Fates Parallel Chapter 414 - Transit (Patreon)

Yoshika’s display of power had left Zheng Long and Master Ienaga stunned. Even the distant battle between Longyan and the Dragon Lord had paused for just a brief moment when Yan De was driven off. Yoshika was surprised too, but she didn’t have time to process it. She’d won, but she couldn’t rest yet, no matter how much she wanted to.

And she did want to. The hectic race to escape, the back to back battles with monstrously powerful foes, and the repeated destruction of her avatars had all left Yoshika with a soul-deep weariness. She’d learned the hard way that avatar bodies were not expendable, and she was sure to pay for it later.

For now, she had to keep moving.

“Everyone get inside the shield. We’re leaving soon.”

She led Ienaga and Zheng Long through the breach in the shield, stopping to patch it with Do Hye’s sealing formation. As much as she’d struggled with it in the past, now that she was a xiantian she could see all the frustrating ways that she’d been fruitlessly trying to make up for a lack of divine essence. It was a miracle she’d managed to get as far as she did—Ja Yun really sold herself short.

They trudged towards the academy in silence. Yoshika knew she should manifest a new avatar to check on the teleportation circle, or at least redirect her attention there, but she was just too tired. It was just a moment, she told herself, a chance to regain her bearings.

The silence didn’t last long. Zheng Long cast hesitant glances between Meili and Eui before finally settling on addressing Meili.

“What was that, earlier? While we were fighting? I felt...something. Like for just a moment I was you or...you were me? Is that what dual cultivation is like?”

Meili pursed her lips, not liking the implications behind his question.

“No. Well, sometimes, but that’s not what it was. I didn’t possess or control you, or force you into dual cultivation with me, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Oh, no! I didn’t mean to accuse...”

She shook her head and sighed.

“I don’t fully understand it yet either. It’s still pretty new to me, but my domain forms...connections with people. Bonds that let us understand each other better. I can always feel them now, no matter how distant or small. If I focus, I can pick them out—make them stronger.”

“I see... I’m a little surprised that I qualify, given our history.”

“We’re not exactly friends—not yet, at least—but we’ve fought together, suffered the same hardships, cared for the same people. It doesn’t take much, to be honest. If I focus hard enough, I can probably sense a connection to even Han Yu.”

There was also the twisted, rotten connection she now shared with Yu Meiren. A grudge of mutual hatred that clung to her like a thorny shackle.

Zheng Long stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“That’s quite a convenient power, though also inconvenient in certain ways...”

Meili winced.

“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to invade your privacy—that felt like a very important moment to you.”

He chuckled.

“No, it’s fine. It’s almost a relief to have someone else who understands the burden I carry. It makes the load feel lighter, somehow.”

“That’s...I guess that’s what I’m here for. My purpose.”

Ienaga chose that moment to cut in, placing a hand on Meili’s shoulder and casting a meaningful glance at Eui.

“Just remember that you don’t have to carry everyone else’s burdens for them. It’s a noble goal to strive to help those around you, but you can’t accomplish it if you let yourself be crushed by its weight.”

Meili and Eui both bowed.

“Thank you, Master. For...well, everything. We wouldn’t be here without you, in so many ways. I—we’ll do our best to live up to your expectations.”

“You’ve already done that and more. I’m proud of you beyond words.”

Yoshika felt her eyes growing misty, but the moment was ruined by Yang Qiu’s crass voice, somehow managing to single itself out among all the distractions warring for her attention.

“Boss, if you’re listening, we’ve got a problem. I knew this fucker was bad news...”

Eui rubbed her temple and scowled. Of course, she should have known better than to expect that she could have even a moment of respite before some calamity struck.

“I have to go. Stay safe, you two.”

Yoshika vanished, reforming next to Yang Qiu in a heartbeat, where she was met by an unusual scene.

Yuan Xing, the commander of the Silver Orchard Sect’s Demon Hunter corps, was facing off against Eunae, Harada Jun, and Ishihara Nao. There hadn’t been any fighting, but the boys had placed themselves in front of Eunae defensively, and the Silver Orchard commander’s stance was clearly aggressive.

For her part, Eunae glared at the commander with an uncharacteristically hard expression.

“Why jeopardize everything now? After we’ve already won? I have no quarrel with you or your sect—why do you all hate me so much?”

Yuan Xing shook his head.

