Universe's End

Chapter 249: Things to live for

When Rory appeared within the former undercity, he took several moments to let the changes sink in. Since the fall of the undercity and subsequent redevelopment into Rong territory, things had changed significantly. The once golden grass that had extended all throughout the reach of the former Khan’s influence had died off, subsumed by burgundy colored moss, clovers, and ferns.

Aside from the small foliage, the familiar sight of bloodwoods had begun popping up everywhere, the only place in the world –as far as Rory knew at least— where bloodwood trees had begun to naturally grow after the first infusion of planted trees by the Rong clan. What wasn’t visible was the network of dark purple, nearly black roots that had wormed their way all throughout the ground just beneath their feet as Cruor-Shu folded every piece of plant life into itself like a giant network or hivemind. Within those roots were also countless monster corpses, dragged under by those same roots. If one traveled to the outskirts of where Cruor-Shu’s influence ended and the poison wastes began once more, one could find a constant battleground as the countless wild serpents and other monsters were foolish enough to draw too close to the burgundy fields only to be turned into fertilizer.

Outside the environment itself, the other main change was that Rong had redeveloped what remained of the undercity, now a proper clan complex with a growing number of architectural structures, whereas before it was mostly just a haphazard collection of shacks or constructs that prioritized function over form.

Rory wasn’t here for the Rong, though he did need to meet with Hao Lin Rong, so he could at the very least get to birds with one stone. Instead, Rory turned his attention to the tree he was standing upon, pressing his palm to the bark and closing his eyes.

“Cruor-Shu,” Rory whispered as he injected his aura into his voice. “I have come as requested.”

For a moment, Rory felt as if something were tugging at his mind, gently though, so as to be declined if he so desired. Fortunately, Rory had no desire to decline, and thus let the ‘tug’ draw at his mind, as a moment later he found himself ‘elsewhere.’

‘Elsewhere’ was somewhat of a misnomer, given that Rory was fairly confident as to the nature of where he was, analogous to a mental palace. As for the ‘space,’ it looked like he was inside a clearing within a jungle thicket, if all the trees and vines and other plant life were all dyed crimson, purple, or black. Taking a measured pace into the very center of the clearing, what looked like an oversized heart made of the same external bark of Cruor-Shu awaited him.

“Architect.” A voice called out from everywhere at once.

“Cruor-Shu,” Rory responded. Within another being’s internal world, responding with a voice filled with his aura might come across as at least a little rude.

From in front of the heart of twisting bark, a figure began to emerge, somewhere between feminine and androgynous in nature. It reminded Rory somewhat of Aelia and her many varying forms she took, but whereas Aelia could take many forms, Rory had a sense that the form he now saw from Cruor-Shu was its only ‘physical’ avatar available to it, a dryad or some sort of nature spirit.

“Thank. You. For. Coming.” Cruor-Shu said, clearly unused to actually speaking.

“You're welcome,” Rory answered, avoiding any added commentary lest he confuse the archon.

“Gave. Life. Back. To. Us. To. Me.”

It was interesting to Rory that Cruor-Shu seemed to think of itself as both a collective them, as well as an individual me.

“It was a matter that required a fitting response,” Rory said with a simple shrug. “You don’t have to thank me.”

“Perhaps. Or. Perhaps. Not.”

Momentarily confused, Rory’s curiosity got the better of him when the dryad avatar turned around toward the beating heart, holding its hand out as a single spindly strand seemed to splinter free from the rest of the mass, landing flatly into the palm of its hand. Turning back around, it approached Rory before offering its hand outstretched.

“Heart. Strand. May. Only. Be. Freely. Given. Only. To. Proven. Friend. Of. Cruor-Shu.”

Then, just like that, Rory was back in the real world, ejected from the mental palace in an instant. More importantly, between his feet, a branching twig had emerged, his eye twitching like crazy in response.

Heart Strand of Cruor-Shu

Quality: Unique

Throughout the history of existence, wood has always been one of the most reliable materials. From the construction of architecture and housing to the development of weapons or equipment, their uses have been nearly endless. While the quality and types of wood are as numerous as the stars in the sky, the Heart Strand of an Archon is unique. Impossible to harvest through traditional means, a heart strand may only be obtained by being recognized as a friend of the archon and freely given without coercion. Heart Strands are slow to regrow and even slower to gift, making any Heart Strand available a unique resource one should not squander.

