NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: ONE
Before you start you need to know that I wrote the twelve chapters as one so as much as the chapters seem to end in weird ways I assure you that the reason is because i split it unevenly.
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In the far reaches of the Eastern sea, in an island bordering a titanic whirlpool, groups of fifteen year olds were lined close to a small swilling spring. Their faces were filled with nervousness and fear. At the front was one child, who wore old and worn brown robes. His blue eyes locked on the figure of the spring. He wasn't moving and in his face was a picture of calmness. He reached towards the full but short head of hair and pulled it slightly, before he stopped himself. "Deep breaths, in… out" his voice was rough and not very pleasant to listen to. As he was once more pulled in the trance his hand found his black hair once more. He continued to pull it but without as much strength as he had. He didn't even hear the elder announce the start of the ceremony. He only came to when he felt some people pushing towards the slightly raised platform that the spring was at.
He walked slowly and saw as the elder walked in front of them and started. There were only around a few dozen children who were of age, their clan was barely a few years' old. He had his father tell speak of how the leader had come to their island and given the chance to ascend to Gu masters. He also had a greater chance of awakening since, his father was a rank 2 Gu master with an A grade talent while his mother was a rank 3 Gu master.
"Now since you are the second generation to awaken their aperture, we have great hopes for you." The elder was a forty-year-old man. He was one of the already established Gu masters that had arrived with the leader and as they all were – except for the leader who was a rank 5 Gu master- they were all rank 4. "Tiang Zheng, come forward." Hearing his name being called he walked hurriedly with a barely contained excitement. His previously hastily formed serenity was a mask that cracked. As he walked forward, he came before the elder and after being given reassurance by use of a nod he walked into the spring.
Hastily, blue lights formed around him and as he continued to take calculated steps through the spring, they increased. They got to such a point that nearly every section he passed was filled with the light of Hope gu. Tiang Zheng wasn't concentrating on the light but on a small, barely noticeable feeling he had started feeling ever since his feet sunk into the water. Like a pulling force and yet as he walked that force was countered by another pulling him down. It was uncomfortable at first but after he was forced to stop it seemed that the two forces had found an equilibrium. He felt like he could go further but when the thought was formed inside his mind, he felt that it was wrong. Like his entire being was refusing the notion of breaking this equilibrium.
When he came back, his eyes turning towards the clear spring water and he found the countless lights fading slowly until they weren't visible anymore and at the same time, a pit formed in his abdomen. It was there for a second before he felt a euphoric feeling. The elder placed his hand on his newly formed aperture after he got out before announcing to the rest of the clan. "92% full. A grade talent." The elder turned towards Tiang Zheng after announcing, "Just like your father. Make sure to bring glory to the clan." He showed him to a separate room where he could sit down and wait for the end. It was built in such a way that he could see the others going on with their awakening. He watched as their nervous morphed into dread or joy.
As he was watching his mind started wandering towards the feeling of pulling he had felt when he was walking. It was like a call. He found his eyes wandering above the spring, away from the glass dome that protected the spirit spring. At the slow moving clouds and at the unchanging heavens, he didn't know what that feeling meant but he was sure that it would be important. As he was lost in thought, the corner he was placed in to rest was slowly filled in with successfully awakened children while those who hadn't walked home after a pat in the back. Whispers slowly emerged when friends and acquaintances met and most of them were directed towards the silent boy. He had been watching the sky, unblinking for a few hours and didn't seem to notice the awakening had ended.
He only came from his thoughts when the same elder walked towards them. "You all shall be given this, it holds all knowledge the clan has on gu helping you identify them, know how to refine them, how to feed them and the effects they have. Now we would have had you all attend the academy but due to some circumstances, we shall not." He passed a stack of books and slowly they reached the hands of Tiang Zheng. He held it tightly as he waited for the elder to continue. After everyone had a copy, he cleared his throat and those who had started reading teared their eyes from them and turned to him. "Don't think that you will not attend the academy, you will only attend it a year from now and I advise you all to cultivate and prepare."
The newly awakened Gu masters were released after another warning of the consequences of not cultivating properly in the year that would follow.
Tiang Zheng walked into his house. It was situated close to the edge of the island and very far from the large forest. He found his father sleeping in front of the door while a single blade of grass was in his mouth. His reed hat was covering his eyes preventing the glare of the sun from reaching him. The only other cloth he had on were a pair of pants that had been rolled nearly reaching his knee. His upper body was bare and reflected the sole philosophy he had lived by, he always spewed that 'A man wasn't a man without any muscle.' His body was shaped to reflect that mindset and so was his son`s. he had shoved that philosophy down his child`s throat and made sure that it was etched in his mind, to the point of Tian Zheng accepting that his father had some wisdom in his 'rule of heaven' as he called his philosophy.
