Fatherly Asura

Skeletal jaws emerged from the inky blackness of this void, and Fu could scarcely dodge the speed at which they wrapped about his head.

A costly leap, it seemed, as the douli vanished.

He whirred, chain ready for the next peculiarity of his landing space. Walls of rich darkness whorled in liquid sludge, growing, parting and shifting as though he were entombed within an ever-shaking inkpot.

[Death Qi].

It would not do to touch-

Fresh jaws emerged to his east and north, heralding no owner as they burst from the curtains of this blackness.

These, Fu met with a sideward leap and great slashes of his chain’s blade.

If to no avail.

As with his own flesh the emerging maws were one with their element, and merely accepted the metal as it rushed through each tooth.

To backpedal brought a swift demise beneath the inky [Death Qi].

“[Shrine of FInal Skies],” he announced, stowing his chain as his [Constellation Seed] no less than exploded the black from whence it emerged.

Some vague [Spiritual] sense clad the skeletal teeth, and so his [True Wind God Arts] might prove to be a fitting counter. He descended into the first two sets with speed, nigh roaring as the third solidified his [Intent] into spiralling, misty shapes.

Three dragons formed from his directed will to tear at the emerging jaws, and within some few moments of his delivered strikes the apparitions faded like ground dust in the wind.

The pillars of his [Shrine] shed light enough to pierce only twenty paces of the Beast Lord’s, [Dao]-inflicted gloom, but as he regained his composure Fu noted enough to make observations on his location.

That word of Pinxui’s liking… pseudo. A thing to mean half-step. Where I stand must be the growing foundations of this Beast Lord’s [Inner Realm]. Some forsaken graveyard into which all of his prey will arrive.

Another douli was conjured from storage.

What rare opportunity. To survive here will grant greater insight into other [Inner Realms]. Let us see- I shall see what mechanisms await reaping, and this will prepare me all the better for the House of Ma’s vast expanse.

While [Sky’s Authority] chief ability was to transmute the ambient Qi into that of his own [Affinities], the act differed here.

[Death Qi] ruled this domain.

Meaning ruled this domain, akin to a [Primordial Law].

He sensed no [Constellation Seeds] among the Beast Lord’s flesh, nor had he done when first at battle with the beast, and so his thoughts went to that of concepts and embodiment.

Indeed, there were myriad Paths to the Heavens.

[Killing Intent]. Finality. Endings. I feel a [Dao] permeate this realm as though it is internalized through blood and [Spirit]. A pity that I have duties beyond my time here.

Fu used the nourishment his [Shrine of Final Skies] provided to mend the great gaps in his [Heavenly Spectre’s Shroud], though the repair of such pristine Qi was no small feat. Neither was stalling here an option.

The [Shrine] was dispelled, and dragons of the [True Wind God Arts] rose in its place.

But he did not blur.

Against the weight of this [Inner Realm] he readied his own [Killing Intent], casting the draconic manifestations of his technique in a bloody hue.

Myriad skeletal teeth appeared in response.

From every direction came a frenzy of ink-soaked jaws, appearing and disappearing as swiftly as they had come. He saw not fin nor tail, but [Spiritual] attacks done solely by maw and snapping edges.

Ink rippled underfoot at every step, beckoning more.

And more.

Fu let out a laboured breath within the first hour, and these became more frequent beyond. The [Death Qi] could not be avoided, for each carpet, wall and curtain of black was no less than a consuming mire.

A second hour passed.

A third and he had found no respite within the infernal ink.

“[Eightfold Arrival of the Asura],” he internally huffed, sprouting six tendrils of [Mist Qi] that he might extend his own reach.

[Intent] flowed through each arm, but proved far poorer than his [True Wind God Arts].

Do not be foolish. If it is a reflection of a [Mystic Realm], then it holds an anchor. All we must do it loose it. Or perhaps… perhaps if it is claimed then my true task will grow easier.

The novelty of such a thought reaffirmed his already ironclad resolve.

