36. Listless

  “How much longer am I trapped in this forsaken place?” Hien Ro demanded, slamming his fist against the wall. The metallic surface rippled with the force, spiritual and physical, of his blow, but the structure quickly remembered its purpose and returned to being wall momentarily.

  It was constructed by a higher order of power than Hien Ro was capable of calling upon, so although he was able to disrupt it from ‘being a wall’ for a second or two, he was unable to do lasting damage to the structure of his prison.

  Which wasn’t supposed to be a prison, but it felt like it. Frustrated and confined, he picked up the emotional recorder and quickly pumped his anger and frustration into it. Once that had subsided slightly, he punched the wall again and picked up the book that translated itself before his eyes, the ink giving off glowing lights as the words changed from hieroglyphics into a language he could read.

  It was an accounting on the dynamics of power which was at least somewhat interesting. It was philosophical and boring, but he forced himself to read it. He took the recorder to siphon off some of his boredom, and then he found that he could focus much better.

  Time passed, and his next engagement arrived. Sighing, he got dressed and followed the holographic lines that led him to the same ballroom as before.

  In the empty room, a young servant came and replaced the recorder with a fresh one. The one that she had taken was sent to the preservation office to prevent anyone from modifying the emotions it contained. This much the servant knew, of course, and would readily answer if she were pressed by the resident of the room.

  What she didn’t know was that the preservation office sent it directly to Count Emil Beailor, who promptly emptied himself of is own emotions to feel the authentic frustration and then the authentic boredom of his guest.

  He sighed as the feelings passed, his own boredom and ennui replacing them quickly. He was running out of time to enjoy the emotions of Hien Ro, and he knew that he’d either have to formally imprison the man – that would surely give rise to some interesting emotions – or let him go soon.

  Imprisoning Hien Ro would cause some issues with the court, but they could be smoothed over. It would also make Little Bug highly unlikely to select Count Beailor as his sponsor, but Emil didn’t really care about that.

  The mirrors flashed, and he went to examine the latest report from Duke Loshi’s dimension. He frowned, as the number of incursions from the Divine Fates had nearly doubled. Before, Beailor had been confident that he could drive off the invaders by himself. With Loshi’s support, of course. Now, however, he realized that it would take two or three of the high nobles such as himself working with Loshi to drive back the forces.

  He sighed, considering the issues for several moments before making a decision. With a reluctant heart, he summoned Hien Ro before him.

  Ro arrived in his formal outfit, a blue and black coat that reached his thighs and emerald trousers. Hien Ro bowed to the count politely, and Emil motioned for him to come over to the mirror. He explained, in detail and with care, the number and size of the forces which were besieging Ro’s home dimension.

  Hien Ro listened to the report with growing concern, anger, fear and frustration. At the end of the report, Emil smiled.

  “I can help,” he said. “But I have my price.”

  “Whatever it is, name it. I’ll report it to Little Bug when I return, and if he can afford it I am certain—”

  “It’s not Little Bug who will buy my support, but Hien Ro. I want your emotions,” Emil said. He handed over a recorder. “Hold nothing back. I want to feel what you are feeling right now.”

  Hien Ro blinked, but, figuring it a small price to pay, took the recording device and filled it with all of his conflicting emotions. He allowed Emil to take it from him, and watched as the count consumed them like an addict getting a fix. He sighed.

  “I am sending you home,” Emil announced. “But I want you to carry a recorder with you. Whenever you feel a particularly puissant feeling, I wish you to record it for me. That is the price of my participation in this war.”

  “Part of the price,” Hien Ro said. “The price that is paid by Little Bug’s faction. You will be extracting as much as you can from Lord Loshi, if I’m not mistaken.”

  “Yes, but do not forget,” Emil said, holding up the recording device. “I feel as determined to defend the world of Atla as you do yourself.”

  Hien Ro frowned, for at the moment he felt only a cold detachment. Slowly, however, the well was refilling, and even a fraction of the determination he’d felt earlier was enough to force him to move forward.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  “I need to go. How do I send these back to you to fulfill my end of the bargain?” he asked.

  “That is a special version of the device. It’s linked to one that will remain behind. You notice that it has only a record function, while mine has only a play. It will notify me when you send me your emotions. I pray that you do not neglect your end of the bargain, less I feel inclined to neglecting mine.”

