"No! Stop that!"
It was the last sound he heard. Which was very familiar. It was the voice of his saviour, echoing across the vast plain. It brought hope to Levi's little consciousness, that he might get justice he deserve to.
A striking force drove his consciousness away of the devil's realm. The mysterious force sucked him into another space of endless darkness. Unlike the former place so bright and vigorous, this place of nothing but pure darkness which is a blanket of silent and soothing melody to the solitary soul of the human. Levi was carried here and he floated freely in the space.
Levi, with his slight consciousness forced to open his eyes. He saw a different kind of beauty where he least expect it. Out in the wide universe, stars sprang up, radiating lights of variety colors. They give life to the mystery which coated the whole body of nothingness. And stars move slowly which until they form a pattern resembling a woman. Under his observance, the constellation materialized into a real human.
A girl of about 16 years old, emerged from the web of stars. She was wearing a bright pink dress decorated with flowers and butterflies. Her long black hair cascading down to her waist. And her face is perfectly sculpted oval figure with big sparkling eyes. She was to be the first goddess he'd ever seen. However, her face is also familiar to the boy. He saw that face on his second life, when he was washing his face, he saw the reflection of the young lady. The lady walked near him as she greeted.
"Hello, Young Master Levi."
She bowed slightly, courteously showing her shy and kind attitude by smiling cheerfully. "My name is Fate. And I'm your body servant."
The way she said it made it sound like something and he nearly blushed.
"Young Master must be thinking of something naughty, but I'm not talking about that. Since I gave you my physical being and you are possessing it, then I am considered as your body servant. Furthermore, here in the space realm of the blade, senior brother has instructed me to take care of you as he was going to do some business."
Levi wondered if she was talking about Lei Jian.
"Yes, Young Master. I'm speaking about senior brother Lei Jian. He has accepted me as his younger sister and I'm so grateful about it. If he did not given me a chance, I might also be buried under the debris left by the calamity."
She held his hand. Levi was sure he is dead, but he wasn't so sure anymore as he is feeling warmth flowing from her arms to his.
"Now please let me heal your wounds. You are not yet dead. You are in need of a quick recovery. As a servant, I am willing to offer my own life force."
Their hands weren't touching very hard. But heat is increasing every second. Fate closed her eyes, she chants the blood seal along while writing magical glyphs on her mind to further enhance her healing ability in exchange of life force. It may be a weird thing if a stranger just helped another stranger, claiming to be his servant, and even healing him willingly. Levi has never seen such woman before. The amount of loyalty needed to create bond between master and servant is the accumulation of experience together in an certain time length. So Levi could never understand why is she doing this. However, he was thankful enough to the young mistress and promised himself to treat her nicely.
The heat intensifies, and although Levi is no stranger to extreme temperature, he can't help but sweat profusely. Yet he was relieved when he can feel his body again. His bones and muscles are restored and his skin turns rosy white, suggesting a normal blood flow. However, his brain is still tightly frozen and he can't do no more but to wait.
When his circulatory system was fully healed, he unleashed the breathing technique taught by his master Lei Jian. First, he calmed himself to the appex point. Then straightened himself in a balanced position. This will ensure the safe way for qi to flow on his spine. He started breathing with a deep inhale.
Breathing is not hard but is hard to do here in a sealed space. It seems there were very much less air stored in here for consumption. For an insufficient amount of oxygen to fulfill its best potential, it needs to be circulated for at least 6 times around the body. Nevertheless, to control qi from the liters of blood needs a lot lot focus. Imagine how perceptive he shall be just to have inner sense of the body's insides. It starts with the heartbeat. Feeling the heart beating, even with the faintest sound is a great start for mastering the way of inner control.
Levi stayed laying there for hours, enduringly concentrating on feeling his heart movements and blood flow. His breathing which was normally seven seconds a cycle, became even more slower until he can inhale for full twenty seconds, hold it for three seconds, and exhale for fifteen seconds. His blood flow returned to normal as heat continues to massage his cells and batterize them at full. Levi was able to recover quickly his body and mind. It was just his spirit is still lacking in flame. He must raise his spirit although controlling the spirit is a hundred times harder than physical things.
