4.5 Mental weakness

Luxin came up to the cell with the same man from before. Shu XinYi thought of something and said to no one in particular "Please! just leave me alone. I don't want to die. Don't kill me." Both Snow and Xiao B were impressed by his method acting.

Luxin signaled the man and the man removed whatever mental barrier he created, but apparently he did it only for Shu XinYi and not the others present. Shu XinYi swiftly took his role, acting confused and scared as he looked around. When he saw Luxin, he stepped back in "terror" saying "You, I won't come out of this place. I won't ever go out of this place. So don't even try."

Luxin smiled in success and swiftly moved towards the cell, saying in a calming tone "Listen to me. If you want to stay inside then I won't force you out. The man from before was very harsh to you wasn't he? I am sorry about that. You just have to craft us a good enough dagger and you can stay in this cell, safe and secure for life."

Shu XinYi nodded like a docile child and said "I will do anything, I will make the dagger but you have to make that thing" Shu XinYi pointed towards the empty outside of the cell and continued "That hell, go away. Only then can I focus properly."

Luxin nodded politely and said "That's why I am here, this man here, his name is Reki. He will make sure that, that thing doesn't hurt you. You jusy focus on making the weapon properly."

Shu XinYi quickly agreed to this saviour trope. After making some preparations, Luxin left leaving Reki behind. Reki was the one who had mind control powers, Shu XinYi didn't exactly know what this form was called neither did Snow. They also didn't know how to counter it. But whatever it was, it didn't seem to effect Shu XinYi and Xiao B, so Shu XinYi wasn't too worried.

Shu XinYi did want to remove the effect from Mira and that creature, but right now he could only let his acting go along. Shu XinYi obviously wasn't going to make a proper dagger. He had 2 "days" to delay it. After that he had plans to leave this camp. Shu XinYi could be sure that even if he didn't make a dagger in 7 days, the protagonists would remain patient. Since they needed him. Unless ofcourse they found an other person who could make a good enough dagger.

Shu XinYi asked Snow as he was trying to make a "good enough" dagger "In the original, who provided them with a dagger?"

Snow replied "You did. They organized a search party for Xuval and they found you injured. They saved you because you could tell the whereabouts of Xuval but later they realized you had Moon form. And your strong point was the metal form, unlike the protagonist."

Shu XinYi said "So both, the original Sceptor and Luxin, have relatively powerful moon forms but Luxin is the protagonist so obviously he got the better end of things. And the original goods ended up becoming cannon fodder. It's a pity. Makes me question how the worlds decide, who would become the protagonist and who will become cannon fodder."

Snow evaluated "It's not exactly a good thing to become the protagonist either. It's more pitiful to become the protagonist. Being stuck in the same world repeating it over and over again, until you accept protagonist's fate. Then once you complete the world you still keep on repeating the same life, laboring away for the worlds. Producing a code for them, without even knowing it's purpose. Moreover, the protagonist can't progress in any way. Unlike cannon fodder who progresses as they pass on."

Shu XinYi questioned "They do?How so?"

Snow stated "You never completed a world. But you still moved on to a new world after going through an incomplete world once. And everytime you progressed to an other world, your spritual bearing would improve. Although the change was very small, barely noticeable. But it was there. So, there should be a good amount of increase in your spritual bearing, once you actually complete a world as cannon fodder. Since you never completed a world, the change in your spritual bearing was not apparent. The only odd thing is, that even though you pass through already completed worlds, your spritual bearing still improves and by a lot at that. This should not be possible. I think it's that unidentifiable being that plays a role in this."

Shu XinYi had figured out this much on his own. It was not in line with how these worlds work, so it could only mean that his amnesiac husband could bend the rules of the these worlds. In conclusion, it was better to be a cannon fodder, considering how the worlds work. The protagonist(s) experience a worse fate when things are looked at from the birds eye view.

Shu XinYi repeated the words he heard in a dream years ago from his own mouth, "evolution system". What is this evolution system. Who exactly is this evolution system made by? Why? It can be just a simple dream but it may not be the case. There is no way to confirm this.

Shu XinYi waited until Reki left after several hours, since Shu XinYi said that he could not work anymore. Reki raised the mental barrier once again but it obviously didn't effect Shu XinYi. Shu XinYi took out the rabbit he previously killed, from his space and cooked it with a very low flame, to not affect Mira and that creature negatively.

