Opening up the dimensional rift into the Demon King’s palace, Zilei had honestly been expecting the worst. Those dire expectations hadn’t been met though – not immediately, at any rate.
Instead, Zilei had stumbled into the throne room to find the Demon King there, seated upon his throne – which was a pretty logical place for him to be, this being the throne room and all.
Of course, Mingyue was there was well, seated upon this divan-like thing with the young transmigrator draped across his lap. It would have made for a quite tender scene, had the elder cultivator not been glaring so coldly in Zilei’s direction.
The hostile scrutiny did not last long though, because as soon as Zilei stepped aside, it was as though his existence had suddenly become something utterly inconsequential. Because as Frosty stepped out of the dimensional rift, everyone’s attention – Zilei’s included – naturally gravitated towards him.
Then he stumbled. He stumbled and Zilei instinctively moved to steady him, fully expecting to get snapped at, but then⸺
Suddenly the Demon King was there, and in-between one moment and the next, he had already scooped up Frosty, who made a weak noise of protest before both of them reappeared over by the throne.
By that point, Mingyue was on his feet as well, descending upon the two with definite alarm – and the only thing really holding Zilei back from doing the same was the knowledge that this was all part of the plan.
Taking a deep breath, Zilei firmed his resolve and for once, his borrowed body moved in perfect tandem with his will, allowing him to disappear, then reappear, snatching up the unconscious transmigrator and before vanishing once more, and moments thereafter, Zilei was back inside that damned cave.
[So,] said System 225. [The decoy plan was a success.]
Zilei honestly had a whole number of choice words to say in regards to the latter, but for once he was rendered utterly speechless. Instead, he dropped down to his knees, taking a closer look at his cargo to ensure that he had indeed grabbed the target and not some incredibly realistic puppet – only for the target regard him blearily in return.
“Jun?”
Ah. Ahahaha. Dammit, Zilei was definitely going to Hell for this. “Sorry, Little Moon, it’s still me.”
At this, there was a slow blink – confusion followed by alarm. “Oh.”
Yeah. “Incredibly sorry to say this, but we sort of had to kidnap you. But, if it’s any sort of consolation, we left behind one of our own as a hostage and... we’d very much like to have him back when we return the rest of you...?”
The other transmigrator just stared at him, still visibly alarmed, but at the same time also kind of⸺
“All of you will be returned unharmed,” Zilei heard himself say, or rather, this body say. It wasn’t him nor this body’s actual owner speaking though. “We simply need to put an end to the unravelling and then, we will be on our way.”
The younger transmigrator blinked. “The unravelling?”
[Yes,] System 225 said, speaking up at last. [The bond in-between you and that ‘System 707’ – illegitimate or not – was improperly severed, leaving it fraying at the edges – not broken, but irreversibly damaged. What we seek is not to repair it however, but to sever it completely. Because then and only then can balance be restored – for you as an individual, and for this world at large.]
“I don’t understand,” the younger transmigrator said. “And I don’t know if I should trust you either...”
A perfectly sensible reaction in Zilei’s private opinion – inconvenient, yes, but still sensible.
[Well,] said System 225. [Unfortunately, your choices are limited, as are ours. In simple terms: If you do cooperate, we will sever the bond and bring ‘System 707’ along for sentencing, and if you do not, then we will eliminate both of you to keep this World from imploding.]
Ah. Well, that was putting it kind of⸺
“I don’t understand,” Little Yue said again, struggling to get up and only managing to do so with Zilei’s support. “I don’t get it. What does the state of my soul have to do with⸺”
A sudden instinct told Zilei to duck, and he did, dragging Little Yue down along with him. And it was a very good thing he did, because otherwise, a now very conscious butterfly demoness might’ve taken his head – well, not his head per se, but⸺
“You!” Hua Hongzhu cried, brandishing another weapon.
Had no one thought to check her over for any spatial rings?
Oh. Maybe Zilei ought to have been the one to check her for that?
“Me,” Zilei said, offering up a slight smile and wave that left her momentarily stumped.
Then, those violet eyes of hers narrowed in obvious suspicion.
“You’re not him,” she then concluded – good instincts.
“I’m not him, no,” Zilei affirmed. “I’m just... borrowing his body at the moment?”
Yeah, that sounded kind of bad, didn’t it? Zilei should’ve definitely⸺
“Are you one of those System things?” she then asked, and wasn’t that a laughable thought?
Zilei still denied it of course, clarifying that he was in fact Little Jun’s father.
“The bastard’s father is dead though,” Hua Hongzhu said next, and wasn’t that just⸺
“Well, no shit, Sherlock,” Zilei said, throwing his – or rather his son’s – hands out to the side as he proclaimed: “I am a disembodied spirit and thus, I am borrowing this body.”
