22 XXII
"How can a mortal resemble so many Gods?" Li Suo inquired, shaking her head, as she tried to recall what had happened. "... Have they all fallen?"
"The Primordial Era ended over nine hundred thousand years ago. Now all that remains of such beings are spirits that pass on their inheritances to mortals." Jasmine explained. "As for how it ended… the devil race unleashed the Myriad Tribulations upon being pushed to the brink of annihilation."
Cang Yue and Xia Qingyue looked around in confusion. Primordial Era, Devil Race, Myriad Tribulations… they had no clue.
"To think that our conflict would escalate to such heights… was peace truly never an option between our kinds?" Li Suo contemplated with a sigh, sitting up from her bed. "Could the fighting only stop when one or both races lay extinct?"
'She is the origin of light profound strength, after all…' Rokas thought to himself. "So…"
"Contemplating the past isn't going to change it," Jasmine stated, shaking her head. "The feud between Gods and Devils has, however, passed onto the people of the present day. It is all the same… except between mortals."
"... The children carry on their creator's ways. Nothing has changed, even after our fall." Li Suo frowned as her face turned to one of disappointment. "I… wish I had my old strength. For the current me, even standing up seems nearly impossible."
"It's alright… you don't have to burden yourself," Rokas reassured her, finding it difficult to make eye contact. 'Just when you think you have it all figured out, another beauty leaves you nervous. Man…'
"Ni Xuan…" Li Suo muttered, shaking her head right after. "Mortal… what is your name?"
Even though the word 'mortal' was generally condescending, the way Li Suo said it was more akin to a mother calling one of her own a child.
"Long Ke."
"Ke… were you the one who was so close to me?" Li Suo inquired, observing his aura.
"Well, yeah… when you appeared here, you were terribly weak so I got some resources to make you recover faster. As for what this place is… it's my inner world."
"... You have my gratitude." Li Suo nodded, slowly dropping her head back onto the pillow. "I am not used to being so… dependent. Could I rely on you to shelter me until I recover?"
"You can stay here as long as you like." Rokas shrugged his shoulders, acting like he totally wasn't into her. "You're the last Creation God, after all."
'Jie Yuan exists, of course… but I don't know that.'
"Then… I shall rest…"
[Li Suo (Empress III) Confidant Rank: 0 → 1]
Li Suo closed her eyes, seemingly falling asleep almost instantly. Rokas breathed a sigh of relief as he Clothes Beamed that mask right back on. Then… she slowly lifted her hand and removed it.
'...!!!'
'Keep it on for my sanity.'
[System: How would you like to sleep with a mask on when you're sick and whether you took it off some jackass put on another one?]
'Fair enough… I'd be pissed. You got me, I am being a little inconsiderate.' Rokas decided to just turn away. 'What's the deal with her being so frail, anyway?'
[System: I sorta just took her out of the Primordial Seal of Life and Death, did some healin n sealin stuff and wabam.]
'Wabam?'
[System: In essence, the higher your confidant rank with Li Suo, the closer she is to her true strength. The thing is…]
'Raising it high enough will be difficult?'
[System: Very much so, especially towards the end. While Li Suo may be kind to you, she is also kind to all living things. It is both her duty and nature. The good thing is that her lack of strength will ensure that she is tied to you. See, I'm not the type to scam you.]
'... Right.'
Although he had to babysit her for now, Rokas had no doubts that Li Suo would be useful in the future. She was and still is the 'Creator of Life' and the one who wrote the Miracle of Life. Her healing alone would be extremely beneficial.
He also wondered if her presence in his Inner World could possibly lead to him getting Light profound energy…
"What are you thinking about?" Cang Yue wondered, stepping in front of him.
"Nothing much…"
~
Unlike Jasmine, Li Suo was more than happy to answer every question that anyone had to ask. Xia Qingyue, of course, had the most to ask but Li Suo wasn't exactly up to date with everything. Though, she did tell quite a few tales of the Primordial Era which even Rokas was interested in.
After a while, he got more comfortable around her maskless and wasn't in a daze quite as much.
"Xi Ke… he absolutely abhorred going outside." Li Suo remarked, smiling slightly. "He preferred staying alone to the point of not even having a shrine of any sort or guards for that matter. Not that he required any. Although, just as much as he preferred his own company, he cared just as much for pursuing justice and peace between all races."
"Sounds like you sometimes." Cang Yue remarked, chuckling slightly as she glanced at Rokas.