Crouching down, Rory gently snapped the base of the twig from the rest of Cruor-Shu between his index finger and thumb, examining the twig in further detail. Just looking at it, one wouldn’t guess much of its importance or value, just an oddly purple-ish, black twig, looking neither extremely tough nor all that magical.

But Rory knew differently, even ignoring the description information.

Hmm…

With a wave of his hand, several objects floated in front of him, rotating through the air like a Ferris wheel. First, a marble containing anti-matter essence, then a feather of brilliant colors, and lastly, the just-acquired heart strand.

“Quite the collection of priceless items,” Rory muttered to himself before they all vanished back into his inventory. An idea was beginning to form, but he wanted to sit on it for longer and really let it mature.

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Thankfully, he was in no rush for that specific idea, given he had at least a hundred fifty or so years until he had to deal with his bane for the final time.

I’d like it done by then, but for now, it can wait.

Putting that thought aside, Rory glanced back at the Rong clan complex, hand over his eyes as he nodded to himself.

“Well, may as well squash that second bird.”

As Rory made his way to the center of the Rong complex, he could only sigh as rows of attendants were lined up, bowing like he were visiting nobility.

Well, in a sense, yeah…. But still.

“Welcome, Lord Founder,” A young man, or at least to Rory’s perspective, said as he likewise bowed. “Lower Patriarch Hao Lin is awaiting you within. Would you like me to guide you there?”

Rory assessed the younger man for a moment, taking stock of his progress. A low-tier seven, he had a similar feel to Kai Rong, albeit somewhat less substantive.

It still impresses me how tier sevens just… seem to pop up. I mean, with the time from tier one to tier seven being less than half the average of tier seven to tier eight, I can’t really be surprised, but still.

“Not necessary,” Rory shook his head, getting his inner thoughts to himself. “Uh…”

“Deng, Deng Rong,” the man said, his head lowered. “I am honored that the Lord Founder would concern himself with learning my name.”

“Well, I am glad to see the Rong growing steadily as always. Combatants weren’t as common in the past.”

“That must be put at the feet of Upper Matriarch Kai Rong. She has paved a way for those of us unskilled in the ways of alchemy or the other arts of our family.”

“That is good to hear,” Rory nodded once more, before vanishing as he flickered away, reappearing elsewhere.

Was that a little rude? Sure, but being mysterious never hurt me so far.

“Lord Founder,” A voice said from nearby. Seated upon a cushion in front of what would have been the most impressive bloodwood Rory had ever seen, had it not been for Cruor-Shu, was Hao Lin Rong.

Though Cruor-Shu, being a bloodwood, is like comparing a dragon and a gecko.

“How have you been, Hao Lin?” Rory asked as he made his way next to the older-younger man.

“Good, though I find myself with more free time as of late. I begin to understand a fraction of your own station, the feeling of the things you helped create with your own labors taking a life of their own, no longer tied to yourself.”

“The Rong clan has come a long way,” Rory agreed. The Rong were undoubtedly the most influential and most prominent third-party faction involved with Ehkorrus by a large degree. The bureaucrats, the artisans, the combatants, and now the fourth wing, the Rong.

Though with Apostolos looking to step down in a few years, I could see another wrench being thrown in there. After all, his ‘little’ Danzu family has grown quite large over the years.

That was a world of political theater that Rory had no interest in, and so he would let them butt heads so long as it didn’t break anything important.

“That it has,” Hao Lin said, bringing Rory back to the present. “The gift of this territory has been perhaps the biggest boon we’ve ever had, without the same land concerns as the surface. Furthermore, proximity to the Blessed Archon further strengthens our clan bond through blood affinity. The Blessed Archon defends these lands, and we honor that by offering our own blood in return.”

“Not like, human sacrifice, right?”

“No, not that extreme,” Hao Lin Rong chuckled. “Ordinary bloodletting.”

“Right, right,” Rory nodded. “Hey, question. During the attack from the Bird, did anything spill over here?”

“Yes,” Hao Lin Rong answered instantly. “A relatively small attack force found its way here. Thankfully, between the Blessed Archon and some of our own forces, we were able to prevail without the loss of life.”

