Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Khaos shook his head. The ancient warrior stepped aside and allowed Gongsun Lian to step forward. She stood straight and her dark dragon scale armor caught the light of the three suns. Her expression was solemn.

"I am here to call in the favor, Li Yu," Lian said. Her voice was steady but carried a heavy burden. "But before I ask, you must know that you have the right to reject this. If you say no, I will turn around and walk away. The debt between us will remain and I will never ask again for this specific thing."

Li Yu looked at her. He remembered the desolate ravine in the Demon Realm. He remembered the eleven warriors standing guard for days while he forged his new foundation. This was after they had killed five of the top cultivators of that realm as a favor for him. He had promised that if they ever needed help, he would try his best to aid them.

"Tell me what you need," Li Yu replied.

Lian took a breath. "Forces that are deeply allied with me have been ambushed. They are trapped in a distant sector of the cosmos. The enemies surrounding them are a coalition of dangerous and top forces. We are talking about forces that can devour entire realms for resources. If you go with us, you will be walking into a war zone where the weakest soldier is likely leagues above your current realm."

She did not sugarcoat the reality. This was the least she could do since she was already lying to him. Li Yu in return did not question Khaos. He had grown to realize that there was more then meets the eye with Khaos. How he knew Lian for example. However, he never got any answers from Khaos before and would unlikely get one now.

"You will be entirely powerless in the fighting," Lian continued. "You will not be able to defend yourself against the stray energy of their clashes. You will have to rely entirely on us to shield you as we carve a path to the center of the battlefield. The only reason we need you is for the final job. The trap itself."

Li Yu listened intently. He did not let the description of the enemy forces intimidate him. He always assumed the cosmos was filled with monsters. He believed that if Lian and Khaos were here to ask him, they would try their utmost to protect him.

"What is the trap?" Li Yu asked.

"It is a Temporal Dao Stone," Khaos answered, taking over the explanation. "It is a cosmic anomaly. The enemies detonated it and trapped the allied army within a bubble of distorted reality. To the outside observer, they are frozen perfectly in space. They cannot move or cast arts. But inside the bubble, time is violently accelerated. They are aging at an exponential rate. Their lifespans are burning away while they stand paralyzed."

Li Yu felt a chill run down his spine. It was a terrifying concept. To be fully conscious while your body rotted to dust but unable to do anything about it.

"No one has an answer for it," Khaos stated. "The only other stone used in history is still active after countless eras. We cannot break it with raw force. If we strike it with our weapons, the temporal energy will simply deflect the blow or absorb it. But you possess your Koi Soul. That is the main reason we are here today."

Li Yu understood immediately.

"You think the Koi can impact the bubble because it has a connection to the Law River for Time," Li Yu deduced.

"It is a theory," Khaos admitted. "A desperate one. We are hoping your temporal abilities can somehow interact with the trap. Maybe you can shatter it. Maybe you can weaken it enough for the allied commander to break free from the inside. Anything would help. But it is a massive gamble. The chance of success is incredibly low."

Lian stepped forward again. Her dark eyes were intense.

"The commander trapped inside is incredibly important to me," Lian said. Her voice cracked slightly betraying her desperation. "If that force falls, the ripples will tear the cosmos apart. But I must also be clear. The temporal energy of the stone is unstable. If you touch it and fail, the chance of you dying is extremely high."

Silence fell over the courtyard. The birds even stopped chirping. The wind seemed to hold its breath.

Li Yu looked past the two warriors. He looked at his climbing Void Pod Peas and the wide leaves of his Azure Cloud Cabbage. He looked at the sturdy wooden table he had crafted with his own hands. He thought about the childbirth celebration and the simple joy of sharing roasted fish with the townsfolk.

He was just settling into his quiet life here. He had found a rhythm that brought him peace. Leaving it behind to step into a cosmic slaughterhouse with a high chance of death was the absolute last thing he wanted to do.

But he had made a promise.

He had looked into the eyes of the Veiled Lotus generals and told them he would be there. A foundation built on broken promises would eventually crumble. After a long moment, Li Yu turned his gaze back to Lian.

"I will go," Li Yu said firmly.

