The Heavens Shall Fall

In the middle of the night, after reaching the meditational cave that he booked for himself, the thoughts inside Siu's head kept swirling, trying to find answers to questions he didn't even know he had before. Unlike back in his cave, here the essence drawn from the air was much denser, multiplied by invisible formations, which he inhaled deeply as he sat cross-legged in his cave.

"Why did it work?" he muttered quietly, opening his eyes, knowing that it was not the right thing to do. Answers wouldn't come if he was trying to force them, but he just couldn't stop himself. His hand lifted up from his knee, slowly spreading his fingers apart in front of his face, trying to recall the feeling... But this time around, when he tried to do it on his own, not watching Arya, nothing happened. There were no silver lights or flickering glow coming off the tip, and from between his fingers, it remained nothing but just his plain hand. "..."

There wasn't even the feeling he had before, and that made his brows furrow slightly, but it wasn't from frustration. What he felt now was confusion, because before, when he did it, he could feel it; the moment he mimicked Arya's movement within his own mind, there was no hesitation in doing so, he just used it, and it simply worked. But apparently, remembering the movements and seeing them play out were two different things that wouldn't and couldn't work the same way.

"Do I need to see it?" he asked himself, putting his hand back down on his knee, inhaling and exhaling to reset his meditation.

It was time to pull out his memories since entering the sect, comb through them, and try to find the moments when he had the same feeling, even if back then it had gone unnoticed. It didn't take long for him to fall into a meditational trance, recalling the time when he had entered the sect proper. The first training days, the first meditation, up to the point when he first trained under Elder Thane, and just then... a flicker.

It was so faint he almost missed it again, but it was there when he was watching Elder Thane teach the disciples, who copied his basic forms to stand firmly on the ground, and then, blasted by the wind, did their best to withstand it. The moment he saw him perform them, he felt himself assume the stance more quickly than the others... From there, he followed the feeling through his memories, and a new one flashed by quickly when he was learning the Crane. No... that wasn't it.

It was not the same, or... Was it? He was unsure because Thane's baton kept hitting him to correct his mistakes. But it did bring up a new memory, when he was visiting Elder Delia, and he had learned the bonding formation, even if he couldn't do it alone yet. However... If he couldn't do it, how did he manage to copy it? No, that's not it. It may not be something he was looking for, but the next flash that resurfaced from his thoughts was indeed what he was looking for.

Arya... Once again, when they just bonded, she was 'dancing' around when learning the Fox's Form, and watching her illusory forms separate... There it was! The same feeling, and he used it without thinking, and... he did so too. He managed to make a shadowy copy of himself appear, even if just briefly, noticing it back then, too. It was only an instant, but... Was it because of their bond? Or was it made easier because of their bond? When he asked the questions that were familiar yet meant different things, another moment flashed by his mind's eye. He was fighting against Kira, and he mimicked Marly's way of gliding, managing to dodge mid-air. Then he realized it wasn't just because of his bonds to Arya and Marly, because in the same fight, he instinctively copied Kira's movements when she was about to land a hit, sending out the same palm strike. He was perfectly mirroring her without ever having trained in her style. Just like against Bren... when he met him head-on, with the same stance, same punch... copied perfectly in the heat of the battle.

"What... does that mean for me?" He asked suddenly, reopening his eyes, unsure what he should do now.

What does this ability, if it is even one, have to do with his future? Of course, he knew that cultivators had their affinities surface at the start of the Blood Resonance stage and that it would determine their future path, but... copying? Or mimicking? What was that about? Was that even an affinity? Suddenly, everything became like it was obscured by a heavy fog, and he was unable to pierce through it. It didn't even go away when morning arrived...

...

....

......

By the time the first rays of the sun had lightened up the cave, coming in from above, Siu had already given up on meditating.

“Tch.”

Clicking his tongue and exhaling with a bit of frustration, he pushed himself up from the stone floor of the meditation cave, ending his session five minutes before his paid time would end, shaking his head. The air was still cool in the morning, but at least it managed to ease the headache he was developing. Suppressing his disappointment in himself, he used his breathing to freshen up, trying to decide how to go from there.

"I don't think I can tackle this alone," He muttered, shaking his head, as he turned around and began walking down from the mountain.

"Master, you out? It didn't go well?" Arya's voice asked, coming into his consciousness from far away.

"I'll take the day off and look for more answers."

