Crack!
The sky suddenly brightened like a flash, overtaking the view. Julius and Hu were about to go for another strike, only for the duel to be interrupted. They looked up, only to find themselves in an awkward predicament. Both of their aura’s manifestations changed courses, enlarging their defenses to protect their masters. Julius didn’t know about Hu’s case, but he didn’t order his skull dragon to move in that manner. In fact, it went on its own to protect him. Hence, he heard the roaring cries coming from above as the surrounding area brightened red.
Julius looked at Hu, who was in the same position, knees on the floor and arm overhead. She glared at him back, exchanging telepathy.
“What on Raal is going on?!” Hu asked, demanding answers. Despite having control of the arena where she and Julius trained, she sounded flabbergasted.
“It’s fucking strong. Somebody is trying to attack us from the outside. Damn, the arena’s shield broke!”
“Let’s call this an abrupt end to our duel,” Hu said. A screen summoned in front of her. “We finished the list. Let go of your restrained strength and merge your two forms together!”
Julius grunted because he lost the opportunity thanks to this interruption. “Fuck…God! Damn it!” He yelled midway and ended the telepathic communication, punching the stone with his bare hand. The floor was significantly sturdy and tough. Hence, his right fist bled out from the surface of his knuckles, painting his metal fingers in dark shades of blue. He lifted himself despite the heaviness of the weight above. Forcing him to stand upright, his neck muscles assisted and went a hundred percent, lifting his head back for him to witness. His skull dragon still kept it reflected off him. The roar was quieter and seemed to adapt to it. The direction of the rest of the arena that led back to the central building was invisible as the sudden attack’s light was so intense that it blocked any view beyond it. Luckily, his eyes had gained resistance to brightness, which was a kind of shame because he liked sunglasses.
He turned back to look above. The attack cleared up a little, regaining a brief view of the sky. Someone has to be out there doing this intentionally because that was a deliberate attack of this magnitude and not a prank. Hu got herself up while the weight was pressuring her shoulders. Julius went right below the dragon’s skull. He raised his left hand, palm straightened and pointed upward. With his right hand, he fired an air blast at the pressure that made Hu struggle, allowing her to stand up and a little spare time to ramp up her qi and aura.
Julius’ left hand was aimed at the lower jaw of the Skull Dragon. A green orb of light generated from his wrist and expanded, covering his entire hand. It shot out of his fingers’ surface edges. When it touched the jaw, Julius levitated and his body glowed sky-blue, black, white, and green. It quickly went blank.
----------------------------------------
Hu finished regaining her momentum, thanks to Julius’ assistance. Hence, her resistance to the red qi attack became less of an issue. A flash of green light sparked her attention right where Julius was. She saw him levitated into the air as a few colors of light enlarged and brightened, overwhelming him. Despite the colors, his whole body became like a light bulb. A transcendence?! Hu wondered. Julius’ Skull Dragon brightened too as he got closer to its skull.
A spiral was generated from a light source that came out of nowhere. The Skull Dragon and Julius’ silhouette disintegrated into multiple flows of light, and all came together in a swirling motion towards the spiral’s core like a vacuum. After being absorbed into an unknown depth of its core, the spiral moved a little distance away from Hu, and it rotated its two-dimensional surface. Hence, Hu couldn’t see it anymore as it was parallel to the flat surface, meaning that the spiral’s surface was faced upward. Not for long, as a beam shot out from midair before spurting out heavy rain of qi. A loud boom erupted from the source, and it appeared the spiral broke off as the swirls of qi spurted into the vicinity. One landed next to Hu and phased out immediately after it touched the floor. Eventually, the beam shot to the floor, tearing off the stone.
Oh, shit. Here he comes. Hu leaped up in the air doing a continuous black flip, turning into her boss Black Nine-Tailed Fox form. She growled before releasing a wolf’s howl so loud that it dispersed the qi. Her attention turned to the sky while the beam that was destroying the arena’s floor burst into a gas bomb covering a part of the space.
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“She saw us,” Qiang Zhao yelled.
“Get ready!” Empress Cai yelled, watching Hu’s Boss form leap up high from the arena at unimaginable speed. She was going to strike at Qiang Zhao, prompting Empress Cai to fire a thrusting force from the tip of her blade, which saved her by an inch. “Get serious now, Qiang!”
