《We Should Not Know》


 The Final Battle

    "Come at me! Let''s see how well you can take me!" Ye Yin Zhu''s smile was too big. This was obviously not his first time experiencing someone''s wrath. He even seemed to expect a great deal more than just the usual retaliation, and then his strength shot forward with a bang as his left hand struck at the fist. A black line of energy, which seemed to be the body of wind, struck the enemy.


    Ye Zifeng''s body was already covered by a layer of mist. All the energy in his body vanished without a trace. He didn''t dodge a single strike. Just like a bird flying in the sky, his entire body became as a cloud then returned back to his original fully healed state!


    With an explosion of energy, the fist from Zhu hit the fist of his opponent right in the palm-rest. A huge shockwave erupted in the air then exploded in Zhu''s body. The force from it sent out an extremely violent attack, which broke through to Zifeng''s arm. His fist was like a spear of ice, flying straight at Zifeng.


    Zifeng had no words of protest when he got out of the way. Instead, he gave a cold smile, then threw his hand to strike at Zhu, who stood motionless without reacting to it. Zhu was on defence. A crack appeared out of Zifeng''s arm: ¡°Pu!" The previous attack had hurt him bad.


    Zhu reacted immediately and landed on the ground after he was struck. The pressure he sustained from that attack could be clearly seen, and his nose was completely burned. "Die!" Zifeng said coldly. His fist struck towards Zhu''s throat and he fell to the ground. "Zhu, do not do anything stupid like this again." After seeing the bloodshot Zhu, Zifeng''s heart was full of fear. To him, Zhu was more than dangerous and could really kill him at any time. Moreover, Zhu was one of the most important people in his own village. He was considered to be some type of beast that would give birth to a thousand sons. Zhu''s attack also caused Zifeng great pain. If Zhu attacked him, Zifeng had to prepare carefully before countering from behind. If the pressure caused by Zhu''s attack was too great, Zifeng might have fallen to the ground even sooner than Zhu had anticipated. But after watching the bloodshot Zhu fall to the ground the pressure had increased into an enormous amount which caused Zifeng to become nervous and unable to fight. Although he wanted to stand up against Zhu, he couldn''t fight against the strength of his own body. He felt that even though Zhu had lost some strength to him, he still had a level of power he could not overcome. He felt ashamed. His body was a little too weak and it was on the verge of breakdown.


    He wanted to run away, but once again his feet didn''t move. Zifeng suddenly raised his hands. His face looked strange, just as pale as before. The corner of his mouth twitched. This time, it was in a rather stern tone. "We are already in one situation, now, don''t take actions. You have already become a bit too stubborn. You cannot even stand back from your battle, so even if you killed me today, there are still three others who can kill you tomorrow. How could you do such a thing? Don''t you think that''s too hard? Do you think that killing me will make me look foolish?"If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Zifeng continued, "But, don''t worry, I won''t die. If that''s the case¡­ you can still try to kill me.¡±


    Zhu smiled and said: "Brother, oh brother, don''t bother."


    "I know, no need to worry." Zifeng said indifferently.


    Zhu then looked at him with a smile: "Brother, how would they react?"


    Zifeng did not know, but Zhu did not keep any distance between him, and they immediately started to exchange blows. As Zifeng had a lot of confidence in his abilities, he naturally sensed that both of them had strong spirits. Their fighting energy was really fierce. They started to rush at each other fiercely in an instant.


    Zhu targeted Zifeng damaged arm and broke it. Zifeng did not know whether to laugh or to cry.


    Zhu knew that Zifeng did not care. He knew that this person was too good to make any fatal mistake, and was not someone to be easily knocked down. To him, it was simply too bad that Zifeng did not kill him.


    Why was it in this world, wasn¡¯t this type of situation extremely rare? It truly was too bad that there was a possibility of such a person to care so few of others. He was a level above the rest who have reached the first stage of his cultivation in the Mortal Realm. He was much more worthy of a title, a lot harder to kill and a person able to cause all sorts of troubles. He was a person with immense power.


