Body Cultivation Hurts - Chapter 23

Author Note: The remaining chapters are exploratory in nature. Ultimately, I might not take the story in this direct in the future when I return to the series. 

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Suddenly the lights dimmed and the wall itself became a big screen. There had been one scene he’d kept from all his videos that the system had recorded.

He and Kyle sitting back in lawn chairs with a beat-up jeep behind them appeared on screen. He hadn’t had to record this himself. It was actually based upon a recorded memory collected by the tower. Its perceptions were much like that of a divine realm cultivator, though Nathan didn’t understand how it worked. If he wanted, he could view what had happened from any angle. It just went to prove the Divine Monarch ability and technology far surpassed theirs.

“Imagine a poral appearing down there before the statue and a horde of zombies stepped out. Not real zombies, mind you, for they might look like people, but they are really the lowest level of demon. Up close, you’ll be able to tell they certainly aren’t human. They don’t really look demonic, I guess, but are smooth skinned, hairless, and ugly.

“Anyway, if they appeared, how would you fight them off?”

The memory jumped forward. “So why are we here?” He asked. “You okay, man?”

Nathan smiled knowingly.

“Then why are we here? I don’t mind just hanging out, but why here of all places?”

“There’s something I need you to do,” he said, pulling out his phone... “You’re about to get an email from me. Forward it to everyone in your contacts. You’re old enough that you’ll be forced into the initiation, but your two brothers will remain here until they’ve turned eighteen—as will your parents.”

Kyle had his phone out and was bringing up what he received. “What are you on about. What initiation?”

“Zombies, remember.”

“I thought you said they were demons.”

“Technically, you’re right. They act more like zombies. The slow-moving kind, but they aren’t that slow. In a straight line they can kind of stumble quickly.”

Kyle chuckled, but it slowly fell from his face as he read what Nathan had sent him. “I can’t send this. They’ll think I’m crazy.”

“We only got a few hours until it happens."

Nathan waved for him to follow.

Pulling open his trunk, he removed the tarp. Two gun cases and stacks of loaded thirty round mags were sitting there. “This is only half of the mags. Another hundred are in the back seat.”

Kyle stood there wide eyed. “You dun went crazy,” he muttered.

Cupping Kyle's shoulder, he led him back to his lawn chair.

“I’m going to call my parents if you don’t mind. They won’t believe me, but I sent them a similar email."

He spoke to his father first, then sister. “Love you, Brat,” Nathan said, before hanging up and calling mom.

Kyle still didn’t really believe him, but he made the necessary calls seeing how serious his friend was.

The police arrived, pointing their guns at Nathan, then they saw it. They lowered their weapons. “What the hell?”

The portal had swallowed the monument and then some. The demons were gathering.

The scene flickered forward.

“Fire!” The Sergeant screamed.

Kyle began, then Nathan grabbed his first rifle, stepped up to the tripod, took aim, and fired.

Mag after mag he switched rifles each time.

A new demon two heads taller than the rest appeared. Instead of a skinny, taut torso, this one was thickly muscled with small horns on the side of its head in place of ears. It hid behind the horde, dodging rounds as it could.

When the creature finally became visible, Nathan didn’t fire right away. It jumped sideways. It was the reaction he was waiting for. With a smooth trigger pull, he struck the monster high on the chest just under the throat. It took a few steps, then seemed to tense up before it fell dead.

“Yeah,” Kyle screamed, forgetting it went straight through his headset and into Nathan’s ear.

“Dude.”

It was over soon after that. The screen showed them talking to the officers about what was about to happen. Then they disappeared.

After the short video was over, Nathan waited for the lights to brighten and the crowd’s attention to return to him.

This video he’d given a more personal touch in the editing. It was something that he hadn’t yet released to the public. As it played, he watched the reactions of those individuals in the crowd that he’d invited. They understood the implications of this video. It would give him something that his age and status couldn’t. A measure of authority.

But then he thought back to the ridiculous number of views the videos he’d uploaded received. A large part of him wanted to lurk into the background, throwing out hints to the right individuals at the right times to speed everyone’s cultivation, but... That limited the good he could do for the people he personally knew and relied on his flawed memory. Was that really enough?

