Chapter 114: Dancing Lily (2) (Patreon)

(Edited by Radriel7)

I fell silent after that, and my mind went back to that day, when I rebelled against the Golden Dragon. Aurora floated in the air in front of me with a patient expression on her face. She didn’t speak a word or do anything to interrupt my thoughts.

It happened in the Golden Dragon’s throne room, at the heart of his palace. It was an opulent and ostentatious place, constructed from rare materials. It was also massive. The Golden Dragon’s palace was about the size of a city, a metropolis at that, and his throne room took several city blocks worth of space.

Jade pillars held up the ceiling, each one several dozen feet thick, and the floor was paved with heavenly gold. Priceless artwork decorated the throne room, created by divine artisans whose cultivation revolved around their craft. The Golden Dragon also kept a menagerie of divine beasts, rare and powerful creatures who were born at the dawn of creation. Qilins, vermilion birds, true dragons, etc. They also decorated the Golden Dragon’s throne room, almost like pieces of living artwork.

The throne itself was just as opulent and ostentatious as the throne room, maybe even more so. It was built from heavenly gold and studded with jewels, each one rare and precious. The materials used to create such a thing could have been refined into several powerful magic tools, each one capable of rocking the heavens. Instead, they were used to feed one man’s ego.

That was the setting for this particular drama. Celestial Hound, chained up and covered in restrictive talismans, was forced to kneel before the Golden Dragon as the latter sat upon his throne. The Golden Claws flanked Celestial Hound, just in case he tried anything. The courtiers who had come to watch Celestial Hound’s trial, sycophants and hanger-ons looking to earn the Golden Dragon’s favor, all laughed and mocked him. They tossed insults his way, not even bothering to hide their contempt and disdain for him.

Before all this, those very same people had done their best to weasel their way into Celestial Hound’s good grace, hoping to benefit from his rise to power. Yet, not a single one of them stood by him in his hour of need. They all turned their backs on him, now that they could no longer use him for their own gain. I was the only one who remained by his side, even though I knew it meant earning the Golden Dragon’s ire.

I fell to my knees next to Celestial Hound, pleading for his life, begging the Golden Dragon to spare him. Tossing aside my pride was worth it if it meant saving my best friend. However, no matter how much I pleaded and begged, nothing worked. The Golden Dragon remained unmoved.

When I realized that words wouldn’t work, I resorted to force.

“Revealing my true strength caught everyone off guard,” I said, resuming my story. “They all thought I was like the other palace courtiers, some weakling who attached himself to Celestial Hound for my own benefit. Even the Golden Dragon and his royal guard, the most powerful Immortals in the land, never realized the truth.” I gave Aurora a sharp smile. “That moment of surprise allowed me to kill several of the royal guards, grab Celestial Hound, and escape with him. It helped that the Golden Dragon hadn’t faced a true threat in millennia. Eons of indulgence had made him soft. Otherwise, Celestial Hound and I wouldn’t have made it out of the heavenly palace alive, given the Golden Dragon’s power.”

Even then, it had been a harrowing escape. I ended up damaging my vitality, and it took years for me to recover afterwards. Celestial Hound also suffered injury, including a few lost limbs. Still, the both of us made it out of there alive. That was the important part.

“After Celestial Hound and I escaped from the heavenly palace,” I continued. “The two of us fled to the wilds, places that existed beyond the Golden Dragon’s rule. We lived like fugitives for centuries, always on the run. The Golden Dragon sent his soldiers after us, and even hired bounty hunters, but we always managed to evade his grasp.” I paused for a moment. “To be honest, I found the experience invigorating. The constant threat of danger, scrounging around for resources, running and hiding in the wild places of heaven. While stressful, those ordeals also tempered me and Celestial Hound. Our cultivation experienced explosive growth. This made us unusual.”

Aurora raised an eyebrow at me.

“How so?” she asked.

