4.9 Variable

The red moon had reached it's Seams and crimson red was spread all over. On the ground too, the red blood shone under the moonlight. Shu XinYi had just slashed open a bear like beast that should've been gleaming in blue. But as soon as Shu XinYi had slashed through it's heart, the beast started to deteriorate at a fast pace. All his skin and feathers turned to black ash. The only thing remaining on the ground was a pile of ash and a gleaming blue pearl. Shu XinYi picked up the blue pearl from the ground without any hesitation and continued to walk forward.

Hector was really surprised but he still caught up with Shu XinYi's pace. Hector tried to keep his questions to himself, but he couldn't "The previous 2 beasts deliberately attacked us, and you only scared them away with pure fire. This hunter didn't even come in our way and wanted to let us pass, but you still treated him like that. Why?"

Shu XinYi stopped in his tracks and turned around showing the gleaming blue pearl in his hands saying "I have been searching for this pearl for the past 54 hours. Only that specific kind of beast, found in the north, could give me one. I need it to bring 2 of my friends back to health."

Seeing the surprised look on Hector's face still not settle, Shu XinYi tilted his head and asked "Is it perhaps unethical of me to do this?" Shu XinYi hummed looking at the surrounding area and continued "It probably is unethical. Let's just blame it on survival mode and priorities. Let's go or if you are still too moral to understand me then, I'll tell you this. There is a trap ahead that, that beast had set for us. That's why he let us pass, to savor us while we can't even defend ourselves." Shu XinYi didn't explain any further and just walked forward.

After several steps, there really was a trap lying in wait that would puncture their guts and render them useless. Shu XinYi didn't explain how he knew that there was a trap ahead. It was just intuition. A very strong one. Shu XinYi undid the traps and continued his journey. Hector had calmed down so Shu XinYi didn't explain any further.

Hector did believe himself to be a morally ethical person, but he didn't understand how Sceptor knew this fact. Moreover, Sceptor took his time to explain the situation and justify. If Sceptor wanted to purge half this planet, he could do so easily. But he choose his targets specifically. Those who attacked him, those who he wanted revenge on, and those who he had a reason to kill. Other wise he would just continue his journey to reach his destination.

Hector had to walk faster to catch up to Sceptor. He let the matter of the dead beast be. As Sceptor had said "Let's blame it on survival mode."

This blue pearl wasn't the only thing Shu XinYi would need to help Mira and Ariya. The list of things he had provided them with had all the necessary items he needed to make a certain healing medicine.

For Xuval though, Shu XinYi didn't need anything extra. Shu XinYi looked at the red moon at it's seams and thought that it was a good time to make dinner for Xiao B. He didn't want Hector to know of Xiao B's presence, atleast not yet. So he said to him "Go distract yourself for 2 hours and meet me by the cave ahead, later."

When Hector heard this, he instantly understood that he was being told off. "Um.. I can't really protect myself right now. I know I said I won't be in your care, but you still have use for me right? I would be dead meat in 2 hours if you leave." Hector reluctantly stated this fact.

"Thud!" Shu XinYi dropped a blade on the ground covered with leaves, muffling the metal clang. Shu XinYi said "I don't carry dead weight. If I find you alive atleast after 2 hours, then you can accompany me. I can accomplish my goals without you as well." Saying this Shu XinYi walked away into the blooded, dark forest. Vanishing from Hector's sight.

Shu XinYi found a high tree and swiftly claimed it. He allowed Xiao B to come out and asked after some thought "Is it okay if I try to merge both fires? Technically it should be impossible no? One is Pure fire while the other is Hell fire, also known as Unholy fire."

Xiao B didn't say yes or no, he just floated in the air "Looking" at Shu XinYi in anticipation, as if saying "We won't know until we try."

Shu XinYi didn't do it for now. He petted Xiao B as he asked Snow "Is Luxin able to use both the fires through his moon form? Or like the Black moon form, he can't use the red moon properly?"

Snow spoke to both Xiao B and Shu XinYi "Master, the protagonist can make unholy fire, but he is not able to make the high grade Unholy fire. His Red moon form is weak, compared to his Golden moon form. But since he is a protagonist, he can't have any setbacks without equally rewarding breakthroughs. So he is able to amplify his power by 40% during the white moon. Meanwhile the original Sceptor could only do 10%."