    The one who would be lucky to have a chance of winning this fight. Zifeng did not want to lose to this person. Although there was a slight difference in level, but since they both possessed immense battle experience, the level differences between them would be nothing short of miraculous.


    "Who said I had to worry so much?" Zifeng said with a glint in his eyes which gave off a feeling of calmness in his heart. After all, it was really impossible to win the battle.


    "Fuck, I''ve lived longer than you. You are truly insane." Zifeng arm¡¯s hurt, he did not have the energy to heal it. Well, he did, but it was too costly.


    "You''re not going to beat me if you are not crazy enough. Come back here." The blows they gave each other used up most of their energy. Zhu was bleeding, he did not know from where. His eyes started to tear from the intense pain.


    Zifeng did not dare to act. He did know this battle had to conclude. So, if the injuries did Zifeng¡¯s bidding, so be it. He refused to do it himself, to his brother.


    Zhu felt his hands shaking uncontrollably. He tried to hold back his breathing, at the same time he felt his face throbbing. As a person whose blood was constantly boiling, now it was torturous.


    After several tense moments of agonizing pain, ¡°you killed me, brother.¡± Zhu finally lost his mental composure.


    "Brother Zhu," after a long time, he finally managed to calm his shaking heart. "No matter what you do, I still love you." He decided to walk away. To live or to die, the choice was up to Zhu.

 Brothers

    A few miles away from their hometown, they finally found the place where they were supposed to be. It was a tiny little village. They had heard that the main road here was blocked by large rocks, so most of the road was only left as mud and was very narrow. The people gathered here were the most ordinary folk, like the ones wandering the streets, waiting for anything to happen. Most of them did not even pay attention to how their lives were going, as if they had nothing to do but to stay here. Soon, they became just like all the others.


    They found their home at Ye Xin Mei¡¯s small house, she granted them her name, and trained them for combat. Despite being a small village, it contained an energy master. She would go on to teach them how to control this energy. Thermal, kinematic, electrical. And how to store electricity in conductors, and using glycons and phosphate for muscles. This energy could be used to create shocks, heat, or move an object at great speeds. They first learned how to do a flurry of punches. The stored energy transformed into kinetic energy, and was used to push the fist forward and backward rapidly. The students were then able to make moves that required kinetic energy, such as moving at high speeds.


    The students practiced their skills for many weeks, learning all the various arts of attack that a human would learn in a brief span of time. After two years of training the students realized how vital these techniques were in combat.


    So, the students began to use what they learned to produce electricity in order to perform more complex moves. By studying different kinds of electric circuits, they devised a better system for storing electrical energy and the ability to shock objects and humans.


    One year later they began to use all this new knowledge to create more and more complex devices that could help them defend themselves, or perform other destructive tasks including using telekinesis in order to escape from difficult areas and make difficult attacks against opponents that were far away. The telekinesis was limited to light objects nearby, such as a leaf or air.


    One year after that came the invention of the bomb and the use of atomic particles to create a powerful blast in order to destroy objects such as buildings, vehicles, and even humans. The nuclear material was so powerful that there would be no need to use actual bombs, and the blast was made of atoms that were even more powerful than the energy from ordinary electric currents.


    This explosion generated many small explosions that would destroy objects such as buildings and bodies, although a large amount of energy was used to create them.