He stalled amidst the unceasing black, for there was no indication that any true progress had been made, crushing five sets of jaws as they lurched at his shoulder, neck, thigh, foot and palm. Fu then shaped his [Killing Intent] closer, having his dragons swim but one hair’s breadth from his misty flesh.

A second notion came to him.

I stand here with one hand bound behind my back. That is the fool’s path.

[Air Qi] had been his first [Affinity], [Spectral] his second. The ascension of it had not been without aid.

Fu collapsed his [Three Wisps From Breath] that his manifested arms might rescind, and instead flooded the technique with [Soul Qi].

Discomfort was a mild term for this sudden shift within his [Channels].

The nebulous energy was an amplifier. An aberrant, overlooked thing that, in records, served as little more than a bridge to transformation or a supplementary force for Alchemists and [Array] Masters.

None among his Wayward Winds nor close companions had wielded it with any degree of success, and those foes that had employed it against him were already long returned to the Great Cycle.

His palm snapped forth, laden with [Soul Qi]. Not in technique or form, but in a simple conjuration of [External Arts].

It was as shapeless as mist.

Almost intangible.

Three jaws snapped through his ephemeral [Constitution] as his strike failed to gain purchase upon them, and so he weaved about them.

It amplifies, and thus cannot be used alone? How then do the Alchemists use it?

Fu pooled his [Intent] once more, refining it so it became a nigh flame-like, [Spiritual] force at the tip of his fingers. This alone could counter the jaws, and yet he sought something more.

No small effort of will intertwined the flame with his [Soul Qi], for it was a thing unnatural and defiant to his thoughts. It diminished on contact, as though he were trying to force oil upon fire from above.

As though the heat is already too great and consumes it before it reaches the source.

Myriad jaws surfaced below, sideward and above.

Vast things indeed.

He only breathed, and looked inward to find the location from which his [Intent] originated. The physical location of his [Spirit], if such a thing existed.

An eastward jaw tore strips from his form.

A southern maw, the same.

North.

Up.

Behind.

Below.

Three from his south.

A shoulder. An arm. His gut.

Fu raced a thin line between foolishness and instinct, now buried beneath a slaughter of frenzied jaws.

Ten for each heartbeat.

Ten tears. Thump. Ten jaws. Thump. Ten gouges. Thump.

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The severity delivered clarity and amidst it Fu found his source. He reached for the percussive beat, knowing it was no mere organ within his chest but a representation of his will to succeed.

[Soul Qi] and [Killing Intent] suffused his heart, and it was then that thunder broke upon the black.

Great waves of crimson and teal surged about him, lashing with tidal fury for vast strides in all directions as he regained the ability to move unhindered. He pushed forward, refining the melding of [Soul Qi] and [Killing Intent] further, and these raging waters calmed into a serene sea of prodigious pressure, shattering each jaw that dared move against him.

Meaning populated these tides, cleansing the inky [Death Qi] to reveal a space of pristine ivory underneath, and Fu felt a minor [Epiphany] rise.

We are not the raging storm, but the shadow beneath waves. The sailor’s doom and that which lurks. Such is our [Intent]. A sea’s promise, unknown and feared.

He saw himself now, a shifting haze within the waters of his still-growing [Intent].

[Ink] burned.

And more curiously than this, a voice sang from the distant gloom he had yet to purge. “Another lives? Meet me, stranger, that such fortune might be greeted.”

🀩

[Art] attained.

[Dread Leviathan’s Call] Infuse your [Killing Intent] with [Soul Qi] to vastly amplify its range and density, expanding a domain of [Spiritual] pressure about yourself that will mask the origin’s location.

[Dread Leviathan’s Call]. It is an intensive technique. The expenditure in [Soul Qi] would make this unsustainable had we not the [Constellation Seeds] to support its cost in Qi. A domain that masks discovery however, that will take much toll from the [Dao of Exhalation’s Conquest].

Black peeled back as his domain of [Killing Intent] - the [Dread Leviathan’s Call] continued about him, and Fu further tempered this technique as the Beast Lord’s [Inner Realm] clashed against it.

A constant battle.

Strife.