Fate stopped transferring energy. Her complexion became much paler than before, and her eyes might seem to drop any moment. Levi expressed his worry but she just shakes her head. "Rest, Young Master. Your health is most important to me. I will also need to meditate." She bowed then vanishes to a cloud of smoke.
There was a big crack in the vastness of space. The crack expanded until it reached almost half of the realm. They multiplied until they successfully broke through. A blinding light emerged from the big hole. However blinding it may be, it still unable to penetrate much of the deep space. As Levi's consciousness returned, he was in the middle of a boundary. A boundary between light and dark. Half of the space is the dark side of Lei Jian's space, while half is the light side of the demon's territory. Both exists in harmony, in the balance of Yin and Yang.
Two figures emerged on both sides. One was an ancient blade overlord, while the other is an young demon form of Levi. Both were staring right through his soul and he shivered by their presence. Lei Jian spoke first.
"Dear disciple, are you feeling all right?"
Levi could not speak but he nodded slightly.
"Good. First of all, I ensure you that you are perfectly alive, both in and out. Demon Lord LEVI has not meant to harm you in any way."
"That is correct. I do not intend to kill you. I was just trying to seal you so I could take over your consciousness. But your Master here is quite intimidating, so I accepted his request."
"Levi, I can't believe how bad your luck is. Fate seems to be playing your life and death. We had a mutual agreement with Demon Lord. And we decided that..."
Levi was instantly awakened as soon as they spoke their purpose. Until now, he can't figure out the reason why they are very much interested in him. Why him? Why choose him to be their host? As far as he know, he got nothing that is worth anything besides his meek little soul. Levi was interested in gaining power. But he was not willing to trade temporary strength in exchange for his soul. However, the two hosts, and now his two Masters, Lei Jian and Lord LEVI, were just adamant in staying inside him. And Levi was worried that they are just feeding his soul. Right, he can't do anything but to accept to their terms.
Levi awoke in the outside world, still in an injured state of a young woman. The pain of losing her left arm is not that bad compared to the pain of losing her humanity. Levi stood up, with a heavy burden tied to her shoulders. She must carry on survival whatever it takes.
The voice of her second Master sounded in her mind. "Good evening, Levi. How're you feeling?"
"I'm fine."
"Nice, nice. I see that your physical state is not very good. It won't be long till infection takes control and you might catch a terrible illness. Go and find water source and food."
"I just came from a water source and I was almost dragged to hell."
"Hurhur. Not this time. You were just not careful in your actions. You should always think first before doing anything. Go forth, to the north side. I heard some mammals are partying in there. There must be a water source."
Levi gave in to the suggestion of his twin. She head straight to a distance. She sensed some animals are indeed howling in there. She traversed silently through the bushes and used the night's darkness for cover. The chilling wind is very disturbing to her exposed skin.
"Oh, and by the way, before you go, it would be troubling if you encounter some dangerous beasts with only an arm. The Blade of Lei Jian is an extraordinary one. Since he gave you control of it. You can actually change its form. Try shaping it into a hand. It will be your temporary limb, which will still retain its sturdiness and power. It should be easier than carrying it anywhere."
Levi stared at the blade in wonder. "How do I change the form of this thing?"
"Use your qi. You maybe a newbie cultivator, but you've got a large amount of qi at your disposal. The easiest way to release qi and use it is by the form of a blood seal. You just need to use your blood and draw the corresponding imprint on the blade, and your qi will be drawn and do the command as intructed by the seal. I will show you the blood seal to be used for changing forms. Here is it." He showed a complicated patterns of glyphs through his mind.
"Uhmm... I need to draw all these? My blood maybe insufficient to draw such huge array imprint."
"Exactly. Each line and pattern is important to the foundation of the whole array. They are the exact channels of qi to be able to flow smoothly. If one is missing, the whole array may not work at all."