Little Celah, Tseludia Station, Pantheonic Territory, Sixthmonth, 1634 PTS
Crawling to her feet, Karie glanced over to Supreme Elder Du Qin, and followed his gaze to where Juen lay. Blood-red sweat was dripping from his body, and he still emanated the mist that was a mixture of green and red, filling the air around him.
“Supreme Elder,” he said, giving a half bow. It appeared silly given that he had yet to pull himself off the ground. Given his condition, Karie felt uncertain it would even be possible for him. She found herself enjoying his poor appearance, but knew that her situation was little better than his.
The Supreme Elder smiled peacefully, glancing at Juen with an imperious look, as if he were looking down his nose at the younger man. But his eyes told a different story, one far crueler.
“Supreme Elder,” said Juen, his tone fearful, almost begging. “The Redwater Sect heretics did something to me. They’re trying to shift my path!”
He wasn’t acting like himself, Karie thought. She wondered whether it was the madness or whether this was his true self, beneath the arrogance and the bluster. Perhaps it was both. Du Qin merely shook his head.
“Even from a mere glance, I can tell that they have already done so. Every unorthodox path will drive one mad. But sanguine miasma…” he chuckled. “As always, it is unique. There is no such thing as a sane practitioner of the sanguine path.” The Supreme Elder smile turned into a glower. “You disgust me, Juen. I cannot allow a heretic to lead the clan.”
Juen smiled, in return, but like the Supreme Elder, his eyes told a different story.
“Surely there’s something that can be done. Supreme Elder, I-”
“Do not embarrass yourself,” said Du Qin. “It is wisest to accept your mistakes with dignity.” He paused, and a wave of violet smoke spilled out of his clenched fists, anger extremely apparent. “You should have informed me earlier, you idiot child.
Juen’s mouth opened as if to respond, but he was cut off by an explosion within his chest, the metallic form of a lotus opening up within his abdomen as swirls of miasma spun around the area, spreading in whirls across the rubble-strewn space. Blood spilled from his mouth, his eyes widening in shock and horror. Even until the end, he had not expected it to come to this, Karie realized. Du Qin had just killed his own faction’s candidate for the position of heir, something which had even surprised her.
Logically, she could understand. Though she did not understand how or when, he had somehow become an unorthodox practitioner. Du Qin’s largest support base was the Ceirran faction. They would not be willing to support such a person, no matter the circumstances.
Karie simply watched, frozen, though she found it difficult to discern why. Juen had been a rival of hers for almost a decade. Most of the clan’s talents had fallen during the last war, and only a scattered few had been left, spared by fortune or protected by the family. Herself and Juen had been in the latter category, the greatest talents of the core family lineage. Karie had lost two brothers in the war, their talents not considered worth preserving.
Juen’s body slumped to the ground, looking as if a plant had grown with his corpse as its fertilizer. Karie had never seen the Supreme Elder’s ability in person before this point, and even for someone with as much blood on her hands as Karie, it made her nauseous to look at.
This was when she realized that it might be best to leave the area. If the Supreme Elder wished her to die, she would do so, just like Juen. But if she left, she would be tempting fate less. Karie slowly backed up, trying to keep her footsteps quiet as she restrained her miasma in an attempt to attract as little attention as possible.
Before she could move far, however, a large flower grew before her, sprouting from the surface of the stone to block Karie’s path. Muttering swears to herself, she glanced back as a bead of sweat dripped from her forehead and into her eyes.
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I don’t regret a thing, she thought to herself as rivulets of fear began to tear through the cracks of her mind, all I wanted was to secure my birthright.
Du Qin turned, his brilliant golden eyes almost seeming to glow as his attention focused upon her. He took a step forward, causing Karie to instinctively take one backwards.
“I could work for you,” she said, slowly backing up. “You need a new candidate, right? Lorelei is too tied to the merchants, but I have no support. I could play the good girl, fake a conversion to Ceirra…”
Above all else, Karie wished to survive. She did not care what she agreed to, who she betrayed. She did not mind betraying the Redwater Sect. Did they even trust her, anyway? The Supreme Elder would be a far greater backer than them, even if he would certainly transform her into a powerless puppet. She found herself almost stuttering as she spoke the words, and her hands betrayed her anxiety, instinctively reaching up to fix and redo her elegantly pinned hair.
The Supreme Elder sneered, eliminating any of Karie’s hopes. The expression on that wrinkled face disgusted her. Was this how Lorelei would acquire the title, she wondered? By default? It was almost comedic to think about. She would have preferred if herself and Juen had died by one another’s hand. That would at least have made for a good film, perhaps.
“I will not allow any more of that bastard’s line to take control of the clan. I have made that mistake for long enough.” His face contorted as he said the words with vitriol so fierce that Karie felt taken aback.
Who was he talking about, she wondered? Perhaps it was some ancestor of hers who had lived centuries ago. Not the type to study the family lineage, Karie could not even guess at the identity.
“Worse,” he continued, his raspy voice grating at her ears as a purple mist slowly started to emanate from his fingers, which stroked at her hair and made Karie wish to vomit. “You're the daughter of that impertinent brat.” His other hand grasped at her throat, and Karie allowed it. Every part of her wished to fight, to curse, to attack him, but deep down, she felt as if he might kill her here and now if she made even the slightest twitch. I need to survive, she thought. When I become the next Matriarch, I will kill him myself.
Du Qin’s slender, uncalloused fingers released the pale flesh of her throat as he sighed.
“Unfortunately, I’ll have to let you live for now. You’re such an expert at self destruction, it would be a shame to end the spiral now, don’t you think. Perhaps if you one day stop hindering your mother’s every plan, you’ll become a legitimate target.”
He gave her a soft smile, as if he was trying to act grandfatherly, but his eyes were cold and lifeless.
“Have a good evening, Karie.”
With that, he walked away, passing the stairwell and simply walking away as if he were going deeper into Little Celah. Lotuses littered the area behind him, with not a single move having been made to hide the blatant evidence of his presence here. Karie glanced back at Juen’s corpse, and then idled to the rail, glancing downwards. Stuck to the side of the stack just two layers below her, a massive steel flower bloomed from the heart of a complex machine, still releasing scattered gouts of orange mist.
Karie stared in shock. Had he really destroyed a titan on his own? The man had appeared uninjured, as if the effort had been trivial for him. Or had she and Juen been so weak that even a weary Du Qin could handle them effortlessly. Unable to tell which option would be worse, Karie frowned, filled with bloodlust. Juen was dead, which only left one true opponent. So long as she managed to kill Lorelei, the seat of the heir was as good as hers. She would not let Wei and her mother down.
Karie then frowned, glancing around as she realized that she had not seen her three companions in quite awhile. Where had they gone? She tapped on the black earpiece that Rachel had told her to wear, but there was no response.
Her blood ran cold as she recalled the presence of the two immortals on the battlefield. Was the reason the Supreme Elder had spared her because her allies were already dead?
Du Qin Hadal: [Du Qin Hadal was once considered among the least talented juniors of his generation of his clan. He was also known as a coward, because Du Qin did not like to use weapons. Instead, the young man loved to create sculptures, and enjoyed the experience of being out in nature. He experienced multiple bottlenecks, not only due to his talents, but due to suppression by those within the clan who would not support the rise of a coward and a concubine’s son. Eventually, however, he fought his way to the spirit refinement realm, and became an Elder, though his poor reputation prevented him from inheriting the clan lineage, and his half brother became the next patriarch. Despite this, he eventually became the first and only member of the clan to become an earthly immortal. Even as an immortal, however, Du Qin never acquired a martial title.]