Chapter 370

Chapter 370

As the shore fades from sight and our skiff continues ever westward, my last vestiges of hope die out and I resign myself to fate. By now, weve undoubtedly exited Nan Ping Bay and have entered the Azure Sea proper, a watery graveyard of many a foolish sailor aboard wayward ships. Smoky white fog encircles us in all directions as I bury my nose into Blackjacks velvety fur, taking small comfort when the hare pushes back to enjoy what it believes is a light grooming but is actually my lips moving in silent prayer, beseeching anyone and everyone who might be listening to save me from this foolish venture. As per usual, no deities respond and Im left to fend for myself in this watery domain famed for danger and peril in a world already filled to the brim with man-eating monstrosities.

I dont even know why I still bother praying. No one ever answers.

For long, uneventful minutes, all I hear is the waves lapping against the sides of the skiff and the powerful, rhythmic, strokes of Guard Leaders paddles. Honestly, Im a little miffed she didnt upgrade to a bigger boat after our last one got chomped to pieces by a school of sharks. Instead, she picked the exact same type of boat, but since no one else saw fit to criticize, I figured it wasnt my place to speak up.

Plus, she punched her way through a shark.

Reassuring as her ridiculous strength might be, I cant bring myself to feel safe. Its too still and quiet, and it feels like our skiff is bobbing in place as the water moves around us, the world enveloped in silent serenity this far from land. There are no quins chittering beside us, no sea birds cawing overhead, no sails flapping in the wind or voices shouting orders on ships afar, just complete silence and stillness aside from Guard Leaders repetitive, unflagging movements. A blink of the eyes is all it takes to lose my bearings, because for all I know, our skiff could have veered off course or turned around in the brief moment of darkness. Only the suns reassuring warmth on my back tells me were still heading west, but otherwise, I have no frame of reference for our journey. How far have we come? How long have we been travelling? We set out at sunrise, but the sun is no longer touching the horizon, hanging scant centimetres from its reflection in the water and rising even as I watch.

And to think, Im stuck out here because Mama Bun wanted to cuddle for a little while longer. Curse your warm, fluffy body and powerful, Spiritual Plant scenting nose! Curse you!

Its so strange being out on the open waters, but a good strange, a comfortable and almost familiar sort of strange. If not for my anxiety from all the not-at-all mythical monsters of the sea, I might even say I like it out here, though I cant say why. This isnt what I expected from the Azure Sea, a supposed region of no return. Then again, I guess its silly to expect aquatic predators to toe the line and lay in wait for travellers daring enough to cross some arbitrary border. Theyre not soldiers standing guard, just aquatic creatures going about their day, and if were lucky, maybe they wont notice our tiny skiff in this massive ocean and we can come and go unmolested. Or maybe our skiff is too small a meal for the big beasties of the Azure Sea, preferring to dine on multi-masted ships carrying hundreds of delicious people to fill their bellies.

...

With nothing better to do but sit and wait, I set to work keeping myself from going crazy by focusing on what minor preparations I can make. Opening my pouch of dried meat, I place Blackjack inside with enough food to keep him occupied and free both my hands. Sacrificing mobility for defence, I take Tranquility in hand and strap it tightly to my wrist, checking and rechecking to make sure Peace sits snugly in its scabbard and is firmly fixed to Tranquility. The last thing I need is to lose a Spiritual Weapon and have it sink to the bottom of the Azure Sea, especially since I dont know how deep or dangerous the waters are and no way of marking our location to come back with an army to safely retrieve them.

Whatever. Its just a Spiritual Weapon. I can live without it if need be. Better safe than sorry.

To this end, I secure Unity to my wrist using a scarf/loincloth, threading it through the side-loading bullet chamber to keep it from slipping off. It hampers my range of motion, but worst comes to worst, I could let go of Unity and draw Peace. Im not thrilled at the prospect of fighting Megalodons or aquatic dinos with a short sword, and truth be told, using a glaive isnt much better either, but those are the only options I have.

