novelraw Chapter 1285 - 1284 - Free Will vs Complete Control
Chapter 1285 - 1284 - Free Will vs Complete Control
Chu and Ethry were getting frustrated. The 3 beings in front of them were extremely strange. They had no scent, no emotions, and no indications of anything. Most warriors knew of the subconscious movements that would lead to prediction of their foes but those 3 gave away nothing.
They responded in perfect sync to any attack and seemed to see the future. Cyntilla and Shoti reported the same with the 6 they were dealing with to a lesser degree. Those 6 were clearly human at least, if odd in their own ways.
Their faces for some reason were blurry. It was not a formation or any mental technique they could tell. They just did not seem to stick in the memory for some reason.
Fey took it all in but unlike the rest, she felt something more disturbing in her opponents. There was no heart in their movements. There was no sign of choosing either. They were like machines.
Her Father once spoke of how soldiers might distance themselves from emotions during a fight and become killing machines in battle but then have to deal with the emotions later when facing their memories.
It was not healthy in the long run but for fresh soldiers, it could save their lives. The trick was to not push down dealing with those emotions later and finding a better balance in battle.
She had learned a version of that first hand when a heart demon was born from her repressed emotions and stress.
What she was feeling from the current set of 3 on the east peaks was not that at all. They were not suppressing anything. They felt like holes in the world to her warrior heart. Further, her special connection to life and death told her something too.
These 3 were no longer part of the cycle. They had souls but it was like they were caged inside!
Her eyes reflected the lightning striking around her but a spark was in her own core. Both her blades danced yet could not even scratch the cloaks the figures wore. She was calm, assessing, and ultimately felt a new emotion emerge as she fought them.
It was not like fighting people at all! She was facing dolls. They were not like the soulless she had heard about nor the puppets some cultivators used.
Those actually felt more alive than what she felt now!
A puppet carried the intent of its creator and while the Fiends were monstrous bastards without comparison, their intent came through as well. There was nothing there in those 3.
It was like they did not exist to her senses as a living being or even an artifact. How could that be?
Golden and black Qi suddenly surrounded her as life and death danced in her eyes. She felt the need to know. She wanted to know!
She had been walking down a path few understood, even Lind could only help superficially. One wing of black and one of white sprang from her back as she took to the skies.
The lightning dancing around her took on the auras of both life and death!
Illusions and Art merged around her. Annabelle would have never known such a thing was possible before and even Fey did not realize what she had done.
The 3 figures before her changed to her eyes. They were like black chains wrapped around faintly flickering blue flames.
Her blades whistled through the air and she saw the chains react! The bodies moved in accordance with the chain's commands!
She also felt a trace going into the sky. She was shocked. The Trio was controlling the 6 as well?! She was not sure without seeing them but she tried various attacks.
She tried Dual Sword Arts. A basic but essential Art for any dual sword wielder. It allowed the elements to coat the blades with movements that kept the swords moving without colliding.
Mortals were capable of such feats but pure physical skill was not enough. One blade was coated black while the other was gold. The elements woven to make them merged to make the colors yet the Dao behind them were terrifying.
Yet, the 3 she faced easily dodged as if she was standing still. Further, she could feel they were responding to other inputs as well. The chains she perceived were always reacting and kept them moving.
"Puppets have more freedom than you." Her voice was devoid of emotion. She was slowly grasping that the people in front of her were little more than wind up dolls. They had pre-programmed responses but in their case, it was the chains.
They interpreted input from the living organism and gave simple commands to optimize their movements.
There was no real thought to it. Even the style was identical. She noticed their bodies were modified as well to match with the chains rather than any kind of style being adapted the other way.
The very existence before her defied what it meant to be a warrior!
It defiled life in a way even Fiends did not do! Fiends consumed to improve. It was a vile act but it was no different than beasts and people consuming each other to survive or use for their cultivation.
The major issue was it being souls rather than just flesh. Flesh can be replaced, but souls endure. The 3 before her were a different kind of violation. Their souls were used merely to keep the body fresh!
In fact, if not for needing a living body, it was just a variation of puppetry but it took the shortcut of using living people as the base!
