《Kicking Cradle (Cradle Series Fanfiction)》


 Chapter 1

    Kicking Cradle


    Being reborn was different than he¡¯d always thought it would be like. It was like being in an odd haze where thoughts didn¡¯t flow as they should. He realized later that it was because his brain needed time to develop into a state that could actually process all the information it had.


    It only came together and clicked on a chilly autumn night when he was already five years old.


    His name was Yin Tulaigo. In his previous life it had been Oskar Zetter. Somehow his previous name felt weird to him now, his new life had already fundamentally changed something about him.


    The years he had spent with his family hadn¡¯t been all that easy in this life so far. When he was around one or two years old he had his first memory and first thoughts in his new life. His parents had noticed the change and were quick to start trying to teach him how to cycle the energy in his body.


    He had been confused, how could such a thing be? Humans couldn''t do that, there was no such thing. And yet after a few days of intense scrutiny from his mother and less so from his father he had found it. In his stomach, a little pinprick that felt like light in his mind. His mother had been ecstatic, spending long hours teaching him to pull slivers of the energy out, and then through long channels in his body. Eventually making a full circuit through him.


    It was the hardest thing he¡¯d ever done, and yet as soon as the tiny sliver of energy came back into his core his mother demanded he do it again. And again.


    When his father came back to the house he¡¯d held him up with pride, praising his son for his dedication. Then he too demanded Yin to cycle again, and when the toddler complained that he was too tired the man had slapped him.


    ¡®¡¯A dreadbeast will not wait for you to recover boy. Nor will any sacred artist seeking your life.¡¯¡¯


    Yin was forced to cycle several times every day, even though it hurt him, even when he cried and begged for rest. Day in and day out, weeks turned to months, and then they finally decided it was time for him to take the next step. They brought him a mushroom, flat and wide, with a pattern that obviously suggested it was poisonous. His father tore a piece of it, no larger than Yin¡¯s fingernail, and forced him to eat the vile thing.


    His teeth squished the spongy plant unpleasantly, and it tingled in his mouth, and then in his soul. Energy escaped the mushroom piece, invading his channels and flesh, it hurt immensely. Again, for the second time in his new life his father slapped him.


    ¡®¡¯You must cycle boy. Or you will die, and waste all our efforts for you.¡¯¡¯


    Yin took control of the pinprick of light in his core, and forced slivers of energy out into his channels. Herding the invading energy through his body, down into his core, where it hurt him many times more. It made his soul swell, feeling like it would pop from the pressure. But soon it was done, another cycle through channels already raw from the effort and it was all incorporated.


    The energy in his core had redoubled in size.


    His mother rubbed tears from his cheeks and praised him, soothing his pain just a little bit.


    And then his father held out another piece of the mushroom.


    The second round was so much worse than the first that he had passed out. A doctor had come to their house and helped Yin while he was unconscious and his parents had been given a stern talking to. They were to refrain from pushing their son to advance until he was at least ten years old.


    His parents disagreed quietly, but thankfully eased up on forcing their son to cycle until his soul felt like minced meat.


    Time passed and Yin was allowed to go to school, a simple two room building in the little forest village he lived in. There were other children of all ages attending classes there, however there were only sixteen of them so whoever held lectures on any given day had room to cater to all the students.


    All except Yin, who found out that he was heir to a very controversial pair of people.


    It turned out that Yeng, his father, was a career fighter who walked the path of Flaring Spirit. A path that combined fire and dream energy. On any given day he would go to nearby villages and pick fights, despite being in a tier of cultivation that was considered weak in this world. He was skilled, and explosive, giving his opponents a run for their money even when they were tiers above him.


    He was also notoriously a violent drunkard, spending his money gained ¡®sparring¡¯ in bars and then picking more fights. Every now and then destroying something and spending time in what passed for local jails. A simple square frame structure made of wood, with dense scripts written into the material. A place for public humiliation, similar to a stockade.


    His peers in school had been baffled as to what a stockade was when he¡¯d mentioned it. At the time Yin didn¡¯t know what it was either, he simply knew the word.


    His mother Chen¡¯en was similarly a reviled person. She had been kicked out of her family home when she turned thirty, having languished at the cultivation level called ¡®Green Stone¡¯. The path to greater power for her was to subdue and eat a ghost with a similar path to her own.


    She had refused because in her opinion augmenting her path of stone and life was not worth gaining ethereal hedgehog like spikes on her head.


    When he later became more proficient in the local language and thought hard about it he realized that ¡®green stone¡¯ was a poor translation. More accurately it would be called Jade. And the next level, Low Gold.


    It had been a thorn in the back of his mind, ever since he had become sapient again. A feeling of deja vu, or something similar. So very long ago, when he¡¯d been Oskar and not Yin, hadn¡¯t he read a story that mirrored things in this world so accurately.


    How many years ago had that been? It was something he thought about often before sleeping.


    When he was eight he wrote it all out in a blank book he¡¯d been given in school for being such a good student. Over a few months he recollected what he knew of the world, of the energy, madra, of the paths they could make. Of the enemies he might encounter, dreadbeasts and gods, monarchs and Monarchs. Beings beyond anything a human mind unaugmented could comprehend. Of the man who had conquered everything on a timescale that beggared belief.


    Yin made a plan for his path and the life he would live. First he would need a few things. Access to a certain library, a dream spirit and lastly a soul split in two.


    It turned out that splitting his soul wasn¡¯t all that difficult, small and soft as it was despite his parents'' continued attempts to force him to grow it. All it took was a few weeks of trial and error, cycling this way and that, and soon he found the way. Take all his pure madra out of his core, cycle it swiftly, and then slam it back into his core making two swirls that spun opposite directions. And then pull.


    Ten year old Yin screamed in agony for long enough that his throat went sore. The pain of splitting his soul had been so much more intense than anything he could remember in either life. The pain had subsided after only a few seconds and yet Yin couldn¡¯t stop screaming in agony and terror. It was anathema to his very existence, what he had done. It was akin to suicide, and yet he lived, as he knew he would. Probably. It was very likely that he would survive without killing himself.


    But he¡¯d done it, stage one of a plan he¡¯d only sort of plotted out.


    After he gathered his wits he went into his parents bedroom, cautiously stepped around the mess on the floor. And found a box covered in scripts in a drawer.


    The mushroom he¡¯d taken two tiny bites out of some years ago looked the same as it had back then. Only so much smaller, now that his body had grown. Bringing it back to his own room he sat and divided it up, two piles roughly equal in size. He started to eat and cycle, the pure madra in one core swelled and pushed at the limits of its container. Then the next one.


    Hours passed and his channels felt like they would burst, but he was finally done. He couldn¡¯t perfectly remember how to progress from there, foundation to copper. He had a notion that it was just to let it overflow, breaking through the literal limit of his soul cores forcing them to become greater. Not quite there yet, but he¡¯d probably be able to do it soon.


    Later, when his parents came home and found their son they reacted as most parents in the world would. They took him out back to the well in their little garden and threatened to drown him.


    Yeng beat him, Chen¡¯en strangled him. They poured water over him and left him outside to think of what he¡¯d done. For much of the evening he could hear them inside, each arguing the other out of killing him for his mistake. Yin decided that they were no longer his parents that night.


    But in the end his parents'' new disdain for their child worked out for him. They stopped pushing for their ¡®crippled¡¯ son to advance, giving all the room he needed to mind his own business.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡ª


    Yin, going on eleven years old, was the oldest of the children in his class, everyone else having already ¡®graduated¡¯. In other words having taken on aspects, or a path of their own and starting to work or leaving the village.


    His teacher, Marunil, looked at him as if Yin were stupid. ¡®¡¯You want me to hunt a sublime beast for you?¡¯¡¯


    Yin felt embarrassed, he¡¯d never liked it in either life when people gave him that look. ¡®¡¯Just a small one, maybe a squirrel. Y¡¯know, around jade-ish strength.¡¯¡¯ He poked his fingers together and tried to look cute. The only blessing his parents had given him were his looks. Pale hair that bordered on green that naturally curled into beautiful locks. Eyes that were a light brown that, in the right light, bordered on honey gold. And a cherubic face, that maybe would have worked better if he¡¯d been a girl.


    Marunil shifted uncomfortably, his goldsign moved on its own and knocked over a stack of papers on the teachers desk. He took hold of the squid-like tentacle and it wrapped around his hand. ¡®¡¯Yin, this is really something you should ask your parents for.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Yeng is an idiot who doesn¡¯t use his path right and Chen¡¯en wouldn¡¯t fight a fly because she might ruin her nails.¡¯¡¯ Yin told his teacher bluntly. Ruining the cute act he¡¯d put on.


    ¡®¡¯At least call them mom and dad.¡¯¡¯ Marunil sighed and bent down to rifle through some papers he had. Missing the disgusted face Yin made at the suggestion. He came back up with a scroll, and rolled it out, running a finger along the length of paper until he found something. ¡®¡¯Ah! Here, three weeks ago, a sublime bird of some kind was seen nearby. Maybe you could convince Jakka and Ten to hunt it for you, they like you right?¡¯¡¯


    Jakka was six years older than Yin, and the boy had many times been abusive to him. Ten was a girl about 5 years older who had an obsession with blades. Specifically short knives, anything longer than her fingers was out. She¡¯d given him a few cuts over the years they¡¯d spent in class together, mostly for no discernable reason. Both had been looking for the perfect remnants to advance to gold with for years.


    ¡®¡¯I think I¡¯d feel safer going with you.¡¯¡¯ Yin told him. ¡®¡¯In several ways.¡¯¡¯


    His teacher sighed in resignation, eventually and reluctantly agreeing. ¡®¡¯Maybe I can make some time to go with you.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯You promise!?¡¯¡¯ Yin yelled, and in a second he was crowded by the other children in the class all yelling the word ¡®promise¡¯ in their own ways. Ti Li, Ten¡¯s younger sister, and one of the younger in the class at eight years old took the opportunity to steal a pen from the teachers desk while he was distracted.


    Marunil sufferingly acquiesced the children. ¡®¡¯I *sigh* I promise I¡¯ll take you out to hunt.¡¯¡¯


    Yin cheered, and the rest of the children joined him, they all bounced around the teachers desk hooting and hollering.


    ¡®¡¯Only you Yin, and I think I¡¯ll bring Jakka and Ten as well, they could use the experience.¡¯¡¯


    Yin¡¯s good mood dimmed instantly, standing still in the swarm of bouncing children, glaring at his teacher.


    ¡ª


    Marunil picked a perfect day for them to go out. Yeng had gotten himself into trouble again, spending two days in a punishment cube. And Chen¡¯en had decided to day drink with her visiting cousin who was only slightly less worthless than Yin¡¯s mother.


    They met at the edge of the little town, where the forest threatened to claim the buildings if the occupants became too lax. Yin found his teacher and Ten sitting on a freshly cut down log, apparently Marunil had found the tree to have grown too close for comfort.


    ¡®¡¯Good morning Marunil, and not Ten, you can have a bad-¡¯¡¯ Marunils tentacle goldsign whipped out to slap him over the head. ¡®¡¯Gah!¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯This is no time to act like that Yin, please apologize.¡¯¡¯ Marunil reprimanded with no particular heat.


    Yin sighed and turned to Ten who stared right back at him with her narrow, dreadfully black, eyes. ¡®¡¯Sorry.¡¯¡¯ He made a rude gesture with one hand, hidden from Marunil by his body. Ten silently gave the same one back.


    ¡®¡¯Anyways! Looks like Jakka isn¡¯t coming so let''s go right now, go go go!¡¯¡¯ Yin tried to push Marunil up but the man didn¡¯t even need to do anything to resist the feeble might of a barely eleven year old child in his foundation stage of cultivation.


    ¡®¡¯Now now, let''s calm down and I¡¯ll explain what you¡¯re allowed to do during this excursion Yin.¡¯¡¯ Yin didn¡¯t like the tone the man took. How dare he treat him as a child, even though he physically was one and often acted like it. ¡®¡¯You will stay by my side, if I have to fight something then you will stay with Ten and Jakka until I¡¯m done.¡¯¡¯


    The restrictions kept coming even as Jakka joined them. Yin was not allowed to make noise, walk in front of anyone, touch anything without asking first and absolutely had to bring someone if he needed to pee.


    Marunil forced him to go over all the rules twice before they actually set out. The two teenagers had big backpacks full of gear with them, Jakka had a long remnant claw strapped to his. It looked like a childs rendition of a beast''s claw, drawn into the world itself with brown streaks of luminescent energy. He¡¯d done the soulsmithing to keep it from dissolving himself. Which explained why it seemed faded and on the verge of dissolving.


