Immortal Cultivator System

Jian wiped his eyes as tears kept pouring out of them. His body had felt quite weird when he woke up, he was barely able to move and his eyes were getting foggy. Not only that but he could a distinct ringing sound that kept annoying him. He couldn't contact Mara or the System so he was left all alone, in a room that ressembled.....Nothing he had ever seen.

It was clearly the room of a noble. He would've said the princess if he hadn't seen her. This room was all pink and had dolls all around it, it seemed entirely too girly for that princess. But he couldn't think of any nobles who were rich enough to afford even half of what was inside that room.

Hell he had been wiping his tears with handkerchief that was made out of the finest materials he had ever felt. It was so smooth and had an amazing smell to it...A smell he recognized for some reasons. 

It had already been close to half an hour since he woke up, and no one had come inside the room. He had tried to escape, but to no avail. The windows were closed and the three doors of the room were all locked tight. He wanted to force them open, but a shoulder tackle proved just how sturdy they were.

" I wouldn't try that if I were you." A voice all too familiar said. Jian wondered if it was normal for him to be happy to hear that voice. It may have been the first time he was happy to hear Mara.

"You're here ! Why didn't you respond ?" Jian asked as Mara rubbed the back of his neck as he sat on the bed.

" Well...I can't sleep when you aren't. At least not truly sleep, though I can do this half-sleep thing that is most useful. But you were knocked out for a long time, so I had a sweet time experiencing a good sleep for once. But I must say, this is a really bizarre situation. I went to sleep after you went into that coma state.....But I didn't even register what happened. That creepy queen took you, then everything went dark and my connection to you was severed. I even thought they were aware about me for a second, but she just drugged you so the connection couldn't be maintained due to the state of your brain." Mara explained before he relaxed in the insanely comfortable bed. 

It was one of the best bed he ever had the pleasure to sink into. Not that he experienced many beds in his life, the ground was still what he would go for, habits were hard to shake off. 

"Coma state ?" 

"You went to sleep for a really long time kiddo. Though I reckon with the time that has passed, someone should've come for you. Maybe they were waiting for you to.....Indeed that's the case. Someone is coming." Mara said before getting off the bed and moving towards the front door. 

Jian tracked him with his eyes, still unable to move freely, and frowned when he saw who entered the room. He had indeed recognized the smell on the handkerchief.

"Your highness. " He said, bowing his said whilst still cleaning his eyes. 

The Queen looked at him with what looked like morbid curiosity, as if he was some sort of dog behaving weirdly and it amused her. Although her expression quickly changed when her whole body shook with goosebumps. She started to feel cold and had to put a hand on her mouth as a feeling of nausea washed over her. 

"What...." 

She looked around but saw nothing, and she deduced this feeling was given by Jian. Which seemed to be right as he found the strengh to stand up whilst helping himself by grabbing a desk. He had looked quite defenseless, but his eyes held a frigid anger and his entire being was coated with a strange aura she couldn't quite described. He was certainly much more dangerous than he looked. But then again, as her conversations with a certain person confirmed, he was only 12 so it was natural. But a 12 year old child giving off that kind of feeling....Even she couldn't help but feel sadness for this boy, he had to have gone through things that would've left most children broken....Not that she could confirm he wasn't, but he looked like he was more angry than anything. In a way he reminded her of a younger version of her husband, a boy too angry at everything for no particular reasons. 

And yet, as his whole expression changed and he seemed to get more friendly, the feeling didn't disappear.

'How.....Truly fascinating.' The Queen said as he lifted her hand and looked at it. 

It was trembling.

But Jian could see a different scene. That hand of hers was interlocked with Mara's own. He was encompassing her with his body, standing over her and overlooking her frail form like she was his prey. In that moment, he looked much more natural than usual, for that was his true self. 

Darkness crept all around her as Mara's eyes started to get quite chaotic. They looked in random directions without being coordinated at all, one eye didn't look in the same way as the other. And his mouth, or what Jian would rather call a hellhole for the sheer amount of teeth and how sharp they were, was delivering and unholy amount of what Jian supposed was saliva.....But it looked entirely too toxic for it to be saliva. Then again Mara wasn't human. 

