Book 5,chapter 28

As it turns out, word of an abyssal gate opening in the academy grounds certainly travels fast. Judging by the hushed whispers, being the one responsible for such a potential calamity didn't help Zee's image. Such a public scolding by Anton wasn't great for her image either. If she was being honest, Zee wasn't too upset by the development. In fact, she was quite happy with how things worked out. Well, quite happy was a broad statement.

She was getting annoyed by people in the academy asking for favors. It was a pain, but she wouldn't have to endure it much longer as the expedition left in only a week. Until then, perhaps she should reinstate the same policy she had back on Iztara?

Making her unwanted guests spar with her if they wanted to talk would certainly cause an uproar.

It would be bad for her image. The thought made a smile tug at her lips. 

 Given the fact that the sleazy emperor announced her coronation day, Zee was willing to try anything.

It felt a lot like a noose was cinching tighter around her neck. That old bastard had come out and announced that she would be crowned his heir upon the return from the expedition.

Given they were heading into a war, and then the endless storm, Zee had a high likelihood of getting herself killed. It was a comforting thought. Dying or getting captured by the blood gorgers might be better than getting inflicted with the imperial throne.

Casting aside such intrusive thoughts, Zee sat up a little straighter on her bed. Such a position wasn't ideal in terms of comfort, but it did help her focus.

Gazing inward, she took a deep breath through her nose before slowly letting it out. Her energy churned, rushing through all forty-three of her opened pathways. She took deep breaths to calm her nerves as she focused all of her mental energy on the fragment in her mind. This part of her cultivation always concerned her. It was, for lack of a better word, sketchy.

Just like it had dozens of times before, her energy reserves were sucked dry by her fragment, reduced to the edge of energy starvation. It was an extremely unpleasant sensation, but she did it anyway. She still remembered Julian saying that her inner world was close to an evolution, and Zee was more than a bit curious what that entailed. A little discomfort now was more worth it for the future potential benefits.

Based on what little she had learned, evolving her inner world had a wide range of benefits. The evolution should drastically increase the size of her Well, and most importantly should help stabilize her inner world. Or at least that was what her research told her. Even after a few weeks on the top floor in the academy's restricted library, she hadn't found much about the subject. 

The subject of inner worlds was not widely spread. In fact, any knowledge of inner worlds was guarded jealously. Based on what little she had learned, it was with good reason. An inner world was the staple of a celestial cultivator, which was the peak of power in the Lorocan empire.

Those who reached such lofty heights as the Celestial grade enjoyed numerous benefits. Everything from fame to incredible personal power, and a life span counted in millennia. And with such a juicy prize on the line, many were desperate to attain it.

Zee wasn't sure about the exact reasons, but those who were referred to as pill poppers could never reach the C grade. There was more than enough speculation as to why they couldn't take that step.

The most agreed upon opinion was that the collected impurities in their cores made the core far too brittle to withstand the formation of an inner world. The surprising part she had discovered was that a lot of people had tried to form an inner world, anyway. 

They were pill poppers at the peak of D grade who were reaching the end of their long lives. 

Desperate to extend their lifespan, many tried to rank up regardless of the risks. According to a journal she had perused, failing to form an inner world was quite the spectacle. The cultivator in question had turned over a hundred square miles into a frozen wasteland when their core ruptured.

And even more surprising was the fact that the area was still corrupted, even to this day. There was a large stretch of mountains to the south of Lorocos covered in constant ice, snow, and freak weather even five hundred years later.

That wasn't the only failure to be recorded. 

Another example referred to the desert bordering the capsaicin sea, far to the east of Lorocos. Apparently an arrogant pill popping noble thought himself above everyone else, and didn't think the rules applied to him. In a bid to rank up, he accidentally wiped out an entire city and several towns, turning hundreds of miles of coastline into a scorching desert. 

The level of destruction recorded was quite impressive. It was caused by the cultivator's core, which contained vast amounts of energy going off like a bomb. A core, which was the next step after a shard, was an excellent container for pure energy. It was why those near the peak of D grade were vastly more powerful than E grade cultivators.

Or at least the ones who had formed their cores were. To reach early D grade required a cultivator to open all sixty inner gates, and then add layer upon layer to their fragments to form a shard.

Adding layers to her fragment was an important part of the process.

If she rushed and did it incorrectly, then forming a core would become nearly impressible. The entire process, from her acquiring splinter to forming a fragment, and then a shard was all in preparation to condense it into a core. 

Any imperfection along the way would make the evolution to a core even harder. Zee hadn't known it at the time, but Petrie hadn't been able to take that step.

She had been stuck with a shard even at middle D grade, left unable to progress due to a faulty foundation. If that rotten alchemist had contained a core, Zee wouldn't have had even the barest chance.

She couldn't only shake her head. Zee had witnessed more than one time that hubris could get you killed, or in Petries case make you stuck. 

