There was no way Vilari would mistake the approaching woman for anyone but Thea Marshall, even if the shapeshifter’s appearance was slightly different from what Vilari remembered. Rather than the young woman who died decades ago, Thea carried herself with the temperament of an expert. The sharp determination in her piercing blue eyes remained, now stabilized by experience and age. It made the disguise more believable. She was also covered in wounds, no doubt meant to lower Vilari’s guard.
Such ploys were destined to fail, seeing as Vilari didn’t have any attachment to Thea Marshall. At best, one could say her impression of her father’s former lover was complicated. The Einherjar Project was still a tightly guarded secret when Thea was killed, solely known by Uncle Triv and Zac. Not even Thea was made aware of what was happening on Elysium at the time.
Nevertheless, Thea actually held a significant position in Vilari’s heart at the time. Unbeknownst to Thea, Vilari had once seen her from a distance. It was one of her strongest memories from her early days when everything was confusing and scary. The intimate bond with her father had been a great comfort while her newborn soul acclimatized to an adult body.
Zac set aside as much time as he could for her and her siblings, but an emperor of a budding empire had too many matters on his plate. He could only sneak away to visit the nursery a few times a week, and he was often called away early by pressing matters.
Vilari’s awakening had been fraught with more problems than the other first-generation Revenants. Her predecessor’s unique bloodline forced her newborn soul to rapidly expand, which was an extremely painful process. It took years before she reached the strength necessary to accept the Crown of Despair inheritance.
Her father tried to help, but Port Atwood was much poorer back then, whether in heritage or resources. Out of better options, he occasionally brought her out of the nursery to take her mind off the pain. Everything was new and exciting, and those outings were still among her fondest memories.
During one of those trips, her father took her to his compound. It was at that time that Thea made an unscheduled appearance, returning early from a cultivation session. Not ready to expose the Einherjar’s existence, Zac hid inside an illusion array until they could sneak back to Elysium. Vilari perfectly recalled Zac’s stilted explanation of who Thea was and why they had to hide.
That day, a seed of jealousy was born. Vilari cast Thea as the evil stepmother who kept her father from seeing his daughter. If not for that woman, Vilari could have lived with her father, going on adventures every day. The image was both unfair and inaccurate. Neither could she say that Zac was at fault for how he handled the situation.
The relationship between Liches and the newly raised was still unfamiliar and ill-defined, and Zac was still struggling with the trauma of the Integration. The dependence on his “children” comforted him, creating a codependence that wasn’t there in the subsequent generations of Revenants. Vilari’s cohort was the only one who considered themselves siblings, and Zachary Atwood their father.
There were few reasons someone would take this form, none of them good. Most likely, they were dealing with an assassin. Their appearance had the chance to create a brief opening when encountering the members of the Atwood Empire, at least among those who’d been around since the beginning.
Vilari was no exception. Her mind had briefly shut down from the familiar appearance, and she would have been in great danger if they encountered each other face to face. Luckily, Vilari’s soul wards gave her the early warning needed to adjust her mental state. She took a calming breath to settle the childish jealousy that had resurfaced before emerging from her hideout.
Thea hadn’t pinpointed her location yet, nor had she backed down. She was carefully searching the forest, relying on unusual footwork to hide her presence. Someone daring enough to target her father would have a certain level of strength. Unfortunately for the assassin, her methods were unable to mask her emotions after Vilari activated her bloodline.
While exposing the assassin’s location, it left Vilari more confused. She could understand the anxiety, even the anticipation. But why did the assassin feel such strong longing? The hectic bundle of emotions perfectly matched what one could expect from the real Thea Marshall. Vilari had never heard of such a perfect disguise. Had the assassin been brainwashed before entering the trial?
Could they be mistaken about that day?
It made no sense for her father to have lied about what happened. The kidnapper had used Thea as a sacrifice to redirect Kenzie’s tribulation, and Thea was reduced to a pile of ash to ensure the Heavens retreated. If Thea managed to survive, it would have been without his knowledge.