Wait... Thats not true. I have a gun!

...

......

A gun and no bullets. Great. Just great. Whatever, it wouldnt have mattered anyways, Ive never fired it before and this hardly seems like a safe place to practice. Besides, Im fairly certain bullets dont do well underwater. With so much resistance, Id be surprised if the bullets goes more than five meters before disintegrating into scrap. Id probably need specially designed bullets for underwater firing, though I have no idea what said bullets would look like. Is it worth asking Diyako to look into? Nah, I cant see myself voluntarily returning to the Azure Sea or worse, venturing out into the ocean which is supposedly even more dangerous.

Okay, weapons are secured and ready. Now what? Well... my boots feel a little loose, I guess I could re-lace them.

...

I may have been a little overzealous with the laces. Feels like the blood cant reach my toes. One more time, but not so tight.

...

Thats better, nice and snug, but breathable. Wait... Is this the smartest move? If our boat trip goes bad, chances are Ill be fighting in the water or hopefully flown away to safety by Taduk, both scenarios in which I dont need boots. In fact, Id be better off losing the boots altogether. Itd make me more manoeuvrable in the water and itll be less weight for Taduk to carry. No boots it is.

...

With that in mind, the tension melts from my shoulders and I sigh in relief. Staring out into the waters, I let my focus wander and watch the continued struggle between scavenger, predator, and Ping Ping with growing interest. Though varied and diverse, the gathered scavengers work together to fend off the predators, right up until a chunk of squid flesh floats in their general direction. Then, all chaos breaks loose as the scavengers descend upon the morsel and the predators seize the opportunity to strike. Men die for wealth and fish die for food, their lives are an unending struggle against hardship and misfortune. I suppose I should be glad I didnt reincarnate as a fish, since at least I dont have to worry too much about food or finding a safe place to sleep. In comparison, my worries seem excessive and absurd, for when isnt someone or something trying to kill me?

I find this reassuring, though, again, I dont know why.

The waters churn and creatures die, though a select few emerge victorious through skill, cunning, or dumb luck. An eel darts around a fat fish to evade the killing bite of a long-nosed lizard predator, who in turn gives up on the eel and rips into the fatter fish instead. A scaled, chitinous creature reveals the depths of its cunning as it leads a predator into Ping Pings waiting jaws, escaping unscathed with a large bounty to devour alone. A smaller, angular fish doesnt bother trying to secure any squid for itself and instead turns its attention to stealing scraps from the many predators lurking about, its mouth always nibbling away at some morsel or another. To these sea creatures and so many more like them, this is just another day in which they risk their lives to fill their bellies and survive.

Trial and tribulations indeed. No wonder animals are more in tune with the world. Their lives leave little room for anything else, but Im not convinced the secret to controlling the Energy of the Heavens lies in oneness with nature. If struggle and survival are all that matters, then it means the Defiled are closer to the truth than the Empire, which just feels plain wrong. There has to be more to it, something beyond mere survival, and thats what Ping Ping is searching for. She followed me to Nan Ping for a reason, and its not Blobby, or at least, not just Blobby. The stupid droplet has been gone for awhile now, but Ping Ping still drinks the water I feed her and still stays close to my side. The question is, why?

And then it hits me. Not the answer to why Ping Ping is so affectionate, but why the scenery of the Azure Sea feels comfortable and familiar. If I block out the sky and stare at the waters, its almost like Im back in my Natal Palace, with Blobby holding back the shifting shadows which were the Spectres I invited into my life. Thats why I could find Balance enough to Hone my sword or Reinforce my body, but faltered every time I tried to step into my Natal Palace. Fear kept me out, fear of the unknown and fear of facing my mistakes. Will the Spectres be in there, waiting to greet me now that Blobby is gone? Will seeing the room I made for Baledagh be too painful to bear?

Knowing me?

Probably.

