Bab 32: XXXII
[Now Playing: Gundam 00 OST 'Power']
"Destroy it…!"
Like a hivemind (albeit an uncoordinated one), the profound practitioners rose to the skies to confront the Gundam in the sky. Fire, ice, lightning, earth, wind, sword intent… a myriad of profound arts lit up the sky. Suddenly, Gundam Exia's particles turned crimson red.
It vanished, its particles leaving an afterimage that led to Zuo Hanshuo.
He turned… his eyes widening as the machine dashed toward over him, its emerald eyes flashing.
SLASH.
Descending downwards, Gundam Exia cut straight through the ninth-level monarch and dashed away to the next.
Duan Heisha managed to raise his sword against Exia, clashing it against its comparatively ginormous GN sword.
Clang.
His sword was cut in half… along with his own body as his body was pierced straight through.
It then switched to rifle mode and aimed at the final ninth-level monarch.
"Wait…" Mu Yingchan did not raise his sword against the Gundam. "This is surely a misunderstanding."
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
Gundam Exia kept firing until Mu YIngchan was nothing but charred dust.
With the top three experts in all of the continent fallen, chaos ensued. Everyone flew at their fastest speeds in hopes of evading the bizarre weapon of destruction. Gundam Exia rose to the skies as a scarlet wave of profound energy surged from the cockpit. This energy turned into countless swords which then descended down and hounded each of the escapees.
None escaped.
'It's not quite berserk attribute compatible yet…' Rokas remarked, jumping out of the cockpit as it opened. 'I'll need to find a way to extend the effects of profound arts to my Gundam Exia. Is that even possible, though?'
"I thank you for your protection, young man." Yun Gu replied, observing Rokas descend. "May I have the honour of knowing your name?"
"The name's Long Ke. You are the Medical Saint Yun Gu, am I correct?"
He nodded. "What brings you to my aid?"
"Can I be honest?" Rokas smiled slightly. "I want the Sky Poison Pearl. Your half, to be precise."
"My half?"
Rokas walked closer and extended his left hand, where the mark of the Sky Poison Pearl appeared. He forcefully took the poisonous half from Yun Gu, fusing it with his current one and completing the Sky Poison Pearl.
"It won't be causing any problems here in my hands, I assure you,"
Rokas stated as he turned away. Although, as he thought of something, he suddenly stopped.
"The Pearl…-"
"... Would you mind teaching me the ways of a medical expert?"
"...?" Yun Gu blinked in bewilderment. "You wish to be a medical expert?"
"Yeah… helping some people in need would be a useful skill," Rokas replied, turning back. "Don't worry, I'm a decently quick learner."
"Your heart is not evil… however, your body carries a wild and raging aura that is waiting for the moment to burst. Such a temperament is unfit for someone cultivating in the ways of medicine. However, that does not mean that you cannot do good. A sword that can protect and save others is sometimes far more crucial than a doctor's healing hand…"
"There are no absolutes in the world," Rokas replied, shaking his head. "I know what you're trying to say but why can I not be both the sword and the healing hand? What if there is something that a simple sword cannot solve?"
"I see… your intentions for learning are self-serving."
"My intent to learn is self-serving…" Rokas nodded. "But, in the end, helping others is a selfless act, is it not?"
"You want to learn from some medical saint when you have Li Suo, the Creator of Life and origin of Light Profound Energy, right next to you?" Jasmine scoffed. "You would truly be wasting your time with him."
'Being taught by Li Suo… how would I even focus?' Rokas thought to himself. "You know what, it's fine if you don't want to teach me. Just stay safe, yeah? The world's a dangerous place."
"..."
Rokas handed him several protection talismans which would trigger defensive and offensive formations before hopping back into Gundam Exia.
Yun Gu was thoroughly perplexed. Truly, that young man was an enigma.
~
"Are you suicidal now?" Jasmine questioned as Rokas floated over the Cloud's End Cliff and looked down into the abyss.
"Yes."
Rokas simply replied, although his sarcastic tone was hard to miss.
"... The very last thing you should do is jump down into that abyss. It is far too dangerous-"
"The things a man must do for a flower."
Rokas flew down straight into the abyss without much hesitation. The thought that he might actually die did cross his mind as he continued to descend. It seemed never-ending… and the auras down below… were tremendously strong, the lowest of which were in the Divine Origin Realm.
