300: Pick Up Your Sword

Pick Up Your Sword

I drifted in utter blackness, like a fallen leaf swept up by a gale, swirling and tumbling in the wild waves of memories. Her dark thoughts engulfed me, sprawling vicious tendrils throughout the boundary of our consciousness, encroaching on my territory with menacing temptations. Anger, sorrow, loss … All the feelings that came with it suffocated me, threatening to weaken my defense.0

But I wouldn't let her succeed. Concentrating all my power on my mind, I left nothing behind, pushing back on her advances with everything I had. All I needed to do was just to resist her for a bit longer … Her memories wouldn't last forever, and as long as I could hold my ground through these visions, I'd be safe.

I promised Bai Ye that I wouldn't lose. He was still waiting for me to reawaken the full power of Twin Stars. He was still waiting for me to use it to cleanse out the last demonic power lingering in him. I couldn't afford to lose.

"You are so stubborn," I heard the sword spirit sigh. "Tsk, I was hoping to make this easier for both of us by letting you accept my control willingly. But if you are so determined to make it difficult for me, then I'll have to take what I want by force!"

With those words, the weightless space of darkness around us faded. My consciousness stopped drifting aimlessly, and with an abrupt drop, I felt myself landing somewhere hard, accompanied by a painful thump.

"Open your eyes," the sword spirit hissed in my ears. "Pick up your sword. Kill them all."

… What mad words was she saying? What new trick was she playing now? My head felt foggy. Before I could process what just happened, a different voice that I couldn't be more familiar with cut through the confusion that enveloped me. "Qing-er!"

Bai Ye?

My eyes flew open, and I realized then that I had returned to the cave. Bai Ye was kneeling in front of me, looking at me with concern written all over his face. "Are you alright?" he asked hastily. "What happened after you summoned the spell?"

I blinked, and I looked around us. I didn't see Wen Shiyin and Lin Zhe, though I didn't really have the time to worry about them at the moment. My eyes landed on the corner of the cave where the sword spirit used to be. Her body had already vanished, leaving only Twin Stars lying on the ground, and my hand was still wrapped around the sword hilt like it did a moment ago, clenching it hard.

Maybe a little too hard.

"Pick up your sword," the voice in my head repeated. "Finish off these useless humans! Our world doesn't welcome them!"

My grip tightened some more, and at the same moment, more memories flooded into the back of my mind. Scenes of people hunting me. Scenes of friends that I trusted raising their swords and aiming for my life. Scenes of me bleeding from deadly injuries, running and hiding, chased by men who once claimed they loved me.

Black hatred simmered with those memories. They are traitors … It whispered, echoing the earlier voice. Kill them … Kill them all …

"Qing-er, look at me. Talk to me."

Bai Ye's voice sliced through the scenes again, giving me a moment of clarity. No, these were not my memories. This hatred wasn't mine … and I couldn't give in to its temptation!

My eyes snapped toward him, but to my utter horror, I realized that I could barely control my grip on Twin Stars. I was still holding onto it tight. As if my hand had a will of its own, it was so close to raising the sword, so close to slashing it out in front of me.

How much was my twin sister's spell capable of? Did she bring our consciousness back into reality with the intention to take control of my body? Was she gaining more power every time those memories resonated with me, gaining more control every time my mind slipped the slightest bit?

"… Leave," I managed to say through gritted teeth. "The sword spirit is in my head … She's using a different spell to affect me with her own memories. Get away from me before it's too late …"

Bai Ye shook his head. He said something, though his words were drowned by the other voice shouting in my head. "Kill him! Did you forget all the pain he made you suffer? All the betrayal he put you through? He doesn't deserve your mercy!"

The scenes flashing through my mind changed. The unfamiliar faces faded away, replaced by the snowy peaks of a mountain top, stained by streaks of blood. A man in a white robe was standing across from me, his sword drawn. His eyes were dark, betraying no emotion as he said, "You leave me no choice."

A small part of me was vaguely aware that this was a memory of my own. The fateful day of my past life. I tried to think through it with reason, reminding myself of the true causes that led everything to the way it was, but my mind was too spent after battling the sword spirit's memory for all this time, and my consciousness started to waver. The only thing I could feel was the overwhelming sense of sadness and pain sweeping over me, screaming for vengeance.

My head hurt … to the point that I thought my skull might crack. The sword spirit didn't even have to try to force those feelings onto me anymore … Because this time, they were mine. She simply picked the perfect timing to give them back to me.

"You see it now, sister?" She laughed darkly. "I told you, people are the same everywhere. Even your own lover betrayed you … So what are you still hesitating for? Raise your sword, end it once and for all! Without all these ungrateful and heartless humans, you and I together will be able to build a new world for ourselves. A perfect world where no one dares to defy us!"

My mind was so tangled now that I could barely think anymore, or process what she was saying. But my hand moved on its own, raising the sword. Inch by inch, I saw Twin Stars starting to lift off the ground, and with the last bit of my consciousness still fighting back, I shouted at Bai Ye, "Leave! Now! Set up a seal around this cave and don't let anyone in!"

Maybe it would help if I was left on my own. Without anyone next to me, the sword spirit would have one less thing to lure me with, and it might buy me some more time to clear up my head …

The sight in front of me started to blend in with the scenes from my memories. But through a vague shadow, I saw Bai Ye move closer to me. He shook his head again, and he placed his hand on mine, clasping his fingers around my grip over Twin Stars.

"I told you I'm not leaving your side, Qing-er. No matter what happens." His voice was soft, but it rose above the loud cacophony inside my head all the same. "You are not fighting this battle alone. I said I believe in you, and I mean it. I'll be right here, waiting for you to come back to me."

With those words, he leaned in and pressed his lips against mine.

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