  Hien Ro nodded. “I hate you,” he said, and he pressed the button to record it. “But I accept this Faustian arrangement.”

  The young man stormed out of the room, and Emil watched him go with a smile on his face. “Yes, Hien Ro,” he admitted, “You may hate me, but even your hate is tinged with a flicker of love.”

  ~~~~~

  Piotr stood guard over the formation, uncertain what it was or what function it performed. He had simply been instructed to guard it, and so he had constructed a small cottage nearby and stood guard over the structure with six circles and complex runic writing all over.

  It had apparently been constructed by the Tower Crusher, or the Worldfather as he was known here on Atla, his home world. The fact that the Tower Crusher, who had crushed Piotr on the fifty-first floor just like everyone else he had faced before and after, was the lord of an entire world did not surprise Piotr at all. He had felt the depth of the man’s conviction with his own body and knew that nothing could stop the Tower Crusher. The Worldfather.

  He sighed, thinking of how his life had changed. He had been comfortable on the fifty-first floor, but now, he was lost, adrift, uncertain of his place in life. He had been so certain of his path, and yet the Tower Crusher had taken one of his blows and called it shallow. He had been prepared to let the Crusher through; his sponsors had instructed him to simply put up a good show.

  Instead he had given the fight all he had and still been crushed.

  That was what true strength looked like. Piotr was but a shallow pond compared to a trench in the ocean.

  Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that he had built his foundation on sand, and when it was tested, his entire dao had shaken and shifted, and now Piotr was struggling to make it stand upright once more.

  He was practicing his forms when suddenly one of the six circles lit up. A strike of green lightning fell from the heavens, and Piotr was faced with a young man, perhaps a few years younger than him. Piotr raised his fists in challenge.

  “You there! Whence you come and for what purpose?” He demanded. He flared his Qi, which was on the cusp of the diamond path and--

  He found it wilting. He frowned and reached further within himself and found--

  “You’ll do,” the man declared, and without another word, Hien Ro charged at this stranger who blocked his path. Flames engulfed him and the earth trembled, and Piotr was put on the back foot under the furious attack of this young man.

  Piotr fought back, catching the fists, blocking the techniques, stifling the intent with his own. But although Piotr and Hien Ro both walked the golden path, there was a depth and conviction to Hien Ro that Piotr could not match. Further, there was a connection forming between Hien Ro and the land itself, one that both Ro and the land embraced.

  A nephew welcoming his favorite uncle back home.

  They fought, with Piotr launching strikes of lightning and strikes like lightning, but as the fighting continued his doubts in his path grew, while Hien Ro’s strength flared to greater and greater heights until, suddenly, he broke through the threshold and stepped upon the diamond path.

  “Hold, hold, I submit,” Piotr said when it was clear that he was over matched.

  Hien Ro paused mid strike, then took out a device and pressed a button. After a few moments, all of the passion that Piotr had sensed from the man had vanished, leaving behind...something else. Something listless.

  “I apologize. I needed to vent my emotions, and you presented an opportunity I was looking for. I am sorry, and I hope that our duel caused no lasting animosity,” the stranger said. “I am Hien Ro. I must leave now, I have a message for the Worldfather that is most important.”

  “Wait,” Piotr said. He struggled with himself as he sought for what it was that he wanted from this challenger. He had seen in this man the same look that he’d seen in the Worldfather’s eyes, and hearing now that they were connected, he became determined. He abruptly kowtowed.

  “This humble student requests that master take him on as a disciple,” Piotr said.

  Hien Ro frowned at the man, this former gatekeeper of the fifty-first floor, and he sighed. “I don’t know how I feel about that at the moment. I don’t even know your name. I—”

  “I am Piotr,” the supplicant quickly supplied. “I was honored to face the avatar of the worldfather upon his challenge of the tower, and facing you now has inspired me further than any other fight save that one.”

  “If you just want to spar you don’t have to commit yourself to a discipleship,” Hien Ro said. “Come home with me and we’ll discuss the matter when I’m not emotionally drained. For now, I really need to find Little Bug. The fate of the world may rest on the scales, and I am hoping that he knows of a way to cheat the odds, because I see no future for the world of Atla at all.”

  ?