Ocean Song had his hands clasped behind his back.
He had his robes billowing as he struck a heroic pose.
Why wouldn't he?
It wasn't every day that he added a new member to the sect.
A senior too!
It was extremely important to the well-being of a sect that the sect have an ancient senior among its members.
Or so the sacred texts taught him.
Now, it was Him, the Sect Master.
Nessie, the Great Void Sect's protecting divine beast.
Medusa, the Mistress of Poisons.
Daedalus of the Formation Dao.
And Tyson, the Sword Emperor.
Names pending.
He also had an angel hanging around. Still under the tarp, he thinks. He would work on a name for her later.
But now, he had a new member!
Calypso, punching you really hard in the face, Dao!
Granted, he hasn't really seen her punch people really hard in the face, but she's a daughter of Atlas! If there was ever someone born to punch people really hard in the face, it must be her.
And Ocean Song was nothing if not a genius teacher and could pick out others' talents.
He would need to workshop the Dao title here too, though; he felt like he could do better.
Calypso looked down from the sky, taking in the sights she had been denied for an uncountable number of years.
Mortal cities that have risen from the dirt, buildings that touched the skies, and homes that were scattered upon the horizons.
From her divine sight, she could see the tens of millions of mortals that walked across the earth, beyond anything she could have imagined before.
And she also smelled it.
She didn't like the smell, but it was still better than being stuck on her island.
She held onto Ocean Song's sleeve hesitantly as they soared over a city on his sword.
But they didn't stop to sightsee; it was important first to get Calypso settled in at the Sect before she goes out exploring.
Thankfully, Hecate was nice enough to shrink down the bottle so Calypso could wear it around her neck like a trinket.
Ocean Song was particularly proud of himself here.
It might have seemed stupid on the surface, and it was. But it was also very smart and clever, as Ocean Song would claim.
There was a distance around her island that if she tried to leave, she would basically be forced back to her island. So, if she walked out of the 'barrier' with her island, then the barrier would see that she didn't leave her island and not trigger.
To further close loopholes, he made the shoes house sand from her island; therefore, she's both still at her island and walking on it.
It was hard to argue that she had broken the curse upon her, as she was still following everything that had been set out.
She hasn't left her island; she just took it with her!
Truly, Ocean Song felt like he was a genius.
Yes, his sect members were lucky to have a sect master as wise and intelligent as Ocean Song.
They raced across the sky until they reached their destination. Calypso looked wide-eyed as the scenery of the mountain opened up before them.
The mountain rose proudly above the surrounding landscape, its slopes cloaked in dense forests that gave way to sheer cliffs higher up. Despite looking utterly out of place for a mountain range in this part of the world, it held a certain majesty to it that made it impossible to reject its existence.
Great stone stairways had been carved directly into the mountainside, zigzagging their way upward. Broad terraces jutted from the cliffs, with ancient pavilions sitting at each peak surrounded by beautiful gardens.
White cranes drifted lazily through the clouds between the peaks, while waterfalls poured from impossible heights, their streams weaving around the structures before disappearing back into the forest below.
It looked like a scene out of a picture.
Calypso herself was taken aback. She didn't know what to expect when Ocean Song said that he was going to be taking her to his new residence.
She had grown accustomed to her own island, the beautiful oasis, the perfect and serene paradise.
Despite it being her prison, she felt like there were very few places on the planet that could match it in tranquility and peace.
Yet, she suddenly found herself feeling envious of the sight before her.
Marbles and stone, wood and tile.
Everything was meticulously crafted, carved, and arranged to bring out the most of every building.
The bridges that swayed gently before mountain peaks to the floating clouds that drifted underneath.
Everything was arranged perfectly. It wasn't ostentatious like Olympus, which flaunted wealth and power. It was serene; it was harmonious with nature.
For a goddess—a Titan—who valued beauty highly, it left her breathless. Mostly because she could tell that it was not a godly residence; it wasn't the home of a god.
It was the home of mortals.
She couldn't help but glance down at the bottle around her neck.
Strangely, ever since she stepped off her island, she had been feeling a sense of longing. She didn't know where it came from; at first she thought it was longing for the wider world that she had been forbidden from.
But now, she realized, it was longing for home. The longing for familiarity and what she knew. But now, she suddenly felt a jolt of excitement, something she hadn't experienced in a very long time.
