298: 6.58 Spirit Of The Sword

6.58 Spirit Of The Sword

The five of them soon emerged from the barrier and in an instant, Jillian could feel every shift in the air.  1

For starters, the temperature abruptly dropped below the freezing point and a thick layer of snow covered the ground, thicker than Jillian had remembered to the point where it almost reached the middle of his calves. The area around the slum was an utter mess, roofs collapsing, doors broken down by the storm and people were huddled in front of their houses as the patrolling soldiers distributed warm food and medicine. Jillian let out a sigh of relief that his people could still make themselves work even without him.

Second, darkness was looming above them even though the sun was supposed to be high in the sky. It was different from the darkness he had sensed from Lu Yizhou's power. This one was… malicious. Its rotten stench was so overwhelming that Jillian couldn't help wrinkling his nose. "What smell is this?"

"Misfortunes." Cyrus said beside him. He was covering the bottom half of his face with his long sleeve, looking as if he was going to vomit anytime soon. "Misfortunes will strike the country soon. It's surprising that you can smell it, General. I thought it was only us, mythical beasts with superb instinct, that are able to detect the sign from the sky. This is also how we knew that the God of Plague was coming last time." He offered an apologizing grimace toward Izher who merely responded with a scoff.

"Hear that?" Jillian couldn't help poking him. "You stink like trash."

Izher bared his sharp teeth at him. "Do you want to die?"

Didn't he have more creative threatening remarks other than that one? Honestly, Jillian was getting bored. He was ready to retort when Luan came out of a building whilst tugging Jillian's horse behind him. 

Jillian's eyes lit up as he rushed forward to meet the black stallion, caressing its inky mane and soothing its anxious neighs with soft murmurs. "Alright, good boy. I'm sorry for leaving you behind." 

He then moved to reach for his sword that was bound to the saddle. As soon as Jillian's hand closed around the hilt, a powerful throb resounded through his entire body and small whirlwind rose around his feet. 

Ba-thump… ba-thump… it was like he had grown a second heartbeat on his palm— no, it was his sword. His sword was pulsing rhythmically and it resonated with his own thundering heartbeat. A surge of emotions flooded his chest and it was like a gate burst open somewhere within him. This familiar presence… the memory was tugging on the back of his mind, caged inside a rattling box. Jillian knew this presence somewhere but… where? Had his sword changed along with his ascension?

Tentatively, he tried to unsheathe it. A deep blue flare blindsided him for a moment and he squeezed his eyes by reflex. Somewhere behind him, he heard a shocked gasp that sounded awfully like Izher — but could anything even faze that deity? — before he opened his eyes to look at his sword.

It had changed, yet somehow it was still the sword he knew; the one that had been wielded by his great-grandfather, his grandfather, and his father before it was inherited to him. Jillian had sharpened the blade countless times, had traced his fingers along the Duke's insignia to the point where he could picture the chipped corners and unerasable cuts on it even with his eyes closed. 

Something had been added to his sword, he noticed in an instant. A mark. He brought it closer to his eyes to find that the mark resembled… snowflakes? Not only that, he tried to tilt his sword a bit and the pitch black blade caught on light, illuminating a pale layer of blue that seemed to encase it whole.

"What has happened—" He turned to ask but all words promptly died on his throat when he saw black tears streaming down Izher's face. Jillian almost choked on his tongue. "W—What's wrong?!"

"That…" Izher's eyes trailed to the sword on his hand and he sounded so hesitant that Jillian felt a bit unhinged. Izher had never been hesitant before, not in his knowledge. "Can I… touch it?"

Confused, Jillian placed it on his hands. What could have made him look so shaken? Turning to Lu Yizhou, Jillian hoped for an answer but instead he saw Lu Yizhou's eyes were also trained on the sword, surprise evident in the silver orbs. Seriously, could somebody tell him what was going on?! 

"This… is different in appearance but there's no way I could have mistaken it." Izher ran his fingers through the blade, longing and sorrow bled through his voice so deep that it sent jolts of shock through Jillian's body. "Lu Yizhou," he handed the sword to Lu Yizhou. "This is your Hexue… right?" 

He… what?

"Mn." Lu Yizhou took hold of the sword and Jillian's eyes flew wide when golden lines started to appear on the blade. He could feel the thrum of energy inside the sword even more clearly now, as if it was a sentient being that was excited to see the deity. "I have given it to you. So it's yours now." 

The sword was then handed to Jillian again, and somehow, Jillian could hear the zing of happiness and excitement within. It awfully reminded him of an overeager three-years-old child.  He almost dropped it out of shock. It couldn't be… has his sword regained spiritual consciousness? 

This wasn't unheard of. Jillian recalled he had read something similar in the old textbooks in his library, amassed by generations of Lacrosa's head family. A sword that could fight alongside its wielder, rumored to be the spirit that had protected Lacrosa's Generals in the battlefield. Jillian had thought it sounded silly, but then he hadn't known the existence of Gods in his life before. 

