PtM 18 - Chapter 12: Forging the Fragments

Last chapter of the week. Enjoy!

Note: The previous Chapter 8 had a mistake in mentioning regalia too early. I've since corrected it. Apologies one the incongruity.

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Cha Ming’s conflict with the two churches hit Mendin like a storm. The weakening of all rankers sowed doubt in the hearts of their believes, and the uncharacteristic silence of both churches only worsened the situation.

At first, there were only a few major figures that defected. They denounced as heretics, but not punished as was typically the custom. Yet as the weeks dragged on, it became clear that the situation would not be improving any time soon. More defectors joined the original few, starting reformation movements and rebellions across all Mendin.

The churches were powerless to stop the mass conversions taking place, as the amount of divinity they had at their disposal was limited. Nothing short of a miracle or two, or even three would quell the doubts in Mendin’s population. The clergy could only tighten their belts and wait until the connection between the Realm of Good and Evil and its patron goddesses was restored.

The greatest beneficiary of this trend was without a doubt the Painted Daoist factions, which had been growing in power ever since the introduction of this cultivation system sixty years ago. A handful of other cultivation systems also sprang up from the populace.

The Realm of Good and Evil had suffered greatly from Cha Ming’s vicious attack. Not only were divinity stores at an all time low, but seriously structural damage had also been dealt to the realm and was in need of fixing.

The Tree of Good and Evil and the twin temples were now more vulnerable than ever; both churches tripled their guard and patched up even the tiniest vulnerabilities. Oster took advantage of the situation to earn big but refused a long-term contract. He stayed for a month before leaving the Realm of Good and Evil before heading out to the Bridge of Immortal Ascension for a transcendent transmission.

Cha Ming’s incarnation was currently floating through the void, small as a speck of dust and impossible to detect by normal rankers. Scouting parties passed within meters of him without spotting him. And though he had much to do, he was content with avoiding the public eye.

A month has passed, Cha Ming thought as he scanned the thoughts and minds of the scouts that had just passed by. The situation has calmed down. Its time. He reached out to the sixty-four fragments of an incarnation that he’d seeded into the Realm of Good and Evil when he’d detonated those explosive flasks.

One tiny fragment had been driven deep into the core of the Realm of Good and Evil, where a ley line converted primal chaos energies into Pristine Universal Water. Pristine Universal Water was the Tree of Good and Evil’s main source of sustenance and was therefore well-suited for growing the fragment.

It sucked in the waters over the next several weeks, then gradually merged with the waters. It wasn’t long before the entire water system of the Realm of Good and Evil was contaminated by Cha Ming’s presence.

Another runic fragment was embedded itself in the Root Prison’s boundary. It worked for two whole weeks before it managed to convert a single rune on the matrix. Once this initial conversion had taken place, however, it was much easier to convert the boundary rune by rune.

Some fragments were merged with the soil. Others assimilated themselves in the air. Two of them even attached themselves to the main temples that had shattered from the initial impact.

They merged with important treasures. They infested the fires that refined the churches’ most precious treasures. And finally, a lucky fragment that landed in the soil near the Tree of Good and Evil, where it infiltrated the tree of life fragments that the Tree of Good and Evil was currently devouring to spur its evolution.

Two more months passed, and in that time, Cha Ming’s inner world recovered from its damaged state. Thanks to the ample energy provided by his infiltration and World Phoenix Rising, he fixed the cracks of the Sky Propping Pillar and nurtured his demiplanes until they reached a bottleneck.

Finally, Cha Ming set his sights on a small cell in the outer Root Prison. It held a special prisoner, the Patriarch of the Titan Clan, Titan Thunderfist. Cha Ming found the giant of a man chained to an anvil; Large chunks of processed metals were strewn about, while blueprints and designs were stacked on neat shelves that could barely be reached by the titan from his prison’s anvil. Several finished products lay in a cordoned off area to the side. Without exception, they were masterpieces that no mortal craftsman could imitate.

