Chapter 3: Breaking the Chains (Patreon)

Weaving his spear, Rey blew away dozens of the Seven Treasure Pagoda warriors. Their blue and white armors disintegrated under his martial prowess, their life flames flickering before being suddenly snuffed out.

Forged in the never ending despair of being trapped in the same day over and over again, the young warrior never let go of his resolve and stood up despite the soul crushing pressure.

Splitting his time even more, he studied books in the clan’s library, looking for a solution. The manuals for high ranking skills, secret techniques and other valuable scrolls were sealed away in secret location, hence he could still only cultivate the ‘Green Revolving Manual’. Breaking through the limit, coupled with his unending dedication to understand the mysteries of the spear and unravel the secrets of martial cultivation, his aura soared more and more, exceeding even the Martial Elder realm. Every spear blow he faced the enemy army with contained profound truths and his own martial skills. He didn’t know what his current realm was called, but Reynolds didn’t care either. What use was a high cultivation if he couldn’t escape his chains?

From running between the smithy, the library, the kitchen, the workshop and the battlefield, he naturally developed a movement technique based on his ‘Green Revolving Manual’ as well. Originally it was just a simple cultivation law, yet this simple technique obtained an unique opportunity.

Usually a practitioner would change his technique once he reached a certain realm, trading away even treasures to obtain a better law. The basic techniques didn’t allow too much progress compared to a high ranking technique. Contrary to this common sense, Rey had exploited his cultivation manual to the limit and then some more. Improving the lacking elements, the core remained the same, but the elders of the Green Mountain Sect would be shocked to death if they got a copy of Rey’s ‘Green Revolving Manual’.

His progress in other disciplines did not lag behind either. Compared to his first attempt at forging, his current weapon was forged in only a couple of swings, yet the completed weapon eclipsed all of the treasure swords he faced when fighting the Martial Warriors of the Seven Treasure Palace.

To his surprise, the final version he forged one day followed him in the cycle of repeating days, when he woke up after the darkness the steel spear replaced his common wooden one the clan issued all guards.

Baffled by the change in the unending sameness, Rey investigated the spear over and over again, wondering what made the difference. Postponing his usual routine - which he used to stave off the insanity from the never ending day - he contemplated the nature of the spear, from waking up to the moment he got executed in the yard … over and over again.

Finally, Rey broke through another barrier, in a somewhat unexpected manner. Instead of discovering the anomaly in the weapon, his cultivation advanced several stages at once and Rey awakened a different power. Spiritual awareness! Sweeping through the yard with his mind alone, not even a leaf escaped him, he could count every vein on its backside.

Adjusting to his advancement for several days, the warrior pinpointed the reason why his spear changed. His spiritual awareness found a blood link inside the weapon. During one of his trainings, he must have shed some of his own life blood on it, which bound it to his soul.

Discovering a way to change the never fluctuating repetition trapping him, Rey naturally was elated and doubled his training efforts. With his soaring cultivation, all of the other activities yielded twice the results with half the effort. One of the benefits brought by an improved body and mind. His memory could now perfectly capture the contents of a book after reading it once. Imagining a fight, the images came to life inside his head, tempering his technique and sharpening his killing intent.

Of course this also showed up in his fights against the Seven Treasure Palace army. Instead of killing a dozen man with a single blow, his martial arts reached a height where whole patches of the army fell under the aura flying from his spear. Unless he sealed his cultivation, the Martial Warriors posed no threat anymore and couldn’t be used to improve his fighting techniques anymore.

He could only rely on his own mind to stimulate his potential by now.

Rey didn’t know what grade his spear was, which realm of cultivation he reached or what changes his body went through. None of this held any significance for him. The only thing driving him was the change he caused. Under his spiritual awareness, the spear slowly developed even further. Growing by the day, he poured his spirit into it to inspect the changes, which also nourished the weapon in turn.

To have more time during the limited daylight, Reynolds trained like a madman. Improving his strikes to the point of perfection, through countless deaths and countless sufferings, a single swipe was enough to exterminate all enemies in the field.