    ¡®¡¯What¡¯s funny snotty?¡¯¡¯ He eventually asked when he caught Yin looking.


    ¡®¡¯Nothing.¡¯¡¯ He responded smugly and quietly enough that he wouldn¡¯t be told off for making noise. The older boy sneered and muttered about cripples overstepping. For some reason the boy really had it out for the differently able.


    They trekked for hours, up and down hills and over rivers and fallen trees the size of trains. Some of the vegetation grew to be ludicrously massive, how they didn¡¯t simply swallow up everything around them was as much a mystery as everything else in this world.


    Many things along the way were interesting, plants with leaves that shimmered. Birds that called in song that could have been sung in churches in his previous life. Tracks from large animals that sank deep into the ground. And finally they stopped, Yin the only one truly tired, in a clearing where a massive tree had fallen and uprooted a field big enough for two teams to play football on.


    They made a small camp they could stay overnight in, Marunil creating a line of script around the site. Explaining everything about it all the while. ¡®¡¯And then we reach this part, the alarm, see the characters? They sense when madra in the line around them is disturbed, this causes the previous-¡¯¡¯


    Yin noticed something and stopped listening, climbing halfway up the wall of the trees upturned roots he found what he¡¯d seen. A mushroom with a pattern that suggested it would be poisonous. He glared at it with hatred. Just seeing one of the damned things brought up bad memories.


    But it felt potent so he picked it and made his way back down, only for Jakka and Ten to accost him as soon as he was in reach.


    ¡®¡¯Look at that! A treasure mushroom!¡¯¡¯ He tried to pry it from Yin¡¯s hands but Ten interfered.


    ¡®¡¯Idiot, you¡¯re already peak jade, this wouldn¡¯t do you any good. My little sister though..¡¯¡¯


    Yin thought of little Ti Li, and decided that she had plenty of time to get her own treasures full of vital energy. ¡®¡¯Let go of me, finders keepers! Nghh! Maru!¡¯¡¯


    He was dismayed to find his teacher frowning at them all. Soon the man came and easily stole the mushroom out of their hands. His fingers flowed like water and untangled theirs. With the mushroom in one hand and the other raised, threatening to chop a head in half should it rise too high, he asked a question. ¡®¡¯Who deserves this mushroom?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯¡¯¡¯¡®¡¯ME!¡¯¡¯¡¯¡¯¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯I found it!¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯I can sell it for a good remnant!¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯My sister!¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Quiet.¡¯¡¯ The children shrunk down as their teacher exerted just a little of his cultivation on them. It felt like water was flowing down on them.


    He looked from Ten to Jakka. ¡®¡¯Who deserves the mushroom?¡¯¡¯ They quietly contemplated, glancing at each other.


    Yin knew right away what was happening, Marunil was leading the other two to decide that Ti Li should get it. Completely ignoring the ¡®cripple¡¯ who wouldn¡¯t put the treasure to good use. Even though he was on the verge of copper that hadn¡¯t been enough to convince anyone that his split cores were any good. Better to give it to someone who had ¡®potential¡¯. And he could do nothing about it.


    Unless..


    There was one move he could use that he¡¯d remembered, the Empty Palm. Simplicity itself, just a burst of madra from his palm pushed into another person''s core. A move he¡¯d never even tried to use because using his pitiful amounts of madra would only make advancing at his stage take longer.


    He¡¯d just have to do it and at least try to get the mushroom out of Marunil¡¯s hands before he was finished discussing with the two older teens. He put on an angry face, easy considering the rage he was feeling, and staggered forward. Marunil let him, only laying a hand on his shoulder as he hit the man''s waist.


    To sell it Yin pitifully hit him, once and then again, Marunil ignored him. Even going so far as to tell the other two to focus on him and who deserved the mushroom rather than Yin.


    He took his chance, he pulled all the madra he could from one core and cycled it up to his arm. Marunil flinched and looked down at him, noticing the energy but too late to stop it. Yin¡¯s hand hit him and his pure madra flooded into the man''s soul, disrupting the flow. Marunil gasped and staggered, dropping the mushroom right into Yin¡¯s hand.


    He smashed it into his mouth and chewed once. A blade of conceptual sharpness cut through the bridge of his nose, several more landed along the side of his face and body. Yin pushed the half chewed mushroom into his throat with two fingers and managed to swallow it.


    Jakka had a fist cocked, covered in a boulder of forged madra, ready to crush his head. But Marunil stopped him, kicking the boy hard enough that he flew back into the tree roots. Then he slapped Ten hard enough that she spun into the ground.


    He kneeled in front of Yin who was doubled over on the ground, desperately cycling the energy ravaging him. ¡®¡¯That was very, very stupid Yin.¡¯¡¯ He told the boy, unimpressed even as the boy¡¯s split soul advanced. ¡®¡¯What was that supposed to change for you? All you¡¯ve done is take something away from a person who could have done more with the gift than you will. I¡¯m disappointed, in you and myself for trusting you.¡¯¡¯


    Yin forcefully redirected the rest of the energy into his empty core and then had to cycle it through raw channels to incorporate it. Slowly, hours going by, he forced it all to become his. One core had advanced to copper, the other at the edge of breaking past foundation. It felt to him as if he was brimming with power, and yet he shivered.


    Marunil, Jakka and Ten had made a small fire and sat around it, eating whatever they had brought with them. They didn¡¯t make any move to come help him. He was forced to pull Ten¡¯s knives out of his body on his own, and then had to bandage himself up while the others went to sleep.


    Yin had known all along that this was his reality, but that night as he froze outside the range of the campfire it finally became real for him.


    The world known as Cradle sucked.

 Chapter 2

    Chapter 2


    Yin thought to himself that in his previous life the kind of injuries he was currently walking off would have left him debilitated for weeks. The cuts on his side and the one across his nose were the worst, the latter bleeding again because he¡¯d wiped his face without thinking.


    Marunil and Jakka walked in front, the teacher scanning the woods for anything. Jakka absorbed with trying to use a ruler technique Marunil had suggested. Trying to make the earth under them do something, Yin hadn¡¯t heard the whole conversation.


    Ten walked behind him, and he could feel as her madra sharpened into forged blades that trailed near him. His senses had sharpened just a little bit as he¡¯d advanced, only enough that he was aware of the concentrated energy that could kill him at any time.


    These people were so childish and stupid, that mushroom wasn¡¯t that valuable to any of them, or anyone else for that matter. They were common in the area, enough so that they were sometimes brought out during festivals in the slightly richer villages so any child could eat one and improve themselves. But here these three were, bullying a child because they couldn¡¯t make up enough value among themselves to pay for a fresh one.


    To pass the time as they trekked, Yin practiced looking at the world with new eyes. He¡¯d had it described to him several times so it didn¡¯t take him long to relax his eyes in the right way. Soon the world bloomed into colors, ethereal shapes overlapping everything.


    Marunil had a deep blue haze around him, it felt like the water in a placid lake, but the water hid a beast. Jakka was brown and felt like soft soil, much different from the unyielding stone his path was meant to produce.


    He wanted to inspect Ten but turning would probably net him another cut, and losing more blood would make the walk even harder. Instead he looked to the sides of their trail, at the life all around. There, under a bush, he could see traces that spoke of a life attuned root. In a tree, hidden behind foliage there might have been some sort of air or wind attuned fruit.


    And in front of them.. A wall of life, overpowering everything more and more with every step closer they took. ¡®¡¯Where are we going?¡¯¡¯ Yin asked, and was awarded with three pairs of glaring eyes.


    Marunil answered after a few seconds to let his disapproval sink in. ¡®¡¯We are approaching the sacred wall, made by the benevolent Monarch.¡¯¡¯ He said with great respect. Leading on.


    Yin swore internally, fighting to stay with the group against the overwhelming urge to run. This man who was supposed to teach them was bringing them right up to the fence keeping the Silent King from killing them all with its mere presence. What the hell was this moron doing bringing them so close to a Dreadgod?


    The wall came into sight, and it was grand. Vines thicker than even the biggest trees they had passed wound around each other in a titanic tangle. Yin had to let go of his copper sight just to keep his mind from being broken, and still it did little because the sheer energy contained in the wall made his skin crawl.


    Marunil launched into a lecture about ¡®The Benevolent Monarch¡¯, about her great deeds and generosity to all her subjects. How ¡®She¡¯ worked tirelessly day in and out for hundreds of years to keep ¡®The Beast¡¯ contained.


    Yin didn¡¯t know why he refused to say their names. Religious fervor? Some people had been like that on earth.


    ¡®¡¯And the lesson I want you to take away from this is: We live, because She has gifted us with life. We will die if we take too much from Her.¡¯¡¯ He glared at Yin, who looked back in confusion. ¡®¡¯To rush in these lives we live, to take from nature or each other more than we need. That is the path of The Beast.¡¯¡¯


    Yin reeled as he realized that Marunil, his favorite teacher in this life, was a complete moron. Just a bumbling damned idiot.


    ¡®¡¯Yin, that mushroom you wasted, do you know what it would have meant for Ten¡¯s sister to receive it? Did you take even a moment to consider that people exist beyond you?¡¯¡¯ The man didn¡¯t even remember Ti Li¡¯s name and he had the audacity to use her on a guilt trip?


    ¡®¡¯From here the plan was that we would hunt a sublime beast in the jade level. We would have shared the meat and together cultivated its power. But Yin you have proven you deserve no such thing. We will return home, and Jakka, Ten? The three of us will venture out again, to do this properly.¡¯¡¯


    He walked past Yin, leading them on the way back. ¡®¡¯I hope you will meditate on this Yin, and be better, so that you may honor Her.¡¯¡¯


    Jakka followed him, but Yin stayed and so did Ten. Yin simply wanted to see something.


    He poked Ten¡¯s leg and when he had her attention pointed to the ground by the wall. Just barely poking past fallen leaves that had gathered down there was the cap of a mushroom. With a pattern that suggested it was poisonous.


    Ten glared at him, but a forged madra blade appeared from her hand and shot out, cutting the stem and bringing it back to her. She produced a cloth with scripts woven into it and wrapped the mushroom and stuck it in her pack without a word.


    Marunil and Jakka didn¡¯t notice, or if they did they acted as if they hadn¡¯t. Yin didn¡¯t care much for Jakka and Ten, they¡¯d shown their hands long ago. But Marunil? His favorite person in Cradle? He actually felt betrayed, it was horrible.


    Ten pushed him, forcing him to walk. Back to the shitty village, that was almost neighbor with a dreadgods cage. Marunil really had to update his curriculum, lead with the fact that they lived in range to be killed if the Silent King rolled over in its sleep.


    ¡ª


    Something was wrong, Yin could feel it long before they came close to the village. Marunil seemed to feel it as well, his goldsign tentacles grew increasingly more erratic. Soon enough they found the outlying houses with broken walls.


    ¡®¡¯Children, stay together, don¡¯t move too close to me.¡¯¡¯ He said and in moments water started to gather around him, drawn from the ground and air. Madra bound the water into long serpentine tendrils, glowing with power. He walked slowly past ruined homes, the water serpents around him questing for something to hit.


    Soon they heard sounds of violence, moments later they saw it.


    Fire flashed out in an arc that Marunil was forced to block with a tendril, the opposing elements ate each other up.


    Yeng burst out of the mist that the attacks had created, hands blazing, ready to reduce anything to cinders at a moment''s notice. He stopped his momentum with bursts of flame, looking at them with bloodshot eyes.


    ¡®¡¯Dreadbeasts.¡¯¡¯ He gasped, gulping down air as if he were drowning. Failing to explain more because of his exhaustion.


    The beasts in question revealed themselves moments later. Something like a cross between a hyena and a giraffe swung a much too long limb through the smoke catching Yeng, throwing the man away through a building.


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    Marunil sent two serpentine tendrils at the beast, one missed, the second punched into its neck. The snake of water burrowed into the creature and made its flesh burst in a gory blast. It didn¡¯t seem all that phased by it until Yeng burst back out like a comet wreathed in flame and drove a fist through its skull.


    When he landed and pulled his hand out of the dreadbeast Yin saw his biological fathers other arm was broken. The man took ragged breaths and wildly looked around for more enemies. Completely missing the one coming up behind him.


    Marunil sent another pair of serpents at it but it was too late, it swiped Yengs head off before the attacks could reach it. When they did it was brought down in another disgusting explosion.