"Um. Okay." She answered promptly, and Siu couldn't help but smile, knowing that she understood what that meant, "We'll stay with Neya, then! Master, she is being showered with gifts, ahaha! All those guys whom she saved and helped are wooing her! She is super popular."

"You know that you won't make me jealous with that, no?"

"Just saying."

"Stop," Siu chortled, shaking his head, "I trust her, so stop being sneaky, you imp!"

Naturally, Arya tried to say something else, but then yelped, and Siu could feel that Marly had stolen some food from her while she was preoccupied with answering him. Gently closing the connection down between them, Siu had also decided where to go next. If answers wouldn’t come from within, then he would try to get them from somewhere else. So, naturally, he went to the library, entering it without a word and simply beginning to stroll from row to row, searching for, well, even he couldn't tell what for.

“Let’s see…” he muttered, running his fingers along a row of scrolls that were in a section, kept for known affinities, for those that had already appeared before inside the Hollow Song, pulling one free. “On the Awakening of Elemental Affinity – Third Revision." He mumbled, reading the title, "Sounds good enough.”

With it in hand, he sat down at one of the long wooden tables, unrolling it slowly, beginning to read, making sure he didn't hurry himself:

“Awakening oneself is the moment when you step into the Blood Resonance stage. It is a part of every cultivator's life, where their future gets set into stone, no matter what. Whether your talent is good or bad, whether you are young or old, at that stage, your fate will be forever set, because one's affinity is not something anyone, not even the Gods, could change. Ever. We are born with it, every mortal has one, even if they can never access it, and it will accompany us to our death, never changing.”

Siu’s eyes moved steadily across the text as he read it, furrowing his brows. It was something he had already heard from his Old Man, and recalling it, he had an affinity for wind, able to accompany his punches and kicks with sharp slices of air, so fierce they cut metal as if it were made of paper, when he demonstrated it. Yet... Thinking back about it, suddenly, Siu could tell that as a kid, and in his memories, the Old Man looked much more majestic than he probably was. He remembered him as someone strong and powerful... He wasn't so sure anymore. Shaking the thoughts away, his eyes returned to the text, deciding that it was more important than reminiscing about his days from ten years ago.

“At the threshold of Blood Resonance, the world's essence begins to show itself in your blood, revealing one’s true nature. Thanks to the reinforced bones and cleaned marrow, it can finally affect your body and bring forth your next transformation. Naturally, it isn't enough to just sense it; as a cultivator, you have to grasp it and facilitate it, or it will never start growing. Without nurturing, it will wither and die, just as you would. As for what that means for you, it depends on your affinity. Our Hollow Song Sect records five common elemental affinities, most numerous among our numerous disciples.”

"..." Siu's gaze sharpened slightly, reaching the end of the scroll, lifting a page, realizing there was more on the next one under it, letting out a long breath. If it ended just like that, he would have had a few words with its author, even if he had to look for a ghost!

"The most common one: Fire. If you have this affinity, don't be discouraged; even if it is the most standard variant, it doesn't make it weak. Fire manifests in those who are passionate, direct, and often have volatile dispositions. Whichever you may be, you have the gift to grow into a great warrior.”

"Nue for example," Siu leaned back slightly as he read, shaking his head, "I wonder if Tian fits this description too... hm, maybe not." He mused with a smile as he kept reading on.

“Such cultivators favor overwhelming offense, their blood burning hot and fast. When you meditate and feel yourself getting hot and uncomfortable, it means that your blood is on fire, and it can be dangerous to you. Even if your passion soars, you must keep it in check and not be consumed by it. It may give you your powers, but it can burn you just the same as it burns your opponents."

“Sounds familiar,” he muttered, pursing his lips, but it was also not something relevant to him, so he skipped the rest, flipping to the third page.

“Water affinity manifests in those who are usually patient, adaptive, and perceptive to others. Their blood flows evenly, allowing them to adjust, slip by, or revitalize after a heavy day of training. If you feel yourself refreshed just by meditation, more so than sleeping, you very well may be one with this affinity.”

"Hm..." Siu’s fingers tapped lightly against the table. “Neya?” he asked, trying to recall how she felt when they were together, and yes, she was soft and malleable... "Khm." Clearing his throat, he couldn't help but think about the twins, were they water of fire? Or something else, maybe something special? "Khm!" With a second cough of throat cleansing, he quickly flipped to the next page, exorcising all the thoughts from his head.