    This was not enough; they developed stronger versions of these devices and began to manipulate them in order to be able to generate electricity and produce more complex objects. By focusing on these devices, they could generate powerful attacks, and used their new devices to fight with each other as they grew stronger. Through this process and using a variety of other techniques, the two, now masters, were able to create a power which had been referred to by some as the first telepath. Using quantum entanglement, they could communicate with each other instantly. They were able to learn to manipulate each other''s thoughts to improve their skills in combat, which made them stronger rivals. The brothers had become quite popular. Eventually, as the brothers gained more and more powerful weapons, they began to rival each other stronger.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    For the next two years or so, the two masters had a number of sparring matches with each other. Eventually, the brothers realized that they could do more than just battle. The two grew closer. The brothers, both of them, found that one way of expressing their thoughts was by writing down other ideas. They would quantum entangle strangers from the village and alter their minds to a high degree of intelligence. Then, whatever was said, they would write in a document. They called this notebook the ''Penny Book.¡¯ They had hidden this research from their master, Ye Xin Mei. She stumbled upon it and began to wonder: was this their journal? It was when she read more pages, she realized what it was. Mei called on a meeting. There she ridiculed the brothers for the unethical practice and banished them from the village. Zifeng felt great guilt in what he had done and begged for Mei¡¯s forgiveness. She promised to forgive them once they had each returned with a Dragon Emblem from Wuwura¡¯s Castle. They did not know at the moment, that Wuwura¡¯s Castle did not exist and there was no Dragon Emblem. However, Zhu had a shattering idea. He would entangle himself to Mei, understand exactly what this Dragon Emblem was and craft it himself. Zhu was successful in doing so. He had subdued Mei with a strong chemical while she laid asleep and proceeded with the plan. He presented the Dragon Emblem the next week. She was in disbelief, how could this possibly be? She rejected it, as she said again, only once each of you have returned with one, I shall forgive you. Zhu went on to search for his brother. Halfway around the planet he found Zifeng. He had been asking many around the world for the location of Wuwura¡¯s Castle, leading him nowhere. It was on top of a mountain that Zhu found Zifeng. He gave the Dragon Emblem to his brother, and his brother asked where he had obtained it, for he wanted to earn it himself. Zhu lied and said the castle had collapsed, and that there were only two copies of which he had both. Zifeng felt humiliated. He didn¡¯t feel his burden lift away, he only felt the debt he had to pay back to his brother. He always knew his brother was the stronger one, but he couldn¡¯t forgive himself for this failure. With great regret he headed back to Mei with the two Dragon Emblems.


    Once they reunited, Zifeng fell to his knees and profusely apologized to his master for not being able to acquire the Dragon Emblem himself. Mei then told them that there was never a Dragon Emblem or Wuwura¡¯s Castle. Zifeng was confused, how could there not be such a thing when the two Dragon Emblems were sitting right in front of them? Mei explained that she chose to banish the brothers forever, with a hunt for something that they could not acquire. Now, that they had returned with something, she was infuriated. She thought the brothers had not taken her punishment seriously, and told them to leave and never return. Zhu then revealed he had subdued Mei to understand exactly what the Dragon Emblem was, and he crafted two himself. He said, now that they had returned with the impossible, they had redeemed themselves. He told his master how foolish it was to be ridiculed for something like the Penny Book. No one was hurt, they only did what they did to understand the human nature. Mei told them it was a massive invasion of privacy, that they had been doing this without consent; they were kidnapping. Zhu saw nothing wrong with it, the folk would be returned back to their homes without any memory of such occurrence. He reiterated: no one was hurt. Mei said she would let the brothers leave without conflict if they promised to never use their powers for themselves. Zifeng conformed instantly, but Zhu refused. In fact, it was obvious now that Zhu had turned destructive. Even after being banished, Zhu had subdued his master and used that very power on her. Mei said, Zhu would not be allowed to leave, and that he would have to stay here and work for her. Zhu did not take this well, and he refused once again and began to journey off. Mei threatened to kill him if he left, but that did not strike Zhu as a problem. Once Zhu was gone, Mei ordered Zifeng to kill Zhu and then she would forgive him. Zhu did not want to kill his brother but he could see no other choice. Mei said that if Zhu was not dead by tomorrow, she would send her two other students to finish the job. Zifeng followed the main path out of the village, and he crossed paths with Zhu not long after. That was when the final battle began.

 Death

    The brother lied on a scarlet moon. Zifeng had made a catastrophic mistake; a mistake worse than death. The brother knew he would slowly desist if he could not contain his blood. So, instead, he used his remaining energy to get up. To get up, and head to the village; there laid a dormant marrow.


