Chapter 218 - Two Choices

Yuzu opened her eyes, exhaling slowly as she broke the spiritual connection with her shrine. Her long hair was white and cascaded gently over her shoulders and down the back of her white robes.

Her body tingled subtly, energized by the concentration of aether in the air around her. Her senses were painfully sharp. The soft light that diffused through the forest canopy above felt as bright as the midday sun. The brush of fabric against her skin was intensely acute.

The smell of blood that filled the hot air was thick and nauseating.

The ground below her feet was covered in a thick red mulch that stained her shoes and the bottom of her robes. She was in a small grove surrounded by thick, black bamboo-like shoots. The shoots went straight up into the air, curving slightly, without any leaves or branches. Their shape reminded Yuzu of eyelashes, smooth, slick and oily. It was a strange landscape, this den of the God of Life.

Having finished her work, Yuzu stepped out of the small grove. The bamboo grew thick, forming a small maze of winding paths at the bottom of the valley. A tall, gaunt man wearing thick, multi-layered robes was waiting for her just outside the grove. He stood in a dignified pose, with his arms folded over one another within the long sleeves of his robes. As she passed him he raised an inquiring eyebrow at her.

She paused for a moment to gather her words.

“It’s done.” She said softly over her shoulder, hesitating before adding, “How is the Prince?” 

“His consciousness is fading, the death moths are gathering. He won’t last much longer.” Li Ru said calmly.

“Death moths?”

“A curious insect that lives in the spiritual plane. They are attracted to death and feed off the spiritual bodies of fresh corpses.” Li Ru said, “If you ever see skull-faced moths on a living man’s spirit body, you should know he’s not long for this world.”

“I’m afraid those moths will go hungry, then.” Yuzu said softly, “Prince Deka won’t die today.”

“So you’ve decided?” Li Ru stroked his beard, “You’ve chosen a side?”

“Sides have nothing to do with it.” Yuzu replied with an annoyed frown, “I’m doing what I think is best.”

The edge of the Angel of Death’s lip curled up in a subtly satisfied grin as he watched her walk away, just for a moment, before turning serious again. He followed her at a leisure pace.

The bamboo grew thick around her. To her left, a wide, babbling stream of blood red liquid could be seen in the gaps of the walls of bamboo trunks. She kept her head turned in the direction of the stream, keeping her eyes away from the wall to her right.

A giant loomed beyond the walls to the right, its form draped in shadow. A slow, rhythmic rumble emanated from it, these were the dying breaths of the God of Life.

Yuzu had yet to approach Him or see His true form. Li Ru kept her from approaching too closely. One glimpse of his body would cause her to lose control and corrupt her instantly. 

However she didn’t need to see His body to understand his condition.

As she continued along the path the wall to the left opened up and the path led down to run next to the stream. This stream was familiar to her. It was the dividing line between the Valley of Flowers and Prince Deka’s den. They had spent a day on the other side, surveying the area before crossing over.

A number of squirming, flesh-like masses grew and deflated on the banks of the stream, the translucent flesh jiggling around the skeletons within them. Some of the masses were growing fat, feeding off the stream. Others were dying, their white bones protruding out of the flesh as it shrivelled to nothing. 

A number of moths with black and white wings that resembled skeletons sat on the dying masses, fluttering calmly.

“They look like they’re struggling.” Yuzu commented as Li Ru walked up next to her.

“It’s nothing.” Li Ru said, “These aren’t plants, or creatures. They’re raw, living material without sentience or souls. They are an expression of the energies of life, clay waiting to be formed by their creator.”

“You mean Prince Deka. So since he’s dying, these things are also dying.” Yuzu said softly, “But if he were alive…”

“Then He could infuse them with souls and release them on the world.” Li Ru replied.

“So this is where things like devil-eyes and monsters come from?” Yuzu asked, her mind recalling the horrific shrimp-like monster that had nearly killed Char Char.

“Some of them.” Li Ru said.

Faint, golden threads drifted among the mounds of flesh. Though they didn’t have souls, they were still infused with life, and thus had a fate of their own. Yuzu reached out to one of the threads and examined it carefully. 

