While no one else had paid much attention to Xialing's exact words, Alex was fully attentive to her childish speech of refusal.
The poor girl's in for a painful revelation. Alex sighed to himself, giving a pitying look at Xialing, who was tightly held in Natasha's embrace.
"All right, girls, let's go," He clapped his hands to get their attention. "The entrance is about to open."
The two nodded and silently stood beside Alex in front of the bamboo forest. There was a natural sense of repulsion from the stalks in front of them. While it looked like they could squeeze in through the stalks, the three instinctively knew that they would sooner get devoured by the magical bamboo before reaching their destination if they tried to cross using brute force.
"I don't know the exact window we have, so we might need to move fast. Let Xialing sit on your shoulders, Nat," Alex said as Natasha nodded. However, she did shoot him a momentarily confused look.
As the moon reached its peak, the clock struck midnight. Alex held up the two lockets, and the pendants automatically radiated a murky green light with hints of red that shone on the bamboo, making it magically split apart to form the path for them.
"Let's move," Alex and Natasha quickly entered the bamboo forest and started moving straight. Under the illumination of the pendants, the bamboo directly split apart and made a straight path for them to Ta Lo. They didn't even have to traverse through the complicated maze that Alex previously thought they would have to traverse.
Their journey through the bamboo forest was simple and uneventful as they reached the true entrance to Ta Lo.
"So beautiful," Xialing commented while looking around as they emerged from the bamboo forest into a beautiful clearing filled with all sorts of trees, all in full bloom, uncaring of their seasonal conditions.
"Is this that entrance you were talking about?" Natasha glanced around and asked.
"Yes," Alex nodded. "This is the entrance. There is supposed to be a guardian here to prevent lucky intruders from entering the subdimension…" Alex looked at the waterfall, sensing a very ancient magical formation that released spatial fluctuations.
The sentence completely went over Xialing's head, "What's he talking about?" She whispered in Natasha's ear.
"A subdimension is a special place that can't be found by anyone on Earth without the key," She explained patiently.
"Let's keep going," Alex said, approaching the waterfall.
"We'll get wet…" Xialing spoke.
"No need to worry about that," Alex said. "That's a magical waterfall. Not only will we not get wet, but we should be in for a very special view when we go through it."
"Then let's go!" Xialing spoke excitedly before getting conscious and shutting up completely. Natasha somewhat sensed the girl's confused emotions and patted her leg, gently massaging her calf.
They didn't exchange words, but Xialing could feel Natasha's care.
Alex stepped forward, and Natasha followed suit with Xialing still sitting on her shoulders. Getting close enough, Xialing felt the tiny droplets of water hitting her face and body and couldn't help but close her eyes, anticipating a large amount of water. The wet feeling never came.
She slowly opened her eyes, only to be mesmerized by the magical view in front of her. The water that was supposed to fall on her was freely floating in the void, collected into differently-sized misshapen globules. There was some faint illumination of blue light that allowed one to see the view inside the void, leaving everything else blank.
As Xialing was still admiring the view inside the spatial tunnel, they emerged on the other side from a watery portal. It was a cavern, with the only sources of light being the exit that was some distance away and the glowing ores veins that went through the entire structure. They were magical in nature and were most likely being used to maintain the teleportation formation between Earth and Ta Lo's sub-dimension.
"This is a much older version of the same mystic arts portals that Wanda and the sorcerers use," Alex answered Natasha's unasked question. She was looking around with an inquisitive expression, looking very similar to Xialing, who was curiously looking around at the shiny glowing rocks.
"Do the sorcerers of Kamar Taj trace their roots back to this place?" She asked him.
"Not at all," Alex said. "The Sorcerers trace their history back to the conception of the human race itself. I could go into the history of the elder gods and the Vishanti, but that part of history is far too murky, and with the whole multiverse thing, my knowledge is only applicable to certain Earths."
"Are there no books detailing this history in Kamar Taj?" Natasha asked.
"Even if there are, Wanda didn't have access to them," Alex said.
"Then how can you be sure that they don't trace their roots back to Ta Lo?" Natasha asked, curious.
"Because Ta Lo traces its roots back to an external mythos," Alex said. "Just like Thor and the Norse gods, or Zeus and the Greek gods, there are gods of the Chinese mythos. Ta Lo traces its roots back to them."
"They're real…" Natasha was a little stunned.
"If the Norse gods can exist in reality, there is no reason for the other mythologies to be mere myths," Alex shrugged.
"Are they also like aliens? Similar to how Thor and the Norse work?" Natasha asked.
"Some versions of them, yes," Alex nodded. "Some versions are powered by faith. Some utilize other means. It's much more complex than just aliens."
"How do you know so much…" Natasha couldn't help but ask.
"We're here," Alex spoke, not answering Natasha's question. They were standing at the exit of the tunnel, which seemed to be blocked by some sort of a veil of light. His host was a little disgruntled by his dismissive attitude but nodded nonetheless.
The three walked out of the tunnel, only to be greeted by a magical view in front of them. The night sky was littered with stars as the moon illuminated the surroundings of the valley. They continued walking forward while admiring the scenery all around them.
"What are those lights?" Xialing asked, pointing to a cluster of lights on the hill. It seemed as if the trees were on fire in that specific area.
"Those are phoenixes," Alex told Xialing. "Each of the different light clusters should be a different flock of phoenixes."
"Mom used to tell me stories about them," Xialing's eyes were bright. "They are descended from the True Phoenix of legends with godly powers that can grant someone immortality."
"Does this place have all those creatures from Chinese mythos?" Natasha asked curiously. "Like Qillins and Nine-Tailed Foxes? What about Japanese mythos? The Yōkai, Kitsune?"
"I know quite a few things, but that doesn't mean I know everything," Alex said with helpless amusement. "While Korean and Japanese mythologies share quite a few details with Chinese mythos, there are significant differences as well. I believe that their sources are only related to the gods behind Ta Lo, but still different entities."
"So you don't know everything?" Natasha said teasingly.
"Sadly, no," Alex shook his head, showing a mock helpless expression, "But I do know everything of importance."
"I remember you chiding me for getting arrogant just yesterday," She bantered.
"Arrogance with facts to back it up is confidence," Alex countered.
"Are there any other people here?" Xialing wanted to feel included in the conversation and interjected.
"We should reach the village soon. If we were here during the morning, we could have rode on a Qillin, but they are probably all asleep by now," Alex told Xialing.
"There are stars and the moon here," Xialing said. "Does that mean we are still on Earth?"
"No, it's just a simulation," Alex shook his head. "This dimension is a very small one. If you fly too high, you will encounter the dimensional barrier."
"Will I go home if I break it?" Xialing asked innocently.
"Not at all," Alex shook his head. "Instead, if the barrier is destroyed, this entire subdimension will destabilize and eventually collapse. As for the person who passed through the barrier, you will find yourself in the Superflow — the space between the universes. Without the correct protection and entry point, you will quickly find yourself becoming assimilated into the abstract Superflow."
"I don't get it…" Xialing said. "My head is hurting." She put her hands on her head to make her point.
"That's because Apex used big words and didn't explain things correctly," Natasha, while feeling awe at the amount of information Alex was just dumping on her head, prioritized clearing Xialing's confusion.
"Fine, fine, I'll simplify my explanation," Alex shook his head with a smile. "Imagine a large number of bubbles floating around; they can be thought of as different universes. The air can be considered as the Superflow — though in reality, the Superflow is much more of an abstract medium than anything. Anyway, what happens if you make a big hole in a bubble?"
"It explodes," Xialing said instinctively.
"Exactly. That's what will happen to the universe when its barrier is damaged."
"Your words completely go against so many scientific theories," Natasha said.
"Reality is often disappointing to those who create their own truth while shaping it according to their bubble," Alex said.
-x-X-x-
The next hour passed by as Alex and Natasha bantered among each other and satisfied Xialing's idle curiosities. Soon, they had passed the valley between the many hills in the subdimension and came upon a lakeside village.
The trio were welcomed by almost a hundred armed soldiers, all of them pointing their weapons at them, sporting hostile expressions. They were ready to attack the newcomers at a moment's notice. They were predominantly holding either spears or bows with nocked arrows.
"Hi there," Alex greeted the natives in fluent Chinese with a smile as if he hadn't even noticed the hostile expressions on their faces.
