In another place the space was not white, nor was it black. It was a hue of non-existence. A fold in the fabric of the universe that existed between the layers of reality. It was a place where sound did not travel and light did not reflect, a sanctuary for those who wished to speak without the Heavens listening.

  A middle-aged man stood in the center of this small pocket of nothingness. It was an area that he himself had created temporarily. He wore robes of deep indigo. It was embroidered with constellations that moved slowly across the fabric as if orbiting a living center. His face was weary and etched with the lines of a ruler who had spent too many centuries holding up a crumbling sky.

  He held a sphere in his hand. It was a rare artifact that was hard to find or get your hands on. It swirled with a grey chaotic smoke that whispered of forgotten histories. This was the Pearl of Karmic Oblivion. It was a Clan-Protection Artifact, a treasure capable of erasing the cause and effect of a specific event from the timeline of the universe.

  He had been preparing to activate it. He had come here to scrub the area of the Iron-Web Gorge clean of his daughter’s foolishness. To wipe away the traces of their presence so that the higher powers wouldn’t know what had transpired.

  But he hadn’t needed to. Someone else had beaten him to it.

  The darkness beside him coalesced. It didn't swirl or form from smoke; it simply became occupied. One moment the space was empty and the next, a presence so heavy it bent the light around it was standing there.

  “Is stupidity a hereditary trait in your bloodline, Gongsun Yi?”

  The voice vibrated through the man’s bones. It was deep, rasping and carried a massive weight. It wasn't just a voice; it was a frequency that threatened to unmake him.

  Gongsun Yi didn't flinch at the voice. He had expected it to come. His soul, however, trembled instinctively against the pressure. Yi let out a long, tired sigh and lowered the Pearl of Karmic Oblivion. He knew that in front of this being, his little trinket was nothing more than a marble.

  “It seems so, Lord VoidClaw,” Yi chuckled, though there was no humor in it. “Or perhaps it is just the arrogance of youth that blinds them. Thank you for not killing them. I know you could have.”

  “I should have,” Khaos replied as he was finally stepping into full view. “They did something they shouldn’t have. They also crossed the line when they used a Time-Lock Amber.”

  “I didn’t think they would do something so foolish,” Yi said quietly. “I can only apologize for that. I have no excuses. I came here to clean up their mess and so they wouldn’t be observed. But you had already taken action to shield everyone here. For that, I thank you.” Yi bowed slightly to Khaos.

  He looked at the Pearl in his hand. Before he could even cross the dimensional threshold, this entity had already sanitized the timeline. The gap in power between them was not a canyon; it was an abyss. Gongsun Yi was a patriarch of a powerful clan, a man who commanded powerful legions but standing next to VoidClaw, he felt like a child playing with firecrackers in front of a volcano.

  Khaos looked at the Pearl and scoffed.

  “You brought the Pearl of Karmic Oblivion? For a tantrum thrown by a child? You really do spoil her.”

  “She is my daughter,” Yi said simply. “Which father wouldn't burn a world to save his child from her own mistakes?” He then went to put the valuable one time use artifact away. It felt heavier than normal in his sleeve, a reminder of the disaster narrowly averted.

  “A wise one,” Khaos retorted. “A wise father would have taught her the difference between a cage and a fortress.”

  “Why didn't you tell her?” Khaos demanded. “Why didn't you explain the true nature of the oath? If she knew it was a protection pact meant to shield her from the political vultures of your realm, she wouldn't have come here. She wouldn't have tried to kidnap him.”

  Gongsun Yi looked down at the shifting stars on his robe. The guilt was a physical weight on his shoulders.

  “I tried to,” Yi admitted. “Over the years, I have told her but she would never truly listen. I told her that the oath was not what she feared. I told her it was a blessing, not a curse. But Yue... she is like her mother. Headstrong. Proud. To her, the very concept of her fate being tied to another. Tied to something without her consent. It was like poison to her.”

  He looked up, meeting Khaos’s burning gaze. It took effort to maintain eye contact with a being like Khaos.