Shu XinYi didn't ask how much he could amplify his power in the white moon, after he had taken over Sceptor. Instead he contemplated out loud "Then he hasn't tried to merge Pure fire and Unholy fire. I got a very strong instinct just now that I should make him merge those two fires."

Snow evaluated "If you have that gut feeling, then it probably means something bad would happen to Luxin if he tries to merge his two fires. I trust your Instincts, master. But this would also means that, you shouldn't try to do it either or you may face similar consequ-" Snow had to stop mid sentence because just now Shu XinYi had birthed Pure Purple flame in one hand and Pure Red flame in the other.

Then without any warning he merged them together. Shu XinYi was expecting a boom! but it didn't happen. Tch, way to ruin the fun, Shu XinYi thought. He looked down to see the two flames, one Unholy and one Holy, merging with each other. Like they truly accepted each other. Together as one. The small flames of 2 colors and several shades had now became a Pure Magenta flame, that would look invisible if not for the red moon reflecting on it. It was a deadly weapon. The flame was also very small, only the size of a small pebble.

Shu XinYi felt a sudden force in his brain, it was difficult to describe. It was like the world itself was rejecting him. Shu XinYi didn't get time to think before he burned out the flames. Shu XinYi sat up on the trunk he was relaxing on. He spoke to Snow privately "Snow, What the f*ck just happened. Speak to me only."

Snow replied obediently "Master, The flame you just made.... is not supposed to exist in this world. It can't become. Like on earth, one just can't regrow a limb without medical care. It is an impossible occurrence. The data of the world disrupted as soon as you achieved this. It clashed with it's ratio of non probability. Making you a variabl-"

Shu XinYi tried to maintain his calm as he said "Talk English please."

Snow paused then tried to explain in a better way "You did something that CANNOT happen. Every world has a code in which the story of every Npc and the protagonist is laid out. There are things that one can do and achieve in the world, according to what the code has allowed. The code of this world does not allow, Pure fire and Unholy fire to be properly merged. Not with any being, not in a thousand years, not after a thousand occurrences. But since you are not a part of the code of this world, then the laws of this world would bend for you, somewhere between the lines."

Listening to the last sentence, Shu XinYi looked at Xiao B. He didn't say or think anything, but he got a premonition. Shu XinYi focused on the matter at hand saying "So because I did something, the code of this world doesn't allow, so I became a.. variable. Just now, if I didn't burn out that fire, would I have been evicted from the world?"

Snow didn't think before saying "Yes, Master. But now the consciousness of the world has labeled your feat as a bug. A glitch."

Shu XinYi dramatically said after hearing the last word, "It's all just a simulation. The reality is but a farce."

Snow obviously didn't understand, as it said "We don't exactly know that."

Shu XinYi sighed in human.

Well it's good that he burned out the fire when he did. Next time he should be careful with these things. Shu XinYi made 2 simple evaluations after this incident ;

1. The flame he created could only be made, if the amount and level of Pure fire and the amount and level of Unholy fire, are exactly the same. Whilst being merged. If there is even an inch of a difference between these two polar opposites merging. The merging would then become a collision or something even worse.

2. Xiao B.. No. That unidentifiable being. He should be a being different than normal humans like me. More accurately, he may still be human but just not the human of the same reality I belong to. That unidentifiable being is not a part of the codes of these worlds. Unlike me. I am still under the control of the worlds, like I still am a Cannon fodder, as the worlds' consciousness wants me to be. But I can bend the rules of an individual world, that I enter through broken barriers. Like this one and the previous 3.

Similarly, that unidentifiable being must be from a different reality or atleast a different set of worlds. Like fifa. The feild is a reality of multiple worlds, having multiple levels. Each player represents a world and there are millions of players on the feild. Shu XinYi can enter any world like he can control any player.

That unidentifiable being though, does not belong in this feild. He does not belong to any world. He does not belong here, that's why the codes of the worlds don't apply to him. Like he can freely follow Shu XinYi without a system. He can take the role of whoever he wants except when there is a solo protagonist. Which means that... he comes from a different feild. A different reality. We are not alike. Shu XinYi thought. But we can't be more alike.