If there was something like this out here, what else did the world have to offer?
The fear that her island was enough and that she would find herself back on those shores by her own hand—those thoughts melted away.
They slowly floated down onto the steps of the entrance.
Calypso didn't show the same fear as before; the trepidation was gone as she courageously took her first step onto a new life.
The Titaness took a deep breath; scents filled her, many she was unfamiliar with.
Plans in particular.
Ocean Song took a deep breath. "Sword Heart Sect, Assemble!" He bellowed to all corners of the sect.
Calypso nearly fell over at the sudden shout, and equally, she was startled at the shouts that rang back from across the mountain.
A few rather upset voices carried annoyance.
Ocean Song gently led her inside until they reached the main courtyard.
Calypso's curiosity got the better of her. "What's that?"
"Our Koi Pond."
"Fish." Calypso smiled because she hadn't seen this type of fish before. "What's that?"
"That's a tomato plant."
"And that?"
"A lotus."
"So many plants I haven't seen before!" She beamed.
Ocean Song looked around and was confused at why there were so many randomly planted things here. There was a corn stalk, a watermelon growing, and some potatoes in the ground….
That was until he saw flipper marks in the dirt and realized it must have been Nessie planting her own garden.
"And what's that?"
"That's the Popemobile." Ocean Song nodded to himself.
Calypso didn't know what that was, but it sounded impressive enough to her!
He steadily took out the pope's hat and put it on his head to add to his majesty just before the others arrived.
The Sect members filed in, and Nessie appeared as well, waving at Calypso, who waved back at her.
"Greetings, fellow sect members! This is our newest sect member! Everyone, welcome Senior Calypso." Ocean Song wasted no time introducing them as the others arrived.
"Um…hello." Calypso awkwardly greeted.
She was…unused to crowds. And a handful of people may as well have been a stadium full to someone who had seen one or two people every few centuries.
"The Titan?" Daedalus was the first to pick up on her identity.
"Yes?"
"The one that was cursed to never leave her island?"
"Yes?" Calypso answered again.
"Okay, just checking." He settled on.
Ocean Song preened, waiting.
The sect members stared at him silently for several minutes.
"Are you not going to ask?" Ocean Song couldn't help himself.
"No," Medusa answered.
Ocean Song drooped. "Senior Calypso, allow me to introduce you to everyone. This is Medusa. This is Daedalus. This is Tyson. You met Nessie. And this is Mel, our cook. She's more of an honorary sect member." He introduced all of them.
Calypso looked at each one.
As a Titaness, she could see them all very clearly.
A Cyclops, just like the one who brought her here.
A different monster, she could see behind the guise but didn't recoil at the sight.
Then the demigod, she didn't know whose child he was, but he was an old soul, and his body wasn't real in the normal sense. She didn't know what he did to himself, but his body was much younger than his soul.
Her eyes traveled to the least one that Mel had.
The Titaness saw a goddess, but not one she should have recognized.
But she was too shy to ask.
"Hello, everyone. Thank you for having me." The Titaness smiled politely, doing her best not to cause any problems.
The mood softened considerably.
"If the idiot does or says anything strange, just come to us and we'll set him straight for you." Medusa grunted.
"Um…okay?" She wasn't sure what Medusa meant by that, but she was thankful.
"Senior Calypso here will be learning the Dao of punching people very hard, presumably in the face." Ocean Song explained.
Calypso made a small squeak. "Uh, I don't…like fighting people?"
"She's also good at gardening. Fellow Daoist Daedalus, she can assist with the fields of spirit medicines." Ocean Song ignored her protests.
Daedalus' eyes lit up. "Perfect."
Calypso was confused by how excited he looked and even slightly concerned. But the thought of tending to a new garden was enough for her to look forward to it anyways.
Ocean Song clapped his hand. "Good, now that we settled the newest member, it's time to get down to business. We must have a serious discussion; the survival of the sect is at stake."
He clasped his hands behind his back as he slowly paced around the courtyard.
The others saw his unnaturally serious demeanor and the tone in which he spoke.
As much as an idiot he was to them, they could recognize when he got serious as well and knew to listen carefully.
"The sect has been growing without issues. Things have been smooth, perhaps too smooth. We have not encountered many setbacks as we've continued to grow at a record pace."
