouched by flame… and familiar.
“[Suu Li,]” both he and Lady No exclaimed simultaneously.
Lu blinked. “[You know her, sister?]”
His vision was compromised by the damaged faceplate, but he was still able to make out her nod. “[I tutored her in the bow for a time, over a decade ago.]” Silence, as everyone continued to inspect the woman’s state. “[She doesn’t seem too hurt. Her soul, though…]”
Lu grimaced. Soul damage? I don’t have the spiritual acuity to detect that in another person myself, so I’ll just have to take your word for it. Ging and Hu Kuon nodded gravely, lending their own weight to her words. Damn.
“[Is there anything we can do? I have healing pills.]”
Scarlet shook her head. “[Unless they’re specifically soul healing pills, don’t bother. Either she’ll wake up or she won’t.]” Then she turned to where Bo, Bone Softener, and Dreamfever were busy repairing the layer of protective mud. “[It might be best if we leave while we’re ahead – we have the treasure, and if Bu Guanyin is still alive then I doubt he’ll begrudge us an extra few weeks of preparation.]”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Lu’s face became sour. No, not an option.
“[Ah,]” Tai Sho spoke up, “[I happen to have a mental fortifying pill on my person. If we give her both pills together it will undoubtedly aid in her recovery – she is only fourth realm after all, her spirit is greatly impacted by the state of her mind and body.]”
----------------------------------------
Suu Li’s eyes opened almost before she regained consciousness, instincts stamped into her bones setting her mind running even before she had control of her senses. She was in pitch blackness – not blind; her eyes were whole and healthy – which meant that the divinations on her helmet had failed completely.
But she wasn’t on fire. That was good.
Belatedly she noticed something touching her shoulder, a large and heavy weight, and she very carefully did not stab it with an arrow.
“[Sister Li?]” Her useless fleshly eyes swivelled. I know that voice.
“No?”
“[Yes, it’s me. Are you aware?]”
…I suppose I must be. For a moment her spirit resisted, the memory of that otherworldly agony blocking her control – but then she mastered herself, and her spiritual sense unfurled to encompass the room. Her senior No kneeled over her left, while that unsavoury character Tai Sho was doing the same to her right. The other disciples were standing, obviously attempting to give her space despite the cramped confines. All seven accounted for. That’s… good. The aliens too.
“I’m awake.” She attempted to stand, but the core disciple put a hand on her stomach. His pristine white gauntlet rasped against her black and red splotched breastplate, the material flaking off like rust with an audible rasp.
“[Sister, you’ve taken a fairly serious injury. There’s no need for you to exert yourself – and nowhere to go, besides.]”
His soft voice tried to worm its way into her head, but she shook it off. She was a candidate for the special operations branch of the sect; mere beauty arts weren’t enough to addle her, higher realm or not. “I’m standing.”
Their eyes met. He could hold her down easily if he wished – but he withdrew his hand. Ha. The ‘diplomatic’ type. No backbone. The joints of her armour ground against themselves as she moved, and small tendrils of caustic Sixth Reality qi seeped in. Better than the alternative, I suppose. Shit, my equipment is nearly done.
“[Suu Li, are you well?]” Ah, I spoke too soon. “[Do you need more pills? Why were you following us?]” Lu’s eyes passed down her body, making her skin crawl on instinct even though her figure was entirely obscured. “[Did you come to help me find Bull?]”
She grumbled in her head. Grit your teeth and bear it. The mission comes first. “Elder White Knuckle instructed me to assist you. As a stealth specialist, it was decided that the best course of action would be for me to follow at a distance.”
“[Oh.]” The man’s expression became complicated. “[So, you witnessed our battle with the Grandmaster?]” And didn’t help, his face said.
“You were handling it.” I killed some trees, but that didn’t seem to do shit. “What were you expecting me to do, use my assassin arts against a sentient hurricane?” She stiffened minutely. Oops. I shouldn’t have mentioned… I’m going to blame that on the soul damage.
But evidently it wasn’t the wrong thing to say, because Lu’s expression softened. “[Of course, of course.]”
The muddy chamber was silent for a time, except for a worrying crackle as the walls baked. The aliens were standing stock-still in the middle of the room, sweat attempting to pour down their faces, but getting whisked away by the heat before it could go very far.
She could feel the heat as well, seeping in along with the energy. All the formations are gone. Enchantments are still there, but it’s all cracked up. She could feel the otherworldly qi compacting itself in her dantian. I have… a few hours, at least. The cracks weren’t large, and her dantian was handling the strain easily so far. But it’ll build up, eventually. If my dantian cracks…
…No, I’ve come too far to be a liability. A disciple of Special Operations always put the mission first.
Ice congealed both inside and outside her armour, two castings of Icy Bulwark stemming the flow of qi just slightly. The sensation of ice enclosing her body was unpleasant, but only that.
----------------------------------------
“[…I think we should speak more about Scarlet’s suggestion.]”
