Secular Dominion

In a village, a man broke into a house before confusingly leaving and entering the forest on the village fringes.

A young man watched this through a mirror in a land of blood. Beside the young man was an older gentleman who had a look of worry.

"Master, the confusion is becoming even greater. I imagine he will start to forget even himself. Shouldn't you give him some memories back to offset the effects of dementia?"

Dementia was a term made by a scholar whose territory strangely affected people. Every ten years a massive amount of memories would be taken from the inhabitants, this left the populous confused, and many would believe their family were strangers and so would the family members think the person an outsider. 

The scholar left the territory in his 20s and made it to the Dream Realm where he recorded this phenomenon and gave it a name. It was a popular read for many inhabitants as it was an interesting thought.

These records also gave rise to the fear of memory loss which led to the creation of memory recovery treatment where someone could have help remembering things through the power of imagination. Derek's father had this treatment so he could imagine a delicious dish he was beginning to forget.

The young man with red eyes shook his head, "No, this will make it easier, of course, it will be more dangerous for us. Yet watching him like this is enjoyable. It's intriguing to see what he'll do.

Leon lowered his head, "It is as you will my lord."

...

Cain looked at a bronze mirror in a mansion ruling over a village, he swiped his hand over his face and made his features more in line with the looks of a pure blood.

'Just what is happening to me...I'm having bouts of forgetfulness. Get yourself together Cain!'

The door opened to the room he was in and the noblewoman screamed to see an intruder. Cain jolted out of his stupor and left the mansion in a hurry.

"Only a few days before I reach the nearest city. At that time I must cultivate and only cultivate!"

Days went by, and Cain was currently standing in a line outside the gates to a city. As he was minding his own business a guard came up to him.

"Sir. You don't need to be in that line. Although you appear to be halfblooded you are still a step above these filthy mixed bloods!" The guard brought Cain to a shorter line where he was let into the city with relative ease.

Half-bloods were those with features of both mixed and purebloods, usually a descendent of both sides. They were akin to the common people of the world, making up the majority of the population. 

Having no idea where to go and with no money, Cain found a spot in a park and cultivated. There were a few others doing something similar, but they were mortals meditating.

By nightfall, Cain had absorbed a great amount of Heavenly Energy from the Mandate. Picking up his bags, we went to different inns to see if he could get a room in exchange for work.

This worked well for a few days but he ultimately began to forget himself and soon looked more like a vagrant than a presentable person looking for a place to stay.

His memory got worse to the point he would walk into random homes thinking he was meant to sleep there, that night he was put in a cell and let out early morning with the only things left he had, Bloodletter, and the Mandate which he instinctively hid. 

The one thing Cain didn't forget to do was cultivate, every day he was found somewhere to meditate with the Heavenly Mandate in hand.

...

"Father, is this our new shop?" A young boy excitingly tugged his father's shirt as he jumped up and down.

The father smiled and tussled his son's hair. "Yes it is. Go inside and see."

Giggling, the boy hopped and skipped inside a two-story building, the first floor was the shop where his father would sell his wares and upstairs was where the boy would live.

Although the boy and his family were mixed bloods, the boy's grandfather bought himself out of slavery at a young age which led to the boy's father being born free. The boy too was born free, and he came to this city with his father and mother so they could make a living.

It was time to settle down and the boy's father didn't wish to be a traveling merchant any longer.

The shop began to fill with merchandise, the boy would help his father bring their things upstairs. By the afternoon, the boy's mother came upstairs with snacks from the local shops.

"Gunnen, try this, it's called Tanghulu, it's delicious!"

The boy hurried over and took a stick with red balls skewered on. He bit into one as a layer of hardened sugar was crushed and entered his mouth along with the fruit. The boy chewed before his eyes lit up.

"So good!"

His mother and father laughed.

...

With mostly everything done, Gunnen left the house to explore. His father told him to return by nightfall and he could only explore the block and the park near it.

Gunnen was well-behaved and did as his parents asked, he walked around and saw the different buildings and bustling streets, and when he got tired he went to the nearby park.

In the park, he found a strange scene, a vagrant was wandering around and walking weirdly while speaking gibberish.

"Oh, tail wags! Oh, juniper berries! Yummy yummy! Free is bird and bird is sky! Hahaha!"

The odd vagrant was Cain, he was in a bout of delirium. Much of his mind had been lost and he could not find it. In addition to the poor conditions he was living in, he became a strange sight.

No one would help him and he was left to fester in the streets. It was an eventuality for him to lose his mind in a few days with his condition.

Cain then noticed the boy and smiled, showing his grim teeth. "Hey'oh! What's this? A house perhaps? A kalbioninini? Hehe....."

Gunnen stared at Cain, he couldn't process a word he said.

Cain noticed the boy's behavior and knocked on his head. "What's this? Where are my manners? Hello, boyo! I'm the magical scripture man hehe! Pick a cloth! Any cloth!"

Reaching inside his dirty clothes, Cain took out a few cloths, obviously stolen. They were far too clean to belong to him.

Watching the vagrant laying them out, the Gunnen's face became strange. Although he didn't know what the instructions meant, they talked of absorbing Spiritual Qi which was something only cultivators could do, and Gunnen knew that much.

"Mister, where did you get all these?"

Cain laughed before pointing to his head, "Up here! Behind the door. Flies fly in, flies fly out, magic! Hehehe!" He then paused and his face became blank, after scratching his head he turned around and walked in another direction, leaving behind Gunnen and the cloths.

Even if Gunnen had suspicions, he wanted to do the right thing. Picking up the cloths, he gave chase. "Hey! Wait mister, you forgot your cloths!"

Cain picked up his speed and began to skip, Gunnen followed as they left the park and into the winding alleys that held the darkness of the city.