Whisking away Titan Thunderfist would only give away his presence, so Cha Ming first decided to paint a replica. He used the Clear Sky Brush to paint the patriarch in vivid detail, including his abnormally large right hand.

Every creature and every person had a story. By using his All-Heaven’s Eye, Cha Ming was able to capture fragments of that story and infuse them into ‘Titan Thunderfist’s’ muscles, bones, veins, and skin.

To finish off his imitation, Cha Ming infused a trace of the Sky Forge Hammer’s aura, the source of the Titan Clan’s bloodline. The painted imitation became indistinguishable from the original. He then took this painting and fused it with an incarnation. Cha Ming became Titan Thunderfist. He would continue the patriarch’s good work in his stead.

Titan Thunderfist was always hard at work. The two churches allowed him little rest and fed him precious little news about the outside world. He was about to strike a red-hot piece of metal when suddenly, he vanished and appeared inside the Clear Sky World. “Wh-what? What’s going on? Where am I?” he asked.

“Relax,” said Cha Ming, appearing beside Titan Thunderfist. “I replaced you with an imitation. No one will discover you’re missing unless one of the vice-pontiffs come to request something in person.

Titan Thunderfist had experienced much in life, so he took the situation in stride. “Clear Sky. It’s good to see you, lad. I heard you’re responsible for the huge workload that’s landed on my shoulders of late.”

“I may have disrupted Jezeriah and Harid Dej’s bond with the Inkwell Plane,” Cha Ming admitted. “But that’s only temporary, and they’ll soon restore the connection. Which is why I’d like to finish the job if possible and rescue you and your clansmen while I’m at it.”

The mountain of a man teared up and began offloading many of his worries to the sympatric Cha Ming. “Sorry for showing you this side of myself,” he said to Cha Ming. “I’ve been forcing myself to continue for my clan, but it’s been so long since I dared hope of being rescued.”

“I’m sorry,” Cha Ming whispered. “I incriminated you all.”

The patriarch shook his head. “No. You didn’t. They were already greedy for the Tree of Life in Verdant Crossroads, and have always coveted the my clansmen’s skill. One could say that if not for our relationship, many of our clansmen and many demons and Daoists from Verdant Crossroads wouldn’t have survived until now.”

Rage boiled up in Cha Ming’s heart, but he suppressed it. “There will come a time when they pay for what they’ve done, Titan Thunderfist. You have my word.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” said Titan Thunderfist. “Goddesses aren’t something mortals can fathom. They have amazing foresight and have likely arranged many backup plans for their followers during their absence.”

“Which is why we need to act now,” Cha Ming said. “I need your help to forge a few things.”

“Aren’t you an excellent craftsman?” asked Titan Thunderfist.

“I’m afraid I’m not confident in my chances, even with your help,” said Cha Ming. “But unless I get stronger, I won’t be able to accomplish much of anything.”

Titan Thunderfist raised an eyebrow. “Boy, I’ve crafted more than a dozen saint weapons, and I personally modified Dao Lord Blackwater’s demon armor. Half the powerhouses on this plane owe me a favor for one reason or another, which is probably the largest reason why me and my clansmen are still relatively safe.”

“That’s good,” Cha Ming said. “I’m glad I underestimated you.” He summoned a small pile of metal fragments and floated them out to Titan Thunderfist.

The Patriarch’s eyes widened when he saw the fragments. “You… you managed to retrieve so many objects from Titanvale’s rifts?” Then his eyes narrowed as he realized the nature of these fragments. “What do you want me to make for you, exactly?”

“I want you to help me forge something only gods should be able to wear,” Cha Ming said.

“You’re talking about regalia,” said Titan Thunderfist. “I’m afraid it can’t be done.” Seeing Cha Ming disappointment, he amended his statement. “If you were a saint level cultivator, I might be able to collaborate with you and attempt it. Even then, the result would be a half-finished product. A prototype, or sorts.”