“Interesting how they managed to find their way here, a bit of a maze after all.”

“I do believe I have the answer to that,” Hao Lin Rong answered, as a torn page appeared within his grasp, handing it over to Rory to examine.

Curious, Rory felt his eyebrows bunch upward.

Divination Codex Page

A page torn from a Divination Codex, it contains information otherwise unknown.

“Huh, interesting,” Rory muttered.

“If you inject your aura into the page, it will become even more so.”

Doing so, Rory suddenly felt like he was watching a slideshow pass through his brain, flashing images of landmarks with impressions of ‘left’ or ‘right’ or such attached, before finally landing upon the unmistakable vista of the former golden field and the teleportation platform.

“That is somewhat unsettling,” Rory frowned. “Though it seems their little portable vision notebook didn’t come with any sort of warning.”

“No, it does appear rather bare bones,” Hao Lin Rong agreed.

“Did you bring this to Irene?”

“No,” Hao Lin Rong shook his head. “I thought it better to hand it to you directly lest it end up lost in some warehouse.”

“Hmm, does that happen much?”

“The procedural basis that the Esteemed Luminary prefers does at times end up rather prone to meandering.”

Oh man, do I enjoy not being in the middle of the gridlock tension points between all of them.

“Well, either way, I appreciate you bringing this-” Rory waved the torn page for a moment before it vanished into his inventory. “- to my attention. Those aside, how have you specifically been?”

Hao Lin Rong looked thoughtful for a moment before sighing.

“Tired, in truth. The duties of the Rong have kept me focused for decades now, but now that much less needs my direct action, I find myself tired.”

“Like a vacation or-”

“Of life,” Hao Lin Rong said with a somewhat dark laugh. “For decades, I have continued on without my better half, and for decades, I have missed her. It is why I decided that tier five was to be my peak.”

“Seriously?” Rory asked, surprised.

“Yes. As we all know, the higher one climbs, the longer the lifespan. I’ve been around for over a hundred years now and likely have at least another hundred and fifty yearsleft. I’d rather not extend that further.”

Rory was silent, letting the comment rest for several moments before Hao Lin Rong continued.

“I do apologize, Lord Founder, if it is somewhat improper of me to state as much. Some of us are cut out for a life without end. I am not. I have seen the jewel of my life polished and shining, a brilliant crowning gem. As the lesser lord of the Rong, my job has mostly been handling the day-to-day of the Rong, but soon I shall step down once more. I suspect the future generations of the Rong will view the direction of my path from Upper Lord down to Lesser Lord as backward, starting at the ‘upper lord’ and gradually stepping down rather than climbing my way up, but someone had to be the start of the clan.” Hao Lin Rong laughed as if it were particularly amusing.

“And Kai Rong?”

“Since I declared her my heir, she has further matured. Besides, as the upper lord of the clan, her main duty is simply to continue growing her own strength.”

Again, Rory was silent, himself introspective for several moments.

One hundred years. Funny how once that seemed like such a long time.

Rory tried to put himself in the frame of mind where, after one hundred years, he could find himself tired, but there was simply so much that he couldn’t truly fathom it.

But then, had he lost the love of his life, his soulmate and better half? The fact that Hao Lin kept his late wife’s sword still enshrined, and still spent time every day before it, said much about his commitment.

No, in fairness, I don’t think I could be torn apart for that long either.

In the end, they were all individuals, with strengths and weaknesses of their own, no matter how ‘fair’ Eon tried to make the ‘rules’ of their existence. It wasn’t as if Rory was one of the eight founders by accident, either. He’d specifically been someone who had always had the kernel of spirit inside him, the thirst to keep moving forward.

“Thank you for listening to this old man's ramble,” Hao Lin Rong chuckled again. “I would never dare call you a friend, but at least you are of a station that my own problems may seem smaller, lacking the same hierarchical reverence that those of my family show me.”

“It’s fine,” Rory waved it off. “But as you said, you still have quite a bit of your own life remaining. Perhaps you will find something worth staying around for.”

Looking off wistfully into the distance, Hao Lin Rong smiled, a sad, tired smile.

“No, I don’t think I will.”