"So, your Highness...Could you possibly explain the situation ?" Jian asked as the Queen came back to the world of the living. She looked stunned for a second but then she grabbed Jian's cheeks and smiled at him. With how wicked that smile was, Jian wondered why he had to be surrounded by pure monsters.

"That's quite mean, boy. I am simply famished, do not consider me a monster." Mara said as Jian cursed himself. Of course he could hear his thoughts. Mara closed his mouth with great difficulty and went besides Jian. He still looked at the Queen in a weird way, but at least he wasn't standing over her with his mouth opened enough to take her head off in a single bite. 

"My, my. I would explain it here, but I fear this might be boring. Plus I happen to have the perfect person to explain this.....Unique situation. And you'll have to catch up on a lot of things. Now follow me, little Jian." She said as Jian frowned. He knew it would happen if he spent entire days inside the room of the Queen, someone was bound to look at his face and the royal family already knew about the two disciples that came with Uma. 

But nothing bad seemed to come from this revelation, so it might not be as bad as he thought it would be. Of course it would be great if only the Queen knew, but he couldn't be sure. It wouldn't really destroy him if people knew, he had nothing to protect behind that persona, if maybe his connection to the sect and the ones who came with him to that kingdom. But being shrouded in mystery would do him good. He couldn't just be an open book to his would-be enemies. 

As they walked down a long hallway, Jian marvelled at just how sparkly everything was, from the golden chandelier to many small statues that filled the hall.....If they were only statues to begin with.

Jian suppressed a shudder as one of them shifted slightly.

'Those are all soldiers. I must say, they are well trained and those armors...It triggers your fashion sense doesn't it, boy. ' Mara said as he poked one of the soldiers.

' Can't say it doesn't. They look awesome and I do like clothes. Talking about this, I should get some equipments with the next lottery rolls. Mine is a bit lackluster. That and some unique techniques or just spells. I need to widen my possibilities. ' Jian thought as he and the Queen walked in silence. 

He quite honestly looked like a bum compared to her, or maybe some shifty guy due to his small stature and the cold air that revolved around him. But she was all about finesse, classiness....All in all she was amazing and he couldn't take his eyes off her. Even her very steps carried more nobility than his entire body did. He should learn to walk like a noble, or just act like a noble. It would make his Crow persona better, a disciple who was once a slave couldn't possibly act like that, but a strange man running a newly formed order could. 

He stopped his train of thoughts as the Queen opened a set of doors while nearby servants froze when she glared at them. They had wanted to open the doors for her, but she hadn't taken to that kindly. 

Jian stepped inside the room and glared at the figure who sat at the end of a long golden table. 

She sighed when she saw that and stopped eating. She then walked towards Jian and bowed when she arrived in front of him.

"I'm sorry Jian. But I couldn't really see you while you were in that room." Uma said as Jian continued to glare at her. He was waiting for the explanation, and it came from the Queen herself as she ushered him to the table.

"We did a great job cleaning the room and erasing that smell. You did a number on my room, child. Blood and sweat everywhere, I think we even found blood under my bed, though I wonder why that is. " She explained as Jian took a sip out of the goblet she handed him. 

He winced as the strong taste of the drink registered, but he had to admit it was incredibly good. Although the pleasant moment was ruined by a distant shout and the sound of an explosion. As the entire room trembled, Jian grabbed his halberd and jumped away from the table.

Both the Queen and Uma sighed, and the latter went to one of the windows to look outside.

"Cloak or Citizen ?" The Queen asked. 

" Definitely Cloaks. Seems like your plan is going even better than I thought. At this rate, there won't be even 3 sects left in the kingdom. I disapprove the method, but I can't deny the results." Uma said. Jian found himself intrigued by all of that, especially the talk about sects disappearing. So he walked to the windows and looked outside.

But seeing such chaos, seeing the plumes of fire rising towards the sun in the distance...He had to ask.

"How long was I out ?"

"....We have 6 months until we have to move to the Li Zhang Kingdom. Does that answer the question ? "