“A prototype is fine,” Cha Ming said. “My understanding is that regalia is built in pieces. How many can you make with the fragments I brought back?”

“Using these fragments?” Titan Thunderfist said, eying them. “It’s hard to say, as I’ve never tried it. And even if I do manage to craft regalia prototypes, you won’t be able to wear them. Regalia aren’t just pieces of equipment – they’re structures that organize the very demiplanes in your inner world!

“Let me worry about that part,” Cha Ming said. “All I need you to do is forge them. With this hammer.” When the Sky Forge Hammer appeared, something stirred inside Titan Thunderfist. His eyes grew bloodshot and deranged.”

“That… that hammer,” panted Titan Thunderfist.  I can’t be. You… you retrieved the fragment of the Sky Forge and merged it with your soul bound treasure, didn’t you?”

Cha Ming smiled. “I thought you might recognize it. What do you think of our odds of success if this is included.” Titan Thunderfist yelped as Cha Ming threw the hammer at him, and instinctively caught it by the handle. Although it was Cha Ming’s soul bound treasure, it did not reject Titan Thunderfist. “Soul bound treasures normally can’t be wielded by others, but the Sky Forge Hammer is no ordinary object. It’s connected to you by a bond that runs deeper than blood.”

Titan Thunderfist’s eyes glazed over, and Cha Ming felt a trickle of power seep from the hammer and into Titan Thunderfist. Cha Ming had once received a similar inheritance after fusing the fragment of the Sky Forge, but even he, the soul bound owner of the artifact, hadn’t received such a large blessing from it.

While this transfer was weakening the Sky Forge Hammer, Cha Ming did not sever the connection. Improving Titan Thunderfist’s strength and knowledge would greatly increase his odds of success in the Realm of Good and Evil. He could also tell that the inheritance was transforming Titan Thunderfist’s bloodline. His strength was increasing at a rapid pace and showed no signs of slowing down.

Cracks and booms sounded across the Clear Sky World as Titan Thunderfist broke through one cultivation barrier after another. His cultivation rose from where it had stagnated at the middle fusion realm, and his chaotic bloodline stabilized and grew many times stronger.

His skin turned blue, and the blood in his veins turned golden. The scar-like cracks on his oversized right fist began to crackle with actual lightning, and his presence began to merge with the sky.

When Patriarch Thunderfist opened his eyes, Cha Ming felt a shift in the web of fate. It began to swirl around the titan as though acknowledging his authority.

“What are your thoughts now, Titan Thunderfist?” Cha Ming asked. “Are you feeling up to the task of forging regalia?”

Titan Thunderfist grinned. “Regalia won’t be a problem,” he said to Cha Ming. “I’ll help you build prototypes for a set of five – that’s the limit of these fragments. They’ll be weak at first, but they’ll grow as you nurture them.”

Cha Ming nodded. “In that case, there’s only one other thing I require.” He flicked another metal fragment over. It was an axe fragment he’d found alongside the regalia fragments. “I want this axe fragment recast into a bladed weapon. The only way I’ll be able to free Sun Wukong is with the help of an immortal weapon.”

“This…” Titan Thunderfist picked up the fragment and flicked it with his fingernail. It hummed as though in agony. “This fragment still has a bit of life in it. I can reforge it, but my odds of success are low. Even then, I’m afraid it won’t survive the tribulation that comes afterward.”

“Don’t worry about the tribulation,” Cha Ming said to Titan Thunderfist. “Forge my regalia and recast this weapon, and I’ll take care of the rest. In the chaos that ensues, I’ll rescue your clansmen, and everyone else from Verdant Crossroads.”

***

Patriarch Thunderfist was picky about materials. Nothing but the best could be used to craft regalia, so he directly threw away two thirds of the fragments Cha Ming had obtained, stating that they were beyond useless. As for the others, they contained ‘life’, and therefore barely made the cut.