If the Spectres from before havent come back, I bet theres a fresh batch of them shitting all over the mental landscape, and what can I do about them without Blobby? As for the room, Ill probably want to destroy it in a fit of pique, because thats easier than facing the truth. Hell, I destroyed most of my Natal Palace, lessened myself using the Legates words, because I didnt want to look at anything that reminded me of the cozy, happy life I ruined by being too weak to reject temptation. Its not Baledaghs fault I was almost exiled. Its mine. I succumbed to the Spectres. I allowed myself to be Tainted. I drew on their strength, believed in their lies, let their anger control me because it was easier than being afraid. Only my loving familys staunch support kept me from being exiled, the same loving family I almost brought disaster down upon.

Will I learn from my mistakes?

Probably not.

Im not strong enough to resist temptation on my own. Im a coward at heart, one who will do anything to survive, even surrendering to the Spectres if the need arises, because deep down, I dont believe in the dichotomy of good and evil. Take the feeding frenzy beside me, for example. Are the predators evil for killing their prey? Are the scavengers evil for stealing what others worked hard to earn? Is Ping Ping evil for not sharing her bounty? If only things were so simple.

Like Fung said, Balance isnt about morality, so why would there be a right and wrong, a good and evil when it comes to Heavenly Energy? Power is power, simple as that, and morality only enters the equation when talking about what is done with said power. Ping Ping doesnt share, but she doesnt wantonly murder more than she can eat either. Same with the predators, killing just enough to be sated before leaving on their merry way. In this same vein, whos to say one cant make use of the Spectres power without going full cannibal murder hobo?

And oddly enough, I think I know how.

Leaning over the side, I gaze into the murky depths and steel my resolve. Reaching down, I bring handful of water to my lips and drink up, belatedly remembering I have a water skin as I try not to gag on the fishy, metallic taste. Soldiering through the horrible experience, I close my eyes and feel the cold, disgusting liquid settle into my belly before moving onto the next step. Stepping into my Natal Palace is easy as breathing now that Ive identified the problem. No, thats not true. Ive always known the problem was fear, but I still let it control me. I cant do that anymore. Fear is a tool, and I must use it well.

Looking around the small room with its comfortable bed and stylized ceiling brings a pang of raw anguish, but this time, I let it wash over me instead of rejecting it outright. Even though he wasnt real, he was real enough to me, so why shouldnt I grieve him? Another time though, right now, theres work to be done. Stepping out of the room, I gaze deep into the abyss and find the Spectres staring back, just as I expected. I can tell theyre not to blame for my crippling depression, for they lay dormant and silent for reasons unknown. Itd be nice if I could blame all my problems on Spiritual Parasites, but truth be told, I make plenty of problems for myself as it is. Depression is real, and itll take hard work and time to get through it. Theres no magical pick me up to fix everything with a snap of my fingers, but if the Spectres do start yammering away, Ill need a way to deal with them, one which doesnt rely on Blobby who goes running off wherever it pleases.

The water in my belly seeps into my Core, not the physical water but its spiritual essence, which winks into existence in my Natal Palace. Feeling cheeky, I snap my fingers and the water surges out into the abyss, sweeping up those dormant Spectres and washing over them, dissolving and merging with them. Whats left behind is neither good nor evil, Defiled nor Balanced, just pure, unsullied Energy of the Heavens, the very power of creation sitting in the palm of my metaphysical hands.

Its so simple, I dont know why I didnt think of it earlier. Blobby is a drop of Heavenly Water, but what is that exactly? Assuming it works the same way Chi does, then Blobby is probably Heavenly Energy mimicking the properties of water. If I cant rely on Blobby, then why cant I make my own version of Blobby using Chi, since Chi is just Heavenly Energy in a different form?

I think.

Probably.

Whatever, it worked, sorta. Confidence. Another one of my issues I need to work on, but one thing at a time. Today, I create quasi-Heavenly Water, tomorrow, anti-anxiety medication, then well see what we can do about confidence.

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