Volume One: The Nature of the Devil Never Changes
Arc: The Great Guerrilla War
Scarlet King stood before Xiao Mo, feigning nervousness as he raised a hand and gestured toward Ikalath.
"Oh… well, I should be going now, Sister Mo.
Ikalath is waiting for me.
Perhaps we'll meet again later."
He moved at once.
Darkness twisted around his head, warping like liquid shadow until the black cloth seamlessly reformed over his face.
He stopped beside Ikalath.
Ikalath glanced at him.
"What were you and Miss Xiao Mo talking about?"
Scarlet King tapped his chest lightly.
"I won't tell you yet…
but it concerns the plan to eradicate the Four Great Sects."
He waved his hand dismissively.
"Let's eat some beast meat.
Our bodies need replenishment,
and beast flesh is the finest source."
As they walked, he clasped his hands behind his back and thought:
(Beast meat is flesh saturated with qi.
It stimulates circulation,
fortifies the bones,
purifies energy,
strengthens the sea within the Core Aperture,
and sharpens both mind and senses.)
Minutes later, they arrived at a modest restaurant within the sect.
It was quiet.
Built of dark wood, with double doors that swung inward.
Inside—
A single floor filled with round tables and small wooden chairs.
At the center stood a long rectangular counter, where a man prepared juices with flamboyant, acrobatic flair, performing for the watching patrons.
Several elderly men played chess at a nearby table.
A little girl sat beside them, watching with intense curiosity.
Ikalath stepped away to order.
Scarlet King remained standing, observing the juice maker's exaggerated movements.
He thought:
(Beauty… temptation… adornment…
all the same in essence.
Their place is beneath the soil.)
(Beauty is merely skin over flesh over bone.
And in the end,
all living beings are bones destined for burial,
reduced to dust under the slightest pressure.)
(Temptation and adornment are but instruments of attraction.
Yet human eyes hunger for novelty.
And once novelty fades,
so does desire.)
He glanced at the little girl as she tugged at her grandfather's sleeve.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, can I play with you?"
He continued thinking:
(Nothing is eternal.
Even existence collapses and is reborn in endless cycles.)
(Existence falls.
Beings perish.
Everything is recreated—
without memory,
without dreams,
without ambition.)
(Only blind pursuit of primitive instinct.)
The grandfather chuckled warmly.
"Ha ha ha, little one.
This game is difficult. It takes repetition to master.
When you're older, I'll let you play."
(There is nothing eternal… except me.
My existence endures.)
(But what value is that?
Eternity is torment without end.)
(The only eternity worth pursuing
is ambition—
and perseverance.)
(Why do beings seek validation?
For praise? Recognition?)
(They chain themselves willingly.)
(Nothing is worth pursuing except eternal rest.
Not immortality.
Not love.
Not treasures.
Not women.)
(Only unwavering perseverance toward eternal rest.)
Suddenly, the little girl approached him.
"Oh! You're beautiful!
Can I play with you, mister?"
He looked down at her, expression unchanged.
(Children are innocent?
No one is innocent.
There is only the food chain.)
(She will grow.
She will either rule… or serve.)
(The strong devour the weak.
There is no innocence—
only power.)
(And power without perseverance
is a broken machine.)
The girl grabbed his finger.
"Why do you look sad?
Come talk to me and be happy."
A faint smile touched his lips as he took a sip of water.
(What am I thinking?
I am an ancient being from the dawn of existence,
comparing myself to creatures who have not lived a million years…
irrational.)
As he held her small hand, a memory surfaced.
(She resembles my first daughter with Chu Xiao…
in one of my earliest reincarnations.)
(But that child…
grew up and killed me.)
(No one is innocent.
No one is pure.)
The grandfather sensed the faint aura surrounding him.
His eyes widened.
"He… he's a cultivator."
He quickly pulled the girl back and knelt.
"Great sir, forgive her if she disturbed you."
Scarlet King released a sliver of his aura.
The old man nearly collapsed from the sheer pressure.
Then it vanished.
"It's fine, old man.
Just lower your voice.
I dislike loud sounds."
The old man bowed repeatedly.
"Thank you… thank you, great sir."
The little girl with glossy black hair stepped forward again.
She punched his knee with her tiny fist.
Her knuckles reddened instantly.
Tears welled in her eyes.
"You! Don't scare my grandpa!"
Scarlet King laughed softly.
He placed his cold hand atop her head.
"I did not frighten your grandfather.
He fears because he stands before someone higher in rank and power."
(Brave will… yet foolish.)
(She strikes at one infinitely stronger.
Like a mosquito challenging a storm.)
He addressed the old man calmly.
"Your granddaughter possesses talent.
Have the elders test her potential.
She may become something remarkable."
Ikalath returned with the food.
Scarlet King thought:
(An old saying claims:
Natural talent is measured by the courage of free will, not by birth.)
(This child is brave.
Talented.
But naïve.)
(After years of identifying talent,
I require no tools to recognize it.)
Ikalath placed plates of roasted beast meat and pitchers of juice upon the table.
The old man quietly gathered the chess pieces and departed with the girl.
Ikalath grinned.
"So… shall we devour this like maniacs?"
Scarlet King did not immediately answer.
He lifted a glass of pink juice infused with cool, refined qi.
He drank calmly.
Then replied:
"If you wish to behave like a madman…
be my guest."