Cultivating Chaos 5 -ch 13- (Patreon)

Looking to the rapidly approaching ceiling of the prison, Ash was nervous.

There was a large opening in the ceiling that looked as if it didn’t belong there. A gash in the ceiling that had the appearance of something blowing outward.

As if a bomb had gone off in fact.

Bits of material hung from it, dangling in the air.

It reminded Ash of a disaster movie with how it looked.

The problem at the moment was everyone in the air with them were all being drawn up into this hole. There was no mistaking it in fact.

There were those who had been further out at the start that had all drifted closer over time. They were only feet away instead of tens of feet away.

Everyone was being forced into the same area that they’d be moving through.

Part of Ash’s concern was if everyone was pulled through, would they be crushed if there were too many.

Beyond that, if there was a holding force inside of where they were going, would it prevent them from simply falling back through the hole. Or would it actually move them elsewhere.

Ash had the feeling that this wasn’t an expected situation.

It wasn’t planned.

Whatever was happening, felt as if it were entirely an accident and little different than a house fire after being struck by a lightning bolt.

“Chunhua! Can you do anything wiht your Qi?” Ash shouted. There was a lot of screaming going on from others at the moment.

“No!” said the sorceress, her face still pressed into Ash’s neck. She hadn’t moved away once she’d gotten ahold of him and was more or less an apron.

A grimace split Ash’s face as he considered what to do.

Realizing there was only one answer for him, he drew on his Qi-Sea.

He rapidly drew out a large portion of it and set it around him in a coil. As if it were a spring made into a sphere shape.

They could see out of it just fine and the world around them, but they also weren’t going to be smashed into a pile with other people.

The gaps would hopefully allow enough of a shift so that others wouldn’t be crushed against it either.

Slowly, everyone was pulled up to the hole.

Then into it.

There was a modicum of panic amongst the hundreds of people as they were all forced through the hole. It didn’t seem as if anyone had been pushed in too close or too tightly, but there was no mistaking that people were planted against Ash’s sphere.

“Oooh, thank you Ashley,” whined Xiuying against his stomach. She hadn’t given up an inch of her hold on him despite Chunhua now resting against her shoulders and back.

Slowly they inched over the shattered gap and into the area beyond the prison. Somewhere he didn’t think anyone had been in a very long time.

The interior had a series of lights that seemed to be made out of artifiacts that lit the area up rather well.

They were now entering what could only be generous labeled as an empty storage area. There was nothing here of note in any way shape or form.

A number of doors and doorways lined the the walls here and there and a particularly massive archway was set on the furthest wall away from them.

It was closed with a blackened metal that most certainly didn’t look like it’d be opening any time soon.

Part of the archway had cracked off and laid on the ground and the metal itself almost had a rusty quality to the edges.

Whatever that was, it’s failed.

I wonder when it failed though.

Is that what blew open this hole?

Like holding onto a firecracker, it blew out through the weakest point?

Unfortunately for Ash, the chains that led up and away from him when he’d been in the prison proper didn’t lead here.

They led even higher above where they were and partially to the side. Going right through the ceiling here.

He got the impression their termination point was a still a significant ways away from him.

Slowly, forcefully, everyone was pulled into the room then to the far side. Where the blackened metal portal stood.

Not really sure what to expect, Ash reformed his sphere into a square. One that would help them land flat. He also had the bottom of it reach up to gently wind his ankles into a more firm hold.

Reaching the other side those closest to the black metal were now shrieking. Screaming to be let loose or set them free.

No one wanted to touch it for some reason.

Yet, no sooner than someone physically bumped into it than the pull ended.

Abruptly and without warning.

Everyone dropped to the ground with a thump.

Ash’s cube fell to the ground and hit with a pop.

Xiuying squeaked and slipped down a bit, her arms tightening around Ash’s hips and waist. Her legs shooting up to prevent her feet from slamming into the ground, he imagined.

“Ahhh!” she mewled, leaving Ash wishing Siu was here given where Xiuying’s face now was. “Oh. Oh! I can just— ah. Thank you, Ashley.”

Glancing down he saw Xiuying had put her feet down.

She was now sitting on the bottom of his square and looking up at him with a wide smile that showed off her pretty features.

More or less still in front of him.

Yeah… gonna need Siu.

Locke?

“Yes, I’m here my dear. But… where are you? You just suddenly pushed everyone into the Hall. I couldn’t really hear you that well after that, it was like you were in an area with really bad cell reception.”

Above the prison, actually.

A hole was made at the top. In the ceiling, I guess.

We were pulled through that hole and now we’re somewhere else.

Ash retracted his Qi, gave Chunhua a hug followed by a quick kiss, then helped Xiuying to her feet.

