‘Since you can see my mind in its entirety, you probably know the answer better than me. What do you think?’
“I think you’ll lose it. And you’ll lose it to an even worse extent than the demon sage did.”
‘… You’re probably right.’
“You realize that’s not the answer I want to hear, right? Why would I help you now?”
‘I don’t have to know what happened to know the result of it.
The mortal realm is filled with pain and suffering. Death and disease. Cynicism and greed.
And now, on top of this, you’re telling me that someone has to do with the death of my parents?’
“How is anything you just said different from the martial world? We deal with all of the same things.”
‘Wrong.’
A light smile played on the entities face from worlds away listening to Dyon.
‘In the mortal world, there’s no out.
In the human world you might live to 120 years because of technology – a number that’s completely meaningless in the face of martial experts.
The human world is filled with disease – something a martial expert never has to deal with.
The human world has a set class system that’s almost impossible to break out of for a good 95% of the world. The places that allow you to improve yourself simply by virtue of your hard work are few and far between.
There are places in the eastern part of our world that decide your class simply by the place you were born. Imagine not being able to buy land in certain areas or attend certain schools or own certain businesses simply because your parents had no standing.
And all of this is made even worse because of how short our lives are. You feel like you spend the whole time working toward an inevitable demise. What kind of life is that?
But, in the martial world, can’t everyone cultivate? Can’t everyone participate in campaigns and fight their way to this tower? Can’t everyone take advantage of their long lives to accumulate what they need to push forward?
There is no ‘ghetto’ of the martial world. And if there was, it would be the Focus Academy I started in. If you could even call that high-tech place a ‘ghetto’.
I’m not claiming that the martial world is perfect. In fact, it disgusts me so much that, often times, I want to return home. But, what it does allow is the right to fight back. A right that was taken from those born in the mortal realm.’
“You’ve seen too little of the martial world to be saying these things kid. Much too little. Sometimes living too long isn’t a good thing…”
‘I hope you don’t expect me to agree with that. There are rich people in the mortal realm who constantly talk down to poor people. Telling them that money doesn’t make them happy. And now you sound like one of them.
To me, you’re just people who’ve taken for granted the things you’ve worked for. I’d like you to go and tell a man who’s only lived 70 years that living longer isn’t a good thing while he’s on his last breath.’
A sudden robust laughter filled Dyon’s ears. “I know what you’re thinking. It’s even worse for me to say living longer is a bad thing, hm? Because at least some the people saying money isn’t everything have experienced being poor?”
‘At least I didn’t have to say it.’ Dyon said defiantly.
In Dyon’s life in the mortal realm, he hadn’t become well known just because he was a genius. It was because he spent his time creating things that benefited the entire world.
His understanding of the suffering poorer regions of the world had to deal with was as good as anyone else’s. So, he didn’t like listening to privileged people talk in this way.
“HA! Because you’re getting cocky, I’m giving you a difficult test. In fact, I’ll be giving you the True Empath trials.”
‘That’s a good thing… isn’t it?’
“Nope. Because now you’re not taking the trials to gain more of my power. You’re doing them to earn meridians. So, you only get to gain one thing.”
Dyon pouted. ‘Hey wait! That’s not fair! I’ve already fully grasped your aurora, so I should have already earned the meri – ‘
The entities robust laughter filled the space again as he teleported Dyon away. “What a cheeky kid…”
Off in a small cabin in a world that couldn’t be fathomed, sat an old man on a rocking chair.
His features were wrinkled a ghastly, but the smile on his face seemed to light everything up.
Outside of the cabin, the sound of a battle the scale of which couldn’t be measured was taking place… Transcendent beings tore through space and bent the laws of the world themselves to their will.
The old man watched all of this from his rocking chair, seemingly unbothered by the disturbances.
His hair was an unhealthy and straw like grey color. That on top of the fact his eyes seemed unnaturally blinded – they looked like a blue-ish milk filled bowl as opposed to normal irises.
“Master? You haven’t moved in so long, I was worried!”
A beautiful woman dressed in white rushed over. Her features were delicate now, but there was a hint of cold that made it clear this was an expression very few people had the right to see.
The old man looked up. Although he could no longer see, the gentle flash of a holy light etched into his forehead, bathing over the woman.
“Master? You haven’t used your aurora in so long! Did you have a break through?… This color…”
The old man coughed lightly, taking in the woman’s appearance and burning it into his mind.
“I was just speaking to your grand-disciple… He’s quite the interesting character. Much too naïve. But. Interesting.”
A confused look appeared on the woman’s face. “Grand disciple?…”
“Ha! It looks like your 23rd grand daughter found herself a good one.”
“But – “
“Ai. The Celestial Deer Sect is gone… But, maybe not for too much longer…”
The woman smiled lightly. “Alright master. That’s good. They need me, I’ll come check on you again later.”
The old man smiled as the beautiful lady flashed away.
He could hear the despair in her voice. It was clear she had long since given up. To her, what use was a child chosen by a granddaughter of hers? Especially a granddaughter so far removed from the main Celestial Deer bloodline?