She couldn’t respond to the surprise of both. Hu this time was so fast and articulate that one second of disturbance would be detrimental. Qiang Zhao maintained her aim, calibrating each movement. One push on a flicking switch next to the grip, followed by pulling the trigger, launched a barrage of qi blasts.
Empress Cai took advantage of her move by thrusting her katana closer to the barrier, letting at least one of the qi blasts hit the blade. It was three, as she performed a diagonal upward motion, unleashing three waves of qi at once. A faster variant, but thinner than Julius’ signature Yuèqiú Hǎixiào! (月球海啸). What separated her from Julius’ was it had some sort of sensory presence. The waves will follow the opponent in any direction or speed within a certain time frame. Qiang Zhao eyed it, appearing to calculate her next move.
Bang! Bang!
Qiang Zhao fired two shots in an unpredictable order and orientation, resulting in one wave from Empress Cai striking the fox’s face. In that same millisecond, Qiang’s second fire shot through both frontal legs, causing it to scream that a squeal could be heard escaping from deep down in the neck. A dark mist of qi released from the fox’s torso, creating multilayer rings.
“Watch out!” Qiang Zhao yelled.
Empress Cai bent backward, almost bending in half. She didn’t feel any cranking or spine cracks. What she didn’t expect was something humongous that flew over her. Her eyes saw the two building-sized legs effortlessly glided like lightweight. There were wings gently flapped and revealed its smooth surface, emerging like one of the Gods of Yinhai. Unlike hers, it was dragon-like.
Slam! Boom!
Unexpected reaction from her and Qiang Zhao, they watched as the white giant beast with wings on its back went for a threatening punch that tore through the fox’s multilayer rings. The movement revealed a human-shaped head, and the lower half of the face had an armored layer of skin except the mouth, which was fully exposed. No lips or skin. All steel teeth clenching in anger correlating with the giant beast’s thin eyes. Then it turned to Empress Cai, staring at her momentarily.
Suddenly, her mind clicked. “Julius?!” Empress Cai called, flying back up.
The giant beast grunted, hissing out hot blue fumes from its human nostrils and an enormous mouth. “What do you think of this?”
“I wouldn’t have recognized you if it weren’t for your eyes,” Empress Cai said. “You’re fucking huge, very unfair.”
Julius hissed again. “Trust me, you are in a better position right now than me. I’m this fucking huge was dangerous enough. Adding to that, if I didn’t see Qiang Zhao earlier as I flew up, I would’ve punched you like I just did to Hu,” he said while pointing at Qiang Zhao across from him.
“You're welcome!” Qiang Zhao responded. She flew right up to Empress Cai to get a closer look at Julius’ gigantic form. “Is this what you wanted or expected?” She asked him.
“I’m not going to use this often unless I’m dealing with some deity or a massive opponent. However, though, I will be using Heian- Juren 0 (黑暗巨人〇) more often; the one I used when fighting Tang Yifei.” He glanced at Empress Cai. “You are half as tall as that form.”
“Does that comparison make me feel better?”
Julius breathed out blue flames. Before he could respond, the loud growl interrupted their conversation. He turned right to the source of the sound. “Oh, come on! I blame you for this,” Julius said to Empress Cai. “You pissed her off when you inflicted that attack on us, and she turned into her boss form. Hu is berserk.” He then raised his hand, fully extended, as Hu paced up her speed with a continuous growl coming from her mouth. Empress Cai saw Julius grimace and launched a thrusting beam from his palm. The front end of the beam transformed into a dragon’s head with its mouth open like it was going for a bite. Julius’ mouth opened and a gust of blue flames exited from his mouth, aiming at the beam.
Empress Cai and Qiang Zhao watched as the beam enlarged at an impossible rate, becoming half as tall as Julius’ giant form. It swirled over Hu, engulfing her at ease while they heard her growls turning into painful screams. Julius didn’t stop or show any restraint, as his eyes were dangerously focused. Qiang Zhao was about to go up to him, only to be refrained. Empress Cai, gripping her arm, shook her head, causing the former to demand reasons.
