Mad God – Reborn

It was a dark night, and even the full moon had just vanished behind a thick curtain of clouds, not wanting to watch what was happening on the ground. At that moment, Ren was floating above his old, discarded body as it slumbered somewhere deep underground. She arrived hours ago but was waiting patiently for the right time and for the right people.

“You were quick.” She opened her eyes with a smile as three people arrived, namely Yanda, Lulu, and Toobu.

“We missed you, Master! So if you send a message, of course we are going to hurry here.” Lulu laughed, cupping her hands as they arrived.

“It’s good to see you again,” Yanda said, returning her smile while Toobu looked really nervous about what was going to happen.

“I’m ready for anything. I reached the 9th stage!” Toobu spoke up, looking up at Ren, expecting that it was time to take their promised revenge.

While Ren was away, he focused every second of his life on cultivation, and he saw a tremendous increase in the speed of his advancement. Yet he sometimes felt as if he were acting like a machine. He calculated every move, aiming for optimal outcomes at all times. The only time his mind was jolted back to reality, and he felt human again, was when he was with Qeena. In the year that almost passed, they finally became a couple, and she was the one who anchored his feelings. She was also pretty vocal while doing it, always reprimanding him, even more so when she saw Toobu pushing himself too hard. Even though they had frequent arguments about it, it just pulled them closer together and helped Toobu keep his mind normal.

“How is Wyland?” Ren asked, floating down to them.

“He… has a new teacher,” Toobu replied with a weird smile.

“Yeah!” Lulu nodded enthusiastically. “You missed something big, Master!”

“Hm? What happened?” She asked, tilting her head, as Yanda started to explain.

“It turns out Wyland is a formation genius! He completed your half-finished engravings, and then he finished the teleportation formation.” Yanda sighed, still an unbelievable feat for everybody in the Sect. “The weirdest thing was, a person came through!”

“Not just a person!” Lulu rolled her eyes. “Elder Levictus.”

“Is he even a person?” Yanda asked with sarcasm. “I never saw him show any emotion, not even when Wyland refused to accept him as a true master. He was only accepting him as a teacher. By the way, Master, you won’t even recognize him!”

“Why?” Ren chuckled, happy to hear that Wyland found his way and showed his true talent.

“He slimmed down a lot,” Toobu answered with a satisfied smile. “He also improved on his stutter. It is still there, but the constant work with formations helped his mind a lot. He is calm, collected… and honestly? A damned good-looking guy! He had a few suitors already but turned down every one of them. He couldn’t come as he is in seclusion, reaching the 9th stage too!”

“Ahaha, I’ll see it for myself soon!” Ren grinned, looking at them. “You all look good, I’m glad!”

“Thank you, Master!” The trio said as they bowed.

“We are going to catch up when time lets us. Soon I’ll be back to the Sect, but first I need to do some things.” She clapped, and thunder rumbled high above the mall. “Are you ready for your tribulation?” She asked, looking into Toobu’s eyes, who trembled a little, but soon he just answered with a deep nod. “Good…” Ren whispered. “Yanda, I need your powers. You need to clear the water to reveal the building under it.”

“Sure!” He answered, already controlling it, and soon the dark waters receded far away, forming an empty, dry circle in the middle of the still backwater.

“Lulu,” Ren turned to her. “I’ll bring up the ruin, but I’ll need to focus on something else, so you are going to replace me and keep it stable. Do not let it sink back into the ground!”

“No problem, Master!”

It only took a few moments before the meditating body under the pagoda appeared once again, freezing the ground and air around him. Toobu watched it with a serious expression, and by now he felt a clear familiarity with that coldness. It was the same as when he used his own affinity, draining every particle of energy from the surrounding nature and converting it into pure, usable energy. They could either be used for cultivation or fueling his spells, wielding the power of flame and ice at the same time.

“Is that?” Lulu asked, bringing Toobu out of his trance, watching Ren produce a strange-looking crystal.

“A God Crystal,” Ren answered with a serious expression. “Toobu.”

“Yes…” He answered, with only a small hesitation, letting out a deep breath, already concentrating, and the Sky started to rumble as he initiated his own tribulation to ascend into the Harmony Realm.

“Lulu!”

“On it, Master!” She said as she sat down cross-legged in the air, milky-colored light spreading from her body, encasing the whole building, keeping it stable and preventing it from sinking back down, and quickly forming respirations on her forehead.

“Let’s do this…” Toobu whispered, determined to go through it all. For a moment, Qeena’s face flashed through his mind, remembering her sleeping, innocent expression as he left their home. He may have reached the 9th stage… but he didn’t know if his mind was strong enough to survive the tribulation.

He couldn't hesitate for long, though, as in the next moment, red lightning came from the sky, and just as it hit Toobu, tempering his body and soul, Kai also woke up once again in the hand of Ren, communicating with her.

