[Tian] 1:19 (Patreon)

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LIUFAN TIAN STOOD BEFORE A ZAKRA TREE.

She adopted a wide stance, a single palm held forward, and her other arm hidden behind her back. Taking a deep breath, she focused on each step. The graceful movement depicted on the scroll she had been studying. She exhaled as she lashed out.

“Liufan Basic Technique: Lotus Dance!”

The girl spun around, swiping her hidden hand at the gray trunk. The strike landed; the tree shook, its petals fluttering down from its branches; and Tian stumbled back, whimpering in pain.

“O-ouch…” She groaned as she picked out the splintered wood poking into her hand. It had pierced through the cloth wraps, staining the white with small red spots. Clenching her fist, she tried to feel if that had drawn out any of the Qi from within her.

It did not.

Tian let out a sigh. It was another failure. She thought she had improved— that she had found her path as a Cultivator. But again, she had only fooled herself into believing that. Flinching, the girl pulled out the last of the wooden bits sticking into her hand. She readjusted the bandages that were already there, to cover the new wounds she had inflicted on herself.

She was used to this at this point. Turning back, she started for her little hit… only to pause as she saw a face peering at her.

A girl, roughly the same age as Tian, stood before her. Her head was cocked to the side, letting her red hair fall to the side. It wasn’t exactly the cherry-colored hair Tian was used to seeing. Instead, it was a lighter shade. Like white was mixed in. Almost pink.

“Why did you do that?” she asked, placing a finger on her lip.

Liufan Tian blinked. Was she being addressed? Surely this girl was referring to someone else, right?

Looking to her left and right, Tian quickly realized she was the only one there. She pointed a finger on herself, hesitating. “M-me?”

The pinked-haired girl nodded. “Yes. Why did you do that?” She gestured at Tian’s hand. “You hurt yourself.”

“I-I did.” Liufan Tian glanced down at the bloodstains. She peeled back part of the wraps, showing the old scars she had masked underneath. “But it’s not something I’m unused to.”

Gasping, the pink-haired girl stepped forward and grabbed the other girl’s hand. “This… how’d you get this?” she asked, wide-eyed.

“Mostly from working,” Tian explained. “Gathering herbs for mother. picking fruits and vegetables for dinner, and drawing water from the lake too.”

“Aren’t you from the Liufan sect like me? Why are you doing the job of Buds?” The pink-haired girl tilted her head up, as if remembering something. Then she quickly bowed. “Oh, I’m Liufan Xun by the way.”

Tian blinked. She realized she had forgotten her manners. She lowered her head, bending until she was parallel to the ground. “I-I am Liufan Tian. It is an honor to speak with you, Xun.”

Xun waved a hand off, almost casually. “Come on, now. There’s no need to be so formal— I mean, sure, our elders are always saying to ‘behave like this’ or ‘behave like that’. But that’s only when others are around. I’m sure the Patriarch isn’t such a stuck-up when he’s alone in his room.”

Tian stepped back, horrified. “Y-you can’t say that!”

“Why not?” Xun scoffed. “It’s not like he can hear me! I’m not even within the sect right now!” Pausing, she tapped a finger on her chin. “Which reminds me… why are you all the way out here, anyway?”

“You mean… you don’t know? Tian stared at her, only for her to nod.

“That’s right. Why are you here?”

Gesturing at herself, Tian spoke stupidly. “I’m Liufan Tian.”

“Yes. You’ve said that.”

“Liufan Tian— daughter of Liufan Tiao.”

“You and your mother have similar names, huh? What’s your father’s name? Tai?”

“No, that’s not it!” Liufan Tian didn’t know what was so hard to understand. Did Xun really not know the story behind mother? “Mother is—” she started, but stopped herself.

“Your mother… what?” Xun gave her a puzzled look.

The girl hesitated. Did she really want to tell Xun about mother’s situation? If she found out, she might shun Tian like the others. It was humiliating— a prestigious member of the Liufan sect, nothing more than a Bud. The same kind of Bud that tilled the fields, working as servants for the sect, nothing more than laborers until their deaths, no surname to even remember them by.