A murmur rose up when he didn’t immediately address the crowd. He looked out at those faces from his past.

“Why should you trust me?” The crowd quieted at his word. “Why did I reach out to you?” Stepping forward, Nathan leaned against the ropes. He didn’t have to speak loudly. “Because I knew this would happen.”

Everyone had known it was coming after watching the short video, but there was still a sudden buzz from the crowd.

“I wasn’t alone. Many world leaders were also contacted. At least, that’s what I had planned to tell you.”

He looked upon the crowd of faces. To them, his first life didn’t even exist, but to him, two weeks had passed. They deserved more.

“I had planned to lie to you. Not because I wanted to deceive you, but because I didn’t think you’d believe me. I was going to tell you that I had some rare prophecy ability to see the future.” He shook his head. “That’s not why you’re here—those of you I reached out to personally. You don’t know me, but I know you. Some of you I know very well. Others I know by reputation, and I’ve admired your careers from afar. But I’ve fought with each and every one of you.”

His eyes landed on Jun Takao. His Senior was confused, but there was no condemnation in his gaze.

“There are two things you have in common. The first—in the near future—you will be numbered amongst the most powerful people in this world. Lastly, I watched you die.”

A chill spread through the room like a phantom. The only sounds were a few audible gulps.

“Not as a fortuneteller, or some prophet. I was there. There was something I found in the tower in my first. Maybe I didn’t even die, but my body has been made whole. Something brought me back.”

An angry element sounded from the crowd, but Nathan wouldn’t be quelled.

He pointed at someone they all knew and lifted his voice. “Eugene Carr, three-time Olympic Gold Metalist and considered the greatest male gymnast of our generation. I know you as a wind cultivator ranked in the tower’s top thousand. You cultivate Breath From Above. In the last battle, you take to the sky knowing you won’t be coming back. Scores of bestial demons, many at higher realm than your own, fall to the earth like rain as they try to fly up and stop you. It’s only when a demon of the Divine Spirit Realm filled the sky with fire that you—”

Finding another prominent face, he called out, “Silvester Hitchens, former world champ. You cultivate Fist of the Deep and were my commanding officer. With a hole in your chest as wide as a strong man’s arm, you led our final charge. The last time I saw you, you were facing off with a bestial demon the size of a bus.”

Many eyes fell on both men. When neither had objections, people started to think what he was saying about their cultivation might just be true. Once Nathan started naming the people he knew, their cultivation, deeds, and the way they had died, he couldn’t stop. His tone was doleful. Tears welled up in his eyes, but the energy behind his words couldn’t be contested.

Maybe his point was made after naming a few of them, but it felt wrong. They deserved to be mentioned. For all to know the peak they had stood on, and the way they had died. To his amazement, they listened.

He went on. People started to expect to be called.

“Vanessa Montgomery singer and former Olympic gymnast. You cultivate Voice of Many Waters. The greatest sound cultivator of Earth. You stood alone because no one was strong enough to stand beside you. You were crushed by the charging horde, but not until waves of the enemy had fallen at your feet.”

He was nearing the end of more than a hundred names. He turned to his friends. They were shaken to the core. Katrina, Sam, Justin, Rich, Urick, and Jess. Not all of them had died in the last battle, but their deaths were all good ones.

“Kyle. Even though you were a blacksmith. One of the best. When the demonic attack was imminent, you didn’t hesitate to join us. I’d already lost a leg. I couldn’t back you up. So you fed yourself to a dragon-like demon and ignited your soul fire, sacrificing yourself and slaying an enemy far above your rank.”

He’d saved two people for last. He wasn’t sure if it was out of respect, or it just seemed appropriate. “Jun Takao, patriarch of Takao Clan. He who cultivates Lineage of the Heartland Blade, and who becomes humanity’s first Sword Saint. You willingly traded your arm for your enemy’s head. A Divine Lord descended personally to deal the killing blow.”

Out of all reactions, he saw Jun actually bowed his head as if to thank Nathan for his words. They didn’t even know the difference between a Divine Lord and the Divine Spirit Realm, yet no one said a word.

