Chương 49: Dao of light

Cultivation World - Palace Guest Quarters Varek sat in frustrated silence before the holographic interface, his fingers dancing across the projected keyboard as he searched through the Crimson Crater Kingdom's vast digital archive. Thousands of saber techniques scrolled past—elegant forms, powerful strikes, ancient methodologies—but none of them resonated with his understanding of the Dao.

"Basic Flame Saber Art," he muttered, dismissing another entry.

"Seven Star Cutting Technique. Crimson Lotus Blade Dance." He shook his head, closing each file with growing irritation.

"All focused on external power, not true comprehension." The kingdom's repository was impressive, containing cultivation techniques from across the known world. But their specialty lay in life cultivation, alchemy, and artistic pursuits. Their martial traditions were competent but uninspired—techniques designed for defense rather than the kind of transcendent understanding Varek needed to compete against genius level 8 Foundation Establishment opponents.

After hours of fruitless searching, Varek pushed back from the interface with a sigh. The digital archive was vast but shallow. What he needed wasn't something that could be stored in crystalline memory banks—it was the kind of technique that carried the soul of its creator. His eyes turned toward the ancient scroll collection that had been brought to him from the treasury. These were the kingdom's oldest treasures, techniques handwritten by masters whose understanding had been pressed into the very ink.

Unlike the sterile digital copies, these scrolls contained something infinitely more valuable—the Dao impressions of their creators. Varek approached the scrolls with reverence, his enhanced senses immediately detecting the Dao resonance that emanated from the ancient texts. Each scroll pulsed with faint energy, the accumulated insights of masters who had achieved true comprehension of their chosen paths.

He selected the first scroll carefully, unrolling the aged parchment to reveal characters written in flowing script. The moment his eyes focused on the text, he could feel it—the author's understanding of the Dao of Water pressed into every brushstroke. The technique was elegant, focusing on adaptability and flow, but it wasn't what he needed. The second scroll contained a spear technique imbued with the Dao of Earth. Powerful, grounded, immovable in its certainty. Impressive, but wrong for his path.

The third made his breath catch.

"Celestial Dawn Saber Technique" The title itself seemed to glow on the ancient parchment, written in characters that hurt to look at directly. As Varek read the opening passages, he could feel two distinct Dao impressions flowing from the ink—the familiar cutting edge of the Saber Dao, intertwined with something brighter, more radiant. The Dao of Light.

"This technique requires significant mastery of both the Dao of the Saber and the Dao of Light," the introduction stated.

"The practitioner must understand not only the nature of cutting, but the fundamental principles of illumination, revelation, and purification. Warning: Attempting this technique without sufficient Dao comprehension may result in permanent meridian damage or soul scarring." Varek's heart raced as he continued reading. The technique didn't just combine saber work with light-based attacks—it synthesized the fundamental principles of both Daos into something transcendent.

Cuts made not with physical blades, but with concentrated light given cutting edge through saber comprehension. Strikes that could sever shadow itself, illuminate hidden weaknesses, and pierce through any defense that relied on darkness or deception. But the requirements were staggering.

"Minimum Requirements: Stage 4 Saber Dao, Stage 2 Light Dao." Varek assessed his own understanding. His Saber Dao was easily Stage 4, possibly approaching Stage 5 after his fight with Zhao Venom. But his Light Dao... He didn't even have Stage 1 comprehension.

"Shit," he muttered, the gap between his current ability and the technique's requirements were considerable. But as he continued studying the scroll, hope began to flicker in his chest. The technique included meditation methods for advancing Light Dao comprehension, exercises designed to help practitioners understand the fundamental nature of illumination.

It would take intense effort and potentially decades of study for a normal person, but with his already amazing understanding of the Dao of the blade and his insane ability to comprehend techniques and Dao's. Varek moved to the crystal windows that overlooked the crater kingdom, the ancient scroll still in his hands. The afternoon sun was striking the red stone cliffs at the perfect angle, creating a display of light and shadow that seemed almost designed for contemplation.

He watched the way sunlight carved definition into the rock faces, how it revealed textures and colours that remained hidden in darkness. Light wasn't just illumination—it was revelation. It showed truth, exposed what was hidden, made the invisible visible. The Dao of Light wasn't about creating brightness. It was about understanding the fundamental principle of revelation itself.

