"Azure," I said quietly, "please tell me you’re seeing this as well."

  "Yes Master. This is the same timeline as last time.”

  An arrow whizzed past my head, directly where it had gone the last time.

  I ducked just as Maya yanked me behind the barricade. "Has fear addled your wits, Tomas?" she said, using the exact same words as before. "Those bandits will break through any moment now!"

  I stared at her.

  She had no idea she was going to die. In a few hours, possibly less, she would be pierced by a Sun-Touched raider and tossed aside, forgotten in the chaos of battle.

  Unless I changed something.

  The question was: did I have the power to change anything?

  "Master," Azure’s voice cut through my thoughts, "we need to decide. We can either help these people, or we find somewhere safe to hide until we can absorb the otherworldly energy we need."

  He was right. I had two options.

  Option number one: Try to save everybody. Help the defenders fight off the Sun-Touched raiders. Use my prior knowledge of what would happen next to avoid casualties.

  But that option had a lot of risks.

  I had died last time; I was killed by a Skybound who suddenly materialized at the end of the battle. If I tried to fight back, I would likely die again. And if I died in this loop, would my soul return to Ke Yin’s body again or would I never wake up?

  Option number two: Prioritize survival. Find a secure location to hide. Use the Tri-Essence Harmony Technique to increase my strength. Find a way to take the otherworldly energy I need. Then find a way to return to the Cultivation World.

  Option two was the rational approach. The practical solution.

  It was also the selfish option.

  Maya was still staring at me, waiting for a response. Her sun-kissed face displayed a mixture of fear and determination. She was young, probably 17 or 18 years old. She had her entire life in front of her.

  A life she would never experience unless something changed.

  “Maya!” Henrik yelled from the opposite side of the barricade. “Give that boy a weapon before those bandits crash through the barricade!"

  She thrust a poorly-balanced, heavily-rusted sword into my hands. The same sword I’d been given last time. I recognized it instantly. The handle felt heavier than normal due to the metal being rusted to the point of disintegration. The tip of the blade had holes and dents along its length.

  "Here," she said. "Try not to injure yourself with it."

  The same words as last time.

  I looked down at the sword, then up at the ravenous, malevolent red sun in the alien sky.

  That hungry, hateful sun that drove men mad and created monsters.

  I needed otherworldly energy. The Sun-Touched raiders were overflowing with it. Their bodies were continuously degenerating and regenerating using the tainted power. If I could find a way to extract the energy from the Sun-Touched raiders, ingest it, or in some manner contain it, I would have the energy needed to complete the Genesis Seed.

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  But to get close to a Sun-Touched raider, I would need to first survive.

  And to survive, I needed to become stronger than I currently was.

  "Azure," I said quietly. "I’m going to use the Tri-Essence Harmony Technique."

  "Now? In the middle of a battle?"

  "Before the battle becomes worse," I clarified. "I need to find a safe area. Someplace I can focus for a few minutes without being murdered."

  I quickly looked around the village square. The barricade would collapse in a few minutes. The healer's home was exposed. The ancient warehouse containing the tunnel entrance would ultimately be destroyed when Henrik and his group tried to flee.

  But there was one place that might work.

  At the rear of the village square, and partially concealed by smoke from burning structures, was a small stone building. Possibly a grain storage house or an ancient temple. I had seen the building during my first visit to this village, but I hadn’t paid much attention to it.

  It seemed sturdy. Defendable. Most importantly, it was far away from the main fighting.

  "That building," I said to Maya. "Protect me while I make a run for it."

  “What are you talking about, Tomas?” She glared at me in confusion. "We need you here protecting the barricade!"

  "I need to do something first," I replied. "I promise I’ll come back."

  Before she could argue with me, and before Henrik could yell at me for leaving my post, I ran off.

  I sprinted across the village square, avoiding falling debris and bodies of villagers who had failed to reach the barricade. An arrow shot past my shoulder. Another lodged itself in the earth two feet to my left.

  I continued to run.

  The stone building was farther away than it appeared.

  My chest burned. Each step felt as if I was lugging excess weight.

  This body, Tomas's body, wasn’t cultivated. It was weak.

  But I finally made it.

  I smashed through the wooden door of the building and slammed it shut behind me.

  Inside, the air was dark, dusty, and smelled like aged grains.

  Storage bags lined the walls and there was a small window high above that let a sliver of red sunlight enter.

  It was good enough.

  I threw the rusty sword on the floor and sat with my back against the wall.

  I took a deep breath in and out.

  I needed to focus. I needed to enter a meditative state.

  "Azure, guide me through the technique."

  “Picture your Soul Essence as a well of energy that exists within your core. Once you have that image, you'll need to create a channel between your Soul Essence and either your Spiritual Essence or Physical Essence, depending on which one you want to enhance."

  I closed my eyes and concentrated inward.

  I could sense my Soul Essence.

  Compared to my other essences, it was enormous.

  "Now," Azure continued, "picture a conduit opening between your Soul Essence and your Physical Essence.”

  I did.

  The moment the connection formed, all I felt was pure agony.

  It felt like a chunk of my soul was being ripped away using barbed hooks that then forced the energy into channels that weren’t designed to handle that kind of pressure.

  My muscles seized up then burned.

  They were literally being torn apart and reforged at the same time.

  My jaws began to ache from how hard I had to clench my teeth.

  My vision swam as I struggled to maintain consciousness.

  “That’s enough, Master,” Azure called out. “Anymore and you’ll collapse!”

  I cut off the connection.

  I gasped, sucking in dusty air as the pain finally dulled into a deep, throbbing ache.

  It was over.

  I opened my eyes and looked down at myself.

  My body was now leaner, more agile.

  But not enough to draw attention unless someone was paying close attention.

  Every movement felt honed.

  "How much did I gain?"

  “You spent 25 units of Soul Essence,” Azure replied. “You were able to gain 17 units of Physical Essence, but it will only last for an hour.”

  One hour.

  A total of 29 Physical Essence.

  That was around double my real body.

  I didn’t think it would be enough to deal with the Sun-Touched.

  And it definitely wouldn’t be enough to protect myself against the Skybound.

  But it gave me time.

  Time to figure out a strategy to absorb the otherworldly energy.

  A cacophony of screams erupted outside the structure.

  The raiders were breaching the barricade. The battle was escalating.

  I picked up the rusty sword and got to my feet.

  The sword was still clumsy, but I could handle it well enough.

  I now had a fighting chance.

  "Alright," I said quietly. "Let's see if we can change anything this time."

  I opened the door and stepped back into the mayhem of the burning village.

  The ravenous, malevolent red sun blazed overhead, hungrily watching.

  Somewhere out there, swarming with the otherworldly energy I desperately needed, were the Sun-Touched raiders.

  All I needed to do was survive long enough to take what I needed from them.

  And hopefully, along the way, I could prevent Maya and the others from dying.

  It was time to get to work.

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