"We have fewer than ten people." Medusa deadpanned.
"I have a feeling that a tribulation is approaching. One that we must overcome to solidify our sect's history for the ten thousand years." He continued.
Most of them were smart enough to read between the lines of his nonsense.
The fact of the matter was he believed they would be experiencing some form of trouble in the near future.
They didn't know how or where he got such information from, but the fact that he was treating it so seriously forced them to at least humor the thought.
"Does it have anything to do with you spurning the Fates by taking her off her island?" Daedalus raised his hand. "Because if I'm not mistaken, it was them who set the terms of her…curse."
"..."
Ocean Song stood in silent contemplation.
"I had not considered that."
Medusa casually walked up to him before pulling him by the collar. "Listen here, you Cyclops. I fought a giant, skyscraper-sized bronze automaton after attacking an Amazon warehouse. You promised me my beauty back, and I will be damned if anything gets in the way before that happens."
"That's the spirit, Fellow Daoist!"
Medusa let out a huff before releasing him. "Just tell us plainly."
Ocean Song cleared his throat. "I fear the establishment of our sect has gone too well; thus, it's the perfect time for catastrophe to strike. A tribulation that we must face in order to prosper. Thus, we must seek out allies."
"Allies?" Daedalus questioned.
"Allies, Fellow Daoist! Friends, comrades! We must forge agreements of mutual defense!" Ocean Song explained. "We have made many enemies so far—–"
"Most of those were because of you." Medusa pointed out.
Ocean Song just looked smug, however. "A proper Cultivator has many enemies!"
"Beat him up."
"I'll hold him down."
Both Medusa and Daedalus spoke together.
"Ahem, I mean to say that the quality of one's cultivation is correlated to the enemies one has. You cannot ascend to the heavens without stepping over the corpses of others!" Ocean Song said heroically.
But he may or may not recognize the validity of that statement.
In fact, he realized that almost all the enemies they currently had were almost entirely by his hand!
But he was a Sect Master; therefore, all his enemies became the enemies of his Sect!
As it should be.
A proper cultivator doesn't duel. A proper cultivator brings their sect along with them and beats up their enemy!
"Um, senior brother," Tyson raised his hand.
"Yes, junior brother?"
"Are we still at war with the Amazon Sect?"
Mel snorted from the side.
"Good question, Junior Brother. Indeed, we are still at war with them." Ocean Song nodded. "They are forever enemies of the Sword Heart Sect! We cannot coexist under the same sky!"
As a Jade Beauty, he cannot let live that which threatens his very existence.
The Young Master of the Amazon Sect had tried to forcibly take away his chastity.
Such a thing was unacceptable.
"Thus, I have orders!" Ocean Song clasped his hands behind his back again. "Medusa, Daedalus, Tyson. I expect the three of you to reach Foundation Establishment by the end of the month. Second, Medusa and Daedalus, I expect recommendations of forces that we can try to recruit to our side in the upcoming conflict."
Weirdly, both of them weren't grumbling or mouthing back like during his regular nonsense.
"Fine," Daedalus grunted.
"I have a few…acquaintances I can ask about." Medusa crossed her arms.
"I'll make more weapons, Senior Brother!" Tyson wanted to be helpful as well.
"Bawhooo!" Nessie joined in.
"But before that, we must celebrate the newest addition to the sect! Mel, prepare a banquet! Senior Calypso is now a fellow Sect member; we must drink and eat all night!"
That immediately lightened the mood.
They were a group of misfits, mostly held together by nonsense and prayers. But it was rare for another to join their strange group.
Mel as well found herself getting somewhat swept up in his excitement.
"Fine, come help me, Nessie." Mel turned around to walk to the kitchens with Nessie in tow.
Calypso, to her credit, hadn't run away yet.
She was just standing there, confused about everything that was being talked about.
However, she could feel the camaraderie between everyone here, and despite their strangeness, it felt a lot more comfortable than the loneliness she felt back on her island.
[Line Break]
A/N
We're going to start entering a new arc, and proceeding onto the next sort of plots from the book, maybe out of order or all fucked up. But in general, it's moving on to the next stuff.
If you want to read 1 chapter ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m /astoryforone
I also have a boosty if you can't use the above under the same name