Nine Paths of Asura-Original Wuxia

Chapter 195-Fragmentation

Sorry for the scarcity of posts lately. Can't seem to stay awake long enough to write. Please bear with me.

"That's him..."

"What did you do to him?"

"Nothing. He just sees something he didn't expect."

"How long has he been like that?"

"It's been quite a bit. More than a week."

"I'm going. Don't try to stop me."

"DON'T! Once he realizes the truth he will absolutely leave and you will have nothing."

"I'll guarantee that no one else will intervene."

"You really think he'll believe you?"

"IS anyone qualified to break my promise in THIS age?"

"I suppose that is right..."

Li Jaal shook his head as The Three Step King advanced on the strange prismatic spacial formation. This was out of his expectations. He mentally berated himself.

"I should have known I wouldn't have been able to stop him. But it doesn't matter, this is within my calculations." Li Jaal muttered to himself. He made no move to stop The Three Step King. Before his eyes the red robed monarch approached the spatial formation which resembled a translucent cube about the size of a house. It was formed from clear spatial cracks in the firmament of reality which refracted a single man inside gazing into the distance longingly.

"DAHN!" The Three Step King growled at the edge of one of the six walls of the cube. "Your old sparring partner has arrived!" He paused as if expecting a reaction but the man inside had no reaction. The Three Step King grew anxious, "DAAAAHN!! FACE ME! IS THAT WENCH REALLY SO MUcH MORE INTERESTING THAN ME??"

BOOOM!!!

The spatial formation exploded as the Three Step King viciously hit it with a palm strike.

Kacha..Kacha..Kacha!!

"Why did you do that?" Dahn was inside. His face covered in swirling tattoos suddenly was shrouded in Qi runes as he seemingly became indistinct again. Even the Heaven's Eyes could not find him amidst his camouflage.

"My friend...you know that was an illusion. The past is gone. Elisia is gone. Why dwell there when a worthy opponent is right here?" The Three Step King grinned as he raised his sheathed blade. Gripping the wooden scabbard in one hand he put his other on the hilt and made as if to draw.

"You....you broke her. That marvelous spell...you broke it." Dahn's usually playful voice was deadly calm. A depth of pain which could not be imagined by mortals was hidden behind the deceptively placid tones. He was in indescribable pain.

Weng! Weng! Weng!

Blades began to appear from the empty air like ice crystals amidst a freeze. Deadly death in the sky building and stirring until the cyclone was ready to unleash.

"Yes...YES!! This is what I've been waiting for! My old friend! Let us do battle once more!" The Three Step King roared like a lion as his shaking hands stilled on his sheathed blade. "COME COME! LET'S FIGHT LIKE THOSE OLDEN DAYS! WHEN YOU AND I WERE YOUNG AND THE WORLD FRESH! WHEN GODS REINED FREE AND DEVILS DIED AMIDST THE FALLING SKIES! THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR! THIS GLORIOUS FEELING! LIKE RAIN FALLING FROM AN EMPTY SKY! FREE!! FREEEEEEE!!" He groaned as if in ecstasy and beckoned Dahn before returning his hand to the scabbard. "Only against you can I have this feeling! This glorious feeling! Thank you Heavens for returning my one and only worthy enemy to me!"

Dahn stayed quiet. He was a volcano waiting to erupt. There was nothing inside him except raging currents of anger. Of course he had known it was a trap. Of course he had known it was not real. But the Karmic threads were real. They were there and they had ignited an old passion in him. Possibly one of the few things in existence which could still touch upon him and make him feel anything at all. Summoning his old swords he raised nine blades.

"Come!"

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Tap...Tap...Tap

Lineir and Xiao Gui entered the bright sunlight of the little world as they exited the palace of the Netherworld Refinement Sect. Though for all intents and purposes Lineir had obtained everything which he had wanted from the adventure here he still vaguely uneasy. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had missed something. Something...important.

"So what now?" Luna asked him and Lineir shrugged,

"Well we took care of everything. I'm going to search for the ingredients necessary to resurrect my sister though I don't know how long it'll take me to find them." He sighed. "You don't have to follow me you know."

"And wait for you to lose my father's armor? Yea right!" Xiao Gui replied. However a second later her expression changed drastically. Lineir registered what appeared to be shock, despair, and then resignation flash across her face.

"What? What happened?" He said suddenly worried. Anything which could worry such a strong expert naturally worried him as well.

"Nothing...but I need to leave now. We will meet again. Don't you dare give away my father's armor before that time!" Suddenly Xiao Gui began to talk rapidly and Lineir was unable to keep up with the flood of words.

"What?" He had time to blurt out before she cut a hole in space with her strange sword and stepped through. Before he had time to react she was gone just like that. He found himself looking strangely at the hazy distorted place she had left with a lost expression. "Are you really just going to leave like that?"

Swooosh!

"Hey kid...how you doing?" There was a strange noise as the space was displaced. Suddenly beside him the Solar Martial God appeared in all of his perfect glory. Almost two and a half meters and clothed in sky blue robes, he held Mizuchi in his thick hands as if he could stand against the Heavens and Hells alone.

"You!" Lineir backpedaled as he was taken aback. "What do you want?"

"Junior brother...I know you're still confused after the death of your Deathblade's spirit. Truly regrettable. I'm terribly sorry it had to be that way. Eventually you will come to realize that there's more to life than that. But now...there are bigger things which will need to occupy your attention.