“Who’s Sherlock?”
Ah. Honestly⸺ “Sherlock Holmes, a fictional character in a book series written in my original world,” Zilei elaborated. “And Little Yue’s as well, right?”
The other nodded, confirming Zilei’s incredibly well-founded suspicions. Because despite the vast number of worlds available, most transmigrators just seemed to come from one or a very small number of them.
“Anyways,” Zilei said, turning back towards the demon chick. “Can’t you just... sit over there and wait for a bit? We’re kind of in the middle of something here and we need to deal with it soon or else the world will end, so...?”
Hua Hongzhu stared at him like he was crazy – which was fair enough, honestly. Because in her shoes, Zilei would hardly have thought any differently. Then she looked towards Little Yue, who – surprisingly enough – motioned for her to move back before turning his attention back towards Zilei.
“You really are Jun’s father, huh?”
Well⸺ “Genetically speaking, sure. Can’t take any responsibility for his upbringing though, since I’ve been dead and stuck inside of a bloody sword since way before he was even born.”
“It must’ve been awful in there,” Little Yue said. “Lonely.”
Well⸺ “Being in there wasn’t too bad, honestly. Mostly, I just slept through it. I mean, the process leading up to it wasn’t all that⸺”
[Host,] System 403 said warningly, speaking out loud for the first time in... well, forever, basically.
“I mean, sure,” Zilei went on in obvious defiance – because he sure as heck hadn’t consented to the other speaking through him earlier and besides⸺ “I do believe that System 403 got the shorter end of the stick though, having to live through everything, time travel and all.”
“Time travel?” Hua Hongzhu repeated, once again eyeing him like he was crazy – and sure, it was entirely possible that Zilei had a screw loose at this point, but in this case, it was the situation that was insane, not him.
“Look,” he said, quite tired of this whole debacle. Then, gesturing vaguely towards the Systems, he said: “Those System things are basically lesser deities that have been dispatched by higher deities to resolve... the distortions and other issues caused by one of their own.”
[That thing is unlicensed!] System 403 hissed, inadvertently attracting Hua Hongzhu’s attention. [That is not one of our⸺]
[Semantics,] System 225 said, perfectly composed. [Unlicensed or not, it is an entity like us that somehow managed to tap into a number of System resources that should not have been accessible to a rogue System. Even if it had been a proper System, it would have been too low-ranked to influence this World to such a degree. In other words, either this ‘System 707’ was a considerably skilled hacker, or⸺]
System 225 looked towards Little Yue, suddenly pensive. Then, without further elaboration or warning, it scurried closer. First, it climbed up Zilei’s shoulder, perching upon it briefly before jumping down, and Little Yue was too surprised to think twice about catching it in his hands.
“Oh look.” Zilei honestly couldn’t help himself. “Guess you caught yourself a System.”
Unfortunately, his clever remark fell on deaf ears, completely unacknowledged by either party. Not even his own System or the demon chick was willing to give even the slightest bit of acknowledgement. It was a bit sad actually.
Then Hua Hongzhu crept closer, and for a brief moment, Zilei feared that she might try to interfere. But instead, she just sat down with her legs crossed on the stone floor, using one of her knees to support her elbow as she cushioned her chin on her hand, watching him still. Frankly, it was a bit unnerving.
“You know,” Hua Hongzhu said at last. “From my point of view, you seem to have been the one stuck with the shorter end of the stick, no? I mean, if these things are really lesser deities, then couldn’t they just have stopped you from... getting killed and eaten or something?”
Huh. “Well, as lesser deities, they are obliged to follow the rulings of higher ones, no? I mean, sure, it was a pretty shitty thing to do, not warning me beforehand and all⸺”
At this, System 403 made a noise akin to a snort.
“But⸺” Zilei pressed on, turning his attention back towards Hua Hongzhu. “⸺it’s simply the sort of thing that people like me, Transmigrators, have to live with, much like Systems have to live with us. It’s not necessarily an equal relationship. However, it’s not purely a one-sided one either. It’s a contract, so to speak; a partnership; an alliance of mutual convenience. When it’s done right, of course.”
He took a breath, considering what to say next. All things considered, he probably shouldn’t be discussing such things with one of the locals, but... the fact that System 403 had yet to stop him had to mean something, right?
“Look,” Zilei said, glancing briefly towards the otherwise preoccupied pair before returning the brunt of his attention towards Hua Hongzhu. “I don’t really know how to explain it properly. Don’t ask me about the specific terms or anything, because this is more about feelings than terminology. Because even with our differences, I think that 403 and I make a pretty good team. I mean, calling us friends might be pushing it a bit – not that I’d mind being friends, but like, that’s still sort of a god, you know? And even if I’ve experienced far too many lives to refer to myself as a simple mortal, the gap is still a bit...”