  “You have seen her actions today. Even if I told her it was for her protection... the fact that Li Yu could, theoretically, appear one day and order her to serve him? The fact that the possibility existed, however small. She couldn't tolerate it. To her, a golden cage is still a cage. She wanted to hold the key herself. She refused to believe that someone else holding the key might be safer.”

  “So she tried to steal it,” Khaos grunted. “And in doing so, she threw away the only thing keeping some of the wolves at bay.”

  Yi nodded slowly. “She believes she has won a great victory today. She believes she has severed a chain of slavery. She is celebrating her freedom right now.”

  “She severed one of her lifelines,” Khaos corrected brutally. “That oath was completely one-sided, Yi. You know this. For thousands of years, your clan has flourished because of the connection with his mom’s clan. Your clan rarely gave anything in return. You didn’t have to of course. That was the nature of the relationship between close friends.

  “Li Yu’s ancestors shielded you from the storms you could have faced. They hid you from power hungry organizations in your area. They allowed you to rebuild in the shadows while they stood in the light. And now? Now she has cut the rope while hanging over the abyss.”

  “I do not deny it,” Yi said. His voice was heavy with shame but it was the undeniable truth. Their clan has only benefitted from the friendship. They did not have many opportunities to repay the kindness over the generations. “We owe his lineage a debt that cannot be paid in mere spirit stones or favors. The oath was our salvation for a long time, disguised as servitude. It was a grace we did not deserve.”

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  He paused and was looking out into the endless void of the pocket space.

  “But grace is hard to accept for the proud,” Yi murmured. “Especially when they do not know the darkness from which they were saved. She has only ever known the peace that the oath provided, so she assumed the peace was natural. She did not see the walls holding back the tide.”

  The two entities stood in silence for a moment. Around them, the fabric of the universe rippled. It was a subtle vibration, unseen by mortal eyes but deafening to beings of their caliber.

  “The tides are turning,” Khaos rumbled. “The Firmament is cracking. Things are becoming more unstable. The old powers are stirring in their sleep. The barriers between the realms are getting thin, Yi. The peace is ending. The turbulent times are upon us. His parents are off with their own forces and organization to help. Duty taking them away from their son. They might never see him again but they went off. Holding up the sky for him to enjoy the warmth below.”

  “I feel it as well,” Yi agreed somberly. “The agitation in the Qi flow across the realms. The restlessness of the cosmic beasts. The shadows are lengthening in our home. It is why Yue was so desperate. She sensed the coming storm and wanted to be unburdened before it hit. She thought she was shedding weight to run faster.”

  “She just took off her armor right before the arrows started flying,” Khaos said.

  Yi turned to look at Khaos. He looked at the being that terrified entire major forces. The creature that had once made realms tremble and became a nightmare for so many. He saw the careless power radiating off Khaos, a power that made Yi’s own cultivation feel like a candle in a hurricane.

  “Lord VoidClaw,” Yi began to ask. “Why do you do it?”

  “Do what?”

  “Guard him,” Yi said. “Li Yu. I know his families are... significant. I know his parents are both monsters in their own right. But you? You are at least someone on the same level as their clans, probably viewed in higher esteem to most. You have never bowed to anyone. What could they have possibly paid you to play babysitter to a mortal boy in this realm?”

  Yi looked at Khaos with genuine confusion.

  “Resources? They wouldn’t have anything you would want and if they did, I can’t imagine the clan would give it up for you to protect a boy in the clan. Status? You are above it. What did they give or promise you?”

  Khaos didn’t answer for a while and stared upwards. He turned to Yi. For a moment his eyes softened a bit. It shifted into a hue that was almost... amused.

  He threw his head back and laughed. It was a sound like rumbling thunder, deep and resonant, shaking the pocket dimension to its foundations.

  “Paid?” Khaos laughed again. “Yi, you small-minded boy. You think this is a transaction? You think there is anything in your vaults or their vaults that could buy my time?”

  “Then why?” Yi pressed. “Why shield him? Why intervene today? Why care if he lives or dies? You saved my clan today not for us but for him. Well, for the relationship that his clan has with ours. At the end of the day, you are thinking for him and are protecting his interests. Why?”

  Khaos didn't answer immediately. He looked through the walls of the pocket dimension. His gaze pierced through the layers of reality to the sleeping boy on the centipede's head in the world below.

