Cultivation Fever

Five seconds until breakthrough.

I knew that the pleasure would come, wiping away all my pain. I had to use that to my advantage.

Four seconds until breakthrough.

When it came, I would be free to act. What was the game plan?

Three seconds until breakthrough.

First step: take care of Tai. Attack him and obstruct his vision.

Two seconds until breakthrough.

Second step. Grab the other scholar and sprint through the door.

One second until breakthrough.

I charged my legs with qi and gathered my thoughts.

Breakthrough.

The ecstasy was overwhelming, nullifying the pain of every broken bone, every ruptured organ and every burst blood vessel. My mind was left clear, my plan precise.

In a split second, I flicked my wrist and charged towards the crippled scholar. I gave one golden arm the command to strangle Tai and the other to crush his head, blocking his sight.

There was no time to check if it had worked. I grabbed the scholar and sprinted to the door.

"You can"t stop me Schwarz!"

Ignoring him, I thrust my mangled arm at the granite door, bashing it open. My forearm crumpled under the force, broken bones puncturing my skin, but I felt nothing.

Rushing down the hallway, I felt the wave of relief subside. A dull ache seeped into my bones. There was no time to think, I had to escape.

If I collapsed here, Tai would just drag us back. As much as I hated it, there was only one option. Ignoring the tearing sensation, I took the deepest breath I could and screamed,

"DONG!! HELP ME!! DOWNSTAIRS!!"

Reaching the end of my ragged scream, darkness crept into the corners of my vision. Pinp.r.i.c.ks of light sparkled and flickered, and I became faint and lightheaded.

The relief cut off as quickly as it came, my body plunged into torment once again. Unable to withstand the h.e.l.lfire of sensations, I pa.s.sed out.

Had I been successful? Wait… why could I think?

"Oho! He made it here!"

That sickly sweet, almost musical voice sounded familiar.

"Come on sweetie, open your eyes."

My body felt strangely foreign and it took some struggle to open my eyes.

"Tada! Look who it is!"

Sitting at a pristine white table were Sirius and Helga.

"What… where am I?"

"With us, silly!"

"But why?"

"Well," Sirius interjected, "I believe you would call it a "near death experience"."

I expected to feel some fear after hearing those words. But there was only warmth and peace.

"Tell me, how do you like my place?"

Helga spread her arms openly, golden bangles tinkling as she moved. We sat next to a crystal-clear lake, nestled in rolling green hills. The warm sun shone un.o.bstructed by the idyllic clouds floating by.

A cool breeze kept me at the perfect temperature, wafting the scent of freshly cut gra.s.s and blooming flowers. Every sound was perfectly harmonious, creating a heart-warming natural symphony.

"It"s perfect."

"See, that is exactly my point Helga," Sirius commented, "without imperfection, your realm is dull."

"Oh boohoo. Would you rather this?"

Helga snapped her fingers, and all brightness and colour disappeared. Surrounding us was the very picture of h.e.l.l.

We sat on a precipice overlooking a bubbling pool of magma. Pitch black, shard-like mountains pierced the tumultuous clouds in this gloomy landscape.

Gone was the beautiful music of life, replaced with a harsh cacophony of inhuman screeches and howling wind. I almost vomited at the revolting stench seeping from the earth.

"Helga, don"t be stupid," Sirius complained, "you know that this realm is not fit for life."

"See how silly you are?"

She snapped her fingers again, and we returned to the picturesque lakeside scene.

"Anyway, sweetie, you took a real beating down there! I thought I told you not to die before the age of 30?"

Helga frowned in mock anger, pouting at my disobedience.

"Am I… dead?"

"No, no. Quite anticlimactic if you ask me. But you sure cut it fine!"

"And to think that you believed my experiment was so limited in scope," Sirius scolded me, "well, never-mind the details. How do you feel now that you are here?"

"I feel at peace. Like I"m in a warm blanket."

"Oh," Sirius"s disappointment was palpable, "is that it? No unnerving sensation?"

"Sirius darling, of course he wouldn"t feel anything! The qi here is overwhelming, it"s a miracle he"s kept his form for so long!"

"But he has made the most progress, I thought that maybe…"

"Don"t put so much pressure on the boy!" Helga interrupted, "If you break him, I"ll be really mad at you. I"ve been having so much fun!"

"Helga, you could simply go spectate one of the others."