"This sword used to be… yours?" Jillian furrowed his brows. "Then how…"

"It's a long story." Lu Yizhou said and before Jillian could react, guided his finger to the sharp edge of the blade and pressed down a bit until blood seeped out of the tiny wound. 

Jillian had no idea whether he should be more surprised with the fact that the wound closed up immediately under his eyes, or the fact that his sword started to burn. Its temperature was rising higher and higher, scalding. Jillian almost dropped it if not for Lu Yizhou encasing his broad palm over his own and sending tendrils of dark blue energy that tempered the overexcited sword down. 

It sizzled, emitting bluish smoke before settling down, seemingly like a satisfied child whose tummy was already filled. "With this blood contract, it has officially become yours, Jillian."

Jillian couldn't quite describe what he was feeling as he tried to swing his sword. It felt lighter, almost as if it was an extension of his own limb. Somehow, he could also reach out to poke it and received a lazy swat in response. Jillian finally understood now. The familiar presence was Lu Yizhou. Lu Yizhou's essence had been entangled with the sword, mixing with its own energy. Jillian gripped it tighter as warmth spread through his chest. It was like having Lu Yizhou close to him at all times. 

"Thank you," he said genuinely. "I will take care of it."

"No." Lu Yizhou huffed out a laugh. "It will take care of you."

The sword emitted another faint hum of energy as if agreeing with Lu Yizhou's sentence.

Izher stepped forward, having calmed down from his emotional burst, to pat the sword on its hilt. The smile on his face was wistful. "Good for you, huh? You have finally found your way back to us." 

Jillian frowned and blurted out without thinking, "Are you okay? You look…sad."

"Ah? No, I'm happy." Izher laughed wetly. "Last time we met, it was broken into half and I couldn't sense its presence anymore. I'm truly glad to see it again. You have to protect him, do you hear me?" He whispered conspiratorially to the sword. "He's just a weak, puny human until recently."

"Hey!" Jillian fumed.

There was no time left to tussle with each other as darkness suddenly descended above them. Jillian raised his head and his eyes narrowed sharply as a piercing, inhuman shriek reverberated through the air. The foul stench was thickening and Jillian resisted the urge to gag. Ernoul was coming, he thought somberly as he sheathed his sword. Without any further ado, Jillian strapped it to his back and mounted his horse. "I will be back," he said.

"Be safe." Lu Yizhou gazed up at him softly.

"Don't get yourself killed so soon."

Jillian rolled his eyes at Izher's sentence and gave him a mocking smile when Lu Yizhou hushed him admonishingly. "Don't worry. I will be back before you know it." 

Cyrus and Luan morphed into two wisps of light and fluttered to his side. "We will accompany you along the way, General," they said.

Jillian nodded in thanks. Giving Lu Yizhou one last smile, he commanded his horse to march forward.

"Come on." Izher said as Lu Yizhou couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from Jillian's back. "We won't let anything happen to him, Lu Yizhou. Maybe… this is the tribulation he needs to go through for his ascension."

"You're right." Lu Yizhou let out a sigh and offered his hand toward Izher. "Let's go."

Together, they flew toward the direction of where Jillian was going. Inside his mind though, Lu Yizhou demanded, confused. [You have said before that nothing can be brought out of the world. But how can Hexue get here? Not to mention, it has gained a spiritual consciousness.]

[666: T—This… 666 also has no idea at all, Host! This is so weird! There's no way your sword will be able to traverse through the simulators. Unless…]

[Unless what?]

[666: Unless… someone brought it here?] 666 guessed tentatively. 

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Mini theater

When confused, one shall go to the system forum.

[Help! There are so many weird things happening around 666's Host! For starters, there are two villains in this world. TWO! Oh my Admin God, that's so terrifying! Not to mention that Host's sword from the fourth simulator has appeared once again! Can somebody tell 666 what the hell is going on here?!]

[Is 666 causing problems again?]

[Eeeeh, two villains?! That's so weird! Do you think we should notify Admin God about this? This is getting more and more serious, you know.]

[Shut it. Do you know what I have heard? 666's Host is the only one whose willmeter hasn't even reached 50% after going through five simulators. Who knows? Admin God might be getting a bit creative to teach him a lesson.]

[Speaking about weirdness, did you guys receive warning notifications a few days ago?]

[Right, right! I was so shocked that I almost restarted on the spot. But it was only for a split second though. Do you think it's just the maintenance?]

[I don't know… why do I feel like something ominous is brewing in the air?]

[Eh? Where's 666? Why is it suddenly gone?]

666 put on a notice board saying that it would be in seclusion for an indefinite amount of time. Then it huddled in the corner and questioned its very existence. It was very exciting to be a spy for Host but… 666 was scared QAQ would 666 be beheaded if Admin God found out?

Oh my Admin God, someone please tell 666 what to do!!! 

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