  “You wouldn't understand,” Khaos said finally. “My reasons are my own. I came to his parents and volunteered for this role. It was only when I came forward, that the current situation arose.”

  It was a deflection and Yi knew it. But he also knew better than to press any further on his motives. Whatever bound Khaos to Li Yu, it was stronger than any contract or payment. It was personal.

  “But enough about me,” Khaos said as his tone was hardening again. “Let's talk about you. And your daughter.”

  Yi stiffened.

  “The oath is now broken,” Khaos stated. “The karmic shield is down so to speak. The scent of the 'Prodigy of the Gongsun Clan' is now unmasked. Do you know what that means?”

  “The suitors will come,” Yi said and his face was now grim. “The Dynasties of the Northern Sky. The Sects of the Blood-Iron Valley. Just to name a few. They have coveted her bloodline for centuries. The only thing that stopped them was the mark of Li Yu’s family on her soul. It was a 'Do Not Touch' sign signed by a power they feared. Now... she is unclaimed territory.”

  “They will come,” Khaos agreed. “And it is to be seen if they will be polite or not. They will demand assimilation. They will tear down your gates to get to her most likely. This is what she wanted. What you all seemed to want.”

  “I know,” Yi said. “I will prepare the clan. We will fortify the borders. We will awaken the Ancestors. We have resources. We have allies.”

  “You better,” Khaos scoffed. “But do not expect help from his family. His Great Grandfather might come to your aid but the rest of the family will not. Many of them have no ties with your clan at all. Your strongest tie was his mother but she is much too busy. You will be on your own.”

  The threat hung in the air. It was cold and absolute. The breaking of the oath might seem like a small matter between two people but it was actually massive. It wasn’t a decision that Yue made on her own either, despite what it seemed. The fact that she was allowed to get this far and do what she did was proof that she had support from her clan. Khoas could see through this.

  Whether it was just the support of her father or not was yet to be seen. However, support was there. It was a decision that the clan had made and they clearly felt they were ready for it. It could have been a one sided decision made by the main family but it was done by the commanding few.

  “The ties are severed, Yi. This generation has made its choice. Sentimental feelings between your ancestor and his great-grandfather are dust in the wind now for the clan. If your clan burns, Li Yu will not come. I will not come. His parents will not come. You are alone in the dark.”

  “I understand,” Yi said. He quickly straightened his back. A flicker of pride returned to his weary eyes. “We are the Gongsun Clan. We have relied on your shadow for too long, perhaps. It is time we stood in our own light. We are not weak, VoidClaw. We survived before the oath and we will survive after it.”

  “Brave words,” Khaos sneered. “But spoken like a man who has forgotten what true predators look like. You have lived in the nursery for too long. You have forgotten how cold the winter is.”

  Khaos began to fade from where he was. His form dissolved back into the darkness from which he came. The pressure in the realm began to lighten but the sense of foreboding remained.

  “One last warning, Gongsun Yi.” His voice came out again even though he was nowhere to be seen.

  “Do not come back here. Do not send scouts. Do not try to 'fix' this. If I see anyone from your clan near Li Yu again... I will not be merely annoyed. I will be thorough. I spared them today to honor the past. Tomorrow, I will only care about the future.”

  “We will not return,” Yi bowed deeply. “Goodbye, Lord VoidClaw.”

  Gongsun Yi stood alone for a long time. He looked at the empty space where Khaos had stood. He felt the echo of that terrible power and shivered.

  He thought of his daughter, Yue. He thought of her triumph, her feeling of liberation. She was likely celebrating her freedom right now, laughing with her aunt and her retainers, thinking she had outsmarted fate. She was unaware that she had just walked out of a fortress and onto a battlefield without her armor. Taking the entire clan with her.

  “Freedom,” Yi whispered to the silence. “Such a heavy price you pay for it, my child. You wanted to choose your own path. Now you must walk it. We will do what we can to help you…”

  He turned and stepped through a rift in space, heading back to a realm far away. They had to prepare for a war his daughter didn't even know she had started. One where she will be front and center. Whether she ended up victorious or ended up as someone’s prize he did not know.