"People are not things!" Her Father was not the only one that believed that. She changed her Arts.
"Eat this!" Her wings flapped and complex shapes built around her until the lightning danced along it! The power of the array enhanced the constructs that took on humanoid shapes.
One was a divine being that looked remarkably like Lind Frey. It had his features and his robes but almost to an extreme of being in far better aura than any real person could give. The other was a dark figure but it also had his features.
It had not been her intention but when learning the Art it required a familiar figure or figures to call on to implement it.
The Duality of Light and Dark Art was meant to create conjured figures she could control. They were to represent the aspects she wished to give life and form. No one fit her mind better than her Father.
Something unexpected happened as she became light headed. It had never happened before but it was like the Art had changed in some way.
Where only pure gold and black should have been, the eyes shifted to emerald as an intent took over.
Across the layer, Lind suddenly felt an echo in his soul but could not place it before the feeling faded.
Fey realized something odd was happening as the 2 figures no longer obeyed her command but she still felt the Art draining her dantian. Far more complex Laws were integrating into them as well as she watched.
The previously wild lightning suddenly gathered in the hands of the golden figure to form a massive blade. The dark figure had a scythe!
[Kneel] The word shook the very air like it was an edict from Heaven. Fey could still see the chains and they resisted! They were forced to resist!
The figures looked coldly at the 3 and moved forward like the wind. It was meant to even the sides a bit and push them into a corner, but the figures had taken on a life of their own!
They were also using moves she had never seen before. It should be impossible until an idea appeared in her mind as she looked up at the sky.
"Mother Annabelle, just how powerful are your illusions if Heaven itself can use them?" It was a massive leap but Lind Frey was a True Lord. Invoking his image in the midst of a storm made to appear as real as possible may have crossed with her own anger.
She had said it herself. People are not things. Father and daughter had the same bottom-line. A false Heavenly Wrath combined with her identical intent to invoke his own will even so far away from him?!
It seemed impossible but the more one walked down the path of cultivation the more startling small the space was between thought and manifestation when it came to Laws and the elements.
It was not so large a leap if Heaven itself synchronized with an avatar of one of its True Lords.
"I am no better, it seems–" Her words were cut short as she saw a shocking thing. The 2 figures were not in sync! They moved independently with skills related to their weapons. The golden figure was a swordmaster on par with her but the scythe wielder was making massive swipes to catch the 3 off guard.
They were vastly disparate skills and she realized the truth.
People are not things. They are meant to choose and the 2 avatars had chosen to fight for her intent to face the 3 and break the chains binding them.
[Kneel.] The command went out again but now she understood why. The avatars were not alive. They were, at best, similar to weapon aura. The fact they took the shape of a man was an accident.
She noticed one more thing. The chains had to work much harder to resist the command the second time.
"You are trying to free the souls within? That is so like you, Father." Her body felt weak and she realized she was nearly out of Qi!
The Art originally could be sustained indefinitely by her but now it was about to be dispersed!
Even with her naked eyes, she could see the sharp edges were blurring!
The figures seemed to know they only had a short time as they hopped back and the 3 men stood firm before them. They were not uninjured though! They finally bled and were hurt!
She had missed it but the scythe had been not just a weapon but an area attack that got through!
The 2 figures crossed blades and space twisted at the point of contact. Life and death were 2 sides of a coin but they were never meant to touch!
[You have stolen what is given by Heaven and Earth. The power is yours once more.] Lightning danced along the figures and suddenly Fey and all 3 men were encased inside it. She felt reinvigorated instantly but the effect on the 3 men was stunning.
They screamed from the depths of their souls as complex inscriptions suddenly blazed along their bodies.
Blood flowed like a river from them but the once blurry features became distinct as each collapsed on the mountain. Instead of anger, resentment, or hatred, joy filled their faces.
"Thank you! Thank you for freeing us from that Hell!" The black chains became mist in her eyes as her figures also dispersed.
Fey was still tired but she knew the battles were not done. The western peak still beckoned and the battle above was terrifying by the sound of it. She summoned some elixirs to recover and flew off to help the others.
As she flew on she suddenly realized she was stronger! She was there! The peak of the Radiant Tier!