47. What Is Death?

Rue walks to the window, and moves the table. After which he moves the chairs. Hiro on the other hand grabs the bed and pulls it.

"Yeah, much better."

"Okay."

"Right, what's inside that bucket over there?" Hiro asks pointing to one side of the room.

"Drinking water, so you don't have to walk up to the well or wait for me."

"Oh, but Mia taught me how to handle the well, so I won't have to wait for you."

"Okay. By the way, if you want to turn off the lamp, all…"

"Mia also taught me," Hiro interrupts while looking at the small lamp hung on the wall. "She also taught me how to put it on."

"Alright."

"Here, this is for you," Hiro tosses Rue a pouch bag. "Go cultivate."

"Thank you elder brother, I'll do as you say," Rue bows and rushes out of the room.

"Alright, time to cultivate myself," Hiro mutters. "I should take these clothes off first."

He walks to the bed, takes off his shirt and his trousers, leaving his defensive artifact clothes on. Gently he placed them on the bed and walks up to the mat. He sat down in a meditation pose and brought the orb out. After which he closed his eyes and began cultivating. However, not long after…

"Ack!"

He coughs and opens his eyes. His hand grips his shirt at the chest and his teeth bit hard on his lower lip. He could feel his chest heaving fast, his heart beating rapidly, his blood flowing quickly and his skin burning.

"Ack!"

He coughs again and this time, black substances came rushing out of his mouth.

"Hm, mhmm," he takes in deep breaths and falls to his side, laying on the ground. His knees moves up as his body curls into a ball. Still clinging to his chest, his hands almost tore his shirt. His leg kicked the orb away, but he was unaware of that. Right now, the pain he felt was increasing. "Ah! Kru! Ahh!"

~Fvroom~

His entire body caught on fire as a deep red flame burned from within. Like a pillar it reached for the roof. "Ah," he cries quietly, trying his best to endure the pain and put the flame under control. However, it was easier said than done. The flame burned from within, burning his blood, bones and organs, before burning out his skin. The pain he felt now was by far the greatest pain he had ever experienced.

"Breathe Hiro, breathe. Breathe like your life depends on it," Hiro says in his head. He had thought of a way to counter the flame, and that was attacking it with Yuan Qi. He was going to fight it, and the arena was the inside of his body. So he needed to get Yuan Qi into it, as much as possible. Easier thought than done. He couldn't concentrate on cultivating properly, so the only way left was to breathe and take in Yuan Qi.

His throat, windpipe, and lungs hurt unbearably, but this was his only option. He could breathe without thinking, and at his grandfather's instruction, he had started cultivating through breathing. Now here it was keeping him alive.

Slowly, the flames spread from his body, burning the mat and the ceiling. A voice sounded from outside, but Hiro couldn't make out who it belonged to or what it had said. He was so focused on the inner battle, he didn't notice his consciousness was slowly fading away. It didn't take long for everything around him to disappear into darkness.

…

"Amazing, this method is just amazing. With this I'll reach the core formation realm in a few days," Shin mutters.

"The only down side to this is, during the process of conversion a quarter to a half of the energy in the core is lost," Tanji says.

"Still it is amazing. I feel like I would reach the ninth stage soon. That means if I can get a few similar core, I'll reach the second stage of the core formation realm in no time."

"You are really excited."

"Of course I am. I can just keep on killing monsters to increase my realm."

"The higher the level, the stronger the monster compared to an equivalent human. Though, human artifacts and techniques has helped us bridge and surpass that gap, it is still good to remember and be wary of that."

"I know…"

"Elder brother, Shin, what is that light?" Mia interrupts. "And is that smoke. Could it be… a fire?"

Turning to the direction Mia was facing, the duo's eyes widened. It was just as she had said. Smoke had gathered in the night sky, although it wasn't that visible, it was enough for those nearby to see.

"That's the direction of Hiro's place," Tanji yells.

"Oh no!"

"Who is Hiro?"

