Listen While Reading: Natural Beauty

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The concert ended, and everything finally came back to normal. The spray’s effects fully dissipated, and the restraints of the dungeon were activated. But the dungeon boss himself was already falling into pieces, and we were, at long last, being slain. He was nothing but the will of an ancient being, a man who betrayed his world and abandoned it, coming back only to use whatever was left for his own benefit.

He left behind a world full of history, myths, legacies, and beauty. Of countless golden mountains, of nine colorful heavens. Of the beauty of martial arts and of the undying heart of the Murim. The cultivators, with their different ideologies, their fights, their victories and losses, their laughter, their sorrow, everything.

The beautiful world that Fang Shuan told me about—a world so beautiful, a world so wonderful—made him both smile and cry as he recalled its endless, fantastical landscapes. And all the wonderful and terrible people he met there.

Their history, their world, their legacy… All gone, shattered into pieces, only ancient temples of sects left behind, and their dying, Martial Souls, still trying to stick to the world that was once as glorious as the nine heavens and the eternal golden sun.

“Ah… So… I lost…”

The Venerable’s Will was slowly fragmenting apart, his very essence dissipating. He was nothing but a fragment of the true perpetrator of everything, yet he carried his thoughts, mind, memories, and personality.

“I know you’re just a fragment of his Will, but I must ask you; I have to.” Fang Shuan walked to his side, his body size slowly reducing to four meters of height after the powers of the Guardian of the Balance were retrieved, though he still kept a sizable amount of that strength permanently.

“Slain by my own son…” The Venerable muttered, golden blood coming from his mouth. “I might only be his Will, but I feel like him. This is… Is this what I have sowed?”

“…” Fang Shuan sighed. “Was it all fake? Your love for me? For mother? All those times you stood with me, those moments when you taught me the Harmony of the Dao. When you taught me how to manipulate and cultivate my Ki… Those times we enjoyed tea together, below the sun, as my mother talked about the latest gossip around the Golden Sun Palace. Was it all fake? Were you never… enjoying it all? That smile, that laugh…”

“It wasn’t fake…” The Will sighed. “I enjoyed it… And I… I loved you and your mother…”

“T-Then why?!” Fang Shuan’s tears kept dripping. “Why…”

“Because I… I was weak. I escaped because I was weak, cowardly, and pathetic…” Laughed the Will. “Maybe this will be something the real me will never admit, though I am… quite a defective copy of his mind.”

“You escaped?” I asked. “How come someone as strong as you couldn’t handle the Monsters?”

“It wasn’t the monsters…” The venerable spoke, his eyes full of despair. “It was that… thing. The thing staring at me from the skies. Something only I, as the Supreme Venerable could see. I reached the Realm in which I could gaze into the Outer Universe.”

“That… thing?” Asked Baihe. “What thing?”

“An endless… Swirling… black… evil…. Chaos….” He muttered. “Its countless jaws, its countless eyes. The moment I saw that aberration, that abomination beyond the stars… I knew our world would not last. No matter what we tried, no matter how hard I could fight… I would never defeat it, and I would never defend this world…”

“So you ran away when you saw the Void Ruler?” I asked. “That’s… But even then, why not bring them with you?”

“The one that offered me… to become… a Constellation… wanted me to have no weakness… He told me to abandon everything I held dear, if I ever wanted to become powerful enough to escape beyond the limits of Causality…” Muttered the Venerable. “I’m sorry, Fang Shuan… I know it means nothing coming from a copy of his mind, but… Even as I die, I want to… not be too pathetic. I’ll swallow my pride, everything… I… I love you, my son…”

“Father…” Fang Shuan kept crying; he kneeled in front of his father, and tears made of liquid gold kept pouring from his jewel-like eyes. “I’m sorry for being a failure of a son… And for always getting in trouble with the other sects for being a cocky young master…”

“You were… surely… a pain to take care of… hohoho…” The Venerable’s Will slowly faded away.