Vilari wavered, no longer sure what to believe. A talk would provide valuable insight, whether Thea was real or fake. So would an ambush. Vilari smiled as she released the hold on her soul. The universe had thrust her into adulthood sooner than she would have liked. She could afford to be childish now and then.
—————–
Thea vigilantly scanned the surroundings as she advanced on the beacon of Mental Energy. Her thoughts were a jumble, and not just because of the exhaustion. She’d thought of this moment so many times over the past years. Now that it finally arrived, part of her wanted to turn tail and run away. Another part refused to acknowledge her gut feeling was correct.
The pessimism was warranted. The extremely refined Death-attuned Mental Energy was the hallmark of one of Zac’s captains, except Zac’s people weren’t the only undead inside the trial. She’d already encountered an unfamiliar Buddhist since entering. There could very well be participants from the Undead Empire she wasn’t aware of.
The Undead Empire was officially allied with Zecia and Zac, but Thea wouldn’t trust any ancient faction as far as she could throw them. Like the Sangha, the Undead Empire wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice Zecia if it meant achieving their goals. If it wasn’t Vilari, then it was an enemy inviting her over. Thea got her answer soon enough, and the tension in her neck relaxed.
“You must be Vilari Blackwood. I know this—” Thea forgot her prepared greeting when a huge eye opened behind Vilari’s back.
The fossilized forest was consumed by the vertical pupil, as were the suns and stars. Thea felt herself sinking into a suffocating quagmire. The futility she’d experienced during her captivity under the Hallowed Mother returned. This time, she wasn’t helpless, nor was she alone. A streak of radiant truth refused to be consumed by the endless darkness—the eternal path of the sword.
Thea grasped the light and became whole. She parted with her wallowing despair through a cut infused with her Branch of the Clouded Sword. A second swing sundered the darkness, returning the surroundings to their original state. The ice-cold stare of the vertical eye tried to drag her back in, but a domain of lacerating Sword Intent kept her grounded.
The turnaround was swift and decisive. Even so, the brief exchange was enough to confirm that this petite Revenant deserved her renown. The attack, if you could call it that, was a simple nudge of Mental Energy amplified by Dao and Vilari’s bloodline. The situation would have been drastically different if Vilari had bothered using a skill.
Thea didn’t know exactly when Zac started experimenting with raising the dead, but Vilari Blackwood couldn’t have been more than a year or two when Thea was whisked away. Revenants might mature faster than humans, but reaching the state of mind necessary to pursue the Dao wasn’t accomplished in a heartbeat. Vilari’s talents had to be absolutely terrifying, far surpassing her own.
It wasn’t enough to disrupt the Sword in Thea’s heart. Saying that talent could be overcome by hard work was a lie—the Multiverse didn’t lack hardworking cultivators who never amounted to much. However, it wasn’t necessarily the most talented who reached the peak. It was only one of many factors that went into the rise of a Heaven’s Chosen.
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Vilari showed no inclination to attack again. Neither was there any warmth or recognition on her face. She might as well have been observing a stranger. Thea didn’t take it to heart. While Vilari should have recognized her after staying by Zac’s side for so long, Thea understood her sudden appearance was suspect. It didn’t help that the detachment was mutual.
Thea had already accepted that she was like Abbot Everlasting Peace in some ways. While her departure was forced, Thea ultimately embraced having her connection with Earth severed. It wasn’t a desire to return home that fueled her during those dangerous years on the Goldblade continent. It was her pursuit of the Dao and desire to join the Sword Pavilion.
Thea wasn’t even sure if informing her family she was alive was the right thing to do. She had no intention of becoming a citizen of the Atwood Empire now that she’d escaped the Sangha’s grasp. Infuriatingly enough, Zac’s mother was right. Thea had chosen the Dao over love. The two weren’t mutually exclusive, but Thea wasn’t willing to make concessions in her cultivation. She wanted to walk her path, free under the stars, and see where it led her.