"Leave," An old man in front spoke up, "Before we are forced to make you leave."
"Well, that's no way to treat a guest," Alex said. "You're scaring our Xialing back there," He glanced back at Xialing, who was standing on the ground but was timidly hiding behind Natasha. While she seemed to be reacting to the situation, her eyes seemed glazed, as if she was distracted by something. It made Alex shake his head as he turned back to the old man. "My name is Apex," He said. "I come in peace. Who are you?"
"Leave," The old man seemed stubborn, "I will not ask a third time."
Alex showed a predatory smile, "You know, old man, I heard very similar words from another old man just a few hours ago. He was sent running with his tail tucked between his legs. Would you like a demonstration?"
"Shouldn't you help him?" Xialing pulled Natasha's hand.
"Definitely not," She said. "It's very rare that I get to see him personally take action."
Xialing wasn't sure what Natasha meant, but she agreed nonetheless, leaving things to the adults.
"Arrogant," The old man grunted and grabbed a spear from the soldier on his side. He pointed it at Alex and released a powerful blast of golden energy.
Xialing screamed as she saw the beam of golden light approaching Apex, who didn't seem to react at all.
Alex saw the beam of energy approaching him and raised his hand in the path of the beam.
"So this is Qi, huh?" Alex said as he intercepted the beam and controlled it into a visible sphere in his palm. "How interesting…" Since Qi was essentially life energy, he used ‹Biological Manipulation› to control it and absorb the energy into himself.
[EP +0.01]
His smile widened as he noticed the minuscule increase in his EP.
This is going to be my long-term source of EP once I've exhausted Earth-Z. There is a limit to those abominations.
The old man exclaimed in disbelief, but Alex mostly ignored his words and subsequent orders to fire at him. He was focused on analyzing this different kind of life energy that he had just gotten access to.
Moments later, hundreds of Qi blasts and dragon arrows were thrown at Alex, each of the combatants shooting him in their own ways.
"Didn't I already say that I come in peace?" Alex asked before waving his palm at the arrows. Black tentacles instantly burst out of the ground and grabbed each of the arrows, absorbing the infused Qi inside them. As for the blasts that were released by the spears, they were naturally pulled toward his palm and coalesced into a dense ball of golden life energy.
[EP +1.53]
[EP +1.47]
He effortlessly absorbed the Qi that was released by those people before speaking, "If you're done, how about we have a civil talk? I have no intention to kill you all, which I hope you can understand."
"What's going on here? What's all this commotion?" A feminine voice came from the back of the formation. The people made way for a slightly aged woman who looked to be in her forties, "Guang Bo," She looked at the old man who was still glaring at Alex, "What's going on?"
"Are you the leader here?" Alex asked.
"There is no leader in Ta Lo. We are all equals," The woman spoke. "Who are you, intruder?"
"Do they listen to you when you tell them to lower their weapons?" Alex asked rhetorically. "I'm Apex, as I told your people before they so quickly started shooting at me. Look at how scared our Xialing got because of them."
Natasha's brow twitched at Alex's poorly disguised attempt to paint himself as a victim. Still, Alex's words had the desired effect.
"Xialing?" The woman raised a brow as her expression turned complicated. She couldn't stop herself from looking at the child who was hiding behind this intruder's companion. "Xu Xialing…" She mumbled under her breath before slowly regaining her composure. The implication of an unknown man and woman bringing her niece to Ta Lo was not lost on her.
"What do you want?" She asked.
"We aren't here with malicious intentions," Alex said. "I merely wanted to come here to look and get a feel of your culture. As for our Xialing, she was bored at her father's house and agreed to follow us to Ta Lo. I would have brought her brother as well, but he wasn't as agreeable as her."
"Can I talk to her?" The woman said cautiously. She wouldn't just trust everything that this dangerous man said. "I'm Ying Nan. Her mother's sister."
"That's up to her," Alex said before turning his head a little and looking at Xialing. "Child, do you wish to meet with your aunt?"
Xialing shook her head. She was still pretty spooked by the situation and found solace in hiding behind her new shifu. Alex met Natasha's eyes, and she gave him an affirmative nod before putting her hand on Xialing's head.
"Honey, you can talk to her," Natasha said to her. "She's your family, after all. I'm sure that she's missed you a lot over the years."
The girl shook her head, requiring a good amount of coaxing from Natasha before finally agreeing to meet with her aunt.
"You have to stay with me," Xialing made Natasha promise as the spy could only agree helplessly to the stubborn brat.
As the two approached Ying Nan, Xialing made sure to hold Natasha's hand tightly as if afraid that she would abandon her. Alex could see the pained expression on the face of the middle-aged woman as she looked at her niece, who was pretending that she was a villain.
"Xialing…" The woman was a little hesitant after seeing Xialing's attitude, but still pulled the girl into a gentle and loving embrace, "My niece…" She mumbled sadly.
Xialing didn't quite understand the complicated emotions of her aunt but still hugged her back with one arm, enjoying the warmth, the other was still tightly holding Natasha's hand.
"What about your brother?" Ying Nan asked, "Where's Shang-Chi, Xialing?"
"He ran away," The girl spoke poutily, "Leaving me all alone with Father."
Ying Nan thought for a second and ultimately decided to change the topic, "When we have the time, I'll take you to see your mother's shrine," She said, only to see a vivid array of emotions on the child's face.
Ying Nan didn't say anything, still a little shaken up by the situation. Natasha took the opportunity to step back and stand beside Alex as Xialing followed with her.
The older woman finally regained her composure, "I must apologize for my loss of control. I apologize for the actions of the people of my village, but your appearance was very unorthodox, putting everyone on edge."
"No harm done," Alex shook it off. "How about we get to the crux of the situation?"
"Please," She nodded in agreement.
"It's better to talk about this in a more private setting," Alex said, looking at the people who were all still very much on edge and ready to attack him.
Ying Nan seemed to understand the situation and nodded, "Follow me." She said.
[I thought that the old man would resist or at least show some displeasure.] Natasha commented.
[That just tells us that only this leader thinks that there is no leader of this village. It doesn't matter. As long as they have even the smallest semblance of sense, they will agree to my proposal.]
[How do you plan to steal their dragon?] Natasha asked.
[What's the fun if you already know the plan?] Alex's words made Natasha shake her head with a snort.
They were led to a peaceful seeming pavilion that overlooked the lake behind the village, "We won't be disturbed here. What is it that you have come here for?" The woman asked, her eyes constantly darting toward Xialing, who kept looking at the lake ever since it came into view.
"I wish to learn your ways of harnessing the energy of the self, or Qi," Alex said. "In return, I will help you permanently get rid of your pest problem."
"You are an outsider. It is impossible for you to harness Qi without a trace of the bloodline of our ancestors. That is without mentioning that we are forbidden from passing our teachings on to outsiders."
"Even if I offer to completely solve your pest problem? I can kill it," Alex said.
"It all boils down to trust, Mister… Apex," She said. "We cannot take the risk to open the seal on the basis of some outsider's words. While I am grateful to you for bringing my niece here, that does not mean I will trust you with the core secrets of my heritage."
"Understandable," Alex nodded. "What will it take?"
"I don't follow," Yand Nan said.
"Name your price," Alex said. "What will it take for you to teach me your methods of harnessing Qi? Longevity? Strength? Freedom? Allowing you to connect with the gods that you worship? Letting your branch reconnect with Ta Lo? I can offer things you can't even begin to imagine, Ying Nan."
Each of Alex's words had a soul-stirring effect that shook the woman to her core despite her high mental fortitude.
"I came here with goodwill, Ying Nan," Alex continued, "Don't make the mistake of refusing my good intentions."
"Just… who are you?" The woman couldn't help but ask. The simplistic offer from this unknown outsider had truly shaken her down to her core.
"Me?" Alex suddenly chuckled. "I just wish to free myself from the sick joke of an experiment that is this universe."
"Can you give me some time to think about this?" Ying Nan asked, defeated.
"Sure," Alex nodded.
"Please wait here," She stood up, "I will prepare your accommodations and send someone to fetch you." She seemed to make an active effort not to look at her niece.
[Did you hypnotize her?] Natasha asked, holding Xialing in her arms as the girl kept looking at the lake distractedly.
[Only enough to make her feel shaken up by my words. Implanting thoughts in her mind isn't the best move if I want to get the allegiance of the dragon that's protecting them.]