"The edge that reveals," Varek whispered, beginning to grasp the connection between his two Dao paths.

"The cut that illuminates." A soft knock at his door interrupted his contemplation.

"Come in," he called, not turning from the window. Lia entered quietly, but something in her gently closing of the door that made Varek turn around. Her face was pale, her purple eyes carrying a weight that hadn't been there that morning.

"Varek," she said softly, her voice carefully controlled.

"I need to tell you something. There's been news from the eastern continent." The scroll crinkled in his suddenly tightened grip.

"What kind of news?" Lia took a deep breath, her eyes meeting his directly.

"The Flaming Saber Sect is gone. Completely destroyed. There are no survivors." The words hit Varek like a physical blow, driving the air from his lungs as the ancient scroll slipped from his fingers. Earth - Tim's Apartment Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Tim sat on his couch, staring at the wall as the news processed through both his consciousnesses simultaneously.

The Flaming Saber Sect—the organization that had taken everything from Lia, that had murdered her friends and burned her home—was now nothing but ash and memory. He should have felt satisfaction. Justice. Some sense that the universe had balanced the scales. Instead, he felt hollow. Val was dead. The True Disciple who had mentored Varek, who had seen potential in a young warrior and helped him grow. The junior disciples Varek had trained with, sparred against, shared meals with for years.

The elders who had been stern but cared about their own, the sect masters who had maintained ancient traditions. All of them gone. Tim's phone buzzed with a text message, but he ignored it. His mind was reeling with the complexity of his emotions—Lia's grim satisfaction warring with Varek's grief. The knock at his door was soft but insistent.

"It's open," Tim called out. Riku walked in without hesitation, her usual bright energy completely absent. She looked small, fragile, wearing one of his hoodies that hung loose on her petite frame. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and the moment she saw Tim's expression, her careful composure crumbled.

"They're all dead," she whispered, her voice breaking on the words.

"Everyone Varek ever cared about. Val, the junior disciples, even the sect master who first accepted him. All of them." Tim stood up and opened his arms, and Riku collapsed against his chest, her body shaking with sobs that came from both her own grief and Varek's overwhelming loss. Tim didn't know what to say but just hugged her tighter. Cultivation World - Palace Guest Quarters Lia watched Varek sink into a chair, his usual confident posture crumbling as the news settled into his consciousness.

The ancient scroll lay forgotten on the floor as he buried his face in his hands.

"How?" he asked, his voice muffled.

"How could an entire sect just... disappear?"

"The reports are fragmented," Lia replied, moving to sit beside him.

"But it seems like the qi beast army came for them specifically. Revenge for the injuries they inflicted on the Beast King." She paused, her voice growing quieter.

"The entire sect was consumed by shadow. When the sun rose the next morning, there was nothing left but... dark stains on the earth. Shadows of what used to be." Varek's hands clenched into fists, his knuckles going white.

"Turned into shadows? Val. Kane. All the junior disciples I trained with." His voice broke slightly.

"They weren't just killed—they were unmade. They're really all gone?" Lia hesitated, then reached out to place a gentle hand on his shoulder. The gesture was complicated by everything between them—her sect had been destroyed by his, his people had murdered her friends. But grief was grief, and loss was loss.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, and meant it.

"I know what it feels like to lose everyone you've ever cared about." Varek looked up at her, his dark eyes bright with unshed tears.

"Your sect. They were the ones who—""I know," Lia interrupted gently.

"But that doesn't change the fact that you're hurting now. That you've lost people who mattered to you." The complexity of the moment hung between them—two survivors of a war that had consumed everything.

"I don't know what to feel," Varek admitted, leaning into her touch.

"Part of me knows they were wrong to attack your sect. But they were still my family."

"Feel whatever you need to feel," Lia said, her voice carrying hard-won wisdom.

"Grief isn't logical. Missing someone doesn't mean you agree with everything they did." Earth - Tim's Apartment Riku cried against Tim's chest for what felt like hours, her tears soaking through his shirt as she processed the loss through both her own consciousness and Varek's. Tim held her steadily, one hand stroking her hair while the other rubbed gentle circles on her back.

"It's complicated," Riku finally whispered, her voice muffled against his chest.

"I should hate them for what they did to Lia. But Varek loved some of those people. They were his mentors, his friends."

"You can hate what they did and still grieve for Varek's loss," Tim replied softly.

