Fates Parallel Chapter 395 - Snare (Patreon)

Yoshika wasn’t sure how to break the news to the others, given how anxious they were to enter. She opted for a direct approach.

“We can’t enter the palace.”

Eui’s blunt declaration drew the attention of everyone around her. Han Yu, of course, was not pleased.

“Of course not! What’s your excuse this time, eh?”

“Melati’s drones aren’t the only thing we felt. This place isn’t what we thought it was at all. It’s not an artifact or a formation that’s creating an extradimensional space. This is...a piece of Sovereign Chou’s soul. A core part of his foundation that he severed somehow and used as the basis of this realm—his soulscape.”

Ruiling furrowed her brows.

“What’s a soulscape?”

Yan Yue bit her thumbnail as she answered.

“It’s a metaphysical ‘space’ within the soul of xiantian and unified cultivators. A dream-like place that represents one’s domain. According to Yoshika, it’s a key step to advancement after forming a domain for us unified cultivators. Tragically, however, for all her talents, she’s cursed to be an abhorrent teacher—none of her students have actually managed to make one.”

Jia crossed her arms and pouted.

“Narae is getting close! And Jiaying has never had a problem learning what we teach her.”

“Talented students don’t make you a better teacher, dear. The point is, nobody else but you has the first hand experience with soulscapes required to understand the implications of what you’re saying.”

Ja Yun raised her hand.

“Uh...I do, actually.”

She blushed as everyone’s attention shifted to her.

“I...made my soulscape. The first parts of it, anyway. A little workshop I used to study in back home, to get away from...things.”

That came as a surprise to Yoshika. Last she remembered, Ja Yun had been struggling to even form her domain much less a soulscape. Even now, Ja Yun’s domain felt vague and uncertain. But the more Yoshika focused on it, the more she realized that there was a paradoxical sense of purpose to that uncertainty.

Ja Yun’s domain was one of chaos and confusion, both for herself and others. A formlessness that nevertheless craved structure—just not from within. Her domain sought to be shaped and molded—to be given definition and meaning.

It wasn’t a powerful path. In fact, it was weak enough that Ja Yun had been able to craft her soulscape without even reaching the third stage of cultivation. Yet there was potential in it—if she found the right partners to realize it.

It reminded Yoshika of Lady Tennin, in some ways, but it was very uniquely Ja Yun in a way she had no other words for.

Ja Yun blushed fiercely under Yoshika’s scrutiny, knowing full well what she was sensing. Jia gave her a comforting smile.

“I should have known better than to underestimate you. In that case, I think you’ll do a better job of explaining it than we can.”

She shook her head.

“I’m not so certain I can. Soulscapes aren’t physical places—they’re more like abstract representations of the soul formed within the soul. They’re weirdly recursive and self-referential, but they aren’t physically real.”

From the sword at Eui’s hip, Jianmo’s voice resonated in a tinny echo.

“Actually, they are. If you become powerful enough, it’s possible to store physical objects within your soulscape. One of the few things Master actually shared with me in his final days was a theory that all worlds are soulscapes, and that we are simply stuck in a layer of existence too great to comprehend the full scope of the inner worlds within us, and too small to perceive the grand beings from which our own worlds are formed.”

Yang Qiu squinted at Jianmo before meeting Eui’s eyes with a confused look.

“Your sword talks? By the emperor, you are so weird.”

Eui ignored her and gestured for Ja Yun to continue. She held a hand to her chin and began to pace as she spoke.

“Okay...so then soulscapes can be real, but they’re still supposed to be representative of one’s domain. If Chou is dead, he doesn’t have a domain—so what is this representing? Who’s controlling it?”

Kaede frowned.

“The administrator? He claims to be nothing more than a constructed facsimile of Sovereign Chou, but despite that he seemed to have a will of his own.”

Han Yu grimaced.

“How would you know that?”

Yue scoffed at him.

“Quiet, Han Yu, adults are talking. Let’s presume that it is the administrator in control of the soulscape. Then as Yoshika suggested, entering the inner sanctum would be suicide. I’ve had the rare honor of being invited into the inner sanctum of Yoshika’s soulscape, and while there I felt an absolute sense of safety. Like nothing could possibly harm me.”

Ruiling cocked her head and hummed thoughtfully.

“Isn’t that a good thing, though?”

“I felt so absolutely safe because I knew that I belonged there, and that Yoshika would not allow any harm to come to me in a space where her power was absolute. Chou’s administrator has made it clear that he doesn’t care for us in the slightest, and he calls us ‘intruders’ and ‘interlopers.’”

“Ah...so by entering the palace, we’d be subjecting ourselves to his absolute control.”

Jia nodded solemnly.

“Even letting ourselves be led this deep was a mistake. ‘Conquering’ this place likely means defeating that administrator. Unless...Jianmo, do you think there’s any way you could convince him to stand down?”

Jianmo laughed.

“Hell no! I’m surprised he didn’t strike you down as soon as he saw me in this state.”

“He almost did, actually. We barely managed to talk him out of it.”

“Well there you have it. My presence here is only being tolerated. I was never meant to be allowed to enter this realm.”

Kaede sighed and shook her head.

“We’ll need to lure him out, then. Do something in this place that he can’t afford to ignore. Can we begin to usurp it from here? Perhaps by circumventing the formation holding it together?”

Yoshika tried to feel out the pattern of the mana in the air, but the formation was so large and complex that anything short of subduing the entire thing at once would be a drop in the ocean. Not to mention, that same formation was likely a core part of the administrator itself, and its essence led into the palace. Usurping control of the essence within Chou’s soulscape would require them to go through the administrator anyway.

Meili shook her head.

“Never mind, that won’t work either.”

Han Yu groaned irritably.

