Rivers of dust rode upon the currents of the void. Their travel was fated.
Dust far beyond what the eye could see, far beyond what mankind could ever count. In the abyssal space, where nothing but the cloud moved, time slipped by the gap in Vera's fingers.
His lower dantian pulsed as he observed the flow of the particles.
His eyes glazed over; the monotony of the scenery was numbing.
"Why are they moving?"
The bandaged man pressed his finger against Vera's lips. "Keep watching. You will understand."
The clouds of dust continued to flow toward its centre. Their monolithic streams were intertwining as they grew closer.
Trillions over trillions of particles struck each other; their unperturbed flows turned chaotic. The intertwining rivers took one direction, their paths meeting at the middle ground.
Their momentum slowed; a dull red shimmer coated the flow's surface. The pulsing of Vera's dantian grew in frequency.
A line of qi seeped through the tip of his fingers. A restrained quiver permeated his flesh as he observed the qi.
His eyes never left it. The clouds' travel, taking on the role of an hourglass.
It's really just that simple.
The line of his qi kept moving. Unrestrained by the world around it…
It has no reason to stop.
But just then he noticed something. Unlike his own energy, despite their path, the clouds of dust kept leaning into the centre.
Before he could open his mouth to ask another question, the bandaged man held his mouth shut.
"Sugar bottles aren't cheap. Just keep watching."
Much like each tendril of particles, the cloud's core had its own path. As the epicentre travelled through space, the thick lines of particles followed it.
Vera's gaze parsed through the particles, not just at the epicentre but even in the streams. For the most part, each piece of dust was fine and uniform, but in its midst, there were clumps of particles.
Much like the cloud's core, to a smaller extent…
It's as though they are clumping toward the dense groups.
Unlike the cloud's path, while simple in observation, the logic was esoteric. The bandaged man looked at Vera with a subtle smile.
"Don't worry too much about that. For now at least, it isn't important to you." His hand stretched out to the cloud of gas.
The sound of rubber being pulled apart permeated the void as he gripped the fabric of space.
"You've understood all you need to from this stage. Since we're short on time, let's move on."
Thick ropes of abyss curled into the centre as the masked man twisted his hand.
Dull red shimmers hurtled toward the centre at speeds far beyond what Vera saw earlier. The cloud clumped up at the centre, birthing a dense red sphere that consumed the cloud in its entirety.
The bandaged man let go of the space as the centre took on a stable form. "A protostar. This should be the right place."
Perspiration clumped around Vera's body, freezing into thin shards that drifted away.
His eyes widened at the scene; he stared at the man by his side in surprise.
The bandaged man barely held his laughter back while pointing at the protostar. "I know we're pretty amazing. But that big red ball is far better."
Knowing that he was out of sugar bottles Vera kept quiet, lest he get smacked with a real bottle.
The massive red sphere wasn't the only thing that had changed in the time that passed. The rate at which the clouds collapsed toward the centre had reduced, almost reaching a full stop. And other than that…
What the fuck is that?!
Massive jets of smouldering particles shot out from the poles of the star. The almost halted clouds of dust formed a dense shroud around the protostar.
At the very edge of the shroud, where the particles were at the peak of their density, their dull shimmers turned to rampant bright lights.
The scene reminded Vera of Aspartese's lecture. The night when Aspartese displayed a path to the Compression Law.
The dense, circle of…
Unstable energy.
He recalled how Aspartese's qi slammed into each other violently. The sheer speed and heat that built up in the qi caused it to glow.
As the energy kept rising, the Ten Element cycle shattered, dispersing into a scant shimmer in the night sky.
Much like that night, the particles at the underbelly of the shroud shone violently. The superheated particles lost their path to the protostar; rather, their path to the protostar was overwhelmed.
The shroud of dust thinned as the unstable particles hurtled toward the tips of the protostar. Caught by the spin of the core, they spiralled into its poles; their red hue touched the border of gold.
And just as they gathered enough speed…
The mysterious force at the tips of the core is the cause.
But the protostar hadn't stilled just yet. Even though the clouds no longer fell into it…
It's getting hotter.
