Despite the injuries weighing Kai down, Kai's body was healing at a rapid pace due to the lingering effects of the bracelet. Leora glanced back, a flicker of relief lighting her weary features as she saw him awake. "Brother, you're awake! I was so worried!" she exclaimed, her voice rising with unguarded joy.
But even as he acknowledged her happiness, Lucian knew that their troubles were far from over. He glanced at his wrist, searching for the bracelet, a beacon of hope that had granted him this second chance, but it was gone. It had served its purpose, perhaps as a final gift from Jugo, and now they were on their own.
"Sister, there's no need to run." Lucian said, determination creeping into his voice. "We won't reach Cloud City like this. Do you have any plan or treasure Father left for us?"
Leora's expression fell, despair creeping into her features like a creeping shadow. "No, we don't have any escape treasures." she admitted, her voice barely a whisper. "They are more in number, and their cultivation is higher than mine."
Another memory flooded Lucian's mind. Instead of the nexus energy he was familiar with, this world operated on cultivation, a concept both foreign and strangely appealing.
In this realm, power was stratified into ranks: Novice, Apprentice, Practitioner, and Half-Warrior. Above them, Lucian had no memories to guide him or rather he didn't knew. Each stage was subdivided into five sub-stages—Initial, Middle, Upper, Peak, and Zenith. As of now, he possessed the cultivation level of Novice Zenith grade, a status that felt insignificant against the mounting threat.
He glanced down at himself and felt the weight of a ring on his finger. He hadn't noticed it before, but now it felt heavy with potential. It was a space ring.
He focused, drawing in a deep breath to steady himself as he checked inside. His fingers brushed against various items: herbs, daggers, strings, spiritual stones, and other miscellaneous treasures that might prove useful. The feeling of hope sparked slightly in his chest, but it was quickly overshadowed by the reality of their situation.
Turning his gaze back toward the pursuers, he counted five figures lurking in the shadows, their intentions clear in the predatory gleam of their eyes.
Among them stood one who wore a mask, exuding an aura thick with bloodlust. Lucian's heart sank as he thought, 'Is he a war puppet?' Another memory surfaced: War puppets were humans stripped of rationality, reduced to bloodthirsty shells that obeyed their masters without question.
Lucian scanned the auras of the pursuers, confirming that three of them were at the same level as Leora, a Mid-Apprentice cultivator. His mind raced, formulating plans to shake off their pursuit, but a dark undercurrent pulled at him.
Leora, his sister, was in no fit state to lead them; her energy was rapidly waning, and the weight of their family's reconstruction pressed heavily on her shoulders.
As Leora pressed forward, her body screamed in pain. Every muscle felt like it was on fire, her heart pounding in a relentless rhythm of fear. It was unreasonable to expect a 19-year-old girl to remain calm under such extreme pressure and danger her family had been destroyed, her brother had faced near death, and everything she held dear had been shattered in a single day.
Different memories began to play like a film in her mind, and with them came dark thoughts. 'What if I abandon Lucian to survive?' The notion slithered through her consciousness, tempting and alluring.
Her mind flickered to painful memories of clan elders, their discrimination stinging like fresh wounds. Despite her intellect, cultivation prowess, and the success she had achieved in clan missions, she had never been given the title of young Clan Leader—an honor that had been bestowed upon Lucian.
Bitterness began to twist in her heart like a vine choking the life out of a tree. 'Why was he the chosen one?' Among the two survivors of their clan, she felt more worthy of that title. 'Couldn't I use Lucian, who is a burden, to escape and rebuild our clan in Cloud City?' The thought both horrified and exhilarated her, creating a tumultuous storm within her soul.
Leora's entire life had been a series of challenges and injustices simply because she was born female. Despite her achievements, she was constantly overshadowed by her brother and looked down upon by the male members of the clan.
The elders often dismissed her opinions, insisting that a woman could not possibly understand the burdens of leadership as well as a man could. They would remind her of her "place" within the clan, reducing her to nothing more than a vessel for their lineage, while Lucian was hailed as the promising successor.
Their words echoed in her mind, sharp and unrelenting. "You're too emotional." they would say. "A true leader must be rational and strong." The dismissive laughter of her peers lingered in her ears like a haunting melody.
Every accomplishment of hers was overshadowed by her gender, leaving her feeling like a ghost in her own life. She could never escape the weight of their disdain, their conviction that a girl could never be as competent as a boy.
Each slight became a stone in her heart, weighing her down, feeding the flames of resentment. While Lucian was lauded for his potential, Leora was relegated to the sidelines, her efforts dismissed as mere happenstance and luck.
She had spent years fighting for recognition, and yet here she was, struggling to save a brother who had never truly acknowledged her pain. In moments like this, she felt like a student who, despite knowing the exam was the next day, couldn't help but scroll through social media, captivated by the endless scroll of curated lives.
The addiction to distraction was a familiar refuge; it offered a momentary escape from her reality. Just like the student who neglects their studies to drown in the allure of social media, Leora found herself losing sight of her true self amid the cacophony of comparisons.