“Because we know what you are. The Silver Orchard remembers Seong Heiran and her honeyed words. We remember the fall of Kuchong. That demon you fought, Fan Zhu, was once a proud demon hunter, before your ancestor corrupted him.”

Eunae spoke through gritted teeth.

“I’m growing very tired of being held accountable for something my distant relative did five hundred years ago. Let me be absolutely clear—I am not Seong Heiran. I disavow her wholeheartedly. Whatever history you have with her is none of my concern.”

“It doesn’t matter. You are an abomination that twists the hearts and minds of men—the very definition of the demons my order is sworn to destroy. As long as your power—no, your very lineage exists, there can be no peace between our nations. I won’t allow it.”

Eui turned to Yang Qiu scowling.

“How the hell did this happen?”

Yang Qiu shrugged carelessly.

“Caught this shifty asshole sneaking off instead of watching the door like he was supposed to. Figured he was just abandoning us, but I guess he had other plans.”

Eui could see what it was. Though she’d torn out Yu Meiren’s influence, its roots ran deep and her scheme to break apart the coalition remained in motion. Eunae was no longer so gravely injured, but she was isolated and vulnerable.

But why was he willing to act outside of Sun Quan’s orders now? What had changed?

“Eunae, try to stall him. The formation should be nearly finished, just try not to let him start a fight.”

Eunae’s ear twitched slightly—a gesture that could have been mistaken for irritation, but Eui felt her acknowledgement.

“Yuan Xing, please think before doing anything rash. You don’t have your master’s approval for this, do you? Consider the implications this might have for Sun Quan’s business with my sister...”

Eui didn’t stay to listen in on their argument—she trusted Eunae’s diplomatic skills, and if it came down to a fight they’d have plenty of non-lethal options between Eunae and Ishihara.

Instead, Yoshika redirected her attention to the spell circle, manifesting there as Meili.

“Tell me we’re ready to go.”

Do Hye nodded at the same time that Dae shook his head.

“Absolutely!”

“Absolutely not!”

Meili grimaced.

“Why not, Dae?”

Do Hye responded before Dae had a chance.

“He’s being overly cautious, that’s all. He’s insisting on adding an unnecessary failsafe, but the formation is otherwise ready to activate at your leisure. Sooner rather than later, I hope—you did well to defeat Yan De, but the others won’t be in a stalemate forever.”

Yue eyes widened in astonishment.

“You beat him?! Really?”

Meili smiled wryly.

“Barely—I’ll tell you about it later. Dae, how long for your failsafe?”

He furrowed his brows, concentrating on his work.

“Just...another minute, maybe?”

Do Hye tutted.

“Time we don’t have, my boy. At times like this, you must have confidence in your craft!”

“You’re the one who taught me the importance of preparation. Please, Yoshika, this is important.”

Dae gave her a pleading look. She sensed that there was something he wasn’t telling her, but it was important. A minute was a long time, but she trusted Eunae, and she trusted Dae.

“A minute, then. Just please hurry—Yuan Xing is trying to pick a fight with Eunae.”

“Of course. I’ll be done soon.”

Do Hye sighed, but didn’t protest any further. After a brief silence, Yue cleared her throat.

“So...you defeated my father?”

Meili nodded.

“Thanks to the technique you taught us, and a lot of help from Zheng Long and Master Ienaga.”

Yue blinked.

“Zheng Long? That’s...unexpected.”

“Yeah, I—”

Meili paused, noticing an unusual presence nearby. She’d forgotten about it, but the curious spirit from that barren wasteland had entered her soul realm and apparently slipped through unnoticed.

She didn’t sense any hostility from it, but the formless spirit rushed past her and began swarming Yue excitedly. Yue went stiff at the sensation of a powerful spirit touching her domain, giving Meili a questioning look.

“Um...Yoshika, what is this? A friend of yours?”

Meili grimaced.

“Ah, sorry! I totally forgot about that thing. I’m not sure where it came from, but it doesn’t seem hostile.”

“It’s ah...not very good with personal boundaries, is it?”

Do Hye chuckled.

“Not to worry, she’s quite harmless. You probably just remind her of her old mistress.”

The girls gave him questioning looks, but of course he didn’t elaborate. The spirit’s domain was odd—not quite Light or Darkness, but not Shadow either. Yoshika knew that the esoteric elements of spirits were special, but this spirit was particularly unique. The shapeless form its essence took also reminded her of Forge—the tsukumogami companion of the grandmaster blacksmith Murayoshi.