The monolithic core was shrinking. For every degree smaller that it became, the heat it exuded increased.
Moment by moment, the dull red of the core grew in luminosity. The shroud of dust expanded outward, escaping the core's embrace.
The core is becoming denser. Why is the shroud being pushed away?
While the fountains of nebulous energy dispersed the cloud, that alone wasn't enough to do this.
As Vera continued to stare at the expanding shroud, a stray ray of light struck his eyes. He hurriedly turned away from the protostar, covering his eyes.
But he realised…
It doesn't hurt.
Wait!
He turned back to face the shroud. His gaze drifted across its vast expanse; bright rays of light cut through the holes in the shroud.
Could it be?
The now-thin veil of dust bore a low heat, its embrace parting as light escaped its cover.
Is the light pushing it away?
The bandaged man clapped slowly. He blew at the cloud of dust; with a single breath, all the dust dispersed into the void, revealing a bright red star.
"A collection of things that are light pushed it away. But that doesn't matter now."
He swung his arm from the left to the right as though he were unveiling the finale.
"Congratulations to me. We just witnessed the birth of a star. I'm ready to take questions now."
Vera's head recoiled backward at this revelation.
Wasn't it just that protostar thing until now?
Other than the disappearance of the shroud and the fountain at its pole, nothing had changed within the core.
The bandaged man nodded silently as he reached out to the star. He looked toward Vera with an approving gaze.
"Good question, young man! To see what has changed, you must see!"
The imperious star shrunk to the size of a marble as he reached out to it. With ease, he pinched at it, separating a single particle from the star.
His left hand parsed through the thick folds of his hair, from which he plucked out a particle of dust from the dispersed cloud.
He held both of the particles to his eyes, a wide smile plastered to his face.
"Do you see what I see, young friend?"
Vera leant forward, staring at both particles. He strained his eyes as he tried to pick out every difference in the two particles.
But no matter how much he looked…
It looks exactly the same.
Just then a gruff sigh sounded in the space. The bandaged man frowned at Vera.
"What kind of martial artist only looks with his eyes? Hold your palms out, you whippersnapper!"
The bandaged man extended his arms out to Vera, both particles nestled between his fingers.
Trying not to irritate him any further, Vera held out his palms obediently.
A dull plop sounded as the man dropped the particles over Vera's palms. What was once just a fine piece of dust grew to the size of a doorknob as it fell into his hands.
Without further ado, Vera let his qi out, wrapping it around the surface of the particles.
The hand with which he held the particle from the star strained more than the other.
It's heavier?
Even though they were of similar sizes, one was heavier than the other. Vera's breath hitched as he realised.
It has been compressed.
Through the tendrils of his qi that wrapped around the particles, he found that the compressed particle carried more energy as well.
This isn't something that could happen just by jamming two particles into each other.
Just like how Ten Element Cycles couldn't increase in grade by crowding them together. The change Vera observed was qualitative.
Was it just the sheer density of the core that caused this? If the method was so simple, why doesn't everyone do it?
A familiar tutting reached Vera's ears; the bandaged man shook his head dismissively.
"The method is pretty simple, but those commoners could never do it, at the start at least."
The particles in Vera's hands dispersed into thin air. The pulsing from his lower dantian crawled to his chest. A single rope of qi budded at the tip of his middle dantian.
"Why can I do it then?"
The man looked back at Vera with a coy smile.
"You want me to praise you, don't you? Fine, I'll play along."
He cupped Vera's cheeks with his hands; his words trailed exaggeratedly.
"Oh, you divine boy. You're blessed with so much qi. Those commoners could never form a cloud of qi like yours at the same rank."
The image of the void started to break away. The shining stars in the expanse turned dim, soon fading into black.
His hands, cupping Vera's cheeks, began dispersing into shards of light. He stood up and started walking away from Vera.
"Now that you know everything you need to, it should be opening up. Fortify yourself and let's live a bit longer."
It was just as the man said. The budding qi over Vera's middle dantian had climbed up to the centre of his head, wrapping itself around his upper dantian.
The Right had been imparted. Words of wisdom echoed in his head. He looked toward the man's fragmenting body one last time.