“And finally,” he continued. “Yuma Takao was the last person I watched succumb before my death. Daughter of the Takao Clan, she cultivates the Selfless Soul. Her soul sword is one of our most potent weapons against this enemy. From the weakest of them to the mightiest, they feared her the most. The entire horde mobilized to stop her. She was torn apart before my eyes.” He mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

Looking up at the high ceiling, Nathan hoped there would be an answer awaiting him. When there wasn’t, he said what he was thinking allowed. “I don’t know if I should be telling you this.” There was no response, so he didn’t stop. “Divine Monarch Wei created this tower in hope that we might one day fight against the demon race and win. He estimates that it will take decades if not centuries for them to arrive. He’s wrong. We’ll face them in ten years.”

As if enough had been said that the powers above finally had to respond, pressure descended. Looking up, everyone saw her. She floated down slowly. The pressure remained manageable. When she’d reached a height where he only had to slightly look up, she drew to a stop and hovered there.

To her surprise, he spoke first. “Fairy Isacara, Divine Lord.”

Her beauty was otherworldly. She gave him a contemplative glare. “You know me?”

“I’ve seen you before. What you cultivate, I do not know, but I have seen the blinding white of your blade. It was like you attacked with light itself as you defended one of Earths largest cities. You sacrificed your life so that strangers could escape.”

Suddenly he couldn’t look at her, so he dropped his head, took a step back, and bowed low. As an American, bowing had never been naturally to him, but he understood it well enough that it’s the only thing that felt appropriate. Even then, it felt insignificant to show how grateful he was.

“Stand,” she said.

When he did, she didn’t respond.

“I’ve come with a message from Father Wei. The first is addressed to everyone here. Believe him.” She pointed to Nathan and didn’t say another word until it sunk in.

The crowd stirred, but they kept their voices low in her presence.

“The second message is for you, Nathanial Kane. It’s up to you do to what you will with the gift you’ve received. Father Wei will not ask anything of you.”

Outside of the system messages, Nathan had only received a message one time sent by the Divine Monarch himself. It was when Earth was being evacuated and any resistance that volunteers offered could buy them time to save lives. It was the message everyone had read before the demon’s attacked.

“My duty is complete.” Fairy Isacara said. “Good cultivating.”

She disappeared as did the atmospheric pressure did.

With her absence, the crowd seemed to have had enough. It was clamorous as they speculated about the woman they had just seen.

Holding up his hand, a few noticed and started quieting down. When the others didn’t, Nathan didn’t have to say anything for the people of the crowd to start shushing those around them.

“You’ve seen the merchants in this place. The judges. They weren’t always citizens of this tower. They’re refugees. Just like us, their worlds were given a chance to defend themself. They failed.

“We have only ten years to do what they likely had centuries to accomplish. I know you. I know how you trained because many of you taught me yourselves. It’s my turn. Let me return the favor. This is one of the most important stages of cultivation for its when we build our body’s foundation. Energy circulation, techniques, they all come later. Not only do I know the best training possible, but I’m a body cultivator. This is the one time that I’ll be able to help you as much as you’ve helped me.

“So I ask that you follow my example—my instruction. But most of all, this is not a time to perfect skill and technique. It is time to push yourself harder than ever before. To the very brink of injury, then push even further. If you find yourself injured, so be it. With my own funds, I’ll provide the recovery pills. Not just for you to take when injured, but after every workout to recover as quickly as possible so you can do it again.

“We will barely sleep. We’ll take nutrition pills so that we won’t have to waste time eating. You will exhaust yourself, take a recovery pill, practice your breathing technique, then do it again. Allow me to direct your efforts. By the end of thirty days in this time dilation chamber, our small group of just over a thousand people will sweep through the first floor of the Monarch’s tower, wiping it clean.

“This time next week, I expect to welcome my parents and sister to the tower before her eighteenth birthday. And then, we will march on the second floor a year faster than in my previous life.”

He looked out across the crowd, wanting to push them by the sole force of his will, but he’d need help.

“Silvester Hitchens, Jun Takao, Ma Mencius, Franco brothers, Eugene Carr, Vanessa Montgomery…” He began to call out the names of the people who would help him. They were leaders, the men and women that had stepped up to do that very thing during mankind’s greatest need.