Chapter 61: The Perspective Of Solaris (2)

There was something Hyuk had told me in the midst of our training. When speaking about Taoists.

"You have a knack for the Tao." He started off while Lumina slept from the tiredness after training a lot.

Her body comfortably took up an entire sofa…

I'd wished she'd have more modesty at the time. It had been embarrassing to see her act like that in front of others. Regardless, our instructor was only focused on me. As if he had a lot to say to me.

"You'd said that before… but is it worth becoming a Taoist?" The decision was hard for me to make.

Although following the Tao gave more Internal Qi reserves, he said they usually weren't fighters.

What was the point, then…?

Daoists might have lower reserves, but they could at least flawlessly use their powers in combat.

Their growth also wasn't stunted by lacking desire.

"That's up to you." Hyuk put leaned his back against the wall. His sword still held in his hand.

I found the heaviness of the Earthfire Broadsword to be weighing me down. It was hard to wield…

Even though I chose this weapon as my personal arm, it didn't seem that usable in an actual fight.

The blade was imbalanced in my hands. The spine was too long. Around the exact height of my body.

This made it so the blade part would be heavy enough to weigh on my fingers when held upright.

Which was nothing like Lumina's longsword.

How was a person supposed to fight with this…?

With the blade like this, each slash had greater power than usual. The heaviness bolstering might.

The blade didn't seem usable…

It made the each slash 'swing' me rather than the other way around. Throwing me whenever it went.

"You're not recommending Taoism…?" Rather than thinking too deeply about it, I continued our talk.

"I can only say that nice guys practice the Tao, and that greedy people want to achieve the Dao. The latter end up doing whatever they can to grow stronger. Even if that means disregarding others."

"So you ARE recommending the Tao for me…"

"Is that what my words sound like?"

"…Did you have another interpretation?"

"I'm just saying you seem to like piece and quiet."

"Oh…" It started to hit me. He'd been talking about 'greedy Daoists', but didn't say they were evil.

It likely had to do with circumstances in his realm…

"There's only one thing you need to remember." He lifted a finger and started to make a stern look.

Then continued while sheathing his sword with the other hand: "Mind your inherent naivety."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"If even innocent kids can get into fights, then it's obvious adults can too. Just because you want peace, doesn't mean other do as well." This was an obvious fact, but it also made my brow raise at him.

"Then why did you become a Taoist?"

"Base desires are different from the world around you. As long as there is a will, there is a way."

"Then I have nothing to worry about regardless." A smile appeared on my face while propping myself up with the blade. There seemed to be an understanding between us about that mindset.

Positivity could get you through a lot of things.

However, Hyuk still shook his head:

"Someone prepared to face a harsh world can adapt, but those who aren't tend to 'twist' instead."

"Twist…?"

"There's a cool saying about Taoism: 'Beware the monk that lost his peace, not the adept Arhat'."

"Sounds difficult…"

"It's easy to understand. If you ever become a Taoist and lose your three treasures, be sure to do everything you can to stay sane. If not, not even the greatest medicines in the world can save you."

"Is this from experience…?" When I asked that, he merely gave a smiled. Not a definitive answer.

Not that I even needed to hear it.

"Make sure you don't forget what you're fighting for. Sometimes, not fighting is a better option…" I couldn't figure out what he meant by this at the time. Even now, I only understood this 'craziness'.

It was through experiencing loss myself that I understood exactly where he was coming from.

Keeping sane wasn't easy…

My Yang Qi felt like it was on fire. Like not only my blood, but even my soul had been ignited by rage.

But the most crucial difference was enlightenment.

I'd severed away my ideals and desires. I let the rage flow through me freely, and kept my desires.

There was no role I wanted to fill anymore.

No search for meaning in my existence.

The only thing I wanted was in the present, and that was to destroy the person who killed 'her'.

The one who had filled my lonely heart. The one who embodied emptiness, but fuller than most.

Call her imaginary and call her a fake, but I'll never forgive for making light of what she meant to me.

The rage allowed me to barrel through my limits and gain an E Rank Qi Centre. My 'Supreme Sky Black Body Combustion' was complete, which allowed me to cover my body in scorching Yang Qi.

And one thing even more crucial happened…

The burning of my vital essences created an inferno that refined my broadsword with the 'Tao'.

A corrupted Taoism which had lost its purpose.

The 'Tao Weapon' was like Lumina's longsword. It was just a bit more intense when it came to heat.

After all, my reserves were far stronger than what she had in life. Moreover, I was using up vitality. 

