The Path

[Well? What do you think?] I said to Darkness after demonstrating the Killing Intent. Or whatever that was. Rage Intent? Anyway, her expression was weird. Unnatural. It confused me. I lifted an eyebrow. [What?]"You know what I think about you…" Darkness hissed.In my defense, she started it. It was such a perfect setup, I just had to take the opportunity to bring up something that was on my mind for a long time already. I made a completely serious face before speaking.[You want to fuck?]"What?! No! Why would you ever think that?!" Her face flushed red more than I expected it to and she nearly stumbled over her words as her emotions clearly went haywire.[Gee, I wonder? Maybe because you spied on me in the bath… twice! And you prevented me from visiting the Heavenly Peach while giving off extremely un-ladylike vibes.]"It was a whore house!" She shouted. "I don't want to see that!"[So what? I do. I'm a man, I need release.]"Hmph!"[You know what? I think you are jealous.] I said, as seriously as I could."Excuse me?!"[You heard me. Those girls there all had such nice assets while you have… that.] I vaguely gestured at her chest area with my hand.Her eyes nearly popped out. It seemed I had hit a sensitive spot."That's because of the bindings, I keep them tight so they don't move!] She went under her shirt with her hands and pulled out a… long strip of cloth? Man, I don't know. She was clearly unwell in the head. "See?"I squinted my eyes. [Um… No, I really don't. Did you change anything?] There really wasn't much change, to be honest. She went from flat to a… little bump?"Argh!"[Don't worry, you probably still have time to grow.] I consoled her. [How old are you anyway?]She glared at me. "I'll be 98 soon."[Holy fuck! You are like… older than my dead grandma! I thought you were close to 30! Well, never mind then. You have my condolences.] Once again, my expressions were perfect. You would really think I was clueless. Of course, I knew they were old, but I didn't know they were that old! Nearly a century! What insanity."Asshole!"[Hahaha! Oh, this was so fun. Let's do it again sometime.]I really needed that. At least the jokes and teasing removed some of the annoyance I felt towards her."You are insane! What are you, some kind of emotionally manipulative monster?!"[I'll take that as a compliment.] I smirked. [But let's get serious. You know how to focus your Intent. Teach me.]Darkness sat in silence for some time. I let her, but as minutes went by, I did start to get annoyed.[I need a response today.]"Would it kill you to ask nicely?" Darkness grumbled.[No, but you lost that privilege already. This is your second chance, and if you both stop acting like traitorous snakes, we might even get to become friends.]"Snakes, huh?" Darkness sat on the ground in a lotus position, as did I. "I'm not even sure how much I can teach you. Everything I know came from the Midnight Order…"[Just stick to the basics, I'll figure it out from there.]"Fine, fine…" Darkness sighed and then turned serious, placing a finger on her lip for a moment while she seemingly searched for words. "What is Intent?"[You are asking me?] I saw her nod and guessed we should establish a baseline of how much I knew first. I could agree to that. [My understanding is that it can influence other people directly. I would guess it has something to do with our intentions and emotions, but other than that, I'm not really sure.]"Well, you are on the right track." Darkness confirmed. "But, unlike how in the Nascent Soul you can give very short orders… Wait, you do know how Nascent Soul works?"[Sure. You can compel other creatures to do your bidding, but it only works for a short time and is limited in what it can do.]"Exactly! It's very primitive and not all that useful. But, after reaching the Golden Core Realm, you unlock this ability called Intent Projection, where you can batter an opponent with emotions as well as physical magic. Killing Intent is the most rudimentary use of Intent, but also the most widely used." Darkness explained."Some people weave Intent into their illusions or Formations to make them seem more genuine. Depending on what it does, Intents, especially if you aren't aware of them, can influence your emotions. Killing Intent, if it's strong enough, can induce a crippling fear in the target, sometimes even rendering them unable to fight. You might see why it is so desirable…"[Sure. Winning without lifting a finger seems nice, though a bit boring. I guess that mostly works on weaker opponents though?]"And you would be correct. Those of similar mental fortitude can resist, or if it is used against a stronger opponent, it could have the opposite effect."[Opposite to fear and submission?] I scratched my head. [An increased aggression and willingness to fight?]"Something like that. But apart from those strong negative emotions, there are many that can feel quite nice. There are some illusions and Formations made by incorporating various positive Intents and they can help you clear your mind and relax."[To help with Cultivation?]"That too, but anyone capable of harnessing Intent probably doesn't have problems with Cultivation. It's mostly used to relax and have a good time."Basically like being mildly high, but without drugs. But you have to be unguarded for such manipulation to take hold. You can't force someone to feel good and relax. You can make them angry or fearful though.