Sworded Affair

Chapter 164: We Need To Talk

Well, that’s a lot to unpack in so few words, Emma thought to herself, grateful that her helmet kept any and all facial expressions hidden.

“You know the sect is gone?,” Emma asked instead. “None of the other disciples have shown awareness that anything was out of the ordinary. I had to bribe one earlier to pass a checkpoint, and I doubt a ghost has much use for coins.”

“Gatekeeper Zang,” The Sectmaster scowled mightily at the name. “A good talent with a strong Earth affinity, ideal for the use of defensive techniques. A rare gift in our sect, where most disciples prefer the sky. He could have been great, if not for his sloth and greed. Always on the hunt, that one, for the best cuts of meat and the least strenuous postings. Such wasted potential.”

Sectmaster Horizon waved his hand, banishing their remaining desks and chairs to parts unknown. No longer bothering to put up the facade of a stern teacher, he sank to his knees on the floor, his shoulders hunched inward, betraying a sense of profound exhaustion. Emma walked over slowly, still watchful for a sudden attack, but the Sectmaster didn’t move at all during her approach, keeping his vigil until she sat opposite him, preferring a more modern posture with her legs crossed. What remained of the auditorium turned to dust, leaving only the small stage they both occupied.

“Tell me, did you ever have children?” Sectmaster Horizon eventually asked, after a few awkward moments of silence.

“No.” Of all the questions Emma had expected from the man, this was not one of them. “I’m still a bit young for that.”

“Good!” He laughed, loud, uproarious, and undeniably bitter. “You’ll be lucky never to have them. I was cursed with a long life, during which I fathered five sons, and all but one proved themselves imbeciles of the highest order. Heaven clearly has a foul sense of humour, because of course, the one good man among them died first.”

Edith? Emma prodded her ancestor, hoping for some guidance as the monologue continued.

“The eldest, convinced all of Heaven and earth were his birthright. Why he thought trying to bribe an Imperial Auditor would earn him anything but death, even I cannot say. My second son, too brave and reckless by half. There is a time and place for acts of valour: charging a Nascent Soul cultivator alone while still in Foundation Establishment? Madness, pure and simple. My third son, I had such great hopes for. Wise, strong and noble, always eager to take on more duties to relieve my burdens. Killed by a sudden, overwhelming demonic incursion, as best as the investigation that followed could determine. I still have my doubts as to that conclusion, even now.”

[Best not to say anything, dear. Reviving old grievances, at the last, would only be pointlessly cruel.]

“The fourth, always quick to anger. Dead on what should have been a day of triumph, after his highest ever placement at the Three Gorges Tournament, over a few paltry insults and a few barrels of wine. Finally, the youngest of them all, one who appreciated the female form far too much. The marriage candidates I arranged at great expense from neighbouring sects weren’t good enough for the brat. Oh no, he wanted his wife to be exotic. He took our money, our resources and our spies, all to start poking around in the West, and in the end, his antics brought our entire sect to ruin.”

The Sectmaster’s eyes drifted upward, no longer looking at Emma, but over her shoulder into a distant past only he could see.

“I should have stopped him, when the first reports of his misadventures reached me, for the good of the sect. But I was too soft, too indulgent. He was my last living child, and I didn’t want to stand in the way of his happiness, and then it was too late for all of us.”

“My condolences?” Emma managed, still unsure what to make of all this. “I have little experience with leadership myself, but my Dad always said it’s a heavy burden to bear.”

“The heaviest,” Sectmaster Horizon sighed, his voice a touch quieter now, and his body a little more translucent. “You’re not wrong, when you said I alone can remember. Where my disciples were erased entirely, your ancestor left enough of me that I could continue to observe the world. Never to interact, but enough to observe. A final curse, or a final mercy, who can tell? Whatever the motives behind my current state, it has given me the chance to watch as time took away everything I ever knew: my domain, my friends and my foes. All of them, dead and gone, just as I will be after today.”

The Sectmaster’s eyes refocused on Emma now, what remained of his will bearing down upon her.

“You are not suitable for the path of the Azure Horizon. That does not mean, however, that there is nothing for me to teach you. Truly, I was always happiest as a humble instructor, passing on my knowledge to my junior brothers and sisters at the Martial Pavilion. Before I became an Elder, let alone Sectmaster. Before management, politics, and family ground me down. ”

[WARNING: This Dungeon is unstable, and will collapse if unbeaten in 13 hours.]

“The original intent in leaving me here was as a final opponent for you to overcome. In those first few centuries after my death, I would have played my part. But there’s no anger left in me, not after so long, so instead, let this be my final lesson.”

Sectmaster Horizon rose to his feet, as the small, semi circular stage expanded, becoming a ring in truth.

“I have watched your progress through the remains of my sect. You have strength and divine arts in abundance, but your movements are those of a self-taught combatant. In this next hour, we will do our utmost to correct this flaw. No weapons, no qi. Now stand up, student, and bow.”