Instead of confronting her feelings of inadequacy, she buried them under layers of jealousy and longing, seeking validation from the superficial attention of those who did not truly care.
Thoughts begin to brew like. Lucian never wanted to be a clan leader. He is a carefree person. Would he able to handle clan affairs in cloud city? She remembered How father punished her when Lucian got injured in training even though it was not her fault.
You are elder sister can't you protect your brother. In his last moment he never cared about her "Leave with Lucian and rebuild our clan in cloud city. Lucian life is important. He is our only hope."
It wasn't just her brother she resented; it was the world that had turned a blind eye to her capabilities, all because of the gender she had been born into.
Each tantrum she had faced, each punishment she was given, was a reminder that her worth was dictated by others, much like how the clan elders dictated her fate. This thought spiraled into a dark vortex, whispering that Lucian was unworthy of being saved.
It wasn't that she didn't love her brother; it was just that the instinct for survival gripped her tightly, blurring her moral compass. The human psyche is frail, especially when faced with insurmountable pressure. Every being yearns to survive; it is an instinct as ancient as life itself. Abandoning Lucian to save herself was it truly wrong?
Leora struggled to dismiss these unwanted thoughts, frustration bubbling within her. 'How could I think like this?' Yet she could feel the insidious whispers creeping back, urging her to yield. It was a common struggle; even the greatest sages, those who had mastered the art of the mind, could fall prey to such temptations. But she was not among them.
She was merely a young woman, exhausted, vulnerable, and drowning in her thoughts.
As they navigated deeper into the valley, the walls seemed to close in, mirroring the tightening grip of her fear.
The oppressive atmosphere threatened to swallow them whole, and for a fleeting moment, Leora's mind whispered the same seductive lies that had begun to seep in. 'What if I leave him behind? What if I can survive this?'
The thoughts taunted her, relentless as the pursuers behind them. In a world governed by strength, perhaps it would be acceptable to abandon the weak. After all, survival was the first rule of existence.
"Stop it." she berated herself internally. "He is my brother. I can't think like this."
But can anyone truly win against their mind? Even sages had succumbed to their inner demons; Leora was simply a girl who was pushed to the brink. The exhaustion of her body mirrored the turmoil within, a tempest of conflicting emotions battling for dominance.
In the midst of Leora's internal struggle, Lucian was focused on the task at hand unaware of storm razing in Leora's mind. He needed a plan, a way to shake off the relentless pursuers.
Suddenly, Leora stumbled into a narrow valley, a seemingly safe haven amidst the chaos. Lucian opened his mouth to protest, to caution her against the dangerous turn, but something in her demeanor told him she was not herself anymore. Her instincts had taken over, blinding her to the very real danger that awaited them.
She threw lucian nearby the entrance of valley. Abandoning him, he had no choice but to follow her in the valley.
Meanwhile, the leader of the pursuers, a calculating man with an Apprentice Peak cultivation, observed them from a distance. He saw them enter the valley, a sinister smile creeping across his lips. "Foolish children." he muttered, a predator savoring the thrill of the hunt.
He gestured to his three subordinates. "You three go and follow them," he commanded, a hint of malice threading through his tone.
As they took off after Leora and Lucian, the leader unfurled a map, tracing the route to Cloud City. He knew that this narrow valley would slow them down, and they would soon be captured if nothing went wrong. "In times of crisis, the mind gets clouded but there might be some trick why did she abandoned her brother? Is there a trap in the valley? I can't take risk."
He mused, a sinister chuckle escaping his lips. "Even if you manage to escape them, I will be waiting for you at the end of the valley."
He commanded his war puppet "Kill anyone who tries to exit this valley." The war puppet nodded without any emotion. He was like a chained beast ready to tear apart his enemies just waiting for his master's command.
...
The three men started laughing, their amusement evident as they began throwing daggers toward Leora. She reacted swiftly, dodging them just in time, while the remaining daggers were skillfully deflected by Lucian. He was about to speak when, without warning, Leora abruptly turned and disappeared into the cave nearby, leaving him momentarily stunned.
Inside the cave, Leora had come to a halt, her breathing erratic as exhaustion overwhelmed her. She knelt on the cool ground, her mind a whirlpool of despair and determination, caught between the desire to protect her brother and the overwhelming urge to survive.
As Lucian caught up, he could see the shadows of doubt creeping into her eyes. "Sister, we need to move!" he urged, sensing the peril closing in around them. But Leora was lost in her thoughts, her gaze vacant, trapped in a web of fear and uncertainty.
The dense jungle outside roared with life, but within the cave, the silence was suffocating. Each heartbeat echoed in Lucian's ears as he struggled to find a way out of this dire situation. He needed to break through to Leora, to reignite the spark of hope that had flickered within her.
But as darkness closed in, he realized that they were both fighting against not just the enemy outside but the demons lurking within. Would they find a way to survive, or would the weight of despair consume Leora completely?