“Those cultivators who have an earthly affinity can embody stability and endurance above all others. Their bodies grow resilient, their stance unshakable as if they were invincible.”

"Okay," Siu shrugged as he went ahead, flipping another page, “Bren for sure got that right, no wonder he strayed off his path. Who wrote this?” He quickly looked at the end of the last parchment, but there was no name added there.

"Wind-based cultivators tend to be sharper than the rest, their quickness only growing with their abilities. The affinity usually not only manifests with them feeling lighter than anyone else, but it also carries the sense of flying when meditating."

"That has to feel nice..." He muttered, once again, flipping the page.

“Lightning is rare." Reading that one line on the new page, he finally got excited because it wasn't one of the common ones like the others before. "Usually, it manifests in those who act on instinct, driven by intensity and sudden clarity in the heat of battle.” It somewhat made sense, but... not entirely. He fit the descriptions on the paper, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that this was not it. “Their blood carries the same explosive nature as fire, their power is just as destructive, but their perception often surpasses others in critical moments, similar to how Wind-based affinities do.”

Thinking more about it, he sat there for a while, letting his previous fights come back for a little while, be it the Bluetipped Ironclaw, the Red-Eyed Squirrel, or the Icecrown Stag. Or all the spars he had inside the sect, and although he fit a lot of the criteria, it wasn't his affinity. As the text later wrote, they usually felt prickling sensations in their blood when awakening it, but he wasn't getting any of that... at all.

“Apparently, I’m none of them... Even if lightning is rare, it is only occasional compared to how many of the common ones show up amongst disciples. Haaah... I don't know if I'm happy about being unique or not. What kind am I?”

Standing up, he went to the other scrolls, putting this one back and looking for more, finding one that apparently had descriptions of previously notable elders within the sect, and their time as disciples, including their journey. He even found a few descriptions of more unique abilities that were even rarer than wielding lightning.

“When Grand Elder Yan was still a disciple, her shadow-based affinity was already a considerable boon, enabling her to not only be almost invisible when the sun had gone down, but she could easily tap into her opponents' fears and doubts, exploiting them in a fight."

"Best not to anger the Grand Elder then," He chortled, twitching an eye, realizing how lucky he was she didn't take offense to him when she tested his body.

But, then again, that wasn’t it either what he was looking for, so he continued flipping pages, when finding a mention of a dual-named affinity: Sound & Resonance.

“High Elder Varrick's resonance manipulates and sends the vibration he produces through the air, creating sounds that can be heard between body and soul alike, penetrating even a deaf person's mind. His proficiency in it gifted our sect with countless new musics, the biggest pieces since our Forefather."

“Forefather...” he murmured, because that title was familiar to him.

There was a man whose Old Man had called the same way, and when asked, he told Siu that it was a great man, whatever that meant. But he was long dead, though; he established the sect he was accepted into back then and grew it into something big and glorious. Until the others betrayed and killed him, causing a splinter. As for how true that was, he couldn't tell it back then and couldn't tell it now either.

“Void?" He read it suddenly, his eyes stopping on a note that was marked as nothing but a curious addendum. "It is forbidden.” How can an affinity be forbidden? Naturally, there was no simple answer to it, but the text did not stop there: "Those who have a void in them are prone to feed it with others' lives, to grow stronger and quicker than anyone else. Our overlords, the Obsidian Moon Sect of the Great Fours, have a special cultivation method to facilitate their growth, as they hold the greatest number of Void-cultivators known to the world. Any disciple displaying signs of such affinity must be reported immediately, as they will be taken by the Obsidian Moon. Hiding such talents away will bring down their wrath, as it happened with the Scarlet Fang Sect.”

"Oh?" He hummed because he remembered that Nue's technique came from their sect, something that was destroyed and then consumed by the Hollow Song in an old war. He assumed back then it was just two parties going head-to-head, his sect coming out on top, but it was now clear it was something authorized, or even ordered, by a sect that ruled over every other residing on its vast lands.

But it didn't help much... He couldn't be someone with a void inside him; he would have noticed it. And for sure, Arya and Marly wouldn't have been so keen to join him if he were like that. It was a dead end... But, there was one more option:

Ask an Elder.

And that was why after he left the library, his legs took him around the sect, looking for Elder Thane.