"Are you telling me to visit one of those old fogey"s realms? Sirius darling, you really need new friends. I can introduce you…"

"NO!"

Sirius"s shout sent out a shockwave, causing Helga"s hair to flutter. In the distance, a peaceful hill was torn asunder, disintegrating into the wind.

With a flick of Helga"s hand, dark coiling shadows gushed from the earth. In an instant, the hill was repaired, as if nothing had ever happened.

Sirius cleared his throat, and I noticed a pinkish tinge to his cheeks.

"I apologise."

Helga sighed, raising a hand and conjuring a cup of tea. She took a long sip, scowling at Sirius over its rim as he squirmed in his seat. I took the opportunity to ask a question.

"Who are the others?"

"They are the other partic.i.p.ants in my experiment," Sirius replied, "do not concern yourself with them. They are not on your world."

"Are they all from Earth?"

"That is indeed where I gathered them from."

"Does this all have something to do with my qi? When we first met, you mentioned something about my innate qi…"

"Many apologies, but I will have to stop you there. I cannot mention any details concerning the hypothesis, or it may interfere with the results."

"Sirius darling, you are terrible at deceit."

"Helga! This is important!"

"Pish posh."

She took another sip of tea, a wry smile on her face.

"And will you stop doing that? Drinking your own qi is quite unpleasant."

"Of course I"m not drinking it, it"s simply for effect darling."

"Oh. I see…"

Their conversation began to fade as my thoughts became stunted.

"Look, look! He"s breaking apart!"

Helga fragmented before my eyes, the world becoming a kaleidoscope of shapes and colours. Inside my head, I heard her voice.

"Ding ding! You were right about your qi! You keep doing you, but please, if you"re going to die, do it better next time! Ta ta sweetie!"

The fractals before my eyes swirled and coalesced before fading to black.

I woke up to a familiar ceiling. I was at home, in the nursery. Tentatively opening my hand resulted in a series of concerning cracks.

My body was incredibly stiff, but I wasn"t in pain. Steadily propping myself up on the bed, I surveyed the damage.

Long, winding scars covered my torso and right arm. But scars weren"t an issue. Carefully teasing my right arm out of its locked position, I found I still had full mobility.

Taking a deep breath, my bones shuddered in complaint, but I could still breath normally! I spent a few minutes easing my body out of its deterioration, moving every limb and stretching every muscle.

Finally, I felt ready to stand up. I took a few stumbling steps to the door, opening it to glaring sunlight. Mother sat tending the garden, her hair tied up in a high bun.

"Mother!"

She startled at my voice, dropping her tools and rushing to me.

"Baby! You"re awake!"

She enveloped me in a warm hug, her body quivering as she sobbed into my shoulder.

"I"m so glad you"re awake… I"m so, so glad…"

"I"m so sorry I scared you..."

"Oscar, why?!" mother"s tears turned to anger, "Why did you push yourself so hard cultivating?"

Mother thought this had happened cultivating? That didn"t seem right, but I buried my unease.

"I"m really sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I"m okay, it"s just… I was just so worried. Wait, I need to tell your father," she let me go for a second, turning towards the study, "Carlo! He"s awake!"

There was a m.u.f.fled crash, before father burst from his study and dashed across the courtyard.

"Is he okay?" he asked mother, before frantically turning to me, "Oscar, are you okay? Can you see me? Tell me if you understand what I"m saying."

"Father, I"m really okay."

"Oh, thank the heavens."

I had questions, but they could wait. It felt like years since I had seen my parents, and all I wanted to do was spend time with them.

"You must be starving, let me make some food."

While mother cooked, I talked with father about my eventful first days at school. I told him about master, about Xiaogui, about Dong, and finally about Tai.

"So that"s how it really happened."

"Father, you knew?"

"Those were fighter"s wounds. But the school"s spreading a different story. Probably to protect the name of their head scholar."

"So, Tai"s still there?"

"As far as I"ve heard, yes."

A smile spread across my face.

"So, I can get my revenge."

"That"s the spirit," father patted me on the back, "next term, show him what you"re made of."

Those words shocked me.

"Next term? How long have I been out?"

"Four months. Term starts again next week."

A cold sweat formed on my brow. Not only had I missed four months of cultivation, but they were a crucial four months. Next term meant one important thing. Hunting season.

I was unprepared and weak. And of all the scholars, I was the biggest target.

Next week, the hunt would begin. The hunt for my head.