    Marunil was saying something but Yin was more focused on the remnant rising out of his fathers body. An orange wireframe creature with purple speckled through it. It looked around, seemingly confused, and it spoke in the dozens of voices of a crowd of people. Senseless noise, fitting for the senseless man. It began to wander off into the mist.


    ¡®¡¯Yin!¡¯¡¯ Jakka tugged on his injured shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts. ¡®¡¯Focus, and take this.¡¯¡¯ He handed over another remnant weapon. Obviously self made again, a pale blue crab claw. ¡®¡¯You might be able to use it once before it breaks, better than nothing.¡¯¡¯


    Ten pushed past them and sprinted in the direction Yin thought her house was in, bad move. Marunil had moved to one side and engaged another dreadbeast that had wandered over, too far to stop the girl. She disappeared in a whorl of mist.


    Yin found himself hoping she wouldn¡¯t be dead by the end of this. Surprising himself that he cared at all for the mildly sociopathic girl. He looked up at Jakka who seemed completely stunned by that development.


    Tugging on his pant leg Yin pointed towards the center of the village, where the actual defenses were. ¡®¡¯If we can make it to the bunker we should be fine, right?¡¯¡¯ The older boy didn¡¯t seem to comprehend for a moment, then snapped back.


    ¡®¡¯Ye- Yeah! Yeah we¡¯re going to the bunker! Marunil! Bunker!¡¯¡¯ Jakka started moving, his earthy claw weapon gripped hard enough it threatened to crush the remnant hilt.


    Trailing behind him Yin asked a quiet question. ¡®¡¯Jakka you know how to do enhancement right?¡¯¡¯ The older boy didn¡¯t answer, but Yin knew he¡¯d heard the question. Unfortunate. The boy''s earth aspect would have made him durable enough to tank a hit or two. Now Yin had one less thing to hide behind.


    Marunil joined them after a second, looking wretched, a glance with copper sight told Yin the man had used a lot of his madra. No surprise considering the man used a ruler and forger mix for his technique. A lot of extra effort just to send a bolt of water into something.


    Another remnant stumbled by, singing a lullaby in bird-like chirps, its aspect was a mix of life and something else. Not earth so it wasn¡¯t Chen¡¯en, though Yin doubted the woman wouldn¡¯t have beelined for the bunker before anyone else when the attack began.


    They passed through a ruined house, Marunil destroying a dreadbeast that lurked past the wall. Then they were there, at the earthy mound in the center of their village, a glowing script circle around it. Yin and Jakka passed through it, Marunil stopped outside and stood guard, ready to kill more of the monsters.


    Up on top of the mound was the entrance, a single ladder down into a lit up room filled with crying children. Jakka pushed past Yin and climbed down first.


    When he came down Chen¡¯en called his name, as expected she was in there. ¡®¡¯Yin! Where is Yeng? Where is..¡¯¡¯ She trailed off when she saw his expression. Dramatically slumping to the floor she started wailing and kicking like a child. Making the actual children in the shelter freak out even more. For a while the bunker was a cacophonous mix of screaming and crying. Yin picked a spot and sat down, beginning to cycle. It was a long day and night before the attacking beasts were finally all killed.


    ¡ª


    Like a millstone rotating, grinding against the borders of his soul, forever going around and down, slowly, slowly.


    Chen¡¯en grabbed Yin, forcing him out of his cycling and put him over her shoulder, carrying him up the ladder. Outside was a mix of ruined wrecks and houses somehow untouched by the battles.


    Marunil sat, seemingly sleeping, leaning against an intact building. A sound like a babbling creek flowing sounded out and a blue remnant with tentacles for arms wandered around the side of the building. Chen¡¯en put him down and made a sign with her hands.


    Yin didn¡¯t like her pretending to care for people like that.


    She pulled him along, moving around the village, seeing corpses of the twisted dreadbeasts all over. A pale purple remnant attacked them and Chen¡¯en destroyed it by calling up a spike of wriggling earth into it. Making a disgusted noise as it dissolved. Yin wondered who that had been.


    They wandered around in a circle, finally finding the remnant they were looking for. Yeng held a cylindrical rock in his vaguely hand shaped appendage, senseless noise emanating from him. Chen¡¯en was quick to start writing scripts, some sort of binding, wrapping one circle around him and then making another around her wrist.


    ¡®¡¯Yin.¡¯¡¯ She turned to him and her face was as emotive as ever, rage distorting her features. ¡®¡¯Even though you have managed to cripple yourself you must be the man of the house now. You will take on your fathers path and when you are ready, you will take his remnant and advance to gold.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Okay.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Tomorrow morning we¡¯ll make a campfire and you will cycle fire and dreams. Even broken, those cores of yours should be able to do it.¡¯¡¯


    Chen¡¯en kept talking, making plans for the future that Yin agreed to. When she was finally done she allowed him to do as he pleased until nightfall, she wandered back to the bunker with his fathers remnant in tow.


    Yin quickly looted a ruined house for a knife and a good box, then found a dreadbeast to carve into. Its flesh split easily and digging its physical organs out was easy, it only took him minutes to find the pale spiritual knot inside it. It¡¯s corrupted madra binding. Hunger.


    He cut it out and placed it in the box, then spent a minute slowly drawing a preservation script with the small reserves of madra he could spare. Then he went looting again for a backpack and some preserved foods.


    Next he needed a few more things, he sought out the houses of the few golds in the village, skipping the ones where people were still alive. Ignoring dirty looks he scavenged some coins of forged madra, scales, and then finally made his way back to his own house.


    Carefully going through his room he took his journal, script books, some manuals Yeng had given him on martial arts forms and then he went to his parents room. Messy as always, just the way Yin liked it because it meant he knew where everything in there was. In his fathers drawers he found a soulcrafted armament, too powerful by far for Yin to use but worth plenty to trade. And in his mothers drawers he found the secret compartment, sealed by inexpert scripts that Yin had spent more than a year figuring out how to undo.


    Inside was a bag of gold level scales of a few different elements, most notable to Yin were the dream scales. Her nest egg for advancement if she finally decided to take the next step and come back to her family. The dream scales would be great for Yin in the future, and the life ones would be traded for other resources.


    He took the time to repack his bag and add some clothes for the road. It was earlier than he¡¯d planned to leave but he couldn¡¯t stay another minute in the hellhole he¡¯d grown up in.


    Stepping out of his house he was greeted by Ten and Ti Li. The older girl had advanced to gold, the sign a row of finger length ethereal blades that framed her face. ¡®¡¯Where you going?¡¯¡¯ She asked roughly, holding her little sister''s hand.


    Yin thought for a moment before grinning at her painfully, ripping the wound over his nose again. ¡®¡¯I¡¯m gonna go give thanks to the monarch.¡¯¡¯


    Ten grunted and picked her sister up, hitching a pained breath as she bent. Yin was almost certain that the girl had murdered her father to get his remnant. His own family was far from the only one that was severely messed up out here.


    She followed Yin as he left on the road towards the larger, more prosperous town a day''s walk downhill. He looked her over as she sometimes staggered beside him. ¡®¡¯You didn¡¯t bring anything with you?¡¯¡¯


    She glared at him and her free hand brushed over her chest, or rather the necklace hanging there.


    A void key. Out here of all places? And Ten of all people was the one who had it? Unfair. Unreasonable even, that thing should belong to Yin. How could he possibly be so unlucky that none of the houses he¡¯d checked had one either?


    He couldn¡¯t remember how rare they were, the larger factions seemed to have plenty of the things in supply. Some of them had to trickle down to the masses. But whatever, Yin would have plenty of time to get his own later.


    As soon as he could get his hands on a clever little dream spirit he¡¯d take the first steps on his paths.


    The Devouring Mind would be fun to find the limits of.

 Chapter 3

    Chapter 3


    ¡®¡¯And here, young master, a perfectly, masterfully crafted armament. Designed to maximize output, this jellyfish organ will produce a thick gel that, when applied to the skin, gives a beautiful luster.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Pass.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Aaah the young master is discerning indeed! Then! This wonderful ornament. Bone carved from the titanic remains of the Cloud Gatherer, this will surely improve your luck-¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Pass.¡¯¡¯


    The merchant sighed, dropping the act and glaring at Yin and his companions who for some reason still stuck with him. ¡®¡¯I don¡¯t have any spirits, kid, what do you want me to say? Should I just conjure one up for you?¡¯¡¯


    Yin scratched at the scab over his nose and winced at the pain it caused. ¡®¡¯You could point me in the right direction to get one old man.¡¯¡¯


    The merchant looked terribly offended. ¡®¡¯I don¡¯t know what''s worse! Giving someone else more business or that you''d think me old! I¡¯m only 47!¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯This guy is worthless.¡¯¡¯ Ti Li whispered adorably. Ten patted her head and praised her for saying the correct thing.


    Yin didn¡¯t bother waiting to see if the man would eventually change his mind and pull out the rare goods. Most likely the merchant actually didn¡¯t have any, or he¡¯d have already done it.


    His hair fell over his eyes and Yin brushed it back and sighed, looking down the street towards the road to the next city. It was slower than he¡¯d expected to find resources. The little village he¡¯d grown up in was poor enough that even garbage mushrooms were considered valuable.


    Larger places were supposed to have these kinds of things in excess, and yet they didn¡¯t. At least not for unusually pretty little boys with scars on their faces. Ten had more luck, having scored a pair of treasure blades that she used to make blade madra for her to cultivate.


    But neither of them had been able to get sacred beast meat. Nor was anyone willing to trade scales with them. It was getting to the point where they¡¯d have to stay a few days just to recover from all the walking they were doing.


    Ti Li chewed on a skewer of fried vegetables. Where had she gotten that?


    ¡®¡¯Screw it, I¡¯m gonna find someone selling a thousand mile cloud and buy it no matter what. The faster I can get out of the boonies the better.¡¯¡¯ Yin said, giving the merchant a suggestive look. The man scoffed and picked a pebble off the road and threw it at him.


    As Yin danced away he shouted. ¡®¡¯Don¡¯t come back here you cheap brat!¡¯¡¯


    Yin was satisfied that that was a good indication that thousand mile clouds were rare out here. Ten and Ti Li trailed after him as he made his way out to a nice spot to rest for the night. Some local peacekeepers kept their eyes on them as they set up under a flower large enough to be called a tree on earth.


    Ten and Ti Li huddled around a clay cup that they¡¯d set a lump of burning coal in, grilling something for dinner. Yin chewed on dried meat he¡¯d gotten for almost nothing and cycled in the way they¡¯d done in the book. Working on his smaller core.


    It was close, only needing a final push to advance to copper. He pulled whisps out of his core cycling them through his body, and simultaneously started a swirl of the energy still in his core. Grinding against the limits of his soul, outwards and down, bit by bit forcing it to grow.


    Every time another wisp made the circuit his soul strained just a little bit more to contain the energy within it. It bordered on discomfort, but Yin knew it was the feeling of being on the verge. Five rounds, ten rounds, twenty two, and finally on the twenty third, as he crammed the wisp back in, the gates broke and his soul expanded. A wave of strength flooded him.


    Finally both parts of his soul were copper. A feeling of equilibrium that had been missing came back to him, and he felt a bit of peace for the first time in a while.


    ¡®¡¯How¡¯d you do that?¡¯¡¯ He opened his eyes and then closed one as he saw Ten¡¯s knife hovering barely inches from it. ¡®¡¯You¡¯re unaspected, and there''s no pure madra in the air. What did you cultivate just now? Keeping something from me?¡¯¡¯


    He glared at her with one eye, mind working a mile a second, arriving at a simple answer. ¡®¡¯Are you stupid?¡¯¡¯ Ten was clever and skilled, but not all that worldly.


    ¡®¡¯Huhn?¡¯¡¯ She threatened to poke his eye out.


    ¡®¡¯Humans produce pure madra, just a little bit,¡¯¡¯ The knife kissed a shallow line in his cheek. ¡®¡¯All I had to do was make room for more to be produced by cycling. Easy. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m the first to have figured that out.¡¯¡¯


    Ten eased up with the knife but her glare cut him regardless. ¡®¡¯That¡¯s impossible. You can¡¯t make that much.¡¯¡¯


    He chuckled dryly. ¡®¡¯Yeah, it took eight years and two mushrooms.¡¯¡¯


    She muttered in disgust at how inefficient it was to not just take an aspect and advance the normal way. Then she paused as she went to her sleeping bag. ¡®¡¯Eight years?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯I¡¯m not going to miss those two.¡¯¡¯ Yin told her as he settled against the stalk of the massive flower.