His senior brothers bothered him about the progress he showed in the art of cultivation, however it was a long time since he worried about them. Rewinding time over and over again, treading the line between life and death and understanding the futility of the whole situation, he long ago recognized their true nature. This were not his good brothers from the guard. Starting the same process over and over again, they were mere puppets, acting out a ploy to make this prison seem real.

He had long ago started ignoring them, his aura made him unapproachable anyway. Regardless whether they were simply puppets or an illusion, the difference in cultivation was enough to hold them at a distance to let him go about his routine unhindered. Not even the clan master could approach him carelessly, if he showed interest, depending on the iteration of the same ever repeating day.

While the spear he relied on grew in proportion with his own powers, Rey couldn’t forge a second piece reacting to his blood. Armor, swords, other spears, none of them reached the heights his trusted partner achieved.

Finished with all the books inside the clan library, scouring the city for other records, unable to progress his smithing technique further, he took an interest in other crafts and arts. Whenever he contemplated the intricacies of these distractions, they also offered chances to break through the bottlenecks he faced, he couldn’t brute force his way.

Several times he thought he reached the pinnacle of an art, yet he always managed to obtain even greater heights, not only in smithing but also in the other crafts and arts. While none of his works - for example paintings - remained, his memory held their image in life like vividity.

Exploring the Green Mountain and the surrounding peaks, Reynolds found chances to apply the knowledge about feng shui, geography and mountaineering in real life, especially so since his training grounds resetted each day.

Slowly but surely he found the limits of his confinement. Travelling like a cloud through the land, the landscape disappeared into whiteness, without any substance. Discovering a limit to this strange world did not discourage Reynolds. On the contrary, he was elated! More than that, ecstatic! A limit meant there must be something outside of this cage.

Forged in despair and aspiration, the young man continued to live his repeating day. Learning the secret lore of the clan, discovering mysteries that bothered him before, alternating between exploring new areas and deepening his mastery of his learned skills, time passed like a river, flowing the same turn again and again.

Removing himself further and further from the worldly situation he was in, the war between sects no longer mattered. Life and death lost meaning. Cultivation started to become useless.

But the limits he discovered gave him an idea. Ray was about two thirds sure he could make a desperate attempt to escape his prison by now. It was silly how simple the situation sounded.

However … he hesitated.

He didn’t know how long he was trapped inside this place. Why he was trapped here. What happened before he came here. If his memories were true in the first place. If it wasn’t for his iron will and deep convictions gained by long years of meditation, madness would have claimed him long ago.

With each passing day, each repetition of slaughter and study, his conviction wavered. No matter what, Rey couldn’t call this living.

Maybe the outer world fell to ruin long ago, he must have spent an eternity here. Maybe it was just an illusion and he’d wake up in the middle of the fight. Still, he needed to find out. It was tearing him apart on the inside.

Preparing to act on the solution he devised many days ago, Rey finally couldn’t wait any longer. Meditating to get into the right mindset, he visualized what he wanted to cut. A regular cut would only slice through the air, and even a profound slash might only slice through the air without resistance.

Having transcended such a realm a long time ago, the young soldier’s cut could long ago dissect space itself. But that would only damage the prison walls, not the lock. Going a level deeper, he stepped forward, bringing down the edge of his trusted spear.

With an earth shattering screech, reality fell apart. Instead of cutting this reality, he aimed for the constraints holding the prison in place in the reality beyond this one.

Disintegrating into fine dust, another pure white realm emerged. Reynolds frowned deeply. Did he make a mistake? He wanted to escape his prison, but this looked the same as the edges of the previous reality.

“Let’s give it another try then. Maybe it will work this time around.”

Sitting down to get into his meditative mindset again, Rey was almost prepared to strike out again.

“Wait a second. Please.”

With a body covered in crimson scales, a man possessing a deep and rough voice interrupted his arrangements. Compared to the bleak background, he stood out like a drop of blood. Even with his advanced cultivation, the young warrior felt a sense of wariness towards the intruder.

“Hmm? Who are you?”

Gripping his metal spear more tightly, Rey got in a stance to strike out at any moment. In his mind, countless attacks appeared and he defended countless times, as well as an uncountable number of attacks to get rid of the red man.

“Relax. While I didn’t expend all of my power to create your room, I’m still fairly confident I can beat you at this time. I’m just here to talk, not to fight. You’re still too young.”