"Those things don't cancel each other out." Riku pulled back slightly to look at his face, noting the way his own eyes glistened with emotion.

"You're crying too."

"Yeah," Tim admitted, with a few tears trickling down his face.

"For Varek's loss. For the complexity of it all. For the fact that this whole situation is so fucked up that we're comforting each other over the deaths of people who tried to kill us." Lia's emotions were also leaking though affecting his normally stoic nature. Despite her grief, Riku's lips quirked in a small, sad smile.

"When you put it like that, it does sound pretty messed up." They held each other in comfortable silence for a while, processing the strange web of emotions that connected their split selves. Finally, Riku spoke again.

"What happens now? With Varek, I mean. He has nowhere to go back to."

"Same thing that happened with Lia," Tim replied thoughtfully.

"He moves forward. He builds something new. He finds purpose in protecting what he has now instead of mourning what he's lost." Riku nodded against his chest, then settled more comfortably against him, not moving away.

"Can I stay here tonight? I don't want to be alone with all these feelings." Tim's arms tightened around her slightly.

"Of course. We'll figure this out together. All of us." Cultivation World - Palace Guest Quarters As evening fell over the crater kingdom, Lia and Varek sat together on the silk cushions, watching the lotus gardens glow softly in the darkness. Varek had stopped crying, but his expression remained distant, processing the weight of his loss.

"What will you do now?" Lia asked gently. Varek was quiet for a long moment, then reached down to pick up the fallen scroll.

"I'll train," he said, his voice carrying new resolve.

"I'll master this technique. I'll become strong enough to make sure this kind of tragedy never happens again."

"The Celestial Dawn Saber?"

"It requires understanding both the Dao of the Saber and the Dao of Light," Varek explained, showing her the ancient text.

"I have the saber comprehension, but I need to rapidly advance my understanding of light." His grip on the scroll tightened.

"Light that can cut through shadow. Light that can destroy the darkness that consumed my friends." Lia studied the scroll's requirements, noting the astronomical difficulty.

"That's ambitious. Most cultivators spend decades developing single Dao comprehension to a decent level."

"Then I'll do it in weeks," Varek replied with fierce determination.

"I have motivation now. Everyone I ever cared about in that sect is dead—turned into nothing but shadows. I can either let that destroy me, or I can use it to become strong enough to protect what I care about now." His voice hardened.

"And someday, I'll master light well enough to burn away the shadow that took them." His eyes met hers, carrying an intensity that made her breath catch.

"I won't lose anyone else. Not you, not the kingdom that's given us sanctuary. Not anyone under my protection ever again. And that shadow beast will pay for what it did." The resolve in his voice was absolute, tempered by grief but strengthened by purpose and burning vengeance. Lia felt a flutter of something in her chest—admiration for his determination, attraction to his strength, and something deeper that she wasn't quite ready to name.

"Then we'll train together," she said finally.

"You'll master your Dao comprehension to hunt shadow, I'll advance my cultivation level. By the time the competitions begin, we'll be ready for anything." Varek smiled for the first time since hearing the news, though it was tinged with sadness and something harder.

"Partners?"

"Partners," Lia confirmed, her own smile carrying warmth that surprised them both. As they sat together in the glow of the lotus gardens, both of them felt the weight of their shared losses settling into something more manageable. They had lost their pasts, but they were building something new together. Earth - Tim's Apartment Tim woke up the next morning to find Riku still curled against his chest, her breathing soft and steady in sleep.

Sometime during the night, they'd shifted to lie down on the couch, her body fitting perfectly against his as she sought comfort in his presence. For a moment, he just watched her sleep, noting the peaceful expression that had replaced last night's grief. Her hair had fallen across her face, and he gently brushed it back, careful not to wake her. The complexity of their situation struck him again—teacher and student, two people split across multiple bodies.

But as Riku stirred against him, her eyes fluttering open to meet his, Tim realized that he was done caring about normal. Nothing about their lives was normal anymore. What mattered was that they cared about each other, supported each other, and were building something real together.

"Good morning," Riku whispered, her voice still husky from sleep.

"Good morning," Tim replied softly, his arms tightening around her slightly.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better," she said, settling more comfortably against him.

"Sad, but... better. Thank you for letting me stay."

"Anytime," Tim said, and meant it.

"We're in this together, remember?"