    The screams of the innocent was what made Zifeng turn in awe. He saw his brother dancing with the red and he made the living join in death. ¡°No!¡± he screamed as his lungs collapsed. He couldn¡¯t believe it. He didn¡¯t want to believe it. ¡°What¡¯s the point, brother? What¡¯s the point when you backpedal on your own words!¡± One, two, three, five, ten, he had killed countless in an instant. ¡°You¡¯ve hurt them! You¡¯ve hurt them now!¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, Zifeng.¡±


    ¡°How can you say that?¡±


    ¡°These were the most ordinary folks, those who wander about with nothing to do.¡±


    ¡°You have no right to judge others so harshly!¡±


    ¡°You brought this upon me. You left me to die, you think I would cry myself to death?¡±


    ¡°Your life is no more important than the most ordinary folk! You fought with pride, and you lost with dignity, or at least that¡¯s what I thought.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen horrible things in the most marvelous of people.¡± He raised his shaking fist. ¡°Mei is a greater monster than I¡¯ll ever be.¡±


    Zifeng prepared for battle, ¡°what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°This entire village. Have you wondered why we made no friends? When I entangled myself with Mei, I saw her create the entirety of this place out of flesh and bones. We weren¡¯t the first ones to learn of entanglement, Mei did it long ago. She was afraid that we¡¯d master it!¡±


    ¡°What are you on about?¡± Zifeng couldn¡¯t hold his tears back, they rained down his cheeks.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°They¡¯re all puppets. The theory of emergence, brother! It¡¯s true! She put all this together, all of them together!¡±


    He froze. His stance that was strengthened to fight, fell loose. ¡°Liar!¡±


    ¡°No,¡± and the blood around him began to twirl, and in a moment of brightness, the dead stood up.


    Zifeng dropped his guard. There¡¯s no way, he thought.


    ¡°The Dragon Emblem. That¡¯s their heart. ¡®Something that does not exist,¡¯ yet it does, and she invented it.¡±


    ¡°Why? Why would she hide this from us? How can I trust you, brother?¡±


    He let Zhu walk up to him, without a flinch. ¡°She massacred millions for this knowledge. She knows her wrongdoings, and she regrets, but she hasn¡¯t paid.¡±


    ¡°But if it¡¯s true. You still killed innocent creatures.¡±


    ¡°No, brother. There is no innocences at play here, you kill a rabbit to eat it, a lion hunts its prey to survive. I didn¡¯t kill these creatures out of hate, I only wished to show you reconstruction.¡±


    ¡°You resurrected them?¡±


    ¡°No, resurrection is extremely complex, not even Mei has done such a thing. If she had, she could easily bring back all those she murdered. I only brought back the creature, without its acquired knowledge.¡±


    Zifeng was in complete loss of words. He didn¡¯t want to believe, but he didn¡¯t want his brother to be a liar. He wanted to know, ¡°come, come with me and I¡¯ll ask her myself!¡±


    ¡°Please, master. Tell me it¡¯s not true!¡±


    Mei looked with confusion and rage. Why did Zhu stand before her?


    ¡°Did you make this village? Did you create our home?¡±


    ¡°Zifeng, I told you what had to be done. Why have you returned without a result? Have you betrayed me?¡±


    ¡°No, I only wish to know the truth. Zhu said you created this place with flesh and bones! Tell me it¡¯s miscommunication. Tell me it¡¯s not true!¡±


    ¡°It is true.¡±


    Zhu made a tick. It was obvious, they were both enraged. Zifeng stared into his tears, without a movement as he processed what he had heard.


    ¡°You deserve to be punished,¡± Zhu said.


    ¡°This is my punishment.¡±


    ¡°How? How is this torment!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve lived away from humans for decades, I¡¯ve made my own community, I repent what I have done in solitude. I will never be a part of that world again.¡±


    ¡°No! This is a haven for you! This is nowhere near a punishment, in fact, it¡¯s the opposite.¡±


    It had to be quicker than an instant, as if the seal of space and time was broken, her senses heightened beyond anyones, and she held a familiar face in her palm. It was over, and Zifeng knew what she did but not how she did it.


    Zifeng didn¡¯t weep nor cry. He had no reaction except a smile of defeat. He did not know right from wrong anymore. He was in a state of disapproval and unacceptance.


