Fragment

The vision ended and I was left sitting on my bed with the white sphere in my hands as cold sweat ran down my back. It took me some time to process everything I saw. My head was pounding due to the near destruction of my Soul.I threw the exhausted Memory Orb to the side. I had still so many more, but I didn't dare try them out. The pressure just that one fragment exuded was way too much.Entering a meditative state I entered my Sea of Consciousness. My Soul there was in bad shape, it was not getting better at all and was in fact getting worse. As I scanned the place, I noticed a tiny chunk floating there.It appeared golden, like the Soul Essence of a Golden Core, yet the power I felt from it made me shudder.My Soul was forced back from the pressure it emitted. It was just a tiny fragment, not even bigger than a fingernail, yet just being in its presence was enough to nearly kill me.And unlike the last time when I used the Memory Orb and immediately gained knowledge, this one made me watch a long vision.The meaning was clear. I couldn't bond with this fragment.Why was that? What was it?No mere Soul Essence could do this to me.I moved my Soul further away from it, and the pounding headache somewhat lessened. To be forced to retreat, inside my own mind! What lunacy!I felt equal parts hunger and dread when looking at that tiny speck of gold. But then again, it appeared more golden than gold. More intense than any flame, yet purer than any ice. All while sparkling like a diamond.[Ah, what a pain!]I returned back to the outside world and rubbed my eyes.Just looking at that thing was exhausting.I tried to organize my thoughts. If memory served right, the visions I had were from the last great war that happened somewhere around 10.000 years ago on Neloron, the continent I was at previously.There existed those legends about Demons and Gods fighting in the sky, and the Memory orb contained the records of those times. Of the war. And they were stored in the Phoenix Temple, where I found the Phoenix Necklace that brought me back to life.But… as I understood it, these visions were from the point of view of a God. A real freaking God!What did that guy say his age was again? 12.000 years? What. The. Fuck.I read the records Elder Li had, and the highest Realm any human had currently reached was the Sky Realm, allowing for a millennium or two of lifespan.What kind of monsters were those guys?! And they died to a single strike from one of those Demons?! Are you fucking kidding me?!It took all my mental energy not to freak out.The last 10.000 years were relatively peaceful, allowing this world to recover. However, that was just because all this world's Qi was stolen after the war, if the legends were to be believed.Guess we weren't worth the trouble anymore. Haha…What a depressing thought.There were literally thousands of Elven Gods back then, yet they still lost. And the Elves were better at Cultivation than humans, supposedly.I quietly sighed. The universe was way more dangerous than I thought.But then I suddenly remembered something and threw off my clothes. The black crystal on my chest, expanding as I improved, reminded me of something.[Four hundred years in the Void, killing Soul Eaters…] That's what he said, right? That High Elf, Beliar.Their cores looked suspiciously like the black crystal I used for the first magic, as well as what was growing on my chest. The core of a godlike creature. A creature that ate Souls.That… would explain a lot.A whole lot.My first contact with Qi came from the core of a dead God? And I mixed it with... my blood… and used it to power a teleport that spanned the galaxy?[Haha...]The thought was so funny I just had to laugh.They were researching a way to gain the abilities of those mythical creatures. Somewhat like what the members of the Myriad Beast Sect are doing, merging with wild beasts.Only these guys were doing it for physical abilities like sight, speed, strength, and endurance, not… you know… Soul-eating powers or resurrection through flames.Welp, they did it!They didn't live long enough to see it, but they freaking did it in the end. I am living proof of their success. A God of Flames and a God of Darkness. The accumulation of their greatest achievements in one body. A human body.I wonder what would those High Elves think about it. A human gaining their combined powers and gaining a… Dark Phoenix Body.I grinned stupidly. What a great name. What a fantastic name. It suited me so-[Wait!]I suddenly jumped up in realization. The Soul fragment… the Memory fragment… It was a piece of a Divine Soul! A real Divine Soul! A piece of a dead God! No wonder I couldn't merge with it! No wonder its mere presence was enough to break down my fragile Soul!It was so far away from my grasp, I would instantly die if I tried to eat it.How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Easy.How do you eat a God? You don't! Lest you be smitten by the divine.Cold sweat began forming on my forehead. I had how many of those Memory Orbs? All of them are from the same Phoenix Temple, made by the same God.My heart began beating faster.Was there a way I could slowly siphon that Soul and feed on it? It was just a tiny fragment, yet