Book 2 - Interlude 1 - Fhesiah - Bloodlines and Family

Book 2 - Interlude 1 - Fhesiah - Bloodlines and Family

Fhesiah used her [Divine Sense] to monitor and manipulate the materials within her [Pill Furnace]. She circulated her [Qi] and stoked the flames, fluctuating the temperature and energy of the different areas within the furnace with a precision exceeding tenths of a degree. This would be her fourth attempt to create the [Yin-Aspect Bloodline Awakening Pill], and it would be her last attempt before having to ask Jake to make another trip to purchase more materials.

She moved and merged the various resources within the furnace, combining or refining them using the flames and her [Qi] at each stage of the Pills creation. [The Framework]s guidance helped nudge her; she had almost scorched the heavenly herbs and ruined the whole concoction. She redoubled her focus and continued refining the materials as she began absorbing more [Qi Crystals] to maintain her energy reserves.

After several hours of focus, Fhesiah sent one more surge of Qi into the furnace, and slapped the top of it. The door on the front of it opened, and a waft of herbal smoke and a pill rolled out and landed on the pill shelf. It gave off a powerful herbal aroma, and Fhesiahs cells in her body just screamed to consume the pill immediately. She had done it. She took out her pill container, and placed the pill next to the other she created in its slot, the [Yang-Aspect Bloodline Awakening Pill] and closed it, trapping all the medicinal energy inside.

She was surprised that they were able to collect what she needed to awaken her bloodline in this [Contested World], but it turned out that the [Cultivators] nearby were in quite the rough spot, especially in this area of the [Multiverse]. There was a near mass exodus of some of their most powerful and most prospective cultivators, in an effort to fight or escape the outsiders, or advance themselves. Those with some of the most powerful bloodlines just up and left, and many hoards of resources were recovered they didnt need this stuff where they were going. The dusky sky sect was far from the only ones, as she had purchased various other materials since that day.

That left a surplus of materials like these, where normally materials involved with awakening a bloodline would be safeguarded and hoarded, they instead were sold for a pittance, a surplus of these materials. Materials like the heavenly herbs must be used shortly after being harvested. These materials were useless for those without a bloodline, and with those with the bloodlines gone, there was no use for these. Fhesiah had two powerful bloodlines, in fact.

After resting for several hours and having a little fun with Jake and his [Energy Sharing] ability, she returned to her alchemy room. It doubled as her personal cultivation chamber, having an array she purchased that tied it into the refuges hearth. The room would receive all of the [Qi] and none of the mana and other energies captured by the refuge, allowing her environment to be the purest possible. She also released the energy of several high-quality Qi crystals into the atmosphere of her chamber, as it was time.

Jake was prepared to help, as she had let him know what she was going to do. She was going to try to accomplish the impossible, and while Jake was worried, he eventually agreed to her demands. When she played with Jake some weeks ago about needing his [Credits], what she had said was true. She felt she was falling behind, and only through perfection, or at least challenging the possible, could she match Jake and his Champion status.

The only reason Fhesiah was even thinking of trying this impossible task was that if she failed and died she could still be resurrected. Shes sure she would pay a price, but it was worth the attempt. In a way, it was like she was not cultivating at all anymore. To cultivate was to defy the heavens, but with [The Framework], it was like she was cultivating with heavens guiding handpushing her along, picking her up if she falls.

She didnt feel she was falling behind the valkyrie, especially now that she had embraced the framework and worked on her skills, but she felt that Jake was truly destined for greatness. She needed every ounce of power that she could have if they were going to take part in a [Permadeath Trial], or [Raid], or whatever might come in the future.

The Dark Elf Champion and Berri had already proven to her that her pride and heritage meant nothing in the face of preparations against her or overwhelming power. While she didnt think she would lose to the girl, she had plenty of reason to fear her mace, or what it represented.

If she didnt have enough power, or speed, then the mace would descend and there would be nothing left but broken bones and shattered dreams. She would need to give it her all, or an enemy version of Berri might show up to destroy their family, and she wouldnt be enough to stop them. She had reigned in some of her pride as a result of the battle with the enemy Champion, but she must continue to be vigilant and squeeze out every ounce of power that she could find.

In regards to the snake girl, she couldnt help but feel that they were lucky. Such a powerful ally was valuable, and her addition to their party only added to her conviction that she had made the right choice, pushing Jake to this path. The girls situation was strange, Fhesiahs [Divine Sense] noticing a change in her soul when the personality switched, but otherwise could not pierce through her Hearth Core and see deep into what was going on.