He trailed off, not really knowing what more to say. He felt eyes upon him though – in a metaphysical sense rather than in a physical one.
System 403 was looking at him at last, and Zilei wasn’t entirely sure as to what to make of that – if he liked it or if it was time to start running for the hills. Doing so would prove quite useless however, seeing as to how they were connected on a far deeper level than the physical one.
And, speaking of connections⸺
Zilei sighed, wishing desperately to bury his face in his hands. He must’ve certainly looked the part as well, because suddenly Hua Hongzhu was there, awkwardly patting him on the back. This went on for several moments, but then⸺
“What happened to the other one?”
Considering everything, it was pretty much a given that Frosty would be incredibly irritated by the time they came to get him – because even though it had all been a part of the plan, getting left behind was still getting left behind.
Granted, considering the opposing side, it was pretty much a given that Frosty would be at least mostly unharmed, which was more than could have been said for the rest of them. Frosty himself might not view things quite the same way however.
Thus, Zilei was understandably nervous when he opened up another dimensional rift into the Demon King’s palace. It also took considerable effort on his part to get the trajectory right, because Zilei didn’t want to accidentally leave all of them stranded in the wrong location.
As such, Zilei was the one left stumbling now. He did not fall however, as someone else caught him.
Looking up, Zilei found glacial eyes staring at him. These ones did not belong to Frosty however, but rather to⸺
“You’re late,” Bai Mingyue said, looking none too pleased to see him.
Zilei didn’t pay him all that much attention though, looking back to ensure that everyone had made it through safely. Then and only then did he allow himself to relax, and right as he did, Mingyue just bloody let go and sent him crashing right to the floor.
As for what came after, well, whether it was due to the shock of the impact or due to Zilei finally running out of steam, when he got back up, he did so only to realise that he had only done so in spirit.
“Shit,” he said, just as Little Yue cried out, and he turned, catching sight of the other reaching for him – no, not for him really, but for the body he had just vacated.
Mingyue got to Little Yue first though, gripping his face firmly before staring at him intently for several moments, retaining his grip even once he finally looked elsewhere.
“You’re late,” he repeated, turning his glacial eyes in direction of System 225 next. “What took you so damned long?”
System 225, riding atop Hua Hongzhu’s shoulder, did not blink. And for all its lack of visible eyelids, Zilei was pretty sure that it could, because he had seen System 225 blink at least twice at this point. But it didn’t blink and it didn’t say anything, staring mutely at the visibly agitated Bai Mingyue.
“You,” Mingyue said, voice just short of a snarl. “Do something about that.”
Saying this, he pointed towards the throne at the other end of the room – or rather, towards the individuals occupying it. Because yes, the Demon King seated upon it was nothing extraordinary in and by itself, but⸺
“You’re late,” Frosty muttered, voice quiet but carrying quite well in the dead silence that followed. “What took you so long?”
Saying this, he twirled a lock of crimson hair in-between his fingertips, leaning against the side of the Demon King’s neck, with the other’s arm around his waist, keeping his upper body largely upright while his legs spilled off to one side, drawing much attention to the fact that he was no longer wearing his original outfit but another one altogether. This was by no means the only thing drawing attention however, because while his legs spilled off in one direction, a massive pair of wings spilled off in the other.
Zilei was gaping, and he wasn’t the only one either.
Frosty’s red-rimmed eyes didn’t linger particularly long on him though, awarding him a casual glance before moving on to System 225. And although no words were exchanged, Zilei thought the message in that look may or may not have been ‘You fucking bastard, you knew this would happen, didn’t you?’.
In contrast, the Demon King’s eyes lingered significantly longer on Zilei’s spiritual form, and they, accompanied by subtle lip movements, seemed to convey a message of an entirely different sort – ‘I win’. Zilei could easily have been mistaken though, being no expert lip reader. It was indeed a fair assumption however, going by the other’s decidedly smug expression.
Looking at the other more closely though, Zilei noticed that the Demon King’s hair was slightly mussed, his hair crown askew, and from the looks of it, there appeared to be a red mark on his neck – a hickey, almost, albeit one with clear evidence of broken skin.
Oh. Oh shit.
Zilei didn’t blush at the realisation – not quite. With no a physical body, it wasn’t as though he had any blood capable of rushing to his cheeks after all – or to any other places for that matter. Still⸺
Zilei opened his mouth, about to call Frosty out on having acted like such a prude in spite of evidently being both a demon and into some kinky shit, but the loud groan from just below him diverted his attention – his and everyone else’s.
