1 All for nothing

She'd finally finished it. Her masterpiece, a sword of unmatched beauty and power under the heavens. She had put almost everything she had into this. She had traded away every treasure she owned, poured every drop of blood essence she could spare without dying, and spent every moment of the last 10 years working on this single blade.

Despite the high cost, it would all be worth it. The sword sects would practically throw their entire treasuries at her to obtain this sword. Just steal it? They wouldn't dare, her master is by far considered the greatest weapon-smith amongst the countless worlds. Any fool who tried would soon find themselves targeted by nearly every immortal sect in existence, all vying for his favor.

'I can't wait to show him...' She wrapped the sword in a cloth, unsealed her workshop, and rushed towards her master's residence.

She found her master drinking tea in his courtyard and gave a polite bow. He looked up at her and gave a fatherly smile.

"You've finally come out, I thought perhaps you had suffered an accident. Well? Were you successful?" He inquired, looking down towards the wrapped object she was holding.

"Yes, master! In fact, I've done much more than succeed!" She unveiled the sword with a flourish.

Her master's eyes widened in surprise. His hands trembled in excitement as he took the blade. He studied it from every angle, made a few testing swings and stabs. With each moment his gentle smile grew wider until he was practically smiling ear to ear.

"My disciple, you have truly gone far beyond any expectations I has, and I assure you they were quite high already!" He turned to look at her. "This sword is easily comparable to my own 'Spear of Aeons'. Even I have never made a second piece of such quality."

She was truly ecstatic with this praise. Her master was her savior and somewhat of a surrogate father figure to her. Without him, she was have died a dogs death a long time ago. So she wanted to make sure he knew it was to right choice, that his disciple was worth the effort and resources he gave her.

"How much do you think-" She paused. Looking into her master's eyes, there was no warmth, his smile had vanished. She glance down at her chest, seeing her magnum opus piercing her heart.

"You don't need to worry about that." His voice was emotionless. No, there was something there; greed, envy, the smallest trace of guilt. "I never though my little pass time would net me such gains. I'm sorry to see you go, but I need this-" He unceremoniously ripped the blade from her chest. "-in order to secure the resources necessary for my breakthrough. I'm truly thankful, I had all but given up hope. Goodbye."

As she slipped into darkness, her rage soared and she used the last vestiges of her willpower to trigger the failsafe she installed in case the sword was ever used against her.

'Eat this, you old bastard!'

The last thing she saw was the look of horror on her ex-master's face as the sword erupted with enough energy to annihilate everything within a 100 kilometer radius, focused entirely upon himself. Then she knew nothing.

...

She felt as if she were wandering around in fog, dazed and confused. Distant voices that she couldn't make sense of echoed around her.

'What is this? Aren't I dead? I was... stabbed, yes, by that bastard who called himself my master. He used my own sword, but then why do I still exist? I'm sure I included soul annihilation into the inscription...'

*CRACK*

She felt as if she was struck by lightning. Suddenly, she was aware, her mind clear. She helplessly fell face first into thick puddle of mud, rain hammering down on her back.

"SWEET MOTHER OF PEARL! Are you alright, Cherry?!"

Cherry was swiftly picked up out of the mud and held in the arms of an older woman, who looked down at her with eyes filled with concern. Cherry shook her head and looked at the woman.

"Why are you so large?" She asked, slurring her words. The worry on woman's face was replaced with a stunned expression.

"You spoke... you spoke words!" The old woman lit up with happiness, she squeezed Cherry into a tight hug. She stood up and spun around with Cherry in her arms. "You finally spoke! It's a miracle! The words are a bit strange, but they're words, WORDS! Hahahahahaha!"

"Damn it, let go of me! Why're you so strong?!" Cherry felt like she might vomit with anymore spinning.

The woman stopped and set her down. "Who the hell has been cursing around you?! Tell me which bastard you learned it from so I can beat his damned ass into the ground! I'll teach that son of a bitch a lesson he'll never forget for ruining this beautiful moment with foul language!"

Cherry finally started to get her bearings, she only just now realized she was speaking a language she hadn't known before. Memories began to wash over her mind. Apparently she had been reincarnated rather than destroyed. While her mind was lost in the fog, her body has wandered about like an idiot. The woman in front of her was her Grandmother. Cherry was her only family left in the world. It was no wonder she's so excited, as Cherry distinctly remembered the woman begging her to say something, anything at all, on multiple occasions only to receive a blank look.

Cherry's Grandmother was staring at her, worry once more creeping onto her wrinkled face. "You're the only one who curses around me, Grandma."

"Oh, whoopsie, hehe. Doesn't matter anyway, you can say whatever you want, as much as you want! Let's go inside, now. Don't want you to get sick. I'll call the doctor to come check you out to make sure you're alright. You did get struck by lightning after all."

Grandma led her inside a building that looked to be a dojo. They got cleaned up and changed into fresh, dry clothes, which happened to be some sort of training uniform. Grandma told a young man to go bring the doctor and another to prepare meals for herself and Cherry. The two settled down to eat and speak to each other properly for the first time.

Cherry asked questions about herself and the people around her. She learned that she was 5 years old and would turn 6 on the 30th of May this year. Her father was, in Grandma's words, a "no-good, rotten pirate bastard" who had crippled her Grandfather in a duel the very morning after sleeping with his daughter, her mother. Her mother had died after giving birth, which sent her Grandfather into a deep depression until his age caught up to him and he died as well.

Afterwards, Cherry asked about where they were and the world she found herself in. She was on a medium sized island in an ocean called 'West Blue'. The world was only called 'the world' and Grandma dismissed the idea of multiple worlds.

Cherry started to feel tired and Grandma insisted on carrying her to her bedroom and tucking her in. Cherry laid in silence, thoughts swirling around in her head. She though of all the work and effort she had put towards her cultivation, and how it was all wasted in a single moment by some greedy old coot. All for nothing.

'No matter. I did it once, I can do it again. But that can wait till morning.'