My sword aimed for the half transparent figure…

[Red Rabbit: "Adam, please stop being immature."]

Even though I slashed towards her after lunging into the air, she was able to float away from me.

'Establish the Movement and Median Zone.' An invisible barrier I imagined caught her within its boundaries. My eyes were unblinking, taking in her position information and rotating my entire body.

Since their was no floor under me, it was easy to use the momentum of the downward swing to rotate the blade a full turn. This let me throw out another downward slash… and another… and…

[Red Rabbit: "Maybe you can destroy this virtual image, but beating me is still too early for you."]

The glowing woman allowed her body to descend to the ground. This limited my blade's movement.

I had no choice but to wield my sword 'normally'.

When my feet struck the floor, I switched from downward slashes to swinging from side to side.

The blood red flames infused into the long spine…

…but I couldn't get her to seriously fight me.

She didn't dodge me. Staying in place as my large blade clanged against her more thinner chokutō.

[Red Rabbit: "You haven't learnt a thing from Simon, have you? Is it enough to hit your target?"]

Although she wasn't wrong, I felt overcome with rage and accidentally did a move I shouldn't have.

It was another downward swing…

The blade hit the ground after being parried to one side, and she placed Divinity Striker before me.

My neck was uncontrollably being thrown into her weapon by the momentum. A look of ease on her face while watching me trip over myself in anger. I felt ashamed for having fallen for such a trick…

She had identified the weakness of my 'Zone'.

Though I could calculate her movements and act accordingly, there was a giant blindspot I had.

Though my radius of strikes had increased thanks to the broadsword, my swings needed bigger motions. This, in turn, had caused a massive 'hole' in my defences. This sword style was incomplete.

But I still had some options left.

The flames on my scorched black body intensified at that moment, and I followed through differently.

Rather than trying to recover by picking the spine of the sword up again, I lifted the handle instead.

The hand guard slammed her blade away, and I had learnt my lesson. 'Stance' and 'Footwork' was only the basics. If I wanted to use a good strategy, I needed to do more than try hitting her body.

I also needed a 'Style' to bring them together.

Like a signature that opened up possibilities…

Since my hands didn't have to worry about holding the blade's spine, I used it to shorten my reach.

This was the Half-Sword style Hyuk taught me.

The radius of my slashes had altered, and the rage in my heart was expressed by a murderous rhythm.

[Red Rabbit: "Stop making me feel bad… You're making me out like I'm the bad guy like this."]

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Our swords clashed together, but she still only used one arm to deflect my attacks with ease.

Alone, I knew I was outmatched…

It was at that moment the 'children' who shared my pain threw the Coldsteel Longsword towards her.

Their actions gave me hope.

Red Rabbit finally stumbled, and an adrenaline pumped through my veins after seeing that opportunity. My rationality no longer played a part anymore when seeing a weakness in her defence.

The spawns lengthened their necks like giraffes using their metamorphic ability, then tried chomping at her. Though they couldn't hurt her, it looked like she held a disgust towards those faces.

Their masks had fallen off, but the faces underneath no longer resembled that of humans.

The scales and serpentine features became more distinct… until they had half transformed into snakes. The only horrifying part was that only the neck upwards had this transformation, while the rest looked like an animalistic version of a human.

I felt a kinship with this hatred they displayed…

Yes… We have to get revenge. We can't allow her to live… when Lumina died in such a tragic way.

'WE' HAVE TO KILL HER!

Perhaps thanks to the transformation of my mindset, but a light erupted from all our bodies.

I could feel a 'bond' was made between us.

Whatever this power awakening within our bodies may be, it didn't matter to us. We had to kill…!

"Mama…! mAma! MmMaAaAaMMAa-!" The voices started to meld together in an eruption of emotion.

For the first time, Red Rabbit seemed on guard.

Her whole body was thrown back when we morphed into a light that burned hotter than the sun itself. No fire could compare to this intense heat that tore through space, time, and reality…

The Divinity Striker, despite housing several divine powers, was barely holding on from the strength!

[Red Rabbit: "What is this demonisation…?"]

Our flames had unified into a beam that cut right through her half transparent image with force.

All techniques had been thrown away for this moment. 'We' became animalistic and driven.

A good chunk of the red screen she displayed messages through was torn in the second charge.

There was nothing that could stop us!

Maybe the rage of one wasn't enough, then how about the rage of a collective group of avengers?

Even a 'God' would have to bow before this power!

We will win this!!! We- *Swish*

[Red Rabbit: "…How vainglorious."]