Yuzu knew that Li Ru was patiently answering her questions as he waited for her to reveal her intentions and what she had done inside the grove. Aside from contacting Char Char and carefully arranging the delivery of ritual items to her shrine, she had also done something that even she found a little crazy.

Her eyes flickered up to the sky above her, where the giant knot of thousands of fate strings squirmed and pulsated. 

She had read the fates of the people of Noga, of the monks and their schemes to revive the God of Life. Left alone, they would succeed. The police and their forces were outmatched. The God of Life would revive and thousands of people would be sacrificed to power the ritual to bring Prince Deka back from the brink of death.

In the present, Deka’s thick, black string was frayed and just a nudge away from snapping completely. Especially with Li Ru by her side, it would be trivial for Yuzu to end his life and avert disaster.

Yuzu’s gaze fell on the river as she thought about the disturbing, terrifying creatures that existed due to the God of Life. Her thoughts turned to Medusa, the devout cultist who saw this God as the saviour who could bring her homeland back from the devastation wrought on it by Lord Noga and the ancient life-draining spire that he controlled.

“Ten thousand lives is a small price to pay for the restoration of Life.” Li Ru said in a supportive tone, trying to read her thoughts.

“You support my choice to turn against Lord Noga?” Yuzu asked calmly.

“If you had chosen to support Lord Noga, even after all you’d learned… I would understand.” Li Ru said in a soft tone, “But I would be disappointed.”

“There were many people who tried to gain the favour of the White Maiden, to have Fate smile their way.” He stroked his beard wisely, “You must not take that role lightly and simply follow the easy route of ‘saving lives’ and ignoring all other consequences. No matter how they frame it, these factions are not looking for cooperation, but control. Giving up your autonomy for convenience is asking to be chained and used for the convenience of others.”

He spoke in a soft but calm tone, as if lecturing a student. Yet the whole time Yuzu was holding back herself from rolling her eyes and scoffing. Sure, he was a thousand-year old scholar, but even so he still had a tendency to ramble.

“Choosing to support Prince Deka doesn’t mean you have to align with those forces. Nor should you. But making this choice tells me that you’ve thought through the consequences and avoided the easy choice.” Li Ru nodded, satisfied, “When I first met you, I saw a spark in you. A potential. Most people are satisfied with being led like sheep, and thus meet the butcher in the end. But I saw in you the chance to be a shepherd.”

“A shepherd guided by you?” Yuzu asked provokingly.

Li Ru chuckled softly, “I only seek to guide you so far as to allow you to choose your own path. Remember, I did not pressure you to choose one way or another. Had you chosen to support Lord Noga, I would not have stopped you.”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t supporting Lord Noga.” Yuzu replied quietly.

“Didn’t you say that Deka wouldn’t die today?” Li Ru frowned in concern, “Did I misunderstand?”

“No. Deka won’t die today. But also I refuse to let thousands of people die.” Yuzu said.

“Saving a God like Deka requires an enormous amount of spiritual energy.” Li Ru said. “The sacrifice ritual requires blood.”

“I know.” Yuzu replied with utmost seriousness. “I can’t save everyone. But if the monks’ ritual succeeds, the entire city will be destroyed. Too many people will die. Not just in the ritual, but from the aftermath too. The whole province will suffer.”

“You asked me whether I supported Lord Noga or Prince Deka, as if I had to choose one side or another. But actually, you didn’t want me to choose a side, did you? You wanted me to choose for myself.” Yuzu looked at Li Ru seriously.

“Indeed.” Li Ru squinted his eyes, stroking his beard as he didn’t quite know what to make of Yuzu’s statements, “Are you saying you have a solution that both saves Prince Deka and Noga? You realize if Deka returns, Noga will not be able to stop the Divine Kingdom of Life from devouring his land and people.”

“Surely, you don’t think you can stop a fully revived God of Life from imposing his divine will?” He frowned.

The edge of Yuzu’s lip curled up in a smirk as she saw that the Angel of Death was dumbfounded.

She shrugged, looking away coolly, “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see what happens tonight.”