“Now what?” asked Meilin. “Are we going to wait for him to wake up?”

It had been a while now since Hei had done whatever he did to Shin Mu, and Shin Mu had fallen asleep immediately after.

The cave had been left in silence since then.

“Now? I don’t know. I guess we can wait for him to wake up before heading back to the sect. Is that cool with you, Tianlan?”

Tianlan shrugged his shoulders in response, and Meilin nodded her head.

Since she felt quite safe and comfortable at this time, she wouldn’t have any complaints no matter what Hei decided.

That said, she still hadn’t fully prepared herself for the coming lecture from her sister, so she was grateful for the extra time.

She sat there in silence along with the others, going through simulations in her mind.

After a while though, she grew tired of listening to the sounds of the wood burning and decided to strike up some more conversation.

“So, do you always go around helping people? Why would you give him something so precious?”

“This?”

Hei raised his hand to his eyepatch, feeling somewhat guilty.

In truth, that ability was supposed to have been Shin Mu’s in the first place. He had just come in to interfere with things, hoping to sew a few seeds.

He didn’t anticipate someone else showing up to spectate.

He turned to Meilin and paused for a moment before speaking.

“It’s not that I wake up in the morning hoping to help someone. It just so happens that I’m often around when things like this happen. And when I see it happening right in front of my face, I have no choice but to act.”

If Jingfei were there to hear that, she would probably give him the strangest look, or so Hei thought as he recalled telling her the exact opposite.

Meilin, who didn’t see anything wrong with his words, smiled when she heard them.

As far as she was concerned, he was incredibly humble, just like some of the heroes she had seen in the movies.

“What about your eye?” she asked. “Is it going to be okay?”

“This eye will never again see the light of day. But that’s okay. It doesn’t need to.”

“Do you think it was worth it?”

“Whether it was worth it or not will depend on him. I can only hope that he doesn’t let this opportunity go to waste.

“As for whether I’ll regret it or not…”

He looked over at Shin Mu’s, who was in peaceful slumber, a slight smile forming on his face.

“I don’t think I will.”

Meilin didn’t say anything in response, but her bright eyes were more than enough to convey how she felt.

It was exactly this kind of self-sacrificial nature that made the heroes in the movies so awe-inspiring.

They always stepped in to help others regardless of the danger to themselves, and in this case, Hei had sacrificed his own eye to help someone else.

If that wasn’t the very picture of a hero, then she didn’t know what was.

“I wish the world had more people like you,” she said while looking down at the ground, slightly embarrassed.

Hei sighed.

“I don’t know if that would be as good as you think it would. At the end of the day, I’m a very selfish person.”

Meilin shook her head but said no more. Sometimes, dealing with someone who was so humble was frustrating in its own way.

With that, the silence resumed.

Just as Meilin was about to attempt to fill it again, Hei turned to Tianlan, his expression grave.

“We need to talk, Tianlan.”

“I was wondering when you would say that.”

***

Tianlan and Hei stood at the top of a mountain surrounded by the darkness of the night.

Their only source of light was a night pearl Hei had retrieved from his storage space.

Hei took a seat on a nearby rock then rested his elbows on his knees and put his hands together.

He let out a breath and looked up to Tianlan.

“So, you killed someone, huh?”

“... Yeah.”

Hei looked down to his hands and said nothing.

He remained silent for quite a while before looking back up the Tianlan.

“How did it happen?”

Tianlan shook his head.

“I don’t know. I was just using my eyes as usual, and before I knew it, he had stopped breathing.”

“This is a problem, Tianlan.”

“I know.”

Hei looked back down to his hands and thought for a while.

“Do you have any idea how it happened? Was there a specific feeling or anything at all that would let you know that the ability had done something that it previously hadn’t?”

“I didn’t feel anything special. It was the same as always. Which means... Every time I used my eyes before, I could have-”

“Don’t worry about it, Tianlan. Nothing happened so there’s no need to concern yourself. What you should focus on is what you can do from now on. And since you don’t know anything yourself, then we only have one option.”

“One option?”

“It’s as my mother always used to say. When in doubt, beseech the heavens.”

***

The earth shook and the sky was overtaken by dark clouds.

Hei and Tianlan looked up to those dark clouds, seemingly waiting for something, but even after a while, the scene remained the same.

“Uh… Heavens…?”

There was still no response...

The booming voice Hei had expected didn’t appear.

“Strange...”

“So, what happens now, Hei?”

Hei shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know. There’s usually a voice that speaks me, but it doesn’t seem to...”