After the rabbit was fully cooked, Shu XinYi tried to convince Mira and that creature to eat, but they were too terrified to even think of doing so. It was a bit difficult to see people, that he trusted, in a situation like this. But Shu XinYi could only lie in wait for an opportunity to fix this. Thankfully, I saved enough blue moon reserves. Shu XinYi thought. Because of the cave, it became almost impossible to absorb the moon form.

After getting out of here Shu XinYi decided to move north. He wasn't going to disrupt the original plot right now, but he also wanted to stay to find the location of the original cave from the protagonists. There was also the ditch, Xuval pushed Eclipse's wife into, that Shu XinYi wanted to find. The easiest way would be to steal the map in Eclipse's room.

"Eclipse is a blue wolf.. No beasts that I have seen here are regular animals. Does he originate from this planet? And what about his wife? What is she?" Shu XinYi mumbled to himself.

Snow said "There are no answers to the questions you asked, in the world background."

"I know. I just want to find these things out." Shu XinYi replied. Since he had a lot of time to spare, he talked to Xuval. Well he did the talking and Xiao B just hopped around in the air. Shu XinYi asked "The reason Pure fire doesn't effect me.. It's you right?"

The Xiao B slowly nodded as if it was afraid to anger Shu XinYi.

"Haa.. What are you being scared for. It's a good thing. I would have been baked otherwise."

After almost 6 hours, it was Eclipse who came down to see Sceptor's progress. Sceptor was scared as he showed him a roughly made dagger. Seeing the disappointed face of Eclipse Shu XinYi thought, What you being disappointed for? it takes much more effort to make a sloppy dagger then it does to make a good one. You have to focus on making the bumps at irregular places and make rough edges with controlled effort. Apprecite me a little for my effort at least.

As expected of Shu XinYi, Eclipse was patient. He only threatened Shu XinYi saying "Do better then this, or I'll make it so, that you aren't even able to do this much."

After saying this Eclipse threw a roughly cooked peice of meat inside the cell and walked away.

Shu XinYi picked it up with a scrunched nose and threw it far away from his sight. It was an abomination of a meal.

It was getting boring for Shu XinYi at this point. So much that he started teaching Xiao B, Suduko. Xiao B seemed fascinated by seeing the numbers and how they would align together.

It was difficult to keep track of time in this world since there were no clocks nor was there any sun to indicate the passing of the day. And since they were underground, they couldn't even see the moon. The only indication, that a day had passed was when Shu XinYi felt the power of forms leave his body.

He didn't feel any significant change but he could sense that he could no longer use any sort of spritual power.

Soon enough the purple moon was on the rise. Shu XinYi once again confirmed with Snow, what sort of powers the purple moon has.

"Master, The purple moon has sort of vision enhancement capabilities. You can look into places that are inaccessible to you from the naked eye. It also has some sort of Psychic powers that allow you to see the future. But how to make this form function properly, that I don't know."

Shu XinYi hummed in contemplation, debating that whether he should absorb and use the power of the purple moon or not. For doing that, Shu XinYi would have to get out of the cave for almost 6 hours. With the way the protagonists are treating them ... No, they are too dumb, I just have to use the right words. Who knows what the purple moon is capable of doing. It might be necessary.

"Aaaaaa...." Shu XinYi screamed, seeing no one respond Shu XinYi screamed louder this time "AAAAAAAAA HEEELLPP MEE." This time the 2 protagonist definitely heard him and they came down with Reki, to oversee the situation. As soon as they reached near the cell, Shu XinYi hurled a roughly finished dagger towards the empty wall outside the cave saying "Aaaaa, help me please. Kill me. I want to die. I want to die. I WANT TO DIEE." Saying this Shu XinYi picked up another roughly finished dagger and tried to "kill himself".

At this, Luxin finally reacted and raced towards Shu XinYi to stop him "You fool, didn't we say to give him regular treatment? How did he become like this? If he dies because of you, I'll bury you in the pits of hell." Luxin shouted at Reki.

Reki was genuinely terrified, he quickly said "I did give him regular treatment. It is his own mental weakness that made him like this. We should take him away from this place, only then will he be able to calm down."

Luxin looked at Eclipse for him to deny, but Eclipse was just standing there rubbing his temples. They bought Sceptor outside of the cell and tied his hands with a rope. Luxin said to him "It's okay, you are out of that place now. We'll take you outside for a walk so you can calm down." He said this so gently yet the rope tied around Sceptor's hands was firm and rough, clearly conveying their true intentions.

Shu XinYi though acted grateful, he followed them outside. It was a little darker then how the sky was during the blue moon. The next few moons will all be brighter. So this serene darkness would not last long.