“I love you too, dad.” The young master looked into the skies as the last pieces of the Venerable faded away, only leaving behind particles of light, slowly dissipating by the wind.

I could have tried to grab his fragments and store them as materials, but that would have been incredibly distasteful. Fang Shuan became my Soul Bound Holy Undead. I didn’t want to create a bad impression. And I think it is fine to let him have a proper farewell with his father’s Will, who kept him imprisoned here for god knows how many years.

[Congratulations! You and your Party have slain the {True Dungeon Boss}: {Golden Sun’s Venerable Divine Will (SS Rank)}!]

[You earned 7.000.000 EXP.]

[EXP has been saved until your next Rank Up.]

[A Dungeon Treasure Chest has been generated.]

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Suddenly, a huge golden treasure chest manifested right in front of everyone, where the Venerable was just seconds ago. It was beautifully decorated with golden dragon patterns and a golden sun on top of it.

“A treasure chest?” Fang Shuan wondered. “Could this be a parting gift from father? Anna, may I?”

“Aaahh…” I looked at my friends, they nodded. “Well, sure.” I shrugged.

If it’s something good, I may convince him to let me borrow it later, but for now, I want to let him have his moment. After all, he just had a very heartbreaking conversation with a piece of his father’s mind! I can’t just get cocky and tell him, “No, bro, that’s mine; get the fuck out of here, lmao” or something.

Creaaak…!

Fang Shuan opened the treasure chest, finding a single gift inside: a necklace decorated with golden coins and a single, sun-shaped emblem at the center of it. His eyes were fixated on the item, shocked, even.

“My necklace… Did he… leave this for me?” He took the necklace; it seemed that it brought back many old memories.

“Was it something he gifted to you in the past?” Kevin tried to break the ice.

“Yes…” Fang Shuan nodded silently. “It was my tenth birthday gift. A Necklace made with golden coins and the Golden Sun Sect Emblem. It was a gift that also recognized me as a Cultivator of the Sect, a true member. Usually, we awaken our Golden Cores at the age of ten, so it is when we usually get an Emblem to signify we belong to that sect.”

“I see…” I nodded. “Well, you can keep it then.”

“It brings many memories, yes. But it feels slightly bad to keep it…” He sighed. “After all, without you, I would have been unable to free myself from the state I was in before. And I would have never been able to fight against the fragment of my father’s mind. You can have this, Anna.” He offered me the necklace with his gigantic, golden hands.

“Ah… Well, if you say so, I’ll keep it and treasure it.” I smiled. I didn’t have time to check the necklace’s stats, as I stored it inside my Inventory for now.

Fang Shuan sighed as he stood up, looking into the skies. “It looks like this Dungeon will soon be destroyed. The skies are rumbling.”

“Yes, once the Dungeon Boss dies, the Dungeon disappears after a short while.” I nodded.

“We should get out of here; we got everything we wanted and… Well, we had quite a lot of battles. I never thought I would step into some family drama when coming here.” Kevin muttered. “I am still processing the existence of so many other worlds out there…”

“I suppose it is to be expected; it must be overwhelming for you people to suddenly learn all these things.” Fang Shuan nodded. “I wonder, if I should simply stay here and perish alongside the dungeon that kept me captured.”

“What? Why?!” Annabelle cried. “You shouldn’t stay behind, Fang Shuan! You’ve got a whole new life ahead of you, dummy!”

“That’s right… My stepfather was also a monster, but… I meet Anna, and then my friends. And I’ve slowly gained the will to live again.” Baihe smiled. “Come with us; there’s no point in mourning and self-loathing.”

“You have strength; your world might be long gone, but you can use that strength to help us protect ours.” I said, extending my hand towards him.

He was my Soul Bound Holy Undead, but he was also a person. I wanted to ask him what he wanted to do and perhaps give him an option. But I also wanted him to come, so naturally, I asked him sincerely.

“Anna… We’ve met as enemies just moments ago, yet you forgive me this fast? People in my world would have never dared to do such a foolish thing.” He laughed. “The people of other worlds are surely different… Very well, if you ask me so nicely like this, I simply can’t let you down.”

