Author's Note: Apologies for the delay in putting out a new chapter. I was too heavily invested in Night City, despite the massive bugs at launch. To balance things out, as all things must be- I will be doing a mass release later this week. Let's jump right back in!
"Hello, are you okay?" ???A
"It looks like he is still groggy" ???B
"Well, he did lose consciousness- most likely due to the blood loss" ???A
"But that doesn't explain why he caused a reaction from the gate formation" ???B
"What are you going on about?" asked Roland slightly irritated as he had two individuals gawking at him, whilst he had only just come to and had no idea what was going on.
He had been enveloped by darkness and lost count of time- over what seemed like an eternity he had reached a new level of calm, released all his worldly ties, and been injected by a massive surge of memories which were not his. Just when he wanted a moment of peace and quiet, these two had to go on and on and on about this and that. Could they not let him rest in peace?
Roland was feeling disoriented but was slowly gaining focus. The two people standing by him became clearer to him, he noticed they had purple robes(1) and their name & rank was embroidered in gold; 'Solio, Hall of Fortune' & 'Kane, Hall of Scholars'. Solio looked like she was in her late twenties with long burgundy hair and a dark complexion, whilst Kane looked like he was in his late forties but was much taller- almost 8 feet and was well built quite like a special squadron soldier. However, both seemed to be friendly towards him and had no hidden intentions- which perplexed Roland as he was an outsider.
"Little Daoist, can you explain what happened before you arrived at the clan entrance- why you were injured and what happened next? We only wish to understand the situation better and mean you no harm, so you can be very open in what you say" Kane asked with an expression that looked like a kid getting candy.
'''Wheeeeze''' Solio straight up elbowed Kane, pretended like nothing happened before turning to Roland and saying, "Ignore this guy, he'd sell his soul for a bit of knowledge. You don't need to tell us anything if you don't want to- you aren't in trouble, we are just looking to understand what caused the phenomenon at the gate and could use your help to better understand what happened. You can always come to us at the Village Hall after you have had some rest."
After saying her piece, seeing Roland chose to remain silent, she turned around without a word and left. Followed by Kane, who looked at Roland, sighed and then followed after Solio.
Leaving behind a perplexed Roland who was thinking, 'What just happened?'
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
"Where do you think you are going?" yelled Zuck at a fool that just ran into a tree.
"Be more careful with that body will ya, ya hear me? It's already damaged and you are looking for both of us to ascend to the heavens at this rate!"
'Wait is this fool going to pass through the Cursed Forest, even I don't dare go there with my cultivation. The only reason I'm able to make it here is through the tunnel I dug over the last few years.'
"No way, the idiot's actually going in! You fool, give me back that body, lest a beast devour it. I'm going to beat the crap out of you if there is a single scratch on that body of mine!" Zuck said whilst cursing at Roland under his breath.
'Why is this guy walking as if taking a stroll in his backyard, this moron….'
'What is wrong with this person, does he not realise how dangerous this is?' thought Zuck- pulling his hair out of stress.
After thinking for a while about a way to make Roland get through the forest faster, before one of the higher-level beasts noticed his presence, the idea of making animal noises came to his mind. With a mischievous grin, Zuck started making animal sounds to try to scare Roland into moving faster.
'''Roar, Caw, Sssss, Croak'''
Unfortunately, no matter what Zuck did- as a ghost his voice couldn't reach Roland. So it was pretty much pointless, when he finally realised, his cheeks were flushed in embarrassment for making a fool of himself. Luckily there was no one who saw what he did.
"--Does host wish to simulate forest sounds--" a mechanical voice suddenly interrupted his thought process, looking around there was no one there….
"Whoever is there, come out and speak properly, don't act smart before 'I' your father!" commanded Zuck, cautiously looking around to spot any movement.
"--Repeat request: Does host wish to simulate forest sounds--" this time he clearly heard that the voice seemed to be in his head.
'No way, as a ghost am I going crazy?' wondered Zuck, 'wait, what happens if I say yes to this request?'
"Yes, host wished to simulate forest sounds" said Zuck in an inquisitive voice, he honestly wasn't expecting much to happen."
'''Croak''' '''Roar''' '''Swoosh'''
The sounds seemed to be coming from his body and were echoing around the thick vegetation to give the illusion of a spatial setting. Too excited to bother about what had just happened- Zuck immediately started getting closer to Roland.
The moment he was within a few metres, Roland sprinted away. A smile slowly crept up on Zuck's face as this was exactly what he wanted. Cackling like a maniac he chased after Roland and started heaping curses at him for being a coward that only knows how to run.
'''Whoosh'''
Breaking out of the forest, Roland headed to the gate to enter. Zuck was hot on his tail and seeing the gate his eyes lit up. There was a formation that would expulse any entities that possessed hosts of the clan and could detect the souls to ensure that only the souls of clan members were allowed in. It was an ancient but powerful formation that had saved the clan from multiple situations.
"Let's see how you get through this, oh look at me I'm so smart and cool- finally the heavens have eyes and will punish you for the sins you have committed against me!"
When he finally got through his monologue, he noticed that the formation was working but the intruder who had taken over his body wasn't backing down and there seemed to be something crushing his muscles and bones. A light suddenly shone through the sky,not knowing what this meant and thinking it was probably something bad, Zuck started cussing non stop at Roland for ruining his poor little life.
" --BLEEP-- "
When his outburst ended, he saw an outer disciple carry his unconscious body inside. Thinking it was his chance, Zuck excitedly leapt towards his body. 'Finally, what was mine will be returned to me!'
'''Bang!'''
Something repulsed him and sent Zuck flying, even as a soul he began splurting steam from his mouth and felt drained. What in the world was that?
Not wanting to leave his body alone, he followed the outer disciple. After a while he saw some elders come and talk to that outer disciple about the incident at the gate and handed over Roland to the elders who then took him to a settlement.
Wanting to enter, he noticed they had setup some wards outside and he wasn't able to enter. With nothing else to do and being in his terrible mood, he began wondering what the voice was earlier.
Suddenly the voice spoke, " --Host request detected: state query-- "
Surprised by the voice that came out of nowhere, Zuck stumbled back a bit, before regaining his composure, "What exactly are you and why do you keep calling me host?"