“Most cultivators stopped cultivating when they reached the heavens,” I explained. “Achieving immortality was the extent of their ambitions. Very few continued forward. Why subject themselves to even more hardship when they could just relax and enjoy their unlimited lifespan? Those born in the heavens were even less ambitious. Even those who continued cultivating took it easy. After all, they were Immortals now. There was no urgency. They had all the time in the world. Celestial Hound and I were among the few exceptions to this. We never lost our drive. Part of it was necessity and desperation. We had to either grow stronger, or die. After escaping the heavenly palace and becoming fugitives, those were our only options.”

“Sounds bleak,” Aurora said with a frown. “I don’t know if I could ever live like that, at least not for centuries on end.”

“It was bleak,” I admitted. “As much as living like that benefited my cultivation, I also hated it. The only thing that made it bearable was Celestial Hound. Without him around, I would have given up. At the very least, I would have fled to a different world altogether.”

I leaned back and laid down on the roof to stare at the stars. To me, they looked like jewels woven into the night sky.

“Why didn’t you?” Aurora asked. “Flee to a different world?”

I took a moment to think before answering her question.

“Celestial Hound,” I said. “He always cared more about status and wealth than me. The Golden Dragon’s persecution strengthened his ambition rather than weakening it. Instead of serving others, he wanted to become the ruler of heaven himself. He never wanted to kneel in front of anyone else like that again, helpless and weak.” I shrugged. “As for me? Well, the journey always mattered more than the destination. As long as I continued cultivating, and the two of us were together, it didn’t matter to me where we were. If Celestial Hound wanted to become the new ruler of heaven, I might as well help him along the way.”

Aurora floated until she hovered in front of my face and raised an eyebrow at me.

“You say that, even though you were in that situation in the first place because of Celestial Hound?” she asked.

I snorted.

“It wasn’t like it was his fault,” I said. “He got caught up in a bad situation. The ones responsible for our troubles were the Golden Dragon and Effervescent Moonbeam. If it hadn’t been for those two, our lives would’ve been a lot more peaceful.”

While I didn’t think Effervescent Moonbeam harbored that much malice towards Celestial Hound, her actions almost led to his death. I would never forgive her for that, even if she hadn’t intended for him to die.

“After centuries on the run,” I continued. “Celestial Hound and I became actual threats to the Golden Dragon. Before that point, we were nuisances. Sure, we were annoying, but nothing more than that in the grand scheme of things. However, as we grew more powerful, this changed. People started to realize that we had a real chance at defeating the Golden Dragon and ending his rule. We didn’t hide our ambitions either. Everyone knew that we planned on deposing the Golden Dragon. People started to flock to our banner and join our cause. At first we were little more than a band of misfits and vagabonds, but we soon became a force to be reckoned with. We became a rebellion in truth and plunged the heavens into a civil war.” I gave Aurora a wry smile. “Dancing Lily was among the first to join our cause.”

Aurora frowned at this.

“Really?” she asked. “Why? From what you told me, that doesn’t sound like something she would do.”

I chuckled.

“Believe me,” I said. “Celestial Hound and I were surprised as well. She told us that she believed we had a real chance at winning, and she decided to take a gamble on us. If we won, she would secure her position for the rest of eternity. However, even if we lost, she could just flee to another realm and start over there. No matter what, there was little risk of her losing her life.”

Aurora thought about it for a moment, before nodding.

“Makes sense,” she said. “Though I’m surprised the two of you trusted her. In your shoes, I would have assumed she was a spy or saboteur.”

“We did at first,” I admitted. “Neither of us trusted her, but we couldn’t afford to turn her down. The resources and information she provided proved invaluable in taking down the Golden Dragon. Without her help, we might not have succeeded at all. Even so, we kept our eyes on her. If we found out that she was a spy or saboteur, we would have killed her without hesitation. However, she proved her loyalty time and time again. She became our comrade in arms, and because of that I let my guard down around her.” I sighed. “That proved to be a mistake.”

I fell silent for a moment.

