Amidst the smoking ruins of the demonic forest, the Knights could be found searching for the Asura that had taken to this forest as his home.
They were quite surprised to find a corpse and not a living and very pissed Asura. But what was even more shocking was the fact that the terrain all around them looked quite untouched. As if a fight never took place here. But the corpse hadn't been dragged there. So it could only mean that the Asura was killed before there could be that much of a fight.
" Commander this is weird. The two kids that we found a few minutes earlier have wounds that could've been inflicted by the Asura. My guess is that the Asura tried to kill them but-"
"Your role is to fight, sergeant, not think. I do the thinking. Now go take care of those children and take a look around for any surviving Kirioni that could be watching us."
The commander glared at the female knight who had spoken and she could only sigh and nod, before taking off with two other soldiers.
' I would've felt it if a hidden master came here. It can't be another demon, the air would be impossible to breath if an even stronger demon had appeared...Hmmm....'The commander examined the Asura's corpse and tried to feel any traces of foreign Qi inside of it, but ultimately found nothing.
" Berum !" He shouted to a man who was sitting on a rock and watching the sky. He looked to be quite old, easily over 30 and sporting a thin blonde beard, his face completely relaxed and his expression that of pure boredom. In fact he almost looked like a child looking at the sky, his lime green eyes sparkling as he watched the barely visible stars.
He turned slowly and blinked as the commander glared at him. He waved his hand around and chuckled.
"No need to look so angry commander.....I'll move as slowly as I want." He said, his eyes directly staring into the Commander's. Said man went back to looking at the corpse, ignoring Berum who dragged his feet around as he approached.
The nearby knights were firstly shocked by the fact that the commander was so subdued around Berum with how strong he was. But then came the other shock, when Berum stood up and walked towards the commander.
They all stared completely dumbstruck as he stretched his arms and passed by them.
"Are you seeing what I'm seeing ?" A knight asked another. The second knight gulped before nodding.
"Yup....That guy is...He is really a freaking giant. I didn't see it since he was facing in the other direction, but damn ! How tall is he ? Actually....Who is he ? You saw him while we were travelling ?" The second knight asked. When the first knight shook his head, he looked at the sergeant who was taking care of Jian and Li Kuo and she rolled her eyes.
"That's Berum, don't try to know who he is, it's just a waste of time. Yes he is gigantic, but he can reduce his size to his will. Now go back to work !" She snapped at them and they quickly grabbed their sheaths and ran away.
The sergeant's eyes remained on Berum for a few seconds, and her assistant took notice.
"Are you wondering what's gonna happen now that the war has been declared, sergeant ?"
She looked at him, and he could see just how conflicted she looked.
" I think we were all surprised when we got that news half an hour ago.....But to be honest, I'm more sad than surprised. I wish we could help them....Well Berum is most certainly gonna have a talk with his superiors about this, and they may decide to help....But with the Raja Sect patriarch's behaviour....I just think no one will come to assist them. They won't be able to win. Not against the full might of all these sects....Not this time. They don't have the ressources, if they could get the Li Zhang Kingdom to sell them the ressources they need, it would help them survive this war...But in the end it's just too late for that." She said, before sitting in the ashes.
"It might not be. The sect got the prince of the Li Zhang kingdom, he could convince his parents to help. That and that little genius, Zhao Shu...If he can get his tribe to enter the conflict....Well we both remember what happened the last time the Zhao Warrior Tribe intervened in a conflict." The assistant said, just as the medic gasped when she saw Li Kuo and Jian open their eyes.
She quickly clapped her hands, a green aura coating them before she slapped both Jian and Li Kuo, sending them back to sleep.
" You, get me the extracting scroll. We need to get that Qi out of their systems and quick, they'll wake up again and I don't want to have to do it while they're able to feel the pain." The medic yelled at another medic who quickly searched through a huge back sitting against a tree for the scroll.
" Anyway, this would be the perfect time for the small sects to get some parts of the cake. This part of the continent will see some great changes in the few months to come." The assistant said. That got the Sergeant to flinch and send a quick look at Berum.
"I really hope some people won't use this occasion to cause chaos and...Stop some events from happening. Some events like the creation and application of a certain treaty." The sergeant said in a small voice as her assistant widened his eyes.
" You don't think they would.....Damnit, of course they would. The slave trade is making them a huge load of money, they just won't give it up. We can't do anything about it ?" He asked. The sergeant got close to him and whispered in his ears.
" Actually the big guys of the Orders are trying to see if they can't intervene. The Sacred Law could be.....Ignored once more....For a good cause, of course. But if it's the case, and considering the new war.....This all seem really chaotic....."
The two looked at each other and nodded before getting up and walking up to the commander who had finished talking to berum who was now examining the corpse too.
"Commander....We need to talk to you about something...In private."
The commander looked at the two, his face impossible to read, before he nodded and put a hand on Berum's shoulder. The insanely tall man hummed in response, and the three knights moved away.
**************
(A few hours later, With Jian )
A huge field of roses, that was all he could see. The air smelled greater than any perfumes, and the entire surroudings were so silent. This was perhaps the most peaceful moment he had in his entire life.
He only wanted to lay down in the roses and stay there forever, he was too tired of living day to day and feeling like anything could end his life.
"Oh but, it's still the same, child. You are still like those flowers....So easy to crush. And one day just like them, your last thread of life will flutter away." A voice said.
Jian didn't even have the strengh to look around, he could only gaze at the roses, until one of them died in front of him, in fact it died so quickly he couldn't even see the whole process. It was fine, and then it was dead.
"W...Who ?" He asked, his eyes fluttering and closing, his lips trembling while he looked around frantically.
" Who am I ? Oh I'm just that unholy being inside of you. I could give you my name...But I don't see the point in doing that. However I can tell you one thing, child. You are weak, but you know that already....The only problem I have is that, you're actually the only host I can get. I would've switched a long time ago otherwise. I can't get anyone other than you, and I have no idea why....However I don't need to know. I only need to make you strong enough to survive and help me live a little bit more. I mean I think we are both quite fan of not dying, right ?" The voice chuckled.
Jian couldn't see anyone around, only the field of roses could be seen..As if it was infinite.
Jian felt a hand touch his shoulder and he immediately shivered. It felt as if the Reaper itself had touched him, as if he could've died from that touch alone.
He quickly ran away, his legs taking him as far as possible, but in the end he couldn't tell if he was really moving or not. Everything looked the same no matter how much he ran and he couldn't see anything in the distance.
"Oh just accept it, child. I'm not your ennemy you know, even If I can appear to be a little scary...Kuhu.....This is all really funny to me you know ? I am kinda feeling like my old master. I'm about to teach someone like me, so I can't help but feel like that. You really are like the old me. I guess that's why I didn't ruin your mind already...Like I do with all things...."
Jian tripped on something and fell head first on the roses. A single whiff of their scent was enough to have his eyes roll at the back of his head and lose conciousness once again.
"Oh it will take time, Jian. For I won't really help you...You will suffer, like I suffered. You will use the tools we gave you to get as strong as possible...And you will change, Jian...Oh you will, trust me. Just like the Zero 'Queen' Host, just like this continent....Just like this whole world.....Just like old time. Old troubled times."