Myriad Rivers to the Sea

The pale morning light filtered through the white paper screens of Li Yu’s pavilion. The intricate text on the badge directed him to the far western edge of the Trial Grounds.

Li Yu took his time walking through the winding paths. He observed the native residents opening their wooden storefronts. Some carried baskets of glowing spiritual herbs while others swept the fallen petals from the silver canals. The city felt alive and breathing. It was not just a sterile staging ground for ancient candidates. It was a true home for the people of The Veil.

Li Yu noticed a group of young children running across a vermillion bridge. They possessed faint ethereal characteristics. Some had eyes that glowed with a soft blue light and others had skin that seemed slightly translucent. They were the descendants of the survivors of the Great Devastation.

They laughed and played without a care for the trials happening right next door. Seeing them grounded Li Yu’s understanding of Old Du's desperate cause. The ferryman was not just trying to fix a broken landscape. He was trying to secure a future for those children and for his people as a while

Li Yu crossed the large arched bridge and left the city limits. He entered the western quadrant of the complex. The architecture here was vastly different. The buildings were older and much less refined. He eventually arrived at his designated destination.

The pagoda before him was constructed of rough grey stone. It lacked the polished elegance and intimidating arrays of the other structures. Thick green moss grew along the base of the massive stone pillars. It looked like a forgotten relic left behind by time.

He walked up the weathered steps. The heavy wooden doors stood wide open to him. He stepped inside and the doors immediately slammed shut behind him. The sound echoed loudly. The physical walls vanished in an instant and Li Yu found himself standing on a vast plane of grey ash. The sky above was a featureless expanse of white mist. There was no sound and there was no wind. It felt like standing at the end of the world.

"Welcome to the Pagoda of the Unbroken Step."

A neutral and disembodied voice echoed across the sea of ash. It sounded completely mechanical and lacked the emotional depth of Astramentis.

"The Dao is a journey of a million miles." The voice continued smoothly. "Many begin the walk but very few reach the end. They falter because they listen to the whispers of others. They fail because they walk paths forged by dead men. Choose your path and prove your conviction."

The white mist in front of Li Yu violently churned. The grey ash trembled under his boots. Three massive structures rose from the ground and stretched out into the endless white horizon.

The first structure was a bridge of solid gold. It was lined with cheering crowds and armored soldiers kneeling in absolute reverence. At the far end of the golden bridge sat a towering throne carved from pure starlight. A regal voice drifted from the throne. It sounded like the ancient emperors of old.

"You possess the strongest soul." The regal voice commanded. "You are destined to rule. Only with absolute authority can you protect your family and your peace. Take the throne. Become the giant that shoulders the cosmos. This is the path of the Emperor. Walk it and you shall never know fear."

Li Yu looked at the golden bridge. It was an incredibly tempting offer. He had felt the crushing weight of insignificance when he first learned of the cosmic war and the ancient factions. Absolute power and absolute authority seemed like the perfect solution to all his problems. If he had that he would be able to obtain the peace that he wanted in his life. He could go anywhere and do anything that he wanted.

He turned his gaze to the second structure. It was a narrow stone walkway suspended over a roaring river of boiling blood. Mangled corpses and broken weapons littered the path. At the end of the walkway stood a massive sacrificial altar made of black iron. A voice filled with sorrow called out from the altar. It sounded eerily like Old Du.

"The cosmos is broken and bleeding." The sorrowful voice pleaded. "You are the one. You are the only one who can save us. Sacrifice your selfish desires. Bleed for the realms. Give your life so that countless others may live. This is the path of the Savior. Walk it and your name will be etched into eternity and worshipped for all time."

Li Yu frowned at the bloody path. He had a good heart but he was no martyr. Li Yu rarely would sacrifice himself just for the sake of others. If it were things related to him or people he cared about then perhaps he would do so but he wouldn’t do it for the faceless masses. He did not want to die for a broken world he barely knew. The expectations of others were a heavy burden to bear.

He looked at the third structure. It was a steep staircase carved directly into the side of a sheer ice mountain. Biting winds howled around the frozen steps and carried sharp shards of ice. At the peak of the mountain sat a solitary meditation mat. The air there was perfectly still and completely devoid of all emotion. A cold and detached voice echoed from the icy peak.

"Mortal ties are chains." The cold voice stated flatly. "Love is a weakness. Ambition is an illusion. Sever your karma and leave your humanity behind. Ascend to the peak of true detachment. This is the path of the Immortal. Walk it and nothing shall ever hurt you again."

Li Yu stared at the icy mountain. It was the traditional path of countless cultivators. They lived for thousands of years by abandoning everything that made them who they were in their early lives. Daiki, the demon, was running from his family responsibilities. Sora, the wolf woman, had abandoned all factions to wander alone. Elder Baisheng had simply outlived everyone he ever knew. It was a lonely and sterile existence.

The three paths glowed with intense and blinding light. The golden bridge promised power. The bloody walkway promised eternal glory. The icy mountain promised invulnerability.

The disembodied voice of the pagoda returned. "Choose. The trial ends when you reach the end of your chosen path."

Taken from NovelFire, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Li Yu stood perfectly still in the grey ash. He closed his eyes and listened to the overlapping voices. The Emperor demanded his ambition. The Savior demanded his life. The Immortal demanded his heart. They were all pulling at him and demanding he conform to their grand visions of what a powerful cultivator should be.

He opened his eyes. He reached inward and materialized his weapon. Star Crusher appeared in his right hand. The dense staff hummed with power. He planted the base of the staff firmly into the grey ash.

"These are grand paths." Li Yu said aloud. His voice was calm and incredibly steady. "They are paths meant for giants and heroes and ancient gods. But they are not my path."

