234 EYE OF FATE

234 Eye of Fate

"Where's Joan?" asked Alice.

“You sure are well-informed,” I muttered through a mouthful of dirt, my face firmly pressed against the ground. The weight of Alice’s boot settled just above my cheek, grinding slowly, not quite painful enough to be unbearable, but certainly humiliating.

Of course, I knew in my heart I deserved this… 

“What did Nongmin say?” I added, my voice muffled. "Just so you know, I tried my best..."

Jia Yun’s tone held an odd curiosity as she leaned over slightly. “What’s their relationship like?”

Hei Mao rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I think they’re from the same hometown…”

“But why isn’t Senior fighting back?” Jia Yun whispered, as if afraid Alice would turn on her next.

“This might be what’s called a lover’s quarrel?” Hei Mao replied, sounding entirely too unsure for comfort.

I felt Alice shift her weight. Her boot pressed harder. My head sank slightly into the soil, the mud cold against my scalp. I grimaced. “Uuuh… time out? Please?”

“Maybe…” Jia Yun began hesitantly, “Senior… likes it?”

“I don’t know…” Hei Mao said, clearly disturbed. “I think the boot is getting in the way. Maybe if it’s just the foot?”

The pressure intensified. I groaned.

“Jia Yun. Hei Mao. Stay out of this, okay!?” I shouted, or tried to. It came out as more of a desperate plea. My pride was already dead. At least they could spare the eulogy.

Jia Yun asked, “Should we help him?”

Hei Mao answered slowly, “He’ll be fine… I think?”

Alice’s voice, sultry but edged with wrath, curled into my ear. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

I twisted just enough to breathe without inhaling sand. “It wasn’t my intention to sunder the Summit or anything, okay?” I said. “It just… sort of...  happened…”

Even I knew how hollow that sounded.

Where would I even begin? With the Supreme Heart? Aixin’s existence? The Empire's suffering from the aftermath, possibly damning its citizens? The Cleansing? Every thread led to another, tangled and blood-soaked.

“You used it, didn’t you?” Alice’s voice sharpened. She didn’t need to say the name. I knew exactly what she meant: Exalted Renewal.

That cursed technique. The one that let me punch above my weight, cross the threshold between mortality and ascension, and tear down things I had no business facing. And the cost? Death. It was like winning the lottery, only to have your house burned down right after. Of course, that wasn’t the case now.

“Yeah,” I said with a sigh. “I had to. Or I would’ve lost.”

Alice finally lifted her boot, stepping off me with a faint click of her heel. Her eyes were unreadable as she looked down. “You lost your Paladinhood…”

I sat up, rubbing my neck, still wincing. “Yeah… I might be able to replicate most of my old skills and spells through cultivation, but yeah. I lost it. I’m no Paladin anymore.”

There was a beat of silence. A flicker of sympathy crossed her expression, only to vanish as quickly as it came.

“I plan on getting it back eventually,” I continued, brushing off the dirt clinging to my sleeve. “But I don’t think it’ll be easy.”

Alice’s lips curled into a half-smirk, half-frown. “It’s virtually impossible. You don’t have a Patron anymore. In Losten, you had the Lost Supreme. Even the Lost Gods would have been better than nothing. But here? There are no gods in the Hollowed World. No such thing as a Patron. No prayers answered.”

“There’s the Greater Universe, though,” Hei Mao interjected.

I raised an eyebrow at him. “You think Meng Po would be fine having a Paladin like me?”

Hei Mao scratched his ear, thinking. “She likes you, sure. But I don’t think she likes you that much. Enough to sponsor you? Doubtful. I’ve been off-world for a long time, Master. But honestly… I know too little of the Greater Universe. There might be someone or something out there, but it’s a long shot.”

I shrugged, not entirely defeated. “Meh. I couldn't care less. Paladin or not, what matters is protecting the people I love. Here, in the Hollowed World. And in the False Earth. The title was just that… a title. Power’s only useful if I can use it to keep them safe. Moreover, gods? They are overrated... The people are my patron...”

"It isn't that simple," remarked Alice. "Without your Oath, your Faith, and your divine relationship with the universe, you would always be at a fraction of your power. If that's the case, you might as well devote yourself to cultivation and forget being an avatar of faith. That means abandoning your virtues, labors, feats, stories, and your skills."