“I don’t know if I was her target from the beginning or if I attracted her interest after she joined us,” I said. “But Dancing Lily tried to seduce me. She was subtle about it at first, but over time she grew more and more blatant. At first I thought she wanted to use me to further her own agenda, but then I realized that she didn’t have any ulterior motives. She wanted me for myself.” I grimaced. “Though not in a wholesome, lovey-dovey sort of way. She wanted to own me, to possess me, like I was some kind of pet. Apparently I had made an impression on her when I escaped the heavenly palace with Celestial Hound, and she wanted to make me hers.”

I remember the look on her face when she told me this. The possessiveness, the predatory gleam in her eyes, the madness. It scared me, yet I never told anyone about it. Dancing Lily had been careful to hide that aspect of herself, so I was the only one who ever saw that side of her. Everyone else saw the graceful and elegant courtesan; I was the only one who ever saw her for the predator she was.

“I had no interest in becoming Dancing Lily’s plaything,” I said. “I saw how she treated everyone else who fell for her charms. Once she had no more use for them or once she grew bored of them, she tossed them aside without hesitation. I didn’t want to go through that, so I refused her advances time and time again.” I sighed. “She was persistent, I’ll give her that. She kept trying, even after countless rejections. I almost fell for her schemes once or twice. Thankfully, Celestial Hound remained wary of her. With his help, I avoided her tricks and traps. Eventually, Dancing Lily gave up and kept her distance from me from that point on.”

Aurora narrowed her eyes at me.

“Doubtful,” she said. “Dancing Lily doesn’t sound like the kind of person who would give up just like that.”

“True,” I admitted. “She was tenacious.” I pursed my lips. “I think she replaced herself with a clone and implanted her seed into me right around that point. It was the perfect time for it. The war with the Golden Dragon had grown fierce by that, and I paid less and less attention to Dancing Lily’s schemes. Even Celestial Hound couldn’t always keep an eye on her.”

I fell silent once again as I recalled the latter days of the war against the Golden Dragon. The conflict had spread across the entirety of the heavens by that point. Even other races, such as demons and giants, were dragged into the war. It even spread to the mortal world, though I didn’t know to what degree. I lived up to my name and thundered across the heavens, killing all those who opposed us. The earth broke, the sky shattered, and creation burned. For a time, the heavens had become a hell of fire and blood.

“Not long after that,” I said. “We pushed back the forces of the Golden Dragon and laid siege to the imperial capital. Rather than draw out the conflict or risk an all out assault, we decided to have our strongest warriors sneak into the Golden Dragon’s palace and kill him. With the Golden Dragon dead, his forces would surrender and the war would end.”

“What happened then?” Aurora asked. “Did something go wrong?”

I let out a bitter laugh.

“No,” I said. “Everything went right, at least until the end. We assaulted the heavenly palace, slaughtered the royal guards, and I defeated the Golden Dragon in single combat. For a brief moment, I basked in the glow of victory. I thought that with the Golden Dragon dead, and Celestial Hound crowned as the new heavenly emperor, peace would return to the land. By that point I was tired of war and slaughter. I just wanted to live in the woods for a few centuries and cultivate in peace.” I heaved a deep sigh. “And in my moment of victory, my best friend stabbed me in the back. You know what happened after that. I reincarnated on Earth, died, and reincarnated on Lumina. Now, here we are.”

Aurora snorted at that.

“I think you skipped a few parts there,” she said. “Like meeting Annabelle and falling in love with her. That was the whole point of this conversation; speculate on why Dancing Lily did what she did and figure out where to go from there.”

I heaved another sigh.

“Does it matter?” I asked. “Reliving the past did little to clear things up for me. Dancing Lily still implanted her seed into me, she still tried to kill me and consume my soul. No matter how much I love her, how much I love Annabelle, I can’t overlook that.”

Aurora frowned and didn’t respond right away.

“Did she try to kill you and consume your soul?” she asked. “Or did she have another goal in mind?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I’m not as familiar with cultivation or Ghost Phoenix Lilies as you are,” Aurora said. “However, I am familiar with Dark magic, which includes mind control and mental manipulation. What if she wanted to change your mind and make you love her? Given what you told me about her, I think that would be more likely than her trying to kill you.”