    At that moment, he knew exactly what they were all along. Test subjects. That¡¯s all they were and that¡¯s all they have ever been. A failed product, a cancerous mutation. Just as he had not known what happened to his brother, he had no clue what had happened to him. Everything was nothing and he could no longer feel. Even though he wished to cry for his brother, cry for his master, and cry for himself, he could not because now he was gone.

 Life

    Blurry blues and small dots moving upward. He had opened his eyes. He laid down on soft soil. Someone was there, they reached out a hand. Zifeng grabbed it and pulled himself up. A cool breeze swept over him as he saw the greenery of the forest. ¡°Where are we,¡± he asked. He looked around, and there were many others who lied on the same soil as he had. ¡°Did you also die?¡± the man asked.


    ¡°I thought I did.¡±


    ¡°I met some of my clansman. We all thought we had died from the huge beast.¡±


    ¡°Beast?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Grew Di Cal. I can¡¯t recall you from my clan, perhaps you experienced another death?¡±


    ¡°My brother¡­ My master. I thought my master killed me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s strange,¡± he paused. ¡°Everyone I¡¯ve talked to here believed they had died.¡±


    ¡°My brother? Is my brother here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Had he also died? Do you know what he looked like?¡±


    ¡°My brother had¡ª¡± and there he was. He had been lying peacefully beside him. Zifeng kneeled down and began crying.


    ¡°He¡¯ll wake up on his own soon,¡± the man patted him on the shoulder and went off.


    ¡°I thought I had lost you, brother,¡± he wept. ¡°I thought I had lost everything.¡± The cheers and noises of others around him lent a bittersweet feeling. ¡°What has happened to us, brother? Are we in the afterlife?¡± He could see Zhu begin to move his eyes through his lids. ¡°Brother!¡± He opened his eyes.


    ¡°Zifeng?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me, Zhu!¡±


    Zhu sat up. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I thought master had killed you.¡±


    Zhu looked around in awe. ¡°Brother, this is it.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°This is resurrection.¡±


    Right then, it hit Zifeng like a meteorite. ¡°Did she¡ª did our master bring us back?¡±


    ¡°Yes, she brought us back to life. Why us though? We were merely her puppets. I guess, she brought back every single creature she had killed.¡±


    Zifeng looked around. It wasn¡¯t just them and a couple others, it was cats and dogs, it was children and adults, it was a forest of plants and trees, it was all of flora and fauna.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    The brothers got up and did what they did best, educate themselves. The more they asked, the more they learned, the more they were in disbelief. They talked with villagers like themselves, they talked with leaders of empires and civilizations, they inspected the extinct and endangered species, there was no doubt about it, their master had brought back everything she had destroyed. From living organisms to inanimate objects. Zhu saw the castle of Neteroids. It belonged to some of the people who had been brought back. One of the folks pointed towards the mountain that was barely noticeable from the distance. It was far away, and the top could not be seen as it seemed to be extremely tall. ¡°That,¡± the man pointed. ¡°That is Mount Erodica. The mountain with an immensely complex tunnelling system that our people built. Grew Di Cal had obliterated the mountain to large rocks and lava. I remember witnessing the destruction myself,¡± he began to shake like he was anxious, and paused between each word. ¡°All my friends were burnt alive in there,¡± his bottom and upper jaw rapidly collided with one another. ¡°I get chills just thinking about it.¡± As the brothers roamed around, they say people crying from experiencing death but also crying from relief. The most joyous thing they saw was the reunions between families; the happy crying of a family in each others arms. The memories of everyone remained intact. Even their traumatic deaths seemed to not have been erased. Zhu guessed Mei decided against it as it would be erasing a part of themselves.


    A question that everyone had asked and the brothers had pondered about. ¡°Am I really me?¡± Perhaps not the original, Zifeng wondered, but if Mei had not altered anything and made an exact clone, then this had to be Zifeng. Although one could argue it isn¡¯t the original and only a copy since the atomic makeup was from different particles. Or were they? How could the brothers be sure that the atoms and energy used to resurrect everyone here had not been of the original. As in, how could they know that each atom on them was not the exact same atom they were when they died. They couldn¡¯t, but it was of a slim possibility. If they were to be made of the exact same atoms, then Mei had to extract them from the world. If they had been used by other organisms for energy or even breathed in, they had to be taken out of them somehow and reverted to their previous state. If that were the case, would that mean she had killed the entire world so she could organize each particle the way she wanted? Impossible, they thought. They wished to confirm their beliefs and went out looking for individuals who had no memory of death, for if they did not then their master had perhaps not killed all.


