This was originally a oneshot chapter, but I decided it would make much more sense to tie it into the main story intead of leaving it alone!
It will highlight the harsh conditions that Zuo Ci has set for Yunqi, as well as the young warrior's growing emotional attachment to his attendant. This might also develop into a small side story if I think it turns out well enough.
Chapter 10: Voice of Fate
The colossal fist of a demon in black, such a brutal force served as a requiem for the young warrior of great determination. His body descended slowly toward the harsh coldness of the ground, and alas, a thud against the cold concrete ripped his senses clean from his body. His hearing; his vision, it all evaporated in a mere second. The battle, within which he was fighting, was no more….
Yunqi felt the coldness wash over his body with vicious intent. His surroundings became a shroud of hostile blackness thereafter. He stood upright with fists clenched in combat readiness.
"This is insane," he uttered great with unease as he tried to gauge his surroundings.
Mere moments ago he was fighting in battle. Now, however, he was submerged in an endless veil of shadows. No matter how far he tried to move, it was futile.
The young warrior with blonde hair and green eyes simply did not get anywhere. There was nothing but clouded haze as far as his mortal eye could see, but alas, he did not entirely feel alone.
"What's that?" Yunqi questioned as he spun around in great unease. He felt something, not as much as a physical form, but perhaps a presence behind him. It began faint at first.
However, such a feeling of distance did not remain prevalent forever. His presence, this aura of life force, it crept ever closer within shroud which Yunqi was trapped. It's sheer strength, whatever the hell this object of great power truly was, and it held a degree of energy so great that it was almost toxic.
"Ack!" The warrior of chance choked out a yelp of anguish inviable aura of power collided with his body. In mere moments, it magnified in its intensity. The air was robbed from the lungs of the young man as he struggled to keep himself upright.
"You do not seem any closer to understanding your role," came a familiar; cryptic voice. The underlying tone of smug cynicism made it clear instantly as to who the owner was.
"Zuo Ci," Yunqi spat with great venom as he shuddered, now half doubled over, "You summon me here again, of all times." The words spoken by the foreign warrior, they bore a great and powerful amount of animosity.
The tarot card-wielding mystic materialized in a powerful flash of light, his form been translucent. He was a spectre, "Your life hangs in the balance, foolish child," he declared in tow with a bitter laugh.
"Bastard," Yunqi snarled. He wasted no time at all in tearing off the shirt of his tattered combat robe. Fists held upright, he prepared to face Zuo Ci and whatever magic he would muster.
However, the mystic, he was not impressed by any means. He simply shook his head and gave another cryptic laugh of dark intent, "Oh, it is not my intentions of which I speak," he began before pointing directly at Yunqi's midsection, "You choose to fight the demon Lu Bu, and you were soundly defeated."
This blunt declaration of failure, it cut deep. The emerald-eyed fighter glared daggers at the powerful Zuo Ci, "I'm forced to fight on your orders, mage," he spat violently, "I gave it my all, and it was still not enough."
The robed sorcerer simply chuckled with great coldness as his withered; elderly fingers shuffled through the deck of tarot cards he held, "….You choose to face him alone, and that was your downfall. Such foolishness, it does not bode well for any of the plans I had hoped to put into place with your presence."
"Enough," Yunqi brought his body lunging forward despite the pain. His foot came swinging out in a well-timed and violent kick that was aimed directly for Zuo Ci. His anger at the endless torrents of cryptic nonsense, it had finally reached boiling point. However….
"What the?" The young man was left stunned and confused. His expression bore a great look of dismay; his foot sliced straight through the air and did no damage at all. It went straight through the form of the elderly mystic and did less than nothing.
"My my," the illusive hermit twisted his features into a smile. His eyes, narrowed with mild annoyance thereafter; focused in on the young foreign warrior, "You still do not understand your greater purpose. Instead, you resort to foolish overconfidence to try and overcome conflicts."
Zuo Ci's words, they made Yunqi simply bow his head in frustrated annoyance. He didn't want to admit it. No, the last thing he wanted to admit was that the things this withered old bastard told him were true. Sadly, though, he knew all too well….
"The look in your eyes," the elderly man spoke rather abrasively, "I see that I have finally gotten your attention. Well, listen closely, boy," he continued.
He took a few steps back at first, but swiftly carried on speaking after that, "Your fate is tied to that of the warriors of Wu. If they fall, you will likewise, meet your end. You must learn to work with them, instead of merely alone."
"You said I have a part to play in this," Yunqi said bluntly, his eyes still downcast toward the ground, "So, tell me, what am I supposed to do in order to reach this 'destiny' that you claim I have?"
A faint smile crept subtly upon Zuo Ci's features, "Finally," he began in his mysterious way of speaking, "You have thought with your head and asked a question that makes sense."
His left hand found its way down to rest upon the top of the tarot deck that was held loosely in his right. His slender fingers moved in a steady motion as they shuffled through the cards. This process was quick, at first. It soon sped up though, and before Yunqi realized it, he was watching the elderly hermit shuffle the deck of cards with truly amazing speed. When they stopped, the old; robed man drew the first two cards from the deck and held them out for his young servant to see.