Lian let out a long breath. The tension drained from her armored shoulders but then was quickly replaced by another form of tension. That her young master would now be thrown into the thick of things and have a high likelihood of dying. She offered a deep and respectful bow.

"Thank you Li Yu," Lian said softly.

"Do not thank me yet," Li Yu replied. "I might just be a drop of water hitting a brick wall. But I will try my best."

Khaos stepped forward. The ancient warrior reached into his dark robes and pulled out a simple brown gourd. He held it out to Li Yu.

"Take this," Khaos instructed.

Li Yu accepted the gourd. The moment his fingers brushed the polished wood, his Divine Transformation instincts screamed. The density of the energy contained within that small container was staggering. It felt like holding a star.

"What is this?" Li Yu asked.

"It is a highly compressed essence," Khaos explained. "It contains the purified lifeforce and purple Qi of a massive swarm. My associates harvested it recently. Store it within the Koi Sanctuary. For your later use at another time, consider this a form of extra payment for doing this."

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Li Yu nodded while gripping the gourd tightly.

"We will return tomorrow at this exact time," Khaos said. "Get your affairs in order. Say your goodbyes to the townsfolk if you must. Once we leave, the path ahead will be entirely forged in blood."

Khaos and Lian stepped backward. The spatial distortion enveloped them and they vanished from the farm. They left Li Yu alone with the brown gourd and a profound sense of impending danger.

Far away from the quiet peace of Silkwood, another temporary small realm had been constructed.

This space was larger and reinforced with heavy cosmic arrays. The gray stone floor was polished flat and the air was thick with static tension. Khaos and Gongsun Lian stood in the center of the realm waiting.

They did not speak. They both knew the storm that was about to arrive. The void tore open with a violent ripping sound. It was not a smooth portal. It was a jagged tear in reality created by sheer brute force.

A woman stepped through the tear.

She was middle aged but possessed a striking and beautiful appearance. Her facial features were soft and gentle. She looked like a caring mother who belonged in a peaceful garden. But the aura radiating from her body contradicted her appearance entirely.

Zhan Tielan was furious.

The air around her warped and hissed. The sheer physical density of her body refinement caused the stone floor beneath her boots to crack instantly. She did not carry her massive weapon but her bare hands looked capable of shattering everything.

Right behind her stepped the gray robed general. He held his straight sword at his side. He offered Khaos a subtle and sympathetic glance before stepping back to give the woman space. Zhan Tielan did not hesitate. She marched directly toward Khaos.

"What do you think you are doing?!" Zhan Tielan yelled.

Her voice echoed like thunder in the enclosed realm. Yelling at Khaos, the legendary VoidClaw, was something almost unthinkable to anyone in the cosmos. Entire armadas would flee at the mere mention of his name. But Zhan Tielan did not care. She was a mother and her family was bleeding.

"Your only job was to guard him!" Zhan Tielan yelled at him and pointed a finger at Khaos's chest. "You were supposed to keep him in the shadows! You were supposed to let him live his life in peace! And now I hear you are dragging him to one of the most dangerous war zones in the known universe?!"

Khaos did not flinch. He stood perfectly still and absorbed her fury without a single reaction. He expected this.

"Li Canghai is trapped," Khaos stated calmly.

"I know my husband is trapped!" Zhan Tielan fired back. Her eyes burned with fierce intensity. "My forces are mobilizing right now. The Zhan Clan and the Li Clan are gathering a force as well to help. We are going there to break the siege. We do not need you risking my son!"

"If you go there with that kind of force, yes, you can slaughter the enemy forces," Khaos agreed. "You can kill their commanders. You can turn the entire sector into a graveyard. But ask yourself this, Zhan Tielan. Do you have an answer for the Temporal Dao Stone?"

Zhan Tielan stopped. Her chest heaved with angry breaths.

"I will find a way," Zhan Tielan gritted her teeth. "I will smash the stone into dust."

"You cannot smash it," Khaos countered. His voice was cold and logical. "You know you cannot. Striking the stone will only cause the temporal energy to deflect. You will die trying to break it and Li Canghai will die inside it. You have no answer."