Having been in his mind this whole time, he could've only seen things he already knew. But this…
Vera reached out to him, but he was unable to speak. A thick carapace of metal held his mouth shut.
He smirked back at Vera.
"You're slow on the uptake. Are you really me?"
The space Vera sat in collapsed; the sensation of his limbs returned. Only one thing echoed in his ears.
—Manifestations are the reflection of the soul.
—Manipulation is the intertwining of soul and earth.
—Law… is the link between soul and heaven.
***
The smell of moist air replaced the sterile scent of the void.
Almost a week had passed since the coalition camp was vanquished by the sixth branch of the Blade Master Sect.
Despite the praise of the people, the branch members bore sombre expressions.
All those who knew him stood side by side, their heads lowered to a pit in the ground. The low rumbling of thunder mirrored the state of their hearts.
Aspartese knelt on the ground, his thick arms held Sword Dog in place, stopping him from running over to Vera's corpse. His shrill cries echoed in Aspartese's ears.
Chang-yu stood by their side. She embraced the inconsolable Chun, his head buried into her stomach.
Stifled sniffles filled the air; tears and mucus stained Chang-yu's black robes.
The heavens wept, drowning the forest in rain. Zhuge Jin walked over to Aspartese; he leant down and slipped his arm across Sword Dog's body.
"No one else can do it. I know it's hard, but someone who knew him must speak. Help him rest in peace."
Aspartese let go of Sword Dog; he turned to Jin, offering a dull nod as thanks. Low thuds sounded as he walked over to Vera's body.
Unable to meet the sect disciples' eyes, his gaze was firmly planted on the ground. His rough finger ran through his hair, wringing the water out of it.
"It's raining so heavily. Even the heavens understand how unfair this is."
The once resolute tempo of his voice broke.
"Never did I think this day would come. Nor did I believe I would be the cause of it."
Deep creases ran over the skin around his eyes; his fingers clenched his robe tightly.
"No matter what. I promise to take care of those you've left behind—"
At that very moment, Aspartese flew into a rage. He turned backward, eyes full of anger. His voice thundered through the forest.
"WHO DARES TO USE LAW IN SUCH AN OCCASION!"
His voice permeated the forest; myriad animals scurried away from the cover of trees… But there was no response to his question.
Lin-yu cautiously pointed at the pit in which Vera's body was lowered. "Branch master… the energy is coming from the grave…?"
Aspartese turned to look into the pit, the rage still ingrained in his expression. "What nonsense! How could he use Law? He is already…"
Aspartese's words trailed off; his eyes widened as he stared at the carapace that enveloped Vera's body.
"Breakthrough…?"
A wave of murmurs ran through the funeral attendees. But even that sound was overshadowed by the rampant booms of thunder.
Aspartese leapt backwards; his arms were spread out wide. "GET BEHIND ME!"
A thick barrier of qi flooded the air, tightly wrapping itself around the sect members. Sharp screeches filled the air; its source being the very pit Vera was buried in.
His body, smothered with mud, shook violently. A stream of extremely dense qi scorched his meridians; soon it lined every part of him.
A vibrant pillar of thunder hurtled down from the sky, crashing into his grave. Its descent lasting for multiple breaths, turning the metallic carapace over his body red-hot.
Tremors shook the earth violently. Boulders embedded deep in the ground burst open from the sheer pressure.
The wind roared as it blew through the forest, parting dense canopies of leaves. Aspartese's teeth gnashed against each other, the sound of their grinding overwhelmed by the thunder.
As the breaths passed, the thunder's descent came to an end.
Quiet rustles escaped the pit; tufts of mud fell from its corners. A pair of hands grabbed onto its edges; in a moment's time, a head peeked out.
The head was none other than the late Vera's. His cheeks sunken into his jaw, he stared at all his peers. And his peers stared back at him with pure horror.
Vera scratched the back of his head, his chest pressed against his hands as he leant over; he was at a loss for words. Thankfully, having not eaten in over a week, his body took care of awkward silence.
The first sound he made after he rose from the 'dead' was that of a rumbling stomach.