Yeah, she was right, but I didn't think I'd give up that soon… There was something special in the ‘Legacies’ that couldn’t compare to cultivation after all…

Just then, the air thrummed with energy. The Megatron began its descent with a muted roar. Light shimmered off its hull as it slowed, drifting with the precision of a falling feather. Runes pulsed across its frame, glowing faintly as it stabilized above the fractured island ruins. The ship exhaled a wave of spiritual wind, rustling the grasses and casting long shadows.

From the highest deck, a figure leapt.

She landed with an effortless grace that made even Jia Yun’s eyes widen slightly.

It was Gu Jie.

Her dark robes billowed, laced with crimson serpents that coiled like blood through midnight silk. Her hair was shorter now, wild, uneven, and messy in a way that screamed practicality over elegance. Her eyes, however, were the same as ever: sharp, unblinking, and burdened by things she would never say aloud.

“If it isn’t my sweet daughter,” I said with a grin, rising to meet her. “I dig the new look… it suits you.”

"Master…" Gu Jie’s voice was soft, hesitant, and filled with emotions she tried to flatten behind her usual deadpan cool. She stood there like a wraith dressed in battle robes with sharp edges softened only by the faintest curve of a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

I grinned widely and stretched my arms open. “Don’t be shy now,” I said with a warm chuckle. “Give ol’ daddy a hug.”

A scream pierced the air before her answer could reach me.

“I HATE YOU!” shrieked a high-pitched voice, the declaration paired with a golden blur soaring through the sky.

A small body streaked toward me in a flying kick, legs tucked, teeth bared like a feral beast.

I calmly stepped aside.

The girl crashed into the dirt face-first with a muffled grunt and a cloud of dust. She coughed, rolled over, and glared up at me with betrayed fury and grass stuck in her hair.

“Why did you dodge!?” she barked, her tiny fists pounding the ground in frustration.

“Because,” I said, trying not to laugh, “if that landed, you might’ve exploded into gore. I mean, I can control my Reflect... but I’d rather not take chances with pint-sized Sacred Beasts.”

Hei Mao walked over, as casual as a spring breeze, and lifted the squirming girl by the scruff of her embroidered robes like a misbehaving kitten. “If I’m not mistaken,” he muttered, squinting at her, “it’s been like twenty years already, right? Why are you still so small?”

Ren Jingyi’s legs swung wildly as she tried to run midair. “Unhand me, knave! I am a Sacred Beast! I grow slow! Wait… Hei Mao?” She blinked rapidly. “Why are you so tall? Why are you alive?”

Hei Mao tilted his head, unimpressed. “And why are you still stupid?”

“You jerk!” Ren Jingyi began wailing on his chest with tiny punches. It was like a hamster trying to beat up a mountain. “Big sister Jie! He’s bullying me!”

Gu Jie muffled a laugh behind her sleeve, lips curling up in amusement. She didn’t even pretend to be surprised by Hei Mao’s sudden reappearance, almost like she’d expected this all along. Perhaps she had. She was always sharp.

Then another figure jumped down from the Megatron, his descent light, controlled, and precise. Messy hair framed his face, though it was now cleaner, tied in places, and there was muscle where there used to be skin and bone. His presence had matured, still graceful and balanced, but no longer boyish. He moved like a man who’d faced wars and walked away standing.

“Lu Gao,” I said, recognizing him before he even touched the ground. “It’s been a long time.”

His eyes locked with mine. A smile slowly bloomed across his face, genuine and slightly sad. “You really came back,” he said, voice thick with something between awe and relief. “Master…”

"Come here," I said as I gave him a manly hug.

Lu Gao began sniffling, "M-master..."

Then his gaze slid past me and landed on Hei Mao. His eyes widened. “Little Mao, you’re alive!”

Lu Gao lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Hei Mao, pulling him into a tight, bone-cracking hug. Unfortunately, Ren Jingyi was still dangling in Hei Mao’s grip and got squashed between them like a dumpling in a bamboo steamer.

“Gah! I’m too young to die!” she squealed.

Hei Mao groaned. “Why is this happening to me?”

I just stood there, watching the reunion unfold with the kind of smile that only comes when everything goes to hell in the most heartwarming way possible. Old comrades. Lost friends. Threads reweaving.

Then a familiar voice, smooth as silk and cool as shaded spring water, interrupted the moment.

“This is quite a reunion,” said Nongmin.

I turned toward the ramp of the Megatron.

He descended not in a flourish, but with the serene elegance of someone who understood presence and had no need to flaunt it. He was flanked by a woman in high military dress. It was the Captain of the Phoenix Guard's Left Wing, Xue Xin.

"Greetings, Lord Wei," said Xue Xin. "The Empire is blessed to know of your well-being."

