Chương 432: Fire and Brimstone (I)

The voice was awash with compulsion that swept through me--only for a moment, though. A stirring within discarded it just as quickly, prompting me to look around. The kids seemed swept in it all, sans Long Tao, as did most everyone else around us. There was that specific look in their eyes that seemed to indicate they were half there and half not. Just as I thought I'd have to somehow snap the kids out, their glazed eyes regained the sharpness they usually had, leaving only the two strangers to look like dolls.

The kids frowned, the way they looked at everything changing from curiosity to anger.

"You've done us all a great courtesy by coming," the voice continued as several figures emerged from the sky and landed just in front of the portal, four men and a woman cloaked in dark.

"It pleases me greatly to see so many of you here." Gee, I wonder why. I held myself back from rolling my eyes, still in the process of figuring out how the sacrifice will undergo. The primary goal is to somehow get into the realm and then figure the rest out from there. A selfish want, purposefully designed for me, but I'm due one or two of those... I hope.

The woman continued talking, though I tuned it out; it was sort of like those middling graduation speeches that all boil down to the exact same, pointless, shallow concept: look toward the future, dream big, go strong, yada yada. Though hers had different contents, the cadence of it was exactly the same: build up an idea, in this case us, and what our choice to be here will entail for us.

Like a salesman trying to sell you a juicer that costs eight times as much as a basic one and explaining all the extras that are more smoke and mirror than magic itself. [--anomaly detected] A notification shot up in front of my eyes rather abruptly, guiding me eastward toward a figure that seemed to be standing in isolation. It was a young woman, perhaps in her mid to late twenties, donning hair as red as fire, long and wild, and an expression of utter disgust as she stared at the woman talking.

[Inheritor of Fire discovered] [...] [Emergency Quest Activated: Fire and Brimstone (???)] [...] [Fire and Brimstone (???) -- legacy of flames endures in the whimpering sorrows, a far cry from the all-consuming roar it once was. It has just barely managed to prevent its finality, becoming one with the flesh and blood, though it now drifts towards its end. Sword Maiden Liao Xinya is set to die within the next ten days, taking with her the slumbering leviathan residing within her heart. She who is of blade and fire cannot die, lest the Heavenly Laws become uncertain. And yet, if she lives, the world must change unilaterally] Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

[Rewards: Unknown] [Quest Duration: Approximately 10 days] [Failure: Dao of Fire will weaken greatly, leading to unprecedented consequences] [Hint: though originally groomed to be the Sword Maiden, her fierce opposition to many of the Mountain's long-standing customs has left her marked for death. She is to become a sacrifice alongside all others, a tragic figure meant to justify the story of collapse. To save her--to save everyone--you must glimpse the truth] She must have felt my eyes on her as she twisted her neck and faced me. There was little change in her expression, her eyes piercing mine as I felt a Divine Sense trying to pry into my soul, a clashing force rejecting it swiftly. She frowned, trying again and failing just the same. Not the one to give up, apparently, she continued trying, over and over and over again, for at least two-three dozen times.

"Who the hell are you?!" her voice resonated inside of my head directly.

"..." I stayed silent, not quite sure how to respond, still rather busy trying to figure out the damn quest.

"You've endured Grandmother's voice," she continued despite my silence.

"And you withstood me. Only Sect Masters are capable of both, yet I don't recognize you. Are you a spy? Are you a thief? Did you come here to kill me?!" Wow. She's quite chatty. Wouldn't have been my first choice of description.

"Have you ever known either a spy or a thief to be so bad at staying hidden?" I asked back, stumping her into silence.

"I'm not here to kill you." I added looking away from her just as the woman finally ended her speech.

"I'm here to save you."

"What do you--""Hush. It's starting." I interrupted her just as a storm of Qi began to churn around the vortex. Winds whipped up, violent and wild, tearing back out in a ring-shaped fashion, billowing the robes and hair of all those present. Some faltered further, falling back, while others looked offended, stubbornly taking a step against the current. Most stayed still and rooted, however, waiting.

The energy continued to expand and flutter, even as the figures who stood in front of the portal vanished, and even as I felt the curtain close. Murmurs and chatter broke out as everyone's eyes wandered away from the portal to the edges of the clearing where a veil of light began to surge up like a bubble.

"What is the meaning of this?!!"

"How dare you lock us in?!"

"Undo the array this instant!!" Shouts bellowed out like commands, but nothing changed. The lock, if anything, merely tightened as it began--the pull. This is probably what it'd feel like to be standing on the edge of a black hole, slowly being pulled in no matter how much resistance you put up. They screamed, defiant, as a flurry of Qi began to ricochet behind us.

Glancing back, I saw fire, I saw massive boulders, I saw swords, and I saw spears, and I saw a litany of other things coalesce into a show of colors as they tried to tear through the veil... but it did not budge. It endured, occasionally flickering, but never breaking.

"You seem awfully calm," Long Tao spoke up.

"I half expected you to be the first one to try and run off."

"Inside," I said.

"The only thing that matters is you surviving," I ordered, looking at them all.

"No matter what you have to do, just survive. Do you understand?"

"No," Light voiced out.

"H-huh?"

"The only thing that matters is you surviving, Master," she said.

"That's right, that's right!" Dai Xiu echoed.

"Nothing else--""Enough," I interrupted, somewhat harshly at that, as they all winced, startled.

"Be selfish. Be evil. Be mad. Be whatever you need to be. When we leave that place, none of it will matter. We'll wipe it from the history, and it will become a distant dream. No matter what happens inside, no matter what you do, I will always be on your side. Because I'm your Master, and because my one duty in life is to protect you... all else be damned."