“Fuck,” Youming Jun swore, clutching his head. “That fucking hurt.”
Zilei pitied him, just a little, figuring that the whole possession bit had probably taken an even greater toll on the other than it had on him. Still, needs must and all that. Besides, the little brat didn’t seem to be all that worse off, because in the next moment, he was back on his feet, snatching a visibly startled System 225 from Hua Hongzhu’s shoulder.
“There,” Little Jun said, presenting it to Little Yue. “I caught you a System.”
Naturally, such audacity didn’t go unnoticed or uncontested. Hua Hongzhu, who had been pretty chill for a while, cried out in outrage and seemed ready to fight him for it.
System 225 did not seem too keen on it however, and soon, Zilei’s half-demon spawn yelped as if burned while the System disappeared and then reappeared right over by the throne, landing upon Frosty’s stomach, where it was promptly grabbed and given a rough shake.
“I ought to snap your damned neck!” Frosty hissed. “Are you that damned eager to ditch me for the sake of a promotion?!”
Huh?
[I wouldn’t say eager,] System 225 said, coming across as quite... casual. [I’ve been putting it off for a while now actually...]
It trailed off, and it seemed as though the rest of what it had to say transpired telepathically.
“Fine,” Frosty eventually said. “Cut me loose.”
And this was really the last thing Zilei heard before everything suddenly cut out.
In the next moment, Zilei found himself stumbling out of the Gate and into the Lounge, pushed from behind by System 403. He didn’t remain standing for long though, quickly commandeering one of those benches for himself and collapsing on top of it, utterly spent.
“Fucking Hell, what was that all about?”
No one answered him, not for a while, so Zilei just lay there, staring up into the ceiling and at the ceiling fans there as they rotated slowly, slowly. He was tired though, and for a brief moment, he felt as though he was about to doze off. But then, Zilei suddenly remembered and sat up, and practically knocked himself out in the process.
“Ouch!” he hissed, blinking tears out of his eyes as he stared at the culprit, which turned out to be none other than System 403. “What was that for?!”
[This System would like to ask the same of you, you dumbass Host,] System 403 promptly responded. [You⸺]
Whatever the System was planning to say next was lost as the Gate lit up once more, admitting System 225, with Frosty nowhere in sight.
“Where’s⸺” Jixue? Or whatever his original name was. Where⸺
System 225 looked towards him, staring at him for a good moment before it finally responded: [Former Transmigrator You Bingleng – alias Bai Jixue, alias Vector – was cut loose as per his own personal request, approved by the higherups on the basis of him being the most suitable candidate to deal with the Singularity.]
The singular what-now?
“I don’t get it,” Zilei said – although to be fair, having shed both his physical form and his physical likeness to the individual in question, he was no longer Jiao Zilei, was he?
[You don’t need to get it,] System 225 bluntly informed him and then turned towards System 403, asking: [Where’s the imposter?]
By imposter, the other was undoubtedly referring to that ‘System 707’, and coming to think of it, System 403 had been awfully quiet about that as of late.
A moment of silence passed. Then System 403 finally cleared its non-existent throat. [Responding to the inquiry of System 225, this System 403 is sorry to report that... there’s been an incident.]
Huh?
“So,” he said, afterwards. “Basically, you ate ‘System 707’.”
System 403 – now in its animal companion form – temporarily ceased licking its paw in favour of sending him a decidedly unfriendly look. Then, it resumed cleaning itself as if he hadn’t said anything of any importance whatsoever.
Ah, honestly⸺ “No wonder you Systems are the way you are. Like, of course you get nervous around your higher-ranked colleagues and don’t think vore is anything worthy of note.”
Again, the licking stopped, and System 403’s orange cat eyes narrowed.
[Well, excuse me,] the System drawled. [It’s certainly possible, but it’s not something us Systems get up to unless there are exceedingly extenuating circumstances, like in this case. That bloody imposter attempted to break out of this System’s containment area, and thus, this System undertook the necessary measures and defragmented it.]
Hah. “And then you ate it.”
[And then this System salvaged the data necessary for the investigation.]
Right. “What did those higherups of yours have to say about that?”
[The necessary data was harvested, and a nuisance was dealt with. Furthermore, the System Admin formerly known as System 225 vouched for the exceedingly extenuating circumstances.]
Hoh. “So, you got off with a slap on the wrist. Is that what you’re saying?”
[This System is getting promoted!]
Right. “So... a slap on the back then?”
System 403 had nothing more to say about that, and so, Zilei let the conversation die off. Granted, technically speaking, he was no longer Jiao Zilei, but... the name had kind of stuck, and it wasn’t as though anyone else was using it, so⸺
“403.”
There was a low answering hum.
“When’s our next mission?”