If I tell the truth… She bit her lower lip. Shaking her head, she decided to say nothing. That wasn’t a lie, right?

“What brings you out here, Xun?” Tian decided to ask.

“I don’t really know.” The other girl crossed her arms behind her back. “I guess I was feeling adventurous? It was kind of on a whim. Especially since I finally became a Bloom just a few weeks back.”

“You’re a Bloom?” Tian exclaimed.

“That’s right!” Xun beamed, puffing out her chest. “I’m not even a decade old and I’m already a Bloom. That’s pretty impressive, right?”

“You’re around my age and you’re a Bloom…” the girl whispered, in awe.

Patting her on the back, Xun spoke reassuringly. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Not many can be as amazing as me! It takes time and patience to break out of the Bud stage.”

“Time and patience,” Tian repeated after the other girl, glancing down at her palm. The new red smudges on her bandages clearly showed how she tried to rush her training. “But mother said that I need a reason to be a Cultivator. Something to drive me forward.”

“That’s easy. Let me ask you this: do you want to ascend to a Bloom?”

Liufan Tian nodded immediately. Xun grinned.

“Then that’s your reason. Done. Now you can move on to the next steps.”

“Next… steps?” Tian asked, almost embarrassed by how clueless she was coming across.

“You mean you don’t know?”

She shook her head.

Xun took a step forward, stopping just before their faces touched. “That’s… interesting. I guess I could teach you, if you really don’t know.”

Those words took a moment to sink in. Tian met Xun’s gaze— the other girl’s eyes were of a bright amber color. Tian hadn’t noticed that before. It seemed so warm, so inviting, like a fire on a cold night.

“Are you sure?” Tian asked in an uncertain voice, feeling the warmth on her face growing hotter.

“Of course—” Xun paused, raising her head slightly. “Although I have to go now. Father expects me to be back home before the cycle ends.” She looked over at the Heavens up in the green sky. “How about this, when the Sixth Heaven is at its highest next week, we’ll meet here again. Then I’ll teach you everything you need to know about getting to Bloom.” Drawing back, she gave Tian an inquiring look. “Well?”

“I…” The girl didn’t know what to say. Should she even accept Xun’s help? After all, mother was already teaching her. But everytime mother uses her Qi, she’s poisoning herself. It would be better this way. “If you insist.” Tian bowed as she spoke.

“I insist,” Xun agreed. “Quite a bit, actually. You’re not going to get anywhere doing things by yourself. Even if you’re a Florescence like the Patriarch, you need someone else by your side to help you. That’s why sects exist.” She placed a hand on the girl’s chin, raising it so that Tian was no longer bent over. “So, like I said earlier, there’s no need to be so formal with me.”

Tian was speechless. Her face burned like a raging fire. Her heart pounded like a hammer in her chest. She could only give a small nod as Xun took her leave.

“I have to go now. See you here in a week, alright?”

“S-see… you.” Liufan Tian only managed to speak when Xun was finally gone. And she really hoped she would see the other girl again.

********

“Why have you returned?” the Websmith descends from the darkness above. The ground shakes as her eight legs crash down onto the earth. I cross my arms as she hisses. “I have spoken to your leader— I shall not aid your cause.”

“He is not my leader,” I say simply. “I fight with the Keepers of the Grove against Galgom, but I do not do it for the same reason as them. We only share the same enemy, not the reasons for fighting him.”

Her eight eyes narrow, the weak light they emit dimming in the process. “And why would I believe your words?”

I raise a hand, bringing up the Mark of the Elocunive. “See for yourself. I do not belong to this world.”

Tian
Race: Ren
Class: Soul Seeker Level 4
Feats:
- Void Walk
- Ray of Esh
- Galgom’s End
- The Guardian’s Blessing

“Ren…?” She is confused. “I have never heard of such a race.”

“Because it is not one from this world.” I snap a finger, channeling my Qi into creating a ball of iron. “Is this not proof enough?”