His eyes almost fell out of his head. Too young? As the master of the room, he should know how long exactly he struggled inside.

“Haha, relax. I didn’t mean it as an insult. As a matter of fact, it’s very impressive you managed to break out despite being a mortal. Very impressive, indeed. Since one of the jails showed signs of instability, one of my underlings informed me of the irregularity. I’d never have imagined you’d slice apart the foundation instead of the lock, though. Good. I really haven’t thought of it before either, I can count that as overcoming the constraints. However, you’d wreck everything outside if you just broke out in this manner, so I prepared this place to talk with you.

Allow me to introduce myself, maybe you will understand the significance one day.

My name is Clauditius, a devil. I’m in charge of punishing souls that fail to qualify for a new journey in the wheel of karma.”

Bowing in a complicated manner, the self proclaimed devil shone in a red light, his scales shimmering brightly.

Radiating from his body, Rey felt a divine sense even stronger than his own.

“As you overcame the punishment, I will interpret it as you overcoming a trial for a new beginning. Go on. This room will collapse soon and release you back to the place you died in before. In a less violent manner than splintering space, I might add. That’s dangerous without proper control - try to avoid damaging reality too much.

I know you have many questions, but there are more rules for this than you can imagine. I can’t say anymore. Just one thing. Congratulations.”

Binding Rey with his overwhelming pressure, Clauditius did as he liked and disappeared in the same manner as he came, stepping straight through the fabric of reality. Just observing this process was enough to give him a minor enlightenment, but this wasn’t the time to contemplate it.

In a way, he opened more questions than he answered. Reynolds now knew he died in the past. Maybe the arrow he remembered in the first iteration of the never ending the day was the cause. Maybe he imagined it. The devil also mentioned something about souls and punishment, so reliving his death over and over again might be the Heaven’s punishment for him. And thinking about him destroying the foundation in the reality beyond his prison, he did have to admit the fallout might be rather excessive. A power to transcend two realities … it was too much, in every sense of the word.

Lastly, he earned something by overcoming the punishment, some sort of trial. He was allowed to go back to the place he died, likely as a living being. Possibly redemption.

Who knew the Heaven’s will?

However, there were many new questions too. What kind of existence was a devil? How powerful was he to overpower him? What level reached his own strength in comparison? How much time passed outside of the place his soul resided in? Did he change? And if yes, how much? Compared to the young naive man that died in the battle between two clans, there was hardly anything left from him. On the other hand, Rey was also convinced the core never changed. He still held the same convictions, the same beliefs.

Then there was the insight regarding the space abilities of the devil. With a bit of time, he might be able to figure out how to do it as well, but did he have time? Would he be a mortal or did the effects from the separate realms carry over? Would he wither and die again? He didn’t want to. After tasting a wisp of immortality, he was sure he wouldn’t succumb to the flow of time again.

While Reynolds pondered in the meditative seated position, he didn’t notice the white room shattering again. Like millions upon millions of glass shards, the room broke in pieces and dispersed.

Welcoming the familiar darkness, Rey didn’t notice at first. It had happened so many times, somehow it belonged to him now. However, didn’t the red devil promise him freedom, would it take him back inside the room, fortified so he could never escape again? Did he get tricked? Or …

Dust and dirt flooded into his mouth. Waking up from the darkness, it wasn’t the familiar bunk, but darkness again. No, not darkness, all encompassing earth held his body. Ecstatic to have escaped the routine capturing his soul for as long as he could remember, strength flooded into his body and the rusted remains of a spear beside him came alive, restoring itself to the familiar weapon he forged inside the prison.

Exerting the strength his body now held, the ground split open, revealing a figure flying out from deep inside.

Looking around the scenery, Reynolds was bewildered at first. Didn’t Clauditius promise him he would appear at the place he died? He perished in the battle between two clans, in front of the Green Mountain Clan. This place however, was the side of a deep ravine, the total opposite he remembered.

Flying into the air, he could finally make out some familiar landmarks, convincing him that this was indeed the former site where he lived and died.

However, none of that mattered for the moment. Gleaming like a bronze war god, Rey roared at the rising sun.

Whatever happened, happened. He would figure it out. He was finally free again!