He turned his body away from the golden bridge. He turned away from the bloody walkway and he turned his back on the icy mountain. He faced the empty and featureless expanse of grey ash where nothing existed. There was no road there. There was no destination visible in the thick white mist.

"I am simply myself, Li Yu." Li Yu stated simply. "Sometimes I enjoy traveling, helping others, treating beasts, farming, raising fish and protecting things I care about. I do not want a throne. I do not want an altar. I do not want to sit alone on a frozen mountain for eternity. I just want my peace and to do what my heart wants at the time."

He lifted his boot and stepped forward into the unmarked ash. The moment his foot touched the ground the pagoda reacted violently. The three grand paths shattered into jagged pieces. The cheering crowds turned into screaming demons. The regal voices turned into hateful shrieks.

"You choose an impossible path!" A massive voice roared in his mind. "You will be crushed by the giants!"

A massive physical pressure descended upon Li Yu. The pressure multiplied continuously. The grey ash turned thick and viscous like wet mud. Every step required a monumental effort of physical and mental strength. The white mist swirled and formed into phantom hands that grabbed at his dark robes. They tried to drag him backward and toward the shattered remnants of the three grand paths.

Li Yu gritted his teeth. He channeled his Qi and pushed forward. He used Star Crusher as a walking stick to anchor himself against the crushing weight.

"You are a coward!" Another voice shrieked at him. It sounded exactly like Xyphyra. "You have power but you refuse to use it! You will die a nobody in the dirt!"

Li Yu ignored the screaming phantoms. He kept his eyes fixed forward on the blank horizon. He focused entirely on the rhythm of his own steps. Left foot. Right foot. Breathe. He was not walking toward a grand destiny. He was simply walking forward and following his heart.

The pressure intensified with every step he gained. The phantom hands tore at his clothes and scratched at his skin. The gravity threatened to snap his spine. The illusions bombarded his mind with terrible visions of failure. Countless deaths in his futile attempts. He saw the Golden Shell Guild burning to the ground. He saw Khaos looking down at him with deep disappointment.

The trial was designed to break his conviction. It wanted him to turn back and take a predetermined path that others had walked. It wanted him to conform to the cosmic expectations of what a genius should be. It punished him severely for choosing his own mundane truth.

Li Yu stopped walking. He stood in the middle of the ash field and took a deep breath. Sweat poured down his face. His muscles ached from the immense strain.

"You cannot show me anything that I have not already feared!" Li Yu spoke into the howling mist. "I have made my peace with my insignificance. I walk this path because it is mine. You cannot sway me!"

He surged his chaotic domain of Time, Soul, Life and Death to form a small barrier around himself. He did not release the domain far outward to fight the pagoda. He used the concentrated laws to reinforce his own physical vessel. He locked his mind and he hardened his heart against the illusions.

He took another step forward. The phantom hands shattered upon touching his reinforced body. He took another step and the crushing gravity failed to hold him down.

He began to walk faster and faster. His strides grew long and confident. The howling voices of the illusions began to fade into the background. The dark visions burned away like morning fog under a hot sun. He walked through the thick ash with the steady and unrelenting pace of a person who knew exactly who he was.

He was Li Yu. He was the anomaly with five Nascent Souls and he did not need to shoulder the sky. He wasn’t trying to bear the burdens alone. He just needed to stand his ground and slowly make progress. One day, he will be among the giants and at that point he could make a difference there. However, until then, he would make a difference wherever he was.

He walked for what felt like hours. He did not deviate from his straight line and he never looked back and thought of the other three paths.

Slowly the white mist began to thin. The grey ash beneath his boots transitioned into solid white stone tiles. The oppressive gravity vanished entirely and the howling winds died down. The air grew perfectly still once more.

Li Yu stopped and looked around at this point. He was no longer in the endless expanse. He was standing in a small and peaceful courtyard. A single cherry blossom tree grew in the center of the white stone tiles. A small wooden gate stood at the far end of the courtyard.

"The path is formed." The neutral voice of the pagoda echoed softly from the stones. "Conviction unbroken. The heart remains true and firm. Trial complete."

Li Yu let out a long exhale. He relaxed his aching muscles and released his tight grip on Star Crusher. The staff vanished as he returned it to the lap of his Human Soul within his inner space. He brushed some grey ash from his dark robes and straightened his posture.

The trial had not tested his martial strength or his comprehension of complex laws. It had tested the very foundation of his identity. A cultivator who could be easily swayed by the promise of power or the fear of failure would eventually encounter a bottleneck they could not pass. The Dao required certainty. Li Yu had proven his certainty.

It did not mean that a person knew exactly how they wanted to be or knew what they were going to be doing. It meant that the person had a strong conviction in their beliefs and their identity. Their Dao Heart was strong and firm. Only with that kind of resolve could one walk the path of cultivation and see it to the end.

Li Yu reached into his robes and pulled out his dark purple jade badge. The surface of the stone glowed with a bright silver light. A single intricate character had formed on the smooth surface. It was the symbol for completion.

Li Yu smiled and tucked the badge away. The first step in the Trial Grounds was finished.

‘I wonder if everyone went through the same steps and path in the process of taking the trial.’ Li Yu thought to himself. After thinking about it for a bit, that probably wasn’t the case. ‘The candidates wouldn’t be given a badge with specific instructions for themselves. The sacred artifact was most likely selecting what each person faced.’

Li Yu walked toward the small wooden gate. He pushed it open and stepped out into the bright morning light. He found himself back on the far western edge of the Trial Grounds. The heavy wooden doors of the rough grey pagoda were sealed tightly behind him.

The streets of Kyokai City were fully awake now. The air was filled with the sounds of native merchants selling spiritual goods and candidates discussing their own experiences. Li Yu felt a sense of clarity within himself.