Either way, she was confident that it would be sorted out eventually. The girl was fun to be around, though a bit impatient. As long as they kept the activities moving, she participated with a smile, and she knew Jake was starting to care for the girl. Her husband certainly had a soft spot for a girl with such a troubled past. Fhesiah smiled. It also helped that she gave such great hugs, and was so beautiful. Fhesiah couldnt wait to see what that amazing tongue felt like.

Berri got along well with Ophelia as well, and she felt like they were all becoming sisters in-truth. They all had so much fun together that she looked forward to every single day and every single activity. Jake did his best to give his attention and to make them all happy, but they kept each other motivated and entertained just as well. She had fun teasing Ophelia, and Berri appeared to hardly care at all when she tricked her, just laughing at the fun she had.

She took a moment to give a small thank you and a prayer. A thank you to her mother for truly setting her up for success. That she can be with Jake and enjoy the family they would be together with forever was nothing short of a blessing. While her mother was no longer around, she knew Hestia was. While prayer would have been too demeaning to her before, Hestias guidance had already helped her family. She had already let her pride impede her own success, and she would not allow herself to continue doing it. She would ask for her guidance here, to help her achieve this near impossible feat, to help protect her family and ensure that these fun days would never end.

She took the [Yin-Aspect Bloodline Awakening Pill] into her mouth and swallowed it. The energy spread throughout her body and blood when she combined it with Qi. She swirled the energy to the tune of her bloodline techniques taught by her mother, and the energy slowly suffused and merged into her body.

Her Kitsune bloodline stirred like a cat awakening from a long nap, and she directed her body to accept the changes she desired. She did not want fox ears and tails. While Jake might enjoy them, she had made her choice; she was a dragon before she was a fox-demon. She wanted the flames of the Dark Kitsune, the yin aspect flames most appropriate for a demoness.

She took another pill, a [Bloodline Strengthening Pill] that she had purchased earlier. She would need to strengthen the bloodline further if it was going to have a chance to stand up and not simply be erased by her draconic bloodline when she awakened it, as strong as her Dark Kitsune bloodline was. As much as she could within her body, she circulated her energy and solidified the Kitsune bloodline. After quite a bit of work, the blood in her veins now carried the power of a Dark Kitsune. She added even more [Qi Crystals] to the atmosphere, and continued her work to prepare for the next stage.

I think I know what might be missing Fhesiah spun to where she heard the voice. It was Jake, standing there in her spiritual temple with his hands on his hips. She was filled with both surprise and confusion, but said, Whathow are you here?

Im not sure, I just followed through our bond it just felt right. Jake smiled at her, and she could feel the love he had for her pouring over the bond. She was overwhelmed with her own emotions. They would once again become stronger, but together. She helped him form his mana core, achieving something that might otherwise be impossible for a Tier 0 human, and now, he would help her enter foundation establishment with both dark kitsune and draconic fire.

She looked over to where Jake was looking, and it felt easily apparent what was missing. A hearth, behind the two thrones. Not only that, but the two thrones faced out at the world, and while they were side by side, it was impersonal. They would need to turn their heads, perhaps even lean forward if the chair was particularly decadent to even look at and talk to one another. This was wrong.

While she wanted to make Jake a King, their family came first. Jake becoming King would serve their family by granting it the power and protection of an entire world. She would arrange the two chairs more like a semi-circle, the semi-circle to be completed once she was able to add the other thrones for her sister-wives. It would then resemble a living room where friends and family gathered around, instead of an impersonal throne room for meeting with strangers with bureaucracy and decorum.

Jake nodded at her thought, and she set about removing and realigning bricks to rearrange the thrones, and to form the alcove that would become a hearth, and she gasped in surprise when Jakes flames from his hearth entered the air from within the hearth on her side of the Spiritual Temple.

They then wrapped around the bricks that were becoming the hearth. She noticed that he was inscribing runes using those same flamesjust what was this?

I had gotten a skill when I had advanced, and I havent gotten much of a chance to practice it: [Hearth Enchantment]. Thats why Im not going to be overly ambitious here, as Im a bit of a beginner. But I think youll recognize the runes Im using. Ill do my best to make it so that I can add onto them later. My gut tells me the best time to do this is now.