That was why Zee was taking her time on opening inner gates, and carefully adding layers to her fragment. More immediately, she really wanted to evolve her inner world, but was terrified of screwing it up. She had only recently solved the issue with her fragment cracking, even if it was a temporary reprieve.

The ritual she had placed on her inner world wouldn't last forever. It was a stopgap measure, one that only had around nine years left. Nine years seemed like a long time, but it was nothing in the grand scheme of things.

The eternal throne would emerge with the eclipse in just over ten years. Given the fact she would be forced into the cosmic river to help find it, Zee was more than a bit concerned. That place was more than dangerous enough without her inner world trying to rip her apart from the inside.

Her energy churned chaotically, and she took several deep calming breaths. Her state of mind was not as clear as she would have liked.

Adding another layer to her fragment, or opening another inner gate, was probably a bad idea. 

Instead, she just drew in energy, letting her fragment purify it. Time to replenish the energy she had just dumped into her inner world.

The pure energy washed through her body, soothing her troubled thoughts.

If those journals from the restricted library were anything to go off, taking on more than she could handle wasn't healthy. Her failed attempt to open a dimensional rift was also a factor.

How was she supposed to know that opening a dimensional rift to the spirit plane could go so wrong?

Opening a gate to the abyss was ridiculous, even for her. That place was beyond dangerous, making places like the Tundra, and the Plains of Suffering look like pleasant meadows in comparison.

It was a dimension that surpassed even the Null realm in terms of danger.

It was the place where her grandmother Verenia died, and more than one Celestial grade cultivator had gone missing. Zee shuddered in remembrance. That place was just too dangerous. It was more than a bit concerning given where she was headed in the future.

The cosmic river was another place where celestial cultivators routinely went missing. After witnessing the spine chilling power that leaked out of that abyssal gate, Zee's anxiety for venturing into the cosmic river was shooting through the roof. Based on the hole torn in the roof of the academy, the ambient energy alone would rip her apart in seconds.

Her turbulent thoughts were interrupted as she felt a sharp tugging at her hair. With her deep cultivation being interrupted, she opened her eyes, realizing the morning light was already filtering in through the open window.

Turning, she looked back to see the living book with some of her hair between its pages. 

"Hey! Stop that," Zee said, batting at the floating book. Agile as ever, it released her hair, and bobbed in the air excitedly.

She cocked her head at the book, as it bobbed around.

"What is the matter?" Zee asked.

It rustled its pages and flew towards the slightly open door as if expecting her to follow. Zee sighed. What was it up to now?

Groaning, she clambered out of bed, her bare feet slapping on the cold tiles as she walked out into the living room. The pesky little book fluttered across the living room, pausing near the far wall. Zee's brows shot up. 

The vase which had knocked off its pedestal the other day was surprisingly repaired. Or at least as repaired as it could be with sheets of paper. The living book proudly flapped around the 'Repaired' vase.

Zee wasn't sure what to think of this strange development. The vase was repaired, though only in the most technical sense.

The once expensive vase looked like a three-year-old tried to put it back together by throwing it all in a pile, and sticking it together by adding glue. She had always thought the book was incredibly childish in its behavior. But lately it seemed to be getting smarter.

When Tarnival first gave it to her, it seemed as dumb as a juvenile lizard, and now it was trying to repair vases? The whole thing didn't really make sense. Wasn't the book really old? Or had Tarnival lied about that as well? Judging by the fact that the living book was learning, he had probably lied about it. 

Zee could only shake her head. She honestly wasn't all that surprised that the old geezer had lied to her. Just like the emperor, Tarnival was a schemer, and doubtless told her that lie for a reason.

The question was, why did he lie? "Good job," Zee said. Biting her lower lip, she reached out and gave the living book a gentle pat on its leather cover. It flapped its pages happily, clearly enjoying the praise. What was her life coming to these days? 

Zee patted the leather cover of the living book thoughtfully. The whole getting smarter thing gave her an idea. 

"Hey, book, would you like a name?" Zee asked. 

It bobbed in the air, seeming excited by the idea.

"Alright, what to call you?" Zee asked.

In her mind, Dern chimed in, "How about Fur biter, or door stop?" Dern suggested.

Zee snickered. 

"Those are quite funny, but not what I'm looking for. "Aloud she said, "How about monster bait?" 

Dern laughed in her head.

"I like it!" 

The book didn't share Dern's amusement. It snapped at her fingers, clamping them between its pages in a surprisingly hard bite.

She smiled, not hurt by the bite at all.

"If you don't like it, then what name do you like?" Zee asked.

The book paused its not so savage attack, and released her fingers.

