《Vast Impact》


 0 The Great Mistake

    ¡°Wu Chen!¡± Five immortal cultivators, filled with blood rage, bellowed out this name across the sky, as they flew after the trail of one man. Their curses caused thunderclaps and sonic booms, which stirred up storm clouds and other signs of bad weather.


    They were strong and tall men in fine long soft colored robes and solid boots with glowing swords at their feet. Their words had the power to make mountains quake and shatter, but they didn¡¯t care to take notice. They were only determined to catch up to their lone troublemaker and end his life.


    Their chase across the skies and lands caused chaos among the villages and towns. But the weak and common folk could only cower from the cultivators¡¯ terrifying power. Unworldly magic that was being cast between masters like massive explosions.


    Fire disrupted the skies to spew molten rain to the ground.


    The common weaklings screamed and begged for mercy. They ran blindly for cover, which was rapidly being blown into rubble and bits. Shrapnel ripped or burn through robes and light armor to leave wounds exposed.


    The bountiful Ugaria Grand Pagoda (it¡¯s twelve levels of wisdom and peace, which stood at the heart of the common lands known as Seria) suffered beneath the overwhelming forces of magical energies cast by the martial warriors. Its foundations were breaking down. Like the illusions of peace that had kept the common people safe and well for generations.


    All because of one man - Wu Chen.


    But for the few who knew the history that led to this chaotic battle, they would understand the greatest immortal cultivator¡¯s rage across the heavens. And the final fight of his life. All his life he had tried to do right by twelve martial sects, only to suffer a betrayal from all of them.


    This handsome man, swathed in long gold and light blue robes, sped through the skies to dodge magic and elemental attacks that aimed to weaken his core. His long, fine dark hair swayed against his angled jawline and features, but not impacting his vision from cool dark narrow eyes, to be able to dodge each strike of lightning intent to damage a meridian.


    However, the deadliest magic was being cast by the Grand Lord Master of the Faith Sect - Li Dyon. He used a portion of his might to call upon a power unique to him, the Soul Destroyer. A power manipulated through a long sword of off-worldly might and grace.


    ¡°Wu Chen dies today! The Faith Sect will right the wrong of this universe and end your life!¡± Li Dyon bellowed as he chased after Wu Chen¡¯s trail across the skies.


    ¡°Do your worst. Your best was pitiful.¡± Wu Chen¡¯s deep voice rebounded across the lands as a cackle. All man, woman, beast and child heard his taunt.


    Where the martial sects held hope that the Heavenly Golden Sect and Faith Sect could bring this devil down, the common folk prayed he would triumph.


    Wu Chen may have been arrogant, fighting against the martial laws and not caring for sect authority, but he had always fought to bring peace and hope to the common Serian. Not wavering in his principal of where the strong should protect the weak.


    His mind was filled with strategies that would take his fight away from the towns. He had to complete the final stage to becoming immortal: for the sake of mankind. If he were to die, he would make it so that the common people could continue to live in peace and away from the abuses dealt by power hungry cultivators.


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    ¡°The Primordial Tribulations. I will not fail!¡± His voice carried to every ear. Prayers and curses came at him as a response, but he kept his mind focused and power strong as he sped across still lakes, snow capped mountains and lush green forests that were waking to the glory of a golden dawn.


    The icy brush of Seria¡¯s morning breeze wetted his smooth cheeks and clung to parts of his robes that were marked with sigils of the last Law Bringer. He relished the touch of nature as he materialized his sword in his hand and stopped his plight.


    ¡°Wu Chen!¡± A new voice entered his awareness. It was a most welcomed voice and one he loved dearly.


    ¡°Yan Hua.¡± His battle worn face warmed with an endearing smile for the woman gliding into his view.


    She was beautiful beyond measure, wrapped in fine blue silks trimmed in gold and bearing the sigils of a Hope Cultivator belonging to the Faith Sect.


    Her long dark hair flowed around her slender shoulders and fine features like gentle strokes of waves against a shore. Her snow-white skin was soft and eyes a calm blue filled with genuine wisdom and care for him.


    She moved toward him with the elegant body and grace of a dancer.


    Despite the place she was from, she had always helped him guaranteed peace for the secular world. Over the years, he was able to trust her. She never left his side through all the toughest battles. Like the one he was going through now. And this was probably the toughest battle of his life.


    ¡°Heaven favors the righteous order. I¡¯ll stand with you.¡± Her voice was gentle, but her words were tough with a surety that carried relief for him.