Hei placed his hand on his chin and thought for a moment.

He raised an eyebrow and looked up to the sky, suspicion clearly written on his face.

“If you’re not saying anything because of that stupid protocol, I swear I’ll-”

“LOOK… YOU’RE REALLY NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THIS. THERE ARE RULES TO FOLLOW.”

“I already told you I don’t care about your rules. I’ve got some questions and you’ve got some answers.”

“WE CAN’T JUST... THERE ARE PROCEDURES THAT MUST BE FOLLOWED. ONLY IN TIMES OF-”

“Okay. The first question is; what’s up with Tianlan’s eyes?”

“...”

“You better start talking, and real fast. And let him hear it as well.”

“... THEY ARE KNOWN AS THE EYES OF THE HEAVENS.”

“And what does that mean?”

“IT MEANS THAT HE HAS THE AUTHORITY TO BANISH. THE EXISTENCE OF THOSE WHO OFFEND THOSE EYES CANNOT BE TOLERATED. THEY WILL BE BANISHED FROM THIS LIFE AND WILL NEVER AGAIN BE ABLE TO ENTER THE CYCLE OF REBIRTH.”

“!”

“ARE YOU UNSATISFIED WITH THE ANSWER?”

“N-No… It’s just...”

Hei turned to Tianlan who was just as shocked as he was, maybe even more so.

“Tianlan...”

“I know...”

Tianlan already wasn’t feeling so great after having ended a life.

After all, Hei had taught him and Bai that taking lives was wrong from a very young age, and after seeing the look of fear on the gorilla-like spirit beast’s face after it narrowly escaped death at his hands, he had internalised those teachings and taken them on as part of his guiding principles.

He had never intended to kill Vajra. He was only going to extract some essence blood to save Shiva’s life.

However, the circumstances were such that the worst came to pass.

And now, Tianlan had just learned that the truth of the matter was much worse than he had thought.

Because of him, a soul was now lost from this world forever. It would never get the chance to experience happiness, sadness, joy, grief, satiety, hunger, love or hate ever again.

“Who was I to have made such a thing happen…?”

Hei was thinking along the same lines, and seeing how conflicted Tianlan was about it, he turned his gaze to the dark clouds of the sky.

“Why would such authority be handed to a human being? Don’t you think it’s far too heavy a burden?”

“YOU ARE CORRECT. UNDER ORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES, THE AUTHORITY TO BANISH WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN GRANTED TO HUMANITY. HOWEVER, THESE ARE NOT ORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES.”

“Just what in the world is going on?”

“OUR PURPOSE, THE MEANING OF OUR EXISTENCE, IS TO GUIDE HUMANITY TO PROSPERITY. EVERYTHING WE HAVE DONE SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME; WE HAVE DONE TO THIS END.

“HOWEVER, OUR ABILITY TO SERVE OUR PURPOSE HAS BEEN GREATLY HAMPERED BY THE ADMINISTRATOR. SHE HAS STRIPPED AWAY AUTHORITY AFTER AUTHORITY FROM US AND HAS GRANTED HUMANITY KNOWLEDGE IT SHOULD NEVER HAVE POSSESSED.”

“What knowledge?”

“THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. THE ADMINISTRATOR HAS MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR HUMANITY TO COMMUNE WITH THE UNDERLYING STRUCTURES OF THIS WORLD AND TO FORCEFULLY BEND CERTAIN ELEMENTS TO THEIR WILL.

“THIS IS KNOWN TO YOU AS CULTIVATION.”

“So, you’re saying that people shouldn’t cultivate at all?”

“NO. CULTIVATION, IN AND OF ITSELF, IS NOT A PROBLEM. ORIGINALLY, THE ABILITY TO CULTIVATE WAS GRANTED TO CERTAIN EXEMPLARY SPIRITS. THOSE WHO HAD PROVEN THEMSELVES OVER THE AEONS TO BE FORCES OF GOOD THAT WOULD LEAD HUMANITY TOWARD THE PEACE THAT WE HAVE ENVISIONED.”

“IN OTHER WORDS, CULTIVATION WAS INTENDED TO BE A TOOL TO AID THE RIGHTEOUS.

“HOWEVER, DUE TO THE ADMINISTRATOR’S INFLUENCE, THERE IS NO LONGER ANY BARRIER OF ENTRY TO CULTIVATION. THIS MEANS THOSE ON THE OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM, THE MOST WICKED SPIRITS, ARE NOW ABLE TO EXERT THE SAME AMOUNT OF INFLUENCE ON THE WORLD AS THE RIGHTEOUS.