“Thank you, thank you,” she murmured, holding onto his hand tightly that he’d offered her. She didn’t release it in fact.

Her free hand came around to brush at her rear end before she turned and looked to him.

Realizing he wasn’t getting his hand back, Ash began walking over to the hole.

Peering out of it and down to the prison interior below, he realized two things.

The first, they were a very high way up. There were clouds that partially blocked his view of the ground and what he could see was limited.

Second, the hole was working to repair itself, somehow.

The materials were bending themselves back into place and shifting upward back to the hole. It was moving much faster than he expected.

Yeah, nah.

Not going to let out exit be filled in.

Let’s just… do what we can.

Getting down on one knee Ash put his free hand to the edge of the gaping rent in the floor. Working as smoothly as he could though with speed, he expelled Qi from his palm.

In short order, he had formed a large circular rim around the hole. Easily fourteen-feet wide and embedded quite firmly, the edges having grown sharp edges that did their best to bite into the incredibly hard material that the prison was made out of.

He also had built a lip to it so that it would extend beyond the opening. Allowing the prison material to hopefully build back into open space and the lips of the portal being locked into place.

Faster than he expected, the shattered bits and pieces had reformed themselves. Winding back and forth until his Qi fashioned porthole wasn’t going to be going anywhere.

In fact it creaked ominously as if it were about to shatter.

Ash did his best to reinforce the Qi so that it wouldn’t do that. Wanting it to remain in this shape and hold there.

Still creaking, the Qi portal didn’t break, though Ash felt like it could happen at any second. That the force being exerted as the materials sought to reconnect itself was incredible.

“You can all back up, or I can start killing you,” growled Chunhua.

“To answer your questions though, he’s attempting to stabilize the hole so that we can escape this location. It was repairing itself even as we wached!” chirped Xiuying. “My husband is the amazing Ashley Sheng, he took Lady Ghast as his wife because he wished to do so, then ordered Si’Sha’s capture!”

There was a general murmur that followed Xiuying’s statement.

A murmur that sounded like a number of people agreeing to what was said, having seen it, or wondering aloud how great he must be.

Slowly, the creaking faded away and Ash felt the pressure decreasing. As if the material had spread out and blended into itself rather than filling in what it thought was a gap.

Minutes passed before Ash felt like it was done regrowing itself. The pressure on the Qi ring was quite stable now.

Adding more Qi to his structure, Ash reinforced it. Adding material to the circle all the way around till it had shrunk to a radius of ten feet.

Releasing his desperate hold on the Qi he slowly stood up.

There was a single high pitched whine and then everything went still and silent.

“Alright,” Ash mumbled and peered through the hole. “We’ve secured our means of escape. Though I wouldn’t want to fall through all the way back to the ground but… you know… better than being imprisoned up here.”

“Ash, Moira is on her way to you. I couldn’t stop her. Jia is as well.

“I can talk to everyone in the Hall and they can hear me, but I can’t get them out, nor can I go there. Are you locked out of it as well? I feel like you are but I can’t grasp your memories or thoughts very well right now.”

They’re on their way?

I mean, Moira can fly so that works. We could get out of here if we wanted I suppose.

But what do you mean Jia? How?

And no, I can’t really access the Hall very well at the moment.

“You can’t? Alright… ah… well… I do have one thing I could try. It’ll probably retrieve them here though, rather than up there. But I suppose that’s fine. Better than leaving them in the Hall doing nothing.

“That and we can’t really leave Ren in there. She has an entire domain or two to manage.”

That’s fine, I can’t pull them out so it doesn’t really do much of anything to keep them in the Hall.

Though I can’t imagine they’ll all placidly wait down there. I’m sure they’ll all try to figure ways to get up here to me.

“Most assuredly. I imagine they’ll get Ren to go get the airships and then come up to you. You might want to make a docking platform for the airships at some point. It’d save you trouble in the future.

“If this even works though. I’m not sure what I want to do will succeed.”

Ash turned and looked to Chunhua and Xiuying.

“Jia and Moira will be joining us apparently,” Ash relayed. “I can’t get anyone out of the Hall, nor can I put us in it.”

“Good. I’m also now in control of my Qi again,” advised Chunhua, a faint smile curling her lips. “I was rather terrified at the idea of losing all that I’d gained.

“I was promised immense power and I’ve been given it. The idea of losing it now… the very idea shattered my world-view to a degree.”

Holding up her hands, she casually threw balls of Qi back and forth between her hands. Appearing, disappearing, and reappearing elsewhere.

Letting a ball of fire roll across her fingers only to close her hand around it. Opening it again and having it be converted into a ball of water.

Flicking it out the hole Ash had made, Chunhua looked back to him with a smile.

