A blunt pain startled him awake as Jack scrambled upright, feeling like shit as he blinked away blurry spots in his vision. As his vision cleared, he saw master Shin standing before him, holding a leather-bound book.

  "Hardly a proper reaction to being awoken, but that's unimportant. Instead, you'll tell me exactly how you got this thing."

  He held it as though it were sinful just to be around.

  "I, uh, don't know, honestly!"

  Shin frowned but threw the book to the ground in front of Jack.

  "I highly doubt that, so before killing you for possessing this, I'll let you explain how you got it."

  A pit formed in Jack's stomach as he heard Shin's words. Scrambling for an explanation, Jack told him most of what happened last night, from his cultivation to the strange events around the scrolls. With each word, he could see the lines on Shin's face grow deeper as he went further into the story, not interrupting at any point. When Jack finished, Shin looked fierce as he contemplated what he had just been told.

  "You believe you speak the truth?"

  "Yes!"

  "And you do not feel the urge to kill? To pillage or take from the world and its people?"

  Jack stood in silence for a moment.

  "Well? TELL ME!"

  This startled Jack as he took a step back, afraid of how things could go.

  "No! I feel fine, none of that!"

  "Hmm, we'll see, hold still or I'll take your head."

  Shin drew his sword and closed his eyes. The blade began to glow and emanate slivers of spirit as he felt something heavy pass through his body, searching every little piece and strand of hair he had. After a few seconds had passed, Shin lowered his sword, sheathing it with a flourish, releasing the giant canvas in the same move.

  "When I left, were you approached by someone with this mark?"

  On the canvas was the image of a skull with a flower growing out of the mouth; it was encircled by thorns and knives.

  "No, I was alone the whole night."

  "Hmm, do you know what that is?"

  "No."

  "That thing is a demon technique, used only by-"

  Shin frowned as a thought passed through his brain, one that made him sit down and hold his head in shame.

  "...A-are you ok, master?"

  "Promise me you will never repeat what just happened here, student."

  "Wha-"

  "Promise!"

  "OK, I promise, what's the problem?"

  He sighed heavily as he dragged his hand down his face.

  "Your master has made a fool of himself. Going by your reaction, I assume your people didn't know about them, but long ago, they once cultivated to become sages, but offended the Bloody Crowned Emperor, our current emperor's great-grandfather. Long ago, there were three factions of sages in those days."

  He gave the book to Jack. The canvas was erased only for three complex pictures to take their place in a triangle, the topmost he pointed at first, a symbol of a palace in the clouds over a mountain.

  "You'll learn this at the sect, but I may as well teach you now. Long ago, before even I was born, there were three factions. First amongst them were us, the Heavenly Sages, the inheritors of the Heavens and shepards of the mortals."

  He pointed to the bottom left image, an open claw grasping an orb.

  "Your ancestors, the beastial cultivators, learned from and emulated the demon beasts of the Demon realm to become mighty."

  He moved to the bottom right symbol, a skull with a rose growing out of it.

  "And then the detestable, fiendish sages, who use humans and demons alike in disgusting rituals and techniques."

  He erased the canvas.

  "The reason I acted as I did was because a long time ago, we heavenly sages and your cultivator ancestors went to war with the fiends, for what we no longer know, but it was just."

  Stolen story; please report.

  The image of two great armies was shown flying on swords and animals towards a wave of ugly creatures and disfigured men.

  "Unfortunately, during which the cultivators were wiped out, with their people fleeing to the empire, where they took the mountains for themselves. We won the war afterwards, of course, but many fiends escaped the destruction of their cults and covens, of whom most wormed their way into the empire. Because of this, fiendish cults pop up from time to time, bent on sabotaging our glorious land by whispering dark power into the ears of the weak and vulnerable."

  Things started to make more sense for Jack, not that he was ok with being threatened.

  "So, you thought I was approached by one? I thought the beast- my ancestors- were allies of yours?"

  "Of the empire's, yes, and their power, while dirty, was of no offence to the empire. But, the only way one can acquire a genuine demon technique such as that, you'd need to be approached by a fiend, perhaps even a cult, that retains their store of plunder. If that was the case, then I would have to kill you on the spot and destroy all that belonged to you."

  Some tension left his body, but some remained from the uncertainty of the situation.

  "So, where does that leave us, right now?"

  "At an impasse, I agreed to teach you, but I cannot teach the ways of the cultivators, their methods differ too greatly from ours to translate properly. If you seek to practice that thing, then I can no longer teach you anything."

  The book felt heavy in his hands.

  "Do you know what practicing this might be like?"