[That's good… So how do I make someone piss their pants in fear?]Darkness frowned and glanced at Shadow who had his back turned to us and was pretending not to be listening. "That's… an oddly specific question."[You know what I mean, but if you wish me to be more specific, I'll humor you.] I leaned closer. [I want my enemy to tremble in fear and prefer death over fighting me. I wish to make my Killing Intent so unimaginably powerful and concentrated, that a single glance would bring entire armies to their knees!]Darkness kept eye contact with me even as my smile grew, yet averted it before speaking."All of this is possible, of course, but only if your opponents are Mortals. I seriously doubt a Spirit Realm Cultivator would even flinch to the presence of your current Aura."[Bah! Who cares about now? I'm talking about much later. At least five years from now.]Darkness lifted an eyebrow, with the rest of her face as expressive as stone. "Right…"[So? Can you teach me or not? I thought we've been over this already.]With a sigh, she continued. "Focus on something that brings you pain, anger, murderous thoughts basically. Let it build in your mind and then imagine it focused. Will it to be focused."It was my turn to lift an eyebrow."There isn't much to it, really. The higher you climb in the realm of Cultivation endeavor, the more your thoughts affect the world. It becomes less about how you do something, and more about how you want it to happen."[Did you learn that from the Midnight Order as well?]"These are the basics. Basics you somehow clearly missed as you sprinted along the Path of Cultivation at inhuman speeds. You never slowed down to look and observe the world around you. Its rules. Its quirks. Do you even know what your Path is?"I fell into silence. One word. A single word flashed in my mind as she posed the question. It felt… right. But at the same time, I also asked myself… Really? That's it?It was so simple. So logical. I tried to think about other, similar things, yet none of them felt as right as that one word did."Helloooo? Are you there?"I blinked and noticed I had fallen into some sort of trance. I slowly lifted my head and looked at her.[Combat.]"Combat?"[I walk along the Path of Combat.] It felt so right saying that. Like admitting to the deepest secret I wanted the world to know. I felt relaxed and smiled."Path of Combat? That's so… broad."[It sure is.]"Are you sure that's right? It's not Torture? Or Murder? Or an Asshole?"I slightly frowned. Even if she was trying to be a sarcastic wench, that was going a bit far. [It's Combat. It couldn't be any other way.]"But are you sure-"[Can you just shut up and let me enjoy this moment of peace?!] I barked. She was getting on my nerves. I was completely relaxed, and she was like an angry fly buzzing around my ear.She frowned deeply. "Peace? Did you just… Oh, my- No, no way! I refuse to believe it!"[Hmm?]"Nooooo… D- Did the word Combat appear in your mind after I asked you the question?"I slowly, while still annoyed, nodded, and Darkness nearly began crying."Waaaaaah! It's not fair! Why?! Why does he get to achieve Enlightenment? And why did it have to be from me?!"***Darkness kept shouting towards the ceiling, in a feeble attempt to demand justice from the Heavens, or Fate, or something… Anyway, it was beyond infuriating. They were the screeches of a banshee. My patience was growing thin, and my mind felt ready to burst.My thoughts descended into darkness as I continued to observe the grown child crying and throwing a tantrum. I felt the Killing Intent inside me spring back to life. Slowly at first, then suddenly, something awakened. I didn't try to focus it manually, I just willed it to strike. As concentrated and as wild as it could be, it burst forth.Some kind of greater power.As it bubbled to its peak, I felt invincible. Like an emperor looking down at ants. I didn't care if their Realms were higher than mine. I was above them. I was above them all! They should all just shut up and bow![Bow!]My voice boomed like thunder, with a sound that was all but my own, and distorted, like a reflection from a thousand broken mirrors.Darkness slammed her head into the pavement, and Shadow spun around like a ballerina and similarly hammered his forehead into the ground. The two were pressed into the stone by my sheer presence alone as I stood there. For a moment, I felt as if the fate of the world was mine to command. It was all mine, for a moment.A second later that overwhelming feeling of power vanished, forgotten, like a fleeting dream, replaced by the boring reality.Darkness slowly lifted her trembling head, with blood dripping down her nose.As I looked at her I felt the world spin and a weakness overcame me. All that power was drained out of me and was replaced by an endless abyss. The smell of urine also wafted through the air, and it wasn't mine, though I was in no state to really bother acknowledging it.I rubbed my temples and slowly, stumbling, made my way back to my room.[We're done for today. We'll speak again later.]After closing the door to my room, I collapsed on the bed and sighed. Everything was spinning, and I felt as if someone had just completely drained me of blood. I felt so weak and feeble. I hoped a good rest would fix that. I just closed my eyes, and blacked out.