“You can be killed! Don’t be ridiculous and observe…This is the only way to get her back quickly.”
“Why can you not do it?”
“If I do it, it would take much longer, and we would waste ourselves. This is Hu, we are talking about. Better than the Level One experience. So, stay!”
Qiang Zhao turned silent while Empress Cai held her arm, not letting the former go. The painful screams continued for half a minute before they went silent. Julius grimaced, eyes raised, relaxing his forehead and facial muscles. The blue flames stopped, and he lowered his arm. Hu, back to her human form, was unconscious and dropped, prompting Empress Cai to speed right underneath and hold her.
“Your wings are working well,” Julius said. “Wake her up. We need to get going.”
“Why not put her on your back?”
“I’m too big and I need to practice my flight with this body and wings. You need to practice with your wings.”
Fine. Empress Cai sighed before a nod and summoned a green light that got Hu up. Qiang Zhao helped her stand up in the air.
“Let’s go,” Empress Cai said, flying right up next to Julius’ head.
Before they departed, Qiang Zhao wondered why the arena didn’t crumble. Hu, back to her senses, told her and Empress Cai it was because that arena was the actual entrance and exit of this realm. Hence, it can’t be destroyed and will regenerate by the time they have finished gathering everyone.
Julius had mapped the spot and traced it down to his soul, so the worry of getting lost was nullified. “I’ve got others marked.”
“Do you mean—”
“Yes, I learned soul tracing, so I can find known cultivators at ease as long as I knew what the qi felt like before…And done. Let’s go.” He flew in the direction Qiang Zhao and Empress Cai arrived from.
Empress Cai's vision experienced a moment of absurdity as all broke the sound barrier. Her peripherals became more blurred than ever and flickers of light, going tunnel. She felt a heavy thrust from her legs and feet that was more powerful than ever.
Boom!
Another one happened suddenly, and she felt a boost in speed without her control to match up with Julius’ speed. Empress Cai turned halfway back to see the other two also kept up. Was this his doing? Making us go this fast.
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Some another Zenith Skydome (天頂 Skydome) (Zenit Skydome)
Day Eighty Six (八十六).
“Phew, I think we should have it for the day,” Celeste said, walking to the central building where Solomon came out from the couch. He was resting from his final physical and blacksmith training.
“How’s your leg doing?”
“Good as new. I never thought of being able to walk again that soon. Times fly so quickly that I didn’t realize today was three weeks since,” Celeste said while looking down. She wore shorts, revealing her branch-like marks on the thighs and calves. It flashed a little of heat whenever she moved, but during battles her qi color purple illuminated.
“Two hours paid off,” Solomon said. “Where’s Victoria and the others?”
Celeste pointed behind her. “They are still outside, doing their thing. I finished mine for the day.”
Solomon chuckled. “While I’m done…done. We all finished on the eighty-sixth day, and I’m taking advantage of that.”
“How’s that working out?”
“It’s peaceful. The body loves the rest,” Solomon said, drinking a large cup of water. “You want water?” He summoned a bottle of water.
“Oh, thanks. You read my mind.”
“No, you’re sweating.”
Celeste shrugged. “Fair enough. I’m going back outside to view their training.”
Solomon then joined her, and the two strolled out to the scene, viewing Father Kang, Victoria, Mother Elaine, Míngyuè, and Feng. They stood at the edge of the arena, watching them. All, including her, had grown taller, similar to trees that loomed on a perfect day of sunlight and water. Now, no one could be less than six feet. Solomon became the tallest of the bunch, standing seven feet and four inches tall. Celeste took second place at seven feet and one inch. The rest of the crew were all tied at exactly seven feet. A relief that she, Solomon, and Victoria lived in the Moon Empire. Most of their buildings were adaptable to tall figures.
“I wonder how Julius is doing,” Celeste said. “He would like the company here. Same with Empress Cai and Qiang Zhao.”
“They’ll be fine,” Solomon said, while taking a sip. “…and probably making as much progress as we are. Julius, I think he will take longer to finish, and I don’t know when that will be.”
“Soon, I hope.”