“It’s not just biological creatures that are alive,” Titan Thunderfist explained. “There are many forms of life, including living metal and living flames. With luck, some of these entities can even achieve sentience and ascend to higher realms.”

“Will we be starting soon?” asked Cha Ming worriedly. “We spent two weeks preparing, and I’m worried about the vice-pontiffs noticing your absence.”

“That depends,” said Titan Thunderfist. “How’s your practice coming along?”

Cha Ming summoned the Sky Forge Hammer and began assembling a formation in the sky. It was composed of mysterious runes that resembled Dao Origin fragments and glowed with a sky-blue light. They joined together to form a massive forge that drew starlight to heat and temper materials.

The Sky Forge in Cha Ming’s possession was lacking compared to the original, and to make up for it, Cha Ming had temporarily merged the Star Void Cauldron into the sky and used its stars as focal points. Even then, it was impossible to muster the heat necessary to refine the fragments. Cha Ming could only use Heartforge Spirit Flames as a poor substitute.

“Only seventeen flaws this time,” said Titan Thunderfist. “An all-time best. Do you wish to try again?”

Cha Ming declined. “It’ll take too long to further improve the Sky Forge. We have a limited window in which to strike. Once the churches repair their connection to the two goddesses, it will be impossible to defeat them.

“In that case, start heating up the forge,” said Titan Thunderfist. “We’ll start in three days.”

Starlight poured into the Sky Forge, increasing its temperature to an astronomical level. It took time to build up enough heat, and it was only at the end of three days and three nights that Titan Thunderfist was satisfied enough to add the regalia fragments he’d picked.

They melted into five different pools, one for each of the five regalia seeds they would be forging. Titan Thunderfist kept a close eye on the melting fragments, only shifting them to different zones of heat when required.

It took a day to remove the major impurities, at which time Titan Thunderfist took the Sky Forge Hammer and struck down on each pool of molten metal.

“They’re still hard. Like solids,” Cha Ming remarked. “What strange materials.” Each strike of the Sky Forge Hammer sent ripples throughout the liquid pools. Little by little, the Sky Forge poured life into the dim sparks inside each puddle. The demiplane fragment recovered a portion of their original luminescence until finally, they were in no danger of degrading f8urther.

“The first step of forging regalia is life endowment,” Titan Thunderfist explained. “These already contained life, so I nurtured them until their condition was acceptable. The next step in the process is combination.”

He separated the hundred sparks into five groups, then squeezed his right hand. The sparks came together to form golden clumps. The heat in the Sky Forge rose as he assumed direct command and began hammering each clump using the Sky Forge Hammer, which was now as heavy a two early transcendent demiplanes.

Cha Ming did not remain idle. As Titan Thunderfist’s assistant, it was his job to manipulate the Heartforge Spirit Flames in the Sky Forge to mollify these cracked world fragments and make them more receptive to foreign energy.

The fragments became ravenous and consumed increasing amounts of starlight. They only stopped when their brightness surpassed that of the sky forge.

“Oh, how pretty!” Ninesky chose this moment to emerge from the Clear Sky World and marvel at the titan’s creation. “They’re like fireflies. Fireflies with little worlds inside them. And inside each world, I can see many more fireflies!”

“If you don’t get that thing out of here, don’t blame me if something goes wrong,” Titan Thunderfist scolded. Cha Ming tried to chase her away, but stopped when Ninesky caught a small demiplane core, and the core burned ten times brighter than normal.

Cha Ming cleared his throat. “Will this affect the final results?”

Titan Thunderfist was flabbergasted by what he saw. “I was originally thinking a two, maybe three of these would pan out, but it seems I underestimated you. What is that thing made of? And can she do that again? Because if she can, we should be able to complete four, if not five regalia seeds.”

Cha Ming exchanged a few thoughts with Ninesky before shaking his head. “Sorry, she won’t do it. She says you upset her.”

