The moon hung high above the training grounds of the palace in Huan-Yue, casting its pale glow across the stone courtyard where Kaolin stood beneath the vast heavens. The night air was quiet, broken only by the hiss of wind through the ornamental pine trees that enclosed the temple walls. Beads of cold sweat traced down his brow, glistening across his shoulders as he stood within a scorched circle, the ground blackened by the violent outbursts of unstable qi.
Once more, he lifted his hands, fingers twisting through the intricate formations of the Demonic and Forbidden Arts he once mastered. Yet now, each gesture betrayed him and sent waves of pain tearing through his insides, as though a thousand unseen daggers pierced his flesh with every seal he dared to summon.
His body trembled as he forced those dark powers to come forth from the depths of his core, but as the formation took shape, the celestial core within him, forged at the Lingjiang River, violently rejected this command, and a blinding light burst from his core, lancing through his veins like lightning within seconds.
Kaolin lurched forwards as blood spattered from his mouth in a crimson arc, then crashed to one knee, his sword thrust into the stone as his only pillar against the collapse. He panted, his long hair plastered to his sweaty forehead, blood soaking into the stone beneath him. But instead of giving up, he glared upwards, beyond Huan-Yue, beyond the shroud of night, and towards the veiled heavens where the ancient Gods and Goddesses lingered, seven layers above the welkin.
"You think this is enough to stop me?" he roared. "Strip me of my cultivation! Take the power I honed over a thousand years if you will, but you cannot steal my will! My fate is mine alone to wield! Do you hear me? I fear neither the repercussions nor what is to come! I, Kaolin of the Korran Clan, will not be part of your wicked schemes! Not now! Not ever…"
Blood dripped from the corners of his mouth as he sprang to his feet, the sword quivering with lingering power. He moved again, faster and more precise, the formations now establishing in a furious surge, his hands a blur as several glyphs with dark energy rose into the air one after another. The dark powers clashed violently with his celestial core, but this time, instead of outright rejection, something else happened.
Pain seared through him, the deep and wrenching kind of pain, but the celestial energy no longer shattered the Demonic and Forbidden Arts, no longer resisted or hindered them as they began to take form. The dark formations rose unbroken, their glyphs lingering in the air with the power of the Forbidden Arts despite the pain within, bending to his will at last in harmony with his celestial core, even if only for a few seconds, before it once again fought back and rejected his commands.
He doubled over, blood spattering the stone once more, yet he smiled through the agony. He understood, finally: the path forwards would not be one of peace, but of violence and sheer will. The Demonic Arts, the celestial force, and the Forbidden Arts, three beasts locked within a single body, would tear at one another until they merged into one. Until that day, he would endure and keep pushing, forcing the three vastly different powers to share his core one way or the other, until their clashing wills fused into a single energy he alone could command.
At that moment, a shadow slipped forwards, one he hadn't noticed until the very last second.
"Are you trying to kill yourself, or are you just too stubborn beyond redemption?" Zhenhai stepped into the glow of the training lanterns, arms folded as he observed Kaolin's bloodied frame with a concerned look on his face.
"Kill myself?" he said, turning to face the Immortal. "You think the ones you pray to would let me off that easily?"
As they locked eyes at last, Zhenhai furrowed his brows, then blinked in shock. Something in Kaolin's core had shifted; a strange blend of energies rose from his chest, energies he had never imagined could coexist. Even the very air seemed to pulse and vibrate with this unprecedented harmony. Taken aback, Zhenhai stepped closer, his eyes widening.
"Wait, you mean to say—you did it? You found a way for your celestial core to… live in harmony with the others?"
"Not entirely," he replied before shifting the conversation to the real reason Zhenhai had sought him in the middle of the night when he wasn't supposed to. "Why are you here, Your Highness?"
"As you know, our allies have turned against us and joined hands with the Demons. Only the Tuos of Yueluo Gu remain loyal, under the command of Taohua. I want you to seek him… and ask for his aid."
Kaolin chuckled bitterly, wiping blood from his chin with the back of his hand. "You ask me to seek Taohua? I haven't seen that guy in over thirty thousand years, if not more. Perhaps he believes me to be long dead, another forgotten name in a world bound to suffer. You think he has time to remember someone like me?"
Zhenhai's voice softened. "He remembers you. Fondly. I've lied to him all these years, told him you vanished, that you had faded. But he kept searching, Kaolin. Despite the odds, he kept looking for you. I think it's time you face him. But… if you cannot do this, I won't force you."
Silence settled between them, the weight of time and memory hanging in the air, a suffocating kind of silence. Kaolin's mind drifted to distant days, when he and Taohua had walked side by side across vast lands in search of the three Divine Artefacts. It didn't come as a surprise to him that the commander was now the head of his clan. Not only was Taohua a brave warrior, but also a wise cultivator, and thus, who else was better fit than the commander to take on the role of leader?
He closed his eyes. "Very well," he said at last. "I'll see what I can do."