The clear skies revealed a night of stars, but the low rumbling of the wind marked the birth of a storm. Lake Chongju's gentle ripples grew rampant.
Waves crashed into the stone platform; cold mists polished its coarse floors.
Vera assumed the lotus position at the platform's centre, his expression unblemished by creases. He looked inward; chains of qi climbed from the marks over his back to the point in his chest.
His undone robe lay against the ground, flailing under the roaring winds.
Longwang glanced at Vera's back; myriad scars trailed from end to end.
His smile stretched to the corners of his eyes.
In the heat of battle he couldn't spare even a moment to observe Vera's physique. Now that time had stilled, he could tell...
This is who I fought.
The warmth of his back almost seared Longwang's palm; slow pulses reverberated through him.
"Vera, I will apply the mark now. Get ready."
A golden light filled Longwang's pupils; the mark of a dragon formed over his forehead.
Tendrils of qi burrowed into his flesh, extending from the bottom of his eyes; each tendril seeped into his meridians and flowed to the pit of his palm.
Scale by scale, the visage of the Jiao was painted over his palms.
As the mark neared completion, it pried itself away from Longwang's palm; one by one, its claws escaped his calloused skin.
The currents of the void turned to those of the sea; the creature climbed onto Vera's back, nesting on his nape.
The sound of glass cracking permeated the winds, the mark on Longwang's forehead shattered and the golden light in his eyes dulled.
Thunderclouds consumed the star-spangled night sky; the gleam of the moon was obscured by the clouds.
The Jiao's golden mark seeped through Vera's flesh; its wafting aura spiralled into vines that climbed towards the point in his chest.
A single pulse shook the ground beneath Vera; an overwhelming ripple spread to the lake's shore.
The viridescent hue of Vera's manifestation gleamed through his chest.
Earth.
Wood.
Fire.
Metal.
Water.
All the elements were gathered.
Their hues formed a chain under an incomplete mark.
A dark bolt of thunder coalesced at the centre of the thunderclouds; thin arcs of lightning erupted throughout the sky, each climbing towards the core of thunder.
Another pulse resounded through the lake; the ripple grew in force.
A second chain formed under the incomplete mark; only its order differed.
A third pulse shook the stone platform; a third arrangement of elements was formed.
Each pulse came a moment earlier than the last; an arrangement followed each pulse. From the third to the tenth, each beat breathed through the world around them.
From the 10th to the 30th, pulses bled into one another.
From the 30th to the 90th, each thump formed half a beat into its predecessor.
The core of thunder descended from the skies, arcs that escaped it mirroring the claws of a divine beast.
At the mark of the 120th beat, the chains changed.
From five elements to four.
Beats ran quicker than before.
Ripples that met at the shoreline began encroaching on the lake's centre.
Warm sweat beaded over Vera's forehead, his teeth gritted.
It's still incomplete!
Pulses became indiscernible from each other; the lake's surface mirrored that of the sea.
The thundercore reached the edge of the clouds.
The change repeated at the 240th beat.
From four to three.
The lake went still.
The mark bore both existence and the lack thereof; yet, in a contorted sense, it held a clear structure.
And then came the 300th pulse.
No more chains formed. The qi in Vera's chest turned still.
Yet the contortions on his face only deepened.
Why did it stop...? It is not complete yet.
Outside of Vera's world, Longwang stood silently, his gaze fixed on the dark core of thunder in the sky.
His breath hitched; cold sweats drowned his eyebrows.
"A heavenly tribulation...? But how? He hasn't touched upon law yet."
Longwang's qi flared.
"Without the power of law, this only means death." The cold sweat over his brows shocked into a mist as his gaze sharpened.
Just then the sound of hooves echoed against the ground.
"Look closely; that isn't a tribulation." Ezra's tone was low.
Longwang looked at the core. The hitching in his breaths calmed; his eyes widened.
"Yin qi...?"
The echoes of Ezra's hooves drew closer; his qi seeped into the platform.
"The five planes seem to love this brat beyond understanding. It seems the Five Yin Pill that Tian's brat brought will go to waste."
The thunderclouds that obscured the night sky dissipated; the starry sky's radiance engulfed Chongju Lake.
At its centre stood a core of black thunder; its very existence devoured all light and sound.
Its slow descent came to a halt.
A breath escaped Vera; a warm sensation flooded his meridians.
Darkness.