    Wu Chen smiled, feeling all the aches and pains of his physical body mean something. And everything he chose to do and believe in was special to the person he loved.


    The skies grew dark as five grand martial warriors flew toward them with their swords ready for killing blows.


    ¡°Bring it on!¡± Wu Chen bellowed to shake the skies and clouds before the oncoming warriors.


    But there was a waver to his tones. A moment of weakness as he felt the inkling of a truth he had never felt before. End. It didn¡¯t matter. Yan Hua was with him. He would fight hard to protect her and save Seria from the horrible fate of servitude to the greedy sects.


    He raised his sword high and mustered up all his power, treasures and spirit to fight the grand lord masters and defeat them. But before he had the chance to strike, his back was struck with a crippling power.


    Chaotic energy raced through his meridians to shatter them one at a time. When the power reached his heart, he saw the truth. The crippling power came from Yan Hua and the Faith Stone she carried on her sword.


    "I¡¯m sorry, Wu Chen. But this is for the greater good." Her voice was gentle and held the same care for him, but it was void of love or any sentiment they once shared. It was the truth he never wanted to know.


    "Now is the time! Strike!" Powerful voices hit the sky and ground like thunder and lightning as they struck Wu Chen while he was vulnerable.


    Wu Chen wasn¡¯t backing down and kept up his fight to cause thunder to break the skies around the grand martial lords.


    And the people below fled to what safety they could, and witnessed cultivator gods shatter a lone light in the sky. Wu Chen was defeated by many magical swords at one strike, causing him to explode as a dying star and break the foundations of the heaven before he was no more.


    When the dust cleared and the heavens were calm, the people saw six immortal cultivators towering over them. New world edicts were cast upon the common person, with laws that overwrote every value of life Wu Chen had given them.


    The death of Wu Chen was a dark future for Seria. The people could only hope that one day a new hero would rise to give them peace and hope once more.

 1 The Weak Soul

    The name that once made the heavens weep and stained the earth with the blood of gods was no more. But Wu Chen refused to give up his ghost as he found his being hurtling through the pathways of spiritual evolution.


    Many lines of life snaked their way toward him with the intention to grab his soul for power, but he was able to skillfully evade them and surge forward.


    He wasn¡¯t keen to enter the Great Light where all souls went when their bodies were destroyed: holding too much attachment to the corporeal world to let his ghost drift in the sea of others.


    While vengeance wrapped his soul heart, he would never be at peace and didn¡¯t deserve it.  There was a wrong that needed to be righted. Not for his own sake but all the corporeal beings on Seria.


    ¡°If it¡¯s vengeance you seek. I can give your soul a physical life.¡±


    Wu Chen searched the space for the abnormality. Thinking that he could exploit it to stop his momentum and break out of his current path.


    He found an opening in a dark space and entered it. Within was a ball of weak gold light: a tiny soul, but its voice was strong.


    ¡°My body is dying from betrayal. I feel our deaths were caused from similar reasons. Vengeance gives your spirit power and protects your soul. Your desire for it casts a singular energy from you.¡± The weak soul flew at him and circled his being.


    ¡°We could help each other achieve peace to our purpose.¡± The weak soul spoke with fierce determination, but Wu Chen sensed a buried kindness.


    Indeed, its outer layer of cynicism seemed cultivated from many events that likely had their kindness exploited. It was a soul difficult to resist. But he wasn¡¯t going to be tricked with kindness again.


    ¡°Are you sure? If you let go of kindness, you will never know cruelness. I was betrayed many times and feel vengeance in my soul heart for the last person who betrayed me. But that is not the reason I carry the feelings. It was all part of my cultivation experience. I could not still retain my links to the physical world otherwise.¡± There was wisdom to the weak soul¡¯s words.


    Wu Chen felt his soul being examined and interpreted by the weak spirit. As it gained insight from him, its light became stronger and more intense.


    ¡°You dare study me!¡± His voice cracked through the space.


    ¡°Of course!¡± The weak soul answered. There was no fear or pride to their voice, but a resolve. For before them was an answer to a question they had been seeking. Wu Chen¡¯s soul was the help they needed.


    ¡°I am still alive. That is why my spirit is weak around my soul,¡± The weak soul said and hovered confidently before Wu Chen.


    ¡°Then this space is a temporary void between spirit and physical realms?¡± Wu Chen mused at a potential opportunity.


