༺ The Slanted Ceiling and the Mountain of Laughing Corpses – End ༻
Jizan landed in Shei’s hand. Normally, she would’ve been subjected to a test, but instead of revealing its spiritual world, Jizan inexplicably stayed silent, placing its entire weight in her hand. The reason aside, it was a fortunate turn of events. Shei could now wield Jizan.
“Jizan…!”
Though Shei felt victory was close at hand, the Earth Sage appeared to disagree. She charged forward, aiming to wrestle Jizan from the former’s grip.
Shei didn’t get nervous, however. In her opponent’s hand, Jizan held the force to shift mountains and split the earth. But at the same time, it served as a counter to the Earth Sage’s very existence. By nature, her inherent strength could never surpass that of Jizan’s.
‘As long as I have this, victory is certain!’
She had to demonstrate the disparity in power to make her infallible adversary concede.
Shei held out Jizan, crying out.
“Earth Sage! Stop!”
The Earth Sage responded with a stomp.
The ground trembled with shockwaves. Before they could reach her, Shei swiftly planted Jizan into the ground, absorbing the resonating tremors. But this left her upper body exposed as the Earth Sage advanced. Chun-aeng was her only other option to use.
‘There’s no helping it then.’
Gripping Chun-aeng, she lowered her stance.
‘I’ll have to calm her by striking.’
Originally, Shei was the last hero of this world. A weaponmaster who wielded both the Sword of Sky and the Sword of Earth. Though she wasn’t vastly superior to others in skill, no one could harness the power of the two swords as she did.
She paired Jizan, the dense, obsidian broadsword, with Chun-aeng, the sleek, razor-edged rapier. The two distinct weapons united, akin to a sheathed sword meeting its scabbard.
The essence of the weightless sword, forged of compressed space itself, lay within the high heavens.
The essence of the unswerving blade, a thick cudgel molded of earth, lay within the towering mountains.
To this moment, Shei had only wielded Chun-aeng. But the sky requires the earth for balance, just as the earth’s flowing changes are shaped by the sky.
Things might’ve been different if Jizan had fallen into her opponent’s hands. But with Shei? At a time when humanity teetered on the brink of extinction, she embodied their greatest force. With both weapons in her arsenal, even if she was weary and weak…
Victory was assured.
Shei merged the two, with Jizan as the scabbard and Chun-aeng as the blade, and in an instant, unleashed the compressed space within the latter.
Jizan, acting as the heaviest catapult in the entire world, directed Chun-aeng’s immense power straight ahead.
Aerith Blade Supreme: Horizon Sunder.
Parallel lines, which seemingly never converge, meet in the vastness of eternity, or so it appears.
In that distant realm, where the sky and earth touch, they trace a tranquil line. A singular, majestic straight line of beauty that must have existed since the beginning of time.
With a vertical slash, she diagonally cleaved reality.
The Earth Sage’s right arm, the profound darkness, the weighty atmosphere, even Tantalus itself—nothing could resist the lightning-fast strike.
A muffled ringing filled my ears, with the impact’s reverberations echoing from the depths of the enclosed abyss. The slanted ceiling splintered, revealing a glimpse of the sky.
It looked as though the sun had just set, momentarily displaying a sky tinted in purple; a spectrum of colors that winked just before day yielded to night.
But that fleeting view of the heavens was obscured as the unstable ceiling descended, sealing the gap.
“… Hah.”
The Earth Sage reeled backward. Moments later, a thud emanated from the heap of corpses below her.
The sound came from the Earth Sage’s right arm, severed by Chun-aeng. The arm had rolled away from its owner, stopping only when snagged by a protruding body.
Drawing a deep breath, Shei masked the exhaustion permeating her body as she spoke.
“Don’t resist, Earth Sage. If you swear to stay still, I’ll reattach your arm for you.”
In reality, Shei had drained all of Chun-aeng’s power and didn’t even have the strength to retrieve Jizan from the ground. But facades often prevailed in combat.
Shei continued with feigned composure.
“It’s a clean cut. With proper treatment, it’ll stick right back…”
“Why…!”
The Earth Sage cried out, her face anguished.
“Why, why does the future always belong to your kind…!”
Shei fell silent. While the Earth Sage’s words were clearly directed at Sanctum, they also struck a chord with her.
If Shei hadn’t come, the Earth Sage would have wielded claimed Jizan and marched alone to confront Sanctum for their transgressions… which was why she had erased that future.
Shei had relied on regression, not prophecy nor foresight, and in this timeline, she had essentially stolen the Earth Sage’s future.