Mia cries out and Shin asks, wondering who they were talking about. Giving him no reply, Tanji and Mia shot out of the courtyard. They were so worried that they ran at top speed. The dumbfounded Shin sighs. "Will they come running like this if I was in trouble? I'll really love it. Knowing I have people to rely on is…" he shook is head. "Let's not get too attached. When push comes to shove, they'll leave you," he mutters and ran after them.

…

Hiro's eyes slowly opens up. A bright light caused him to squint his eyes. It took a while for his eyes to adjust.

"Where am I?" he mutters while looking around. His body wasn't in flames anymore and it no longer hurt. However, he was no longer in his room. He didn't know how he got here. And where was here? It was a meadow with only a large tree, standing tall in it. In the clear blue sky was the sun, spreading its rays upon the world.

"Did I die? Well, the flame was enough to kill me so it's possible," he thought as he got up.

"Hao Ren, stop chasing it, you are going to hurt yourself," a voice sounded and draws Hiro's attention.

The owner of the voice was a young girl with black long hair. She was yelling at a boy who was chasing something he couldn't see properly. Beside her was a boy with black short hair and a girl, who was holding a basket. The trio were not too far away and stood under the tree in the meadow.

"When did they appear? And who are they again? I've seen them before," Hiro thought.

"I'm fine Mi'er. Once I catch it, I'll give it's gem to you," Hao Ren yelled as he continues to chase.

"As stubborn as ever, hmph," Mi'er pouts.

"Oh, I remember. I've seen this before," Hiro says in his head and turns to Hao Ren. For some reason, his attention was entirely on him. "Is it just me, or is he really familiar?"

The trio continued to talk, but Hiro was too focused on Hao Ren to hear them. Hao Ren looked so familiar yet Hiro couldn't pin point where he had seen him before.

He blinks his eyes and the bright sky turned dark. The sun had disappeared and so did the meadow. Yet even with the sun gone, the area around Hiro shone bright. He found himself falling from the sky. Was he really falling? It didn't feel that way yet it somehow did.

"What is going…"

Hiro's voice was interrupted by the sight beneath him. Right below him, standing with several arrows pierced in his back, was Hao Ren. He didn't know how he was able to see him from this distance, but he did. The distance beneath him should be nearly ten thousand feet, yet Hiro saw him.

Hao Ren fell to his knees. His white hair fluttering gently as he stared back at Hiro with squinting eyes. Hiro could only wonder if Hao Ren could see him or not. However, he was sure of it now, he had seen Hao Ren before.

Hiro continues to fall. Trying his best to stop falling was a futile attempt and in no time Hiro had gotten closer to the earth. He was going to crash on Hao Ren. His chest heaved continuously and his heart beat faster. Instinctively, he closed his eyes, rather he blinked.

When he opened his eyes, he was no longer falling. He was in a seated position in the sky, and a cloud was his chair. His heaving chest had relaxed and so had his heart beat. In no time he had fully calmed down, but all that changed when a bright light rose from the distance.

The light overshadowed the sun as it slowly filled the sky. It came to an halt when it was some distance away. And Hiro could barely keep his eyes open. His right eye was closed but his left eye squinted and remained opened.

"Find Me!"

The voice ordered and for the first time Hiro was vexed from hearing its voice. He didn't even notice the sky had cracked. "Who the hell are you?" he asks. "And why should I find you? Because you asked? Can you not see I am dead? How can I find you?"

"I Am You, And You Are Me!" The sky cracked once again but Hiro still didn't notice. The words the voice had spat out confused him.

"Huh?"

"Find Me, Before They Find You!"

Once again, the sky cracked even further yet Hiro didn't see it. "Who are they?"

"You Can Find Me! For Us Death Is…"

The sky collapsed and Hiro fell faster than ever before. As he fell, his body started heating up. He could fell his body burn the further he fell down. However, Hiro had only one thought in his mind and that was…

"Death is what? Tell me! What is death!?"

…

Author Here.

Hi guys just throwing in a quick question.

What are your thoughts on Hiro's true identity?

Drop a comment, I'll love to hear them.