I frowned at that.

“That’s…possible,” I said after some hesitation. “It’s difficult to manipulate the mind and soul of an Immortal, even for other Immortals. If she implanted her seed into my soul, then it isn’t beyond the realm of possibility but it would still be difficult. Even if you are right, is that any better than her trying to kill me and consume my soul?”

Aurora’s expression darkened.

“No,” she said. “It isn’t.” She paused. “Gabe, if I’m right, then that means your love for Annabelle might not be real. Your feelings for her could be a lie.”

I clicked my tongue.

“Weren’t you the one who said that Annabelle might be a mask created by Dancing Lily, but at least my feelings for her were real?”

“That was before I thought of the possibility that Dancing Lily messed with your mind.”

I thought about it for a moment, then shook my head.

“Even if Dancing Lily tried to mess with my mind, I know my feelings for Annabelle are real. Not that knowing that does me any good.”

Aurora gave me a concerned look.

“How do you know for certain?” she asked. “That could just be a result of her mental manipulation.”

I snorted.

“That kind of thinking is a slippery slope,” I said. “It’s also pointless.” I paused. “However, to answer your question…Do you know what the worst part of being in love is?”

Aurora blinked in surprise at my seemingly random question.

“No,” she said. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“The worst part of being in love is how powerless it makes you,” I said. “Your entire world revolves around the whims of another. Their every action can have a significant impact on you. An act of kindness from them can raise you to the heights of heaven, while a harsh word can send you to the depths of hell. You feel helpless, like a puppet with strings attached. Love also messes with your perception of time. A week in their company can pass by in the blink of an eye, while a day without them can feel like a century.”

Aurora gave me an odd look.

“I fail to see how this proves that your feelings for Annabelle are genuine,” she asked. “If anything, this proves the exact opposite. From what you told me, Dancing Lily would delight in having that sort of power over you.”

I stood up and started stretching. By this point, the buzz from the Rosewood Wine had faded away.

“You’ll figure it out once you give it some more thought,” I said. “I’m not in the mood to continue this conversation.” I grinned at Aurora. “Though it gave me an idea on how to punish Dancing Lily once she wakes up so to speak, so thank you. Talking it out did help me.”

“What do you mean?” Aurora asked, bewildered. “What punishment?”

“You’ll find out when the time is right.” My grin faded and I touched the thorny collar around my neck. “Though it may prove more of a punishment for me than her. Damned witch. I guess she won in the end.”

Aurora floated over to me and cupped my cheeks with her tiny hands. An errant part of my mind noted that Aurora was like a pseudo-Nascent Soul. The two of us were one being, and she looked like a female version of me. That made me question what would happen when I reached the Nascent Soul stage and formed an actual Nascent Soul. I wondered how it would interact with Aurora.

“Gabe,” she said, wearing a serious expression on her face. “My main, and only concern, regarding this situation is your wellbeing. I know you love Annabelle, and I like her too, but if I had to choose between you and her, I would pick you every time. If necessary, I will kill her and devour her soul to keep you safe. She might be a reincarnated Immortal like you, but I am a World Serpent. My soul is no weaker than hers.”

I used my finger to scratch underneath Aurora’s chin. She was in her human form, but at her core, she was still a serpent. Despite her attempts to remain serious, I saw the bliss in her eyes.

“I know,” I said. “And I hope it doesn’t come to that. If it does…” I trailed off. “…Well, I’d get in your way. I wouldn’t kill you for her sake, but I would make sure that you didn’t kill her.”

Aurora gave me a pained look.

“You’re not making this any easier for me,” she said.

“I know. I just wanted to let you know where I stood. You were courteous enough to let me know, so it was only fair that I returned the favor.”

Aurora poked my nose.

“I hate you sometimes,” she said.

Before she could respond, my familiar dove into my dantian.

“I love you too, Aurora,” I said with a chuckle.

I felt her give me the mental equivalent of a hug through our bond. With that, I climbed off the roof and headed to bed.