A dark shadow slowly enveloped the bright sky. It wasn’t noticeable at first, but it couldn’t be ignored when a quarter of the arena got darkened. The activity in the arena abruptly stopped, following the view of the shadow. Solomon drank all the water before throwing the cup away. Celeste, thinking the worst, summoned Vesper and transformed into a scarred form. Purple rashes scattered all over her body. Her clothes aren’t resistant to it, making the flashing purple visible. Everyone else rechanneled their qi as they prepared to fight against this giant thing in the sky. Solomon, like a moon bear, hissed and grunted as he summoned his battleaxe, glowing orange eyes. He then teleported right to the center of the arena. Celeste followed.
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All were gathered at the scene close to each other, barely a few feet apart from touching their backs. Their attention stayed up in the sky, thinking some bad thoughts. Bad thoughts were alright as multiple summons of human silhouettes with wings appeared, hovering above. Celeste felt deep down, they were looking at her and others as the head motion moved and tilted directly down.
More came into view. Celeste thought it would be a few, but it turned out to be dozens. “This isn’t good.”
“An awful timing to prove our training,” Father Kang muttered. He refined his tang dao, putting a taint on his blade for the inscription to flash red. They went up in the air, only to be hit with gravitational pressure from the individuals hovering above the arena’s shield. That’s impossible. How can it get through?!
When they were down, the rest didn’t even attempt to do the same thing. The next second, the gigantic figure hovered its arm over the shield with its index finger straightened like it was trying to press on. Hence, it only did it once, creating branches of cracks in the air. Immediately, it shattered and brought a rain of glass, prompting Solomon and Father Kang to unleash a wave of their qi to disperse them before it could even touch down.
A little standoff took place where the couple of individuals with angel-like wings descended to the arena floor and brawled with the rest on site. They remained a complete, black silhouette presence, making them anonymous throughout. It was a mad demolition derby with no breaks to spare. Celeste swarmed through the center and gestured Vesper right through the crowd from above. The gliding platform crashed down to a few silhouettes, like a guillotine. It wasn’t lethal; that wasn’t the point. Please sleep! Celeste silently muttered. She gestured the platform back to her and jumped right on. Vesper took her in a circular direction. Sparks of qi generated from her hand. Celeste gripped the transforming metal as the qi solidified. It then curved, forming a weighted bow.
Like an eagle glaring at its prey, Celeste’s eyes kept the view of space, and she lifted her bow as the arrow summoned when her other hand touched the bowstring. The arrow was locked in, awaiting her command. Hence, she pulled it, finding her target to shoot. Purple qi swarmed the arrowhead. Celeste fired it, striking at the center of the arena. When it touched the hard stone floor, the arena’s surface was decorated with an irregular polygon formed by the central point. Her allies received her motive, so they quickly burst into their qi to overpower their opponents, pushing them right into the territory. They leaped away, joining Celeste, and watched the irregular polygon’s internal space ignite. The purple qi raised up high into the sky, tall enough to nearly touch the former barrier space. Oddly, there were no screams from within. Almost like the opponents took it. Hopefully not because that would be a petty annoyance and embarrassing for Celeste after all that effort in training for the past eighty-six days.
It quickly faded away, revealing the silhouettes. They stood silently. Damn it. For Yinhai sakes. Celeste ranted, feeling the drop in her hidden ego.
Fizz.
The silhouettes phased out, removing all anonymous profiles, and they collapsed to the stone floor. As a result, Vesper stopped flying around the arena and went abruptly, still in the air. Everyone who was with Celeste saw who these silhouettes were. Hence, they glared up, and the monstrous giant talked.
“Teamwork,” a mighty voice said in an echo that the vibrations could be seen flowing through the skydome. “I’m impressed. You all amazed me.” The giant silhouette leaped until everyone could only see its feet. Therefore, it descended into a free fall. The darkness cover withered away as it jumped down, and the giant shrunk in size until it passed through the broken barrier, landing right near the center of the arena. A little debris came up, covering the person. He’s tall. Madly tall. Celeste thought.
The debris cleared upon the individual’s exertion of their power, revealing a familiar face.
“Greetings, everyone,” Julius said with a smile.
Everyone that was with Celeste descended from the air, bewildered. It is him. That voice. Why did he change his face? Celeste thought, tilting her head. It’s gone. The metal on his jawline is gone.