    ¡°Indeed. A loophole, if that is the correct term. But as you can see, my soul is weak, as was my resolve that led to my attack and the reason I¡¯m dying.  Only my vengeance to right the wrong done to me keeps my spirit strong enough to ensure my soul is intact. Once my hold on my vengeance wanes, so too will my soul die in this void. As my spirit energy is not strong enough to carry me into the Shadow Spirit Realm beyond the Great Light.¡± The weak soul disclosed its predicament without holding anything back.


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    It was taking a gamble that Wu Chen would be interested enough to help them.  And he was, for he knew enough about the spirit essence of a soul, and the Shadow Spirit Realm, to know that deep-rooted emotions and sentiments empowered the spirit to keep the soul together long enough to pass through a pathway into the realm.


    Once in the realm, a soul was likely able to retain its individuality and cultivate its spirit strength to return to the corporeal worlds in a new body, where the soul could further cultivate itself into greater power.


    ¡°But you say your body is dying?¡± Wu Chen wasn¡¯t so sure if it was wise to transmigrate into a frail body, where the soul could be exposed to corruption so easily.


    ¡°My body is not frail, just broken. Your strong spirit energy and soul could easily repair it. And there are benefits to the body I left behind. Benefits that mean nothing to me now.¡± The weak soul tempted him with its offer.


    ¡°And what is in it for you?¡±


    ¡°A promise that you will carry my soul into the Shadow Spirit Realm when vengeance for both our causes have been sated.¡± The weak soul laid out.


    ¡°But if I enter your body, that promise could take a long time to achieve.¡±


    The weak soul skittered about the space with excitement and a firm answer to his concerns.


    ¡°I will be your treasure skill to use. The only one in the universe.¡±


    ¡°Oh?  And that would be?¡±


    ¡°Wisdom. I can allow you to achieve understanding of universal laws and way of life tacitly.¡±


    ¡°Will you be part of my consciousness?¡±


    ¡°No. But if you absorb me as your spirit energy, you carry my essence within you as your unique skill.  When you obtain the Wisdom of Souls, you can detach the individuality of my spirit energy to re-image my soul from the body I left behind. The body you will receive.¡±  The weak soul¡¯s words held only truth on the matter.


    ¡°Who were you?¡± Wu Chen was curious. Indeed, the soul was taking a great risk in giving him this offer. With such a risk, the dangers would also be devastating.


    ¡°I am, and was, Veronika Shepherd. A young, um, fodder soldier in your distant future, and a descendant of many grand lord martial warriors. Alas, martial arts is a dead art in my time. No one knows the Laws of Immortality anymore.¡±  There was a tone of cheek and arrogance to the weak soul as they declared this.  Wu Chen found it hard not to like it.


    ¡°Oh really?¡± Wu Chen considered the potential.


    ¡°So, do we have a deal? We don¡¯t have much time, as my spirit energy is what is holding up this place.¡± The weak soul warned Wu Chen.


    Wu Chen had unfinished business anyway, so it was an opportunity not to ignore.


    ¡°We do.¡± He placed his soul-being into a meditative pose.


    ¡°Excellent. I¡¯ll reveal the rune that holds this space together and links to my physical body. Understand it with your soul force and allow yourself to flow through the pathways to it.¡±


    Wu Chen opened his being to the voids laws and absorbed gold sigils declaring its rules into himself.  As he absorbed the laws, he felt his being picked and pulled apart. His cultivated wisdom was being merged with the weak soul¡¯s, to reforge a great and powerful spiritual essence to empower his soul.


    A great energy surged into his soul to reaffirm his purpose and reason to live another life.  At the moment he felt the pinnacle of power within him, he felt chills and the wet touch of a waking morning on his skin.


    The final bits of insight from the weak soul had been absorbed into him to craft a wisdom skill in his subconscious.


    Their voice could no longer be heard, which left a tinge of sadness in his soul heart, but there was hope for the soul as long as he lived to fulfil his purpose.  It had taken a gamble with the chance it gave him: he would not let it and him down.


    ¡°I¡¯ll remember. I promise.¡± His soul voice said as he completed the merger into the dying body of the fallen soldier and used his spirit energy to revive it.

 2 Veronika Shepherd

    Wu Chen was no more. The soul that once held this name would now be called Veronika Shepherd. In a future world and time when all he had known was lost to the ages. But magic still appeared to exist, as he felt the stirrings of spirit energy tingling all over his body.


    ¡°But...¡± His voice uttered the word with delicate tones.


    No. Not delicate but feminine. He wanted to groan. No. She wanted to groan.


    The Wu Chen who made the world tremble in awe as a fit and handsome man was now Veronika Shepherd, a woman. And a young one at that.


