Balance

"King Yama... Surprising to see Your Majesty here..."

King Yama, whose only emotions he ever saw on his face were indifference, fury and curiosity, smiled at him. There wasn't any warmth in that fake smile. His teeth resembled the fangs of a shark in front of his prey.

"Don't worry, child. Nothing of this was your fault. It was Shi Chen's. I'm not here to kill you. I'm here to re-establish the balance of Reincarnation."

In a way, this was even scarier. Shen Lu trembled, while King Yama put a hand on his head. He couldn't move anymore. He could feel strong energy flowing in his soul and arranging itself in a complicated formation. Thin threads of light were spreading like a web, suffocating and tying the flames of his soul.

"It's not the first time someone thought of tricking the system. Everyone is always so sure that, as long as he reincarnates, he is safe from consequences." he paused and wiped the sweat forming on his forehead, "It is true to a certain extent. It is way too difficult to find a soul who reincarnated. We can't kill you. We can't punish you in any way. It is not considered a sin by Karma. We can't even separate the memories from the True Soul. But, " he paused again, gasping for breath. Whatever he did, it seemed like he finished, and was now admiring his own work.

"... We can seal those memories. We won't allow for such a blatant cheat to exist in our Three Realms, especially with the fearsome knowledge which was gained in your past lives. You will regain them when you'll overcome your Heavenly Tribulation, like everyone else. It is already unfair enough that you have been born an Asura in the Mortal Realm."

Shen Lu collapsed on the ground. For the second time today he felt empty inside. But it was different this time. It was like the phantom feeling people have when they lost a limb and they try to move it, remembering that it's now gone. Those memories, known and unknown, were a part of him, and what was left of them was but an unbearable sensation which told him that they were still there, just outside of his reach.

"How did you find me?"

"It wasn't easy. At first, I tried to look for your soul, but I soon realized how crazy that was. It was like looking for a specific needle in a bag of needles. Painful, frustrating and pointless. So, I just looked for souls with a ridiculous amount of power and Karmic Merit in the Mortal World. After all, you aren't the regular fish that slips through the net... You are a dragon!"

The old man laughed at his own joke. He was rather lonely in his Palace in the Underworld, so, instead of leaving this job to the office in charge of these issues, he decided to take a break and do it himself.

"And it took you five years? That's slow."

King Yama's face became dark and he shivered.

"There are so many monsters out there. You think such talents are born one in a million. Maybe even one in a billion or ten billion. Then you remember how many worlds there actually are in the Mortal Realm. Uncountable, almost infinite..." by the end his words turned into a whisper. Such a powerful man was in awe in front of the sheer vastity of the Universe. His eyes focused on the present again.

"You wouldn't believe how many monsters I saw. Some of them were so blessed and lucky, I was almost overwhelmed by the need to re-establish the balance, killing them. In comparison, you are just a bit above average... I'll never do this in Heaven... My heart wouldn't stand a chance. Now, I know why we always have to replace the members of the Truffle Wolves."

A burst of suffocated laughter came from the ground. "The Truffle Wolves?!"

"It's a fearsome platoon whose mission is to hunt down despicable cheaters like you! Stop laughing! I didn't choose the name! They chose it themselves!" The laughter became louder. Shen Lu felt horrible after the King Yama messed up with his insides, but, teasing him at least lifted up his morale. Also, he discovered that not all the memories were completely sealed. Digging a little, it was possible to remember a lot of them. It consumed energies, but it was possible. The troublesome ones were those which he always longed for: cultivation methods, insights into the Dao, fighting techniques, places were it was possible to find treasures or inheritances from his past selves or other formidable experts... the juicy stuff. He never had any success with them, but now, every time he tried to recall them it was like hitting his head against an iron wall. His only hope was that some walls seemed softer than others. He scoffed at the silent King who was silently judging him, probably guessing what he was trying to do. Suddenly, from behind a corner, a grey shadow sprinted towards him. Mao was at his side in an instant.

"Interesting Demon Beast. It sensed the danger, but it still came."

Now that he made himself visible, the Dragon Cat hissed at him. It couldn't see or feel the old man before, he could only be stifled by an oppressive sensation of impending danger. Tired of being on the ground Shen Lu mustered all his remaining strength, managing to get up on all fours, only to faint and fall in the dust, unconscious. King Yama watched the little body in silence, without an ounce of guilt or pleasure. This was his duty, no less, no more. As he took a few slow steps forward, he waved his hand and time began to flow normally again. A portal appeared from nowhere, invisible to anyone.

"After all the headaches your organization is giving me, you can sleep in the mud, for all I care."

He turned his head towards the child and at the meowing Demon Beast and gave them one last look. "Tch!"

[Wake up!]

[Bah, leave him be. This "emergency meeting" is nonsense!]

[For once, he has a point. We need our consciousness and will to be united!]

[It was all going according to plan, then this happens!]

[Shut up! This is all your fault!]