After a few seconds of hesitation, it opened its pages, flipping to the very back. On the inside of the rear cover, in elegant handwriting, was a single line in an ancient language she had never seen before. Thankfully, the translation array she had tucked away in her spatial storage had no problems translating it. That was a relief, the translation array Tarnival gave her didn't always work on the older languages. Something about being unable to read faded intent. Zee put the distracting thought to the back of her mind focusing on the line of text. 

'To my dearest Raina, may you cherish this journal until the galaxy collapses, and the universe turns to dust, love Halico.' 

Curious Zee reached out to run her fingers along the script, causing the book to dart out of the way, and rustle its pages at her. It seemed angry she had tried to touch the words.

Zee raised her hands, in apology. "Sorry, I didn't realize you cherished those words so much. Please come back, I promise I won't touch them," Zee said. 

The book hesitated for a few long seconds, before floating back down and opening its pages again. She had never seen it so protective before, and her curiosity peaked.

Who were the two people mentioned in the quote?

It seemed like something a parent would write if giving the book to their child. Given how antisocial and reclusive Tarnival was, she seriously doubted he would ever have a wife, much less a kid.

The old geezer had probably just found the book somewhere, and kept it because of how unique it was. Her eyes drifted over the words, lingering just beneath them. Even more curiously, underneath the quote was an odd symbol. She could swear she recognized it from somewhere, though, for the life of her, she couldn't remember.

Deciding to push the curiosity aside for later, she spoke,"Would you like to be called Helico?" Zee asked.

The book vehemently bobbed side to side, its pages rustling unhappily. 

"So, Raina then?" Zee asked.

It bobbed happily.

She smiled. Well, that was easy. 

"I still think lizard bait is a better name. I mean seriously, who names a book Raina?" Dern grumbled.

She smirked, "Of course you like lizard bait better… And I don't think the book itself was actually called Raina. It had to be the previous owner's name," Zee replied.

"Your logic is sound," Dern said.

She smiled "I'm glad you agree. Anyways, now that we have solved the issue of the book's name, we can move on to more important tasks. Namely my three remaining end of term tests," Zee said.

"Oh joy! I wonder what sort of madness you are going to cause this time," Dern said.

"Hey, the abyssal gate is your fault too, you know. You could have tried to stop me, or told me it was a bad idea," Zee said.

Dern snorted in her mind.

"I did warn you, but noooo, you never listen to me," Dern replied.

"That's because you warn me about everything. If I listened every single time you warned me, we wouldn't get anything done," Zee retorted. 

"If you listened to even half of my advice we wouldn't be in our current predicaments," Dern said.

"Yes. We would be in a lot more predicaments. For example, remember the other day when we were stuck in traffic?"Zee asked.

"Vaguely," 

Zee smirked, "Tou said something like, I'm going to rip his soul from his still living body and force him to watch while I drag it into the abyss." Zee said.

"That doesn't sound like something I would say," Dern replied. 

"Or, how about just two days ago when a guy approached us, and you threatened to rip his arms off and beat him to death with them if he didn't leave us alone," Zee said, amusedly.

"I think you are misremembering that. You were the one who threatened him, not me," 

Dern said.

"I did not," Zee replied.

"You sure did. That temper of yours got out of hand, again," Dern replied.

Zee cleared her throat. "It's all blurry, hard to say who made the threat. Anyways, Master Garg's class is soon, we should probably go," Zee said hurriedly, changing the subject. 

Dern was closer to the mark than she cared to admit. Sometimes her temper got the best of her, and she said things she regretted later.

Bastion always seemed to be absent during said times, which was a relief.

She pushed aside such thoughts, heading to her next test.

The first test had been a bit rocky, but the next two were a breeze. Given the previous day's incident, Master Garg didn't allow her to perform her ritual at all.

She got a passing grade by simply handing in her notes. More than one of the students in her class were unhappy about that.

Master Fier's test was a lot more straightforward. He pitted each of them against himself. If they managed to impress him based on their growth since the start of the year, they would pass.

Zee came out of that test with her entire body aching from bruises. Fier was an artist with a sword, and expertly tenderized the entire class one at a time with his wooden practice blade. 

Zee and Allison might have an edge in terms of skill, and experience compared to Hespa, and the others. But compared to Fier, they were nothing more than beginners. 

Zee really wished she could attend more of his advanced classes. Learning to condense her will, and cut things at a distance with just her sword was something she really wanted to learn. It was called a kingdom of blades, a domain of condensed Will that turned an area into your weapon.

Sadly for most people, that level of skill with a weapon was unattainable. Not even her grandpa had achieved such a feat. In fact, there were only three people, the emperor included, who had attained it.

The iron Phalanx Litesa was third. How to attain such a thing was still a complete mystery. Fier would not talk about it, aside from a passing mention of condensed Will. More curiously, there wasn't a single book with any actual detail in the restricted library. It had Zee more than a bit curious. Perhaps the emperor had books on the subject in his vaults? If only Zee was willing to pay the price and venture into that vipers nest. 