“Well, tell her that if she’s able to light up all these world sparks like the last one, I’ll worship her alongside my own ancestor,” said Titan Thunderfist. To Cha Ming’s surprise, Ninesky was quite taken with the idea. She buzzed over to each spark in turn, and they grew so bright that the Sky Forge began to look dark and lifeless in comparison.

“Good job, little ancestor!” Titan Thunderfist said with a hearty laugh. He started hammering at several times his previous rate.

“Is it time to begin the melding?” Cha Ming asked.

“I’ll apply pressure to these clusters through continuous hammer blows, and your role will be to catalyze the merger and harmonize the fragments,” Patriarch Thunderfist confirmed.

He then took the Sky Forge Hammer in both hands and closed his eyes. His presence harmonized with the Sky Forge, which then poured endless starlight into his body. The hammer struck down with the weight of two worlds and three moons, forcing the sparks together and initiating the melding process.

Titan Thunderfist continued hammering, and Cha Ming’s work began. There were sixty sparks in total now, twelve for each regalia seed. The sparks repelled each other slightly, and even with the Sky Forge Hammer’s assistance, it would take centuries to force them together.

Fortunately, Cha Ming had Heartforge Spirit Flames. They were mediocre at best for temperature control but had a wondrous effect on the planar wills in each spark.

Under Cha Ming’s careful guidance and Titan Thunderfist’s tireless pounding, one spark in each cluster finally melted and merged with another. This broke balance in the clusters and provoked a chain reaction. Before long, only six sparks were left in each cluster, half their original number.

Encouraged by his early success, Cha Ming repeated the process once again. The six sparks in each cluster became three. Unfortunately, they refused further mergers after this. Cha Ming tried for days, but with no success.”

“Every time I try to merge two sparks together, the third spark destabilizes them,” he explained to Titan Thunderfist. “But if I try merging all three together at once, the repulsive force is too great.”

“I’m afraid I can’t help you with this step, Clear Sky,” said Titan Thunderfist. “The inheritance the Sky Forge Titan speaks of forging objects with worlds, but this process takes centuries, if not millennia. I’m trying to shorten that process at the expense of quality, but in the end, there are limits to what I can accomplish.” Unfortunately, Cha Ming did not have millennia, as only a hundred years remained of his lifespan.

It’s not like it’s my first time merging opposing energies together, thought Cha Ming. Perhaps I should try a similar approach. Instead of homogenizing these sparks, maybe I could reconcile the contradictions inside them while maintaining three separate wills?

“Titan Thunderfist, I’ll be trying something a little unorthodox,” Cha Ming said. He took out three drops of his blood and sent them into a cluster of world sparks. The spark cluster grew violent and unstable from the sudden infusion of energy.

“Blood forging is risky, Clear Sky,” Titan Thunderfist cautioned. “Any instabilities in your body and inner universe will contaminate these world sparks. If too many imperfections are introduced, the entire process will need to be aborted. Our materials will also be lost.”

Cha Ming understood the risk, but he had no choice. He continued feeding the sparks blood until their shells grew clear and became covered in intricate runes. They became much more powerful than before, but it wasn’t long before their foundations destabilized, and three large cracks appeared upon each world spark.

Cha Ming proceeded to the next step and activated his eighth divine ability, Bloodstorm Invocation. Blood, wind, and lightning appeared separately inside each spark and began converting their energies accordingly.

The proximity of these energies to one another provoked a fierce repulsive force. If not for the Sky Forge Hammer continuously beating down on them, the clusters would have broken apart. The cracks on each spark expanded, and it wouldn’t be long until they could no longer withstand the pressure and shattered.

Cha Ming was experienced with merging these three energies, so he didn’t slow the process. Instead, he accelerated it. He increased the intensity of the Heartforge Spirit flames, further weakening the walls of each world, then forced them together.

Blood, wind, and lightning were compatible forces in his body, and since the world sparks were merged with his blood, they naturally merged together to form a single spark.