"Welcome back Tian, I see that you awakened successfully." A groggy voice called out as he got close. He opened one of his eyes and looked at his son. "Put that book in your room and come back. We need to finish what we started." His thick and hairy arm pointed towards a plot of land that was half harvested. While the two lived at the edge of the island, a fair distance from the clan they had been given one job. They grew mist lilies. They were water path refinement materials and while normal lilies were small flowers these were nearly the size of bamboo and were unnaturally heavy. They had a lot of water inside them that was also a refinement material. While the work taken to harvest them was hard, what was even harder in his fifteen years of experience of growing these plants was drying them. After harvesting them, the process of removing the water from them.
The process needed one to cut out the large lilies that grew on their tops, hoist the unnecessarily heavy plants and turn them so that the newly cut part would slowly drip the water during the course of a few days. One drop at a time, and someone had to always watch since the water was sweeter than any sugar and had a strong smell causing all kinds of creatures to be drawn to it. It took until the day had ended for the duo to finish harvesting the plants. They sat to catch their breaths, eat and prepare for the titanic task that was before them. While they were eating, Tian Ho turned to his son with a bowl of steaming porridge in his hand. "What was that book you came with?" He blew on his porridge slowly as he talked. "The elder told us that the academy would start in a year and before then we need to understand all about cultivation and also Gu worms." The father looked at his son, who was staring at the pure moon absently. "What about your vital Gu worms? How will you get them?"
Tian Ho watched as his son turned sharply towards him, his eyes glossing over and his hand reaching towards his hair- and action he did when his mind was focused on something else. "Huh. I don't remember him saying anything about it." He watched as a smile formed on his father`s face. "or you were too distracted by a random cloud or a bird or something else to hear. I keep telling you to always pay attention to your surroundings." His father jokingly reprimanded him. Tian Ho placed the bowl of porridge on the ground and held his arm out. "Don't worry, even if you were given another gu I wouldn't allow you to." He saw how his son`s face morphed with confusion. "Now don't look at me like that, what I will give you is much better than whatever you could have gotten from the clan." On his outstretched arm, a small white worm appeared. It had two beady eyes and yellow marking on its body. Once it was out of his father`s aperture Tian Zhen watched as the small worm started changing, it slowly grew wings, pure black ones that would cover all of its body and with one large movement it started floating.
It shot away and with a starless sky as its background, it looked like a large firefly. After it circled the farm for a few silent moments of wonder it slowly landed onto his father`s hand again. However, this time it wasn't a worm but a small snake like creature. It looked like the worm had been elongated and the yellow marks were no longer yellow but a deep green. "This was the inheritance your mother left for you. She specially refined it for you and made sure that it would only be used by you and you only." The father handed one of the inheritances of his late love to his son. The atmosphere had turned solemn when the only woman who had held the hearts of the two men was mention.
They all looked at the small snake like worm before Tian Ho handed it to his son. "That is her legacy, she made sure that only her blood could use it and since you are the only child." He didn't have to finish. While his father was her love, he wasn't connected to her by blood. Only Tan Zheng was connected to her by blood. He held the snake tight. As if it had sensed him, it slowly turned into a yellow mist and slowly flew into his aperture. He focused his mind and after a few moments he felt his aperture and could see the snake had turned back into a worm and was floating above his green copper primeval essence. "Try to feed your essence to it, that is the only thing she told me about the gu. She called it Heaven`s Vision." He explained all he knew to his son and waited for him to get used to controlling the primeval essence.
He watched as his son`s brows furrowed for a few minutes. He waited until he felt something happen. The silver moon let down her light and illuminated the child like a spotlight and a heavy presence appeared. Like an overlord of the world, its gaze caused Tian Ho to feel like death was breathing on his neck, its sickle resting on him. He watched as everything turned towards them, from the animals and plants to the very stars and moon. They turned to them and specifically his son, he was just being observed since he was close to Tian Zheng.
Fear griped his mind and he started to regret ever giving the gu to Tian Zheng. I have to save him; from whatever this is. As he was thinking about trying to push his son from the light of the moon, reaching for the gu in his body, they didn't respond. They slowly turned and went to sleep, even his vital gu slept. The fear turned into dread and he nearly forgot about his son in an attempt to run away. He only remembered him when he felt the presence move from him, and towards his son. He watched as his child was started at by all beings in heaven and earth.
Tian Zheng was pulled into a trance. He felt like something was watching him, however unlike his father the gaze wasn't hostile. It was at first but it had now calmed and he could feel a warmth from it. However, this feeling didn't last long as the warmth was replaced by faint confusion. He started feeling the same feeling of equilibrium he had felt when he awakened overcome him again. With his aperture awakened he could feel it even more clearly, like a seesaw. With the gaze present something had changed and one side had started being greater than the other and chaos would ensure. The balance was supposed to break but the gaze did something and he felt balance return. However, this action caused the presence to grow heavy and before Tian Zheng could think any other thought he felt something descend into his aperture.