'System, where is the sweet-toothed loli?'
[System: Right here.]
'Oh… what are the chances of me getting jumped by an overly powerful beast before reaching her?'
[System: Depends on if you're quick on your feet.]
"Are you fucking stupid!?" Jasmine reprimanded him as he reached the bottom. "Now you're going to die a pointless death, after all of that… while bringing me down with you!"
'Since when did she pick up my slang?'
"Do me a favour and shuuuush."
"..."
Rokas took out Gundam Exia, using it to gather the highly-dense darkness profound energy and accelerate towards his target. Gundam Exia had never been faster, more flexible as Rokas focused on where the System had marked You'er.
[System: What if I told you that mark was false?]
'This isn't the time for games…'
SCREEE.
Rokas turned Gundam Exia, dodging the incoming bird.
"Can you all just politely fuck off?" Rokas made an attempt at using his Authority.
It didn't work.
[System: Maybe the beasts are just desperate to be petted.]
'Yeah, right…'
Rumble… rumble…
Endless steps echoed across the abyss as more of the beasts were alerted to his presence. Coincidentally, there happened to be quite a horde in front of him. He dashed to the side but some of them were clearly faster than him.
'Fuck's sake… are you all that hungry? System, drop like a mountain of Extra Big Big Macs. Like really big.'
[System: Lol, are you serious?]
'They might like the smell… just give them a mountain of good food.'
[System: A Big Mac isn't quite something I'd call good.]
The System did as he bid, creating a wall of massive Big Macs. Some of the beasts seemed to stop but Rokas didn't stay around to figure out if they were enjoying the food or not. As he neared You'er's section of the abyss, more beasts gathered around to block his path.
'Did Yun Che have to go through this?'
Rokas frowned as he lowered his hand.
'Forgive me, Exia.'
Rokas initiated his prototype Trans-Am system.
Exia's GN Drive rotated twice as fast, gathering the dense darkness profound energy around it at a far greater rate as its coating turned pitch black. Rokas managed to get around all of the beasts with this burst of speed and will it to the finish line towards a world of dark purple.
The Netherworld Udumbara Flower…
BOOOOOM.
Rokas managed to get out of Gundam Exia just as its GN Drive exploded from the power output. He paused for a long moment, observing its beautiful and final particles scatter across the abyss with a saddened expression.
Nothing else had been left of it.
'You served me well, Exia… I'll-'
Tens of thousands of Netherworld Udumbara Flowers blossomed at once. Eerie sounds of ghosts wailing, crying and laughter erupted all at once… shaking Rokas' body, mind and even soul.
He held his head in both of his arms as the dark and sinister aura of the Netherworld Udumbara Flower engulfed him.
Everything went black.
…
"Where is brother?"
He heard his little sister's voice, opening his eyes to his room. Where he would once sit, there was no chair. His laptop wasn't there either nor were most of his childhood toys. It was a place that was almost foreign to him.
"He is in a better place, sweetheart." To which his mother replied.
"When is brother coming back? When are we going to the park?"
"... He won't be… his heart stopped beating and he died. He can't eat, sleep, play or move anymore."
'I'm right here…'
Rokas tried to reach out… but a white light blinded him.
…
He opened his eyes to a little girl with bright silver hair and four different eye colours, namely; yellow, green, blue and purple. To his other side, Li Suo stood over him with a relieved expression. He noticed that the Netherworld Udumbara Flowers were no longer in full bloom, seemingly withered… letting out only silence.
"You did not become a part of the living dead, thankfully." Li Suo remarked.
"I… think it was your light that saved me," Rokas replied, looking up with a slight smile.
"No, not quite. It was your vigorous soul that endured the effects of the Netherworld Udumbara Flowers. My Light Profound Energy only purified the darkness that remained. Truthfully, you owe your thanks to Ni Jie… her other half. She controlled the blooming of the flowers so that you would not die."
"I've noticed." Rokas nodded. 'System, make me a Celebrations box.'
[System: Do I look like your maid?]
'No, a proper maid would know how to cook. You don't.'
[System: Who decided that I can't cook?]
'You're a system, mate.'