And yet, she did her best to put on an act for her master. A man she respected with her everything. Even to the point where she hid the fact her body was mangled beyond belief.
Her legs were shattered, so she was forced to hover above the ground. The back of her dress was matted with blood and torn skin. She was even missing an entire arm having become tired of healing her limbs…
But, the old man ignored all of this. Him showing concern wouldn’t help. As sad as it was, the best he could do now was pretend he was oblivious to all of this…
Blood seeped from the corner of the old man’s mouth. “I guess I’ll let you do it for your little sister. After all, she has the best affinity I’ve seen for the true empath path.” The old man chuckled.
“I wonder how you’d react if you knew I was on the last legs of my life too… Hm? In a few hundred years, I won’t be here anymore. And considering what my soul went through to make it back to your world, it won’t last much longer than that either… I wonder. Will I see you before then?”
‘Dammit! What kind of grand-teacher are you!?’ Dyon huffed. His senses were still cut off so he couldn’t even hear himself speak.
‘Whatever. Step one is fix my meridians, I can’t think of anything else right now.’
Dyon still felt like punching a wall though. He hadn’t even gotten to ask how he could conquer the tower!
Sure, training was great and all. But, he still needed to get the Elves to the next universe over, and that would be a lot easier with this tower under their control.
If lotus tower gave them a death qi advantage, then Epistemic Tower was sure to give them a void qi advantage. Being able to move troops to and fro, and use void tears as literal defensive barriers, would force a drastic change in the landscape of the battles.
Suddenly a blinding light flashed, bringing Dyon to an all new space.
‘A room? This looks like my room… from the mortal realm?’
Looking around Dyon found his room exactly as he had left it.
Piles of hardware and computers were thrown off to the side, having been tinkered with to their death.
A large computer station with seven monitors, four along the bottom and three on top, sat in another corner of the room.
And yet, maybe the oddest part about the room was that there was no bed. It was suffice to say Dyon didn’t do a lot of sleeping…
In its stead stood another work table with elaborate blue prints covering them.
The numbers of patents, the jotted notes for coming and used ideas, and the details of new inventions down to their individual nuts and bolts were all jotted down.
Dyon jogged to the heavy curtains, pushing them open to look outside. ‘Wow… Even the outside is the same…’
Dyon had never made too much money from his inventions. In fact, the only reason he bothered with patents was to prevent larger corporations from making use of his ideas to make a profit. So, he lived in a regular suburban neighborhood.
Because of his age, and the laws of the United States of America, he was technically not allowed to live alone. But, to Dyon, it had been a simple matter to use his knowledge and forge guardianship documents for himself.
The waves of nostalgia his Dyon again and again as complex emotions he had buried threatened to resurface. ‘So… This is your test… Huh?’
True Empaths had to deal with the emotions of everyone else, so, wasn’t it best they learned to deal with their own first?… The problem was that, as the old man had said, this wasn’t a test for Dyon’s right to become a True Empath… It was a test to measure himself.
It was to find out if Dyon would survive the mental damage of what was to come… Or if he’d fold like the demon sage had…
‘Fair enough old man… Fair enough.’
Suddenly, a knock on the door made a shiver run down Dyon’s spine.
He slowly made his way over, his hand trembling as he reached for the bronze doorknob. It didn’t even occur to him that he had a security system to check who it was…
‘Get it together.’
With that thought, Dyon no longer hesitated. In one swift motion, he opened the door.
“Huh? Ava? What are y – “
“You talk too much. It’s my hour right now.” Ava pushed her hand onto Dyon’s bare chest, knocking him back into the room.
Confusion rippled through Dyon’s features. ‘Her hour? What? Wait!’
Ava didn’t continue to speak. She pulled her tight leather tank top over her head, allowing her large plump breasts to fall into Dyon’s view.
‘I thought this was supposed to be a test… This old man is more perverted than me!’
Ava didn’t seem to notice Dyon’s confusion. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him, pressing her soft chest against Dyon. “You’re so mean Dyon… You leave such an impression on me just to leave for more than a year? How do you think that made me feel?”
A dull pain ate at Dyon’s heart. ‘Is this really how she feels? Or is this the illusion.’
Ava dropped to her knees, lightly kissing at Dyon’s slowly growing bulge.
“Ava, wait! Stop!” Dyon protested, trying to step back. ‘My voice!’
Suddenly, Dyon couldn’t move of his own will, and his voice wouldn’t project either. It was like he was in a dream – a non-lucid state. He could only experience what was happening and not take action. What kind of ridiculous trial was this!
What Dyon didn’t know was that just hours before, the old man had planned all of this. This was simply how the True Empath worked…
For much of their lives, they had no choice but to listen to the thoughts of others. They could only play an observing role in their own lives… There was no saying no… They could only learn to deal with and understand the emotions they felt.
And now, Dyon would have to do much the same. He would have to deal with all of Ava’s emotions. How he made her feel. The things she was dealing with. And worst of all, he had to know and understand that he played a role in this. And he would have to accept it.
So Dyon could only watch as Ava played with his heart as he had played with hers.