    Zifeng and Zhu had come by a city. It was blustering with color, and there were many people on the edge of its border, waiting for something. They asked the people of their deaths, and none could remember. However, they had said that a mysterious woman had given the city very valuable resources which was to be used to rehabilitate the people coming from the south; the forest.


    The city let in all of the wanderers from the forest. They had prepared shelters for each one of them. They had even assigned paid duties. The brothers were given their own homes and their own offices for their highly important jobs. The brothers wandered the city, they were incredibly delighted by how technology had advanced. The city was jarring, yet they had noticed that they could not see the stars. The brothers already knew the terms for this, ¡°light pollution.¡± So, they went off, far into the forest, uptop a mountain. The brothers had raced, and as expected, Zhu had won. The two brothers gazed upon the city from such a height, and the stars above were all so magnificent.


    The brothers discussed the morals of their master on the apex of that mountain. Why had she done such a thing? Was she to be forgiven? Was this the right choice? When they had looked around, everyone was relieved and cheerful. The problems that a bunch of loners would wake up to seemed to have been already solved before they were awoken. The big question that they both had was if their master was still alive. They went back to the city and asked many more questions. They got up to higher ranking officers and to the ruler who delighted them with a feast. The ruler said: ¡°we had only known the woman for a month. She had built an extremely large portion of this city. This room was created entirely by her. We don¡¯t know how she did it, it was like magic. We would sleep and wake up to hundreds of new buildings. We have no clue as to where she has vanished, unfortunately. She only wanted us to let all who wandered in from the forest to live within our city. We were first confused as to what that meant, since we had no nearby forest, but one day when we arose from our beds, we saw it. I don¡¯t believe we would be able to repay her.¡± When had she disappeared, the brothers asked. ¡°Oh, it was two days ago. That was also when the forest had appeared. The woman had said to not go within and to not destroy the forest ever. So, we always guard the border of the city, to not let anyone out into the forest or any creature into the city. We also set up there to wait for the wanderers to start wandering.¡± It was recently that she had gone missing, perhaps the brothers could catch up to her. ¡°I know you wish to meet your master,¡± the ruler said. The brothers were surprised, as they had not told anyone that the mysterious woman was their master. ¡°Zhu and Zifeng, was it? She told of those two names. The woman had said you have a vendetta against her, but that you are truly nice people,¡± he paused. ¡°And that she hoped you could forgive her.¡± Zifeng¡¯s heart ached. Zhu didn¡¯t know what to think. ¡°She said that by the time I met you two, she would no longer be of this world. Which I advised against, but she didn¡¯t let me argue that,¡± the ruler smiled sadly. ¡°She always wore a mask and said she was a bad person, that she had done horrible things. Yet, all that she had done for us, was nowhere near terrible.¡±


    After they were done eating and more importantly done talking, the two brothers walked silently to their homes. They didn¡¯t get much sleep that night, as they wondered on and on about what had happened. They knew there would be many disabled from what they had experienced in death and before death. This cloud of grief and despair slowly transformed into hope and aspiration. The brothers would make everyone''s life better, that would be their duty. When the sun rose, the brothers were told to visit their office, where instructions for their jobs had been given.


    They arrived at their separate offices, on their desk laid a familiar book named ¡®Penny Book.¡¯ The first page had written on it:


    <blockquote>


    Quantum Entanglement is now a common psychological practice. It has resulted in cures for bipolar and depression and many alike illnesses. My duties are to study such cases and provide useful data that will benefit society. Here, I write the thoughts of others for the benefit of the individual I practice it upon. I vow to never use it for anything else no matter the cause, here is my blood to entail this promise forever.


    </blockquote>


    At the bottom was a circle. The two brothers, as if their thoughts were entangled, bit their thumbs and stamped their blood within it.