“This is a waste of time. If you want to lure the old geezer out, why not just start destroying things? He thinks he can trap us in this place? If that palace is so precious to him, we should tear it down brick by brick.”

Yue covered her face and laughed.

“Han Yu, please, I know you love to embarrass yourself, but—”

“No, wait!”

Meili’s interruption caught Yue by surprise, but Han Yu had a point.

“That’s not too far off of what I wanted to do before our ascension. We might not be able to control the formation, but maybe we can start breaking it.”

Kaede furrowed her brows.

“How? We’re not strong enough to make a dent in this place, even now.”

“I don’t know, this whole place has me constantly second-guessing myself, but what if the technique Chou left here really was a hint? ‘The Art of Godslaying and the True Meaning of Heavenly Defiance’—if anything is going to have the key we’re looking for, it’s that. Except...”

All eyes fell on Yang Qiu, who crossed her arms and spat to the side.

“Don’t look at me. Mistress over there made me give it all up, and even when I had Zheng Long’s power it’s not like I got a comprehensive sense of his memories.”

Eui pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Yang Qiu, that’s not why we’re glaring at you. Zheng Long is practically catatonic right now because of what you did to him.”

“Tch, he’s lucky he’s even alive after what I did to him.”

“That’s not helping. Is there anything you can give us? Something you still remember?”

Yang Qiu put a finger on her chin and scrunched up her nose in concentration.

“Mmmnope, nothing. He had a huge crush on bitch-face, if that helps.”

Yue glared flatly.

“It doesn’t. Yoshika, I hesitate to even suggest it but...you have been working quite closely with Seong Eunae, haven’t you?”

Jia bit her lip, but before she could answer, Han Yu preempted her.

“Oh no! Absolutely not! The Fox Princess?! Yan Yue, have you gone absolutely mad? Oh...oh wait, I see. Of course, it all makes sense now—we were so foolish not to see it. You’re already under her—”

“Oh shut up, already.”

Yue snapped one of her fans shut and fired a concentrated beam of light into Han Yu’s eyes. She ignored his curses and cries of pain and returned her attention to Yoshika.

“He’s useless as he is, but even if Zheng Long’s new technique doesn’t have the answers we’re looking for, another xiantian asset could be invaluable. Not to mention, he’d be forever in your debt for healing his soul.”

Kaede nodded approvingly.

“The idea has merit, but our soul magic isn’t anywhere close to that level. If it’s possible at all, we’ll need Eunae herself, and we have no way of getting her here.”

“It’s very strange to hear those words out of your mouth, given your own circumstances.”

“I suppose you have a point. My presence here does suggest that it’s possible. I’m a little worried about the consequences of joint cultivation now that we’re in the xiantian realm, though. My own situation is a bit unique in that regard.”

Melati giggled, the drones on her shoulders wiggling happily as they joined her chorus.

“More Yoshi for the hive! Will need lots of new babies to keep up with Melati!”

Meili pursed her lips, trying not to laugh.

“That’s not—you know what? Never mind. If it’s between that and just storming the palace and hoping for the best...I’m all for being cautious when it comes to the strongest cultivator ever. The least I can do is ask Eunae if she’s willing to try.”

Han Yu groaned, rubbing at his eyes and trying to blink away the spots.

“I won’t have it! You’ve mucked around in his soul more than enough already! He’ll be attended by the Awakening Dragon’s best healers—our master included. And you won’t lay a finger on him until then!”

Eui leveled a glare at him, tightening her grip on Jianmo.

“We’re not asking you. Is this going to be a repeat of Yu Xiang and his leg, or is it going to be a repeat of Bai Lin? Your choice.”

Han Yu paled.

“You wouldn’t dare—”

“Wouldn’t dare what?! I’m getting sick of your ungrateful attitude after everything we’ve done to help you.”

He sputtered indignantly.

“Everything you’ve done? Two thirds of our number are dead, and you have been responsible for, or at least complicit in, half of those casualties! Yet strangely, none of your fellow beasts have suffered so.”

“What about Melati? She lost a drone.”

“And now there’s more of them than we started with! Whatever trust you think you have earned, you have not.”

Eui shrugged.

“I don’t need your trust, Han Yu. I’ll get you idiots through this in one piece if I have to drag you kicking and screaming the entire time.”

“You literally just threatened to kill me!”

“I didn’t say I was going to enjoy it.”

Meili ignored Han Yu’s indignant noises and bowed apologetically to Yue.

“Sorry about that. Can you handle things here for another few days?”

“I suppose. You certainly haven’t made it easy for me. Did you have to be so extreme with him? You know I’m always happy to bully Han Yu, but that was quite aggressive.”

Yoshika frowned. That had been a bit aggressive, and with her cores merged together inside her spirit form, she didn’t have the demonic influence as an excuse. It seemed that regulating her personalities wasn’t quite as simple as just assigning them individual bodies, but that was something she’d have to work out later.

“I’ll try to rein Eui in a bit more next time. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

Yue bit her thumbnail and huffed.

“This time discrepancy is terribly inconvenient. Good luck, then. We’ll explore our options here in the meantime.”

Yoshika bowed and turned to leave, but Yue stopped her.

“Oh, and...thank you. I know Zheng Long’s a jerk, but I don’t hate him, you know?”

“I understand. He reminds you of your brother, right?”

Yue pursed her lips.

“You could afford to be a bit less observant sometimes, Yoshika. Don’t talk to me about Zhihao while you’re carrying his murderer around on your hip.”

“Oh, right. Uh, sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’ve had more than enough time to grieve, even if I did a terrible job of it. You just...do what you can for him, please?”

Meili pulled her into a quick one-armed hug.

“Of course! You never even had to ask.”