Maybe to Dyon it wasn’t true that he had. In fact, maybe, Ava also knew that Dyon had never intentionally played with her emotions. However, rational was never something someone should ever pin to emotions…
So, Ava poured her soul out to Dyon by giving him something Baal had almost taken away…
Ava’s tongue danced along the tip of Dyon’s cock as her breasts smothered it, savouring his taste.
Her heart beat quickly, her face flushing as she began to truly understand what she was doing. ‘This is the man I love… He deserves my everything. And I’ll give it to him.’
Dyon’s heart felt like it was being torn in two. There was not a single thought of Ava’s that escaped him. He wanted to use his array alchemy to cut of his circulation, much like he had with Mithrandir, but, it seemed like nothing was responding to him.
He could only watch as Ava’s light pink nipples rubbed together, meeting as they wrapped around his shaft.
Ava’s deep cleavage was like a paradise. The sweat of her skin, her clear and pure drool, even her subtle moans as her thighs writhed as though Dyon’s pleasure was her own.
Suddenly, she stood, slowly stroking Dyon as she pulled him along to the table with a smile on her face. “You couldn’t even find a girl a bed? You want to lean her over a table? You rogue!”
Just as Dyon was about to be forced to pull down Ava’s pants, a loud banging noise resounded through the room as someone burst in.
“Ava! You knew it was my turn!” Delia stood at the door, huffing and puffing. Her countenance clearly shaken.
Ava stuck her tongue out, sitting on the table as she wrapped her hands around Dyon’s neck.
‘What the fuck is going on…’ Dyon stared in disbelief.
‘Hmph. First you fall in love with my elder sister with me right there and now you expect me to let you fall into the hands of another woman again?! I won’t accept it!’
Delia’s thoughts reverberated through Dyon’s mind, causing him to be at a loss for words. He could only watch as Delia defiantly let her black skirt fall to her ankles, revealing her black lace panties underneath her black stockings.
Pulling of her blouse, Delia revealed a figure that was more petite than Ava’s, but still beautifully shaped.
Her small breast cupped perfectly into Dyon’s hand as she kissed his cheek. Her hand fighting for space on his cock with Ava.
‘How nice…’
‘That thought! It wasn’t from Ava or Delia!’ Dyon’s head snapped to the door to find Ri and Madeleine facing off against each other.
Ri was slightly shorter than Madeleine, her body being more petite as well. Madeleine’s curves were much more pronounced. But, neither of these things seemed to matter as Dyon saw the turmoil in their eyes as they looked from him to each other. It seemed as though they couldn’t even see what was going on between Dyon, Ava and Delia.
Dyon felt his cock twitched, as if this sick world wanted him to believe that he got off from watching his women suffer.
‘I know I told you that I’d be okay with sharing the burden with more sisters, but I didn’t think you’d go off and find another woman as soon. The ‘we live for much longer’ excuse only works if you let some ACTUAL time pass!’
Madeleine didn’t say these words out loud. In fact, she kept her usual carefree smile on her face.
Suddenly, a complete new set of thoughts entered Dyon’s mind.
‘Hmph, why would you take my innocence if you already had a fiancée? If you didn’t grab me like you did at dead kings valley, I could have forgotten about my feelings for you!’
Dyon’s could only stand there, convulsing as he was forced to climax again and again – listening to the pain of these women.
Hours passed before another light knock came to the door.
Dyon’s eyes had sunken into their sockets, his muscles barely holding him up anymore.
The worst part was, when he looked down, he could see blood dripping down his chest from where his heart should be. It was as though for every thought he heard, there would be a literal cut to himself…
“Look at that, it seems you’re finally understanding just a little bit of my pain, hm?”
Dyon could barely react to Jade’s voice.
“You were quite high and mighty, looking down on me before. But, what do we have here? Four women you’ve screwed over? What about me, don’t I count? What about her?”
Jade’s purple eyes shifted over to look at a deadpan Meiying. It was clear that she was meant to still be under a spell.
“This poor Meiying girl…” continued Jade. “I know what you must be thinking. ‘How is it my fault her father sold her off’ blah blah blah.”
Jade chuckled. “Well, let me tell you something. Did you ever think about the aftermath? Did you think about what happened to Focus Academy after you left?
The Storm family was part of a larger clan. Patia-Neva only has himself and his daughter to worry about. The Kami family is part of another larger clan. And the Sapientia family is part of a, say it with me now, ‘another larger clan’.
That just leaves the Duco and Bai family, no? Yet, the Duco family didn’t have any enemies they needed the backing of Focus Academy for. Only the Bai family did.
So, what do you think happened after some smart aleck boy strolled in with some greater than thou attitude? You ruined the Storm family, effectively crushing Focus Academy. And then, because the great Dyon couldn’t be bothered to stop there, you also ruined the big sects by shortening their quotas. So, why would those big sects then have enough left to care about some small Focus Academy?
The Bai family was left on an island. An island carved out by you, your Holy Arrogance.” Jade bowed ironically, mocking Dyon.
“God. Maybe I’m the one who should be disgusted with you and not the other way around. Did you really think you were blameless from the beginning?”
Dyon’s lips quivered at Jade’s words… ‘It’s my fault?…’