“Thank you for abducting me, Ashley. I never thought my life would’ve turned out like this the day you took me away,” she said in a low and husky tone. “When I came to your home that day I thought you would use me up and get rid of me in a week.”

“Hardly. You’re one of my greatest successes. You and Rou,” Ash countered, looking around at everyone else.

They were now all trying doors, wandering around, leaving, or tending to wounds. There was no cohesion amongst these people and they didn’t see anyone here as an ally as far as he could tell.

At least they didn’t see anyone else as an enemy yet either.

“I know it. Still… I thought for sure that was my fate,” Chunhua continued, then laughed. “Na had scared me so deeply at the door. I understood her quite well a few days later, but still, I did get back at her for it.”

“Ahh, I remember that. I was hiding around the corner when she told you to do whatever Ash tells you to do!” admitted Xiuying with a bright laugh. “Mmm, good memories.

“Anyways, what should we do? While you think about what should we do, can you access the Hall at for items and things or is it completely shut down? I can’t access my storage item here though I was able to use it otherwise unlike so many others.”

Ash blinked at that.

It wasn’t that much of a surprise to find out that Xiuying had been lurking around this entire time. Nor was it a surprise that she had a storage device that had been working in the prison as well as that she’d been able to bring it over with her.

Reaching out to the Hall Ash went to withdraw a skin of water.

It promptly appeared in his hand without an issue.

Focusing on those in the Hall he worked to bring them out, just as he had done for his water. To drag them out right here.

There was no response from the Hall.

“Ah… I already pulled them out. I-that-err… I think, I think the inability to access the Hall was temporary. I jumped the gun and pulled everyone out down here I guess.”

I wouldn’t have called that jumping the gun. We thought they were stuck.

It’s fine… should I assume they’re already dragging Ren away?

“Yes. Yes they are. I’m going to remain here with Na, Rou, and Mei. I need them if I’m going to keep expanding our territory since Jia and Moira left.

“I convinced them by telling them that if they’re away again, you’ll miss them, and lock yourself in a room with them later when you meet up with them again.

“Just like you did last time with them. I figured you’d do that anyways without me telling them.”

Good plan.

Remind me to lock you into a room later and not let you leave for hours.

Love you.

“Love… love, you too. Please. Lock me away for hours. Don’t let me go.”

“I can access the Hall. Everyone is on their way here, likely by Ren’s airships I imagine.

“Locke was able to pull them out in our territory so they’re fine. She’s obviously too far to put them back in the Hall. I’m still surprised she managed it in the first place,” Ash explained. “As for what we’re going to do here, we should explore. It’ll take them some time to get back here, after all.”

“I leveraged the part of the Hall that’s me and ejected everyone from the Hall to my body. Like… hurt a lot. More than I want to admit. It also did some damage to me in the Hall but I’ll recover.

“I wouldn’t want to do it again if I didn’t have to. Ever, if I’m being honest.”

Got it.

“I want to explore that portal first,” Chunhua said, then slowly looked up. “But I feel like… that’s the wrong answer.

“If this is an interior part of the prison, doesn’t that mean that there might be controls somewhere? Or… an armory?”

“Good point,” Ash agreed, then turned to Xiuying.

He was once more presented with her previous statement.

To not treat her as a fortune teller.

“Xiuying, my beautiful bride, I’m relying on you to get us to where we need to be,” Ash murmured, and squeezed her hand. She had still held onto his the whole time. “Please lead us. I’m not asking you to be a fortune teller or anything like that, I just would rather trust in you to guide us. You seem to have a great sense of where you should and shouldn’t be.

“If you don’t want to even then, I understand. But I’d really appreciate it.”

Lean on that luck.

Lean on my lucky charm till she squeaks, then lean on her even harder till she moans.

“Oh dear, would you look at that? I seem to have become a Fortune’s Chosen. You should clearly lean on me roughly, forcefully, and repeatedly, as I moan for more.

“Right? Right. Clearly my idea is the best ever.”

It really is.

Shame you’re not here, Lucke.

My lucky Locke.

“Sure! I can do that! Like you said, I have a good feeling for where I should be!” cheered Xiuying who then began jogging off. Pulling Ash along behind her.

Chunhua came along behind as they entered a door nearby.

It led into a long hallway in three different directions.

“Okay! Here we go!” Xiuying chirped with a laugh. “Mazes are most fun, I love mazes. I always find really fun things!”

Then Xiuying raced them into the darkness, not even seeming to realize that there was no light in the halls. Laughing all the while and sounding incredibly excited.

Never let her go.

She’s my Fortune’s Chosen.

Ever.

Ash tightened his grasp of Xiuying’s hand.

Who only clenched her hand even tighter in return. Only to glance back at him, wide eyed, grinning ear to ear, and a glitter in those pupils.

The feeling seemed to be mutual between them.