Chapter 76: Web of Lies
Crash!
Crash!
Bang!
Flash!
Woosh!
Kaboom!
…
The lightning sent from the heavens struck down upon Sha Ku's crispy carcass nine times in total. Each struck down like a blacksmith hammer against a poor innocent insect.
Sha Ku like the cockroach refused to die though, surviving through each and every strike of divine lightning.
The Purple Cloud Sword that was firmly grasped to pierce into the sky was now lying, disposed and wasted on the ground. The seven ancient runes carved within were rippling with electricity, each biting at the anything that approached it. Surrounding it was a litter of small creatures, from insectoids and arachnids all the way up to a rodent – a little two-tailed black mouse that was native to Darkspire.
Sha Ku still stood over Liu Bei's body, his once porcelain white skin was now scorched and burnt, a sour mix of bright red and a pork-like roasted chestnut.
His breathing was slow, his hair was gone. All that was left was his tattered clothes and a disgustingly indomitable smile that adorned his face from ear to ear. He knew this was a moment of triumph.
Slowly bending down, he grabbed a-hold of Liu Bei's wrist. The once weak heartbeat was now strong! Like the heavy beat of an ancient gong, becoming the release of an abyssal dragon, from the depths of the Hell's Abyss.
And it responded! The fingers on his hands were twitching, the eyes beneath their lids twitched about; "He's alive. He's going to thrive. Ahh." Sha Ku collapsed onto his side, his legs giving out from underneath his body.
With his tired and burnt arms, Sha Ku dragged himself one scrape and deep sunken clawing of mud at a time. With each rotation of his arms, pulling him closer to the tree, his body seemed to heal. The chestnut skin hat almost vanished from his face, becoming a forest of red blotches upon his skin.
"Ughh." Sha Ku groaned in exhaustion as he propped himself upon a mighty oak, his skin full of abrasions, torn and battered; but more importantly still alive.
He closed his left eye, ready to sleep; but suddenly halted himself.
"Gentleman's Return." He spoke, with his hand open.
Slowly but surely, the Purple Cloud Sword returned to his hand, "You'll be more than useful." He spoke as he carefully stored it in the three-headed interspatial ring upon his finger.
With that, his right eye closed as well, with a soft smile upon his face, he fell into a land of dreams. Soaring the skies and fishing in an ocean of stars.
In his dream he saw a good many things, some brought warm memories to heart, the others were dark things… the likes of which would be a nightmare for most, but for Sha Ku; it was the path of blood he had trekked. The thousands upon thousands of stories that he had ended with the point of his sword. It was all in service to some omnipotent will of the universe. That was what he thought, there wasn't even an idol behind it, just the random whim of the world. Now though, the universe, the heavens… had it abandoned him, or had it grander notions in store for him? Did the heavens wish to upheave his life or test him? Test him by crushing him, his flesh, his bones, his vitality into the dust. Treading on him repeatedly. Over and over again, until the desperate will and manner of his unyielding soul is all that is left?
Was that the answer? To destroy all that he was? So that only the pure and tenacious core of his soul was the only thing remaining? But for what purpose could that serve… no the will of the heaven was too complicated; all he could do was walk a certain path and at the end of it pray that he had the heaven's favour rather than their fury.
"Sha Ku!"
"Sha Ku!"
"Ugh, what. Piss off!" Sha Ku groaned, rubbing his tired little eyes.
Looking at his hands, he realised they were fully healed, they weren't even a little red.
Smacking his lips, he sat up, grunting while stretching and letting out a big yawn.
"Oh, Liu Bei. You alright?" He looked up to see the young man poking at him with a stick.
"Sha Ku, are you alright? I don't remember what happened?" Liu Bei asked, observing the tattered purple robes that desperately clung to Sha Ku's body.
"Awww," Sha Ku yawned once more, "Yeah. I'm fine. Just a bit exhausted. Let me go back to sleep." Sha Ku leaned against a tree once more, closing his eyes.
"Get up! Don't you realise where we are?! Darkspire! Darkspire! It's a miracle some demonic beast didn't sloth up upon us and slit our throats while we slept! Now get up!" Liu Bei said sternly, his natural disposition, dragging Sha Ku to his feet.
"Now, let's get out of here. Explain to me what happened on the way." Liu Bei practically slung Sha Ku over his shoulder, much to the boy's complete chagrin.
After about twenty minutes, Sha Ku convinced Liu Bei to put him down so that they both may walk, in return Sha Ku would reveal to him what had happened.
"Liu Bei, it's quite complicated, and I'm only going to explain it once, so listen up!" Sha Ku spoke decisively, not giving Liu Bei a chance to reply.
And so, Sha Ku spun his web, fabricating a tale worthy and perhaps equal to a child being beheaded and miraculously coming back to life… well not really, but it was still rather convincing.
"So, you're telling me that woman put down some kind of formation that captures people in an illusion?" Liu Bei asked, still unsure.
"Precisely. I managed to see through it, not immediately though… as you can tell from my tattered robe…" Sha Ku's lip twitched.
"I was in a den of wolves when I came to… that was awful. Imagine the moment you came awoke from a horrid dream you were confronted with an even scarier and far more tyrannical power?! I was confused, luckily I managed to break the illusion though." Sha Ku explained as they finally left Darkspire, seeing the mountain range of the Spirit Sword Sect on the horizon.
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