Chapter 25: Defying Fate
The night had been long and peaceful—too peaceful. Kage jolted awake as blinding rays of morning sun pierced through the rolled blinds. He winced and turned away.
Moments later, he sat up on the bed. The instant he did...
[The Wolf of the North is glaring at you]
Kage glared back.
"Last I remember, you were glaring at me even in my sleep."
[The Heretic Inquisitor of Eternal Truth smiles somberly, says you are too young to turn to the dark side—he says it is never too late]
"Save your bullshit heresy. I’ll do what I want to do. It was an Impure..."
[The Oathbreaker says it is not about the Impure but the deed itself, and the fact that you do not see this means it is already too late for you]
[The Heretic Inquisitor of Eternal Truth disagrees with him, says it isn’t too late for anybody]
[The Wolf of the North shakes his head, says there are dark deeds that evil people must commit, but those deeds should be left for the truly corrupt—those who have walked through the world’s ugliness and succumbed to a responsibility that even fate cannot resist. He says you are a bright kid who hasn’t even lived fifty years. No one should nurture the seeds of corruption so early]
Kage was so shocked he nearly spaced out.
"Such profound words..."
’To think he was actually wise...’
But he grimaced a second later.
"You’re not wrong. In fact, you’re absolutely right, and that’s exactly why I am where I am—because I have walked through this world’s ugliness and had no choice but to shoulder a responsibility that justified my existence. The world dumped me here: weak, useless, pointless, with no direction and no hope for survival. Do you think a good person can resist such a fate?"
Kage’s frown deepened.
"I might not have lived for five hundred or a thousand years, but the little I have lived doesn’t invalidate the gruesome fate I’ve had to endure. Sovereigns, I see the problem now. You all found yourselves in my soul and perhaps think I can be the right to your wrongs. None of you ever got a second chance, but I did, and you’re thinking my path should be different. But I’m very sorry to disappoint you. I never once regretted how I lived, and if it helps protect the few people I love, I will stoop even lower than I did in my past life.
"I have no moral compass. Right and wrong are only decided by my needs at the moment. With or without your help, I will do what I want to do."
[The Black Phoenix is impressed by your words. They ask if you are willing to break the chains of the Heavens to defy fate]
Kage’s eyes sharpened with resolve.
"What a funny question... I don’t consider myself a bound man."
[The Black Phoenix laughs, calls you arrogant. He points out the horrible state of your body constitution. Says, without a better physical constitution, you cannot properly learn any Severance Art. He reminds you that using a simple form of a mere profound severance art nearly destroyed your hand, and he guarantees that if you dare use three techniques of the first form, you’ll probably die. And yet you claim not to be bound. He laughs again—laughs at the ignorance of a talentless bastard]
Kage looked down briefly, crossing his legs. He chuckled.
"Despite everything you mentioned, I lived a full life and brought down a great clan like this one."
He slapped his hand against his kneecap with a hearty laugh.
"Is that what a bound man can do? If so, then it sure feels good to be bound—tearing down what took over thirty thousand years to build in barely thirty years."
[The Sovereign Gods are silent...]
[The Black Phoenix clears his throat and says, that doesn’t change the fact that you wish to grow, does it?]
Kage smiled.
"It simply means your help will be greatly appreciated, but I’m not stuck without it."
[The Black Phoenix waves dismissively and says whatever. He says to find the Mistral Archipelago]
Kage tilted his head slightly, stunned.
"Huh? The academy is located on the Mistral Archipelago. What am I supposed to do with it?"
[The Black Phoenix frowns briefly, wonders why an academy would be built in that place?]
Kage shrugged.
"Well, after the last Harmony Wars six hundred years ago, the greatest Weaver Houses and Purist Clans joined forces to conquer the Mistral Archipelago. It was the first war where Purists and Weavers fought side by side—that’s why the war itself was coined the Harmony War. The Academy was built on one of the archipelago’s islands."
[The Black Phoenix opens his mouth in awe, says all the Impures there were handpicked by him—the fact that humans could conquer it is intriguing]
Kage winced slightly.
"What? Nothing’s intriguing about it. Millions died. There were far greater losses than in the Purist and Weaver wars combined. But that’s all the more reason why it was such an important milestone in history—it reminded both Purists and Weavers of the sacrifices it took to uphold the Harmony they have today..."
He looked at the floating panel.
"And you handpicked the Impures...?"
[The Black Phoenix nods vibrantly with a wide grin. He says much would have changed in the Mistral Archipelago, but if you are lucky, perhaps you will find it]
Kage frowned.
"Find what?"
[The Black Phoenix frowns as he says, it is a worm—a worm that he truly despises]
Kage’s brows furrowed in anger at the absurdity of what he’d just heard.
"You want me to search an entire cluster of islands for a worm?"
[The Black Phoenix nods vibrantly with a wide smile]
"What?"