The Websmith stares suspiciously at me; she is still unconvinced. However, she does not outright reject me, which is good. “Even if you hail from a world beyond Utana, that does not mean you can give a compelling reason to heed your request. After all, you seek out the same goal as the Keepers of the Grove, do you not?”

“That is correct. I wish to see Galgom defeated, just as they do. But that is because I desire to uncover his secrets— the truth behind his immortality, and perhaps a way back to Jhisie.”

“Selfish motivations, then.” The Websmith looks almost disappointed.

“Perhaps.” I place a hand on my abdomen, close to where my core is. “However, it is the only reasonable cause for me to pursue.” Walking forward, I stop only when I am directly before the massive spider. “Each passing moment I stay in Utana, I lose more of my Qi. My connection to the Dao— to my world— grows weaker. I am becoming vulnerable, especially since I am being hunted by Galgom’s Esh.”

The Websmith looms over me as I continue.

“You believe Kalmat’s motivation is poor due to speculation? Mine is not. Every time I use my Feat, Void Walk, the Esh appears. They demand my death. Of course, they have failed each attempt thus far. However, as my power wanes and as their numbers never dwindle, what will happen?”

I dig my feet into the ground, clenching my fist into balls as I hold them by my side. Her gaze bores into me, but I do not waver.

“Now tell me, Websmith: should I do nothing, let Galgom kill me, and forfeit my life entirely? Or if there is a way to prevent my death, should I strive towards it, and work with those who can aid me just as I can aid them?”

Spreading my arms wide, I pose the question to her. She stays silent. She does not even move. Her eyes do not blink. For what feels like an entire cycle, the Websmith does nothing. I quirk a brow, waiting for a response. Then she shakes— her entire body trembles. Throwing her head back, she erupts into a booming laugh.

“A very difficult question, indeed.” The Websmith’s chuckling comes to a stop. “Either you are a fool, or you are selfish. Such a dilemma. It is true that your motivations are predicated on logic, but it is not mutually exclusive with selfishness.”

I smirk. “I have never argued otherwise.” Bringing a hand out, I offer it to her. “However, it is a kind of selfishness that benefits all. It helps the Keepers of the Grove with their own selfish desires. And it can help you as well.”

“And what could you possibly mean by that?”

“You desire Galgom to be defeated too, no?” I gesture around me— at the damp cavern full of dead tarantinels. “That is why you gave the Keepers this test, so that they may grow stronger, so that each of them may receive the Mark of the Elocunive.”

“That is speculation,” she says.

“But it is the truth.” I confidently meet her gaze. “Whether you fear Galgom, or desire to avenge the other guardians, you wish to see him defeated and rid from this world.”

The Websmith… smiles. “That is correct.” She draws herself straight, her head nearly touching the stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling. “Very well, girl, I hear your request, and I shall answer it.”

“Tian,” I correct her. “My name is Tian.”

***

“She’s been gone for a bit, hasn’t she?”

“Shut it, squirt. You’re not allowed to worry when you’re the one who wanted her to go back in.”

“I know, but—” The boy’s words are cut off as a shiver runs through the earth.

A quake brings him off balance. Nindran catches him before he falls, raising a hand as Lifeblood gathers around her. “Bloody— did she anger the Websmith?”

Kalmat, Beihal, and the others hurry to their side. The bulky man narrows his eyes. “Monsters? More tarantinels?”

“No.” Kalmat squints, staring deeper into the tunnel. “She did it,” he breathes.

The shaking grows heavier. The Websmith carries herself forward, heading up to the surface at a rapid pace. With each step she takes, the earth rumbles. The clicking is loud, each of them echoing loudly through the cavern. I stand on her shoulder, shrugging off the rain of rocks and dirt from above. I smirk as she comes to a stop before the staring Keepers.

She folds her scythe-like arms across the middle segment of her body. Her voice booms as she addresses them. “Keepers of the Grove, I have spoken with Tian. I have found her cause worth fighting for. We shall work together—” Glancing back at me, the Websmith speaks in a softer voice. “And put an end to Galgom’s reign.”