Yue reached out with her domain and touched the spirit experimentally, her brows furrowing.

“A...moon spirit? I suppose I can see why it’s so interested in me, but I didn’t think there was such a thing.”

Meili froze. Moon spirit? It had come from that unfamiliar dusty wasteland that her spirit realm was anchored to, and Jianmo had claimed that the bottom of the ocean meeting the sky was more than a metaphor. It couldn’t be...

“Jianmo...?”

The sword answered her thoughts before she could even finish forming them.

“It’s exactly what you’re thinking, darling. I suppose that Snake bastard already knows, but you should probably still keep it to yourself for now.”

The moon. That wasteland was the moon, and her soul realm was connected to it. She’d been planning to sever both the anchors once her soul realm was merged with Geumji, but now she wasn’t so sure. Why had Chou connected his tomb to the moon?

Dae’s voice interrupted her reverie.

“Done! I can’t even begin to calculate how much essence this is going to take, but you can begin the spell now, Miss Yoshika.”

Meili nodded. A mystery for another time, then. If the moon spirit wasn’t hostile, then she didn’t mind bringing it with her, and she could safely leave the connection open for it to go home—it wasn’t like anyone was going to be attacking her from the moon.

She closed her eyes in meditation. Yoshika had slowly gotten used to the ridiculous flow of essence the Tear pushed through her to maintain the soul realm, but actually directing it herself was going to be difficult.

She started by withdrawing her essence from the outermost portions of the realm. Rebuilding those was going to be costly, but she couldn’t risk bringing Longyan or the Dragon Lord along through the spell. It allowed the two of them to bring their full power to bear, but once the spell was complete, that wouldn’t matter anymore.

Next, she redirected the essence into Dae’s modified teleportation circle. As promised, the formation tapped into the academy’s shield formation, and thanks to Do Hye’s assistance, it had done so quite seamlessly. Iseul, Xin Wei, and Yue had done well mirroring the formation on their side, and all Yoshika needed to do was provide the power.

Power, at that moment, was the one thing Yoshika had in spades. The formation was as greedy as Dae suggested, devouring every bit of essence she pushed into it and still demanding more. The Tear obliged, expanding the flow more and more to accommodate the obscene demands of the formation.

It was hard to withstand. Yoshika was still hurting from her battles with Yan De and the Demon Lord, and her soul ached under the strain.

She felt the world shift around and within her as thought, feeling, and form drew together into a single unified whole. The soul realm wasn’t moving, but rather transforming. It had been part of Chou’s soul once, with its substance carved from the being of Void—the most powerful elemental.

Now, it was Yoshika. With the Tear providing the power, Yoshika’s soul providing the meaning, and Dae’s formation giving it definition, the realm of her soul asserted itself onto the physical realm of her home.

Yoshika felt the two come together as one. More than that, she felt a convergence within her soul—the spirit realm of Mount Geumji, her newly acquired soul realm, and her original soulscape fused into a single fundamental aspect of her domain.

The academy was her home. It was part of who she was. Her domain, in every sense of the word.

Everything snapped into focus at once. Yoshika could feel everything within the shield—the scattered demons scrambling for safety and turning to infighting in the wake of their lost leadership, her friends in the lecture hall, Yuan Xing confronting Eunae, and most importantly the people within her soul realm.

The spell had worked. Her allies had been transported physically through her connection to the academy and arrived at Geumji. Some of them arrived in the midst of some very startled demons, but she trusted them to handle themselves.

More importantly, Yang Qiu had popped into existence right next to Yuan Xing, and she hadn’t wasted a second before tackling him to the ground and preparing to deliver a finishing blow.

Eui grabbed her hand from behind.

“Stop! Don’t kill anybody I don’t tell you to, understood?”

Yang Qiu grimaced.

“Oh, come on! This piece of trash deserves it! You heard what he said—he’s going to be your enemy no matter what!”

“Maybe, but that’s not why you want him dead. I’m not going to let you use me to get your petty revenge, Yang Qiu.”

Yuan Xing struggled fruitlessly against her, looking between Eui and Yang Qiu with befuddlement.

“What is this? Where did you come from?! I should have guessed you were consorting with demons!”

Eui buried her face in her palms and sighed. It had been a long day already, but it was about to get a lot longer.