Standing upon the mountain's peak, Vera's eyes met the sun. The mountain's elevation made Vera feel like he stood face to face with the sun.
A deep void lingered in his gut. It didn't urge for action or necessity; it was simply there.
As Sword Dog rested, its weary head against his lap, Vera admired the beauty of the peak.
But soon, the scenery was obscured by... a goat?
The goat carried a thick, woolly, snow-like coat. Its hooves were encased by layers of snow.
Vera was perplexed by the sight. Goats are known for being great climbers. But this...
Vera's head shifted to its side as he inspected the goat. Its calm aura unnerved him.
Vera scratched his stubble, trying to put things together. His stomach was rumbling as he gathered his thoughts.
"The goat would be wasted on a stew..." Saliva dripped down his chin as he spoke.
The goat instinctively took a step back. The snow that encased its hooves split open as it retreated.
"You... insolent challenger!" Its voice resounded. Nothing like the bleating of an unsuspecting goat.
Vera stumbled back as the goat's words reached him.
"You can speak?" Vera's eyes burst open. The climb's fatigue escaped his body.
Vera's insolence flung the goat into a rage; veins throbbed through its woolly coat. A murderous rage seeped through its body, not qi, just intent.
Cold sweats beaded through Vera's body; his breaths turned rugged. His heart started to beat through his chest.
Am I going to die?
The thought repeated over and over, a thought that he hadn't felt since his encounter with Vast Heavens.
The goat stared into Vera's eyes. Its murderous intent was countered by rationale.
"I must calm down... I'm not allowed to kill challengers." The goat repeated the words like a mantra.
The chanting calmed the goat; its bulging veins retreated into its skin.
"Challenger, I will allow this momentary slight of yours to pass." Its calm aura returned, soothing Vera's condition immediately.
"Challenger?..." Vera asked timidly. His throbbing heart slowly returning to pace.
"Yes, aren't you a challenger?" The goat spoke as it walked to Vera. Tufts of snow broke open as it started to move.
"Are you the guardian?"
"Yes."
"But the guardian is the Baize, not a goat," Vera responded. Perhaps the fatigue of the climb didn't truly leave him. His mind was clearly not functioning.
The goat's face split into a murderous grimace, soon warping back to serenity.
"Well, I can't kill challengers. But I can make their life hard."
Vera heard a silent whistle. The sound of pebbles falling from the peak grabbed his attention.
"What—" Vera tried to speak, but all of a sudden the goat wasn't within eyeshot. For that matter, the sight of the rising sun was also missing.
The sound of a boulder falling to earth ripped through the wind. The mountain's edge turned to a grey blur.
***
The mountain's biting cold was replaced by a comforting August breeze.
A warm and moist sensation nudged against Vera's face. Panicked whimpers permeated through the room.
Vera's eyes fluttered open.
A dim blue light illuminated a dome ceiling. Faint murals graced the mansion's off-white walls.
"Buddy, what happened?" Vera spoke as he looked at Sword Dog. A faint confusion was entangled in his voice.
Sword Dog barked at Vera trying to explain the situation. However, Vera couldn't decipher what Sword Dog was trying to tell him.
Hooves pattered against the mansion's marble floor. The Baize walked up to Vera.
"Have you finally woken up?" It spoke as it looked into Vera's eyes.
Memories of what happened at the peak flooded into Vera's mind. But even with firsthand experience, Vera's functional stupidity took over.
"You're the goat—"
Thankfully, Sword Dog's paw held Vera's mouth shut before he almost got them killed again.
"That's quite the qi construct you've got there. Well, I don't know if 'qi construct' is a fitting name for it any longer." The Baize spoke as its eyes glided over Sword Dog.
Vera's head spun. To the extent of wanting to go back to sleep over dealing with this.
But Sword Dog's warmth kept him grounded. Slowly but surely, Vera parsed through all his memories; a clear account of his current predicament came to mind.
Vera carefully removed Sword Dog's paw from his mouth.
"I apologise for my past disrespectful behaviour. I hope the Divine Sage is willing to forgive me." Vera bowed down as he addressed the Baize.
"Hmm... Well, I can let it pass. After all, your current condition is partly related to me." The Baize turned away from Vera, walking deeper into the mansion.
"Follow me."
Vera stood up quietly, following the Baize.
Sword Dog's paws pattered across the floor as it kept pace with Vera. The past inorganic nature of its steps was long gone.
Pillars arched under the mansion's spherical glass ceilings; its dim blue lamps coalesced with the light of dusk.