Lu raised his head, glancing at Hu Kuon. His vision was still blurred and distorted, though the pus itself had hardened to the point he could pry it off. “[Pardon?]”
“[He means leaving,]” Lady Scarlet’s voice snapped. “[The Salt natives are obviously dying, and this Suu Li won’t last long with the state of her armour either.]”
“[Hey-! We’re doing- we’re strong! We’ve been plenty of times.]” Bo’s incoherent answer wasn’t exactly reassuring - and not at all helped by the fact that when he opened his eyes, his pupils were different sizes. Dreamfever had been giving him potions, and Lu was beginning to suspect there might be deleterious side effects.
Bone Softener’s response was much more coherent. “[We are not doing nearly as badly as you think, Scarlet of the Steadfast Heart. Young Bo will need to recover, yes, but we are still functional.]”
Lu wanted to believe him, but his wiry hair intermittently smoking at the tips didn’t help his case. The three looked shrivelled, like cuts of meat left in the pan too long. Their skin was red, and… not inflamed, exactly, but definitely not healthy. Dreamfever didn’t even answer, seemingly deep in meditation.
I have to admire their constitution. Even a human at the peak of the inner realm would be struggling in this environment. I certainly wouldn’t be holding out nearly as well, without the suit.
Jiang huffed. “[Sure, if you say so. But our sister is in a bad situation; I see no reason to trade the life of one disciple for another.]”
“This disciple can speak for herself, you know.” Suu Li’s body was encased in a shell of transparent ice, the two layers of protection making her look more like an abstract sculpture of a person than an actual human being. Trying to hold the armour together, I assume. The damage the Sun had caused was truly dire, and he was certain that almost all her arrays must have failed. It’s a miracle the seal against ki is still intact.
…It is still intact, right?
“[Did I speak wrongly? You can’t tell me you’re in any shape to continue after this.]”
“I’m functional. My spells are as strong as they’ve ever been.”
“[Hmm. Yes, your fourth realm spells.]”
Her expression was invisible below the ice and corroded glass, but Lu could easily imagine the way she would bristle at such a statement. “Don’t speak to me like that, brother Jiang. Or do you think you’re contributions have meant anything at all?" Jiang's shoulders tightened. "I've been watching, remember? The outer disciple has been more useful than-”
No’s voice rose, “[Suu Li, Jiang, there’s no need to snipe at each other. Obviously we welcome another pair of hands, regardless of realm.]”
Bo mumbled something too incoherent for Interpreter to translate.
Another minute passed before Hu Kuon spoke up again. “[I hate to say the same thing over and over, but I can tell that we’re all thinking it. Surely in the face of this-]“ he gestured to the general situation, “[-We should retreat? I’m fine with risking my life, but by the time we’re ready to move the enemy will have had hours to anticipate us. We are a single strike force; fighting an army is beyond our abilities.]”
Lu generally enjoyed Hu Kuon’s presence; he was a very gentlemanly person, speaking rarely but in a polite fashion. He was not harsh like Jiang or Scarlet, or inscrutably stoic like Ging. But at the moment, Lu was not favourably disposed towards him at all.
“[We will not be abandoning Bull. Don’t even suggest it.]” But what about Suu Li? Her armour- there’s no way it’s intact.
She would speak up if that were the case. Stop speculating so pessimistically.
She’s always put on a tough face. There’s no way she would show weakness, especially with us in the room.
Tough? She hates pain almost as much as I do! Remember when she got a cut on her knee and wouldn’t shut up about it for the whole rest of the exercise? She’s a delicate flower.
Ha! As if…
His thoughts trailed off as the familiarity of the internal debate registered. That’s… That’s normal. Just a normal me-talking-to-myself interaction. Happens all the time.
“[We’re not abandoning anything! Bull’s been here for over a hundred days; what’s one more week, or even two, or a month for that matter? Taking a step back and trying again with more supplies is just common sense.]”
Multiple emotions pulled at Lu’s face. “[I am not leaving. I cannot compel you to continue, but please do not suggest that leaving Bull here is common sense.]”
Hu Kuon’s expression was pained, as though he actually cared. “[Please, I know that you-]”
“[Everyone.]” Ging’s authoritative tone cut through the other man’s simpering one. “[As the strongest combat specialist, whether we continue forward or retreat is up to my discretion. Does anyone disagree?]” Lu wanted to open his mouth, but a more rational part held himself back. “[It is true that we have faced an unforeseen level of difficulty. Our lives are in jeopardy. But it is also true that our sect brother is relying on us to free him.]” He sighed, very softly. “[I will say only this: we are disciples of the Steadfast Heart Sect. Our convictions must always be forged of the strongest steel – we must be steadfast in all respects. Unwavering in our actions.]”
No more arguments happened following the short speech. The only one to speak was Bo, who clapped deliriously, said “[G’d talk,]” and then seemingly fell asleep.