“You were testing us?!” Father Kang asked.
Julius shook his head. “A quick evaluation to see if we are ready. I’m glad we are,” he complimented and walked to the passed-out cultivators. “I went to get everyone before I got here. To make things interesting, I showed you all a display of winged figures in the air. Do you like it?”
“It’s scary when you are covered like the spooky, shadow silhouettes,” Feng said. “Did you learn that, too?”
“It was part of the basics,” Julius responded. “I had a whole long list to do, and it took me a hundred and twenty days to complete it all.”
Solomon scratched his head. “That’s not possible. It’s only eighty-six days here.”
Julius walked right to them, finding them to grow a lot, but he towered over them. “Each Skydome has its own variance of time. I went through a hundred and twenty-eight days with Hu.” He then pointed at Empress Cai and Qiang Zhao, who were still up in the sky. “While they took a hundred and ninety-eight days. Get the picture?”
They all nodded, showing their understanding of it. The conversation moved on to getting out and Hu's unexpected appearance.
Julius distanced away, heading to the collapsed cultivators and waking them up. They immediately healed and returned to the sky. “With the ability I showed earlier, I could give you all my wings to support your flight speed. The entrance and exit turned out to be where I trained at, questions before we go?”
“Why is Hu here?” Victoria asked on Celeste’s behalf.
Julius turned back. “I was the special case and somehow this realm mysteriously called her in. We don’t know why, but it happened. One thing new about her is that she wants to be out of the Merit Universe Tower and join our team. Do you guys agree with her proposal?”
“Even if we say yes, she handles Level One,” Father Kang said. “As a matter of fact, how did she even get in here?”
Hu descended from the air and landed calmly, leaving no dust or abrupt display. She walked up to them, and her nine tails withered away as she got closer to them. “I only found out when you guys got sent into the Skydome Realm that I could. My clones will be optimized to the environment more efficiently than I do since I’m an actual being, not some creation.”
“Will it affect future cultivators for training?”
“No, the system here was prepared. So, that would not have any effect on future cultivators seeking to train from Level One and higher,” Hu stated, summoning her virtual screen with a graphic presentation to let Celeste and the rest understand the matter quickly. “Here, as far as I know, only goes up to Level 10. What’s beyond that is not in my knowledge. I hope you all are already aware that Level 3 is a special case where, after us, there’s no more of it. Same with this Skydome experience. Our first and last time.”
The graphic revealed a backup system in case Hu departs the rule of her Level. It was a very complex system and took multiple steps ahead of time, practically prepared to deal with all kinds of issues. Celeste wanted more on what to expect after Level Three, only to be met with no answer, as the former didn’t want to spoil and disrupt expectations. However, Hu did confirm that Level Three was the most difficult of all ten levels. Nothing else could come close to Level Three’s performance, or if it ever will. Afterward, the conversation ended, bringing up their leveling statistics.
Julius, standing away from the group, strolled back. “What’s your level?” He summoned his virtual screen, revealing his basic stats.
“We tied,” Solomon said.
“And you did it fewer days than I. Congratulations on that,” Julius said with a praising smile. Next, he looked at Celeste. “Good to see you. I saw your performance earlier. Your legs are in wonderful shape. How long did it take you to recover?”
“I started moving a few weeks ago. At the cost of these scars.” She pointed at the thighs and her arms where the branch-like marks were engraved deep into her skin like a valley between two mountains.
Julius grimaced briefly. “That’s good. You made it to thirty-eight. Take it as an accomplishment.”
“Hang on, where’s your thing?” Solomon blurted, gesturing beneath the jawline.
“Oh, you mean the mask? I removed it,” Julius said. “After day thirty, so a month, I got it off. It doesn’t exist anymore.”
He did take it off. Celeste confirmed her thoughts. “How did you change your face?! Where did all the burn marks go?”
Empress Cai descended from above. “I wonder the same. What did you do?”
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Did they like my old face? Julius wondered. He didn’t expect this outcome of a reaction. The beard was shaved off and his facial burn scars were reduced to shades of gray, making him almost like a different person. It was his voice and the birth dent mark at the back of his jaw made him recognizable. Even my qi? Did they even know who I am? He stood silent. His stomach felt butterflies, almost gutted.
