Chapter 5: Lucian the Father

Cultivator [kuhl-tuh-vey-ter]. Noun.

An individual who engages in martial or mystical practices with the intention of enhancing their physical prowess and extending their lifespan. These individuals possess the ability to absorb lithum and transmute it into an energy source known as Lith. This energy enables them to transcend the physical and mental boundaries of ordinary humans.

That is the basic definition of what a Cultivator is from a dictionary — but of course, what the words fail to actually tell is that there was one more important aspect to them.

They terrify normal humans. Not actively, of course, but it does happen commonly. Passively, however, whenever Cultivators emit their lith, normal humans could feel it.

The air they breathe turns heavy, they would feel nauseous, their pores would open. These are all usually the symptoms that one was in the presence of a Cultivator…

…And Lucian was experiencing all of them.

Lucian met Foreman Yang around 3 years ago now, and he had always been unusually friendly to him. Of course, Lucian did not truly let him get that close, but if there was one person Lucian would actually trust, it was Foreman Yang.

He had shown him nothing but kindness all these years. But now, now that he was staring at Foreman Yang as he stood by the door, the air around him, distorting into a different color — a translucent green. 

"Lucian, I thought we were friends… I trusted you."

"Mr. Yang, you were a Cultivator?" Lucian, even more so now, covered Maeve from Foreman Yang's view, even fully knowing that he had already seen her.

"D… daddy?" Maeve whispered weakly, "Is… is he your friend? Why—kh…gkh…"

"Maeve!" Lucian was careful not to turn his back to Foreman Yang as he scanned the monitors, only to see Maeve's vitals become unstable — and there really was only one reason why,

"Mr. Yang. Please, let us talk outside."

The lith that was being emitted by Foreman Yang was making Maeve's condition worse.

"Please, Mr. Yang — I will tell you everything and—"

"So, this is why you are working so hard."

Before Lucian could finish his words, however, he quickly looked to the side and grabbed Foreman Yang's wrist, who was suddenly right beside him even though he had just previously been standing by the door just a second ago.

Foreman Yang seemed to want to hold Maeve, but Lucian used all of his meek strength to stop him from approaching any further.

"Mr. Yang," Lucian whispered; the sound of Maeve's monitors beeping loudly, causing his mind to overclock, "Please, you are hurting my daughter by being here."

"A daughter," Mr. Yang then slapped and pushed Lucian's hand away, and the only thing Lucian could do was be thrown away; rolling on the ground and almost hitting Maeve's monitors.

"Mr. Yang!" Lucian used all of his strength again to stand up and rushed toward Yang, but before he could reach him, the lith surrounding Yang disappeared as he smiled.

"You should have just told me, Lucian," Yang then let out a long and very deep sigh as he grabbed Lucian by the shoulders, "I could have helped you, I'm your friend."

"Mr. Yang?" Lucian then watched as Yang just shook his head and proceeded to walk to the door. Relief, slowly washing away his worries.

"I can't believe you were suffering like this," Yang sighed again as he shook his head, "The Rot is a disease that not only hurts those who suffer from it, but also the people around them. If only you told me, Lucian. I mean, what the fuck, Lucian."

"I am sorry," Lucian breathed out, "But I thought it best not to tell anyone."

"Well, you should have," Yang then let out a small chuckle, "Then I could have helped you and just killed them earlier."

"...Mr. Yang?" Lucian then watched as Yang held the door and gestured to Lucian to get out.

"You don't need to be here while I do this," Yang seemed incredibly saddened; the tone of his voice slightly stuttering,

"No father should ever witness their child's death."

"No," Lucian did not hesitate to respond as he once again moved closer to his daughter, "Mr. Yang, please… I would appreciate it if you leave."

"Lucian…" Yang groaned in frustration as he slammed the door closed, "...You are my favorite mud person, please don't make me kill you too."

Yang truly seemed incredibly disappointed at Lucian, even waving his hands as he looked at him; desperate.

"I've seen you, Lucian!" Yang gritted his teeth, "You are better than the rest of these pigs. You don't think I don't notice? You're smarter, your reflexes are faster, you are more than them. That is why I treated you like a friend even though you're dirt! You are the best toy amongst those stupid bunch! I was planning to mold you!"

Lucian stared at Yang as he started to scream in frustration. The tone of Yang's voice, his cadence, the veins appearing on the side of his neck, and the slight sweat trailing on his forehead — Lucian noticed all of this.

And it wasn't a sign of any good.

"Mr. Yang—"

"If I knew this is what was making you more miserable, why you can't reach your potential," Yang closed his eyes and sighed, "I would have gotten rid of it. These Rotten infects those around them. Step out of the way, Lucian."

"No," Lucian completely held his ground.

"Why can't you understand, Lucian?" Yang breathed out heavily, "They are a disease. Look at her, she is basically a corpse — you are making her suffer. But most importantly, you are tainting the air we breathe."

"That is not true at all, Mr. Yang."

"Move."

"No."

"Then I suppose I just have to kill you too," Yang shook his head, "A shame, it would be hard to find another one like you. Don't worry, I will make it painless."

And with those words, Yang rushed toward Lucian; his hand ready to rip him apart.

"Die."

"Kh!" Blood instantly spurted out as Yang got close to Lucian, but the blood that flowed was not Lucian's… but Yang's.

A syringe, injected through his eye.