Her blade passed through us like a breeze…

The next thing we knew, our bodies had been sliced to shreds. I could feel their cries intimately.

My heart sank to the bottom of the ocean…

The flames were turned into embers, which were then 'sliced' out of reality. Like stars in the night.

The 'children'… had vanished…

I could no longer hear their voices anymore. No cries. No pain. Hate. Nothing. It was all silent now.

I was completely alone…

The solitude hit harder when the realisation hit that I'd lost sight of things. Lumina's request… I… I…

What have I done?

My body hit face first into the concrete. The hard ground felt like a hammer being hit into my face.

The momentum dragged the skin off my lips…

Dust had entered my eyes, and rocks pierced into my skin. Then… the last of the flames erased it all.

He wondered where it all went wrong…

Should they have not been born in the first place?

If not, why did it eventually come to this? Were they not born to live a fuller life than Adam could?

What was the 'fullness' in this experience? 

"Kill me…" The flames that had once made me shine brightly had vanished. Only burns were left.

The immortality that I'd been blessed with could've possibly brought me back to health, but it wasn't working anymore… Perhaps thanks to overexerting the power to the absolute limit, it'd broken down.

Or perhaps it was because… there was nothing left for me to live for. How funny. Did I only regret now?

If I hadn't made a mistake in the first place, would I be regretting? Would 'they' have paid for my sins?

Regardless, the cruel woman denied me my end.

The only thing that could possibly bring me peace was deprived from me, and for what reason?

[Red Rabbit: "You can't die like this. If you manage it, then Gaia would blame me. It isn't my fault."]

I didn't have the strength to move anymore, but it seemed like a supernatural force patched me up.

This was… that 'Divinity' she had been talking about? The one that Gaia supposedly gave me?

Why I only sensed it after using up all my vitality was beyond me. My eyes looked on tiredly.

Since I couldn't move, the half transparent figure positioned herself in front of me. She smiled…

…with a look that seemed a little embarrassed.

[Red Rabbit: "Seriously, that was a reflex. I don't know what skill that was, but it was interesting."]

[Red Rabbit: "I mean, who would've expected you'd bring kids into this? Wasn't that a cruel move? And how did your attack reach me? Ah… I have so many questions, but I have enough tact to shut up now."]

"…" I merely gave the woman a blank look.

No expression, nor reply….

She wouldn't have been able to make sense of my face anyway. It had already turned unrecognisable.

[Red Rabbit: "You attacked me first. Honestly, I'm sorry for your loss. I'll apologise to Gaia myself."]

"Why… apologise… to her?" My voice had turned hoarse. I couldn't figure out what she meant.

Why would she apologise to Gaia, but not to me?

[Red Rabbit: "You're just an avatar. I'm really sorry that I messed up your settings… and ruined the hard work my brother put into you. I'll be leaving now. Don't worry. I'll go to her and tell her myself."]

She started to fade away, I knew that if I was even a second late, she would've completely vanished.

"You… have forgotten something."

[Red Rabbit: "Which is?"]

She turned to look at my face closely, and I spoke what I knew would be my last words in this world:

"Bitch… My name is Solaris!" This was my last declaration. One that confused her momentarily.

It was then a star-like cross shone in the figure's eyes, and she seemingly gasped as if in realisation.

[Red Rabbit: "You're a split consciousness. Adam used that Skill to make you and that girl earlier…?"]

This enlightenment was followed by great joy.

[Red Rabbit: "That means if I kill you now, the Skill should end… then Adam would return as well."]

 [Red Rabbit: "The best part is… both he and no one else will know I made a mistake like this!"]

My eyes closed at that moment she'd come to a decision. Her intentions to kill manifested…

Even with my eyes closed, I could feel the sword getting closer to me. Threatening to end my life.

I braced myself to experience death personally…

…

..

.

So why did she stop?

When I opened my eyes, I saw a different half transparent figure with a pink screen before her.

I couldn't see what it was messaging to her, but Red Rabbit jumped in fright upon seeing her.

[Red Rabbit: "P-Pandemos! Why?!"]

The figure then turned to me. Her name sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember where I heard it.

[Pandemos: "I'll make sure your compensated for our foolish mistake. Don't worry. We WILL fix this."]

[Pandemos: "Gaia has been wanting to meet you for some time. Let me take you to her personally."]

A black hole suddenly opened in her hand…

Both me and the half transparent woman holding the Divinity Striker were sucked in uncontrollably.

It felt like an out of body experience…

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