    ¡ª


    Another day, another city, another cut in his arm from Ten who¡¯d just gotten bored and decided to slash him. He also might have made her mad by complaining about their bad luck for a few days, but taking a knife to someone was a pretty big overreaction.


    Yin had high hopes for this place though, a big difference between it and the others they¡¯d been through was the architecture. Buildings made of shaped stone reaching far into the sky, some with clinging vines making them vibrant and lively.


    The streets were impressive too, many actual shops instead of street stalls. And scripted signs making colorful advertisements for the wares available. They¡¯d passed by a place that, to Yin, reeked of thousand mile clouds. The very second he could slip away from Ten and Ti Li he¡¯d go back there and try to buy one.


    But there was more he needed than just a vehicle. Cultivation resources, gear and weapons, more information on how to optimize his eventual iron body. The fact that he was having trouble finding information on the last one didn¡¯t make sense to him. He was surely on Em- That Monarch''s land. And her whole deal had been freedom of information and unity in language to reduce divides among people and races.


    The only reason he could think of was that they were still sort of in the vicinity of the Silent King. The route they¡¯d taken had been a loose arc around the cage holding the Dreadgod. It made some sense, having dream related information banks around the dream Dreadgod sounded like a bad idea.


    But it still made things harder for Yin so he cursed whoever made the decision in his head. If they could at least get a damned map so they could move more quickly towards the capital he¡¯d be grateful.


    Ti Li picked a random establishment and decided she wanted to eat there, and neither of her seniors dared to tell her no. They took their seats at an outdoor service and soon a young jade came to give them menus. When Ti Li told him she couldn¡¯t read he came back with a sheet where every dish on offer was painted.


    Ten slowly forged her madra into the tight shape of a scale, sweat beaded her forehead from the effort. Soon a dull gray coin clinked onto the table. Payment done, they ordered what they wanted.


    Ten kept sending suspicious glances his way as he worked his way through the large potato like root that tasted like a sweet pie. After the meal as they sat and enjoyed feeling so full, Ten finally asked. ¡®¡¯You¡¯re trying to ditch us, ain¡¯t you?¡¯¡¯


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Yin thought about it for a moment and decided that lying wouldn¡¯t really get him anywhere. ¡®¡¯Yeah.¡¯¡¯ He leaned back, balancing on the back legs of his chair.


    Ten didn¡¯t seem all that torn up by it, looking more tired than anything. Ti Li was still stuffing her face with the steamed vegetables tray she¡¯d ordered even though they looked cold. ¡®¡¯I get that you don¡¯t like us, but you¡¯re the only one we know out here. Do you mind sticking with us? At least until I can find a job somewhere.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯You¡¯ve been looking for jobs? As what? An Assassin?¡¯¡¯ Yin felt honestly confused by her statement.


    He¡¯d grown a bit quicker since he¡¯d entered the copper realm and managed to catch her thrown fork in the meat of his palm instead of his face. ¡®¡¯Ow.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Mutt.¡¯¡¯ She growled. ¡®¡¯I want to work with warriors, real ones. How many of those have you seen so far? Not one we¡¯ve passed has been even as strong as Marunil.¡¯¡¯


    Yin winced as he pulled the fork out of his hand, and gripped a napkin to keep from bleeding on anything. He waved to the waiter with a smile so the teenager would stop looking like he was about to call for a guard. ¡®¡¯Maybe,¡¯¡¯ She glared at him. ¡®¡¯I¡¯d be a bit more keen to stick around if you didn¡¯t do stuff like this all the time.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Also, you could work your way up. Outdo all the weaklings or whatever and then ask to be sent to a.. stronger place? Harder missions?¡¯¡¯ Yin wasn¡¯t sure how they did things.


    Ten looked like she wanted to argue. She was only seventeen, and Yin wasn¡¯t entirely sure how old he was now in total, somewhere in the sixties at least. But she was the worst, and he had no desire to keep entertaining her sadistic tendencies. ¡®¡¯I¡¯m gonna try to get to Titan¡¯s Grove. Let¡¯s meet again if you make it there, thanks for the food.¡¯¡¯ Yin walked backwards out of the sitting area, vigilant in case Ten decided to send a bladed missile his way.


    ¡ª


    Thousand mile clouds, constructs taking the shape of fluffy pillows of mist. Standard size was a roughly cubic meter cloud of varying color. Usually blue, green or white because cloud and wind madra were best suited to the creation of the vehicles.


    Yin had his eyes in a deep blue one, made from water and cloud, a rain thousand mile cloud.


    ¡®¡¯Any way I can bring the price down?¡¯¡¯ Yin asked for maybe the fourth time.


    ¡®¡¯Five highgold scales of water, earth or fire. No, I will not go lower. If you¡¯d like the red one-¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯The red one won¡¯t mesh with my image, I¡¯d look like a- what are they called? Redmooner?¡¯¡¯


    The clerk looked suitably offended at the mere mention, if inaccurate, of a Dreadgod cult. He scoffed. ¡®¡¯Well! No one should possibly make such a mistake, the red is from the fire madra it¡¯s constructed of.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Eeeh.¡¯¡¯ Yin played tough customer. ¡®¡¯Give you five lowgold life scales for it.¡¯¡¯ He blatantly ignored the price tag of 10 lowgold scales of the elements already listed for it.


    Yin noticed too late that the clerk was playing him back, the corners of his mouth rose minutely. ¡®¡¯Aiie, no choice then, business is slow I can only reluctantly agree.¡¯¡¯ He ushered Yin over to a script covered tray and observed him closely as he retrieved the currency from his backpack. When the dense energy coins hit the tray it lit up, showing how strong the coins were. The clerk nodded in satisfaction and went into a back room for a second, returning with a script covered wooden box.


    ¡®¡¯And here you are, honored customer, a fire attuned thousand mile cloud.¡¯¡¯ All smiles now, the complete bastard. Yin accepted the box and wrote down the instructions on how to unseal and operate it. Then he spat on the floor and gave the clerk a rude gesture as he left.


    Wasting no time he pulled a finger along on the side of the box, the script there activated by the minute amount of pure madra he fed it. The sides of the box all popped away and the cloud inside expanded like an airbag.


    Yin jumped up on it and fell off as the thing slid away under him. Another attempt was more successful as he infused some madra into it before getting on. Then it was time for testing.


    A sliver of madra entered and the cloud expanded, he directed the next sliver into another section of the control script and was rewarded by it floating up and forward. He had enough madra to make it go for a few hours, time to see how fast the thing would go.


    Navigating over people''s heads to some dismay he exited the center of the city and aimed roughly south, where Titan¡¯s Grove would be. He picked up speed, soaring higher over buildings, fields and then forest.


    His hair was pulled tightly against his scalp by the wind. Yin felt tears spill from his eyes, and not only from the wind. For the first time in eleven years he felt free. No abusive parents, no teachers who didn¡¯t actually care for him, no psychotic tagalongs who liked to hurt him for petty reasons.


    Alone.


    The elation died down at that thought. Maybe he could find nicer companions on the road.


    ¡ª


    People were not fond of strangers, especially weird ones. Such as fine featured boys with curly pale green hair and scars in their faces. People seemed especially distrusting of such boys. Having a split soul may or may not have had something to do with it.


    Also being a double pure artist.


    But Yin didn¡¯t let little setbacks stop him, he was still going to follow his plan, spending half a year on the road was nothing but a little roadblock.


    His dwindling supply of cash scales and lack of cultivation resources to show for it didn¡¯t demoralize him either. He¡¯d kept up the cultivation technique from the book he couldn¡¯t remember the name of, both of his cores were approaching halfway to iron. If he could just get his hands on some actual sublime fruits or meat he¡¯d be able to get himself to the verge of advancement in no time.Then he¡¯d just need to figure out what iron body would best fit his potential second path.


    The Devouring Mind would synergize with a dream spirit, creating his own version of the one the main character had in the book. The second he was undecided on even now, with so many options that would potentially become extremely powerful. If his plan worked out he could go for almost anything.


    Something that could go both big and flashy but also efficient and sneaky when need be. His mind kept going back to a name he remembered from his previous life.


    Ramiel.


    Yes, a path of light. Maybe a path of light and thunder for the extra oomph. The image of a lazerbeam impacting a mountain and after a moment vaporizing half of it recurred in his dreams.


    But other paths were equally tempting, water, wind and lighting for a storm path. Shadow and death for an assassin path. A perfect bloodforged iron body paired with a life and force path to become an unkillable juggernaut.


    ¡®¡¯He¡¯s muttering again.¡¯¡¯ A guard said, looking at Yin with distrustful, maybe even disgusted, eyes.


    Indeed Yin would not let himself be discouraged by little things. However, being detained in a jail for ¡®suspicious conduct¡¯ was more than a small roadblock. Having been here for a few days, being fed grain for two meals a day, and vegetables for the third, Yin decided he¡¯d had enough.


    Daydreaming and wishing wasn¡¯t getting him where he wanted to be fast enough. It was time to take a gamble, risk it for the biscuit.


    ¡­


    Yin was at least 60 percent sure that ¡®risk it for the biscuit¡¯ was a phrase in his old life. He couldn¡¯t remember anyone actually saying it out loud but..


    ¡®¡¯Emriss Silentborn, can I have your attention for a moment?¡¯¡¯


    He¡¯d caught the guards attention by saying those words, that was for sure, they glared at him in disbelief. A hand had gone to the hilt of a blade, such was the audacity of the words.


    Yin wasn¡¯t alone in the cell anymore.


    A woman, her skin brown bark, hair pale blue leaves, clothes that looked to have grown onto her and a matronly cunning smile, she looked him over. She bent down and wiped some dirt off his face. ¡®¡¯Another one of you outsiders. You took a long time to reach out for help. Your caution is admirable.¡¯¡¯


    Three short sentences were enough to put all his worries to rest. Yin felt the effect was unnatural, she must have done something, it couldn¡¯t possibly be that he was starved for positive older female attention.


    The monarch smiled at him, melting the thick walls around his heart. ¡®¡¯So what did you want to speak to me about?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Can you adopt me?¡¯¡¯ Yin asked before his mind could censor him. ¡®¡¯M-mommy? I mean- mommy? SHIT!¡¯¡¯ He considered killing himself, not sure how though, since breaking his copper cores would just turn him into an actual cripple.


    Emriss chuckled, adding a thousand deaths to Yin¡¯s pride as a formerly grown man. ¡®¡¯Well, let¡¯s not get too far ahead of ourselves.¡¯¡¯ She casually sat on his stiff cell bed. ¡®¡¯I¡¯ve met a couple similar to you now and they¡¯ve had quite the ambitious dreams. So before I decide whether to help you or not, I¡¯d like to hear yours.¡¯¡¯


    Yin bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from saying ¡®mommy¡¯ again. And tried to surreptitiously sit on his hand so he wouldn¡¯t try to hug the woman. Then the question sank into his head.


    What was his dream? All he had was a plan for gaining strength.


    ¡®¡¯Uhm.. Is it cool if I take some time to think on that?¡¯¡¯ He asked the monarch, causing the prison guards who were watching them to go up in flames. Literally. They both had fire paths and in their rage at the boy who was wasting their Monarch''s time they couldn¡¯t keep it in.


    Her eyes bore into him with unparalleled kindness. In this life. Yin could still remember a few very kind people from his previous life.


    ¡®¡¯Would you like to take that time here or..?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯With you.¡¯¡¯ Yin¡¯s mouth moved faster than his mind again, not giving him any time to consider if there were traps attached to the statement. It was terrible, he was out of sorts, his body jittered and refused to calm.


    Emriss Silentborn hummed in amusement and wrapped Yin in a loose hug. And in the next moment they were gone.


    The guards stood outside the empty low security cell in silence for a moment.


    ¡®¡¯This is the sort of day you should gamble.¡¯¡¯ One said to his colleague.


    ¡®¡¯Yeah, I¡¯m asking for a raise.¡¯¡¯ He agreed.

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4


    Yin was dumbfounded, even half an hour after Emriss had pulled him through The Way to Titan¡¯s Grove.


    The name suited the location, the main feature, a tree that seemed to reach for the stars, made even the largest things he¡¯d ever seen seem small in comparison.


    The monarch had assigned some people to get him settled into a guest home, and Yin had followed them without question, still busy taking it all in.


    Everything seemed natural, even when it was obviously made for and by people. Houses, workshops, large entertainment venues and even fountains and sculptures, all seemingly grown naturally.