[The Great Protector, huh?]
[I could try to take control of it forcefully, but I would rather have it follow me willingly. Wouldn't it be cool? Flying on top of a living dragon?]
Natasha leaned toward him a little, hugging his arm, "You can be so polar, Alex…" She mumbled, "Sometimes you talk about things like the overflow and stuff beyond the universe that make me feel so detached from you — cementing your immortal slime alien origin, other times I feel that you are just a child at heart."
"What can I say…" Alex smiled, "I guess I'm a complicated slime. And it's the Superflow."
[Can you put her to sleep?] Natasha suddenly asked him.
He met her eyes before nodding. Putting his free hand on Xialing's head, he put the girl to sleep, "What is it?" He asked her.
"You're maintaining a sense of distance from her," Natasha said. "Why is that?"
"What are you talking about?" Alex scoffed.
"Alex…" She emphasized.
"What? I'm not trying to be mean to her," He said. "It's just I'm not really sure how to work with her."
"Expound," Natasha pulled away from him and looked at him with eyes that were ready to spit fire.
"It's nothing like that. Fuck's sake, she's twelve, Natasha," Alex said with a slightly frustrated sigh. "It's just that you've so quickly settled yourself into playing the role of her mother that I haven't had the time to come to terms with the situation yet. I can't instantly take up the role of her father if that's what you're expecting from me."
Her expression softened at his words, "I see," She said, leaning her shoulder against his, "Take your time. I just wanted to ask about your thoughts. And I'm not taking up the role of her mother. I'm just mentoring her."
"Keep telling yourself that."
…
The three were provided their separate residence in the form of a two-bedroom hut. While Ying Nan attempted to get Xialing to stay with her, the girl didn't have any plans to be separated from her teacher.
In the morning, the leader of Ta Lo had come to a decision.
"I have discussed it with the other elders in the village, and we have decided to accept your goodwill," The woman spoke to Alex and Natasha, who were sitting in the living room of their residence.
"Great," Alex nodded, "What is it that you want?"
"Nothing," She said. "As of now, at least. I don't think that you will even be compatible with our methods of harnessing Qi, considering they require at least a trace of our lineage."
"You can let me worry about that," Alex said with a smile. "How about you teach all three of us together? I'm sure that you plan to train Xialing in your ways as well."
"I do," She nodded. "But I was thinking of something more along the lines of a one-to-one mentorship for her. Since she's young, before harnessing Qi, she must be taught the basics of our martial arts first."
"I can take care of that," The woman's attempt to separate Xialing from them wasn't lost on Natasha. "I believe that I am more than qualified to teach her any form of martial arts under my supervision."
"Nat," Alex said with a gentle tone. "You can't teach her a form of martial arts that you don't even know."
[You remember the forms that Shang-Chi used, right? While he used the common Shaolin and Wing Chun movements, his Tai Chi and Bajiquan had deep influence from Baquazhang. Ultimately, the overarching discipline he follows is unfamiliar to us.]
The woman didn't say anything and only looked imploringly at Natasha, who snorted and spoke, "My student will study with me," Her tone left no room for argument.
[Are you still going to say you aren't trying to play the role of her overprotective mother?]
[Shut it.]
"Fine," Ying Nan sighed helplessly, knowing that she was in a position of weakness and had to accommodate her guests. "The first step of harnessing Qi does involve learning a specific discipline of martial arts."
"Good," Natasha nodded in satisfaction.
"We start training in one hour. Please be ready and meet me here then. You can collect a change of clothes from the armory," Ying Nan spoke before turning around and leaving.
"How about you go collect the clothes from the armory?" Natasha said. "I'll wake Xialing up and get her ready for the day."
At her words, Alex nodded and left.
At the same time, Natasha went into the second bedroom and saw Xialing still asleep while tightly hugging her pillow. Her expression wasn't the most peaceful, but she had been too tired during the journey and couldn't help but fall into a deep sleep.
"Xialing," Natasha knelt beside the girl's bed, "Wake up, honey." She combed the girl's hair with her fingers while trying to wake her up. A few more attempts later, she was groaning and awake.
"Morning shifu," She spoke lazily after coming to her senses. "Can't we sleep in?" She asked.
"Good morning," Natasha smiled warmly. "Come on, get out of bed. I'll make breakfast for you while you take a bath, okay?"
"I didn't bring a change of clothes," The girl said before hesitating as she spoke embarrassedly. "I didn't bring anything else either… I'll need some things in a few days."
"Don't worry about any of that," Natasha said. "I have everything prepared for you. But before all of that, you have to answer my question."
The girl perked up at Natasha's serious tone, "Mhm…"
"Do you want to wear a special suit like mine, or do you want to work in normal clothes like usual?" She asked.
"What do you mean?" Xialing asked confusedly.
"Do you remember my fight against your father?" Natasha asked Xialing, who shook her head.
"Mr. Apex only woke me up when you two had already stopped fighting. Daddy was trying very hard to take me back with him," She spoke softly as her eyes glazed a little.
Natasha pulled her into a hug and shushed her, "Don't worry. You're with your shifu now, right? You will love training with me."
"What about the special outfit?" Xialing asked after remembering the main line of conversation.
"I'll show you," Natasha said before stepping back from the bed. "This combat suit that I'm wearing is made of a very special material that can mold itself according to the wearer's will," Natasha said. "It is something created by Apex. I'll show you." Natasha's combat suit instantly morphed into Ta Lo's usual outfit. "You can make it change into any kind of outfit that you want." To demonstrate, she morphed between multiple different outfits before settling back into her combat suit. "Do you want it? It will be really convenient for you later on."
"I want it!" In her excitement, Xialing didn't even bother asking about any of the cons and agreed instantly.
Natasha sighed. "At least ask me for any possible drawbacks with the suit…"
"I trust you, shifu," The little girl's words made Narasha feel a warm feeling in her chest. "And it sounds really cool."
"Cheeky," Natasha smiled at Xialing's excited state. "You can go wash up and get ready. I'll talk to Apex about getting you your Apexsuit once he returns."
[That sounds horrible.] Natasha ignored Alex's snide remark at her term for the suit.
"Okay," Xialing nodded and quickly got out of bed. The exciting offer had completely woken her up. Now, all she could think about was what she was going to do with the suit when she got it.
…
"Shifu," Soon, Xialing called Natasha to her room.
"Coming," she went to Xialing's room before knocking once. "I'm coming in, Xialing," She entered the room.
"Did you talk to Mr. Apex about my suit?" Xialing asked excitedly, still wrapped in a towel.
"I did," Natasha nodded. He's sitting downstairs, waiting for you to come down so that we can all eat breakfast together.
"Quickly!" She spoke excitedly before looking around. "Where is it?"
"Right here," Natasha raised her hand. "Show me your hand," She brought her hand toward Xialing's hand as the same black mass as her combat suit moved along the girl's skin and crawled up to her wrist before forming a familiar-looking bracelet around her wrist. At Natasha's behest, Alex chose to use a bracelet instead of the usual choker. As the girl was still admiring the state of her arm, which was rapidly getting covered by the black material, the suit had extended all the way to her torso, destroying the towel in the process.
Moments later, Xialing was wearing the same combat suit as all Widows, but it had a single red line going through the choker that represented the trainee Widows. The outline extended from the choker to the sides of her body and limbs, forming a rough outline with cuffs on her wrists and ankles, similar to all widow outfits. The only difference was that when Xialing tried to recall it, instead of a choker, what would be left was a black bracelet with a horizontal red line going through the center.
Natasha couldn't help but admire Xialing's outfit, where the girl looked like a cute Black Widow cosplayer instead of a widow-in-training.
"Do you like the suit?" She asked Xialing.
"It's so comfortable," Xialing said while admiring herself. She then looked at Natasha "And I look the same as you… But why do you have one… two… three… six red lines, and I only have one?" Xialing was quick to notice the discrepancy between Natasha's outfit and hers. She audibly counted the lines on Natasha's suit and suit before asking her question.
"Come down, I'll tell you while we eat breakfast."
"Tell me…" Xialing shook Natasha's hand.
"That's because I am the leader of the Widows," Natasha satisfied her student's curiosities. "They are a small spy organization of a hundred or so elite women who are all like me. I lead them and give them directives to make a positive difference in the world."
"So it's like the Ten Rings?" Xialing asked.
"Something like that, yes," Natasha nodded.