"Everyone needs some alone time… it's a whole different vibe to just be yourself without being judged. For instance, I like to dance to music but I'd never do it in front of anyone, let alone a crowd." Rokas shrugged his shoulders.
"You like to dance? I never knew that… oh, now that you brought that up, I could host a ball after the Seven Nation Ranking Tournament to celebrate the result." Cang Yue smiled, her sky blue eyes shining with glamour. "It would be quite lively and romantic, I think…"
"... I can't dance well at all so I'd just be embarrassing myself." Rokas shook his head.
"If that's the case, then I can just teach you."
"Long Ke… you do bear some resemblance to Xi Ke, beyond just the first name." Li Suo remarked with a chuckle. "Yes, that 'neutral' face is almost identical."
"That's cool…" Rokas scratched his hair. 'Was she into him or what? Or maybe they just shared the same desire for peace and that made her see him in a better light.'
"Well, anyway, sometimes Gods would create false disputes to make him go out of hiding and 'settle' them. Then whenever he realised the truth of the matter, he'd leave with such an irritated expression. Sometimes I wonder, did nothing but the pursuit of justice move him?"
"You guys… bullied him?" Rokas raised an eyebrow.
"No, I wouldn't name it that…" Li Suo shook her head. "Sometimes he'd just spend far too long in his world. Not just ten thousand years or a hundred thousand years… he'd stay to himself for millions of years if nothing worthwhile occurred."
"What would he be doing for all that time?" Rokas wondered. 'That man had to have the sickest PC set-up with thousands of absurdly addictive and extensive games… or he had Beerus syndrome of napping forever.'
"Besides pastimes like reading books and fishing, he would practise his control over Time to the point of extreme obsession. His dedication is part of the reason why he was the strongest being during our time."
"And… how much stronger was he than anyone else?"
"Well… I can't say for certain but I think he'd have a great chance against all four of the Devil Emperors."
"All four of them?" Rokas' eyes widened. 'I mean, he did whoop three of them in lore but Jie Yuan included? Pfft, that man could've ruled the universe. Probably couldn't be asked to do all that work… I feel it.'
"And the rest of the Creation gods, if he didn't get unlucky." Li Suo added. "His unsurpassed Divine Power of Time interference simply had no parallel."
'Man… forget Ni Xuan, where that Xi Ke legacy at?'
[System: Yeah, where is it at? I wonder.]
"Did Xi Ke have any friends?" Rokas inquired, wishing to know more. Before being reborn, his favourite lore character had actually been Xi Ke… since they were quite similar. Even now, he was intrigued.
"Unless you would count his ocean of pet fish… he did not. He only had subordinates."
'This man was the real sigma goddamn. While Ni Xuan was chasing Li Suo, this man was probably smoking a blunt or reading a book and fishing.'
"Ocean of pet fish?" Rokas chuckled. "That's just a vibe."
"Vibe? You said that word once before but I can't say I've heard it from anyone else…"
"He's a little weird," Jasmine added, shrugging her shoulders.
"... I'm not. It just means to enjoy oneself and relax. Like, for instance, I like to vibe on the beach." Rokas explained.
"Oh, I see. So I like to vibe with nature and life, I suppose…" Li Suo stroked her chin in thought. "Would that be right?"
'I mean… technically?'
[System: Li Suo would 100% listen to 10 HOUR 4K DRONE FILM: Best of Nature Relaxation™ 2019 + Calming Music (Ambient AppleTV Style)]
'Yooo chill…'
"Yeah, you got it." Rokas nodded, smiling slightly.
"Seems that even I have new things to learn…" Li Suo remarked.
[Li Suo (Empress III) Confidant Rank: 1 → 2]
~
[System: You're not gonna save the Demon King?]
'His own people will save him later.' Rokas determined.
[System: You totally didn't forget, did you?]
'Allow it… man was living his life.'
[System: A reason as good as any.]
Rokas descended upon the Divine Phoenix City, seeing plenty of Profound Arks in the sky. At night, their glowing lights almost made him think he was in the future. Except for the fact that instead of flying cars, people had flying ships. It was… quite a vibe.
He looked around and saw some distinct posters.