“So, you didn’t recognize me earlier? Not even my qi?” Julius asked the crowd.
“It was your voice,” Celeste said.
Victoria had to cough before uttering her word. “Your qi is so tremendous that I thought it was some surprise enemy attack…Hu? Did you know about this?”
Hu nodded, confirming all their thoughts. “Have you all got into the memories of your qi?”
“No.”
She turned to Julius. “What the hell? What did you guys learn?”
“The list!” Father Kang said. “We all got the list, right?”
“How long was it?”
“Forty points.”
“Hmm, odd,” Julius muttered. “We had eighty points.” He then turned to Empress Cai and Qiang Zhao. “How many did you get?”
“Seventy-three.”
Crack!
Julius heard a loud crack, facing towards the sound. Time to go. “Let’s end this here. We’re leaving!”
He turned to the other side of the arena and ran right up to the walls. The boots boiled flames, leaving a trail and cracking the exposed stone floor. Julius leaped up into the sky after boosting his speed on the wall’s surface, performing a spinning backflip. A heated aura generated out of nowhere around the decomposing arena. Trees crumbled from the trunk up. It all fueled him up. Hu ordered everyone to depart and gather up. One upward launch, until he’s barely visible, a snapping sound of a ticking bomb triggered above. Much faster than his arrival, landed right back down on the stone floor. A thrust of qi emitted from the soles like a flashing beacon of light, keeping the specific spot from decomposing. The rest of the arena withered away in an instant upon his landing. Hence, he unintentionally demonstrated his power at a distinct moment. Strong enough to decimate nearby floating Skydomes. In this specific vicinity was all empty sky with nothing but an empty forever void below. Standing there, his point of view was taller than everyone else. Julius was that huge of a colossal. He let them look at him briefly before ascending away, destroying the sole piece of the arena.
Julius flew up, and the rest leveled up to his point of view. The former raised his left arm high, almighty with one fist gesture, summoning their wings. “Get a feel for it. One day, if your abilities grant you wings, you’ll be experienced and know how to maneuver it well.” He flew in the direction back to his arena, signaling everyone to trail along. Hence, they all made the trip.
After passing a few clusters of Skydomes, Julius amped up the speed, triggering a chain reaction similar to nuclear fusion. He broke the sound barrier, forcing others the same as his presence and the wings given to others were like a magnet. The following stayed together and kept a constant speed as him. He raised the speed further, reducing the time of arrival.
Finally. Julius’ mind wanted to smile. His body shrunk as the view of his Zenith Skydome was in view. Everybody slowed down, pulling an immense drag, but the wings made it smooth and soothing. They landed safe and sound. It was true; the structure was mostly intact. Julius walked to the pathway directed to the central building. “How was it?”
“Comfortable,” they said.
Julius chuckled and half turned. “Heh. I guess having wings does make you angelic, does it? You felt a transcendence in your soul. Just don’t get too comfortable or you’ll get lost.” He turned back, heading right up to the wall. Hu right up to his side, staring at it.
“With only one.” She raised her hand and tapped the mixed concrete and stone wall. A water ripple appeared from her gentle touch. Next, Julius thrust his fist right through the wall with ease, tearing the barrier to reveal the dark void. Back here again. At least I’m not the only one of the two.
When everyone stepped inside, they looked outside and entered an Armageddon scenario where everything exploded, leaving no traces. The barrier closed up with the dark void.
“I don’t know about y’all, but this was how I first arrived…Right here in this void,” Julius said, pointing to the exact spot where he stayed still for so long, eyes locked shut.
“Do you fear darkness? Like you told us before back at the Underground?” Celeste asked.
Julius looked at Hu, who was interacting with Empress Cai, Father Kang, and a few others. “If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be embracing my fears. Learning with her helped me crack the code and gave me some peace I didn’t know that I needed. Don’t forget Empress Cai too. She helped a lot, too. There are many things I’m still learning while handling this empire. She took an enormous risk to accept us, especially me. So, I’m grateful to her.”
Solomon tapped Julius’ shoulder a couple of times. “We got to take some spare time for us to catch up. The Skolritters. Like the times during breaks in the Underground.”
