Fates Parallel Chapter 360 - Snake

Yoshika had a million questions.

“What the hell is going on? Why are you here? How are you here? What did you do to Shen Yu? Who are these people? What do you mean we’re the last piece?”

Do Hye chuckled and shook his head, stepping up to a flat stone dais in the center of the maelstrom, delicate formation scripts covering its surface.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but we’re pressed for time. Introductions can come later, but for now I need you to get this door open.”

Yoshika scowled.

“How do you expect us to do that?”

The Snake placed two near-identical gemstones at key points in the formation as he responded.

“I was hoping you’d tell me. I’m going to be quite embarrassed if it turns out you don’t know how. Jianmo should have told you, yes?”

“Why should we work with you? Actually, why did you bother going through all of this in the first place?”

He sighed, peering up at the sky with a frown, observing something Yoshika couldn’t see.

“If you’re going to insist on making this an interrogation, let’s speed things up a bit, hm?”

Before she could ask what he meant, Do Hye’s domain effortlessly suppressed hers, and a tendril of essence slithered its way into her aura, tapping into her awareness.

The entire world froze completely. Not like the near-stillness of Absolute Awareness, but an actual stop. Yoshika could see individual droplets of mist hanging perfectly still in the air, and when she moved her bodies didn’t move with her.

“What did you just do to us?”

Do Hye stepped out of his body and waved a hand dismissively.

“Nothing sinister, though I’m sure it’s hardly reassuring for me to say so. It’s a more advanced version of that cute little mental communication trick you were using before. Just as well you took the time to lay that foundation—this wouldn’t have worked otherwise.”

“I don’t believe you, but whatever. What is going on?”

“You’re going to need to be more specific.”

“Don’t be obtuse, Do Hye. You know what I’m asking—just answer!”

He smiled wryly and shrugged.

“My, you’ve gotten quite serious these last few years. Why all the hostility?”

“Ancestors, where to even begin? Between the demonic invasion, the time in the wilderness, the coup, the treaty, it seems like every time we make a few strides some new force comes along and upends our entire lives. And wouldn’t you know it? Your name somehow just keeps coming up whenever we try to figure out why!”

“Would you believe I get that a lot?”

Yoshika glared angrily at the old mage.

“Why are you working with the demons, Do Hye? Why did you let them invade the academy?”

He furrowed his brow and stroked his chin.

“Hrm, well...the academy was a miscalculation on my part, admittedly. I estimated at least a ninety percent chance that whoever came from the divine realm would trace the key back to Jianmo directly—are they here, by the way? That would make things much simpler.”

Yoshika didn’t see the need to give Do Hye any more information than strictly necessary. She crossed her arms and scowled at him—as far as she was concerned, he was probably an enemy. Still, lying to a mage like Do Hye was hard enough when he wasn’t reading her mind.

“They were captured by Shen Yu.”

“Hm, unfortunate, but not surprising. Anyway, I didn’t anticipate that the demon would take such a liking to you. When Longyan and his ilk followed the trail of Jianmo’s essence, it led them to you.”

A pit formed in Yoshika’s stomach. She remembered the feeling of dread that had plagued her before the invasion—the prophetic dreams she’d had. Had she been sensing the demons tracking her? She remembered the demoness Yu Meiren pointing her out specifically—how Longyan had emerged from the portal right next to them.

The academy had fallen because of her.

“Now now, don’t blame yourself.”

Yoshika’s grip tightened and she snarled at the arrogant bastard.

“I don’t! You were the one behind everything! It’s your fault!”

“Spoken like a true apprentice of Hwang Sung. How’s the old bird doing, by the way?”

“Stop changing the subject. Why are you working with Longyan?”

Do Hye sighed.

“It was the surest way to gain access to the tomb. Let me assure you, the man is not pleasant to traffic with. Demons aren’t known for being agreeable—present company excluded, of course.”

“You could just wait for us to open it? Or get your dragon friends to help?”

“Haha, I’m glad you think so highly of me, but no. The dragons are quite adamant that the tomb is to remain sealed, and had I encouraged cooperation between the Dragon Lord and Sovereign Shen, there was an unacceptably high risk of Shen Yu simply returning to the Divine Realm with his key, never to return.”