[It's all part of the plan! Stop making a fuss, AND STOP DIVIDING OUR CONSCIOUSNESS!]

[You wanted King Yama to come after us in the next life? Why?]

[No, not another one...]

[Enough!]

[...You too 13th?]

Shen Lu found himself in a strange situation. He knew he had fainted, but he felt like he was awake. Around him, everything was wrapped in a thick fog, except for seven shadows. He could hear their voices, and, from their discussion, it wasn't hard to deduce who they were.

[Hey, since when we had an eighth?]

[Stop that thought immediately! We aren't eight, we are one!]

[That must be the new guy... Shen Lu, right?]

[No, seriously, stop. You are going to give him a multiple personality disorder... Ah, I did it too...!]

"Hey, everyone!"

His past lives. A mystery he tried to solve his whole existence, a path he followed since his birth. He was more familiar with Shi Chen, after all, he was the youngest, and also the most "normal" of the seven before him.

"I have so many questions..."

[Feel free to ask but remember: all our memories have been sealed]

Like a bucketful of cold water, the dragon's words brought him with his feet on the ground again. He fidgeted with his hands, thinking about what he could ask, but nothing came to his mind. As his panic grew, his fingers became more frenetic, resembling spiders trapped in a small glass.

"Wh-what path should I follow? I mean should I become a swordsman, or...?"

[You have great talent in the sword, don't waste it]

[Boring. We are all swordsmen! Even the dragon! Do something else. The spear! Spears are good]

[He's right. I always wanted to be an archer... You may want to try that!]

[You have to become a Formation Master! It's part of the plan!]

[Whatever you do, become a General! To live on the battlefield is the most fulfilling life there is!]

[Follow your heart and have no regrets, this is my advice]

Shen Lu carefully put his seniors' answers in his heart. It didn't matter if they were joking or not. In the future, he'll finally have those memories back, and he wouldn't feel right if he didn't fulfil some of their wishes.

[Mmm, seems like time is up. Conversations like this won't happen ever again. So say goodbye]

[He's right! Separating our consciousness is dangerous! It burdens the soul and the mind!]

[Tsk, "ever again"... Goodbye, Little Lu!]

[Goodbye! Remember the plan!]

[Nobody knows your plan, Shi Chen. There's nothing he can remember]

[Goodbye!]

"Wait, give me something at least! A piece of real advice, a hint... something useful!"

[Goodbye and good luck, Little Lu!]

"Waaaaaaaaaaaait!"

Shen Lu felt like he was about to wake up. The voices became dimmer and dimmer.

"Young Master, you finally woke up!"

These words of his servant Old Pan and the warm rays of the sun were the first things that greeted his return among the living.

"How many days?" he asked frowning.

"Four days."

He noticed other two figures standing beside his bed. He was about to scold Old Pan for letting someone else inside his room when he was in his current state, but then he recognized them. Shen Wu and Shen Kai, his older brothers, were looking over him with a worried look on their faces. Shen Wu was about to say something but he closed his mouth. Shen Kai put his hand on his little brother's shoulder.

"We're sorry!"

Shen Lu smiled kindly on the outside without saying anything, however, on the inside, he was beyond puzzled. 'Sorry about what? What are they talking about? Did they eat something strange?'

"I-it wasn't your fault..." he said in an uncertain voice.

"No! We should have been more careful. But, who could have thought that Shen Su and Shen Zhi could be so despicable..."

"Yeah, that armour... I'm disgusted just at the thought of them being our relatives!"

The shocking words coming out of their mouths almost made him choke on his own spit. 'Are you kidding me? What armour? How? Why? When?'

"I never considered the armour. I should have asked father to check it..."

Maintaining the bluff was one of the hardest things he ever did in his life. He wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. It was all a misunderstanding, but if he told them the real reason why he was knocked out until now, they would send him to an asylum. He didn't know what the deal with his armour was, but if they were saying it was its fault, it certainly wouldn't be him to correct them.

"It is a powerful curse. It slowly drains you of your life force and at your death, all your talent and potential are transferred into the armour itself."

"If you weren't so weak, their plan would have worked. But the life force drained was too much for you... you were lucky you didn't die."

Shen Lu paled. He remembered as his uncle gave it to him with a caring smile and ruffling his hair. How sinister! He always thought his brothers were the most dangerous, instead, the calm and always kind Uncle and Cousin duo were the real snakes waiting to bite on his neck!

"Does Father know this?"

He knew he didn't. If his father, or any other Elder, knew of this, the Shen Mansion would already be on fire, with everyone jumping at each other's necks until the fact that he's an Asura would become public. Then, the whole Emerald Wolf Continent would be on fire. He asked because he wanted to know why he didn't.

"No, only us. It's complicated, but it's best for now if we keep it that way. The Clan has already too much on its hands at the moment to handle a civil war too." answered Shen Wu.

"What do you mean?"

His brothers and Old Pan made a weird face.

"You'll know soon enough."