Jake pulled in the fire from his hearth, and began creating runes using his hearth-fire to draw almost as if he was etching with his scribe. He placed a single rune in the center of each hexagonal brick, the demon rune of fire. As he did this, he put everything he had in his heart for Fhesiah, of what he thought of when he thought of her and her fire. Her passion for both her path and for Jake and her family. Her desire for enjoyment and for advancement and power. Her love and his, fueling the fire burning brightly to both warm and protect their family, and destroy their enemies.

Fhesiah looked over to the runes Jake was creating, and she was once again amazed. She knew that the goddesses' flames could not reside in her dantian, yet here they were, in her Spiritual Temple. He was using the same demonic runes that she used on her gauntlets and fan, and alternating the ones he understood throughout the hearth itself. The runes echoed the truths of the Dao, and she was moved by the amount of understanding Jake had for her flames, for her path. He was just using mana, but just how much time had he spent to increase his own understanding, to use her runes? It was like he expended significant effort just to understand her, and she was reminded of the many years she herself had spent mastering her flames.

He coughed, even though his body wasnt real, covering his mouth, but she could see he was embarrassed by her thoughts. She smiled; her lover might be amazing in his own way, but he couldnt take a compliment, or her teasing. She redoubled her effort to finish the hearth, and it lit aflame. Jakes bond connected through the Hearth, and she could feel the [Hearth Bond] snap into place, instead of the old [Summoners Bond].

The Hearth of Jakes Family, with Hestias divine spark contained within, protecting and strengthening it. It burned brightly, deep within her soul. The blackish-purple kitsune fire bricks lit aflame, and the golden draconic fire bricks lit up as well. The bricks built of heavenly energy then gave off their own glow. It was beautiful: the mosaic of her [Spiritual Temple].

She luxuriated in the new feelings as their bond grew stronger than ever, and she spun her fool around and kissed him on the lips, to which he was shocked in surprise. Jake disappeared shortly after the kiss started; his time within her spiritual temple would be limited until she grew stronger, but her foundations were nearly completed. There was just one more thing that must be done. She gazed at the sky, as what she was expecting rolled in: Heavenly Tribulation.

But instead of the angry clouds of her old Heavens meant to destroy her, they were the gentle golden clouds of the Framework. Tears came to her eyes as she realized that she had been wrong the whole time, and just witnessing this would be enough for Cultivators to potentially change their mind about joining the Framework in earnest.

The clouds now covered the sky, and lightning roiled through them. She prepared her defenses, wondering what exactly was going to happen. She did not feel like her life was in danger, so she watched with rapt attention. The lightning in the clouds built up, and eventually, it struck down on her temple. To her surprise, it was attacking the mosaic of her bloodlines.

She looked at where lightning struck, and saw that the lightning had passed through a wall, yet the only places that received damage were where it was weak; the balance was poor. She now realized that while most of her spiritual temple was mostly perfect thanks to her mothers method she taught her, she was not able to properly balance the mosaic. The new Heavens was helping her understand her mistakes!

Lightning continued to strike, pointing out the weaknesses in her foundations. She moved the bloodline-aspected bricks around, correcting the imbalance. She emboldened the defenses with her Qi as the lightning struck, and she felt that this was just as useful as her old Heavens tribulation, feeling her soul being tempered just the same, only with the Frameworks almost-gentle guidance in comparison.

She continued correcting problems for dozens of lightning strikes. Her foundations were slightly damaged each time, but these were only minor setbacks compared to the old heavens. She moved another brick into place, and the lightning stopped. The clouds parted, and was left with a blazing Sun rising into the sky, filling the room with light. The Draconic bricks lit aflame, and she smiled.

She had truly viewed the Framework wrong. It really was the New Heavens, where Cultivation was no longer a defiance of it. Cultivation was now pushed along by the Frameworks guiding hands of the New Heavens, in an effort to make her stronger and better able to face the outsiders. Still, this was strange to her. Why wasnt this in some wiki, or other piece of information that was available to her? It was true that information had a cost, was knowledge of how something like the New Heavens worked just too costly for low-Tier existences like themselves to learn?

Questions for later. For now, she had done it. It was a rocky start, but with Jakes and his strange familiars help, she was able to accomplish the impossible. While the wyrm was interesting, she doubted its intelligence. Fhesiah liked to think that this creature was somehow guided by the goddess. She would continue to build her [Spiritual Temple], expanding to other rooms and recreating their refuge in her soul, until it was a veritable castle in its own right.