The Calm before the Breeze

A/N: For those who are confused on how the annotations are in the story, this is a basic overview:

"…": Talking

『...』: Skill/Technique

«…»: Words of the World/Manas

[…]: Cultivation System

{…}: Mental Transmission

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><: Timeskip Flashback Switch POV Meanwhile< strong>

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"Here, say Ahhhh"

I opened my mouth by my mother's instructions as she chugged a spoonful of food into my mouth.

It has been a few days since I had broken through the 'Dantian Establishment' Realm, and was laying down on the same bed I woken up in ever since.

From what I could tell, my soul was damaged too much by using my Life Force, and I would have probably died right there had I not entered the 1st Realm of the Mortal Province.

Since I was now a cultivator, this was no longer a big deal since their souls repair themselves over time 

Hmm… I smiled inside at the delicious spicy soup brushed against my tongue and slides into my stomach.

I had some visitors in the past few days, but the one who caught my eye was an old man who said he was the butler of Aunt Lumine. 

The other 2 were the twin lap do… I mean subordinates that were fanatically loyal to her, namely Louis and Roy Valentin, not Valentine for some reason. I guess I'll ask one of them later.

"How're you doing kid?"

I turned my head to the door only to find Aunt Lumine entering. 

"Better, I will be able to move in a few days"

She sat down beside me as Mom kept gushing the spoons of soup in my mouth.

.

.

.

"Your vitality is low"

"I know" 

I answered her, after Mom left the room. 

After all, she is quite a worry wat, maybe because that's how mothers feel, I don't quite remember having a child in any of my previous lives when I was a female.

"What did you do?"

"I used my Life force to break through the First Realm of the Mortal Province"

She raised her eyebrows at my question.

"Fine, I have become a cultivator"

I then told her about the path of Cultivation that I had created as Hajun, about the restrictions it has at first and the scope of the Immortal Realm.

While I gave all this information as if it was normal, her expression was anything but normal.

"And how do you know about that?"

She asked, or rather demanded seeing how aggressively she asked the question.

"The Words of the World tell about it to them who have somehow begun to see Yi"

She stared into my eyes with her heterochromatic ones, as if to affirm whether I was lying and I did the same. 

Eventually, she broke the silence and got up, after a moment of which I heard footsteps approaching the room. 

"So, you can no longer use any kind of Skills"

"No", I sighed, "For now that is"

She raised her eyebrows, signaling me to continue.

"After I breakthrough the Immortal Province, I will be able to. So, then I will have power atop that of a cultivator," I sighed, "But for now, I have to rely only on techniques and Cultivation abilities"

Her smile then turned into a devilish one, sending shivers down my spine. 

That doesn't seem good. 

"I guess we will have to start your training as soon as you are able to move then"

She said, before giving me a kiss on the forehead and then leaving through the door.

Wait… Aunt Lumine's training…training…training…it's torture.

NOOOOOOOOOOOO…

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Whelp, I'm here.

I thought, as I found myself in front of the Castle where Aunt Lumine lived, with a black shirt and a maroon coat over it.(Image here) 

I wanted to rest for a bit before going to Aunt Lumine's tortur… I mean training. But who knew that the energy from kiss she gave me, rejuvenated my soul in just one night.

I look at the huge castle doors of Aunt Lumine's home illuminated by the light from the rising sun, which are opened by 2 guards, Gary and Carl.

Gary was a bulky vampire with shoulder length black hair and red eyes a bit lighter than my Mom's. Carl had the same face except he was slender and a bit more attractive to the ladies from what I heard.

Even still, their voices and personalities are practically the same and I wouldn't even be able to distinguish them if not for their different figures.

They are quite a funny duo, despite being Overcomers, they don't have any arrogance unlike some other ones.

I used to play with them quite frequently as a child… I still do since I am still a child, though mentally older than time itself. 

"Hey Michikatsu, where have you been these few weeks?"

They both exclaimed at the same time.

"Well, I kinda had a bit of an accident…"

I couldn't even finish my sentence as the both of them suddenly appeared in front of me as if teleporting.

"O-Oi, that tickles…Hahahaha"

I tried resisting while crying out with my shrill voice only to end up laughing at the weird sensations when they examined my body for any injuries.

Same as always, they too were really worried too much.

Following this was a full enquiry about my accident or any possible pain I had, but I successfully managed to survive through their session, which lasted almost an hour before I could finally enter.

 Walking through the hallway, I went to the only known room that I knew Aunt Lumine was most likely to stay in.

After going to the eerily silent castle, I finally reached the room that had a large door of dark brown color with royal carvings on it, which I recognized to be the 'Bedroom'. (Don't get any weird ideas, you dirty minded otakus)

Tap Tap Tap…

I knocked on the door 3 times, waited for a few seconds and then opened the door.

What lay inside was Aunt Lumine, rolled up in her bed, hugging the sheets that lay on top of her.

I didn't think of it before but the Cultivation system has an Appraisal function right?! I should check it out.

'Appraisal'… I thought in my mind before the system gave me the answer, albeit several moments later.

[Appraisal Result: -

 Name: Luminous Valentine

 Age: *Host's cultivation too weak to analyze*

 Race: Vampire (#### #####) *Host's cultivation too low to analyze further*

 Title: *Host's cultivation too weak to analyze*

 Battle Strength: *Host's cultivation too weak to analyze*

 Threat Posed: Lethal (Certain Death)]

…

I let out a frustrated sigh.