I nodded to her words in gratitude and turned to the Final Emperor.

“Nongmin,” I began. “You look… terrible…”

I stared.

He wore a blindfold. A thin black strip of cloth, seamless and tight, across his face.

Something inside me twisted.

Why?

“What happened to your eyes?” I asked. "Just so you know, I don't dig the new look..."

My voice came out quieter than I intended, barely above a whisper, but it carried. The question landed like a rock dropped into still water.

Nongmin stood still for a moment, the blindfold hiding whatever thoughts passed behind it. He tilted his head toward me, and then said in that calm, effortless tone of his, “Gave it away.”

Gu Jie, standing beside him, added softly, “To me.”

I blinked. “But your eyes are fine?”

Of course, it wasn’t that simple. It never was.

I stepped forward, reached out with a hand, and cast Cure.

Spiritual light flared briefly around Nongmin’s face. Then it faded, doing nothing.

I frowned, concentrating harder. Great Cure.

Still nothing.

Gu Jie watched silently, her arms crossed beneath her dark sleeves. “I tried,” she said. “I ran through hundreds of timelines, tested dozens of possible treatments. Golden-grade, black-grade, divine blood remedies. No result. Nothing reversed it.”

Nongmin simply nodded. “I used an eye transmutation technique,” he explained. “Not something reversible. I transferred my eyes directly to her.”

I stepped back, my chest tightening. “You mean… your Heavenly Eye.”

He didn’t need to nod. The answer was written in the way his aura shifted, less luminous and less forward-reaching than before, like a beacon turned inward.

My heart lurched. The Heavenly Eye wasn’t just any spiritual gift. It was a divine lens and a relic of origin seeded into some bloodlines as part of the Supreme Beings’ contingency plans. Whether by fate or by their meddling, it was designed to foresee existential threats, especially ones involving anomalies like me.

This wasn’t a coincidence. I couldn’t afford to believe in coincidence anymore.

I turned to Gu Jie, eyeing her carefully. “How’s your Sixth Sense Misfortune?”

She tilted her head. “They no longer interfere with my daily life.”

“That’s because,” I said grimly, “you no longer have them.”

Their expressions shifted, ever so slightly.

I continued, “The Heavenly Eye and the Sixth Sense Misfortune must’ve merged. That fusion would produce something older and something more ancient than either ability. You’ve inherited the Destiny-Seeking Eyes, Jie.”

They both froze. Even Nongmin’s calm demeanor rippled with surprise.

“That’s a predecessor of both powers,” I explained. “A true sight born from a paradox, the desire to find your fate and the inability to escape it. I’ll explain more later, but for now, time’s short.”

I shifted my stance, facing Nongmin fully. “The reason I sought you out,” I said, “was because I wanted to use your Heavenly Eye to find a way around the Supreme Beings’ attention. I’ve learned that the Eye was originally built into an early warning system, a failsafe the gods left behind. I thought maybe if I could consult you… or even take your eyes if needed…”

Gu Jie’s expression darkened. Nongmin said nothing. But I held up my hands. “If. I said if. That no longer matters now. The Eye is gone from you, and it lives in her. Who knows? Maybe with the Eye of Fate changed, the peeping idiots can no longer see us… Ah, that’s not the point…”

In fact, I planned on destroying the Heavenly Eye, but I didn't think it would be wise right now. As someone who had personally experienced what Destiny Seeking Eyes was like, I knew it would be too much of a waste to give up on them now.

I turned to Gu Jie again, leveling my gaze. “There are people I wish to save in the False Earth.”

There was no flourish to my story. No need for embellishments. I spoke plainly.

“I spent twenty years there as a mortal,” I said. “No cultivation. No titles. Just a man named Da Wei, trying to survive. I fought for my family. I buried friends. I built a home on poisoned land and fought off outcasts who should have been legends. Eventually… I stole a body.”

They both tensed.

“I had to,” I added. “I was dying. My soul had nowhere to anchor. So I found someone close enough in spirit and took her vessel. I persisted. I lived. I stole their lifespan and spiritual root.”

My voice cracked near the end, not with weakness, but with the weight of truth.

For a long moment, there was silence. Even Ren Jingyi stopped fidgeting. Hei Mao leaned back slightly, looking up at the sky as if it could explain any of this. Then Gu Jie stepped forward, her dark robes brushing against the cracked stone beneath us.

“You want to divine a method forward, don’t you?” she said.

I nodded.

“Then,” she said, lifting her chin, “use Divine Possession on me. Let’s find the answer together…”