“Good work, lad!” said Titan Thunderfist. “Now do the same to the four other clusters.” Cha Ming did so, and soon, they possessed five balls of liquified world essence, each containing a soup of Dao Origin fragments.

It should be noted that since they originated form Cha Ming’s blood, he could manipulate each one at will. Their alignments changed from Bloodstorm energy to Clearmist, which was compatible with all his divine abilities and laws.

“The next step is infusion,” said Titan Thunderfist. You know what to do.”

Cha Ming nodded and began to guide the essence of his divine abilities that lay dormant in his blood. The Crown of the Starry Sky in his inner world shattered and poured into the wood aligned sphere, causing it to sparkle with countless constellations.

His Golden Boots of the Clockwork Dragon shattered next. They infused the second sphere with golden light and shifting gears. Claddings of Light, Wrappings of Runic Binding, and Inkwell War Plate came next. In the end, he was left with five very different orbs of concentrated divinity.

The next step was harmonizing these regalia seeds with his inner universe. The role of regalia was not to control essence, but to shape it.

Cha Ming directed the five techniques into the Clear Sky World. The Nine Tribulations Regalia Refinement was a unique regalia cultivation technique in that it started off weak but grew progressively stronger. Without additional tempering, it would be inferior to even the weakest regalia techniques, but once it achieved perfection, no other techniques would be its match.

“Is it time for the fun part?” asked Ninesky, who was perched on Cha Ming’s shoulder. “Divine ability evolution is neat. I wonder how yours will turn out?”

“Don’t you know everything already?” Cha Ming asked Ninesky.

Ninesky stuck out her tongue. “I can make guesses, but there’s a lot of uncertainty. Also, knowing the future is no fun.”

Only two demiplanes were developed enough to incorporate regalia seeds. As for the others, they would only be usable once Cha Ming increased his cultivation and founded the three remaining demiplanes in his inner world.

Cha Ming first directed the Claddings of Light to the Flamewing Demiplane. The regalia seed shattered into tiny iridescent stars that surrounded the Flamewing Demiplane to form the outline of a set of robes. The robes were clear with a hint of iridescence.

His inner universe shifted and reorganized based on this outline. Lesser worlds adjusted themselves relative to the Flamewing Demiplane according to the framework it dictated.

Cha Ming repeated the process with Wrappings of Runic Binding. It surrounded the Claw Vice Demiplane with a compact but layered arrangement of stars that stacked to form the outline of crystal-gold gauntlets.

“How did it go?” asked Titan Thunderfist as Cha Ming when he awakened. “Were you successful?”

“It will take much time for my inner world to rearrange itself,” Cha Ming said. “But I can feel my capacity has increased significantly. I’ll be much stronger once the process is over.”

Titan Thunderfist nodded. “These regalia are weak individually, but when all five work together, the will resonate and more than make up for that weakness. As for the final three regalia seeds you asked about, they are beyond me, and will require treasures I am not qualified to work with.”

“Bloodstorm Invocation is of a much higher order than the five elements,” Cha Ming agreed. “It’s the same for my Primal Chaos True Body.”

“I think that brush of yours will pose the greatest difficult,” Titan Thunderfist said. “If my instincts are correct, regalia can’t be crafted for it. Instead, you must feed it until it evolves. Once it succeeds in its evolution, it will automatically form a regalia of the highest order.”

“I’m sure I’ll be able to figure it out,” said Cha Ming. “Thank you for your help.”

“The best thanks you can give me is to rescue my clansmen,” said Titan Thunderfist. “Revenge would also be nice. Make them suffer. Make them bleed.”

“Then I’ll need to trouble you once,” said Cha Ming. He summoned the axe fragment he’d retrieved from the Titanvale rifts. “And once again, don’t worry about the tribulation. If anything, it’ll be helpful.”

Titan Thunderfist’s eyes widened, and he laughed when Cha Ming described his plan. “Adjust your condition and complete the evolution of your divine abilities. In a month’s time, we’ll give them a lesson they’ll never forget.”