Cultivation Through Artifacts

“What is my relationship with Khal?” Liza was surprised by the unexpected question and didn’t know how to reply to that.

Khal and she were like siblings but without any bloodline connections. They have known each other since childhood thanks to their parent’s friendship. Her father and Khal’s dad met with each other during the Talent Ceremony and since then, they not only experienced good and bad moments together but also fought in hundreds if not thousands of life and death battles. Their bond was more than friends; they were sworn brothers.

And because of their parents so close friendship, Liza and Khal were together almost all the time. They played together, cried together, fought each other, and even pranked their parents together if the time was given. No matter what memory she tried to recall, there was not a single one where Khal wouldn’t be there.

As Liza thought about the old days she spent with Khal her delicate face turned soft while a gentle light flashed in her eyes. But for some reason, that happy expression that made even Jane, a strict person, feel happy, suddenly turned sour and sorrowful.

It was because Liza suddenly remembered the day when everything changed; when that ‘incident’ happened. They lost everything. Their homes, loved ones, the status as a noble, but most importantly, their happiness, which was especially true for Khal.

Ever since that day, the cheerful and optimistic Khal turned cold and emotionless. It was like something inside him snapped, turning him into a completely different person she knew until this moment. There was not a single day that hatred, grief, or bloodlust was not visible deep inside his eyes.

Just the sole picture of that Khal made Liza’s chest tighten in anguish, like someone held and clenched her heart with an ice-cold touch.

“What is my relationship with him?” muttered Liza quietly as the old and the current Khal’s image slowly overlapped in her mind, giving her two completely different feelings.

“We knew each other ever since we were young and even though we had times where we barely talked, I think our current relationship should be considered as great.”

As Jane listened to this nodded her head slightly and averted her gaze. Watching the crystal clear lake before her that could put even the most chaotic soul at ease, Jane crossed her arms behind her back and asked in a gentle voice, “Can you please tell me more about your pasts?”

When Liza glanced at her Master, an indescribable feeling enveloped her mind. The strict aura around Jane in her eyes somehow vanished and what appeared instead was only a sensation of admiration and trust. She stood there like a mother, like a Guardian who was ready to listen to her whatever she was about to say. This feeling alone made Liza’s mind to be put at ease and nod her head without a second thought.

“En.”

***

Outside of Moon City about 5 miles away toward the east, a great mountain rose above the creamy white clouds above in the distance, while the moon in its full glory emerged behind it slowly, enveloping the boundless starry sky above and the vast world below with its gentle light.

At this time, two figures’ shadows could be seen walking up slowly on the foot of the mountain that was filled with huge trees, with a visible aim in their mind.

“As you know, creatures only come out when the moon appears in the sky. That is one of the reasons why this place is called Moon Mountain.” explained Moras in a calm manner while he pushed a few branches aside from his way.

“One of the reasons? Why? Is there something else?” asked Greg curiously as he followed Moras closely from behind while scanning his surroundings non-stop.

What happened back in Shadow Woods finally made Khal fully realize that he was no longer in his old world where one died only by old age or because of an accident. No, he was in a world where everything could happen and everyone, including him too, could die in a single instant if one wasn’t careful enough.

“Every step I take and every decision I make now have bigger consequences. This is no longer the life I lived for the past 17 years; but a completely new one where everything has a harsher and crueler cause.”

Just like how Miss Mary died because of his surge of emotions and also how he almost got himself killed twice because he thought nothing would happen, Khal understood he was the very reason for everything that happened so far.

And at this very moment as Khal realized his unforgivable mistakes, slowly and unseen, something finally started to change inside both of his mind and heart.

Moras who led the way all this time glanced back at Khal and chuckled quietly, “You don’t need to act that carefully. We are currently at the very bottom of Moon Mountain and only creatures on the First and Second Cultivation Stage will appear so you can rest assured, nothing will happen.”

“I thought the very same thing when I entered Shadow Woods, yet, I was almost killed by a creature that shouldn’t have been there in the first place.” replied Khal instantly, while never removing his eyes from his surroundings.

“…”

When Moras heard this he opened his mouth to say something but realized he was unable to find the words. What Khal just said was true; Ghost Spiders shouldn’t have appeared in forests, especially not in Shadow Woods so his current state was only natural.

“Still, now we are not in Shadow Woods but on Moon Mountain. If we don’t ascend this mountain too much and step over a certain point, we should be fine.” told Moras as he averted his gaze back to the front but immediately stopped the next second.

“What? Did som-.” asked Khal instantly, but stopped in mid-sentence as Moras showed him to be quiet.

“Look there,” whispered Moras as he pointed toward his left.

Khal turned his gaze where Moras pointed at, but didn’t see anything special. Just a normal rocky wall with small, fist-sized holes on its surface.

“What should I see?” Khal asked as he squinted his eyes, but still was unable to see a thing.

“Just look closer and you will see ‘it’.”

“It?” knitted his brows Khal in confusion, but still did as he was told and concentrated his vision on the sight before him.

“!?”

After waiting patiently for seconds minutes, suddenly Khal’s eyes noticed a slight movement in the tiny gaps, making him to squint his eyes even more.

“Zzzik… Zik… Zikkk”

With a strange and rough sound that was similar to that of a buzz, a creature with a size of a fist emerged through the ravine and looked around.

“Diamond Beetle!” said Khal instantly as he recognized the beast before him.

It was a tiny creature representing a beetle, almost as big as a human fist. However, the most eye-catching aspect of the beast was not its size, but the beautiful and shining, diamond-shaped exoskeleton on its body. Simply looking at the creature made one believe that it was truly a diamond, walking on tiny legs.

“Amazing!” whispered Khal with awe as he inspected the creature’s natural beauty, but the very next second his awe turned into shock, then into stupified expression.

Immediately after the first Diamond Beetle arose from the gap, suddenly another head popped out from the hole next to it, then another from the third one, then it was followed by a fifth and sixth one. One by one, tiny heads emerged from the mountain’s wall one after another, flooding the whole area in seconds with their crazy numbers.

“So… Many…” Khal was unable to hide his shock as he watched the hundreds of tiny Diamond Beetles surged forth from the gaps like waves of a raging ocean, filling the once empty space before him to the absolute brim! 

Right now, the sight before him was like he looked at a small lake, but instead of water, it was filled with small pieces of diamonds moving here and there like tides!

The sight was both mesmerizing and at the same time… terrifying!