The heavy tal doors closed behind them with a deep thud as the crushing soul pressure vanished after they were inside. Zhan Tian and Li Yu stood at the entrance of a pocket realm compressed within the temple. The sky above them lacked a sun or moon while a static gradient of pale silver and deep obsidian stretched across the horizon. The territory was not endless but it mirrored the size of the capital city of the Aurelian Spear Kingdom.
Rolling hills of gray grass led toward a quiet settlent nestled in the center of the realm. They walked forward and their footsteps crunched softly on the ground while making their way. As they approached the outskirts of the town, figures began to erge from the stone dwellings.
There were roughly one hundred and fifty of them here in this pocket dinsion. The Anti-Duplex people looked mostly human in shape but their physical forms were shrouded in a shifting miasma. Wisps of blinding light and consuming shadow danced around their bodies as their natural dual souls interacted with the physical world.
The group here were highly wary of the two foreigners and quickly ford a wide periter around him. Several of the younger residents flared their Qi while their eyes glowed with caution. There was no hostile or killing intent coming from them but it was clear they were a bit confused how these two got in and why they were here.
Zhan Tian did not raise his guard or flare his own aura as he could read the room extrely well. He simply clasped his hands behind his back and spoke with a calm voice that carried across the settlent.
"We co with no harm," Zhan Tian announced. "We were led to this sanctuary via a token given to my grandson."
At first there was no response but then the crowd parted as an elder stepped forward from the center of the town. The older man leaned on a pale wooden staff while the light and dark mist around his shoulders seed thick with age and cultivation.
Zhan Tian narrowed his eyes in surprise because he could not tell the cultivation of the elder, however at the sa ti his instincts told him the elder was not as strong as he was. The elder narrowed his eyes to inspect the two visitors before his gaze locked onto Zhan Tian.
The hostility in the old man lted away into one of understanding. He planted his staff into the dirt and offered a low bow.
"Worldkeeper," the elder spoke with a raspy but strong voice. "It is an honor to actually et and host you today. You saved so of our people a long ti ago."
Zhan Tian raised an eyebrow and searched his vast mory but did not recall a ti he helped them. He dealt with thousands of realms and endless conflicts so he shook his head after scouring his mory. "I do not recall saving your people before."
"While you did not save us specifically, you saved a whole village of our kin on the Luminar Moon Realm," the elder explained while standing up straight. "Of course you would not rember it. It was a small gesture from you during your travels but it held monuntal aning for the people from there, a few of which are here today. I am kept inford of the happenings in the cosmos and your na is highly respected among our scattered groups. This place is a refuge where our people can find peace away from the violent cosmos."
Li Yu lowered his guard as the surrounding villagers relaxed upon hearing the elder vouch for the Worldkeeper. The elder invited them toward a large stone pavilion in the center of the town and poured them a fragrant tea that tasted like bitter ash and sweet honey. While it didn’t taste particularly good, it had its own charm and Li Yu could feel his soul slightly react to it.
They sat around a stone table as the elder shared the bitter history of his people after Zhan Tian asked him. The Anti-Duplex were once a powerful and nurous race that held great influence across the cosmos. They naturally possessed two souls and used their imnse spiritual strength to guide and protect other races as they developed. They acted as wardens against cosmic threats but that heavy guardianship took a severe toll on their population.
Over the endless eras, foreign invaders struck their territories while the very races they nurtured rose up in strength. Greed drove those younger factions to turn on their protectors to seize resources and territory. Their numbers declined sharply through constant wars and betrayal. Now, they were a fractured people scattered amongst the realms and hiding in pocket dinsions. However, many still tried to provide protection to lower realms where possible.
Li Yu listened to the tragic lore and rembered the event in his own ho realm. He placed his cup down and looked at the elder.
"I encountered one of your people," Li Yu said while pulling the black and white tal plate from his storage. "He ca to my realm during an invasion and summoned the guardians of that world. We were able to find this place because of his token. I owed him a debt due to an incident that happened back then and he gave this token. Is he here or do you know where he or his companions are?"
The elder carefully took the token from the table and his dual souls flared openly while he channeled his unique Qi into the tal. Black and white threads of energy unspooled from his fingertips and sank into the intricate grooves of the plate. The token vibrated softly before letting out a low hum that sounded like a dying breath.
The elder shook his head and a deep sadness washed over his wrinkled face.
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"No," the elder answered softly. "That person has fallen. That is likely why the token pointed you towards this specific refuge instead of guiding you to him."
Li Yu felt his chest tighten at the news. That person had saved his entire world from the alien swarm and had even gifted him this token despite his Fisherman Soul stealing energy. To hear that such a powerful and ancient guardian had died felt incredibly wrong. He never got to repay him for saving them or pay back the favor owed. A karmic debt was left unresolved but more importantly a valiant defender had fallen.
The elder gripped the token tighter and used a few other intricate soul techniques on it. He deciphered the hidden imprints left behind in the tal as the old man nodded slowly to himself and stood up from the table.
"Wait here," the elder instructed before turning and walking toward a secure stone building behind the pavilion.
Zhan Tian and Li Yu sat in silence while digesting the heavy history of the fallen guardians. This was information that Zhan Tian had never known despite his long years. The elder returned a few minutes later carrying a different token. This new plate was crafted from a polished gray stone that pulsed with a rhythmic heartbeat of soul energy.
The elder set the new token on the table in front of Li Yu.
"From what I gather from the token, he wanted to take you in as a disciple once you grew strong enough to activate that token on your own." The elder explained while looking at Li Yu. "He saw the unique nature of your souls and intended to guide you. However, since he has fallen and the disciples that traveled alongside him at the ti have also fallen, his direct legacy has been cut off."
The elder pointed a weathered finger at the gray stone plate. "It was as if he predicted his own fall in the wars to co. He left this behind in our care, saying soone worthy or destined with it will co one day. It contains a technique of our race called the Yin-Yang Origin Mantra. It is a dual soul technique designed to let two distinct souls work together in synchronization. The resulting power output is much greater than the simple sum of its two parts. It is now yours, let us end this string of fate here."
Li Yu stared at the gray token as his Koi soul and Human soul stirred within his inner world. He knew how valuable this was but he felt hesitant to just take the legacy of a dead man.
"Is it truly okay for to have this?" Li Yu asked while looking between the elder and his grandfather. "I am not of your bloodline."
"It was his intention for you to have his guidance, so if he had not fallen, it most likely would have been given to you. Though I am not sure if you will ever be able to use it, you need two souls like us to use it." The elder confird with a gentle nod. "Also, you are the grandson of the Worldkeeper. You are worthy of receiving it, even if it is as a thank you gift for saving our people and taking on our burden of protecting the cosmos."
Li Yu realized he was earning so favorable karma directly from the past actions of Zhan Tian. He respectfully picked up the Yin-Yang Origin Mantra and stored it safely within his ring before offering a deep bow of gratitude to the elder.
Zhan Tian finished his tea and looked at the tired faces of the villagers passing by the pavilion. He possessed the power and the authority to change their situation and after receiving such a gift, he felt he needed to.
"Do you need help getting out of this void?" Zhan Tian asked the elder. "If your people are scattered and hiding, I can arrange a secure realm for all of you to gather. You could rebuild yourselves under the protection of my clan."
The elder offered a warm and appreciative smile but he shook his head in refusal.
"I thank you for the generous offer," the elder replied. "But our people are of different minds now. The long years of hiding and being apart have fractured our unity. There are too many leaders leading small groups like mine and they all have their own stubborn ideas for how we should proceed in the future. Gathering us together now would only spark internal conflict. This is just how my people are now and how fate determined us to be."
Zhan Tian accepted the answer with a nod, politics was a fragile and complicated thing. He understood that forcing a broken race back together rarely worked out well.
"You should depart now," the elder said while standing up. "My people are still very wary of foreigners and your presence here makes them anxious despite your good intentions."
Zhan Tian and Li Yu thanked the elder for his hospitality and the heavy truth he shared. They walked back through the quiet settlent and returned to the heavy tal doors of the temple. Zhan Tian tore another spatial rift and they stepped back into the chaotic currents of the void.
The journey back to the Zhan Clan was quiet as Li Yu processed the new technique and the bitter story he had to swallow. The universe was vast and cruel and even ancient guardians who protected the weak were not immune to falling in battle. Thoughts once again drifted back to the scenes of his parents and grandfather dying.
Were they not doing sothing similar to what the Anti Duplex race had done? They were not the guardians of the realms from the forces that want to destroy everything. Li Yu still didn’t even understand the horrors and enemies that his parents and countless others had to fight. All he could do now was to beco stronger though.
They returned to the lush green valley of the Five Star Lakes as Zhan Tian gave Li Yu a supportive pat on the shoulder before flying off to attend to his own duties. Li Yu stood alone near the rocky edge of his territory and looked out over the shimring water.
He possessed a powerful new technique to fuse the strength of his souls but the cost of acquiring it felt heavy and wrong. He found a quiet and secluded spot beneath a tall weeping willow tree near the edge of the valley. Li Yu gathered several smooth stones from the riverbank and carefully stacked them to build a small burial mound with nothing under it.
He took out the original black and white token he was given back on his ho realm and placed it gently on top of the stones. He knelt before the simple morial and bowed his head.
“Thank you to you for protecting my realm back then. May you now be able to rest.” Li Yu said while giving the morial three formal bows.
He knew his world would have been destroyed if they had not intervened and summoned the divine beasts. He owed them a debt he could never directly repay now. Li Yu closed his eyes and swore a silent vow in the cool evening breeze.
‘If I ever find out exactly how you died and if the death was dealt unjustly, I will hunt down those responsible and get revenge for you’. He promised to carry on the Yin-Yang Origin Mantra and ensure the legacy the man wanted to pass down would not fade away into the dark.
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