She’d approached Vilari to deliver a message and warning. Zac deserved to know what the Sangha had done. It was his fate the shady monks had borrowed to infiltrate the trial. In return, they had the audacity to ruin his efforts to save Zecia. Now, they were plotting something else by manipulating the memory domains.
What Zac did with the information was up to him. Thea didn’t plan to drag him into her mission of repentance, even if she lacked the strength to deal with the Sangha alone. Dealing with a random nun left her maimed and Aigale shattered, forcing her to rely on a spare sword. So what? Her sword might not be sharp enough to cut through the Sangha’s schemes, but the Left Imperial Expanse was the perfect grindstone.
Thea had moved on, yet sentiments she thought long gone came bubbling to the surface as the second passed. Only silence came out when she opened her mouth. Her practical, no-nonsense prepared speech was being pushed aside by irrelevant questions bubbling in the back of her mind. How was her family after she disappeared? How did Earth fare? Had Kenzie returned?
Did Zac ever think about her during the years she roamed the Goldblade Continent?
Vilari showed mercy by breaking the silence and ending her struggle. “Thea Marshall died decades ago, yet you stand before me without a speck of Miasma in your body. This continent is magical, but I doubt it can bring back the fallen. Please explain who you are and your purpose, or we’ll have to resume our discussion through Dao.”
“I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s me. I’m Thea Marshall from Earth,” Thea explained while taking out a few mementos from her time on Earth. “I don’t know how much you know about the day I supposedly died. Suffice to say, things aren’t as they seem, and not even Zac knows the whole picture.”
“You’re saying you didn’t die that day. Does Emperor Atwood know?”
“I—I don’t think so. I was told the cover-up was perfect, and I’ve been kept from contacting anyone since I was brought back to Zecia.”
“You’ve been held captive by the cultivator who arrived that day? What about the Emperor’s sister? Is she alive, too? Is she here?”
“I don’t know. I was captured and then abandoned on an unintegrated continent shortly after I was brought away. I haven’t seen Kenzie since the day I was taken,” Thea sighed.
She sincerely doubted Kenzie was dead, but that wasn’t a matter she could share with strangers. Thea didn’t even know how close Zac and this Revenant were.
“You were kidnapped only to be let go?” Vilari asked with suspicion.
“It’s complicated,” Thea said. “It was the Buddhist Sangha who eventually brought me back. They somehow figured out I was alive and used my Karmic Link to Zac to search for seals.”
“The Sangha?” Vilari muttered in thought.
“This record explains what I know so far,” Thea said, holding out an Information Crystal.
Vilari didn’t accept it. Thea sighed upon sensing a refusal so palpable it generated a layer of protection. The Mentalist suspected the crystal had been tampered with. Thea didn’t blame her. How would she react if a long-dead acquaintance appeared out of the blue? A few cryptic words and tchotchkes would only convince a fool.
The more reasonable assumption was foul play, especially after Earth’s experience with the Church of Everlasting Dao. A small frontier branch could create such believable shapeshifters, so there was no need to mention how easy it’d be for the factions who’d set their sights on the trial. Since Vilari didn’t wish to read the report, Thea briefly recounted her experiences since Three Virtues came and picked her up.
“You’re saying Zecia has fallen and that Sangha is to blame,” Vilari said. “What about the puppets?”
“The puppets were still rampaging around in Zurbor the last I heard. However, some of the Kan’Tanu managed to flee through the Stargate, and there were already quite a few cultists spread through Zecia. The Alliance had no interest in fighting them. The Monarchs able to escape have already done so.
“The rest were too busy looting their allies to bother about the cultists. They’ll probably leave the moment they’ve gathered enough resources. Zecia hadn’t officially been abandoned when the trial began, but it’s probably lost its status as an Integrated Sector already. At best, it’s been demoted, which means having its spirituality redirected to better deserving recipients,” Thea lamented.
“I’m sorry. I know you risked everything to turn things around. I can’t undo my involvement in this mess; I can only try to stop the Sangha before they make things worse.”