[System: Those two things aren't exclusive from one another, you know. In any case, you're right, I can't cook.]
'... Wow, okay. What were you crying about then?'
[System: I can still 'cook up' things, you feel me?]
'Yeah, right. Please give me my Celebrations box.'
[System: You asked nicely enough. By the way, since she's a soul, she can't really taste anything.]
'Oh… that's tough.'
Afterwards, Li Suo recruited You'er to his Inner World and reunited the two sisters. As the Darkness Seed was in You'er's possession, it naturally found itself in his hands. Regarding the Netherworld Udumbara Flower, Jasmine had already harvested one for herself and started reconstructing her body after Rokas gave a drop of his blood essence.
"You don't seem surprised at all…" Rokas remarked as he observed the Darkness Seed and turned back to Li Suo.
"Ni Xuan was quite expressive to me. I suppose you could say that, amongst the Creation Gods, we shared the most secrets. Although he possessed darkness profound energy, he was quite afraid of it and was reluctant to make use of it. In the end… it is not darkness profound energy that makes one's heart evil. It is the nature of the person."
"Do not be afraid to take it."
In the end, Rokas took the darkness seed, attaining complete control, absolute immunity and increased affinity towards darkness profound energy.
~
Through the reborn Jasmine, leaving the abyss was quite simple and stress-free. They stood over the Cloud's End Cliff as a feeling of uncertainty rose in Rokas' heart. He hadn't exactly touched Jasmine's heart as Yun Che had done… or so it seemed.
"I hope I didn't tease you enough to warrant death." Rokas chuckled.
"And if you did?"
"Well… that would be tough."
[Jasmine (Fortune X) Confidant Rank: 6 → 7]
"It would be 'tough', indeed." Jasmine smiled slightly. "You are a man of your word, Rokas. Though… what is to stop me from searching your memories?"
"Invading my privacy after I almost gave my life to rebuild your body would be a little… I don't know, ungrateful?"
"What is it that you desire most from this world?"
"Peace," Rokas replied rather bluntly. "Although, to achieve that, I need your help."
"My help…? You can become the undisputed ruler of this planet with absolute power that could never be rivalled. Unless you… no, do not expand your ambitions to the Realm of the Gods. You have a family here, an Empire to watch over and a daughter to raise. All that you could possibly wish for is here. No one would dare to disturb your peace."
"How could I live knowing that I lied to my wife's face and never reunited her family?" Rokas shook his head. "How can I be at peace knowing that you're going to be…"
"You know about that?"
"Help me help you, Jasmine."
Rokas stepped closer and looked into her eyes with a sincere expression.
"Your situation might seem helpless but I can change that. You… don't have to die for your father's ambitions. Even if you refuse to help me, I'll still go out there into the Realm of the Gods. Nothing can change my mind regarding that… though, I would be much safer with your protection, wouldn't I?"
Jasmine furrowed her brows in thought.
"Even if I stayed here, what if some random horny schmuck from the Realm of the Gods pulls up and I can't do shit about it? Knowing my luck… something like that would happen. To have the peace that I desire, I have to be the strongest!"
'That's just how these things go. I can't run from it… even if I tried, it would only result in my own suffering.'
Rokas extended his hand towards Jasmine, his brown hair swaying with the wind.
"So… Jasmine, will you help me?"
Jasmine looked up and saw him smile a little. That reassuring, confident, aura was something that was not too far from that of a king. Since they first met… he had changed so much. From the embarrassed and lazy caveman to the hardworking cultivator, romantic, creative thinker and then the man who single handedly destroyed a Sacred Ground through trickery. Now, he was a person who charmed the masses simply by being himself.
Even she… had inevitably felt something for him. Seeing his relentless drive to reach the top and aid her, how could she decline?
"I will stay by your side."
Jasmine nodded, shaking his hand and then… embracing him. It was more comfortable than she had expected.
'That… was unexpected.'
Rokas smiled as he accepted her embrace and stroked her scarlet hair.
"Hmph… don't get ahead of yourself." Jasmine pushed him away.
'Actual tsun-tsun.' Rokas chuckled. "My bad, my bad."
And so, with a powerful Divine Master's protection, countless avenues opened for Rokas.
Though… things wouldn't quite go as smoothly as he would have wished.
Fate had other plans.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone