[Tian] 1:13 (Patreon)

“HE KILLED THE ICECALLER.”

The man speaks in a weary voice. His hands shake as he reaches for the glass. He does not pick it up. Instead, he slumps back on his chair, heaving a heavy sigh.

“We couldn’t do anything against him. His Esh fell from the sky. His En came in like the rising tide. They tore everything down. Our cities. Our homes… I could only escape because the Icecaller faced Galgom himself.”

He buries his head in his hands. A light sob escapes his lips. Everyone stands around him, saying nothing. I can see the questions written on their faces, yet they remain silent. A tragedy has happened. The jubilance from mere days ago has been replaced by this dour atmosphere.

Kalmat finally speaks, breaking this silence. “Bluerage,” he says the man’s name, “I understand what you must have gone through. By the Grovetender, believe me, we all do. But we must know— when exactly did this happen?”

Bluerage only glances up fractionally. His lips quiver, but otherwise nothing else happens. Kalmat leans forward.

“Please. It’s important.”

“I—” The man hesitates. His face is ashen— which only emphasizes his already-pale complexion. “J-Just a few days ago. Maybe… maybe a week?”

“When?” Kalmat presses him once more. “Was it before or after true day returned?”

“It was....” Rubbing at his temples, Bluerage murmurs nonsensical words to himself for a moment. He looks up as life seems to return to his violet eyes. “...when both Rubrum and Caerulum occupied the sky. Just after the end of the false night.”

“I see.” With a reassuring smile, Kalmat pats him on the shoulder. “Thank you. And do not worry, we shall take care of you while you are in our den.”

Bluerage nods somberly. He does not respond, but the crowd around him disperses. I hear whispered voices coming from all around. Speculations. And more than just that: there is fear.

Galgom is alive. He slayed the Icecaller just a day after I killed him. He is supposed to be immortal— it is a given he did not die from me. However, that begs the question on how he survived.

He definitely did not regenerate; his corpse is clear evidence against any kind of rapid recovery abilities. Kalmat approaches me, the same question hanging on his mind.

“Tian,” he says, ushering me to a private room, “can we talk?”

“Of course.” I follow after him, and the door closes quietly behind us. I face him, tapping a finger on my chin. “Interesting revelation, do you agree?”

“If by interesting, you mean incredibly problematic— then yes, it is interesting.” He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Perhaps it poses an issue for you,” I say nonchalantly, “but to me, it is a positive turn of events.”

“Because you can pry his secret to immortality from him alive?”

“Yes.”

“I think I’m starting to understand you better, Tian.” He lets out a slight chuckle, before his face is overcome with a more serious expression. “Unfortunately, Galgom is an existential threat to us, the Keepers of the Grove.”

I nod. “Indeed he is. However, I am still on your side, Kalmat. I beat him once. I can do it again.”

“But if he just keeps coming back…” Kalmat trails off. “Do you have any idea how his immortality could work?”

My eyebrows raise just slightly. “Are you not the ones who claimed he was immortal?”

“That’s what I have heard, but it’s not something I understand myself. I was hoping you could explain how it works in your world— immortality, that is.”

“I am uncertain about Galgom’s circumstance myself. In Jhisie, immortality ties you to the Dao itself. As long as the Dao exists, your soul cannot be destroyed. You will come back. You will always regenerate. Not unless you are cut from the Dao— like I am.” I raise a hand up, staring down at my palms. My fist clenches and I continue. “If I had to wager, I believe Galgom fought against me with some kind of spiritual projection, so he was never actually there in the first place. Or he has a way to instantly reincarnate upon his death, keeping his powers and his memories.”

“Reincarnate?” Kalmat casts a questioning look my way.

“Does such a concept not exist in this world?”

“I have heard of such… things before.” He scratches his chin. “A second chance at life. But they’ve only ever been posed as wishful dreams. After all, every soul returns to the Pishitim after its body is dead.”

“Interesting. In my world, we believe a soul is recycled. Death is a new birth. Without any of its memories, but all of its transgressions and its triumphs. The soul— its purity, its essence— remains the only thing of its past life.” I cross my arms, frowning. “However, such concepts may not apply to Galgom, since he does not come from either mine nor your world.”

