[MA] 215. Choose, Shen (Patreon)

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[ Chapters this week: 3/3

Late chapters: 2

Next release: Tuesday]

Shen listened attentively to the Drow Maiden's words.

"The system calls this thing a marvel of qi engineering without mana equivalent, but you have no idea. I do; I'm a crafter, so I would know. I never even heard about antidrons, but I can tell why, and I quote the system, 'Most antidrons with a self-destruction enchantment will activate it at the slightest perceived issue, erring on the side of caution.'

"I would bet no non-cultivator is allowed to own an antidron. This thing... Shen, place enough C+ war enchantments on it, and it could single-handedly annihilate every single human on Earth. In fact, it could obliterate this planet.

"But it's more than that. We drow don't know the secrets to building an artificial sentience with enough willpower and reasoning to use Concepts, much less Laws. Few races know it. Such artificial sentiences are expensive because they require rare materials and, most importantly, can be used against Void Spawn.

"Put Void-detection, movement, and destruction enchantments on a C-rank artificial sentience, and it can help protect a world important enough to invest in but not important or hospitable enough to send actual Guardians. A tear in Reality usually cannot instantly generate strong Void Spawn, not when it's far from the front lines.

"And that is only the potential of artificial sentience, which we are likely to figure out how to replicate due to all the information on D-rank qi techniques. They will push our understanding to the brink of C-rank, and then we'll figure out the rest on our own. This sentience is an enchantment! I never even knew it was possible! But enchantments can always be reverse-engineered.

"There's even the entire antidron. Replicating it seems like a far-fetched goal because it's not just a mix of enchantments. It overhauls everything I know about enchantments. But if we accomplish it...

"The system said it has a cost close to A- items? Maybe the average antidron in the hands of a cultivator is only worth that much. This one is worth at least as much as an A item, maybe more.

"The Cultivator Association isn't infallible. I'm sure some strong races can pry the secrets of qi open, but they don't divulge them. Having the power to contend against the Association, one of the strongest factions in the multiverse, makes those races much more valuable—and spreading the secret might spark an all-out war. I'm willing to bet no B-rank race knows as much about cultivators as the drow could learn with this object.

"For us, and many other B-rank races, this might even be the key to A-rank.

"This is what we're talking about, Shen. An item with the potential to change the fate of an entire race—and a race with the most B-ranks that I know of. I never gloated to you, but the drow are not weak. If we also gain an A-rank...

"This antidron you offered me will at least give us the ability to learn how to kill cultivators more efficiently. At best, it'll push our Path to greater heights.

"Which brings me to the point I raised a moment ago. If you share the information on qi techniques freely, the entire Alliance will also gain access. All Guardians will benefit and learn how to fight cultivators. Unfortunately, that would make the Cultivator Association very unhappy. They hoard and protect their techniques and knowledge in a way you can't imagine. The Soul Oath technique listed in his antidron is just the tip of the iceberg.

"Give all this knowledge to humankind, and the Association will come for them all. Not to stop it from spreading; it would be far too late for that. They will come for petty revenge, and Earth will be no more."

The Drow Maiden paused for a few seconds, and Shen used the opportunity to think about everything. She had been talking so fast he could barely follow.

He looked at the sphere floating between him and the Maiden.

It might've been a discreet gift. The B-rank monitor couldn't read his mind, so only his clan's message had been public. The Emperor's message in the antidron had been literally wired straight into his brain.

However, the Republic had asked him to talk to reveal its existence to other cultivators, and the moment he talked to anyone about it, it became a timed bomb.

Was it a test? A punishment? Was it a gift he was always meant to sell? Was the Immortal Emperor unaware of the chaos this hexahedron could cause?

He shook his head. None of that really mattered now. What mattered was that Shen had already put a target on humankind.

The clock was ticking.

"How can I mitigate the damage?" he asked at once.

Maybe she was manipulating him. Maybe not. He didn't have enough time to find out. If he later found this was a scheme, he would deal with it then. For now, he had to find a way not to get humanity killed.

And he would do his best not to involve the Republic on the solution.

Shen could clearly see how this situation benefitted the Republic. The antidron placed humankind at risk? Well, look at it, the Republic had just said it would take them in if an Ethereal Harmonization cultivator accumulated enough war merit and asked for it! What a coincidence!

He trusted the Immortal Emperor enough, but he trusted the Drow Maiden more—in fact, now, more than ever.

She simply didn't need to explain all this to him. She could've just taken the thing away after he gave her access. Yet, here she was, helping him navigate the Alliance's murky waters.

"The B-rank monitoring you will at least sell that information to an interested party," the Drow Maiden continued. "Most likely, he'll try to have his race take advantage of it. Our silver lining is that they wouldn't be stupid enough not to sell it in person. This is what is giving us a few minutes to do something. But we must take the antidron away from Earth fast."

Shen showed a frown. "We must leave? Not just you? I already gave it to you, and I'm not taking it back."

He still wanted to read all the techniques, but it wasn't essential. Getting rid of it quickly was a small price to pay for increasing his survival chances.

The Maiden shook her head. "If the Republic gave it to you, who knows what else you might have? Or how important you are?"

"What about Earth?"

"Earth can be scanned with tools to avoid the domain camouflage that kept me from finding this thing. They can look at the past and confirm you didn't talk to anyone after finding it. You're the crucial part here. No one would believe you were given a B-tier item like this as an investment to get C-ranks to fight a war—not when even the Grand Senator knew the cultivators would be tempted into leaving with the Association. This was for you all along."