Yoshika wanted to pull her hair out in frustration.

“What’s wrong with that?! Then we could have avoided this entire thing! Why are you so adamant about opening the tomb in the first place? If it’s just for power, then you can kill us now—we’re not helping you with that.”

Do Hye smiled ruefully and shook his head.

“I wish it were that simple. I doubt you’ll believe me, girls, but I’m trying to save this realm from destruction—not cause it. If not me, then put your faith in Qin Zhao—no matter how manipulative I may be, do you think I could ever have won him over with something as base as ambition?”

“Then why the demons? Why open the tomb at all? Stop talking around the point and just answer the question!”

“Because the world is dying. Not particularly fast, mind you, but that only makes the danger more potent. The same thing sustaining us is slowly choking us all to death, and it needs to be removed.”

Yoshika paused. Do Hye’s playful demeanor had disappeared, and he spoke with a conviction she’d never heard from him before. She couldn’t discount the possibility that it was a ploy, but she didn’t think he was lying.

“Doesn’t that just kill us faster? I don’t know what you’ve discovered, but without the Tear, our world gets no essence, and without essence, we all die.”

“True! But consider this—where does it all go? An endless font of energy, flowing into our realm and allowing it to flourish with life despite the divine seal isolating us from the rest of the universe. What happens to all that essence, Yoshika?”

She frowned—despite herself, Yoshika felt like she was back in the academy, being prodded towards finding her own answers. It was frustrating, but those lessons had always been the most memorable.

“Nothing. Essence can’t be destroyed, only moved or changed. Some of it becomes part of a cultivator, some of it develops into new souls and spirits, some of it just...scatters—becomes part of the world.”

“Not bad. You’ve kept up with your studies. Now, what do you know about reincarnation and the afterlife?”

That was...an odd non-sequitur, but Yoshika had just recently learned quite a bit about that very subject.

“Souls linger after death somewhere between the spirit world and the physical world as shades. Human souls in particular are brighter, and attract the hungry shades to them. I don’t know why or what the shades do with that essence—I’m guessing it has to do with reincarnation?”

Do Hye nodded.

“It would, normally. Unfortunately, this world has no gods—no celestial bureaucracy to guide lost souls to their destinations. Instead, the ‘shades’ as you describe them wander aimlessly and consume whatever they can find in a pointless and never-ending cycle. Our world has no reincarnation—each and every living thing is born completely unique.”

“So? What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, in principle. But it does make our afterlife rather crowded—especially since there’s nowhere else for those souls to go. We are in a bubble, Yoshika, slowly filling up with more and more power—what happens when the threshold of our bubble fails?”

Yoshika grimaced.

“It pops...”

He nodded grimly.

“Quite spectacularly, if even half of my theories are accurate.”

“So without the Tear we implode, and with the Tear we explode. Aren’t we damned either way? And if you’re so certain about this, why not tell someone? Why all this subterfuge?”

“I’ve tried. Across tens of thousands of years, hundreds of lifetimes—again and again I’ve tried. The Dragon Lord is immovable, Qin is complicit, and the great spirits were scattered. The elementals are receptive, in their own way, but their reach is limited.”

Yoshika shook her head, gesturing at the trio of demons, still frozen in time.

“How many people have those demons killed? How many lives did you personally ruin by playing your weird little games? There had to be a better way!”

“Perhaps there was, but despite what you may think of me, I am not infallible. I cannot account for every possibility—the position of each grain of sand as it falls through the hourglass. I can only make predictions and preparations. There is only one chance, Yoshika—one tiny, flimsy chance to save this realm from oblivion.

“I will do whatever it takes to seize that chance. If that means working with demons, knowing that their intentions are malicious—so be it. If it means betraying my nation and abandoning my son—so be it. If it means that I am known the world over as a treacherous, backstabbing marauder—the Snake—so be it.

“When Shen Yu returns, he will return in force. He will recover his key, and we will not be able to stop him. Once that happens, everything ends—there will be no second chances. This moment, right here, and right now, is the only opportunity our world will ever have, and it all hinges on you.”

The weight of the world was heavy on her shoulders, but there was one thing Yoshika still didn’t understand.