"Oh, then I can't become a widow," Xialing shook her head without a second of thought.
"Why is that?" Natasha didn't take Xialing's words to heart. Even if the girl didn't want to become a widow, she didn't mind.
"Because I want to become the leader of the Ten Rings in the future when I'm strong enough. I want to take over and lead them," Her words had a conviction that was rare in a child of her age.
-x-X-x-
As the time for the training came closer, Alex and Natasha's clothes morphed into the gray Hanfu robes that were provided to them by the people in the armory.
"Come on," Natasha spoke to Xialing. "Change up."
"How?" Xialing said, confused.
"Just think about changing your clothes," Natasha said as Xialing's widow trainee suit morphed into the smaller Hanfu robe. "Apex will put a lock on your clothes for now so that you don't end up changing your outfit when in the middle of a hectic situation. You know what I told you, right?"
"Don't tell anyone about the suit. Let them think that we are just wearing the normal robes," Xialing repeated.
"That's my girl," Natasha patted her head as Alex approached her. He touched her wrist, and she felt the bracelet tighten for a brief moment before it returned to normal.
"What if I want to change clothes?" Xialing asked.
"You can just ask me. It's only a temporary thing. Once you get used to it, you won't need the lock at all," Alex said with a little smile.
Soon, the three of them made their way to the training area mentioned by Ying Nan.
…
"How familiar are you with Tai Chi?" Ying Nan stood facing the three newcomers to her domain and spoke fluent Chinese. She and Alex were able to understand Chinese with relative ease, but Xialing wasn't yet as good with English. "Specifically, the movements and breathing techniques."
"Mother used to teach them to me and Brother," Xialing said.
"We're familiar enough," Alex spoke up for himself and Natasha.
"Then this should go quickly," Ying Nan spoke. "Please follow my movements as close as you can."
The four of them quickly got into a rhythm of movements as some kind of ethereal energy was expelled by Ying Nan that affected the leaves in her surroundings. The energy followed each of her movements and moved externally in a pattern that moved the leaves around.
Alex was closely examining the energy released by Ying Nan. He thought of absorbing it but then sensed a connection between her and the energy, which told him that she would know if he interfered with the flowing energy.
They continued their Tai Chi movements for almost an entire hour before Alex noticed something on Xialing.
[EP +0.0005]
He raised his brow at the sudden influx of energy that the girl received from some external source. He didn't take all of it, only half. The rest went to Xialing as he observed the effects that it had on her body. Still, the infused energy was a pitiful amount in comparison to what the old man had previously used through the spear, which had given him 0.01 EP.
As they continued training, ten minutes after the first instance, Xialing received another infusion of the same amount of energy from the external source. This time, Alex didn't take any of it, allowing the girl to absorb it all. Instead, he attempted to trace the source of that energy. He believed that this external infusion was the reason behind Ying Nan's previous words about being unable to utilize Qi without a certain bloodline.
[This lying old coot…] Alex spoke to Natasha after Xialing's fourth infusion at the one hour and thirty-minute mark since the training started. [Qi has nothing to do with the bloodline. It's that dragon that helps the residents of Ta Lo awaken their Qi.]
Natasha didn't react and continued following the fluid Tai Chi movements that Ying Nan showed.
[Maybe she doesn't even know. And even if she does, it's understandable that they will safeguard their core abilities from outsiders. The only reason that they are infusing that energy into Xialing is that she is the daughter of the previous leader or whatever position her mother held in this village.]
[I'll go talk to that dragon and ask about this racism that he's showing toward me.]
Natasha didn't respond, but a faint smile crept up on her face.
The training lasted for three hours, during which a whole 0.0135 EP worth of Qi had been infused into Xialing. At this point, Alex realized that if he truly got the ability to harness Qi correctly, he could turn EP into a very good weapon. Not only that, he would be able to make it much more efficient at enhancing his hosts. While he had an idea about this from the start, coming to Ta Lo had opened his eyes to just how much of a difference the knowledge to utilize EP correctly would make.
The revelation only intensified Alex's desire to quickly understand all there was to understand about EP.
Should I just let out the dark dweller guy and devour a couple of people in the chaos that ensues…
Alex shook out of his intrusive thoughts. At the same time, he was willing to do that and even massacre the whole place, but that was only if he felt it to be completely necessary. Instead, he was more interested in absorbing the manpower of Ta Lo into his own forces in the future. Especially since, considering Xialing's aspirations of taking over the Ten Rings in the future and Natasha's fondness for the girl, she would be the perfect person to lead this force.
"To awaken Qi is a long and arduous process," Ying Nan said, "You will need to train in Qi for at least a whole year before you can even harness a small part of your innate energy."
While Alex made a show of understanding, he growled inwardly. This woman was trying to make the process as slow as possible so that Xialing would stay in Ta Lo for a long time. Alex had no plans to allow that.
…
Realizing Ying Nan's delaying tactic, Alex didn't passively wait for another opportunity and sent another body to the lake behind the village. He would directly talk to the source of that external infusion of Qi and take care of things as quickly as possible.
Without even taking form, an invisible blob of slime dove into the lake and started moving deeper. He had already sensed the enormous source of EP at the bottom and approached it quickly.
[Devouring this dragon would at least net me a couple of thousand EP minimum…]
Alex's words left Natasha speechless. [Are you going there to talk to the dragon or to eat it?] She chided him.
[Just a thought… it will take me a minute to dive to the bottom.]
Soon, he was in the range of the Dragon, and it detected his presence. He wasn't particularly using Chaos Energy to camouflage himself, so it was understandable that the Dragon detected him.
Alex took his human form in front of the dragon and waved at it with a smile. It rose its head a little and faced Alex with what could only be a confused expression on its face. Alex gestured with his hands that he wanted to touch it, which only further confused the dragon. He moved forward with his palm extended toward the dragon, but it recoiled, looking at his palm with suspicion.
Alex made gestures with his hands to convey, 'Just let me touch you…' He moved forward, but the dragon recoiled once again, still suspicious.
What followed was essentially a chase through the water as Alex tried his best to get closer to the dragon, but it kept moving away from him. Being a water creature, there was no way for Alex to forcefully grab the dragon inside the water, so he could only try to communicate with gestures, which led to all sorts of nonsense meanings for the dragon. The situation only got weirder from then on as the dragon swam away, only for Alex to chase it. When he got left behind, the dragon would slow down or stop completely.
It's fucking playing with me… Alex shook his head and continued to chase the dragon, hoping that once it was satisfied, it would let him touch it so that he could establish a telepathic connection. He didn't want to use force just yet since he wanted to form a good relationship with the dragon, so he merely played along for now.
Soon enough, it was nightfall.
"You're still chasing the dragon?" Natasha asked with barely concealed amusement as the two cuddled in bed.
"Yeah…" Alex said with an annoyed expression. "I'm waiting until tomorrow. If it still doesn't stop for Xialing's energy infusion, I'm brute forcing it."
"I'm surprised you waited this long…" Natasha said. "You aren't exactly the patient kind."
"It depends on my mood," Alex said. "This place isn't so bad that I can't spend a few days here."
Natasha smiled and hugged him tighter, "We've been running around for the past few days…"
"Getting tired already?" Alex asked, wrapping his arm around Natasha and tracing his fingers along her spine.
"More like hungry," She had a suggestive look in her eyes.
"It would be a crime for me to refuse my beautiful lady's desires, wouldn't it?" Nat felt her clothes disappearing wherever Alex touched her.
"You could go to immortal slime jail for it," Her words made Alex chuckle.
-x-X-x-
The morning soon came along, and Alex still hadn't caught the dragon.
If this overgrown snake doesn't stop now… He thought to himself as the time for Xialing's energy infusion came along. Sadly, the dragon didn't seem even a little fazed when Xialing received her supposed Qi infusion. It didn't even stop for a moment it provided Xialing with the Qi.
Fuck it. He was done playing along after spending an entire day embroiled in a meaningless chase with the dragon.
Instantly, Alex consumed a huge amount of the biomass in his ‹Inventory› to increase the size of his body. However, instead of becoming a larger singular mass, he started spreading particles of himself through the lake. As his body swam through the water, he left a trail of himself that would soon cover the entire lake. His actions were quickly noticed by the dragon, who magically manipulated the water around itself to avoid contamination.