    And even more shocking were the remnants that sometimes crowded the streets. Every shape, size and color imaginable, making noises that often defied description. Some seemingly mindless ones hauled carts with people or goods in them. Others, more defined and real looking walked on their own carrying out jobs or simply enjoying their days.


    And the people. If people was even the correct word for so many of the beings out and about. Birds as large as horses came and went, some speaking the common language flawlessly, others cawing or tweeting. Sacred beasts in the gold tiers of cultivation were everywhere, mingling with the humans all around. Animal features of every type abounded, horns, ears, tusks, fur. Yin saw more diversity on one street than he ever had in any zoo he could remember.


    ¡®¡¯There¡¯s a type of parasitic worm-fly that enters through the mouth and attaches to the spinal cord and takes control of you.¡¯¡¯ Yin¡¯s caretaker guide lightly told him, probably not the first words she¡¯d said to him but the first he¡¯d had the presence of mind to hear.


    ¡®¡¯Hope they taste good.¡¯¡¯ He answered, twisting to get a better look at a fluffy serpent that wound itself around a large man¡¯s waist.


    His guide chuckled and he saw a remnant about to cross her path suddenly stop mid step, completely frozen until she¡¯d passed it. ¡®¡¯They don¡¯t, quite painful too, and the host never actually loses consciousness.¡¯¡¯


    Yin was starting to feel self conscious about his blatant tourist-like rude gawking and refocused on his guide. ¡®¡¯Sorry, I was a bit out of it there, what¡¯s your name again Parasite Lady?¡¯¡¯ He looked around, there¡¯d been more people that Emriss had assigned to him but none were left to be seen.


    ¡®¡¯My name is Margo.¡¯¡¯ Margo said sourly. ¡®¡¯Don¡¯t call me Parasite Lady, I just happen to like researching them, it¡¯s not my ¡®thing¡¯.¡¯¡¯


    Yin looked at the obviously Lord/Lady level woman who seemed like a surprisingly easy target for bullying. ¡®¡¯Uh huh, yeah, sure thing. I think I¡¯m done sightseeing for now, can we go faster?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯It¡¯s not my thing~¡¯¡¯ Margo whiningly insisted as she made a gesture at him. Moments later a forged disc of force madra appeared under Yin¡¯s feet, lifting him up as Margo herself was carried up on a gust of wind. ¡®¡¯I¡¯m not even a bug person! I just think they¡¯re interesting! Plenty of people research things they¡¯re not fond of!¡¯¡¯


    Yin found it easy to balance on the disc of madra and was quick to cross his arms and try to look stoic and impressive. ¡®¡¯Margo, this young master does not judge you for your weird-¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯Hey!¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯-habits.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯What ¡®young master¡¯? You¡¯re just a vagrant! Don¡¯t get a big head.¡¯¡¯ Margo argued heatedly.


    Yin knew she could easily be anywhere between fifty and two hundred years old despite her youthful features. He remembered that people in this world stayed mostly the same, personality wise, no matter how long they lived. Weird bug girls, would forever be weird bug girls.


    ¡®¡¯Huh? You- You¡¯re thinking something rude! Tell me what you¡¯re thinking right now!¡¯¡¯ Margo demanded, still flying over natural architecture that could house hundreds of people.


    ¡®¡¯Some things are true through the ages.¡¯¡¯ Yin said, smartly cupping his chin in a hand. ¡®¡¯Weirdos will continue to- Aah!¡¯¡¯


    Margo dangled Yin over a sheer drop into a fountain a lethal distance below him. ¡®¡¯Now now, be careful! You might fall~¡¯¡¯ She sang, but when Yin looked up he saw tears threatening to spill over in the corners of her eyes.


    ¡®¡¯Hahaha! I was just kidding, I like people like you a whole lot! Can I call you Big Sister?¡¯¡¯ Yin fell right back into habits and overcorrected to keep from a beating.


    Margo made a face that looked weird upside down, it made more sense when she put him back on the force disc. ¡®¡¯I was just joking around, I wouldn¡¯t actually drop you.¡¯¡¯ Sincere worry.


    Yin took a moment to brush off his tattered clothes and gathered himself. ¡®¡¯I¡¯ve been around people who would have for a long time.¡¯¡¯ He sniffed and glanced at Margo who looked like she wanted to swaddle him in a blanket and take care of him forever. ¡®¡¯How far is this place I¡¯m staying at?¡¯¡¯


    She paused, bringing them both to a halt mid air. She turned around in a slow circle and then chuckled. ¡®¡¯Heh, sorry I overshot there, it¡¯s back this way.¡¯¡¯ They moved back at a much faster pace, Yin was somehow glued to the conjured disc despite the inertia and wind pressure.


    Despite her odd character Margo was a very skilled sacred artist.


    They landed in front of a large square building complex, Yin had seen the center was empty but no details as it seemed hidden by wards. Margo led him through a wide set of doors that opened for her seemingly without input. He wondered if that was her doing something subtle or if the doors did that for anyone.


    The interior struck Yin as oddly Earth-like, all the rugs, furniture and paintings were from Cradle. But the way they were arranged and displayed differed from the sort of feng shui thing they had going on in Cradle.


    ¡®¡¯Well, you can have any room here you want really. There¡¯s only three more of you, uhm, ¡®Outsiders¡¯ as My Lady called you.¡¯¡¯ Margo told him after stopping in a long hallway with windows into the central plaza. Yin¡¯s eyes snapped from the nature outside back to her .


    ¡®¡¯There¡¯s three? Who are they?¡¯¡¯ Margo hesitated and Yin pulled out the big guns, he thought about the night he¡¯d split his soul and his eyes teared up.


    Margo crumbled instantly as he¡¯d expected. ¡®¡¯Aaah! Well two of them are sacred beasts, a Yudaloi and a Seviatig. And the third is a human like you.¡¯¡¯ She nervously corralled him into a room, apparently deciding for him which one to take. ¡®¡¯I really shouldn¡¯t tell you more than that so you don¡¯t form any weird opinions before you meet them, so, how about you wash the road off you and get some rest? Your stuff will be brought here as soon as I note down your room number.¡¯¡¯


    Yin watched Margo retreat, idly wondering why the tears in his eyes refused to stop. It didn¡¯t matter all that much, he inspected his new temporary lodging. All of it was amazing.


    The bed was large and, unlike the one he¡¯d grown up with, very soft. There was a bathroom with an actual toilet, sink and shower stall. The shower even had a simple control script that let him decide between five different temperatures. He made a mental note to study how it worked when he had some time.


    Heeding Margos advice he took a long shower in the medium setting, being too used to river water to tolerate any higher heat.


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    When he came back into the main room he found not only his backpack and other little items. He¡¯d also been given a whole stack of clothes, all a soft green with neat patterns. Probably picked to match with his hair color.


    He tucked himself into the bed and thought about Emriss'' question, what was his dream? His ambition? Even now all he could think of was gaining strength for the sake of it. It would be cool to fly on his own power, to be free from everything. Able to call down the wrath of the sun on a dreadgod.


    Rather than figure out his dream he landed on the answer of what his second path would be. Ramiel. The question was how to make it happen, simple light wouldn¡¯t do what he had in mind.


    He lay there for a while, tossing and turning, before figuring out the problem. He got up and changed into a set of his new clothes and then lay on the floor, quickly falling asleep.


    ¡ª


    Margo retrieved him in the morning, treating him like he was a tower of cards balancing on a needle. To think his special technique, ¡®puppy dog eyes¡¯, backfiring could have such a result.


    ¡®¡¯You have any ambitions Margo?¡¯¡¯ Yin asked her as she used very delicate applications of force madra to slide him into a chair in the forest-like interior courtyard. She paused, impossibly balancing on the toes of one foot while her center of mass was much further forward.


    ¡®¡¯Eeeh.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Sorry, that was too big of a question for you-¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯No it wasn¡¯t! I just needed to think for a moment.¡¯¡¯ Margo huffed as Yin smirked at her devilishly. ¡®¡¯I want to be of use to My Lady. To help her achieve her vision for this world.¡¯¡¯


    Right. Yin could vaguely remember that Emriss had a few major goals for the world at large. Unity, freedom of information, no more Monarchs. Probably a whole slew more but he couldn¡¯t remember it all.


    ¡®¡¯Hm, not bad. I¡¯m stealing that, figure out a new one.¡¯¡¯


    Margo squawked in tune with another person making a similar noise. Yin looked up and was treated to the sight of a bird as big as a car laughing. It was a very strange sight.


    When it was done yucking it up it swooped down on wings that couldn¡¯t fit in Yin¡¯s room even only half open. As it landed Yin relaxed his eyes and saw it through his copper sight, it was at the upper end of jade.


    ¡®¡¯So you¡¯re another one of us huh? You look like a beat up mermaid. What was your name in your last life?¡¯¡¯ It asked the last part in English, momentarily throwing Yin as it had been a decade since he¡¯d spoken it.


    ¡®¡¯Even here it¡¯s custom to introduce yourself first shitbird.¡¯¡¯ Yin smirked at it, and he thought it did the same. But that might have just been how its face always looked, the edges of its beak turned just slightly upwards at the base.


    ¡®¡¯Fair enough.¡¯¡¯ It warbled, apparently laughing again. ¡®¡¯Montai. Formerly Jason.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Yin. Oskar, back on Earth. Margo, don¡¯t look at me like that, I¡¯m freaking out.¡¯¡¯ He pleaded with the woman who was looking way too disturbed for someone on the upper end of strength in the world.


    ¡®¡¯It¡¯s just so uncanny, you guys are speaking an actual different language.¡¯¡¯


    Yin glanced at Montai who was a bird, and therefore very hard to read. ¡®¡¯How long ago did Emriss help to unify the spoken word in this world?¡¯¡¯ Neither person nor bird volunteered to answer.


    A singing voice trickled in, growing louder by the second, announcing the arrival of another person. Though when Yin saw her he was again stunned. She was some sort of goat person, with a life attuned cultivation in the gold realm. She also wore absolutely no clothes, letting only the thin fur on her person obscure the vaguely feminine figure she had. ¡®¡¯Ah! It¡¯s a girl! I¡¯m so happy, I thought it would be another boy! I¡¯m Zeurel!¡¯¡¯ She disregarded anything resembling polite manners and simply ran up on hooved feet and grabbed his hand to shake.


    Clearing his throat, Yin affected the deepest voice he could make. ¡®¡¯This one''s name is Yin.¡¯¡¯ He kept a stoic face for all of a second and then coughed from the strain on his vocal cords.


    Zeurel stared at him with her uncanny goat eyes for a second and then flopped to the soft grass covered ground. ¡®¡¯A boyy? C¡¯mooon.¡¯¡¯ She moped listlessly. Muttering about Yin being ¡®cute¡¯, the rude creature.


    When the entertainment value dried up Yin looked around. ¡®¡¯You said three, where¡¯s the last one?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Duong probably won¡¯t leave his room.¡¯¡¯ Zeurel pouted on the ground.


    Montai shrugged his wings. ¡®¡¯Yeah Duong, he¡¯s uh, kinda depressed or something.¡¯¡¯ The bird clicked his beak and leaned in closer to Yin. ¡®¡¯Do you have food on you? Something smells good.¡¯¡¯


    Yin slipped out a strip of very dried meat and offered it to Montai.


    ¡®¡¯You¡¯ve already split your soul.¡¯¡¯ A voice said over Montai¡¯s exaggerated eating noises. Yin, and everyone else, turned to see a pale boy in what he¡¯d call a Cradle style pajamas. ¡®¡¯How?¡¯¡¯ He demanded, barely containing his frustration.


    Yin looked at who he assumed was Duong, his soul was unnatuned at iron. Yin held up two fingers and rotated them in opposite directions and then drew them apart. ¡®¡¯Like that. In your soul.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Whaat! No way it¡¯s that easy!¡¯¡¯ Zeurel piped up from the floor, having adopted a casual lounge position by Yins chair.


    Duong stalked up and sat on a comfortable looking leaf that somehow supported his weight. ¡®¡¯You think I haven¡¯t tried that? I meant.. How could you just.. Do it? I¡¯ve tried but as soon as I get close it¡¯s just¡­ death.¡¯¡¯


    Yin nodded along at the accurate if inarticulate explanation. ¡®¡¯Ok, I see your problem. Stop being a baby and just do it.¡¯¡¯ Duong looked about ready to beat Yin up. Even though they were roughly the same size and build, Yin didn¡¯t fancy his chance against an iron cultivator. Besides, Duong might have come up with some dangerous pure madra tricks. ¡®¡¯I know, I know, but that¡¯s all there is to it. It totally feels like you¡¯ve done yourself in for a second or two but then it gets better.¡¯¡¯


    Unless your parents are belligerent idiots. Yin made sure not to say that part out loud.