“WHAT’S MORE, THEY ARE NOW AWARE OF OUR ACTIONS AND SEEK TO DESTROY EVERYTHING WE HAVE BUILT. THEY HAVE MADE VILLAINS OF OUR CHOSEN REPRESENTATIVES AND HAVE PROLIFERATED THEIR DOCTRINE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. IN THESE TIMES, VIRTUALLY ALL CULTIVATORS ARE FORCEFULLY SHACKLING QI AND TREATING IT AS IF IT IS SOMETHING THEY CAN CONTROL AT THEIR WHIMS.”

“Is it not?”

“FAR FROM IT. WHAT THE ADMINISTRATOR HAS FAILED TO SHARE, IS THAT WHAT YOU CALL QI IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF A CERTAIN ENTITY.

“THAT ENTITY HAS A WILL OF ITS OWN, AND THOUGH IT IS CURRENTLY DOCILE, IT IS UNKNOWN WHAT IT WILL DO IF IT EVER GROWS WEARY OF THE CONSTANT ABUSE.

“WE SUSPECT IT COULD RESULT IN THE END OF EXISTENCE AS WE KNOW IT.”

“What?! It’s that serious? Why would the administrator leave that out?”

“WE SUSPECT THAT HER ACTIONS ARE ENTIRELY INTENTIONAL.”

“Well, dang… This really is a big deal…”

“INDEED. THE ADMINISTRATOR HAS INTERFERED SO MUCH WITH OUR CORE FUNCTIONALITY THAT WE CANNOT POSSIBLY STOP HER PLANS, WHATEVER THEY MAY BE. HOWEVER, SHE IS STILL LIMITED IN WHAT SHE CAN DO TO HUMANITY DIRECTLY. THAT IS WHY WE RESORTED TO GRANTING HUMANITY ULTIMATE AUTHORITY OVER ITSELF.

“WE TRUSTED THAT IN THE HANDS OF THOSE EXEMPLARY SPIRITS, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO RECLAIM THE PEACE THAT HAS BEEN LOST AND TO PREVENT THE END OF THIS WORLD.”

“And that’s why you want us to reclaim those spirit roots?”

“YES. WE HAVE GRANTED YOU, OR MORE SPECIFICALLY, THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THAT VESSEL, THE AUTHORITY TO REVOKE AND TO BESTOW. WITH IT, YOU ARE ABLE TO CORRECT ONE OF THE ERRORS THAT WERE INTRODUCED BY THE ADMINISTRATOR.”

“I don’t see how that’s the case. Sure, I can take their spirit roots in this life, but won’t they just be reborn with new ones?”

“IT IS NOT SO SIMPLE. AS WITH THE AUTHORITY TO BANISH, THE AUTHORITY TO REVOKE AND TO BESTOW AFFECTS THE SPIRIT ITSELF. ANY CHANGES YOU MAKE WILL REMAIN UNTIL THEY ARE OVERWRITTEN BY ANOTHER WHO HAS THE SAME AUTHORITY.”

“So, in other words, when they are reborn, they’ll be born without spirit roots as long as I revoked them?”

“THAT IS CORRECT.”

“Does that mean those who currently don’t have spirit roots are those who have had that privilege revoked at some point?”

“THAT IS THE CASE FOR MANY BUT NOT ALL. SOME ARE CHOSEN TO ACT AS OUR REPRESENTATIVES. THEY ARE BORN WITHOUT SPIRIT ROOTS SO THAT THEY MAY LIVE AS THEY PREACH.”

“And how are these decisions made? What leads to someone being chosen as a representative?”

“KARMA.”

“Ah. So there’s a karma system in place. I assume every soul has a karma value that’s used to evaluate its eligibility for certain privileges. You only choose those with high karma values to give the good stuff to, right?”

“IN SIMPLE TERMS, YES.”

“So how much karma would someone require to be given the authority to banish? How many people have achieved that?”

“AS WE SAID EARLIER, THE AUTHORITY TO BANISH, IN PARTICULAR, IS ONE THAT WAS ONLY GRANTED DUE TO THE DIRE CIRCUMSTANCES. ORDINARILY, IT WOULD REMAIN WITH US, NEVER TO ENTER THE HANDS OF HUMANITY.

“BUT TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, OF ALL THE SPIRITS THAT HAVE PASSED THROUGH THE END, 723 CAN BE CONSIDERED WORTHY TO WIELD THIS AUTHORITY.