"You must start by forging a bond with two people of the kingdom, the Lady Warrior, and the Master Strategist. Once you have done that, your path will open up before you." Zuo Ci took another step back after he was done speaking, his elderly face wrinkled into a hollow smile.
Yunqi nodded with great unease. His desire to have control over his own life felt as though it was slipping away. With each moment he spent in this land, things became very different.
"I don't feel like my life is my own to choose anymore," he uttered quietly in the direction of the elderly mystic, eyes still place firmly upon the ground.
There was little in the way of a response to the words of the foreign warrior, save for a small chuckle of amusement that escaped from Zuo Ci's lips, "Your fate is as much your own as you wish for it to be," the old man uttered in cryptic musing.
"However," he continued with a tone of stern warning hinged upon his single word, "Heed what I am about to tell you. If you stray too far from the path which destiny intends for you to walk, it may lead you to ruin."
"But what about-," Yunqi started; However, light erupted forth from the nothingness. It pierced through the veil of shadow that surrounded Yunqi everything, and alas, the young man was cut off from speaking as quickly as he had just begun
The intensity of the light expanded and tore through the shadows, it enveloped everything with its pure; white hot intensity. This sight simply caused the robe-clad; withered mystic to let out another hollow laugh, "It would seem that our time is up."
"When your senses awaken," he quickly continued, "You will be faced with many choices. You should bask in the freedom of this choice, because it would seem that your life that you cling to so dearly; has been saved."
In one final surge, the overwhelming wave of bright white pulsated. It came closer, it's form enveloping that of Yunqi's, the sheer intensity of it robbing away his vision, and alas, for a brief moment, his eyes could see nothing but black.
Sometime later, his emerald eyes flickered open again. He felt a softness and warmth surrounding his body. His senses slowly shuddered as his brain tried to connect all of the missing pieces with the sight of what was around him. Naturally, Yunqi brought his nervous gaze to look around the room.
His eyesight could make out very little in terms of the surroundings within the room. They made out a faint outline of a draw across the room, and a bookcase near a window, that was of course, covered by thick black curtains.
The futile process of trying to look around the room lasted not a moment longer. The young man now brought his attention to himself, his gaze looking downward to the sight of blankets wrapped around his body and a wooden bed frame within which he laid.
"I'm in a…bed?" he whispered softly with a strained breath. His eyes scanned more, and it did indeed confirm that he was in a bed.
The sight of his upper half been covered by a blanket was more proof to add to this. His same upper half ached with dull pain, also. In a single brave movement Yunqi brought one of his arms out from the confines of the sheets and pulled them away from his chest.
His gasp at the sight, which followed, was rather loud indeed, "Bandages, ouch…"
His midsection was indeed covered by white strips of cloth, much to his apparent dislike. It took mere moments for his mind to connect together the rest of the dots from here.
"I must have been injured when Lu Bu's men raided the castle," Yunqi deducted his theory glumly with a deflated tone of voice. With that final recollection, the young warrior gave himself a tired nod, "That means that, yes…. Zuo Ci coming to me like that, it was another one of his cryptic dreams…."
Everything made sense now. With that said, the emerald-eyed man let out an exhausted sigh as his thoughts ran wild, "Just how are the warriors of Wu going to defeat Lu Bu? He's so powerful…."
The creaking open of a door broke Yunqi's thoughts abruptly, followed up by the faint shadow of a personal small in size carrying a small candle. The dim orange glow created just enough light for the room to be illuminated without being overwhelming.
"Master Yunqi," A delicate feminine called out, its tone half-happy, half-surprised, "You're finally awake…."
A voice of comfort and familiarity brought Yunqi to turn his head and look directly toward the source. His gaze fell upon a young; slender woman in her later teens, with beautiful black hair that cascaded down her back. She wore elegant yet simple robes of servitude, and her delicate lips curved into a faint smile.
"Ai," Yunqi said warmly in response to her voice, "You're here…."
"Yes, my lord," she spoke softly and considerately, "I was brought here at the request of Lady Lianshi when she arrived with the relief force."
"I'm definitely glad to see you," Yunqi admitted with tenderness in his voice. Having his attendant here like this, it was enough to set his uncertain mind at ease.
Plus, that really did help ease the last shreds of doubt that were in the young man's mind, "It really was a dream," he declared near silently to himself….
Ai tilted her head in mild confusion, "Did you say something, Master?"
"No, no," Yunqi was quick to dismiss her concerns, "I'm still a little tired, that's all."
"Well," the young servant girl said with a slightly more upbeat tone, "You have been in a deep slumber. It has been almost a week now since the battle, the doctors tell me."
Surprise overtook Yunqi's expression, but before he could ask anything else, Ai jumped up with a little yelp, "Goodness, I amost forgot! I was supposed to tell Lady Lianshi the moment you awoke!"
Without saying another word the petite young lady sped out of the room at an amazing speed. This left Yunqi alone with his muddled thoughts.
"A whole week, huh?" His mind remembered tiny flashes of the battle from before, "My god," he uttered under his breath, "No wonder my whole body hurts..."
End of chapter 10
Please feel free to leave some feedback on this story if you like it. All thoughts and opinions about my writing are really appreciated! See you in the next chapter of the series, and thanks again!