The dragon continued resisting for an entire hour as Alex kept spreading through the water like an unavoidable plague. Something to note was that Xialing still received her necessary Qi infusion every ten minutes like usual, and it didn't seem like an involuntary automated process either. The dragon was consciously and consistently infusing its Qi into Xialing and all of the residents of Ta Lo who were training despite the chase that it was embroiled in.
[Got you!] Alex transmitted his thoughts the moment he made contact with the dragon, establishing a rudimentary telepathic link.
[You cheated. You couldn't have caught me otherwise!] The majestic dragon's voice sounded suspiciously close to a young girl who barely seemed a little older than Xialing.
Alex was momentarily taken aback at the response, [I didn't cheat. I used my innate abilities. Just as you used your water manipulation to move through the water.]
The dragon transmitted a thoughtful hum, [You must be a being of the Klyntar race, no? With the abilities that you've shown.]
Alex was again a little surprised, [I am. You know of them?]
[I do. I have the legend of the Necrosword in my memories.]
[What do I refer to you as? Should I just call you Great Protector?]
[That is my name. The residents of the village must have told you of this, no?]
[I just wanted to confirm. It's a bit of a mouthful.]
[What's your name? I only know that you are the newcomer whom Nan doesn't trust very much.]
[I'm Apex. A pleasure to meet your acquaintance.] Alex materialized in front of the dragon. Or dragoness, as it seemed.
[From what I know of your race, you require a symbiotic host whom you are connected to. Am I correct in assuming that it's that woman who came with you?]
[That's correct. She's Natasha. One of my beloved women and hosts.]
[Hosts? As in plural? I was under the impression that the Klyntar are only able to bond with a singular being at a time.]
[They are. I am something of an oddball among them.]
[Then I request you not to attempt to form a symbiotic relationship with me. I will purge you from my system, including this wisp that you are using to communicate with me.]
While the transmitted thought was polite in tone, the dragon's demeanor was just as majestic and dangerous as one would expect. Even though he knew that she wouldn't be able to last long if he truly decided to kill her. He had no plans to kill such a valuable creature. Especially considering that she seemed to still be very young, going by the nature of her consciousness.
[You don't have to worry about that. My aim in forming a telepathic link with you is to understand Qi.]
[Hm? Why is that? Don't your people work with Bioenergy? It is a much superior form of life energy as compared to Qi. At least as far as I know. I've never actually dealt with Bioenergy.] Alex raised his brow at this new term that he had just heard.
[Let's just say I'm curious about the differences between both energies. Plus, Bioenergy isn't very well suited for combat. From what I've seen, Qi allows one to enhance themselves in combat. Bioenergy is more passive in the enhancements it provides.]
[That's true. How would you like to learn to harness Qi? The same way as the others, or should I directly infuse some Qi into you right now to allow you to understand its make and model?]
[I'm not very sure. Whenever I come into contact with Qi, it defaults to being converted to Bioenergy. Whether it is a Qi-based attack that I intercept or if it's the subtle trace of Qi that you provide Xialing. Whenever I try to manipulate it, the energy is directly absorbed into me in the form of Bioenergy.]
[As I said, Bioenergy is a much superior form of life energy. Your race's natural attunement toward it allows you to passively extract Bioenergy from Qi. I believe that the problem is that you are attempting to handle Qi directly. If your host is the one harnessing Qi, you should be able to analyze its structure and perhaps find out similarities between Bioenergy and Qi.]
Alex was a little confused by the readiness of the dragon to help him, but he chalked it up to it—her wanting something from him. Deciding to probe a little, he transmitted a risky thought.
[Exactly. If I can understand how Qi works, maybe we can work together to create a mixture of energy between Qi and Bioenergy that will possess the benefits of both energies.]
[Can you give me some Bioenergy? I wish to analyze it and attempt to manipulate it in the same way as you.]
Alex realized that the dragoness was after his EP, or Bioenergy as she called it. It — she most likely wished to find some way to be able to harness Bioenergy with his help.
It's good that she isn't as quirky as most dragons — just a little naive. Then again, it's very likely that she's the sheltered child equivalent of a dragon.
[Sure. You can infuse some Qi into my host, and I will give you some EP with the link that I have formed with you.]
[Don't attempt to deepen the link. I can sense your presence on me.] She warned, leaving Alex with a wry yet amused smile.
[I'll make sure of that.] He assured the dragon before sending a tenth of a point of EP toward it. Going by the quantities of Qi that the dragon was working with, he decided that a small quantity would be sufficient. At the same time as he did that, Natasha received the same Qi infusion as Xialing, just that it was a little more in quantity, presumably equivalent to the other adults.
Alex was already analyzing the effects that the infused Qi was having on Natasha's body while making sure that he didn't accidentally absorb all of it. It traveled across her body as she followed Ying Nan's Tai Chi movements, moving in a certain pattern through her entire body. As the set of movements was completed, the energy moved slightly below her navel before forming a faint pearl-like structure.
Fuck me! Is this going to turn into a martial cultivation arc? Now they're going to start talking about the Dantian and all that… Alex laughed inwardly at the view.
As Natasha started the next set of movements, the Qi pearl naturally grew fainter, some of it moving across her body as it was slowly absorbed into it. As he was analyzing what was happening to his host, the dragoness was excited to have received access to his EP.
[Yes! This is exactly what my memories told me about Bioenergy. It is the true lifeblood of all living forms. Not only is it more efficient at providing a comprehensive physical enhancement, but its effects even extend to the mind and soul. How miraculous…] She was doing the dragon equivalent of wagging her tail as she continued excitedly examining the energy that Alex gave her.
[I want to pet her head…] Alex transmitted the thought, disguising it as a mistaken thought transmission, he froze in place. The dragoness reacted as he expected it to, restoring her majestic presence as she looked at him menacingly.
[You may, at best, be allowed to clean my scales. While I magically keep myself pristine at all times, I will humor you by allowing you such courtesy.] The words made him feel that this dragoness was more like a cat than a snake, with a tsundere-esque outward prideful demeanor and an inward caring nature. After all, she had spent thousands of years guarding this village. The Great Protector reminded Alex of a fierce cat at the moment.
[How cute.] Alex laughed, approaching the dragoness as she kept her gaze locked on him. [How about you tell me how your Qi system works? These people in Ta Lo clearly don't have any idea about it, and even if they do, they won't tell me about it.]
[It's nothing special. The reason I give them my Qi is because it is very impossible to actively stimulate the body's Qi to work on its own. The martial arts movements definitely help, but without someone infusing Qi into you, it is impossible to awaken your own Qi.]
[So that means that you are merely stimulating the natural potential of the body. Once the person naturally awakens their Qi, your interference is not needed anymore?] Alex said with a hint of excitement. The situation with Qi seemed to be much more promising than he had initially imagined it to be.
[Yes. I believe that you should be able to sense the Qi that I infuse every ten minutes. I do it only for the people who haven't awakened their Qi, which is most of the people in this village. Only a select few have the aptitude to awaken it in their lifetimes. The Yang sisters are the outliers in that both of them showed remarkable aptitude in Qi.]
[I see…] Alex was deep in thought as he decided to analyze how Qi worked with Natasha. If it worked in the way he imagined, this trip to Ta Lo would have been extremely successful, even if he didn't get to take away this dragoness and devour the Dweller-in-Darkness for his soul-sucking powers.
As the ten-minute mark was crossed, Alex observed that the pearl of Qi that had settled in below Natasha's Navel had all but disappeared, leaving an infinitesimally faint outline of its presence. That was when the dragoness he was talking to infused Qi into Natasha's body once again. His host used the same set of movements as before to guide the Qi to her core before it formed into the pearl once again.
Alex attempted to view the process with Xialing as well to see if he could get any references, but he wasn't bonded with her. While he could feel the presence of the energy in her body and its rough location, he wouldn't be able to get any concrete information without performing a much more invasive investigation, something that he wasn't interested in considering how Natasha was treating Xialing as a daughter figure.
He continued examining the effects of the Dragon's Qi on Natasha and whether he could somehow interfere with the process to expedite it. He had enough control over Natasha's biology to be able to manipulate things in a way that whatever the Qi was stimulating, he could try to use his EP to stimulate it instead, presumably expediting the awakening process.
At the two-hour mark of the training, he finally identified the presence of Natasha's actual Qi core, or her Dan Tian as the Dragon called it. He couldn't exactly sense the core but was merely sensing the presence of the Dragon's Qi that entered it, allowing him to correctly identify the ethereal construct's presence and nature.