Lastly, to finish off the year was her aura manipulation class. Zee was starting to realize that she may never have Malden's delicate control.

Over the last six months she had certainly improved, but not by as much as she would have liked in the control department. Her concepts were not intended for anything delicate. They were meant to destroy, which they both excelled at.

It was actually looking to be a theme for her skills as well.

All of her skills, and even her bloodline talents were incredibly destructive. It was too bad they were not good for much else. Failing Jorgun's end of the year test smarted a bit, but she wasn't all that upset. 

It was a stupid test anyway. Like, how was she supposed to turn an upside down bowl upright without breaking it? It had been resting on a flat topped pedestal, which she couldn't move it from. Transferring water from one urn to another was hard, but this had been downright impossible for her.

Her aura was a weapon, not a delicate, precise instrument. 

Maybe once she took the next step, reaching Diamond rank, then she would have better control?

It was unlikely. Ranking up did nothing to improve a cultivator's control. In fact, the boost in power would probably make it a lot harder for fine control of her aura.

 Zees train of thought was rudely interrupted as a figure dressed in a uniform of the imperial 

approached her. She was in the street of the academy grounds, which was predominantly filled with students In formal gray uniforms.

An imperial guard dressed in lavish clothing stood out like an Allevark in a ball gown. 

Pausing In front of her, the somewhat familiar guard bowed at the waist. 

"Greetings your highness. The emperor demands your presence immediately. I am here to escort you to the imperial palace," the guard said.

Their tone was polite, but Zee could see the calculation behind their eyes. 

For a second, Zee debated declining the offer.

A meeting with the emperor was never a pleasant experience. But, then again, turning down the demand would probably be a lot worse.

It was then that Zee realized where she recognized him from.

"You are Cornell, right?" Zee asked.

He smiled, "I didn't expect you to remember me," He replied

"Of course I would remember you! If not for your little suggestion, I would have been forced to endure a carriage ride with Draveroc," Zee said.

"I was nothing," Cornell said, his tone clearly amused.

She cocked her head at him. "So, what is this about?" Zee asked.

"I am not privy to the plans of the emperor." Cornell said.

There was a short pause, before he continued. 

"But, if I were a betting man, I would think it has something to do with the Ashary I saw entering the palace," Cornell said.

"Ashary?" Zee asked, more than a little bit worried about that.

"I'm sorry, I can't speak on it further, you will have to discuss the reasons they are here with the emperor. Now, come on, we must hurry," Cornell said. 

Zees' feet left the ground as a delicate aura wrapped around her. Cornell didn't look strained at all he flew them up into the air.

Zee swore under her breath.

If she really tried she could break free from the aura, but then she would probably piss off Cornell. And since he had been extremely helpful both times they met, Zee didn't want to make him an enemy.

Outpacing even the skimmers, they flew over the rooftops. Zee might have enjoyed the experience, if not for a few troubling implications. At this rate, it wouldn't take more than a few minutes to reach the palace.

She had only a few minutes to figure out a way to hide Dern. If he were discovered, she might be screwed. The Ashary did not take kindly to people who used soul arts, nor did they take kindly to banished Ashary like Dern.

"Dern, how will they react if they find out you are bonded to me?" Zee asked in her head.

"I, I don't know," Dern replied, uncharacteristically shaken.

"Could you take a guess? How would the old you have reacted if you met a human bonded to an Ashary?" Zee asked.

"I would have tried to kill them. Such an existence is an abomination. According to Ashary custom, anyone who delves in soul arts is a stain on the universe, a sickness to be exterminated," Dern said.

"Not going to lie Dern, your people are assholes," Zee replied.

"They are not my people any longer. I am a soul sucking monster now, not even a person," Dern said.

Zee narrowed her eyes at him. "Now that is a cart load of lizard shit. You may not be human, but you are my best friend. All these Ashary can go shove their superiority where the sun doesn't shine. I will fight them all if I have to," Zee said.

He sent her a mental smile.

"I appreciate the support, but I would prefer not to tempt fate. I am going to hide my presence in your inner world. Hopefully they can't sense me in there," Dern said.

This had been their plan from the start. Not even Julian could sense inside her inner world against her will, so hopefully it could conceal Dern's presence. They had never properly tested the hypothesis, as there was no telling just how sharp the sense of the Ashary were.

Hopefully this was enough. As for Kur Zul, he was a specter, and shouldn't raise any red flags. As Cornell flew them over the city, her mind raced. At the eye-watering speed they shot through the air, she didn't have long to make plans before they arrived at the palace. Without too much fanfare, she was led into the overly decorated throne room.

Zee was still at a loss as to why she was being summoned here. Her eyes scanned the room, noticing the emperor sitting on a high-backed throne, with three bizarre creatures in front of him. Strangely, there were no courtiers in the throne room, just the emperor and the ashary.