    ¡®¡¯Aaaahh I wish I was human.¡¯¡¯ Zeurel complained, scratching at one of the little horn nubs coming out of her head. ¡®¡¯I could have gone for life and death or something.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯I would have done a shadow and wind path for stealth and an earth and lightning path for combat.¡¯¡¯ Montai said perching above them now on a thick vine that Yin was almost sure hadn¡¯t been above them a moment ago.


    Duong seemed to be introspecting so Yin offered up his plan for his path. ¡®¡¯I¡¯m going to go with a hunger and dream path, The Devouring Mind. And my other path I¡¯m not sure about the details yet, but something with light. Oh! Right! Margo!¡¯¡¯ Yin turned around but didn¡¯t find her, she¡¯d left at some point. ¡®¡¯Margo! I need a dream spirit!¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Bro, isn¡¯t making the hunger aspect a part of your path kind of a bad idea? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to make those hunger binding spears or get a remnant graft?¡¯¡¯ Montai asked and then snapped his head up, Yin followed his gaze and saw Margo descending, joined by Emriss and some other people he hadn¡¯t met.


    ¡®¡¯Yeah let¡¯s just find a soulsmith who can whip some up for us, idiot.¡¯¡¯ Duong muttered, probably too quietly for Montai to hear, but Zeurel tittered about it with a hand over her mouth.


    ¡®¡¯Margo, go get me a dream spirit real quick!¡¯¡¯ Yin called up and then added on. ¡®¡¯Hi Emriss, I missed you!¡¯¡¯


    Everyone but Emriss gave Yin odd looks. ¡®¡¯I am pleased to see you are doing well, Yin.¡¯¡¯ She said, softly landing, her followers taking up spots seemingly wherever they wished. ¡®¡¯Unfortunately I have little time to spare today so I would like to hear your answer.¡¯¡¯


    Her words and manners were soft as ever, but her words were absolute. Yin took a moment to formulate his response. Zeurel pulled herself up to peek over the armrest of his chair. Duong rested his elbows on his knees, so leaned forward he was almost doubled over. And Montai, above them, was reaching for a fruit that must have grown while Yin wasn¡¯t looking.


    ¡®¡¯I want to become strong enough that no one can hurt me.¡¯¡¯


    There was deeper meaning to it, he was sure Emriss could see it.


    Montai sure didn¡¯t. ¡®¡¯Aayy same bro, ha ha!¡¯¡¯ He pronounced the ¡®ha¡¯s very bluntly.


    Emriss smiled at him, and Yin felt his guarded heart heat up. ¡®¡¯A fine answer. I couldn¡¯t help but overhear your idea for a path though. Hunger and Dreams. Like someone we know?¡¯¡¯


    Yin¡¯s heart exploded, somehow he wasn¡¯t dead though. Of course, how could he have possibly not made that connection in all the years he¡¯d lived here. Hunger, Light and Dreams were the Silent Kings path.


    ¡®¡¯H-Ha ha..¡¯¡¯ Yin said nervously, doing his best to think of how to explain his reasoning as several truegold and lord level cultivators stared him down. The Monarch among them, smiling as placidly as a still lake, was the most terrifying of them all.

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5


    Montai squeezed himself through the door into Yin¡¯s room, completing the group of reincarnators. ¡®¡¯You know? I was super sure Tiger used a pure dream path. But it was light and dreams huh.¡¯¡¯ He mused.


    ¡®¡¯And Yin wants to be a little split core Tiger.¡¯¡¯ Zeurel teased, having already made a mess of Yin¡¯s bed, probably shedding fur under the covers too. He considered trying to pull her out, but her temperament was still unknown and her level was apparently lowgold. He couldn¡¯t see anything like a goldsign on her, he¡¯d have to ask later if sacred beasts could advance without consuming a remnant.


    ¡®¡¯You kinda look like that one character, Yin, the uh. Shrine dog?¡¯¡¯ Montai really liked commenting on looks, the damned fowl.


    ¡®¡¯I don¡¯t know that one.¡¯¡¯ Yin said, feeling just a slight bit of despair as he¡¯d been told by half a dozen experts that his idea for the Hungering Mind path was a bad idea. ¡®¡¯Montai! Get your beak out of my backpack.¡¯¡¯ The bird recoiled.


    ¡®¡¯You have something tasty in there though bro.¡¯¡¯ He whined.


    ¡®¡¯All he ever does is eat, that¡¯s why he still hasn¡¯t ascended to gold.¡¯¡¯ Zeurel said from a nest of blankets she¡¯d made. Yin decided that he didn¡¯t mind, since he was still planning on sleeping on the floor for at least a few more days. ¡®¡¯And what¡¯s so bad about having a pure path, it was totally strong when those guys did them.¡¯¡¯ Those guys being the main characters in the book.


    ¡®¡¯I¡¯m going to need every bit of help I can possibly get to make a spirit like that purple guy.¡¯¡¯ He could vaguely remember that the insides of it were incredibly complex scripts that seemingly evolved as it advanced. ¡®¡¯I guess I¡¯m gonna have to rely on tools and alchemy. Montai, can you hand me that bag? Thank you.¡¯¡¯ Yin retrieved his notebook and flipped through it, adding in an addendum to what he knew of the dreadgod. Then he flipped to a blank page.


    ¡®¡¯So, I¡¯m going to get educated again, because I was raised in the sticks. What are you guys planning on in terms of getting stronger?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯I don¡¯t know.¡¯¡¯ Said Duong listlessly, still hanging out by the door.


    ¡®¡¯I¡¯m working on becoming a healer!¡¯¡¯ Zeurel said, probably used enough to Duong that his behavior didn¡¯t phase her. ¡®¡¯I¡¯ve got a cultivation room I¡¯m using every other day, and I¡¯m doing the breathing thingy while I cycle so I can work on my willpower. I only ever last like half a minute though, hehe.¡¯¡¯


    The breathing thing? ¡®¡¯The breathing thing.¡¯¡¯ Yin gasped, suddenly realizing something he¡¯d been missing. He¡¯d only been doing the part of the technique that deepened his reserves, missing the torturous breathing that would help to temper his will.


    Zeurel nodded gaily, and then pointed to Montai who looked like he¡¯d melted onto the floor. ¡®¡¯Aaah right, uuh, that cycling thingy. But, y¡¯know, I¡¯ve been thinking I might change my path. Now I¡¯ve got wind and shadow, literally can¡¯t fly without that wind madra, but I¡¯m thinking I might add something. Not sure what yet, and I don¡¯t want to go gold before I figure it out.¡¯¡¯


    Yin hadn¡¯t known paths were that malleable after they were established, but he filed it in his notes.


    Duong glared at them all when they looked to him. ¡®¡¯I¡¯m doing the wheel cycling.¡¯¡¯ He didn¡¯t offer up any more information. Yin sort of understood why the other two seemed to dislike him. He still stuck around for some reason.


    ¡®¡¯Alright.¡¯¡¯ Yin closed his notebook with a snap and tucked it back into his pack. ¡®¡¯My lessons start tomorrow, so, what do you guys do for fun around here? Can we go bully Margo or what?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Why do you like bullying Margo so much? She¡¯s a nice lady.¡¯¡¯ Montai said softly, probably meaning she¡¯d given him food.


    ¡®¡¯I found the crack in her armor and now it¡¯s become my duty to attack it relentlessly. Also she has pushover energy and I think it¡¯s cute.¡¯¡¯ Yin nodded sagely to himself even though he hadn¡¯t meant to say the last part out loud. Zeurel and Montai laughed at him, the goat going as far as slipping out of her nest to slap his head.


    ¡®¡¯You know we¡¯re all eleven right?¡¯¡¯ Duong asked, looking mildly grossed out. ¡®¡¯She¡¯s, what? 70 or more?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Not that much of an age gap, I was in my fifties when I passed over, or whatever happened to bring me here. Did you guys die?¡¯¡¯ Yin accepted his fate as Zeurel¡¯s new armrest.


    ¡®¡¯Last thing I remember was trying to get away from the coast guard.¡¯¡¯ Montai said absently, looking like he was about to go to sleep. Hopefully he wouldn¡¯t stay in Yin¡¯s room for the night, he had a pretty powerful bird odor.


    Zeurel was about to go next but Duong cut in. ¡®¡¯Wait, no, expand on that, why were you running away?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Aah, you know, caught a floater with a whole bunch of uh.. cocaine, what¡¯s a good word for it here, nose candy? I was just gonna grab a couple bricks for the boys and leave but the fuss caught me red handed.¡¯¡¯ Montai opened a large eye and saw the reactions his story had garnered.


    ¡®¡¯What the fuck man?¡¯¡¯ Yin asked half impressed, half mad that Montai had such a more interesting story than his own.


    ¡®¡¯I wish i had something interesting like that.¡¯¡¯ Zeurel complained, idly twirling a lock of Yin¡¯s hair around her finger. ¡®¡¯I was in one of those big trampoline places trying to convince the owner to sell to the company I worked for.¡¯¡¯


    Yin tilted his head up and met Zeurel¡¯s uncanny goat eyes. ¡®¡¯Let¡¯s leave it at that so I can imagine you were a mafioso. Organized crime person.¡¯¡¯ He added when she obviously didn¡¯t get the foreign word. ¡®¡¯And you Duong?¡¯¡¯


    The dour guy crumbled under two and a half expectant gazes. ¡®¡¯Last thing I remember I was signing the contract for a farm I¡¯d bought.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Neat.¡¯¡¯ Yin said appreciatively. ¡®¡¯Last thing I remember..¡¯¡¯ More than eleven years and a lifetime ago. ¡¯¡¯Right. I was about to do a flip off an elephant''s trunk like the tour guide did. They bet I couldn¡¯t do it and I was going to prove them wrong. Um, I was on a company trip in Thailand.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Did you do it?¡¯¡¯ Montai asked, and the others looked interested, Zeurel slipped off his head and thumped into his lap.


    ¡®¡¯Can¡¯t remember, maybe that elephant knocked me out.¡¯¡¯ Yin smiled and helped Zeurel up. ¡®¡¯But enough of this wonderful bonding session, let¡¯s do something fun! Like bullying women!¡¯¡¯ For some reason Zeurel was the only one who agreed and led Yin out to go look for Margo.


    ¡ª


    Yin diligently filled out his new notebook, pages and pages already full with new information about Cradle and its mystical mechanics. The general knowledge of the world was good, but Yin cared much more for the stuff that directly concerned him.


    ¡®¡¯What about two and half parts light to one and a half fire and one force?¡¯¡¯ He asked his lecturer, a truegold by the name of Gui¡¯man. He¡¯d been lecturing for almost five hours and still looked more than ready to continue, earning Yin¡¯s respect.


    ¡®¡¯Perhaps,¡¯¡¯ Gui¡¯man allowed, having shot down several other proposals for the path of Ramiel. ¡®¡¯The fire would add great amounts of destructive energy to the light, and the force would add stability and control. Of course the mix would dilute the properties that are mainly associated with light. It would become slower and more rigid, maybe forbidding its use in illusory techniques. I can think of similar paths, however they only use two of the elements, so they may not be entirely useful for you to study.¡¯¡¯


    He went on to add a few more subjects for Yin to study on his own time, this time paths rather than political treatises and historical texts. At Yin¡¯s rate of reading, getting through it all would take half a year and they were still adding more things for him to study.


    Such as scripts.


    Over several days he met with several teachers on the subject, all lecturing on their own knowledge in the use of the language. All adding homework they each thought would best educate him further.


    His schedule for some days was so packed that even though they lived in the same complex Yin didn¡¯t see his peers at all. That was fine with him though, they were all adults in the end. Even though they were children again.


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    ¡ª


    A month and a half had gone by in the blink of an eye, and Yin was pulled from his torturous meditation by Zeurel and Montai kicking his door in. The madra in his channels crammed back into his core, forcing it to grow just a bit more and aligning with its brother.


    ¡®¡¯Let¡¯s gooo!¡¯¡¯ Zeruel yelled, only waiting long enough for Yin¡¯s madra to stabilize before pulling him up and throwing him onto Montai¡¯s back. ¡®¡¯It¡¯s time!¡¯¡¯


    She joined him and they ducked as the bird slipped through the, much too small for him, doorway.