'WANTED: The Fiendish Heavenly Demon…'
'He has distinct long silver hair and scarlet eyes with a terrifying aura overflowing with malice. Because of his devilish hand, the Sun Moon Divine Hall was corrupted with madness and struck out against the people of the Profound Sky Continent. If you have any information regarding this devil, report directly to the Divine Phoenix Sect and you will be adequately rewarded. Rest assured, the remaining Sacred Grounds will stop at nothing to avenge their fallen comrades. However, without intelligence regarding his whereabouts across the entire continent, we are none the wiser. In the end, the salvation of our Profound Sky Continent rests on you… its people.'
Rokas had never been tempted to laugh out loud so much since his rebirth.
'Will stop at nothing to avenge their fallen subordinates… what a joke! Once one Sacred Ground falters, they gang up on it and feast on the remains like some wild hyenas. Where is the camaraderie in that?'
Rokas walked away, deciding to check out the Phoenix Perching Valley once more. The place didn't have any protection except for a formation which only those with the Phoenix bloodline could enter. Naturally, having a complete inheritance, Rokas could fly straight in. This time… it wasn't so empty.
In the middle, sat a beautiful maiden with black hair and wonderful blue eyes. When they opened, Rokas realised why all her older brothers wanted to shag. Her complexion, as written, was pretty much perfect. Although… she wasn't anything that shook him to his core like Li Suo. Even Xia Qingyue and Cang Yue were more beautiful, in his opinion. Still, the reason why he came there wasn't for another love interest.
He wanted that World Ode of the Phoenix.
'What's the best way to start a convo with someone you don't know?'
[System: Wassup baby gurl… you looking real fineeee-]
'No.'
[System: Yo, gyal, buss me your snap right now or I'll shank your whole family.]
'Snapchat doesn't exist here… and that's how you get Xue'er to hate you.'
[System: We bang and make adorable Phoenix children, okay? Those are the only magic words you'll ever need.]
'And that's what I get for seeking advice from a system…'
[System: Lemme look smth up… ah, here we go. Go up to the girl you want to start a conversation with, smile, and say hello. Tell her your name and ask for hers. Keep it simple. A genuine, polite greeting beats a cheesy pick-up line any day.]
'Did you copy and paste that?'
[System: Do I look like a dating expert?]
'Clearly not.'
"Who are you, big brother? I don't remember seeing anyone like you around here." Feng Xue'er inquired with an intrigued expression and soft voice.
'She got a nice voice, no cap…'
"I'm Long Ke, a full inheritor of the Phoenix." Rokas couldn't manage a smile without forcing it… so he kept his neutral expression. He activated his Phoenix bloodline, leading to a golden mark appearing on his forehead.
"Oh.. big brother is just like me?" Feng Xue'er tilted her head with a sweet smile as she showed her golden Phoenix mark. "My name is Feng Xue'er and I'm a full inheritor too… but I thought that there was only one Phoenix in the world."
"Actually, there was a trial ground in the Blue Wind Empire which I passed." Rokas corrected. "There's a whole clan there but they kept to themselves in fear of the Divine Phoenix Sect."
[System: Awwchtuallly :fixes_glasses: :nerd:]
'Where's the shutdown button?'
[System: Ahah… there isn't one.]
'Lucky.'
"Why would they be scared of us… wouldn't we be like family? We could help each other grow as fellow inheritors of the Phoenix, I'm sure of it."
"It's not so simple…" Rokas refuted, shaking his head. "The Divine Phoenix Sect is too proud of its bloodline and wouldn't allow another group of Phoenix inheritors to exist. They believe that they are the sole owners of the legacy…"
"That's… the reason why they have to hide?" Feng Xue'er let out a saddened sigh. "That can't be true, can it?"
"It is the truth."
"Then things have to change…"
"A peak Overlord is approaching the valley," Jasmine warned him. "Nothing to be worried about for someone like you… but I thought you'd like to know."
'Wonderful.'
"Someday, I'm sure you will. You are the future of the Divine Phoenix Empire so you'll have all the power to change such things in due time." Rokas nodded, analysing his surroundings. 'Man, fuck that, I'm not dipping anywhere just because King Kong decided to pull up.'
[System: W Press, show him why they call you Lord Phoenix God back in the east.]
"Ah… Xue'er, are you ready for the Seven Nation Rank-" Feng Hengkong paused as he saw Rokas standing only a few metres away from Feng Xue'er. His eyes widened at first, before narrowing onto the brown-haired youth with fury as he unleashed his profound strength. Within moments, his hands ignited with fierce Phoenix flames which flew directly towards him.
"Step away from Xue'er at once you scoundrel!!!"
'Here we go…'
[System: Rokas thought, in Super Mario's voice.]