[While Bioenergy is a far more advanced form of life energy, it is not made to be manipulated by humans. Qi, however, is. If I simplify things, both Qi and Bioenergy are aspects of the Life Energy of a human. Bioenergy can be considered the core of Life, while Qi can be considered a mere byproduct.] The Dragoness's words didn't make things completely clear for Alex.
He continued petting the scales above her snout while swimming in the water in front of her. [So if I try to use a metaphor, the Bioenergy that a human possesses is like the bone marrow while the Qi is like the blood that is produced?] He asked.
[In a very simplified, loose definition, something like that, yes. Pure Bioenergy seems to be a limited resource for each human, but stimulating the Qi core allows the human to produce Qi. So, while it will take some time, as long as you can understand how Qi works, I see no reason for you to be unable to stimulate your partner's awakening of Qi. You might even be able to expedite it if you can understand things.]
[What do you think about Xialing? How long will it take for her to awaken Qi? Considering her lineage is very strong on both paternal and maternal sides, I assume that her talents in this area are immense.]
[If she was an adult? A few hours of training at most. But she is a child. For now, she needs prolonged gentle stimulation of Qi. Not only will it help her grow much better, but it will also make her much more compatible with Qi. I do this for all the young children in the village. Sadly, it still isn't enough, causing most of them to be unable to awaken to Qi in their lifetime. At best, they can use weapons that harness their innate Qi. But those are all external means.]
[So Yang Nan's words of the process taking a year were true…]
[Yes. She doesn't come from a place of malice, you know. She cares for her niece and is grateful to you for bringing her to Ta Lo.]
As Alex continued chatting with the dragon and discussing Qi and Bioenergy, the three hours of Qi training ended, and the trio went back to their residence to rest for a while before the next training commenced. Xialing would train with her rope dart, while Natasha just trained in hand-to-hand combat. As for Alex, he was happy to stay back and explore the rest of the dimension. He had a long-term idea that he was thinking about eventually implementing, but it depended on the viability. What was most important was whether or not Wanda would end up taking over the Chaos Dimension.
…
The next few days passed in the blink of an eye as Alex continued studying Qi and its effects on Natasha and, to some extent, on Xialing as well.
During that time, he continued communicating with the dragoness as well, getting her to tell him all sorts of insights about Qi and, in turn, telling her about his Bioenergy.
As night fell, Alex and Natasha were cuddling in bed.
"I think I've figured something out with this Qi business…" Alex spoke while rubbing Natasha's butt.
"Have you now?" She spoke.
"Mhm," He nodded. "I believe that as long as you can awaken Qi, I will be able to consciously extract EP from you without any negative side effects. While the process will lead to me consuming the Qi in your body, that can always be regenerated naturally as long as the core of your lifeforce is unharmed. At least as long as I can work out the correct kind of training regime in regards to Qi training and regeneration, that is."
"Don't you already get a passive amount of EP each day from me? From the bond that we have."
"Yes, I do, but I'm not planning to form the same primary bond with the Widows. Or with the forces that I will develop in the future. They will always stay at the tertiary level, no matter what. Out of the Widows, only Yelena has a secondary bond with me."
Natasha hummed in thought before asking, "I've never asked you about it. But why don't you just regularly extract a small amount of EP from the widows if you need it so badly? Is that not viable?"
"No," Alex shook his head. "EP is a limited resource. It's like the lifespan of a person. If I extract EP from a person, it will harm them, immensely so. Qi, on the other hand, is a resource that can be naturally regenerated without any issues. I think that the blood and bone marrow analogy works very well for it. Where Qi is the blood, and Bioenergy is the bone marrow."
"If you extract the blood of a person, it will regenerate after a few days. But the marrow is much worse."
"Exactly. That's why I want to awaken Qi for the Widows. Not only will it enhance their natural capabilities, it will allow me to extract a steady stream of EP from them with no actual harm to them."
"Can you help all of them awaken their Qi?" She asked him with a raised brow.
"That's the plan, at least," Alex said. "It will still take me a while to develop a working system for it, but eventually, I should be able to awaken Qi for all of the Widows, making them much stronger."
"Wouldn't the regular extraction of Qi also stagnate their abilities?" She asked him.
"No, actually. If anything, it should stimulate their growth. You haven't noticed it, but Ying Nan consumes Qi whenever she is teaching us or performing those Tai Chi movements. She doesn't let it all stay inside her body. As it is consumed, the deficiency is naturally filled up as she continues training. This both enhances her physique and her Qi capacity," Alex explained.
"So you will finally be able to use my Widows as your personal EP batteries that only get more efficient with time?" Natasha asked with a teasing smile.
"I've invested a good amount of my EP and mental processing toward them. It's the least they can do. Especially since they won't even experience any negative effects from it, they might even chalk up the whole Qi thing to an ability that comes with the suit."
"I'm curious…" Natasha trailed off as Alex waited patiently for her to speak. "About this whole bond thing… These primary, secondary, and tertiary bonds that you talk about. What's the deal with all of this?"
"Are you really interested?" Alex said. "I don't usually talk about these things so that you don't feel uncomfortable."
"It's fine," She said. "Tell me about it. Tell me about all of your bonds. I truly want to know."
"Fine," Alex said as his status panel appeared in front of his eyes. Over the past three time-dilated years on Gaia, he had made a couple of modifications to it.
Skill acquisition was still the same without much to show for it. He hadn't gained any new skills since the previous time and didn't feel like trying to get new ones either.
‹SKILL ACQUISITION›
«EP/Bioenergy Units: 2789»
«Cosmic Energy Units: 0.0000»
«Manipulation Abilities»:: ‹Advanced Lightning Manipulation› ‹Basic Blood Manipulation›
«Innate Abilities»:: ‹Biological Manipulation› ‹Host Enhancement› ‹Devour› ‹Copy›
«Derived Abilities»:: ‹Low Cosmic Physique Creation› ‹True Sixth Sense› ‹Inventory› ‹Advanced Camouflage› ‹Elemental Immunity› ‹Hypnosis›
«Magical Abilities»:: ‹High Magic Affinity› ‹High Chaos Affinity› ‹Host of the Scarlet Witch›
«Authorities»:: ‹Time (2.5%)› ‹Mind (2.5%)› ‹Soul (5%)›
«Cosmic Abilities»:: ‹Low Cosmic Manipulation (Incomplete)›
He'd added the new term for EP that the dragon had told him about and removed the abbreviation from Cosmic Energy completely, leaving it as Cosmic Energy units, which were still zero. Even after multiple years on Gaia, he hadn't found any suitable direction for generating Cosmic Energy.
‹HOST PANEL›
‹Primary Hosts›
{ «Status- Host #1»
«Name: Gwen Stacy (Ghost Spider) (Earth-65)»
«Bonding Rate: 70%»
«Bonding Level: 5»
«Powers: Low Cosmic Physique— Spider Sense— Wall Crawling— Bio-Electricity— Camouflage— Blood Berserker»
}
{ «Status- Host #2»
«Name: Gwendolyn Stacy (Research Earth)»
«Bonding Rate: 75%»
«Bonding Level: 3»
«Powers: Superhuman Physique— Superhuman Intelligence»
}
{ «Status- Host #3»
«Name: Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) (MCU Earth)»
«Bonding Rate: 44% -> 60%»
«Bonding Level: 3»
«Powers: Superhuman Physique— Melee Mastery— Espionage Mastery»
}
{ «Status- Host #4»
«Name: Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch) (MCU Earth)»
«Bonding Rate: 70%»
«Bonding Level: 5»
«Powers: Low Cosmic Physique»
}
{ «Status- Host #6 -> 5»
«Name: Laura Kinney (X-23) (Earth-Z)»
«Bonding Rate: 45% -> 60%»
«Bonding Level: 6»
«Abilities: Low Cosmic Physique — Cosmic Healing Factor — Bone Claws (Vibranium-Adamantium Alloy) — Blood Berserker II — Melee Mastery — Weapons Mastery — Espionage Mastery»
}
{ «Status- Host #7 -> 6»
«Name: Jane Foster (Mighty Thor)»
«Bonding Rate: 2%»
«Bonding Level: 2»
«Powers: Low Cosmic Physique — Lightning Divinity (Mjolnir) — Bifrost Summon (Hofund) — Cosmic Energy Manipulation (???)»
