I looked across the battlefield at the thing in front of me. It was neither human nor monster. It was something else. Its shell looked quite fragile. A fake person, a homunculus. The Astrologer should have been named Fleshcrafter instead. My army cowered behind me, completely useless. It was up to me to once again deal with everything myself.

It had been using rings to unleash devastating energy type attacks. But it could only have so many of them and I did not see a sword of any of the Valkyries. “Divine Empress, shall we speak first.” No, I would let my Kung-fu do the talking for me.

I kicked off the ground and went straight for this thing. I would crush it beneath my fist and then hunt down the original. “Tor mall!”

Pain radiated from inside my head and I slammed into the ground, unable to manage my footing. “Shatter! Shatter!” I forced myself to move.

Rolled to a stop and tried to stand. My left foot was gone. The stub of my left foot was smoking, the stump seared shut. I rose up to one foot. That was all I needed. The homunculus appeared worn.

“Don’t push me Divine Empress. You won’t get so lucky a second time,” I paused, and we stared at each other. Why not push the advantage and kill me?

“Why not come after me and kill me if you could do that before?” I asked loudly. My voice carrying across the wrecked battlefield.

“It is a gamble each time. How close you get, to if I can hit you. But I wish to talk.”

“And where is the Astrologer?” I asked, anger seeping into my voice.

“Busy. I am his proxy in all things.”

“A clever trick. But I don’t think I will stop or back off.” I was still getting used to missing my left foot, which was the only reason I was still talking to this thing as it floated in the air.

“Divine Empress Hei Long, I may not be able to win, but I can drag you down with me.” I wanted to object, but a moment of carelessness had cost me my left foot. I cursed in my mind.

“So be it,” I said as I readied myself to move to resume our fight.

“What would make you stop?” I asked.

“The Astrologer before me in person, to answer for his crimes. To take responsibility, instead of sending you.” I brought up my hands to strike. I would end this in a single move. The Homunculus disappeared. I could kind of sense something, but it was hard to make out.

I scanned the sky for him. He reappeared a distance away. “I don’t have to fight you. I just have to fight your army and you can’t catch me.” I lowered my hands. I would be back. And my vengeance would be legendary.

“I will be back one day for the debt I am owed. Tell your master that dog,” I slammed my heel into the ground and left. I landed next to my Lord General who was already groveling in the dirt. I left the battlefield and returned to my capital.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

It was an annoying trip back. I had thought that there had been nothing inside of me. I had focused on shielding my mind. Walls, shields, everything I could think of and the knowledge the Heavens had given me. It was all useless next to the hole he had made.

Well, if the Astrologer wanted to play games. I could play games. He had lost all his cities, his support base. I would apply pressure, slowly, and over time to weaken and distract him like he was trying to do to me.

Then once I finally finished purifying myself, I would prepare myself for our fight. Everything possible, nothing held back. And then he would die beneath my fist.

When I finally got back to my capital, I immediately went to the store and put my hands on top of the pillar and purchased a restoration. I looked down at my stub. What was left behind was misshapen and deformed. Not even a foot. But a mockery of me.

That annhilation beam was deadly. But no matter. I had prepared myself to resolve any curse damage that might linger on me. That was what made what the Astrologer had done so vexing. I focused on the energy in my right foot and mirrored. Forcing the energy out into a shell, taking the shape of a foot.

I knew every inch of my body and the energy that flowed through it. There was no way a long term injury could affect me. Not even curse damage. I had built up my foundation one step at a time trying to fix what he had done to me and still lingered behind.

Putting my hands, the pillar once more, I purchased another restoration. My foot was instantly restored to its previous state. Annhilation severed the energy that was there. Erasing it completely, leaving nothing behind, not even an echo.

It was a type of curse damage. Another type was energy that lingered behind, contaminating oneself. I could easily force out energy that was not fine from my body. Perhaps that was how the Astrologer had done it.

I knew he had altered my body with what he had done. Masking his own energy inside a piece of my flesh. I had already found and purged the piece he had used to disable me in the fight with his Homunculus.

The real trick was finding the pieces left behind when they were dormant. The last one had been on my spine, not my brain. They could be anywhere. I would have to investigate more people. I had already asked the Chief Diviner, but he had been useless and lacking in motivation.

If he wanted to send a proxy to fight me, then so would I. The Divine Children were finally ready in large numbers. It would be good practice. I considered ordering my army back East. No. That was a distraction, what I needed to find was the Astrologer himself.

“Divine Empress,” my Envoy had returned and kow-towed before me. I had been thinking, but he would not have bothered me unless it was important. To come here outside of my palace, he truly was in a rush.

“What is it my Envoy?” I asked.

“I have located the source of the Calamity. There was a terrain shift involved. The land itself has been shattered through the bedrock. Bubbles of darkness and a landscape of flesh were present. There was a great pressure on my mind as well,” my Envoy told me.

“And you are sure it is the Calamity?” I asked.

“There were no records of this before. And the area did not have those terrain features.” I nodded slightly at this.

“We will wait and leave the area alone. I will not risk angering the Heavens or the cause of the Calamity.” I was strong, but one did not go against the Heavens themselves and expect to escape unscathed.

“You have a new task. To find the Astrologer. Wherever he had hidden. I want to know what he is doing and how he plans to overtake me,” I said.

“Yes, Divine Empress.” My Envoy left. It was time to work on my Kung-fu. A single stumble was the difference between life and death. I was done with the mediation and introspection. I would find my answer in combat. For the Heaven’s awarded my determination once before and I would not disappoint them.