It honed his mind, and was no less than he had wished for within these Qi desolate, unchallenging days within the Heavenly Roaming Prefecture.

More than this, he felt deep resonance with his [Primordial Law].

Fu had navigated for some few short hours since the attainment of his [Art], and sight foretold of his destination before [Senses] came into play. Now he crossed a boundary of pristine ivory, bereft of inky blackness.

“The stranger arrives,” once more sang a voice, now some strides ahead.

Vacant space held a strange sensation upon one’s form, as though submerged within a [Spiritual] pool, void of physical touch.

Another ocean, and perhaps [Karma] had seen to this when Fu considered the existence shoaling before him.

An enormity of koi were at play in the space ahead, orbiting an emperor among fish. Regal in white-gold patternage and of a scale with how first he had encountered the Old One so many [Seasons] prior.

“An oddity and pleasure to encounter another within this unfortunate realm,” said Fu, granting a half bow out of courtesy.

“Such are the workings of the Heavens, wanderer. A thousand moons have told me of life’s eccentricities. Your arrival is among them,” returned the koi, their voice in unison. “There is vitality within you, yet, diminished by our opposite’s influence. We would aid in this.”

Fu ensured the conjuration of his chain was a half-thought away. “Eccentricities and opposites. These are heavy words for a first meeting, venerable shoal. As for aid, there is little I require beyond this realm’s core.”

[Life Qi] spilled over him in golden light, penetrating all defences.

He firmed as his [Core] and [Constitution] were mended in less than the time it took one to breathe.

“A thousand gratitudes, venerable shoal, but such kindness is unnecessary.”

The koi shook with human-like expression. “A broken fin suffers the currents. It is nothing, and necessary. The realm’s core, stranger, it would behoove you to ask on the realm’s egress. Towards this is what we must strive.”

Much of Fu’s [Senses] had explored the ivory space, finding nothing in the way of [Intent] to suppress the inky black. What held back the blackened tide was a domain of highest-purity [Life Qi], shed simply by the koi’s existence.

“I have designs beyond this [Inner Realm], venerable shoal. On that I will speak no further. However, once the core is reached a clear path should open. Assistance would be welcome, if this aligns with your own desire,” he offered.

Many of the orbiting koi fixed their attention upon him.

Contemplative silence hung thick.

“How strange this ebb of fate arrives. Worms crawl by the shore’s wet loam, but not in one’s mouth,” this collective mused. “The core. If this is Heaven’s current, we will swim upon it.”

Fu bowed once more. “Then, fateful ally, I am Gao Fu, a humble wanderer.”

Further contemplation passed. “We are Ruyudeshui. Humble progeny of the [Perennial Fortunes Shoal].”

An assassin was not ruled by emotion, and so his face remained impassive to learn of this being’s exalted [Heritage]. Nor did it quirk to wonder why the shoal had revealed so secret a thing to so perfect a stranger.

He only moved forth, wondering how best to press this advantage when the minor turbulence ahead was dealt with.

🀩

It became evident in a thousand paces why Ryudeshui had not ventured further into the depths of this [Inner Realm].

An [Oath] encircled them like the cruelest fisherman’s net.

The domain of ivory travelled with the shoal’s movements, and at first glance Fu pondered if to do so had caused some great pain to befall them. Over the growing course of paces there came small presentations of damage across the mass, shown as the blackening of the myriad fish that comprised them.

Lifeless in moments.

Fu observed, only intervening after gaining greater insight.

“I feel your [Spirit], venerable shoal. To harm the Beast Lord’s manifestations harms you in turn. Allow me to take the brunt,” he offered, expanding [Dread Leviathan’s Call] without further permission.

The serene tide overtook Ryudeshui’s passive aura, darkening the white by several degrees of crimson.

A poor colour, this [Art]. Better that it emerge unseen.

“To hope for any partner here was folly. Yet, the Heavens have awarded our patience with a kind soul. What riches,” affirmed the shoal. “We would not act spare.”

[Life Qi] assailed Fu with all the weight of falling mountain. A queer sensation indeed, given that only benefits could come from such an [Affinity]. If he had not parted with Hushi, Shuidi and the Old One’s main consciousness, he would seek further clarity.