“Well, I don’t know…Skolritters was only the starting point. Our lives had changed so much in a short period,” Julius said with a specific perception. He gestured to his face. “This is why I did this. I accepted my past throughout the one hundred and twenty days of training…I’m ready. Let’s get this new life started. We will need a new name. Not only for us. But for them too, and the Moon Empire.”
Celeste grinned. “By the way, we weren’t judging when we first saw you again. We only worry if you are not happy and acting all crazy.”
“I figured.”
“What happened to the mask?”
“It’s gone. I wasn’t lying on that, but.” Julius summoned two thin pieces of metal that could be mistaken for a strand of hair or a needle. Each piece was pressed onto both ends of his jaw, right next to the sideburn’s edge. Afterwards, a metallic metal material formed around his face with a newer look, cleaner, and referenced from a few of his favorite TV shows and films. “What do you think? I used much rarer material differently to make it work.”
“Darn, how many more ideas can I get?!” Solomon reacted. “Did you learn to be a blacksmith?”
“You’re welcome,” Julius said in a more menacing voice thanks to the mask. “Got to keep the innovation going if we are going to progress anywhere and probably.” He wanted to keep it a secret for now. “You’ll understand soon.”
The others finished their private conversation. Everyone gathered in a circle with Hu in the center. She raised her hand. “I’ll see you guys in a bit,” Hu said with a beatific expression.
Snap!
Whoosh!
Julius blinked a couple of times, finding the night sky. Are we back? He found himself lying on the ground and lifted up from the floor. He returned. Back at the camp. Everyone from earlier was found lying on the floor, sleeping. A moment of breath. Julius felt delighted. The gruesome phantom pain in his mind has surrendered. He made it out of a certainty of madness and can’t thank a few enough for their efforts. Hu, Empress Cai, and all of y’all. Thank you, I really mean it. Julius smiled momentarily before hearing his name from across multiple campsites. “Yes, over here!” Julius yelled back with a wave.
A group of cultivators sprinted.
“We were worried. You all passed at once and we were in a trance—”
Julius nodded. “I understand. But remember what I, Empress Cai, and Father Kang had taught you? Don’t panic. A lot of things can get done if you can control the fear.” He leaned partially. They seemed to be fine. Julius processed before steering his back straight. “How long were we out?”
“An hour,” one said. “Are you alright?”
“I’m good. We were doing a ritual,” Julius said, standing up. “It took us to a different realm with a different time flow and physics. We trained for months’ worth of our time in…one hour.”
The cultivators looked at each other, instantly generating loads of questions. “Why the hell are you tall?”
“Training paid off. I grew a bit more.” Julius looked at the ones sleeping. “Them too. All of us. We all should be grateful to them because they were aware of this ritual. After all, one of you found the scroll containing the script during an optional mission a month ago. If you guys find that individual, have him meet me once we return home.”
“You seemed in a better mood suddenly.”
Julius nodded like a slamming hammer. “The training after the ritual and Hu helped me out of that emotional state. Now we are ready to take down this thing,” Julius glared at the castle, turning with his back towards the cultivators. “I won’t answer any more questions for now. All of you get some sleep. Tell that to everyone. Tomorrow will be the finale, so get some rest.”
“Sir.” They partially bowed and departed, leaving him alone to stare at the castle complex.
He heard groans and turned, seeing Empress Cai and Father Kang waking up from slumber. “Good evening.”
“How long were we out for?”
“One hour. It’s midnight. I ordered the rest of the army to sleep, as I’m trying to get us out by the end of tomorrow. We are ready to take that risk.”
Father Kang stood up to stretch his legs before joining him for the view. “Was it all worth it? All the trips we journeyed. Will this lead us to a better future?”
“Yes,” Julius confidently answered. “This training gave me a better perspective than I would ever have back on Earth. Clear at last.”
“We earned it. Let’s not waste it and show off during the final raid,” Father Kang said while pulling out the YYG and smoking it.
“I agree,” Julius said and nodded. He also pulled out his own YYG. “This is the last one…The key to the end.” He smoked and exhaled plumes of blue smoke.
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90% Ash Damage Reduction (15/20)
45% Carbon Damage Reduction (15/20)
Breathing Strength Level 10/20
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