“Why us? Why do we matter at all? When you arranged for us to end up in the academy, were you really planning all the way ahead to this moment?”

“Hah! No, not at all. You were never meant to be so important. To be perfectly honest, your existence is actually quite vexing.”

He scratched the top of his hairless head and grimaced.

“You have to understand that plans this large cannot be particularly intricate. Sometimes it’s like fishing—just casting out as many lines as possible and hoping for a bite. You, Yoshika, are no bite—you’re a snag. A hopeless tangle in my plans that grew so large I had no choice but to simply work around it—you understand?”

“No, not at all.”

Do Hye chuckled.

“You were just research subjects. I needed a more complete understanding of unified cultivation if I was ever to make heads or tails of the divine seal, I needed to obscure Jianmo’s release, and I needed a secure stronghold. The academy fulfilled those purposes nicely, but I wasn’t willing to commit until I was certain it had borne fruit.

“An unfortunate oversight on my part—by the time I knew you existed, it was too late to change course. Jianmo’s escape wasn’t meant to be so public, but one greedy fire elemental later, I not only had my test subjects, but they were also my only remaining connection to the elusive sword demon—a key element in my plan.”

He gazed off into the distance and sighed, then quickly rallied—his signature smirk returning as if it had never left.

“Now, you two are the only beings—perhaps across all the realms, mortal and divine—who know how to open this tomb. I might have worked it out, given time, but every moment I waited was another chance for Shen Yu to realize his error and leave. I had to act, and now, so do you. What is your choice?”

Yoshika groaned—she hated this. All she wanted was to live in comfort with her family. Why did that have to be so difficult?!

“Do Hye, could you please be honest with us, just for a moment?”

“When have I been anything but forthcoming?”

She leveled a flat glare at him and he raised his hands defensively.

“Alright, but we really are running out of time. Your mind can’t handle this strain forever.”

Come to think of it, she had been starting to develop a headache. She’d just thought it was from the stress.

“Could you have forced us into cooperation? Some kind of soul or mind magic that bound us to your will? Can you now, if we refuse?”

“No. Not in any practical sense, at least. Certainly not in the time we have remaining. I did once consider utilizing the Seong girl, but after Heiran, I deemed that avenue to be too volatile.”

Yoshika’s eyes widened at the implications of that, but she shook her head, refusing to open that can of worms.

“And how much of what you’ve said here was true? How much of it was just to manipulate us into agreeing to work with you?”

“All of it was true, and all of it was to manipulate you.”

“Ancestors, you’re such an ass.”

He shrugged helplessly, but Yoshika was past caring. She only had one final question.

“Did you ever care about Dae, or was he always just another pawn to you? Another line waiting to catch a bite?”

The old mage’s face darkened.

“Hyeong Daesung deserves better than I was ever able to give him. Once, he was as you say—just another piece of the puzzle. But he grew on me, and in time I came to see him as my real son. Does that satisfy you?”

“No, it doesn’t. I actually might hate you, Do Hye, but I’ll cooperate, for what it’s worth.”

Yoshika was disgusted by how quickly the old man’s face lit up.

“Excellent! We should begin right away, there’s not a moment to lose.”

“Actually, about that...”

She frowned and looked up at the clear sky far above—almost twice as high as normal from so far beneath the sea.

“I said I’d help, but we might be fucked. Jianmo said the tomb only opens when both the sun and moon are visible from down here, and we’ve got half the sun at best.”

Do Hye followed her gaze and scratched his chin.

“I see. Anything else?”

“Yeah, we need two xiantian grade cores—one Yin-aligned, the other Yang. And uh...not sure how to explain this last part, but I think we need Zheng Long and the others too.”

Yoshika cringed as Do Hye raised a curious eyebrow at her.

“I uh...made a soul oath to guide them to the tomb. If I don’t try my best to get them here, I die.”

“Hm. How very like your masters you are.”

She shrugged.

“We are who we are. If it’s any consolation, we already have a Darkness core, and last we saw her, Master Ienaga was working on the other.”

Do Hye laughed.

“Well! That doesn’t sound so bad! Yes...I think I can work with that. Miss Yoshika, allow me to demonstrate for you exactly what a well prepared mage looks like.”