Zu had a perfect core, he had a mighty sword, and he had the soul of a phoenix. It wasn’t enough. He needed more. More power, more artifacts, more spells and techniques. And most of all, he needed a true mentor. His grandfather was all well and good, but he was ruler of the Mari clan by default rather than through true merit.

If he was honest with himself, Zu’s power had surpassed his grandfather’s a long time ago. The only thing holding him back was the meagerness of the clan library. The greatest techniques they knew were paltry compared to the real immortals. He couldn’t fathom why his clan hadn’t been taken over already by one of the larger and more powerful sects or clans that surrounded them on every side.

He had done as much as could be done here. It was time for him to move on. So he bade his grandfather and his loving student farewell and set out to make his way in the world.

But the moment Zu Mari set foot in the Chartreuse Cougar territory that bounded Mari clan lands, he knew something was very wrong. The rest of the world froze behind him like a painting in amber. He could not retreat; he backed up into a solid wall of nothing that prevented him from making a single move to return to his home clan territory.

Not that he planned to back down from a challenge. He was momentarily unnerved by the unnatural state of the rest of the world, but no more than that. He strode forward with absolute confidence that he would face whatever challenge the Chartreuse Cougars had to offer.

“You instructed me to inform you that this is the eighteenth time you’ve restarted this loop,” said Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death.

Zu stopped walking. “What are you talking about?”

“Entering this zone stopped time as you know it and moved you into a looping challenge arena. You will be returned to this moment in time when you are killed, and this is the eighteenth time you have started over.”

Zu stared down at the sword sheathed at his side. “Impossible. I would know if I were in a time loop.”

“No, because your brain is part of the physical reversion. Until you have ascended to a level where your memories are stored directly in your essence, like me, you will return to forgetting every time.”

“That can’t be right. I would never die to a mere challenge arena! You must be mistaken.”

“I assure you, this is the eighteenth time you’ve insisted upon your infallibility. And, well, you really should duck right now.”

“Why?”

“Because a spear is about to fly out of nowhere and hit you in the stomach.”

Zu stared around, but saw no spear.

“Where?”

“Just get down on the ground as if you were about to pluck a rare flower with the utmost delicacy.”

Zu slowly knelt and leaned down, feeling silly the entire time. “Why do you—“

Something slammed into the ground just behind him with enough force to send a shockwave of dust in all directions. It shoved him forward and, if he hadn’t been out of the way, probably would have killed him on the spot.

“Oh.”

“That got you the first three times, until I figured out how to warn you properly. You’ve got about seven minutes before the guy who usually ends up killing you arrives.”

“Wait… nothing about this makes sense. Why would the arena be looping? If this guy is meant to kill me, why would it keep starting over?”

“The fourth time, you theorized that the goal is for one or the other of you to learn enough from your experiences that you attain a higher level of awareness.”

“That sounds reasonable.”

“In the sixth loop, you suggested that the opponent may be a criminal or outcast who was sent here ostensibly to prove himself but in reality his only purpose is to die ensuring that visitors meet a minimum level of strength before they’re permitted entry.”

“That does sound like the sort of thing the Chartreuse Cougars would think of.”

“Three loops ago, you came to the conclusion that the two of you were meant to work together and find a way out of the loop. You’ve as yet been unable to find any way to prevent your opponent killing you.”

“Should I be going somewhere while we wait? I don’t like standing here talking. If someone is coming to try and kill me—”

“He’ll succeed.”

Zu clenched his fists angrily. “He will not. I refuse to die to any—“

“You’ve said that a dozen times. And died. Every time.”

“Do you have anything helpful to say?” Zu snapped, losing his temper. “I am the shining moon of the clan! I have the soul of a phoenix and a blade greater than any—“

“Flattery is great and all, but I’m not peerless. Twice your adversary has shattered me.”

Zu’s heart nearly stopped in shock. “You? Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death? Shattered? I don’t believe it. You’ve been having a nightmare or something. Do swords dream?”

“I predicted a spear that nearly killed you.”

“Perhaps you’ve gained prescient abilities?”

“And we are undeniably trapped in this arena.”

Zu scowled. “Fine! We’re stuck. And apparently doomed. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to take it lying down!” He jumped up to his feet. “I am going to find this bastard and make him pay for threatening you!”

“You know, not that your endlessly confrontational attitude isn’t endearing, but we agreed seven loops ago that the ideal outcome would be for you to attain spirit-memory.”

“What? Why would that matter?”

“There is only so much information I can convey to you. If you were able to retain your own memories of the loops, you could solve this problem properly.”

“You can tell me my opponent’s weaknesses.”

“He has none. Every time you find an opening, he adapts and covers it. The only way to win would be to flawlessly predict and exploit every opening and fault in his techniques.”

“Then why didn’t you start off with that information? If I should have been meditating this whole time—“

“You ask a lot of questions and we don’t have much time. If you have a better idea, I’ll be glad to try it next time, but this is the most reliable route for the conversation that I’ve yet found.”

“No. There won’t be a next time. I’m going to break through into the Immortal Memory Spirit Retainment Realm right now.”

“That hasn’t worked so far.”

“I will merge with my phoenix soul—“

“That leads to you burning up completely and restarting the loop.”

“I will consume all the—“

“Not fast enough.”

“I can use my opponent’s power—“

“Nope.”

“Tap into the energy fueling the loop itself—“

“Interference resets the loop immediately.”

Anger ignited flames in Zu’s eyes. “Then if there is no way to learn it myself, I’ll have to borrow your technique!” he grabbed Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death and drew it forth from its sheath. “Show it to me now!”

“That’s new,” the sword commented, as Zu rammed Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death straight into his own chest.

“ETERNAL SPIRIT MIRROR TECHNIQUE!” Zu bellowed, blood flowing from his chest and tinting his spittle red. He formed his flawless qi into the formation for the three spells he’d learned from his family vault.

Mirror of Soul reflected a technique, Capturing Spirit Vision gave him the ability to speed his mind to absorb every moment, and Mysteries of Forgotten Lands translated perfectly from anything, however foreign.

This combination of abilities meant that he could perfectly see and comprehend any technique.

It was not a group of spells to be used lightly. Any one could strain his core and rupture it, but if Zu was living in a loop then that didn’t matter. All that mattered was gaining the ability to imprint his memories into his spirit rather than relying on his fallible body.

Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death immediately understood its master’s intentions and showed him the steps for unfolding memories from a brain and into a soul, and then how to reconnect the two so that the physical body mirrored the spirit and not the other way around.

If not for the extreme intimacy of their connection, it would never be possible, but the tip of Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death rested against Zu’s core. With a weaker man, driving a sword into your core would instantly cripple you, but even the great power of this blade was not enough to shatter the perfect crystallization of Zu’s core.

Zu felt unbelievable agony as he tore his body apart piece by piece, translating its signals directly into his essence, then all sensation faded entirely and suddenly it was as though he were only taking apart a piece of meat. He probably should have panicked at the disconnect between body and soul, as he watched his body dispassionately ripped down to its tiniest pieces by the strength of the technique he had initiated, but panic was no longer something he was capable of feeling. He watched without emotion and knew that this was correct. The Moon Spirit Pill had already reshaped his body and his core. Now it was time to reshape his spirit.

But without the body, the soul cannot survive. He was not ready to ascend, and had no spirit vessel to claim in place of his body.

Zu Mari faded away, his spirit at peace as death claimed him.