Yet, as it stood, he merely put the rejuvenation to use.

With each mote of [Life Qi] Fu transmuted his [Inner Qi] to further expand the domain, only ceasing when the output reached little over a li - a truly prodigious range.

Then began his refinement.

This [Life Qi]- surely Ryudeshui is not aware of the boundless energies they impart. It rivals many hundred [Pills] at once and at each moment. Best that I do not squander this opportunity.

For each of his following steps, Fu’s gait slowed.

His focus went inward and outward in a series of oscillating observations, and from here he began to temper this most recent [Art].

Effort flourished across the passing minutes and hours, until at last he had reduced the toll of [Soul Qi] by, at the very least, a third. As it went with the range and pressure of his output, now able to shift with minor gestures from his hands.

But the black still loomed.

Thickened.

Fu and Ryudeshui made ready as the edges of this Beast Lord’s black suddenly rebuked the extent of their twinned domains. Here the [Spiritual] pressure lurched as if directed, inscribing a great noose of gloom about them.

“A conscious effort. We have reached what you seek, stranger. The core of this [Inner Realm] stands below.”

Below.

Directions in such a place meant truly little, but Fu saw the makings of what Ryudeshui described. A darker-than-dark recess in the ebbing tides of black stretched beyond their domain, and though far it was plain enough to see the approximation of a vast cavern waited there.

[Intent] came in place of words - carried upon a rushing, final gale.

“Endings,” it impressed.

“Annihilation.”

“Forgotten.”

“Nothingness.”

“Undone.”

“Unmade.”

“Erased.”

These insights came as a barrage of blades, having Fu stagger forwards.

Several among the shoal caught him underarm as Ryudeshui resounded their own insight. “Beginnings. Creation. Longevity. Substance. Triumph. Establishment. Birth,” exploded a wave of gold-white force.

Fu felt the pressure ease, and steeled his [Spirit]. “Venerable shoal, the power you possess proves I am unneeded.”

“No. We are the moon’s lighter half. The above of below. H’siang sheng. Balance stays us both. Add yourself to this stalemate, stranger. Tip these unmoving scales.” [Life Qi] erupted into Fu’s [Core] to add weight to this request.

[Dread Leviathan’s Call] shifted at his command, surging this tide into a denser, narrow lake through which he stepped.

Measured paces.

Crimson against white-gold against black.

The cavern was breached. Then farther, into death’s true heart. An [Inner Realm] did not hold true footsteps, but for each taken there came a pulse from his [Primordial Law].

An equilibrium reached that in turn emboldened the next - that sharpened his [Art] and the image of technique - and from it, one Leviathan met another.

Amidst death’s lightless hue, the Beast Lord quaked. A formless miasma of promised ends yawned wide before him, though no glint caught the titanic being’s teeth. Merely, a maw that gradually closed, enveloping him in a certainty of doom.

Of death.

“[Hegemony of Pale Mists],” intoned Fu, though its utterance could never manifest use.

The Beast Lord trembled.

With his [Spirit] manifest, he rescinded all trace of death from his [Intent], projecting instead all that [Hegemony of Pale Mists] was borne of.

“You see it, Beast Lord. The vestige of your domain. Death could not hold me, and the toll of this place cannot rival what might have been lost that day. See me, beast. Feel the futility of your imagined finality and know dread, for I have already conquered your life’s workings.”

The indomitable black quivered.

Fu opened his palm and the [Dread Leviathan’s Call] lurched, compressing the maw beneath tidal pressure. “Submit.”

For a heartbeat, the influx of [Life Qi] wavered.

“Submit,” the Fatherly [Asura] demanded.

Moments passed before all but a pace of the black remained, replaced instead by teal and white-gold horizons.

Ryudeshui drifted forth. Their thousand shared eyes expressed little to look upon the nigh-vanquished form of their captor. “We are hesitant of this current, stranger.”

“There is more to come, venerable shoal,” said Fu. “We have only just begun.”

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