I guess I was being a bit too hopeful there. I bet I wouldn't even be able to look up her name or race if I didn't know her already.

"Aunt Lumine"

I called out in an attempt to wake her up. 

No reaction

"Aunt Lumine"

No reaction

"AUNT LUMINE"

I tried to shake her awake but her thin hand suddenly grabbed my own before pulling me in.

"Hmm… Michi"

Is she…is she talking in her sleep? Screw that, why the hell am I being used a body pillow!

Arghh…

I tried to free myself from her herculean strength but to no avail, I tried again but gave up after struggling for around half an hour.

I can direct killing intent at her to wake her up by alerting her but who's to say that she won't kill me instantly out of instinct.

I am no longer Immortal, so I need to watch my actions properly. I can't attract to much attention without developing my strength.

With these thoughts, my mind slowly drifted to sleep as I found myself subconsciously clinging to my Aunt.

.

.

.

"…e up"

Shut up. Let me sleep.

"…chi, Wake up"

Buzz off already.

"Michikatsu, Wake up"

Who the hell's calling out my name?!

"MICHIKATSU WAKE UP"

"AHHHH"

I shrieked before jumping of reflexively.

THUD…

"Shit, that hurts"

I hold my head, which hurt after I fell off the bed in surprise.

I looked at the bastard who did it only to find…

"What was that for, Aunt Lumine?"

I ask the smiling Vampire. 

"It's late"

LATE?! Who the hell was it that took me in her arms to sleep?!

"How much?"

I asked. I was not ready for an even harsher tortur… training that I was already going to have so I kept my thoughts to myself.

"It's almost midnight"

So, I guess the training if postponed for tomorrow, Sweet.

"Let's get to the Arena"

Eh?

"What do you mean? It's almost midnight"

"That's exactly why we are training now"

"Huh? Then why did you call me in the morning that early?"

"You make a really soft body pillow"

Excuse me? Are you telling me that the time that I could've spent cultivating was interrupted just because you wanted to sleep?

"But you don't need sleep right?! Why did you?"

"It just feels better. I tried it when you broke through and it was really comfortable"

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW? Calm down, Calm down…

"Soooo, you are telling me that you slept with… hold on that sounds wrong, so you're saying that you have been using me as a body pillow for 3 days?"

"Yes"

Ugh. What's up with that lame reaction?!

"Can't we start tomorrow?"

"No"

"But…"

"NOW"

"Ugh, fine"

I said, getting up and walking to the door.

"Now that's a good boy"

She patted my head. Not gonna lie, it feels amazing.

Exiting the door, I turn to the right which was the direction of the Training Arena.

Suddenly I felt a bit lighter, looking downwards I figured I was being lifted up.

I looked back, only to see my haughty Aunt lifting me up by a single hand. 

"There is one thing I have for you"

What does that mean? I hope it isn't painful.

With these thoughts, I resign myself to my fate.

"We're here"

Eh?

I open my eyes, only to be met with an armory, full of all sorts of weapons, from a dagger to a sword to an axe.

"Choose"

She words were subtle but I could feel the seriousness in her tone.

I gazed around, seeing weapons that were either too big or too heavy for my current body.

The only one that I could use with my current body was either a whip or dagger.

{Here}

Huh?

"Who's that?" 

"What's the matter?"

"Did you not hear it?", I asked Aunt Lumine, "The voice clearly said 'Here'"

"Hmm…Maybe listen to it and see what it is, it doesn't seem to be harmful since I don't detect anything malicious nearby."

"Alright"

{Here}

Following a general sense that somehow came to me instinctively, I followed the voice till I reached the far corner of the armory.

{Here}

{HERE}

The voice got more intense as I approached the corner, Aunt Lumine just behind me.

Lifting up some rusty maces, I uncovered what seemed like a bit shorter than average black katana with its sheath intact.(Image here)

While a katana should not be common in this world, it's not a far stretch for it to be here. The ancestors of my father were likely Otherworlders, since there was a Unique tradition of wearing Japanese clothing and katanas in our household, not to mention some eerie similarities between the two.

I gripped the katana, which was still quite long and heavy for someone of my stature. But I could lift it without any problems as ever since I had become a cultivator, my physical strength had increased significantly.

I removed its sheath, and was left with a katana totally black.

I stared at it for a bit, but there was no reaction from it whatsoever and since I was too small to wield it properly yet, I began sheathing it again.

{GIVE}

Eh?

{GIVE}

I stopped from sheathing it, as by a sudden instinct, I put whatever miniscule Yi I had into it.

It suddenly began to glow, and quickly shrank to the perfect length I envisioned it to be. 

Already shocked by a sudden connection that I felt form between it and myself, the blade then grew several purple glowing marks that resembles lightning. (Image here)

[Ding…

 A new Soul-Bound Item has been detected.

 Would you like to name it?]

Of course, Yes.

[Please select a name for the item]

I know the perfect one alright.

I gazed at the blade again, seeing it only brought one word to my mind.

"Tsukuyomi"

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A/N: I hope you give me your comments and reviews about the story and chapter. It means a lot to me and is one of the few motivations that keeps me going.