    Mildly shell shocked by the sudden abduction and after letting his heart come back up into its normal place in his chest after Montai took them far up into the sky Yin asked. ¡®¡¯Time for what?¡¯¡¯ He had to raise his voice over the howling wind as they soared over the natural architecture of Titan¡¯s Grove.


    The wind suddenly stilled even though they were still moving, Yin could feel Montai using a technique under him. ¡®¡¯What was that bro?¡¯¡¯ The bird asked in the suddenly quiet space around them.


    ¡®¡¯What are we doing, where are we going?¡¯¡¯


    Zeurel pressed herself up against him, almost pressing Yin down flat onto Montai. ¡®¡¯We¡¯re gonna go get little spirit companions!¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯You guys are getting your own too?¡¯¡¯ Yin asked with some strain because of how strong Zeurel was.


    ¡®¡¯I want a riverseed because they¡¯re really, really good for healing!¡¯¡¯ Zeurel shouted into Yin''s ear as if she hadn¡¯t noticed that Montai was canceling out the wind.


    ¡®¡¯I have no idea where we¡¯re going!¡¯¡¯ Montai shouted, taking them into a wide banking turn around an especially tall tree. ¡®¡¯Oh! And I¡¯m gonna get a dream spirit too!¡¯¡¯ Montai started shouting as well for no reason.


    ¡®¡¯That¡¯s no good birdie, that¡¯s what I¡¯m getting, figure out your own!¡¯¡¯ Yin shouted as well.


    ¡®¡¯What? Why bro? I wanna have a little trashy boy.¡¯¡¯ Montai whined.


    Yin forced himself to sit upright, Zeurel still clung to his shoulders, and crossed his arms. ¡®¡¯Very well, this young master will allow it! But I¡¯m not feeding yours pure madra. That¡¯s all going to mine.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Maaan~¡¯¡¯ Montai moaned, and Zeurel giggled.


    ¡®¡¯What¡¯s the deal with your ¡®young master¡¯ act? You said yourself you¡¯re a hillbilly.¡¯¡¯ She questioned at a more reasonable volume, shouting time seemed to be over.


    ¡®¡¯This one merchant I talked to kept calling me that, trying to butter me up and scamming me into buying makeup and skin cream. I¡¯ve been a young master ever since.¡¯¡¯ He told them. Something caught his eye in the distance, a teal formation appearing slowly over a building in the distance. ¡®¡¯What¡¯s that?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Our destination! Hold on to me!¡¯¡¯ Montai shouted and gave them no time to prepare before with a surge of madra they were enveloped in a stream of dark wind. The tunnel made by Montai sped them up to thrice the pace they¡¯d traveled at just moments before. In only seconds they crossed over blocks of buildings and soon the bird had to slow them down to avoid crashing into the massive force construct. ¡®This Way Please¡¯ it said in its full form.


    Yin was silently amazed by the absolutely massive show of pure power. He himself hadn¡¯t even tried to forge a scale yet because of how much madra it would take for him to do it.


    Margo stood on the roof of a complex that looked like a forest had been condensed into a vague square. The tiles on top of the building were very solid looking leaves that seemed to hold Margo¡¯s weight with no problem.


    They landed and Yin was dragged along by Zeurel, who wasted no time greeting Margo, simply running for the arched branches that made up the entrance to the complex under them. This meant that Yin was also slammed into a forged force field along with her.


    ¡®¡¯Sorry!¡¯¡¯ Margo called from halfway across the roof, slowly coming over with Montai. ¡®¡¯We have a few rules of conduct here in the Spiritual Glade. No running, raised voices or releasing madra. Don¡¯t touch anything unless you¡¯re given permission. Oh, and when we get to the shadow room, please close your eyes, the spirits there don¡¯t like it when you look at them too much.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Oh, we¡¯re doing a whole tour? I thought we¡¯d just pick up the ones we want.¡¯¡¯ Yin said and wiped at his bleeding nose. The old wound Ten had given him made it so easy for his nose to bleed. Zeurel passed a green glowing hand over his face and he felt her madra invade and mend him. ¡®¡¯Thanks.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯That¡¯s just gonna be like a bandaid, try not to touch your nose.¡¯¡¯ Zeurel said, actually serious for once, but it didn¡¯t last more than a second. ¡®¡¯Margoooo!¡¯¡¯ She charged the woman with head down, crashing into her waist uselessly.


    ¡®¡¯Sorry, sorry.¡¯¡¯ She bent down to wipe Yin¡¯s face and casually dissolved her construct over the entrance. ¡®¡¯Now, repeat the rules for me.¡¯¡¯


    She, for once, treated them like she was the adult among children and not another child. Yin decided to let her have her moment and terrorize her about her books on parasites later.


    ¡®¡¯Hey, wait, if I can¡¯t use any madra in there I gotta do it right now, sorry give me a second.¡¯¡¯ Yin sat down and cupped his hands in front of him. Channeling all the pure madra out of one core he drew it through his pathways evenly, slowly concentrating it in his hands. He imagined the shape, a coin big enough to fit across his palm, and then started to compress his madra there. Slowly it trickled out into the shape he¡¯d decided, but it didn¡¯t want to stay there.


    Yin felt a strain through his entire body as he for the first time tried to forge his madra. It was an exercise of his will, he¡¯d known that, but actually feeling it was nothing like he¡¯d thought it would be.


    He pressed harder and harder, herding his madra into the shape, feeling his channels strain with the effort. And then he couldn¡¯t push any more into it. Opening his hands he saw a pale, almost illusory coin. Gently squeezing it he felt it give some resistance to his touch. All in all, not even close to how it should be, but a good first attempt.


    He got started on the next one with his second core, Margo, Montai and Zeurel started coaching him through it with bad or borderline worthless advice.


    ¡®¡¯You gotta think of it like that loud dude in the pub bathroom, like, he¡¯s making a ruckus and you¡¯re glaring him down.¡¯¡¯ Montai wistfully said, seemingly recalling an incident where that was exactly what he¡¯d done.


    The second coin looked even worse than the first, but that was just because all the attention had thrown Yin off, and his channels were already sore. And he¡¯d been dragged out of his room all of a sudden. Hadn¡¯t had breakfast either. It was off season and the sun was too bright.


    Zeurel cut his excuses short and forced Margo to lead them in.


    ¡ª


    It was like a museum where every exhibit was another unique slice of paradise.


    A cozy miniature mountain range where little rock people tumbled around, sometimes knocking into one another.


    A dark room, with a tiny light shining down on plenty of dead leaves and branches that provided hiding spaces for flitting little dark shapes. Scurrying this way and that, finding cover whenever eyes lingered on their hiding spots for too long.


    A dreamlike little riverscape with a pond where the purest water could swirl lazily. Little blue spirits danced, played and sang, almost constantly exploring their tiny paradise.


    Margo and Zeurel were let in and the younger girl spoke softly to the little things. They danced around her, making her look even more like a fairytale character. One climbed on her and found the little nubs of horns on her head. It refused to come down, and that apparently decided the matter of which one would be Zeurels companion.


    Tinkling bell like noises accompanied them as they continued towards the dream spirit room. The little spirit on Zeurels head flitted back and forth, making a noise like sloshing water. When it spotted something it liked it made a bell like chiming sound until Zeurel brought it over to what it had seen. A script light.


    They were forced to wait until the little being was satisfied with its inspection.


    Finally, they were there, a purple room filled with curiosities. Puzzles lay unfinished, half painted pictures, elaborate clothes lay strewn. And books, scrolls, tablets with scripts. Above them all was a cloud, a swarm, of purple things constantly changing shape.


    Margo led Monai in first, the bird whispered for a bit and was quickly swarmed by spirits for a few seconds. Then they all left him alone and scoured Margo until they were done with her as well. They went back up to crowd around each other, some changing shapes into women or birds intermittently.


    Montai tried to convince them again, but was unsuccessful.


    Then it was Yin''s turn. He stepped in and was quickly covered in the spirits for a few seconds, then they returned to their swarm. Yin took out a paper he¡¯d prepared.


    Whispering, he held it out and pointed to the symbols on it. ¡®¡¯Ok guys, this is a symbol called one.¡¯¡¯ He went over the first nine numbers, to his captive audience. Then he explained addition. ¡®¡¯So, who can tell me what four plus three is?¡¯¡¯ The spirits became a visually noisy mess. Meaningless symbols fought for space with strings of numbers that shifted constantly.


    One stood out, having changed itself into a purple seven. He pointed to it and let it come closer, some followed it. ¡®¡¯What about two plus seven? What does that make?¡¯¡¯ After a moment it shifted into a nine. ¡®¡¯You¡¯re so smart.¡¯¡¯ He praised it.


    ¡®¡¯Ok here¡¯s a harder one, what if you took three away from the nine and then split that three into a one and a two. How would that look?¡¯¡¯ It took longer this time, but eventually it showed him the numbers six, one and two. ¡®¡¯Yes!¡¯¡¯ Margo hushed him.


    ¡®¡¯Ok little buddy, was that fun?¡¯¡¯ It bobbed over his hand, and he took that as an affirmative. ¡®¡¯Wanna come with me?¡¯¡¯ It bobbed again and landed on his hand, glomming onto it. ¡®¡¯I¡¯m gonna call you.. Secretary.¡¯¡¯ He told the diffuse purple sludge that hugged his hand.


    Margo gently led him back out to where Zeurel jittered happily, her sylvan riverseed tinkling a greeting to Secretary. And Montai grumpily muttered about how unfair it was that he didn¡¯t get one too.


    Yin dug his free hand into his clothes and pulled out the stronger of the two scales he¡¯d made. ¡®¡¯I thought I was gonna have to bribe one to come with me but here we are.¡¯¡¯ He offered it to Secretary who assumed a more corporeal shape, a mouth, and swallowed it whole. Growing paler, almost pink, as it started to incorporate the power.


    Drops of water sounded, Zeurels companion wanted one too, and Yin was a generous soul. He offered the other scale up to Zeurel and told her with a smile. ¡®¡¯You can repay me with some elixirs or resources.¡¯¡¯


    She pouted as she accepted the coin and fed her little friend. ¡®¡¯I can¡¯t call you something simple like ¡®that guy¡¯ did, so how about Cherie?¡¯¡¯ The riverseed plopped pensively as it took the scale from her fingers, sitting with it for a second. Then it shrugged with a sound like a breeze on the sea, split in half, and ate the coin.

 Chapter 6

    Chapter 6


    Time passed like sand between Yin¡¯s fingers, days of studying and cycling came and went. He made progress on his cores, bringing them all the way up to the verge of iron, and was forced to stop there until he was ready for his iron body.


    That left him a lot of free time, which he spent studying and training Secretary. Of course ready to give the spirit more pure scales when it did well.


    Secretary had been studying right alongside Yin and was starting to suggest its own scripts to try. That had led to a light script that only worked under direct sunlight, and a preservation script that couldn¡¯t actually hold anything without destabilizing.


    Yin loved watching his little companion try things out, it was like an even better version of the artificial intelligence he¡¯d trained in his last life. Secretary didn¡¯t need libraries of data on hand to do its work, it could actually remember on its own or ask questions. Its most frequently asked question was ¡®can I have another?¡¯ when he gave it scales.


    But now it was about time for Yin to make a decision and advance. He got up and wandered through the natural corridors in the compound until he made it to a ceremonial hall. Entering he sat in the center on a small platform and cycled to calm himself.


    Soon he wasn¡¯t alone in the room anymore, Emriss patiently waited for Yin to open his eyes. ¡®¡¯Are you sure you want to do this?¡¯¡¯ She asked.


    ¡®¡¯I absolutely, completely, do not.¡¯¡¯ Yin answered bluntly. Growing slightly frantic as Zeurel and a very tall woman who was her healing master entered, holding bottles of poison. ¡®¡¯Honestly, I¡¯m thinking I might defect and just go ahead and jump into Tiger¡¯s mouth right now. I don¡¯t want to do this.¡¯¡¯


    Everyone ignored him, just as he¡¯d asked them to several times over the last weeks, knowing he¡¯d wuss out before the start. It was time for Yin to get his Bloodforged iron body.


    He¡¯d debated it for a long while, with many of his myriad instructors, and eventually was forced to agree that it was simply the all around best choice for him. There were those that increased stamina, balance, speed, strength, senses, how his body reacted to different types of damage. The supremely strong healing properties of the Bloodforged essentially gave him most of those. And almost all his instructors agreed that the iron bodies with mental enhancements were one and all not as good as the physical ones.


