Infinite Realm: Monsters & Legends - Chapter 377: Selia

Chapter 377: Selia

Lesson

Long ago, the first thing that Selia had believed in was that the purpose of a life was to grow powerful. It was a childish understanding, born out of watching those around her, seeing how they always sought to increase their power. She believed that there was no line that a person shouldn’t cross in order to achieve what they wanted.

That belief wasn’t long lived. She was fortunate, she had demonstrated enough talent that she was noticed. Her life changed on the day she caught the eye of the Sect Head of Zenshuen Sect. Quickly she learned a lesson that most of those that sought power didn’t understand. Seeking power for power’s sake was not enough. It could only help you climb so far. You needed more.

Seeing her adoptive grandfather lead the Sect, made her love him more than she thought possible. He was the father figure that she had never really had. Someone beyond powerful, but kind and caring, so unlike her birth family. From him, she learned to want power in order to protect the sect that had offered her so much.

She learned, she grew, she found love. And then she knew loss. When Terland died, Selia didn’t mourn just his death, she mourned herself, her failure. She had let Terland convince himself that he wasn’t enough for them, that if he wanted to stand next to Erdania and her, he needed to be just as powerful. That he needed to get that power on his own. And that led to him getting himself killed.

It was her failure. Her belief changed then, focused more on those who were close to her. The desire to protect her loved ones was born from that loss. She narrowed her focus, not wanting to feel that pain again. In doing so, she had… neglected her duty toward her Sect. And perhaps in part contributed to its fall.

In the years since she had grown closer to Ryun she had discovered a new belief. One in herself. That she could be strong enough to do what she wanted, and still keep what was important to her.

It felt only natural then, at the end of the war, for her to pursue more power. To trigger her own immortality and seek the guidance of an ancient and powerful soul. Oh, she remembered that time when she arrived in the afterlife vividly. The scape that boggled the mind, that was beyond beautiful.

The towering peaks surrounded by white clouds, the peace in the land so rich with life that it made her soul relax in ways that she didn’t know were possible. Each peak was a domain in itself, each different from another. Each peak, a home to a single soul. It was a reflection of the soul that called it home. Some were taller, grander than others, to reflect the deeds of their owners. Some were gentle slopes, while others filled with cliffs. Selia remembered stepping through that gate, and seeing them all, stretching into infinity, mountains without end.

The sight of it had taken her breath away. And then she was moved, the land passing by as she was deposited in front of the mountain that was her destination. It stood in stark contrast to all others. Where others seemed so breathtaking, filled with life and color and beauty. The one that she arrived in front of was… dark. Black stone, long since scorched by fire, was the core of the mountain, a jutting shard that seemed to defy the heavens themselves. So unimaginably tall that it was impossible to see the tip from the bottom. It was no thing of beauty, it was covered in ash and soot, with massive waterfalls filled with water so dark green that it was almost black.

She saw no sign of the one she had come to meet, so she climbed the treacherous mountain. A climb that had taken what felt like years. The effort that had drained her both spiritually and physically.

How long had it been since she reached the top? She truly didn’t know. The time since she had arrived on top had been filled with nothing but suffering. So much so that she had nearly gone mad. If it weren’t for the link inside her mind, if she couldn’t feel Ryun there as a soothing presence, she would’ve faltered long ago.

She sat on the cold ash covered ground, her eyes closed, and legs crossed in a meditative pose, her tail curled around her. The biting cold assaulted her naked body, the chill that could and would kill. The only thing keeping her alive was her own power, her fire and blood. She didn’t know for how long she had stood there, how long she had held on, simply surviving.

“You are trembling, little one,” a voice came thundering all around her, shaking her bones. Just hearing it made her blood heat up, made it easier to keep the cold away. It illustrated the connection that the being had with her. Her blood, her power, it was all his.

“I am simply doing as you’ve asked,” Selia answered through clenched teeth. She opened her eyes and saw the gigantic shape of Laqruud towering over her, obscuring the sky. So large was he that his body was wrapped around the mountain. Selia had actually climbed over it on her way up, not even realizing that she was climbing over his scales. His head was draconic, and so large that she could walk into his nostril with her back straight. His scales as black as night, and dark green eyes that seemed like they were burning from the inside.

He was majestic in all the sense of that word. A being from a different age.

Laqruud sighed, and a gale assaulted her, the endless chill penetrated through her skin and froze the air inside her lungs. For a few moments she struggled, the pain wanting to make her scream, yet her lungs were frozen still.

She moved her Qi and focused on her blood, thanking all creation that she had her powers in the afterlife. Her body slowly heated up, and her lungs expanded again.

“Slow, little one,” Laqruud said. “Why do you still struggle. You must know that you are not worthy of my blood. You are not of my kind, nor are you the one to whom the gift of my line was meant for.”

Selia gritted her teeth. “I’ll make it my own then,” she told him. “And I am not leaving here until I get what I came for. I’ve done all that you’ve asked.”

She had spent so long in this place, and Laqruud had taught her nothing. Well, not directly, at least. She wasn’t sure if he meant to teach her, but his rebuttals did force her to increase the mastery of her Qi.

“Aye, you have endured the cold, and you have learned to muster some paltry part of your blood. But not enough. You still don’t understand.”

“I will in time,” Selia said.

Laqruud shook his head. “You do not understand what my power is, little one. You will not get anything until you gain understanding.”

“Teach me then!” She screamed into the wind.

“Can a mountain teach the wind how to stand still?”Laqruud asked every word making the world tremble. “Only you can teach yourself. I am of flame and blood; my line has endured through the end of the universe itself. It was a grand legacy; you are but the whimper at the end of it.”

“It doesn’t need to be,” Selia whispered. “I can pass it on, it can endure.”

Laqruud rumbled in his throat, making the mountain shake. “For what purpose? My line has endured for longer than my universe was alive. For countless years after my death. My line has ensured that the lindwrum people will endure. What is it to me that it endures in such a pathetic state as it is in you? I do not know this Infinite Realm of yours. My universe came and went, as ages always do. The time of Flame and Blood can end with the memory of glory. Why should I let you have it when you do not even understand the sacrifice that comes with it?”

Selia grimaced. She didn’t have an answer. What could she offer a being such as Laqruud. He had earned his place in the afterlife, earned this grim mountain that endured. It was no thing of beauty, but… it was here.

“Tell me how to then,” Selia felt like she was reaching the limits of what she could endure. But failure would mean death, as real as it could be in this place. It would mean never returning to the Real Realm and life, staying in the afterlife for all time.

“All lindwrum are born out of the blood of their parents, we know them and their lives. We take what they offer and use it to grow beyond. You who are born without wit, cannot understand.”

“Then help me understand,” Selia pleaded with him.

Laqruud turned his head so that his giant eye could fix on her. “Help… I do not know how to help you in this, little one. You are not my kin, yet your blood sings to me, as faint as it is. I cannot teach you, not until you understand the nature of the blood that burns, the why of it. And that is a thing that all lindwrum of my line know intuitively. If you want to learn, that step is one that you need to find on your own.”

“Why?” Selia asked.

“Because I value the blood of all those that came after me, and if you are not worthy enough, then I will not pollute the memory of our line and have it continue through you.”

Selia grimaced and closed her eyes again. She didn’t understand, and that was their impasse. She had tried to give him what he wanted, but every time she came short. She had thought that perhaps his power was meant for conquest, seeing as how massive he was, how his mountain towered over countless others around them. But with every answer that she gave, the lindwrum grew more and more disappointed.

Selia couldn’t fail here, even if it took her a lifetime, she would figure it out. She had people to return to.