The Heavens Shall Fall

Outside of Siu's cave, a snowstorm had picked up for the past few hours, sending even the most willful disciples back into their rooms or abodes, taking shelter from the harsh weather. Everything seemed to stop for the day, but for Siu, the storm's arrival was already something he couldn't even perceive.

Since returning home, he has been kneeling on the meditation spot in his cave, right in the middle of his room. The stone door had sealed behind him hours ago, and by now, Arya and Marly had curled up not far from him, watching him at first, but gradually, even they went to sleep, snuggled up like two little toys of a child. Only their breathing showed that they were not stuffed animals. Strangely enough, both of theirs were perfectly synced with the way their master was inhaling and exhaling.

When Siu started, his meditation was shallow at first because his thoughts couldn't really settle, flashing different images of his 'battle' against the Icecrown Stag, over and over, pushing them before his mind's eye. Then, those thoughts gradually changed, turning into the image of how its corpse was brought in on a sled, now missing its antlers, and getting paraded around. Hearing the cheers overlap with the images of him facing it...

It all felt strange.

Once again, he inhaled slowly, maintaining his rhythm, letting the air fill his lungs to their full capacity, then circulating the drawn-in essence through his changing marrow, which now actively tried to capture it and release it into his bloodstream. It was still only a marginal beginning, but it was working, and after an hour, he finally sank into a state where his thoughts no longer disturbed his concentration but flowed naturally, helping him see and feel everything.

"What was I feeling?"

That was his main question, and the answer he was searching for was somewhere within him; he knew that.

Grief? No... It wasn't grief. Anger? Not that wasn't it either, not even regret. But, if not for looking at his own feelings more closely, he could have mistaken it for any of those. But it was more... simple. It was more like... a realization.

"I have to become stronger, or end up being used."

No... That was not it... Well... It was part of it, but... that was not all of it. Strength alone will not do, and he can't just think like that; otherwise, he will never trust anybody and turn himself into a miserable being. That thought was only part of the truth, and strength can show itself in many different ways. And... There has to be a balance between those different ways.

"Yes... that's it... I need balance."

Was what they did... was it evil? That a stronger hunted down the weaker...?

No, and... Yes. Once again, he realized that it all depended on perspective. What made it evil was that they didn't need the resources, the antlers, the meat, the bones, the hide... It was a hunt for profit, born out of the greed of six core people. But then again, it wasn't evil, because that profit would benefit the hunters in growing stronger... Just as the stag faced them, fighting to get stronger and closer to his own evolution.

Although he knew he was still only scraping the surface, and that his understanding may be faulty and incomplete because he hadn't had the experience of someone like an Elder... But he knew that what he felt now was still right. Taking a deep breath, he felt the essence from the air slide down along his airways, spreading within him more smoothly than it had ever done just a few months ago.

"Marrow Cleansing..."

His bones now filtered it... That also meant one more thing: He was now worth more as material. If someone stronger than him dissected his body, they would find refined marrow, and the more he grew, the more valuable those parts of him would become. Tempered bones... later, strengthened flesh and purified blood... He could also be dragged on a sled or end up as a tasty dinner for a beast in the forest. One way or another, he would be processed.

Beasts did not question this rule, and as he thought of that, Arya's figure popped into his mind... How a fox hunted, or how a squirrel like Marly hoarded its food, protecting it at all costs. If the prey were weak, they died, and if the predator grew careless, it starved.

It was simply how life... was.

"So why should I ever scream about injustice?"

The Icecrown Stag had been reduced to a pile of numbers and ingredients before its body had even cooled. And... He was part of it, too, since the moment he had begun gathering the firebomb ingredients.

"I had not been any different."

The only difference was that he had looked into its eyes to spark these feelings within him, allowing him the introspection of this day... Yes...

Suddenly, he was back in the forest, facing it one last time. The stag was standing tall right before him as their blue eyes locked onto each other. They were just two cultivators... It was then that the image shifted again, as he looked down at Nue and her hand reaching upward... Then missing it. In that last moment, her eyes were wide and fearful, showing emotions that she hadn't done before... Watching it replay in his mind, he also knew that in those last moments, Nue also understood that what happened to her was her own doing...

"Why?"

That was an important question that popped into his mind all of a sudden. Why had he done it? She had threatened him before, that's why. It wasn't even a one-time threat... and he warned her at the end of their first fight, but she didn't take it seriously. The last straw was when they, from his perspective, used him as bait, watching him face the stag, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, when the beast had only focused on his one opponent.

It was her voice that signaled when to attack, which meant she could have been waiting for the stag to finish him off. He couldn't show proof, but... Did he need to?

She had dismissed his warning, showing that she was unstable. She would have come after him once again, and next time, she might have been stronger or more prepared. And... in a world where one mistake meant death, dangerous people were worse than beasts... So he had removed her... He removed a threat.

As that thought flashed through his mind, there was no satisfaction in that feeling, only... simple acceptance.

"Would she have learned?"

He did not know, and he would never know, but he knew one thing: He would not gamble his life on someone who had already proven to be untrustworthy.

"Yes..."

Just as beasts could go mad, humans could go mad the same way. The prime example was the others who had been frozen solid, leaving only Kae'Lin to survive, because she listened to him. The rest of the group managed to die stupid... while the stag died because it couldn't escape. They all died fighting, yet only one of their deaths had a meaning, while the others... died without one.