}
‹Secondary Hosts› (Direct Line of Communication)
{ «Yelena Belova»
«Cindy Moon»
«Felicia Hardy»
«Ayesha (Sovereign)»
}
‹Tertiary Hosts› (Automated Systems)
{Black Widow Division - 105
Black Widows - 96 (Expand)
Black Widow Trainees - 7 (Expand)
Kamala Khan and Laura Kinney (Tethered)
Prisoner Farm - 38
Mary Jane Watson
Prisoners - 37 (Expand)
}
Yep, everything tracks… Alex thought to himself as he looked over the status sheet for all his hosts.
He was still not sure of the whole 75% bonding rate situation that resulted in Gwen creating a split persona, which resulted in him actively slowing down the bonding rate for his hosts — even forcefully capping it at 70%.
As for MJ's change from primary to tertiary host… That had been a long time coming, as well as the experimental prisoner farm. But that's a story for another time.
"What do you wish to know about?" Alex asked Natasha.
-x-X-x-
For once, Alex and Natasha's night was spent talking instead of doing anything else. By the time morning came along, neither had gotten any sleep — not that they needed it, it was more of a general pleasure that they enjoyed, the same as eating or bathing.
They got out of bed and got ready before going to the usual area to continue their training.
[Have you made any progress?] The dragoness asked just as the three started training with Ying Nan. After the first few days, Alex had stopped keeping a physical body with the dragon. They mostly communicated via telepathy while sharing their respective energies for analysis.
[Somewhat. I believe that with my constant intervention to enrich Natasha's Qi, she should be able to manipulate it by tomorrow at the latest.]
[That means her Qi core will be condensing soon.]
[About that, I still can't see this Qi core inside her body. All I see is the Qi coalescing into a spherical shape before disappearing from view. I can still sense its presence within her body, but I can't track its source after that.]
[You are trying to look for a physical construct. Qi doesn't work like that. The spherical core you're looking for is an ethereal construct connected to a human in the same way that their soul is connected to them.]
[As you say, whenever this… Qi core is condensed, my host will finally be able to produce extra Qi that goes beyond the natural requirements of functioning, correct?]
[Exactly. At that point, you should probably be able to directly control your host's core to manipulate the Qi production. With your natural abilities, you should be able to effortlessly utilize their Qi to either enhance them or enrich your Bioenergy.]
[Sounds fun. After we're done with this whole Qi business, I have an offer for you, Dragoness.]
[I know your potential request, and my answer is no, Mr. Apex. I cannot leave Ta Lo undefended against that soul sucker… And before you start planning to get rid of that demon once and for all, I will still not be able to leave this place in case that happens. I am oathbound to guard this subdimension for my life. That is my purpose and my mission.]
[I don't think this subdimension is going to last your lifespan, to be completely honest. You're what? A couple of thousand years old? This dimension won't last more than ten millennia. You can easily live for a hundred thousand years or more, depending on your specific draconic lineage. It would be a waste to give up your life for a dimension that won't need you after its threat has been neutralized.]
[I will not budge on my decision.]
[What if I take this dimension for myself? If I decide to establish my long-term base or operations here, will you try to resist me?]
[Only if you threaten the dimension or cross my bottom line with your actions. So, no destroying the ecosystem and murdering the lifeforms here.]
[That's a given. I will instead integrate the people of Ta Lo into my personal forces.]
[Do as you will. Now, if you will provide me with some more Bioenergy, I would like to get back to studying it. It has fascinating properties.]
[Be my guest.] Alex told her before continuing to focus on Natasha's Qi development.
…
"How long do you think we will be staying here?" Alex, Natasha, and Xialing were having dinner when Natasha brought up the question.
"Another week or so at most. Once I'm done with the initial phase, we can leave for Gaia," Alex told Natasha.
"Are we going to leave?" Xialing raised her head and asked, a hint of reluctance in her tone.
"We are, honey," Natasha said. "You are very young and still need to continue your education."
"The people here aren't illiterate," Xialing said, a sense of agitation in her tone. "They have an established education system for their young. I asked the girls here about it."
"Yes," Natasha nodded before speaking calmly. "And while it works for them, it is equivalent to homeschooling. Their children aren't exposed to the outside world, limiting their worldview entirely. Now, considering that they will be spending almost their entire lives within this dimension, it works for them. But it won't work for you." She gave Xialing a pointed look after finishing her lecture.
"But I thought…" Xialing's agitation only seemed to increase after Natasha's patient lecture. "I don't want to leave this place. It brings me peace and happiness."
"Do you not want to go to school, Xialing?" Natasha asked patiently as the girl shook her head.
"I don't have any friends that I talk to. It's a boring place where the teachers always expect too much out of me. I hate it," She said, making Natasha frown — more in confusion than in displeasure.
"We will be moving to Gaia, Xialing. A different planet completely. I will get you admitted to a good public school —"
"I don't want to!" Natasha couldn't finish because of Xialing's outburst, as the twelve-year-old girl started crying. "I don't want to leave Ta Lo. I won't leave! I'll complain to Aunt Nan. She'll stop you!"
Alex noticed how the girl's words about talking to her aunt seemed to strike a chord in Natasha.
[Don't.] He was quick to put his hand on Natasha's shoulder, stopping her subsequent words. Words that he was sure she would come to regret in the future.
"Xialing," Alex spoke in a slightly heavy voice, scaring the girl into a weak whimper as her tears continued. "Tell me something. Are you hearing a voice in your head?" His words had Natasha widening her eyes as Xialing flinched.
"N-no…" She refused, her tears stopping in an unnatural manner.
"A gentle, feminine voice that sounds eerily similar to your mother's, am I right? Has it asked you to break the seal on that mountain yet?" Alex's words continued to rattle both Natasha and Xialing in different ways.
"Mother is trapped there!" Xialing broke. "She was trapped there by Father. He lied to us. He lied to us all. There is no dweller-in-darkness. He's turned my mother into a monster." Once the dam broke, all of the things that Xialing's head had been filled with came to light. These lies wouldn't have skewed the perception of an adult, so quickly at least, but a naive child such as Xialing, who had idolized her father to an almost god-like extent while also hating him, was easily manipulated into believing that he was the big bad behind everything.
"There you go, Nat. The real reason that our Xialing doesn't want to leave this place," Alex said to Natasha. She was also shaken up so much that she hadn't even realized that Xialing was hearing voices in her head.
"Xialing, honey…" Natasha started.
"I won't leave! No!" The girl seemed adamant about refusing.
"It's late. How about we go to sleep, hm?" Natasha asked in a coaxing tone. "I won't mention leaving as long as you are willing to sleep beside me tonight, deal?"
"Fine," Xialing said, her cheeks puffing up as she looked away.
[How do we block that voice from affecting her?] Natasha asked, a renewed determination in her eyes as she stood up with Xialing and held her hand.
[The most violent answer is usually the simplest one. By killing the Dweller-in-Darkness.]
[Can't you do your hypnosis magic or something to make her forget about it? Or at least block the voice from reaching her.]
[I will not be manipulating her memories, Natasha. I think you, of all people, know what that does to a person.] After his experience with Gwen, Alex wasn't going to risk manipulating the memories of anyone whom he deemed as somewhat important in his grand scheme. And Natasha's adoptive daughter figure definitely came under the important section of that grand scheme.
[Then what can I do? Let that monster fill her head with thoughts of reviving her mother?]
[Talk to her and console her. Don't deny what she believes in, but subtly make her see the truth. She's twelve; you know enough about psychology to bring her back to reality without making her lash out at you. As for the voice in her head. It's going to be gone before the end of the week.]
Natasha couldn't help but subtly smile at Alex's tone. [Finally warming up to her, huh?]
[You're the one who's important to me. Since Xialing is important to you, I will naturally keep her safe and sound.]
Natasha snorted at Alex's non-committal answer. [How long have you known about the voice in her head?]
[Known? I wasn't sure until her outburst just now. Suspicious? When we reached the entrance to that bamboo maze. Her actions of wanting to hurry toward Ta Lo and general absent-mindedness told me that something was off. And after my conversations with the dragon in the lake, I somewhat understood the nature of that demon behind that seal.]
[You should've told me of your suspicions.] Natasha said without admonishment. But a hint of disappointment was clear in her tone.