Vilari said nothing for a minute, showing no indication of whether she believed the information. Finally, she lightly sighed, her eyes still eerily calm. “If what you’re saying is true, Zecia only has itself to blame. A small group of infiltrators could only bring down the sector because there were plenty of weaknesses to exploit. Our forces were untrained, scattered, and selfish since the beginning.
“Truthfully, I think it’s for the best. The founding empires don’t care, so why should we? The life and death of Zecia have no bearing on the Atwood Empire. It’s become an anchor holding back the Atwood Empire and Zachary Atwood. And while Zecia failed, we did not. We have accomplished more than enough for the System to give us a way out. A fresh start is exactly what the Empire needs.”
Thea blankly looked at Vilari before smiling at herself with ridicule. The huge plot that shook her to the core was taken in such stride. By the sound of it, they had already planned for the worst. “A fresh start, huh?”
“Is that it?” Vilari asked.
“That’s it,” Thea said, and the proclamation left her unburdened. She took out a set of the crystals she had prepared. “The rest is in my report. Do with it what you will. The other crystal holds a message to Zac. He’ll know the key to unlock it.”
Vilari accepted the crystals after some thought, directly stowing them away. “You’re headed for the Anima Court. Do you wish to travel together?”
Thea shook her head. “I have a few matters to handle first, and I’m used to traveling alone. You go on ahead.”
Vilari didn’t immediately leave. “You’re not going to ask where he is?”
“I… Don’t think so. I’ve made my choice, as has he,” Thea said, adding after a slight pause. “If you see him, tell him that it wasn’t his fault. And that I’m happy he’s found so many trustworthy companions.”
“I’ll relay the message. The Emperor will be gratified to learn you’re alive and well,” Vilari said, and a slight smile grew on her face as she turned toward the pillar. “For what it’s worth, you seem like a better stepmother than the one in my fantasies.”
“Step-mother, huh? I’m barely fifty,” Thea laughed as Vilari flew toward the Klamatra River’s basin and the glowing pillar beyond.
The short, stand-offish exchange was nothing like the tearful reunion of her indolent daydreams. There were no tears and hugs, nor had she returned at the eleventh hour to thwart a great disaster. She hadn’t gotten to reject anxious invitations to come home before heroically setting off into the sunset. Thea didn’t even know if she’d managed to convince the Revenant about her identity.
Life rarely lived up to the fantasy. She and Vilari were strangers, so there was no reunion to speak of. The Earths they knew weren’t the same, nor were their goals. However, life’s ups and downs were real and, therefore, more precious. Thea drew a deep breath as she took in the foreign sky. She’d hated how distant the Dao had felt after returning to Zecia.
The Left Imperial Expanse was the opposite, already far surpassing the Goldblade Continent with only half the distance to the Anima Court covered. It was boundless, just like the possibilities it held. And Thea had never been as free as right now. She might have said she’d severed her old attachments, but it wasn’t really true—until now.
Leaving Earth hadn’t been her choice, nor had returning to Zecia. Actions without intent were no different than being dragged forward by a river. Only by taking control of the course would you become take charge of your life. Handing over the Information Crystals and parting ways was a confirmation of her path, actions proving beliefs.
Thea had set the record straight, allowing her to follow her pursuits with a clear conscience. She wouldn’t mind meeting Zac in person to clear the air, but she’d leave it up to fate. Thea took out the ancient map and compared it to the winding shore. It was a shame the memory domain had collapsed. It would have been the perfect place to get a complete sea chart and investigate her destination.
Waiting weeks for the domain to reform wasn’t worth the time. There were still ways to go, but she’d at least reached the map’s border. The Sword Intent hidden within the parchment was already reacting with her destination. With the river dried out, she could manage on her own. Like she always had.
With the spring of liberty in her step, Thea set out again. Inside her soul, a great transformation was taking place. Her Dao Sword had shed itself of lingering doubt, and what-if’s like layers of rust. It shone with unprecedented purity, and the Heavens responded. Her sword was one of severance. Severing the past to open the future, severing regrets to bring peace.
And if the Heavens were willing, severing a few more bald heads before the trial was over.