"Deservedly so."

If someone endangered him, if someone endangered Arya, Marly, or any of his friends, be it Neya or even Tian... He would treat them as he would treat any threat. Human? Beast? It did not matter...

"If you hunt me, I will hunt you... If you endanger my people or me, I will remove the danger... I will remove you."

As those thoughts came to his mind, he felt no rage; it just felt natural. Something that aligned with his mind and soul, making things suddenly very clear and easy to understand. It made him think of hunting again, of how it had felt before. The tinge of excitement, the adrenaline rush, or the thoughts about profit and ingredients...

"Those are wrong..."

In that moment, he saw how thin and surface-level his previous mindset was. After all that happened as of today, he felt that hunting for others' applause was pathetic, while hunting for greed was unstable. If he had to go into the forest to kill another beast, another cultivator... it had to be done for a purpose his soul could align with. He can't waste lives so easily, just because he can or for mundane things... For simple ideas or ideals... Like bigger profit. That's the first step to distorting his own perspective, which could spiral out of control the stronger he gets.

With a final, long breath, his consciousness slowly returned as he reopened his eyes, exhaling, feeling his shoulders drop, his body relax, and his mind clear. He felt... satisfied. Standing up, he simply stretched, moaning a little before realizing he was soaked again... and smelly. So, without complaining, he opened his cave's door, walking out into the cold, where the blizzard had already subsided.

Looking up at the sky, it was surprisingly clear, revealing the night sky and countless stars, millions of them twinkling like gems, looking back at him like countless eyes.

"I wonder what it's like up there..." He muttered, but then just laughed, shaking his head.

Moving his gaze back to the level where mortals lived, and with nobody around him, he simply undressed, washing himself clean with the snow, its coldness not even bothering him; it felt more refreshing than anything else. After he cleaned off the grime his body pushed through his skin, and walked back into his room, he just sat down next to Arya and Marly, rubbing their heads, before lying next to them and letting himself fall asleep.

...

....

......

"Aren't you angry?" Dui asked, lounging inside an actual tea house, within the inner disciples' region. It was not only a tea house, but one that was personally owned and run by a group of disciples.

"Why would I?" Seloryn asked back, raising her cup, sipping on it, her eyes moving towards the window, watching the raging blizzard outside.

Even though she knew that sitting with Dui, he would take it as a successful attempt at asking her on a date, she didn't really care. They were stuck inside thanks to the bad weather, and if he was paying for her tea... so be it. The smell of old wood, the cinnamon in her tea... the sound of crackling fire... she loved moments like this because they were the best inspiration for writing new songs she could perform and maybe turn into something... more.

"Well, he sold the firebombs you made for him... and it wasn't even him who took down that stag!"

"And?" She asked again, finally looking away from the swirling, thick snow on the other side of the glass filament between them and the world, glancing at Dui, trying to understand what the hell was wrong with him. "It's his items; he can do whatever he wants with them."

"Yes... but!"

"Dui..." She asked, taking a sip and slowly licking her lips, "Why are we talking about an outer? They are the chaff of the sect, and you never showed this much interest in any of them before..."

"You neither..." He countered, making Seloryn smile a little.

"So you are not hopeless," She muttered, making the man chortle and scratch his cheeks.

"I try."

"How long were you an outer?" She suddenly asked.

"About... six years?" He answered, tapping his finger on the table, counting.

"When did you advance from outer to inner disciple?"

"Hm?" He asked, feeling a bit hurt, "Around the same time as you... Don't you remember?"

"No."

"Ahhh... Harsh! You are so harsh, Senior! You don't even remember we come from the same batch?!" He gasped, looking hurt, but it didn't really bother her at all.

"I asked because it means we have been here, at our current strength, for about four years. Only four years. And we already forgot how it was to start...? That we had spent more time as an outer disciple than being an inner disciple? Or we just don't want to admit it, that we were there once?"

"It's not about that!" Dui shrugged, "It's about the fact that they managed to get the creature before us..."

"And?" Seloryn asked again, genuinely unsure what Dui was on about.

"Some took it as an insult."

"Those 'some,' are those disciples, who realized that even if they were somebody while being an outer, joining the inner disciples, they became a nobody again... and couldn't break out from it. Dui, keep paying attention to those people, and you will never make it into an Elder's position."

"I'm keeping my eyes on them because it's my job, being the connection between the two groups. I'm just telling you... Some dislike the idea... And they got a name to attach to this dislike they feel."

"Really..." She muttered, putting down her cup, exhaling with a dull expression, "Any inner disciple bothering with an outer should be sent back to them."

"Oh no, they won't do anything personally," He raised his hand, waving them around, "But... some outer disciple organizations have their inner disciple counterparts... and their connecting strings..."

"Dui," Seloryn interrupted him, leaning back, her voice sounding harsh and showing that what she was saying was her final words on the topic, "Even if you think you are the linchpin between the outer disciples and us... Watch your steps... That is my only advice: if you burn yourself now or five years from now because of today? I will only crouch down next to you and tell you: I told you so."

"Please, Senior!" He shrugged, shaking his head, "What could an outer do?"

"Same thing as us," She whispered, turning towards the blizzard raging outside, "grow."