    She felt the contours of her chest to confirm the truth of it. The body was slender and just developing at the end of her teenage life. The body definitely lacked the skill of a cultivated martial warrior. It seemed the previous soul  had only started the journey before it was cut short.


    ¡°Interesting.¡± She mused on the discovery and easy acceptance of the fact. The body¡¯s former soul gave Wu Chen¡¯s another chance. For both their sakes, she would honor the life given and fulfil the promise. And she will continue to be Veronika Shepherd: a woman with potential.


    First things first. She had to get up and get running.


    Her eyes fluttered as they opened to glimpse a waning sky above them.  Storm clouds threatened a nasty downpour of rain, which would aggravate the gapping wound to her side if left exposed. She had been shot with a bullet. It was a small kind and more of a flesh wound, but she guessed that she had been lying incapacitated for some time, as the wound was starting to fester with infection.


    ¡°Have to get up.¡±


    [Command acknowledged. Initiating movement protocols]


    Green text flashed across her inner vision like a digital wall board. On an instinct, Veronika found her body moving to stand: completely ignoring the pains she felt.


    [Channeling oxygen levels into lower artery valves to level pain thresholds. Portioning flow into surrounding wound areas. Optimal healing enzymes enabled]


    An artificial voice spoke its command in her head. Yet, it held the same familiarity as a body¡¯s inner voice.  Veronika wondered if this was the power of the Law of Wisdom the body¡¯s original soul had offered her.


    ¡°Very interesting.¡±


    Veronika allowed the new and unfamiliar take hold of her, as she absorbed the essence of her new body and surroundings.


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    So far, the weak soul hadn¡¯t lied. She had been shot on a battlefield of a derelict wasteland where no one would care to look for her.  Other dead bodies surrounded her. Soldiers like her. But it made her wonder if her body was unique in the world and the only one to hold the Law of Wisdom.


    Now wasn¡¯t the time to check for this understanding. She had to recover and escape to some place where she could recover.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± she yelped at the sharp pain she felt to her side near the wound.


    [Analyzing pain threshold spike. Reducing bile response from cholecyst to small intestine. Rerouting oxygen efficient blood to liver and lung areas]


    The artificial voice rebounded around her mind like an alert.  Sure enough, the pain had eased at her side area, and she felt her breath become steady, enough for her to walk.


    [Scanning forward terrain. Heavy obstructions 100 meters ahead will impact movement and prevent wound healing. Diversion to the level path facing left, recommended]


    Again, the artificial voice spoke in her mind. She wasn¡¯t about to complain, as she too had concluded that the safest way forward was to take the path free from debris and unlevel terrain.


    She began shuffling forward, holding her side as she went. Thankfully, her clothes were made to withstand a stifling heat. Hard cloth pants covered her legs and were tucked into calf-length leather boots capped in steel. Her upper body was covered in a harden khaki tunic, soft t-shirt and kept together with a utility belt. The downside was the drag her boots gave to her feet. As much as they offered protection, they were heavy.


    [Adjusting stride length for flexible boot movement]


    A flow of energy rushed into her feet that empowered her strides to be faster and steadier. She walked along the level dirt path away from the horrific sight of slain bodies and artillery. Her path led her to a vast expanse of rock, sparse grassland, littered sand and clear blue skies. Among the grounds were smoking carcasses of robot body parts and many from mech tanks. But she didn¡¯t see many other human bodies among the ruins.  The land was more or less a resting place for synthetic devices and technology.


    [Scanning...]


    ¡°What¡¯s to scan in this wasteland, er, dump,¡± Veronika said with a weak laugh.


    [.... scanning .... You are standing in the Expanse for the Lost on the south-west edge of Anaconda continent.  The Concordat Forces sent your squadron to fight the resistance of the area]


    ¡°Fitting. Naturally, I failed.¡±


    [Failure was due to danger from a trusted ally. It was not anticipated] The artificial voice reasoned within her mind.


    ¡°Yes, the betrayal. Well, let¡¯s restart this life and do what we need to do.¡±


    [May I suggest you seek shelter and fully recover before resuming the journey]


    ¡°Suggestion accepted. Where to go?¡±


    Veronika glanced across the landscape and found a small cavern a few meters a head.  Additional scanning from her utility tools confirmed safety. At least, she hoped their readings were correct, the LCD screen on her handheld scanner was cracked. Where else was there to go? With her decision made, she carefully picked her way over rumble to the dry cavern and began to bunker down for the night.