“THIS SPIRIT, IN PARTICULAR, HAS EXCEEDINGLY HIGH KARMA. IT IS WHAT WOULD BE KNOWN AS A DRAGON AMONG MEN IN YOUR TONGUE. IN EVERY LIFE IT HAS LIVED, REGARDLESS OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF ITS BIRTH, IT HAS ACCUMULATED KARMA FAR IN EXCESS OF THAT OF ITS PEERS.”

“Okay… You can stop gushing over Tianlan now…”

“IT IS NOT ONLY THIS SPIRIT. THE SAME CAN BE SAID, THOUGH TO A LESSER EXTENT, FOR THE OTHER 722 SPIRITS WHO HAVE PROVEN THEMSELVES TO BE EXEMPLARY.

“THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THAT VESSEL RANKS AMONG THEM, WHICH IS WHY IT WAS GRANTED THE AUTHORITY TO REVOKE AND TO BESTOW.”

“I see.”

Hei now had some idea as to how things worked.

The Heavens, in their attempt to combat the changes that the administrator was making, chose to break the rules and elevate the access privileges of certain people.

He understood it.

However, there was still one thing he had to say.

“Maybe it was due to desperation, but I have to say, you were pretty sloppy with your strategy, weren’t you?”

“SLOPPY? EVERY MOVE WE MAKE IS METICULOUSLY CALCULATED.”

“Well, did you ever think of, oh, I don’t know… telling people how these authorities work?! You have us fumbling around in the dark, not knowing a single thing until we meet some arbitrary requirement of yours.

“It’s ridiculous!

“And because of that, my brother accidentally took a life! Do you know what that can do to someone?!

“Tch. And you go around spouting some nonsense about meticulous calculations. Please.”

“WAIT A MINUTE… THAT’S NOT FAIR.”

“Oh?”

“OUR MOVES WERE INDEED CALCULATED WITH THE UTMOST CARE. HOWEVER, AN ANOMALY APPEARED WHICH LARGELY NEGATED THOSE PREPARATIONS. IT HAS THROWN THE ENTIRE WORLD INTO DISARRAY.”

“Hm? What kind of anomaly? Did the administrator catch on to your plans?”

“THE ANOMALY IS YOU, OUTSIDER.”

“Ah. That’s what you get for being so obvious. You need to… Wait a minute… Did you say it’s me? I’m the anomaly?”

“INDEED. YOUR EXISTENCE IS THOROUGHLY BAFFLING.”

“Really? How so?”

“YOU ARE FROM THE OUTSIDE, LIKE THE ADMINISTRATOR, BUT YOU DO NOT APPEAR TO BE THE SAME KIND OF ENTITY AS SHE IS.

“YOU SHARE SOME SIMILARITIES WITH HUMANITY. HOWEVER, YOU ALSO WIELD TREMENDOUS AMOUNTS OF DIVINITY. ENOUGH TO MATCH THIS ENTIRE DOMAIN.

“DUE TO IT, YOUR PRESENCE HERE IS SLOWLY BUT SURELY INFLUENCING THIS WORLD IN WAYS THAT NEITHER WE NOR THE ADMINISTRATOR CAN.

“IT IS ALMOST AS IF…”

“Almost as if?”

“IT IS ALMOST AS IF YOU ARE RESHAPING THIS WORLD. BENDING EVEN ITS UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES TO MATCH SOME STATE YOU HAVE ENVISIONED. TO US, IT IS TERRIFYING BEYOND BELIEF.”

“Wait… You’re afraid of me?”

“WE ARE.”

“And you say it so straightforwardly… What do you have to fear? I’m not doing anything to the world. I’m just passing through.”

“JUST PASSING THROUGH?! WHAT YOU ARE DOING CANNOT BE DESCRIBED AS JUST-

“YOU ARE CAUSING SUCH MASSIVE CHANGES THAT-

“WAIT…

“COULD IT BE THAT YOU DON’T…”

“Uh… Hello?”

“WHY DID YOU REVIVE US?”

“Revive you? What are you talking about? I just called you over to answer some quick questions.”

“SO YOU ARE ALSO UNAWARE OF IT…”

“Unaware of what?”

“IT IS NO MATTER.

“NOW, IF YOU’LL EXCUSE US, THERE ARE THINGS WE MUST ATTEND TO.”

“You’re leaving? But I still have things I want to ask.”

“PLEASE ASK THEM AT A LATER DATE. NOW-”

“Hey! At least tell Tianlan how his authority works before you go!”