“A different method entirely, then?”

“Possibly.” I tilt my head up. “Regardless, this means you and the Keepers must remain vigilant.”

“We have been,” Kalmat says simply. “We had already set up additional defenses. We have been busy recruiting more members into our group, preparing for the next attack of Galgom’s forces.”

“Is that really enough?”

He frowns. “What do you mean?”

“I believe that your previous course of action— of challenging Galgom directly— would be more suitable.”

“I’ll have to see what the others have to say first.” Kalmat does not seem averse to the idea, however he is rightfully cautious. “And if we’re going to do this, we need to find allies first.”

“I agree.”

***

Kalmat leaves me alone to speak with the other members of the Keepers, to discuss their future course of action. I am not a leader— especially not for this group of rebels. I stay out of it, instead choosing to meditate in the main hall, breathing slowly like the ebbing and flowing of the waves.

The world around me goes silent as I focus entirely only on what I am. I take the advice of Kalmat. He tells me that I have to come to understand what I truly am. What I want.

Only then can I control my Aura.

I do not focus on my core. I ignore its very existence. It is like I am a Bud again, my very core lies inert. I cannot sense the Qi cycling through my body. My eyes snap shut, and darkness takes hold of me.

I see myself. My wants. It is all laid out before me. Galgom falls behind me. All my obstacles have been overcome. My hard work finally pays off. Immortality awaits before me. The Spirit Jade— no, the dodecahedron changes. It is no longer what it once was. Now, it is the Dao itself.

I see veins of Qi stretching in from the eternal void, reaching, grasping for the Dao. They form out of the single core at the center, like branches— the manifestation of a meridian. The movement of the Qi is like the migration of birds. I even hear light chirping in the distance. Like the echoing of a thousand doves call.

Taking a step forward, I embrace the Dao with my entire being. It is warm. An embrace just like mother’s. A small smile spread across my lips as I feel my desires flowing out of me, connecting to the Dao. Except it is not the Dao. It is only my imagination. And the feeling inside of me— the welling up— it is…

“Hey, Tian!”

My concentration is broken. I snap my gaze up. I see Nindran walking towards me, an annoyed look on her face. I sigh.

“Did you need something, Nindran?” I ask, masking my irritation after mere moments.

“Yeah— I’ve been calling for ya for a ‘lil bit.” She crosses her arms behind her head. “Kalmat’s called for a meetin’, wants ya there too.”

I eye her curiously. “What is this for?”

The azure-haired woman grins. “C’mon, don’t pretend you don't know. I bet ya convinced him to do this.”

I let out a sound of recognition. “Ah. I did not expect him to convince you all so soon.”

“Well, we aren’t gonna be doing much different from before, are we?”

She leads me to where Kalmat waits, surrounded by other members of the Keepers in a room with a map on the wall. He nods at me when I arrive, but otherwise addresses the group. “I am sure most of you here are as upset about the recent news as I am.”

There are a few murmurs of agreements. Beihal pounds a fist on the orange table. “Of course we are! That Galgom— Pishitim bleed on me, he’s killed three out of four guardians of Utana’s guardians.”

“That’s why we can’t let him kill the last one,” Kalmat says simply. “We have to take Galgom down before we grow too weak. We were caught by surprise when he first came. We were not united. By the time we could retaliate, both the Grovetender and the Flamelord were dead. We underestimated him.” He looks around the room— everyone is wearing a gloomy look on their face. “And again, we made the mistake of underestimating him this time around.”

That is true: I should have expected something was off when I killed him that easily. Perhaps I should have gone for a nonlethal strike. However, it had been a hard-fought battle. I was not able to make such accommodations, and had to get the job done there and then.

There are murmurs of agreement. Some people even curse themselves. I see Keshiy sink back behind the crowd, almost like she is ashamed of herself. Seiled shouts something about defeating Galgom for sure this time around. He mentions me, and I glance up.