  "No, and I imagine few have for a very long time. The closest I imagine would be the demon beasts, but they are too individual to compare properly. But in the tales and history books, demon cultivators were renowned for their adaptability and power, being able to copy and improve the natural abilities of demon beasts, some even take their shape for a time."

  "Could you tell me what demons are like then?"

  A flick of his wrist and several animal drawings came up.

  "The stronger a demon is, the more unique they become, but the average demon is more of a very dangerous animal, and like animals, there are several types that exist. Some are unmanageable, such as Hill-Eating Tusks, large pigs that trample everything in sight. On the other hand, there are also selkie chickens, diminutive fowl farmed by special mortals for their precious eggs and feathers. If the tales are to be believed, cultivators would learn from both something, what I cannot say, but one story stated that a cultivator once learned to teleport not through the realms, but through realms, allowing him to reach undiscovered places full of resources."

  Jack could feel his heart rate pick up as he heard that. With this, he might be able to get home, and if nothing else, live long enough to find another way.

  "So, is that enough of an explanation?"

  "Yes, I believe so, I've decided to learn this power."

  Shin signed, seeming irritated, but held it in as he looked at Jack.

  "If that is your path, but know that you're still going to the sect, you'll just need to work around your instructors and fellows."

  "Do I have a choice?"

  "Not really, now, let's get you packed up, you have several weeks of the road ahead of you and only a few hours to assemble."

  As Jack started packing and rolling things into his bag and a moving box buried in the boxes, the translator sent him, he found himself standing just outside of his temporary home. Following his guard, who guided the pair not to the main gate they went through the day before, but instead to a smaller back gate that was much less populous. Standing at the gate were the minister and the translator beside a long line of carts and carriages, each roped to large multi-colored horses with two horns on their head. Once the two of them reached the duo, Master Shin greeted the two and began to talk, pointing between himself and the assembled caravan.

  The conversation came to an end as they bowed and walked away, with Shin walking back to Jack.

  "This caravan is headed for Emberglass City. From there, you and other aspirants will be sent to the Imperial Sect in the Myriad Mountains. Any questions before?"

  He would be leaving the one positive connection he had in this strange land so far. It wasn't unusual to be nervous.

  "Will you be coming with us?"

  Shin simply sighed and shook his head.

  "I'm afraid not, I have commitments to the city for a few more years, and like I said, if you follow your current path, it'll be difficult for me to teach you. My suggestion is to learn your new technique carefully and try not to disclose its secrets to anyone, even any lovers you take. I might see you in a decade or so, but I doubt any time before that."

  He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a ring and a metal feather.

  "Because of that, I plan to give you this storage ring, a small one to get you started as you begin your journey. It will only fit one kuon of items, so you'll need to be precise about what you put in it, and as a bonus, it'll help you understand those around you. The feather was originally meant as an aid for the journey, and it very well may still become that. It comes from a flightless bird that has metal feathers; its main use is in alchemy, so in case you're lost and without money, you'll have enough from selling it."

  "T-thank you, sir, I'll work hard when I get there!"

  His eyebrow raised in question, but quickly went back to smiling.

  "See to it that you do."

  A pleasant gong went through the courtyard as everyone stopped or finished what they were doing and began to file into their designated areas.

  "And that would be your time. You'll be in the back of the procession on one of the zhorze, that one if I remember correctly."

  He pointed to one of the horse creatures with a broken horn, a stable hand holding its reins. Walking over to the boy, Shin started talking to the boy as Jack looked at the creature's face. When he looked at it, it looked at him. When he blinked, it blinked; when he narrowed his eyes at it, it did something close enough, and when he got closer, so did the beautiful creature.

  "I like this one."

  Both Shin and the boy turned to him, one confused at what he said, the other confused by what he said. Shin finished talking with the kid before he ran off to join a sideline of other helpers.

  "The child said the zhorze is named Old Bastard, since that is the only name it will respond to. It shouldn't give too many issues being a zhorze, but it'll still require you to be considerate of it, and I have been informed that this one is a big glutton, so mind your food around it."

  "I don't think that'll be an issue."

  The overall design was different than what he knew, but the perks of dating a horse owner were that he got used to mounting horses, among other things, of course. Using the small step stool, Jack easily slid over his zhorze and fastened himself, taking the reins and letting Old Bastard get used to him. He was incredibly well-trained and looked after, if his soft mane and ease were any indication, but as little as he got to see, these were for the elite, best he could tell. It was only a little bit later that the gates were opened and the front of the procession began to move, Jack's section moving a minute later. Shin walked slowly beside him as they made their way to the exit.

  "I suppose this will be goodbye for some time."

  "I guess so, master."

  The two said nothing more to one another as Jack moved to match the pace of the others and into the wide unknown.