Aurel sat at the back steps of Shen Jilan's herb shop, feeding lightning into his hand. He had been able to get the lightning to coalesce within his palm, like it was within a bottle. Yue Yue sat next to him, playing with a little doll in the dirt.
"What is that?"
"Hmmm?" Aurel looked to the side. Yue Yue was pointing at the lightning, her doll in hand.
"It's pretty…" she said.
"Is it?"
She reached out with her hand, and Aurel lowered the intensity of the power. He could control it much better now. It lit in small sparks, and when it touched Yue Yue's small hand, it lept playfully, like it had a mind of its own.
"Oww!" she said painfully, jumping back. But she had a smile on her face. "That tickled."
Aurel ruffled Yue Yue's hair. This girl was interesting, to say the least. A person of this world, who had been taught by an Otherworlder. As the girl began playing with the doll again, Aurel looked back at the house. Shen Jilan was probably—
Thunder broke from outside the shop. Aurel stood up with a start. It sounded like an explosion somewhere on the main street. Yue Yue was stunned for a moment, before tears threatened to fall from her eyes as she looked up at him, clutching her doll.
"Go inside Yue Yue. Quickly," Aurel said, looking around. As she ran inside, Aurel grabbed his spear before exiting through the back alley. He quickly moved through the winding streets toward the commotion.
As he ran, people were running away from the sounds. Aurel fought against the crowd's pull, looking cautiously. Finally, when the crowd thinned, Aurel saw the fight.
An explosion erupted again, with a red fire spurting across the air. In the middle of the street before the lined shops, there was a man.
He was skinny, frail almost—but he held a wooden stick within his hand. At his shouts, what seemed to be red sparks shot out from his wooden stick toward the surrounding figures. Around him, two cultivators stood on flying swords, dodging the red sparks. They were old, grey beards marking their age. Their robes shook in the wind, produced by the force of whatever the man was shooting.
"In the name of the Heavenly Blossom Sect, surrender." One of the cultivators spoke aloud, his voice echoing as the crowd that watched the commotion shook. "I, Elder Sun Deming, order you to stop."
"You dare? I am Grand Mage Arksan, ruler of Tower Hafiti. " With those words, he waved his wooden stick. Flames gushed out from the end, billowing toward the cultivators.
Elder Sun Deming took out a silver sword, appearing from his ring. Aurel watched as the Elder swung his sword.
"Eternal Blossom Art, Petal Fall."
Following the sword, a spiral of petals bloomed, piercing through the fiery haze. The mysterious man swung his own weapon. Space seemed to crackle, like a mirror shattering, and the sword blow stopped in its tracks.
This was a mage, it seemed. A new Otherworlder. A powerful one, by the looks of him blocking an Elder's attacks. If Aurel knew what was true, an Elder had to be at least Nascent level. This mage seemed enraged. Was this weapon he held—a wand? Aurel had heard of it, but only in song.
The fight continued.
Grand Mage Arksan, the man had called himself, muttered something under his breath. In an instant, he disappeared, space seeming to rip wherever he stood. He began to teleport around the street, appearing at once before firing something from his wand, before disappearing again.
The two elders worked in tandem, dodging the weird lights that came from the wand, before retaliating with their sword strikes.
So this was the power of Nascent-level Elders. Aurel watched, and he could clearly see that the two were overpowering the mage. Despite whatever magic he was using to teleport, the Elders were fast as well. Aurel could see that with their footwork, as they were keeping up with the mage. It was only the mysterious mirror-like barrier that blocked their blows that allowed the mage to survive.
After a moment, the mage stood in the middle of the street. Aurel could see that the man's forehead was matted with sweat and his breathing heavy as he stood, his wand almost pointed like a sword to the two elders who also stopped before him.
"Stop now, newcomer," one of the elders said.
In response, Grand Mage Arksan only stood and laughed. His voice echoed around the square marked with various craters and burning fire. Aurel stepped aside, standing in the shadows of a building.
"You believe you will stop my second coming!" Grand Mage Arksan said. "I have sacrificed countless lives to turn the wheels of time. Are you guys some sort of temporal entities? It is no matter. With this second chance, I will rewrite the world!"
"Silence," the elders said. They swung with their sword, the air marked with petals.
But suddenly, Aurel felt the air change.
Aurel stepped back, feeling the energy, the mana that the mage used, grow like a whirlpool. The two elders felt it as well, as wind erupted, blasting their sword energy back. Grand Mage Arksan began to speak in a language not from this world.
"Hevasilir, Asfoal, Helasil, Rena—"
Even Aurel could see the massive amount of mana pooling before the mage. Aurel began to step back. Inside his mind, he felt the Will awaken.
Step back. The Will said. Run.
The two elders took defensive positions, wielding their swords. Aurel took steps back, wind erupting like a hurricane before him. The mana was concentrated in such a way that it was even affecting the physical realm.