“I have never taken a moment’s rest! I disregarded my own life…! And while I may have compromised, not once did I cross the line! But what of them? They freely murdered the Grandmaster, hid the truth, reveled in their power, and paraded false righteousness…! Whereas we! Simply battled to survive…!”
‘Uh, um. So her claim was genuine then.’
Frankly, Shei felt guilt, and she also thought Sanctum had gone too far. But what could be done?
Sanctum wasn’t an entirely transparent organization. Even Shei, with all her experiences with them during her regressions, couldn’t be certain about their true intentions. Nevertheless, since they both aimed to prevent annihilation, Shei chose to side with them.
“Are their actions justified solely because they know the future? Absurd! Are they even exempt from blame just because it may ignite wars? Ridiculous! Are we to simply bow to a predetermined fate…?!”
Her voice was fraught with bleeding agony. The regressor could understand her pain to a degree. However, understanding didn’t translate to regret or sorrow. No matter the Earth Sage’s pain, it was better than leaving her unchecked and letting the world.
Having poured out her emotions, the Earth Sage muttered weakly.
“Kill me.”
The regressor grimaced in response.
“No. If you die, the world will go to hell.”
“Because Sanctum will suffer a blow? Their setback will cause the world to crumble? Are they really the pillar of this world?”
“Because of you! Your death will unleash chaos!”
The regressor shouted in exasperation.
“Your followers, the State’s citizens, and the scattered Gaian disciples! They’ll either seek revenge or refuse cooperation! They’ll question why Sanctum had to brutally kill someone so noble!”
The Earth Sage’s death didn’t spark war for no reason. First off, she was nominally a brigadier general of the Military State, was deemed a hero to its citizens, and could also be considered the face of the Gaian Order.
“Please, if you’re going to die, do it quietly on your own! If someone as influential as you goes out like a martyr, then no one will be able to put out the resulting fire!”
The Earth Sage snorted at the regressor’s outburst.
“… It is now impossible even if I wished to, for I have lost my right. In the end… the Grandmaster could not acknowledge me, it seems. All I sought was… a place for us…”
“All else aside, if it’s a place you want for your people, I’ll create one after I stop annihilation. So, keep breathing till then.”
“Heheh…”
Stabilizing herself with a flow of Qi to her severed shoulder, the Earth Sage wobbled around and began a slow ascent up the mountain of corpses.
“Take your right arm! I said I’d reattach it!”
“Let it be.”
The Earth Sage didn’t spare a glance as she replied.
“It is the path I took, the result I reached… I will not retrace my steps, and neither will I waver. I harbor no regrets for my choices.”
“Talk about being stubborn, seriously…”
“And…”
The Earth Sage added with a weary face.
“… As the Grandmaster has bequeathed you her power, you must up her mantle, Champion.”
“I keep telling you I’m no champion.”
She didn’t respond, persisting in her climb. Her silhouette resembled an ascetic wandering in search of trials.
Shei’s eyes lingered on the Earth Sage’s receding figure when an ominous rumbling echoed from above. Alarmed, her head shot up. The slanted ceiling, the earth of Tantalus, was screaming.
‘Is it collapsing?’
But just as Shei nervously clutched Jizan’s hilt, Tyrkanzyaka erupted from a fissure in the concrete ceiling, landing below the mountain of corpses. She looked around frantically, crying out.
“Hu! Where is Hu?”
Thankfully, the ceiling didn’t seem to be collapsing. She sighed in relief and answered the vampire.
“Last I saw, he was fine.”
“What a relief…! Where is he?”
“He tossed Jizan from atop the mountain earlier. Since he’s missing right now, I guess he fell to the other side. Who the hell is that guy really…”
Deflecting Chun-aeng? That might’ve been sheer coincidence. Him seeing through her invisibility? That might’ve been his strategy at work.
“There’s always been something off about him. The way he fixed your heart… and unsealed this relic, Jizan. I don’t know if he underwent Jizan’s test, but when he passed it to me…”
In a previous life cycle, Shei had taken Jizan and faced a trial within its spiritual world. Amidst the scene of 300,000 souls being buried alive, Jizan was presented before her along with a choice.
And the method Shei chose was straightforward—she drew Jizan and attacked the Overlord.
Though this confrontation took place in a spiritual world, the Overlord was a warrior of unparalleled valor and tactical genius; it was impossible to defeat him regardless of what she did. However, Shei considered it as a form of training and continued challenging the Overlord until she triumphed.
It was only after the Overlord’s virtual might was entirely spent that Jizan, having exhausted its trials, begrudgingly granted its power to her. Shei couldn’t wield its innate earthweaving abilities, but nevertheless, it was perfect as a weapon.
Shei had been plenty satisfied with its effectiveness, but…
“This power I’m feeling right now, it’s geomancy.”