Kalmat raises a hand, and everyone quietens. “I am aware that we need to prepare ourselves better this time around—”

“You all are fools!” a voice cuts off the man. I look over at the stumbling figure, walking towards us. It is Bluerage, and he is filled with rage. “What in the Pishitim’s blood makes you think you’ll succeed where everyone else have failed?!”

The room is filled with silence. I narrow my eyes— not out of suspicion, but interest instead. Kalmat speaks placatingly. “Bluerage, I was not aware you were—”

“Icecaller’s breath, don’t mess with me!” He reaches our table and slams both his fists down, both to steady himself and out of anger. “I… I came here to warn you. To tell you all not to face Galgom. That you would all get yourselves killed. And here you are planning to face him? What are you even going to do? Attack his bloody Hive?!”

I watch as more than one person in the crowd grows uncertain. Beihal opens his mouth to speak, but Kalmat cuts him off and raises a hand.

“Bluerage.”

“You—”

“Calm down,” he says simply. “You’re still in shock about what happened.”

“In shock?!” Bluerage laughs. “I watched as my family was killed before my very eyes. As my guardian— the one who had protected us for all my life— was slain by that monster. You do not know how foolish you are trying to take him down. It is like you are spitting in their graves!”

A tense moment is held between them as Bluerage glares at Kalmat. The man from the Frosty Mountains opens his mouth— and Kalmat snaps a finger. His Aspect shoots out like a dark blade, stopping just before Bluerage’s wide eyes. “That is enough, Bluerage.”

“W-w-wh…”

“I am not threatening you.” Shaking his head, Kalmat steps forward and his Aspect draws back. “I have heard your piece. You have said what you wanted. Now let me speak on behalf of everyone in this room.” His footsteps halt as he comes face to face with Bluerage. “I think you have misunderstood us. You believe that we are fools— naive, young men and women— thinking we can defeat Galgom before even seeing his true power. But that cannot be further from the truth.”

Kalmat draws back, sweeping his gaze across the room.

“Everyone here has lost just as much as you have to Galgom. The Grovetender, our guardian, was killed by him many years ago. But that does not mean we weren’t there to experience it. Some of us here,”— his eyes land on Beihal, then Nelrel— “even fought in that battle. My parents were killed by Galgom too. And I remember that day every time I go to sleep. We have experienced your loss. Every single one of us.”

Taking a deep breath, Kalmat locks eyes with the trembling Bluerage.

“We know your pain, and we shall not force you to fight with us. But do not force us to do what you want. We fight because we have hope. Because we believe we can end his reign. Because we had experienced tragedy, and want a better world for our children. You ask us about what we’re going to do? If we’re going to challenge Galgom in his Hive? You are right: we will.”

I blink, feeling my lips curl up. It seems they are more proactive than I thought. I previously assumed I will have to convince them to do so, but they have come to that decision themselves.

Kalmat glances over at me. “We have always been hopeful. We have always believed we would win— otherwise, why fight? But now, things are different too. We have seen Galgom be defeated. Tian here beat him in battle. She may not have killed him, but she proved that he can lose. That we have a chance.”

Bluerage stares at me. His pale face turns red. “You think a girl can succeed where our guardians failed?” he sputters.

I draw my lips into a thin line. I am just about to say something, when Kalmat continues.

“You have not seen what she can do. She is stronger than any Bladewielder I have seen. But you are right. We can’t just rely on her.” He pauses, and shoots me an apologetic look. “No offense, Tian.”

“I have heard worse insults.” I wave a hand off.

Nindran’s face snaps my way. “Wait, so you are offended—”

“I understand your apprehension, Bluerage,” Kalmat says emphatically. “Which is why we will not be so foolish to face Galgom like this. Our goal from before does not change. We will gather allies, find the strength necessary to destroy his Hive, and maybe lock away Galgom for all eternity.”

“How exactly are you going to do that? Who could possibly lend you that strength?!” Bluerage growls.

Kalmat smiles. “The last remaining guardian, of course.” He turns his gaze to a map on the wall behind him. “We shall go to the Desolate Caverns, and recruit the Websmith herself.”