"—Alllid, Safas."
The mage's chants came to an end, and the mana disappeared. Like it had never been there before. Aurel began to run away, lightning bursting from his skin. But before his turned eyes, he watched as something destructive formed within space.
Like folding reality, space broke. Forming an abyss, darkness that was not a darkness, seeming to rip the very existence of space itself, the emptiness began to expand. It was emptiness, gravity pulling buildings and wood and sound itself from the surroundings. The ground ripped apart, being pulled into the black sphere.
Aurel watched as the buildings began to rip apart from the spell.
For the first time, Aurel felt danger, a threat of death. Channeling all the lightning he could harness, Aurel anchored himself to the ground, pushing against the pull.
What was this monstrous spell? Was this the power of a mage? Aurel fought against the pull, straining against the growing blackness in the distance. The two elders now seemed like two minuscule dots.
But the growing blackness stopped.
The pull stilled, and the sphere stopped growing. Aurel fell to one knee, looking up at the darkness. Almost like a wave, the expanding sphere was restrained, condensing once more. Sound returned, and Aurel felt ringing within his ears.
The black dot disappeared, as though it had never appeared.
Grand Mage Arksan stood in the street, his wand outstretched. He seemed dumbfounded as he looked up. Looking up? Aurel raised his head. Before his eyes, a floating figure in a robe appeared. He seemed hazy, as though hidden beneath a waterfall. But Aurel could see the figure raise his hand and slice, as if using a sword.
It was as though swatting a fly, taking a breath, or drinking water. It seemed so simple. But a clear pink line struck out from the floating man's hand, like a sword blow. For a moment, Aurel thought he could smell blossoms.
Grand Mage Arksan stood there, the clear line cutting his throat. After a moment, his head fell to the ground, his body following shortly afterward.
The two elders bowed, raising their swords to the figure.
Powerful, the Will said. Powerful.
I know, Will, Aurel thought.
Aurel felt the wind rush before his face. Aurel shielded his eyes as dust rose above the street. As he looked up, he saw the man standing before him.
In the fading dust, Aurel observed the man. He wore a similar white flowing robe to the elders, but it was accented with swirling pink petals. His face was almost ordinary, younger than the elders, with a soft smile and black eyes. His hands were behind his back, clasped together, as the. Man's unfathomable eyes met Aurel's.
"Interesting…" the man said. "Are you a newcomer?"
Aurel looked up, not responding. He stood there, letting the lightning fizzle away. If this man could identify that Aurel did not use qi, a Unique as the man Aurel had killed put it, then it might be dangerous. And there was nothing that Aurel could do, judging from the power he felt beneath the man's skin.
"I am Li Haoran," the man said, smiling. "Your art is spectacular. And at the limits of qi-condensation… Are you some old monster from your timeline?"
Qi-condensation? But he wasn't using qi to cultivate. The power the World had granted him was something entirely different. But it seemed even this powerful Li Haoran couldn't figure it out.
"No," Aurel replied finally. "Just a newcomer."
Li Haoran stared at Aurel, appearing to study him. The soft, floating smile remained on his lips.
"I'm sure you've been given orientation. But I recommend you join the Heavenly Blossom Sect. We all here have come from other timelines. Regardless of our knowledge, we must adapt. This is just my advice, as a cultivator to another."
With those words, Li Haoran bowed before turning his steps. The same wind rushed forth, appearing from the abyss, and the dust rose. His figure disappeared as fast as it had come.
Aurel stood there, looking upon the devastation. The two elders had gone. In the distance, Aurel saw various cultivators rushing toward the scene. After a moment, he retreated, walking along the street back to the herb shop.
Will? Are you there?
Here. The Will responded.
Why did he think I used qi?
Ah. Explain. The Will was silent as Aurel approached the herb shop. Power of Will. Energy. Qi part of energy. To anomalies, you share power. Different, but same.
So it appears I cultivate. The same for mana too, then?
Yes.
This was good news. It meant that Aurel would not have to hide his use of the Power of Storms or hide. And Li Haoran had seemed powerful. A stage after a nascent, it seemed. He had said the Aurel had reached the limit of qi-condensation. That was good, but still weak.
So I must kill more Otherworlders? Aurel asked.
Yes, the Will replied.
So he had to kill more. Training by himself in the forest could only do so much. The next step, then. He would kill cultivators. And he would take Li Haoran's suggestion. If he did not have to hide in the darkness, the best way would be to hide in plain sight. Joining the Heavenly Blossom Sect would allow him freedom and credibility. See the cultivators judge their power. All while giving him the cover to kill cultivators in the city.
Aurel entered the store, and Yue Yue ran toward him in greeting as Shen Jilan nodded. He couldn't forget about his people either. There were thousands in the city. Enslaved, used. These people who could not use energy, how could they fight? Once he gained enough power, he would give them freedom.