[I guess. I'm just more used to dealing with these kinds of things by myself.]
-x-X-x-
For once, Natasha's morning didn't begin with the beautiful weather and calming chirping of the phoenixes as she and Alex had their habitual morning sex. Instead, she was awoken by the sound of a loud rumbling that reverberated through the entire dimension. It was as if a violent earthquake was destabilizing the ground itself. She was out of bed before her eyes had even completely opened, and Xialing was already held tightly in her arms as the girl barely woke up.
"Jump out," Hearing Alex's voice calmed her, allowing her to take action quickly. She jumped out of the window just as their residence collapsed under the effects of the earthquake. At the same time, Alex also jumped out through another window as the other residents all quickly evacuated their respective homes, most of them were subject to the same situation. The abrupt earthquake had left most of them disoriented and confused. As for the houses, most of them had collapsed within the first few minutes of the earthquake, only the more sturdy ones survived longer, but they were also going to collapse sooner or later if the intensity continued.
"Did you jinx something in your conversation with that dragon two days ago? How is it that this dimension seems to be collapsing?" Natasha asked in disbelief, hugging Xialing tightly.
Alex, on the other hand, only had a somber expression on his face, "Give me a few seconds." He closed his eyes to focus on something.
"What's going on, teacher?" Xialing asked Natasha as both of their gazes moved to the seal across the lake. It wasn't clear what was going on, but the most likely culprit was the entity sealed within the mountain.
"Don't worry. It seems that we might just end up leaving sooner than we planned," Natasha said, pulling Xialing's face close to her stomach before the girl could voice out her protests. Natasha didn't disturb Alex, who seemed to be in some sort of a meditative state. She could feel that he was under some kind of immense stress. Just as a minute passed, she felt a familiar energy escaping her, subtle enough that only she noticed it. It was the Time Stone's energy. Before she could think too much about it, the earthquake grew much worse.
"You!" A panicked yet immensely distressed voice spoke to Natasha. "This is your doing," Ying Nan approached the three while barely keeping herself from falling to the ground. The earthquake affected the dimension easily in the range of magnitude nine on the Richter Scale. "Our home was perfectly fine before you came along,"
As the seconds passed, the earthquake was only getting worse and worse. Before Natasha could respond to the distressed leader's accusation, a loud roar reverberated through the dimension itself.
"Oh no!" Ying Nan's head whipped in the direction of the mountain. Despite the distance, she seemed to directly see the seal being damaged due to the earthquake. As cracks spread across the mountain, a small lizard-like creature escaped one of them, quickly flying toward the village.
"That's the Dweller-in-Darkness?" Natasha asked, a little underwhelmed. "I thought it was a huge dragon…"
"That's just one of its minions! If the seal is weakened further, we will be swarmed by thousands of those soul-suckers in minutes," Ying Nan snapped. "I don't know if you're responsible for this or not, but at this point, we're all in the same boat. Wake up your partner and take up arms, Dragonscale ones. Only they will work. Ta Lo!" She screamed loud enough to make her voice heard across the village despite the earthquake. Natasha assumed that it was due to her using Qi consciously in her voice. "Take up your arms. Get ready for the fight of your lives!"
Natasha was a little impressed by the woman's drive. Despite the distressing situation, instead of blaming her and Alex, she was quick to come to terms with the situation.
"Your Aunt is a very competent leader, huh, Xialing?" Natasha said with a little smile, looking down at Xialing in her arms, only to frown. The girl had a silly smile on her face as she looked at the cracking mountain across the lake.
"Xialing," Natasha couldn't suppress her sigh. "What did we talk about yesterday?"
"You said that bad people can try to trick us," Xialing said. "But I know my mother. It's her. And she's finally going to come back to me." The girl's excitement was palpable, only making Natasha feel a pained sense of helplessness.
"Just… keep my words in your mind, okay? If your belief turns out to be wrong, I don't want you to lose all hope." Xialing giggled in response to Natasha's concerned words, not taking it too seriously. "Promise me, Xialing," Natasha said slightly sternly.
"Fine," The girl rolled her eyes. "I promise that I won't lose all hope if my belief is wrong. I still have you, right shifu?" She said slightly cheekily, making Natasha shake her head. Xialing was the only one in the entire village who was calm and even slightly elated in the event of this earthquake.
Natasha glanced at Alex, who still had his eyes closed, seemingly busy with something. She thought of something and extended her hand to him, intertwining her fingers with his, [Come back. Don't leave your body out in the open. There are soul-sucking demons out here.]
She didn't get a response from him, but his body melded into hers in an instant. The villagers were all busy either preparing for the upcoming battle or waiting at the shore for the flying demons, so no one noticed the anomaly, including Xialing, whose face was pressed against Natasha's stomach.
"What are you doing just standing around like that?" The old man who had first encountered her spoke to her harshly. "Since you are a warrior, take up arms. As for the girl, send her to the shelter with the other children. We don't have the time to dally!" Leaving those words for Natasha, he joined the line of people that was slowly forming at the shore of the lake.
Hearing the man's words, Natasha was quick to burst into action. Quickly picking Xialing up in her arms, she ran toward the forest surrounding the village, following the other guardians with their children. Looking at the panicked citizens of the small village, Natasha felt frustrated. [You couldn't have picked a worse time to disappear, Alex…] She spoke telepathically as she helped a child and her mother up.
While most of the inhabitants of the village were trained for combat, none of them were prepared to be struck by the massive earthquake that was still violently shaking the entire dimension. The situation had already thrown them into a panicked disarray, and the enemy had chosen this exact time to attack them.
"No, Shishō!" Xialing suddenly struggled in Natasha's arms. "We have to go back. Mother is calling for me…"
As the girl in her arms started struggling, Natasha felt an increasing sense of frustration, both with the situation and her powerlessness to fix it.
"I'm sorry, honey," Natasha combed her fingers through the girl's hair before pressing a specific acupoint on her neck. The girl yelped in pain before losing consciousness. "Uncle Apex will make sure that it doesn't hurt when you wake up," She guiltily massaged the spot that she had pressed.
Natasha continued helping the fallen people along the way, making sure that everyone was safe as they approached the shelter inside the forest. This made it so that she appeared in the clearing with a group of almost thirty people and their young. The shelter was covered by a natural canopy of dense trees, hidden from the outside completely.
Natasha put Xialing on the ground and made her lean her torso against a tree, she then approached the elder woman who was helping everyone in and settling everyone as best as she could.
"Please keep an eye on her. It's very likely that she will try to leave," Natasha told the woman, who hurriedly nodded. "I have to go out and join the battle."
The woman held on to the branch of a tree to maintain her balance and spoke with a comforting tone, "You don't have to worry. This place is protected by the magic of the Great Protector herself. No one can enter or exit this canopy once the barrier is established. As for your daughter, I will keep her safe, same as the other children."
"Thank you," Natasha didn't have the time to correct the woman's words — not to mention the happy feeling that accompanied it — and quickly ran toward the lake's shore. The battle had already started.
Just as Natasha emerged from the forest, she came face to face with a large, scaly lizard with wings that was the size of a cat. It screeched at her, and multiple tendrils that were emerging from its underbelly approached her. Moments later, a slight glow accompanied its approaching tendrils. Instantly, A bolt of lightning escaped Natasha's hand and vaporized the body of the scaly lizard creature. She was about to start running toward the other villagers, but the destroyed creature immediately reformed.
"The fuck?" She couldn't help but release profanities as another bolt of lightning escaped her fingers. [I might need some help with this, Alex…] As she saw the creature reform, she realized that the residents of the village weren't facing this issue. Their weapons were directly vaporizing the creatures. That was when she recalled Ying Nan's warning about using Dragonscale weapons.
Just as she was about to charge toward one of the fallen weapons of one of the dead warriors, Natasha felt an ethereal pull on her entire existence.
Soul Suckers… She was quick to realize her predicament and continued blasting the creature with lightning, keeping it distracted enough that it couldn't suck away her soul.
Just as she was thinking of a solution to her predicament, she felt a faint intent from Alex. He told her to try once again. Immediately, she released a bolt of lightning at the creature, but instead of the usual blue, it was crimson. The creature couldn't reform again.
[I love you, Alex!] Natasha exclaimed as her arms extended into whips that glowed with the crimson lightning that was powered by Chaos Energy. She was quick to join the fray.