The still core burst at its seams; a pillar of darkness engulfed Vera.
Yin qi seeped into every part of his body. Tendrils of darkness intertwined with his flesh and bones.
His very being was breaking down and rebuilding, all at the same time.
He wanted to clench his eyelids shut, but they weren't there.
He wanted to scream in pain, but his throat didn't exist.
The concept of movement itself didn't exist; his consciousness existed within the point in his chest. Soon the fear and pain dulled; the emptiness became clear.
Yin...
If Yang is to give, Yin is to take.
A dichotomy.
The white jade that signified Yang was once dull, but in the presence of Yin it shone overwhelmingly.
Winning is the lack of loss.
Within the mark of Yang a point of Yin bloomed.
Breathing is the lack of breathlessness.
Within the mark of Yin a point of Yang bloomed.
Stillness is the lack of movement.
The concept of Yin and Yang was almost perfect, but in all its perfection it posed a daunting question.
A weight formed over Vera's chest.
Negative space... The lack thereof implies meaning.
His chest domed in; the implication left him breathless.
A being of shadow appeared in front of him. Its countenance was unchanged as it spoke.
-The lack of Yin means one is incomplete.
For some reason, Vera already knew of its purpose. In this state of pure consciousness, words and thoughts flowed all the same.
But none of us were born with Yin qi.
-Millions of men and women lived fulfilling lives. They did good for their descendants and people.
Then how could our lives be incomplete?
-Sword Dog is a construct of your qi... is he complete?
The pressure over his chest became immense.
...
Memories of his time with Sword Dog flooded in. Every nudge and every whimper was etched into Vera's bones.
The beating of Sword Dog's heart followed that of Vera's.
His thoughts carried the texture of voice; they were resolute.
He is full of meaning.
The shadow's visage turned a shade clearer; its features came to light.
-But is he complete?
The weight over Vera's chest turned to anger. The suffocation turned into a fire.
Then tell me! Your Divine Beasts, full of Yin qi, aren't perfect. Are they complete?
-They aren't, but they have meaning.
The fire in Vera's chest smouldered.
My people are full of meaning; their existence is etched into my soul. What is some damned Yin qi to take away their meaning?
-I agree.
The creases over Vera's brows eased.
-Must we be complete to have meaning? If you were born of only Yin, would things be any different?
Vera's breaths slowed; the fire in his chest dimmed.
Then what is the point of Yin?
-It is a point of reference. Just as you are to your people and your people are to you.
Is it just qi...? Is it just strength?
A gentle smile formed over the shadow's face.
No more answers, no more questions. Just a statement.
-That is for you to find out.
The shadow's countenance was revealed. The same inkling that told Vera what was going on denied him surprise.
An inversion of his own colours.
The shadow dissipated under the viridiscent blue of Vera's qi; its entirety became one with Vera.
His eyelids fluttered.
The moon had rested its weary head, and the sun peered from the horizon.
The chains that surrounded his chest formed a canopy; the shine of the point formed a halo over each chain.
Earth, water, fire, wood, and metal, each dyed in both Yin and Yang. The chain of the five elements was no longer five. Rather, it was ten.
At the very centre of the point in his chest a chain of two revolved.
A pure white and an abyssal black.
It wasn't just the world within him that had changed.
Radiance shone brighter than ever.
Darkness ran deeper than ever.
The vibrance of the koi that resided within the lake escaped the bounds of water; their colours reflected against the edges of the stone platform.
What was once the breath of Chongju Lake was now the thrums of the Demon Continent.
Having seen Yin and Yang, I now realise...
Each divot on the ground beneath him, every ripple in the lake that surrounded him, told him the story of myriad beings.
Vera's eyes shifted to Ezra and Longwang.
"I have reached the true third rank." A gentle smile graced his expression.
Ezra nodded at Vera.
"You have; well done."
Longwang walked toward Vera and shook his hand.
"Congratulations."
Having wished Vera, he turned to Ezra.
"Grandfather, would you like to do the honours?"
Ezra walked to the platform's centre; his qi surged as he spoke.
His words rode the currents of the void, reaching to every end of the Five Plains.
"After three thousand long years, finally a native of the Five Plains has attained the right to ascend."
Warriors from every path faced the sky. Even though it was only one sentence, their very bones trembled.
"Having fulfilled the trials of all five Guardians, Vera, son of Leng Shan, has become the second ascender."
— Volume 1 END—