"And you do?!" She demanded.

"I have found a potential answer," Khaos said. "Li Yu. His Koi Soul has a direct connection to temporal laws. He is the only entity we have access to that might be able to interact with the bubble."

"It is too risky!" Zhan Tielan yelled. "He is only in the Divine Transformation realm! The ambient pressure of that battlefield alone could crush him! And what if he is discovered? They will hunt him to the ends of existence after all of this is over. Regardless of the result, he will either die or end up suffering forever!"

"The reward is worth the risk this time," Khaos argued.

"A chance to save my husband is not worth sacrificing my son!" Zhan Tielan roared.

"It is not about you!" Khaos raised his voice for the first time. The sudden shift in his volume caused the gray robed general to tense his grip on his sword. "It is about him. If Li Canghai falls in that trap and Li Yu finds out later that he was his father..."

Khaos took a step forward while narrowing his eyes.

"If Li Yu learns that he possessed the only ability that could have saved his father and we denied him the chance to try? He would blame himself forever. It is one thing to grow up believing your parents are dead. It is a completely different torture to know you could have saved them but were never given the choice. His Dao heart would shatter."

Zhan Tielan clenched her fists. Her knuckles turned white.

"You have no right to interfere in our family." Zhan Tielan said. Her voice dropped to a venomous whisper. "We made the hard choices. We paid the price. You are just a guardian. Stay out of our family matters."

Khaos looked at the furious woman. He felt a deep respect for her strength but he refused to yield.

"I have every right to interfere," Khaos countered softly.

Zhan Tielan glared at him. "Excuse me?"

"I have every right," Khaos repeated. He did not speak as an ancient entity. He spoke as a person. "Because Li Yu is my close friend."

The words hung in the air.

Lian blinked in surprise. The gray robed general shifted his stance. For a being as old and isolated as Khaos, to claim a mortal youth as a close friend was a profound revelation to those present. It spoke of a bond forged in quiet moments, shared tea and mutual respect.

"I have watched him bleed," Khaos continued. His tone was unwavering. "I have watched him struggle from the bottom. I have sat at his table. I know how he thinks and I know what he values."

Khaos delivered the final blow without malice, simply stating an undeniable truth.

"I know Li Yu better than you do."

The words struck Zhan Tielan with the force stronger than anything she’s ever been actually hit with.. The fierce supreme leader, the woman whose name terrified the cosmos, stopped. The violent aura swirling around her body evaporated. Her shoulders slumped.

She took a step back and her hands trembled.

The truth was a heavy and unforgiving blade. She had left her son when he was only ten years old. She had done it out of duty. She had done it to protect him from the endless wars and the political assassinations that plagued their lineage. She had sacrificed her own motherhood so he could survive in the shadows.

But the cost was absolute. She did not know the man he had become. She did not know his favorite food. She did not know his fears. She did not know his friends. She was a stranger to her own flesh and blood.

The gray robed general stepped forward placing a hand on his sword hilt. Lian tensed her muscles. Both of them expected Zhan Tielan to explode. They expected her to unleash a cataclysmic attack at Khaos for such words.

Instead, Zhan Tielan let out a choked sob. She raised her hands and covered her face. The supreme commander of the Zhan Clan fell to her knees on the cracked stone floor. She wept.

It was not a quiet or graceful cry. It was the raw ugly sound of a mother drowning in guilt. She cried for the years she had lost. She cried for the husband who was currently dying in a frozen trap. She cried because Khaos was right.

"I left him," Zhan Tielan sobbed. Her voice muffled by her hands. "I had to leave him. It was the only way to keep him safe."

Khaos looked down at her. His dark eyes softened slightly. He did not take pleasure in hurting her.

"You did what you had to do," Khaos said quietly. "You gave him a chance to grow up outside the cage. And he grew into a remarkable adult. But he is an adult now. He is not a child to be hidden anymore."

Zhan Tielan continued to cry. The gray robed general knelt beside her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. He looked up at Khaos and gave a slow and silent nod.

The argument was over. The decision was made. The cosmos was about to witness a reunion forged in the absolute fires of war.