that fragment alone was worth hundreds of my Souls. Well, maybe I was exaggerating a bit, but my guess couldn't be off the mark by much.Could I absorb it? Not directly, but maybe over time…I stuffed the thought into the back of my mind. There was a time to be greedy and a time to be rational.First I had to fix my broken Soul… again. The headache it was giving me was making thinking difficult.I didn't have any more Soul Essence I could absorb to heal, and no, the Divine Soul Essence was out of the question. I would die before I would even get a taste. It didn't matter how much my Soul desired it, it was not going to happen!I might be reckless sometimes, but I wasn't completely retarded.Stuffing the sphere back into one of my storage pouches, I dressed in my fancy clothes and went outside.With a different face, I didn't have to worry about being recognized, and with the clothing and a badge of a Core Disciple, I could go almost anywhere I wanted.I roamed around the Inner Sect until I found a pill shop that specialized in Cultivation and Souls. I needed something to fix my broken mind. And something to strengthen my Sea of Consciousness if possible. The pressure of the Divine Fragment weighed heavy on my mind."Hello Brother, what can I get you?" A middle-aged Disciple manning the counter greeted.[Hello. Do you have anything that can fix a broken Soul perhaps? And something to strengthen the Sea of Consciousness if possible.]"Ah, problems in Cultivation?"[Something like that.] I answered vaguely. He didn't need to know my entire backstory."I completely understand. Mistakes happen even to the best of us." The man sagely nodded and brought three pill bottles to the counter."Here is the Soul-Reuniting Pill, it should help you mend your Soul. And this, Soul-Strengthening as well as Spirit-Hardening Pill. To prevent future damage."[Perfect, thank you!] I cheerfully said. [How much do I owe?]"The total would come to… 527 SSS, but since it's your first time here, I'll give you a discount. For you, just half a Spirit Stone!" The shopkeeper smiled.[Half-] The words remained stuck in my throat. What the hell were these prices?! [And… Just so I confirm, do these really work for a Nascent Soul Cultivator?]"Of course! Though, depending on the severity of the damage, you might need to take two or three Soul-Reuniting Pills. As for the others, taking them for a week should do the trick. Ah, but only one per day!"[I… see…]Was he fucking nuts?! That was… I did a quick calculation. Around 3-4 Spirit Stones for the pills?! I mean, I had the money, but this was just being wasteful![You know what… Just give me two Soul-Reuniting Pills.]"Ah?" The guy gave me a long, surprised look and then rolled his eyes. "Tsk… Another broke loser…" He murmured under his breath. It wasn't even that quiet. I'm pretty sure he let me hear it on purpose."Here you go." He slammed a bottle with two pills on the counter. "306 SSS, please."[Do I get a-]"No. Now please hurry up, I got other customers."I looked around and saw nobody waiting. This guy was just being a dick for the sake of it. It wasn't my fault his goods were so expensive.I could obviously throw money at him to shut him up, but then he would win. Actually, I wonder if that's the strategy. As far as I know, Cultivators don't like it when others look down on them. They just might retaliate by flaunting their wealth.Yeah, that was probably it…My mind worked as I slowly counted the Stone Shards one by one. Finally, after a few long minutes, it was done. I grabbed the pill bottle and the other guy took the money.I didn't care what he thought about me. I had plenty of cash. Around 30 Spirit Stones after the last meeting with the BS Sect. And I also had six Spirit Swords, each of which was worth at least 100 Spirit Stones. That last one I got from the idiot who drank my blood was probably worth even more. It sure looked more expensive than the rest.As I was already going on a shopping trip, I also entered a store that sold Elemental resistance pills and bought a few that guarded against Lightning. My only weakness. Probably. And, by handing over some of the Evergreen Cherries, I got some cheap Neverwinter Frost Pills in return. Easy!After asking around, I also found a place that focused on Body Cultivation. Some concoctions there supposedly helped strengthen bones and toughen the skin, so I bought those as well. I was getting tired of hurting myself despite focusing on defense so much.The fact that I couldn't protect my body with Golden Qi really made a difference, and I was too strong for my own good.Becoming completely indestructible was probably an empty dream, but I would bring it as close to reality as I could.Having spent way more than I originally planned, I went back home and jumped on the bed. It was evening already, and in the morning I would have to train against the golem again. Probably a stronger one if I knew anything about Master Li.I threw a Soul-Reuniting Pill into my mouth and closed my eyes. The medicinal energies spread through my body and a chill gripped my Soul, slowly mending it together. I exhaled slowly and buried my head into the pillow. It felt really nice, and it was a perfect time to sleep.