Shu XinYi didn't make this speculation to doubt that unidentifiable being, but to understand him better. IF his speculation is correct, then the questions still remain. How did he enter this new feild? Why did he come here? Where did he come from?

No one could answer these questions, not even that unidentifiable being, since the codes of the worlds does not allow that information to be revealed. Like the code of this world does not allow Pure flame and Unholy fire to merge. That must also be the reason why Leo, from the second world, didn't speak the truth about the worlds or himself, even when he had the chance to.

Shu XinYi jumped off the tree. Xiao B couldn't hear any of the conversations from before and was bit disappointed when Shu XinYi burned out that flame. He had never seen a phenomenon like that in the 700 years of his life. Xiao B was a Qilin, the Qilins can make and absorb pure fire. But Xiao B was no normal Qilin, he was the son of the the two ancient beasts. He also had pheonix blood in him. So he could technically make both pure fire and Unholy fire together. But for some reason he never merged them together. It was like, before this moment, he couldn't even think of merging them together.

Shu XinYi wanted to call himself a genius for knowing what must be going on in Xiao B's brain. So he said "Oye, You are not allowed to merge them together. I will leave you if you do that. Be good."

Xiao B faced away from Shu XinYi but still stayed by his side. Shu XinYi didn't even have room for doubt that this might not be his amnesiac husband. Only he could be this petty, yet this loyal. Shu XinYi petted him saying "Good boy. Hehe you do look like my pet. I kinda wanna see you in your pheonix form."

Xiao B was secretly excited but his Xuval self would never admit this. If this man said that he shouldn't try to merge them, then he wouldn't. Xiao B didn't have any arguments. The man rarely tells Xiao B to do stuff except for orders like "Come eat" or "Rest now" So it must be serious when the man did it now.

Shu XinYi walked back to find the cave he mentioned to Hector. Along the way he sensed that something felt weird. There were no beasts. None at all. Not even voices. The tree Shu XinYi was on just now was 5 km away from the cave. Normally Shu XinYi would have been welcomed by 2 to 3 beasts, so this unwelcoming environment was not very pleasing.

"Uh.. This is?" Shu XinYi questioned Snow as he finally reached the cave opening. Snow didn't get a chance to answer as Shu XinYi had already gotten it.

Inside the cave a very.. very bloodied Hector was sitting ever so peacefully on a rock. If not for the faint breathing, Shu XinYi would have thought that this Buddha had ascended. Hector looked so calm, like he wasn't the one showered in blood.

Shu XinYi opened "What is happening?"

Hector looked at him in a questioning way and said "Wasn't it you?"

Shu XinYi just stared back with a confused gaze.

Hector explained, "I was being attacked by 3 beasts not far from here. They were closing in on me. I thought I was done for and even closed my eyes sending a prayer. But something happened. I thought it was you. From the north, where you had walked to, came a strange power. To me it felt like power that was enhancing my forms. But the beasts in front of me started screeching like crazy and exploded. Hence this." Hector said pointing to his condition.

He continued "What's weird though is that, they just vanished. No. More like vaporized. Even the blood from the ground vaporized after they exploded. The blood on me though didn't. The power had only lasted 5 seconds and all this also happened in 5 seconds. It really wasn't you?" Hector questioned Shu XinYi.

Shu XinYi thought back to the little pebble like flame in his hands and said "Uhh... Noo.. Definitely not me."

Shu XinYi then sat down to meditate for a while. After that he took out some meat and started to cook it. He also gave an uncooked piece of meat to Hector, and allowed him to cook on the fire he made.

Speaking of fire, No wonder that fire was not allowed by the world's code to exist. If it did, there would be pure chaos. Shu XinYi understood now why there were no beasts on the way here. Because I vaporized them with something that shouldn't exist.

Although, Hector could obviously tell that the man was lying, he didn't question anything. That power was unlike anything he ever felt. Something that shouldn't exist.

Meanwhile, very far north. Deep beneath the northern peak covered in Snow, a being awakened. "This is impossible! I have to to get out. Please!. Let me out. LET ME OUT." The being wailed, and the voices echoed through the whole tunnel system. Outside though, the mountain peak was as calm as ever.