“Oh? It has been so long since I saw someone taking a tribulation.” His old voice said, laced with nostalgia. “Good kid. This is a proper Cleansing.”

“Cleansing?” Ren asked, watching Toobu, who was going through the three bolts one after another.

“Yes." Kai said in a clearly nostalgic voice, "The Cosmos cleanses a cultivator so they can move forward and become more attuned to it. It is the same in every and all Realm. No matter where you are, no matter how you cultivate, at one stage, if you do it right, the Cleansing will come. They may vary in style, but you can identify it by the sensation, the Cosmic Essence... The red colored lightning is full of it. It is a signal that your efforts are being acknowledged by the Cosmos. Those who survive it can call themselves true cultivators. Before it, you are just a slightly powerful mortal. Along the way, there are two more similar events.”

“Really?” Ren asked with a surprised voice.

“Yes. The second Cleansing has an even denser concentration, focused on washing the soul of impurities. It is not based on cultivation level but your understanding of the Cosmos. That tribulation is not something you can experience here; you have to be out there.”

“And the third?” She asked, inhaling sharply.

“I don’t know. I knew nobody who took it and lived to tell the tale.”

“Nobody?” She asked again, with clear surprise in her voice as Kai fell silent for a moment.

“When I was a Sect Master and one of the leaders of a whole realm, I was not even close to reaching my Second Cleansing. Going through that is rare! You see... The others who conquered us were led by one who overcame it. My own Realm had never produced one such genius. As for the third Cleansing? I only heard about secondhand retellings of those who tried to make it.”

“And? Why do I need to pry it from you like this?” Ren groaned, gripping the crystal as hard as she could, already hurting her fingers as Kai was silent once again.

“When someone like that failed the tribulation, it annihilated everything around them, including all the realms close to them. Nothing remained... only something we all called Null Space. Or a Void."

“Damn…” Leinor’s voice reverberated inside Ren’s head, just as she was about to say the same thing.

"Cosmic tribulation comes at the same thresholds, no matter what. Between those thresholds, there are countless cultivation methods and levels to advance through, all of them different from Realm to Realm. They may even face different tribulations along their path of cultivation besides those. However, those are usually personal ones... In the big picture, they are just different tools for reaching the same results, with different measurements. The Cosmic ones? That is something everyone who reaches their threshold has to face."

“This is…” Ren gulped, and Leinor could feel the endless excitement bubbling inside of her.

“So… what are your plans with me now?” Kai asked, but he already had a guess.

“I’m going to give you my old body,” Ren answered, quickly coming out of her thoughts.

“Oh? So is that yours? It is flawed, but it can work. I won’t say no.”

“Geez… thanks, I thought I did a good job cultivating it!” Ren replied, almost pouting.

“It has some mistakes but nothing major.” Kai's calm voice repeated, drawing a chuckle out from Leinor and a sigh from Ren.

“Touché… damn it… Enough, let's get on with it.” She said as she raised the crystal, and when the last red lightning came down and hit Toobu, Ren stepped forward, appearing before her old body, pushing the God Crystal into its hollowed-out chest. The Sky itself trembled a little when he did it, and just as Toobu finished going through his tribulation. Ren was tapping into the residue of Cosmic energies in the air and trying to bring them down onto her old body.

“Your discarded flesh never went through the Cleansing, so what you are doing is not a bad idea, but it won't really work,” Kai said, with a hint of excitement in his voice. “Well… the world then was sealed, so no wonder! No matter, this is good enough. I can use it to re-energize my soul and familiarize myself with your body. You have my thanks, Ren. I never thought I could experience something nostalgic like this!” he said with a chuckle, and just like that, her old body suddenly trembled.

Toobu was just opening his eyes, seeing Ren backing away from the meditating, frozen body as it now showed signs of awakening.

“What… happened? Did I fail?” He blinked his eyes, but Ren just walked next to him, patting his hand.

“No. You are a Harmony Expert, congratulations!”

“But…” He stuttered, looking around.

“Leinor is proud of you! You managed to finish it and also help me out...”

He had no words for her, but suddenly a deep relief came from within his heart, especially hearing his Master's name. He was immediately thinking about Qeena next, and he never knew he would be this relieved to be able to feel the same warmth towards her just as before.

“I…” He tried to bow, but couldn’t, as Ren wouldn't let him.

“Don’t thank me for anything. I should be the one doing it.”

“...” He just bowed his head in the end, filled with happiness that was clearing away any cold thoughts from before, setting him on a new road without any of them ever realizing it. It was alone that spared Toobu from the same road that Ren walked in her previous life.

“What is happening?” Yanda and Lulu asked at the same time, though, watching the sitting body now moving its fingers and starting to breathe.

“A revival.” Ren smiled. “You are witnessing the rebirth of a dead God.”

“What?!” The trio stumbled at once after hearing that.

“Just watch!” She said with anticipation in her voice.