"I.. I think if I can just sit down and meditate for a while then I'll be good. This kind of thing has happened before too." Shu XinYi improvised. He didn't ask to be alone since that would be too much. Shu XinYi did believe that neither Luxin nor Reki, who had accompanied him, would be able to identify that he was absorbing Purple form. Still he asked Xuval through Snow "Snow, ask him if he can put some sort of invisible barrier between us, so that they are not able to see me absorb Forms."

Xiao B turned a little hot on Shu XinYi's wrist indicating it's affirmation. Shu XinYi sat down in a spot where the trees were not covering the sky and was about to begin when he noticed something weird. Both Reki and Luxin's eyes became dazed as they started repeating the a sentence over and over again "We went to hunt for 6 hours, we went to hunt for 6 hours, we went to hunt for 6 hours."

Shu XinYi looked at his wrist and asked "Your doing?"

Xiao B detached itself from Shu XinYi's hand and nodded. He rubbed Shu XinYi's ear telling him that everything is okay.

Shu XinYi asked "Why didn't you do this when they were chasing you that time?"

It was Snow who answered in Xuval's behalf "Master, he has been a righteous military commander for 300 years. It is not surprising that he refused to use underhanded means, even in a dire situation."

After meeting me, my amnesiac husband becomes more badass, hehe. Shu XinYi silently thought.

Shu XinYi began to absorb the purple form slowly. For 6 hours he was in this meditative state without fear of interruption as Xiao B was still around. The purple Form was very light and relaxing to absorb. It didn't give the heavy feeling that the previous moon forms had. Shu XinYi could feel his mind gain clarity, he felt enlightened. Shu XinYi smiled during his meditative state. It really was calming.

6 hours passed without any hitch. Shu XinYi stayed in that position until Reki came to wake him up. Sceptor said standing up, "I feel a lot better now. Even if I face that thing, I can still work better. Let's go, you must be done with your hunting."

After reaching the caved encampment, Reki took him down to the cells again. This time he didn't put any sort of barrier. Neither did he remove it from Mira and that creature. Shu XinYi wasn't unfeeling to their fears and struggles. He was sure that Mira was seeing fire and her kind dying right in front of her, while she couldn't do anything to save them. It was an experience, Shu XinYi could strangely empathize with. It also became more apparent from the words that Mira spoke through her terrified state.

The other creature couldn't speak, so it would screech in huffed noises, trying to hide itself even more. It seemed that it's tounge had been cut off, that was the reason it couldn't speak. But Shu XinYi could tell that, it too must be witnessing something of the same sort. Shu XinYi didn't like seeing someone, who he could consider atleast trustable acquaintance, suffer like this.

They also hadn't eaten for the past 90 hours, and it could be seen. Mira who had recovered from her injury had once again, shrunken in her form. Her face had become pale and dark, her bones apparent in her visage. There was no one around except them in this underground cell.

Shu XinYi had spent 1000s of years in his life doing 3 things: experimenting, learning and eating. So it came naturally to him as he used the purple Form. He first tried to give solidity to the form. Or any sort of state. Slowly he covered his eyes with a light grey fog that formed naturally, as he used the purple form. Shu XinYi opened his eyes but he couldn't see any significant change. He looked around but he was in the same room with no changes. He didn't see anything extra nor anything less. Failure.

Shu XinYi retracted the grey fog from his eyes. Doing so, he discovered that he could attach a small part of his consciousness with the grey fog. Huh? Shu XinYi allowed a bit of his consciousness float along with the Grey fog. He then moved the grey fog using form energy. Through the part of his consciousness attached with the grey fog, Shu XinYi could "see" as he floted around. It was like Shu XinYi had become air.

What he "Saw" was still the normal cell but Shu XinYi could see a lot more. There were remnants of form energy, spread through out the place. Shu XinYi looked with closed eyes, at Mira and that creature. That creature... Shu XinYi didn't see the blooded creature with a cocoon for a body, What he saw was a very beautiful girl. She looked innocent, her face was pure but it lacked luster. Her body was similar to Mira, with different proportions obviously.

This must be how she looked in her original form. But maybe because she wanted to protect herself, She wrapped herself in a cocoon. Shu XinYi could see dark energy coiling around her brain. This must be the mind barrier, Shu XinYi thought.

Author notes:

When I say World (Singular) I mean the current world Shu XinYi is in, or any particular world, based on the context. But when I say Worlds (Plural) I mean the whole system of worlds. The system of worlds, as you know, has levels. And in all the levels there a lot of worlds, both complete and incomplete. more incomplete and less complete.