“Thank you, Fang Shuan.” I smiled.

“You can just call me Fang for short.” He smiled, suddenly and rather comedically tripping down on the floor.

“Ah, it’s going to take a bit to get used to this metallic body, but it sure is strong. I didn’t even feel the hit.” He spoke in such a nonchalant way that we couldn’t help but giggle a bit at that, and the atmosphere quickly lightened.

[You have gained the full loyalty and trust of [Divine Golden Emperor Holy Undead: Fang Shuan]!]

[Your Soul Bound Holy Undead shares some of his powers with you.]

[You gained +500.000 Holy Nether Essence.]

[You have accomplished the Skill Copy Conditions of Fang Shuan: Meeting his father, asking him why he did the things he did, and saying a farewell.]

[You can now copy one of Fang Shuan’s Innate Skills.]

Oh? It looks like I got some of that Holy Nether Essence back. Nice. I need one million for my Specialization’s next Rank Up, and I’m already halfway through. I’ll need to gather more later. And I’ll also check the Skill Inheritance later too. Before leaving this Dungeon, there’s something I want to do first.

“Should we get going then?” Kevin wondered. “I bet it’s super late now. I need to go back to meet my sister. We’re having dinner together as a family, with some of our guild members too! Do you remember Berth from a while ago? He finally has recovered, so we’re throwing a small celebration for his return.”

“Oh, right! The powerful Tank that’s an Incarnation of one of the Twelve Knights.” I nodded. “Yeah, I remember him. I’m glad he’s fine now! But before leaving, let me do a little thing…”

As the world around us was slowly beginning to collapse, with cracks spreading everywhere, I summoned one of the Demons I had summoned. A peculiar little imp-like demon that once served Beelzebub was specifically created to control his Demonic Castle.

[You have summoned [Jeremias, Demonic Castle Spirit, Space Shifting Jester (Sealed)] from the Purgatory!]

POOF!

“Huh? Wha… Ah.” He wondered; he had already gone through all the stages of grief and was rather accepting of his condition. “In this place, master, are we inside a dungeon?”

“Yes. Jeremias I need your help. Can you take a piece of this Dungeon and place it inside the Purgatory?” I wondered.

“Hmm… That’s complicated. The Purgatory is an unstable space full of demonic energy. Wouldn’t this fragment of a dungeon be corrupted?” He asked.

“That doesn’t matter. I think it should be possible if I give you some Cosmic Energy, right?” I smiled at him.

“Well… It should, yes. Although my powers were limited to the Demonic Castle, with the powers of the master, it is possible to expand them into a space I do not control. And this dungeon, now that it has lost its master, seems to belong to nobody.” He said this, smiling, as he analyzed our surroundings. “Yes, I think I could take roughly 30% of the Dungeon inside. The Purgatory is vast enough to fit it inside easily.”

“Good, let’s do that then.” I nodded.

“Wait, Anna, what are you doing?!” Kevin wondered. “You’re… going to take a chunk of a dungeon?!”

“I-Is that even a thing?” Baihe wondered.

“It should. This dungeon is very special, and I want to see what I can do with it. After all, its abilities to seal mana, magic, and skills somewhat remain. And it also produces Ki and enhances its regeneration on anybody inside.” I explained. “I need it.”

“I wonder if this was part of your plan all along…” Annabelle squinted her eyes. “Oh well! Show us how you do it! I’m curious now.”

“It would be amazing if you could at least take a piece of our world with you, Anna.” Fang Shuan was all for it. “You have my utmost support!”

“Then… Jeremias, let’s begin. I want most of this temple too.” I explained. “And that sun, can you bring it?”

“It is an artificial construct made using that strange energy; I think it is also the origin of its increment in regeneration on anybody inside of the dungeon. And yes, it’s possible. Very well, master. Please feed me the required cosmic energy, and I will begin.” The demon was very serviceable.

“Alright~!”

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