The pathway stretched into a dot, through which a feeble light shone.
The pathway felt eerily similar to the mountain's edge. Its elegant design was repeated over and over again. The occasional desk and bookshelf graced the mansion's walls.
"It's one of my abilities," the Baize remarked as it continued to walk.
"It's called the immortal's painting. The ability allows me to anchor set spaces to any object."
Vera's steps stilled for a moment, soon regaining their pace.
"Was the mountain your doing?" Vera asked. His tone stood calm, with no trace of resentment in it.
"Yes. It was your trial."
"Was the goal enlightenment?"
"Enlightenment is a misnomer. It has always been realisation. The test would've lost its purpose if you knew it was a test."
"How did you know I was a challenger?"
"I didn't."
Vera's face sported a dumbfounded expression for a moment, soon returning to its flat expression.
Are all immortals eccentrics?
"Don't act like you're any better than me. Which sane person talks to their own qi for over a month?" The Baize shot back at Vera. As though it could read his mind.
"..."
"Is reading minds one of your abilities as well?" Vera asked meekly.
"No. I just guessed. The same way I guessed you were a challenger."
"..."
The dim light in the hallway grew closer.
"By the way, have I passed your trial yet?"
"Yes."
"Where are we going then?"
"My observatorium. Seeing that you are capable, I have an offer for you. Unrelated to my approval, you already have that."
"May I ask what the conditions are?"
"Wait. We are almost there."
The feeble dot in the distance grew to the size of the pathway. The patter of their steps against the marble floors stopped echoing through the painting.
At the end of the light stood a vast ocean. Plates of ice were rooted across the shore; waves that encroached its perimeter froze in place.
The sight left Vera shaken. He had seen sights that were beyond the world before. But, this...
Millions of tonnes of seawater froze in what could only be described as an instant.
His eyes shot wide open. His jaw was left hanging.
With the part of his mind that wasn't trying to comprehend what he was seeing, Vera spoke.
"Where are we right now?..."
"This is the northern edge of the Demon Continent."
"But, that isn't possible. Only void should follow the northern edge." Vera's legs shook as he spoke.
"Challenger... What man can't explain, he leaves to the immortals. Those who traversed to the edges never lived to tell the tale."
"Then how... How are we alive right now?" Vera's voice trembled like that of a child. Sword Dog nuzzled against his leg, barely holding him in place.
"The Immortal's Painting. By transfixing the atmosphere, we have managed not to die."
Vera's head swivelled to the path behind him. Elegant murals were nowhere to be seen.
There stood only an empty void. The light shone on the land behind him, but that was all there was.
Not a single thing moved. The very atmosphere froze into shards of glass.
Vera's hand moved on its own. He tried to reach what stood behind the immortal's painting.
"Don't. You will die, challenger."
Vera grabbed onto his own arm, pulling it back into the painting.
Deep tremors ran through Vera's body. His legs turned to lead. Vera crumbled into the ground.
The Baize paid Vera no mind; its eyes stood latched onto the Chaotic Sea before him.
"I don't know why the edge of our world is like this. It's almost like something beyond wants to hide the line that splits this plane in half from mortal and immortal alike."
"But its methods are insufficient. For but a moment, the waves encroach on the boundary, each pushing the other forward." A low vibration ran through the air. Golden trails emerged over the Baize's coat.
"After a thousand years of waiting, the waves of the other half have come close enough for me to sense." The sound in the air grew shriller at each passing moment. The Baize's horns grew skyward. The murals on the mansion walls apparated over the Baize's horns.
"In all its cold, the edge has preserved life; life close enough for me to reach." The ever-blunt Baize showed emotion. Excitement became apparent through its voice.
Sword Dog's body froze. It once nuzzled into Vera to comfort him; now it curled into his body, seeking comfort.
The once static air now roared uncontrollably.
"While I transfix the atmosphere, you will retrieve the frozen wave. In return for this, I will guide you to the third stage and fulfil the immense void of qi within you."
Thunder emerged through the Baize's horns; its raw ferocity was tamed by his divine presence.
Vera's body shook uncontrollably.
His skin grew pale, and his eyes lost focus.
An immortal was unveiling their true form.
"Tell me, challenger, do you accept my trial?"
The world shook. Air split into void. Light contorted into cracks.
The excitement of an immortal was far too much for the mortal world, let alone a mortal, to bear.
The dystopian painting birthed a symphony, under which Vera's mind failed.