When the body suddenly straightened, raising his head, the cold started to recede until it was sucked back into the slightly open mouth of Ren’s old body. His eyes gently trembled as he opened them for the first time in eons. They were deep red in color as he scanned them, standing up, shaking off the ice flakes from his body.

“It was such a long time since I had a proper body.” Kai sighed, watching his arms move as he stretched them back and forth.

“It is weird watching that particular body move…” Ren answered, and the rest simply nodded, though for different reasons. Kai only smiled in answer, not explaining it either, keeping it between only them.

“Damn… a true God…?” Lulu gulped, slightly hiding behind Yanda as they watched him come closer. "Is it true?"

“Not anymore,” Kai answered, shaking his head. “I am nowhere near that state and won’t be any time soon. I have a good body, but it is nothing more than a hollow shell for now. I am nothing more than a walking, talking relic from the past. A tangible ghost of the past, if you will.”

“How long would you need to recover?” Ren asked.

“Fully?” Kai scratched his chin, walking before them while his long hair fluttered behind him. “A full epoch, at least. But it is almost impossible. I sacrificed my powers once to create this Realm. Then I sacrificed even more to raise my disciples, whom you call Gods. Then I was defeated and destroyed by them, at even greater cost to me. Even if I rise back again, the cracks are there. I am old... I am fine with being able to move once again and see what the new generations will do. Especially you…” He explained, looking into Ren’s eyes. “But expect nothing from me, besides being an advisor."

“Good enough for me.” Ren grinned, stretching a hand out to shake Kai's.

“Did our Master just get a God as a helper? If my ears are working... This one created the Gods?! What the fuck is going on?!” Lulu whispered into Yanda’s ear, who just nodded quickly. At the same time, Toobu’s jaw almost dropped to the floor, hearing them speak.

“Will she name him 05?” Toobu asked, making everyone look at him.

“I don’t know what this 05 entails.” Kai laughed. “But I am interested in it. I appreciate you not destroying me.” He added, cupping his hands towards Ren, and she immediately returned the gesture. “But let me say something that may offend you.”

“Go ahead.” Ren nodded, watching his eyes.

“You need to let go of the soul you so strongly hold between your fingers,” Kai explained slowly and with a soft voice. "Keep holding onto it, and both of you will pay the price for it."

“I… can’t…” Ren answered as the three behind her suddenly recognized what they were talking about and Toobu’s voice immediately trembled.

“Master?!” He looked at her back, wanting to see the spirit of Leinor.

"I told you he is proud of you," Ren muttered, not looking back at him, but Kai was ready to explain everything.

“She has a fragment of a soul inside of her, shielded by her own. I get that it is someone close to you all… that is why I say this. You need to let it go and let the soul reincarnate. You protected it from annihilation, but if you hold onto it for long enough, the Realm’s laws are going to reject it in the end. It won’t be allowed to go into reincarnation, and the only future waiting for it is going to be destruction.” He warned her with a serious voice. “He was born here, from this Realm. His soul is part of it and always will be, right until the Second Cleansing. Only that can free it from the laws he was born of. If you hold onto him more... You are doing something worse than killing him.”

“I… need some time,” Ren said, with a lowered head.

“Sure.” Kai nodded, reaching out, patting her shoulders. “I’ll follow you from now on, and I’ll answer your questions if you have any. I want to see what has happened in my Realm since I was put to sleep.”

“Mm, that sounds good,” Ren said, still in thought before turning towards her disciples. “Go back and tell Sect Head what happened here in full detail. Leave nothing out and... I’ll be back in a few days.”

“Yes!” All three of them answered at the same time before leaving; even Toobu didn't want to.

“Kai…” Ren spoke up after they were gone, watching the night sky clear up and the twin moons show themselves once again.

“Mm?”

“How much time do we have?”

“A year. At most.” He replied after a minute of silence and feeling out Ren and Leinor’s souls. “You are keeping him stable with your own. However... It is nothing but putting back together a broken vase with a band-aid.”

“If I strengthen him back…” She started, but Kai quickly cut in.

“You have a good grasp on it, developing that Soul Tearer technique of yours. You could try, but it is based on the laws I created... It won't work, because he is not you. Your technique worked on you; do you understand why? If you start feeding him with others' souls? That would just hasten the speed at which the Realm starts rejecting him because he would not be himself anymore.”

“Because I mix him with others…” Ren whispered.

“So you do realize the problem.” Kai nodded. “I’ll use the same analogy as before. You are putting a broken vase back together from parts of other vases. It may look like the one that was broken when you finish it, but it is going to have patches of different colors and patterns all around it.”

“Ren…” Leinor spoke up, but Ren just shook her head, wiping her eyes.

“Give me some time… okay?”

None of them replied as Ren rose up to the sky, flying back towards Thunder Valley, ever so slowly. As for Kai, he just followed her from a distance, letting her be with her own thoughts for a while.