    Those effects could almost all be gained temporarily, with potions and treasures, or through rigorous cultivation. How that cultivation was done though no one had elaborated on, much to Yin¡¯s chagrin.


    Zeurel set a bottle down in front of Yin and grinned at him wryly as he continued to complain. She¡¯d grown quite a bit, in several ways. She had advanced to highgold, and in the process experienced a great growth spurt. Unfortunately she was still a naturalist, so her frame was plain for anyone to see. Her horns had grown out a bit, giving Cherie a pair of perches in the fluffy jungle of hair.


    ¡®¡¯You¡¯ll be fine Yin, I¡¯m here to make sure of that.¡¯¡¯ She said and Cherie whistled in agreement, splashing down on Yin¡¯s head and sending a wave of her cleansing and nourishing water madra through his body. If he hadn¡¯t already been at peak condition he would be now.


    Zeurel joined her master and helped to prepare needles full of poison to make the process as fast as possible. Yin forced himself not to hyperventilate or make any noises that were too pathetic to recover from.


    Emriss winked back into the room, having disappeared momentarily. The fact she was there at all was a huge waste of time for the monarch but Yin was very grateful for it.


    ¡®¡¯Everything is prepared.¡¯¡¯ Zeurels master said like an executioner. Yin considered trying to make a break for it.


    They positioned themselves around him, ready to do their part, only waiting for Yin to make the first move. The bottle in front of him contained a sort of weak spiritual solvent, it would help to speed things up even more.


    He gripped the neck of the bottle and breathed. Seconds passed glacially, and his world narrowed until it was only him and the bottle.


    He drank it.


    The liquid was sweet, but stung at his tongue and throat as it went down. When it hit his stomach the stinging sensation began to sweep through him. ¡®¡¯Now.¡¯¡¯ He heard someone say. And then needles were stuck into his arms and then legs. ¡®¡¯Cycle Yin.¡¯¡¯ They demanded urgently, and he did.


    The poison mixed with the spiritual liquid and the burning became a dozen times worse. It spread through him like a wildfire, every nerve alight, and it was only the start. He felt like he was swelling, becoming porous like a sponge as his flesh was devoured, but he had to keep going. It entered his organs, and Yin felt like he was truly dying, he wasn¡¯t even sure what position his body was in anymore.


    There was poison in his spine, his heart, even his brain. Someone was speaking. He had to do something. But he couldn¡¯t remember.


    It was in his soul, the glowing cores, fit to burst with all the energy they contained. Break them?


    Yes.


    Break them.


    They exploded, and an ocean flooded through him, finally washing him away into the abyss.


    ¡ª


    Yin woke up in his room to Secretary wrapping itself around his forehead. He felt good, better than ever, but his soul cores felt tiny and diffuse. He wanted to get back to work right away.


    But before that he noticed something on his bedside table. Boxes and cards. The first one he grabbed was from Montai, a simple ¡®Gratz Bro¡¯ inexpertly scrawled in english. Honestly Yin was impressed the bird had managed it at all with that beak of his. In a script covered box was a sacred fruit, Yin could feel the power coursing through it. He put it back. ¡®¡¯Secretary, we¡¯re gonna learn how to make boxes like this later.¡¯¡¯ The spirit turned into a purple hand that made the good old ¡®ok¡¯ sign.


    Next one was from Zeurel, a card with a cartoony little rendition of the goat with hearts floating around her. No text though. Checking the tall box he found a bottle inside, labeled as ¡®Goat Muck. Brewed By Zeurel¡¯. He put it back and closed the box, she would explain what the hell it was when he got his hands on her later.


    Next were some cards from Margo and his other teachers, well wishes and congratulations. And to go with them was a densely engraved slate of stone. A dream tablet. Pulling it into his lap he carefully sent a tendril of his madra into it, and felt it interact with the script. Madra returned from the tablet into his mind and suddenly he was standing in a blank white room.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    In front of him stood a humanoid puppet. It sank into a combat stance, and then one by one slowly went through strikes, blocks, kicks, sweeps. All sorts of martial arts. Yin felt a smile try to split his face in half.


    So it was time for his real training arc to begin.


    But that wasn¡¯t all, one last letter had been hiding under the dream tablet. From Emriss, Yin scoffed at the disrespect of hiding the Monarch''s things like that. He would have done a spit take if he¡¯d had anything in his mouth. Maybe that was what Zeurel had been hoping for.


    Emriss had prepared a cultivation room for him, made specifically for his path of Ramiel. Two point three parts light, one point two parts fire and one part force.


    Yin trembled, he couldn¡¯t wait to start.


    The trembling wasn¡¯t going away, he rushed to the bathroom and ended up spending a few hours there, purging the residual poison from his body.


    ¡ª


    The timeout let Yin cool his head a bit and he decided that before he threw himself head first into training he¡¯d take the time to check in with his friends first.


    Starting with the one he hadn¡¯t seen in months.


    He¡¯d asked around a bit but going to a remnant processing facility was probably the last place he¡¯d thought Duong would be.


    The first room inside a seemingly naturally grown warehouse was something like an exotic prison. A rainbow of different creatures, animals and plants alike, contained in scripted cells. It was almost completely silent, the scripts sure put in work at this place. ¡®¡¯Secretary, try to memorize the scripts you can see on the cells.¡¯¡¯ The little spirit didn¡¯t listen, peeking out from under his hair at the dangerous things.


    Further inside he found Duong, looking twice the size he¡¯d been the last time Yin had seen him. His soul as well was much stronger, already jade. The boy had worked hard the entire time out of sight of his friends. He still hadn¡¯t split his soul though.


    He was working on a black remnant, Yin could feel death from it even from so far away. When he came close enough he noticed that Duong was actually using a pure cloak technique.


    ¡®¡¯Sup man.¡¯¡¯ Yin greeted him casually, hands in his pockets. Duong looked up, confused for a second until he recognized him. Standing from where he¡¯d crouched he turned up to be a head taller than Yin. ¡®¡¯You look like you¡¯re doing well.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Yeah, it¡¯s uh, been a while.¡¯¡¯ Duong said awkwardly, fiddling with a steel scissor idly. ¡®¡¯Did you need something?¡¯¡¯


    Yin shifted his weight and tried to look even more casual, not letting the awkwardness get to him. ¡®¡¯Naw, you know, just checking in, you doing good? Better than, y¡¯know, last time?¡¯¡¯


    Duong started to look a little shifty as well. ¡®¡¯Ah, yeah. I¡¯m, y¡¯know, working.¡¯¡¯ He gestured to the workshop and the remnant he was cutting up. ¡®¡¯Turns out I¡¯m kinda good at soulsmithing, so, yeah.¡¯¡¯


    Yin hummed in agreement, and then stood there looking for words. ¡®¡¯Well, uhh, good to see you again man. We should- all of us, we should meet up every now and then. Hang out and watch a movie or something, talk about stuff.¡¯¡¯


    Duong tapped his fingers against his leg, glaring at the remnant he was working on. His lips pressed together and then he spoke a bit more agitated. ¡®¡¯They don¡¯t like me. Montai and especially Zeurel. They¡¯re not all that subtle about it.¡¯¡¯


    Yin nodded, denying the obvious would achieve nothing. ¡®¡¯Yeah, but I think that¡¯s because you were kind of a downer back then, right?¡¯¡¯ The taller boy frowned at him in disbelief. ¡®¡¯You seem a lot less, uh, pressed now. Maybe if you came along sometime you could talk it out with them.¡¯¡¯


    He sighed deeply, body losing some tightness. ¡®¡¯I don¡¯t know, maybe if- what is that? You have something in your hair.¡¯¡¯


    Yin brushed his hair back. ¡®¡¯This is my dream spirit Secretary, it¡¯s making pretty good progress. Secretary, this is Duong, he¡¯s a reincarnator like me.¡¯¡¯ Secretary went formless and made a little tendril hand to wave at him.


    ¡®¡¯Huh.¡¯¡¯ Duong looked pensive for a moment. ¡®¡¯I guess you got a spirit and I got designs, I¡¯m gonna use this thing to make a sort scalpel for a drudge.¡¯¡¯ He toed the dark half real corpse. ¡®¡¯I¡¯ll think about it, I wanna keep working.¡¯¡¯


    Yin took the dismissal for what it was and left with a casual goodbye.


    ¡ª


    Yin wasted much of the rest of his day looking for Montai, but it turned out after dinner that he¡¯d left to do some training with others of his species. His grandfather, an underlord, had come into contact with one of Emriss¡¯ people and requested a meeting.


    With only one left to talk to he simply went to Zeurels room and kicked the door open. Finding the goat wearing clothes. They stared at each other, Zeurel shocked and Yin mad beyond belief.


    ¡®¡¯You bitch.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯No! They¡¯re just a gift!¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯I should have known.. NO! Keep them on.¡¯¡¯ Zeurel stopped trying to rip her pants off. ¡®¡¯How long?¡¯¡¯


    She smiled wryly. ¡®¡¯Yin, I lived for ten years with my kind before they let me stay here full time, and we never wore clothes. Do you have any idea how hard it is to put clothes on again after ten years? It¡¯s hard Yin! To abandon the freedom, to WRAP myself up in BONDS and LIMITING myself. I hate it!¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯If you don¡¯t drop the performance I¡¯m gonna pour out that Goat Muck crap you gave me.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Ok wait!¡¯¡¯ Zeurel held her hands out as if trying to calm a skittish animal, slowly stepping over to Yin. ¡®¡¯That stuff was super hard to brew, you can¡¯t just get rid of it. It¡¯s an old Seviatig potion that sort of acts like a super crappy Diamond Veins elixir. The tiiiniest boost to your channels durability.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Oh, good.¡¯¡¯ Yin was surprised she could get something that good for him. He let her come close enough to start petting him as if he were an angry little dog. ¡®¡¯So the clothes? You¡¯re not a full time streaker?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Streaker! Listen Yin I wasn¡¯t kidding, clothes suck after not wearing any for so long. This is training alright, I¡¯m getting used to wearing them again and it¡¯s taking some time. Doing it in my room where I don¡¯t have to move around in them so much is helping.¡¯¡¯


    Yin sighed and sat on her bed.. wait?


    He¡¯d relaxed too much and she¡¯d taken the chance to guide him into her trap. It would be dangerous if this continued. He tried to get up but Zeurel was faster and pushed him in. ¡®¡¯If you take your clothes off I¡¯m going to get violent.¡¯¡¯


    She glared right back at him. ¡®¡¯Fine.¡¯¡¯


    Yin didn¡¯t like the sound of that, time to bring the big guns out. ¡®¡¯I talked to Duong today.¡¯¡¯ Zeurel sank into her pillow with a heavy sigh. ¡®¡¯He¡¯s looking good, more relaxed, handling puberty better and everything.¡¯¡¯


    She looked at him oddly. ¡®¡¯Puberty?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Yeah, that¡¯s kinda how I tagged it back when we all met. Y¡¯know, he was all testy and insecure. He¡¯s practicing soulsmithing now and it¡¯s going well for him.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯I¡¯ve known him for four years and it took him three to stop calling me ¡®Goat¡¯.¡¯¡¯ Zeurel told him, her usual cheery demeanor gone. ¡®¡¯He got Montai¡¯s name down no problem, but I was ¡®Goat¡¯. And he got way angrier when I was around after I hit gold.¡¯¡¯


    Yin thought it over, letting Secretary float off into what looked like Cherie¡¯s little enclosure. ¡®¡¯So, maybe he brought some sexism or autism with him when he was reborn. But-¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯No buts, I want him to apologize to me on his own and if he won¡¯t I don¡¯t want to see him again.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯He is one thousand procent not ever going to think that he owes you an apology for that if I don¡¯t tell him.¡¯¡¯ Zeurel glared with one eye for a moment before relenting and nodding.


    ¡®¡¯Fine, can we talk about something else?¡¯¡¯ She asked.


    ¡®¡¯Sure, have anything on your mind?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Yeah, are we together?¡¯¡¯ Yin squinted at her. ¡®¡¯Like, are we a couple? I think we should be.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯I think we can talk about that when we¡¯re both adults again physically.¡¯¡¯ Yin said firmly, considering getting out of the bed, the situation really was as dangerous as he¡¯d thought.


    ¡®¡¯You like me.¡¯¡¯ She said and grinned at whatever she saw on his face. ¡®¡¯I knew it.¡¯¡¯


    They lay in somewhat comfortable silence for a while.


    ¡®¡¯Wanna kiss?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Good night Zeurel!¡¯¡¯ Yin fled.