Shei was convinced she could fully tap into Jizan’s power… though she wasn’t quite sure what made this possible.
“The taoist? What of her?”
“I’ve overpowered her for now. Look, she’s kneeling up there on the peak…”
Brrrm. Another ominous vibration came from above and shards of concrete pelted their shoulders. Shei snapped her mouth shut, looking up.
“Uh, Tyrkanzyaka. Something’s not right with the ceiling… Don’t you think it’s tilting more than—”
Her words were interrupted by another echoing rumble.
Her uneasy premonition became a reality. The ceiling began to split apart with the speed of a galloping horse. Thunderous roars accompanied the appearance of lightning-shaped cracks. Crumbling concrete poured down like rain, and debris cascaded like hail.
The ceiling was giving way.
It was natural, considering the circumstances. The Earth Sage had spared none of her power, Tyrkanzyaka tore through its interior, and the final technique Shei unleashed fractured the very ground. Given the upheaval, it would’ve been stranger if everything was fine.
Shei shouted urgently.
“Tyrkanzyaka! Catch the falling rubble!”
“I cannot hold up all this land with my shadows! Hu, where are you? Hurry to my side…!”
“No! Help me. Let’s blow the ceiling away! It should be better than letting that mass of earth fall…!”
Shei immediately summoned a Stepping Cloud and leaped onto it. Holding Jizan over her head with both hands, she positioned it against the gradually descending ceiling.
“You intend to lift the ceiling with that sword? Impossible!”
“No, I can do it!”
“… You can? How?”
“Jizan is a sword of colossal weight! Despite how it looks, it’s as heavy as Tantalus!”
“Then how are you holding it?”
Shei didn’t waste time explaining the sword’s abilities.
“They say that’s the beauty of Jizan!”
“Remarkable swords are emerging these days…”
Though Tyrkanzyaka remarked with a sense of wonder, in truth, Jizan was a relic crafted over a century before she was born. Not that anyone is paying attention to that detail at the moment.
“Alrighty. Now that I can use geomancy, I’ll lift the entire land! If it’s now, I can do it!”
Shei glanced around, hearing Nabi and Azi barking and yowling in the distance. The two, along with Rasch and Callis, were pressed against the opposite wall. They were relatively safe from the falling debris.
“I’ll handle the larger pieces. Please take care of the smaller ones!”
“Very well!”
As the inclined ceiling descended, most of the lights along its perimeter became scratched, shattered, and smashed. The brightness dimmed.
Correspondingly, a legion of dark knights began to rise from the shadows. Darkness cloaked them, transforming them into giants.
Shadows change their dimensions based on the light’s position.
The towering dark knights, draped in shadows triple their size, heeded their master’s command and intercepted the falling debris. When the human head-sized pieces of concrete made contact with the shadows, they slowed as if submerged in water.
“Okay, here I go!”
Heaven Earth Art, Earth Pillar.
On the verge of swinging her sword, Shei abruptly stopped. Jizan’s weight was surely comparable to a great mountain, but it appeared that even for such a mountain, the weight of Tantalus proved challenging. The immense burden pressed down on the regressor’s hands. Jizan couldn’t advance.
“Uugh…!”
Her exhausted body fiercely resisted, protesting the depletion of its energy. Still, the regressor gritted her teeth and mustered what strength she had left. Though her body refused to move, the regressor’s Qi Arts shone through in such dire moments.
The Heavenly Counter Domain, a Qi Art that compelled the body into preset actions.
Heavenly Counter Domain, Offensive Form: Descending Slash.
“Arrrgh!”
The regressor swung the sword, and Jizan responded to her will.
Tantalus’ foundation was built from blessed concrete, a result of earthweaving. This was what allowed the Earth Sage to easily manipulate it with geomancy.
Thus, whoever wielded Jizan was capable of moving Tantalus.
The last shreds of the Grandmaster’s will resonated. Seconds later, a tremendous boom filled the air.
What Shei accomplished was arguably comparable to deflecting a steel door with a finger flick, a feat impossible under ordinary circumstances. But thanks to the perfect alignment of certain elements—the unique nature of the land, the power of Jizan, and the design of Tantalus—her attempt was successful. With a swing of Jizan, Shei “launched” Tantalus.
The slanted ceiling grew increasingly distant. The dim lights bordering it marked the land’s rising journey, their blinking brightness dwindling with distance.
An entire landscape was shot up by the might of a single individual. The distancing ceiling momentarily found its balance, then gradually leaned in the opposite direction.
As Tantalus neared its complete inversion, its few intact artificial lights emitted their last radiant bursts before disappearing.
And in that void, the sky revealed itself.
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