Shen gulped. It made sense, of course. He hated it. He had wanted to at least talk to Alicia before leaving Earth for who knows how long.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"I am going to my race—if they are still around. They might've been extinct. If so, I'll try to avoid pursuers while unlocking the secrets of this thing. You? You have a choice in front of you. Drow, Republic, Association, or front lines.

"If you pick the drow, you'll come with me.

"If you pick the Association, I can alter your mind to have you believe I stole the antidron from you. They'll come for the drow anyway, and I can make a last effort to protect you. It would legitimize their crusade, however, so I'll do it as repayment for the antidron.

"If you choose the Republic, you'll have to tell them you gave it to me. I'm not making new enemies for my race if I can avoid it.

"And if you go to the front lines, you'll only have to worry about surviving the Void Spawn. Not even the Association would dare mess with you there. The Void is a legitimate existential threat. If people let politics and pride get in the way of defense—or didn't punish those who do—the Alliance would be long gone.

"So, choose, Shen."

The choice was obvious.

He wouldn't accept having his memories altered, so he couldn't go to the Association. They would kill him for giving the antidron to the Drow Maiden.

His Emperor constantly hinted at valuing him, but Shen didn't know if that was true. He also knew better than to go to an unknown place without someone to watch his back.

As for depending on killing Void Spawn forever for safety? He wasn't that arrogant.

"Would the drow really take me in?" he asked.

The Maiden looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Have you ignored everything I said? This is valuable. Of course, we will."

Shen shook his head. "No. This is not what I meant. I mean, will the drow take me in? Or will they take me in?"

The drow only looked at him for an instant, then smiled maliciously. "You were listening to my lessons, weren't you?"

He snickered and quoted, "Humanity got one thing right: no free lunches anywhere in the universe."

"Good. Shen, this is what I offer to you. We'll find out if my race is even still alive. If they are, we'll go to my homeworld, and you will be cared for. I'll try to negotiate the best terms for you with my leaders. You will also be free to leave at any moment.

"When I reach B-rank, I'll ask my leaders to protect and nurture Earth. If I reach A-rank, I'll force them to. Until then, only the Triarchy can decide on anything more than this. Only they can iron out the details, too.

"But make no mistake. Even if my people are still around, they will be at war. The safe harbor I offer is only so safe. And if they aren't around, you'll have to become a fugitive with me. Is that good enough for you?"

Despite Shen's emotional control, his heart was beating fast. He could feel this was the most important crossroads in his life. Everything until now had been relatively tranquil and controlled.

Whatever his choice, there would be chaos in his life's immediate future.

"Are you sure Earth will be safe?" he asked.

She shrugged. "As sure as anyone can be in the Alliance."

The cultivator sighed. "I accept, with one condition."

"Which is?"

"As soon as it's relatively safe, I want every human on this planet to have a way to learn the techniques. Use Soul Oaths to prevent them from spreading it if needed. But they must be able to learn it if they want."

He needed to delay that part of his plans but not necessarily get rid of it. He still wanted to give a Path to those who hadn't become Guardians.

The Maiden squinted her eyes but eventually relented. "Very well," she said. "That will have to way a hundred years. We can't protect Earth better than Alliance law until then."

"What if your race isn't around, though? What would happen to Earth?"

That part about the drow possibly being gone was news to him. However, now wasn't the time to find out more about it. He only wanted to know what would happen to humankind.

"As fugitives, I'll do my best to protect you, but I can't do more than that. Earth's protection would be on you."

Shen reckoned he couldn't get a better offer than that. If the antidron was really that big, she would be hard-pressed to protect herself while keeping it on her, much less him, not to mention an entire world.

"Can I also add a condition to let me say goodbye to my friends?"

"No." the drow replied sternly. "We've wasted enough time."

She was right. They were talking at ridiculously fast speeds. Not only couldn't other humans speak as fast. It would take minutes to explain everything to a few people. He could send them a message later.

Yet, it sucked.

He closed his eyes and sighed. Alicia. Sai. Even Marzia. He was a shitty clan leader for just abandoning them like that.

"We have a deal," he said at least, opening his eyes and looking firmly at the Maiden.

"Then let's go," she said. Suddenly, the antidron disappeared. Before he could ask what happened, the drow explained, "I have a cage that can take sentient creatures. I usually use it for prisoners, but it'll do. System, I want to use two favors to buy a command block interpreter."

Shen was surprised. Two favors? She had done something that big for that Alliance? And what was a command block interpreter?

Once more, she explained it to him without his need to ask about it. "I'm bound by some rules that keep me safe on Earth. The moment I use MP to find out about my people, I'll be fair game. No matter how fast I try to teleport away after that, if there's a B-rank around, they'll be able to get to me. Using a command block prevents that because I can give many commands to be executed at once, and there's even room for automated interpretation of meaning. It's usually considered a waste of favors to buy, but there are edge cases like mine. I'm glad I saved the favors. Let me show it to you.

"Open command block.

"Import drow Tasolair Power Measurement.

"Import drow Ja'nir Comparison Standards.

"Automatically accept all costs from now on.

"Using the Tasolair Power Measurement, purchase information on Tar'Shalon's current power.

"Using the Ja'nir Comparison Standards, check whether Tar'Shalon has at least thirty-percent relative strength as when I was last there.

"If true, teleport me, the antidron, and Shen to Tar'Shalon's Maiden Reception Room #2.

"Else, teleport me, the antidron, and Shen to Shakkuvai-7.

"Close command block.

"Interpret."

And then, the world turned white.

[A/N: And the Back to Earth Arc is over! Took a while longer than I expected, and I could've done a better job in the middle, but I like this ending. Next chapter will be an epilogue of sorts with different PoVs. ]

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