3 What Remains In The Beginning

(Third Person POV)

-Court Of The Jade Emperor-

Similarly to most major pantheons across the planet, the gods of China have their own gathering place, referred to as the Court of the Jade Emperor, and see Yu Huang, the immortal emperor who rose to immortality under his previous master Yuanshi Tianzu, sitting upon his throne as the God Of Thunder Leigong walks into the throne room. The boisterous God gave a small bow to the emperor, which he accepted.

Let it be known that the gods of China are much more divided than normal pantheons, as most are tied to their own shrines and temples rather than a singular place. The court only exists as a neutral ground rather than a home base. So, as he walked up to the ruler, he said, "It seems the Spear Of Longinus has found a new wielder." This news causes Tianzu to sigh as he says, "If so, what did you make of the new wielder?"

The God Of Thunder then said with a smile, "It seems that he has just begun his journey, so he is rather weak, but he was able to defeat five of my weakest lightning warriors using water of all things! Truly a worthy show!" The emperor made a small nod at this as he asked, "Regardless of his martial prowess and planning, what did you make of his being? Specifically, was he a chaotic being?" 

The God Of Thunder simply placed a finger on his chin in a thinking posture as he said, "Well, he was certainly wary, which is a good thing, and upon trying to read his mind, his life was rather bleak, to say the least. It seems he had unlocked the Spear just today as he was being kidnapped and sold to those hired by those devils. He ended up killing them all, which makes sense other than that he does not seem like a bitter boy."

The Jade Emperor then asks, "Well, with the world we live in, such actions are unavoidable, but did he seem vengeful or angry." The God then answers, "Angry? Yes, he was, but more towards the surprise of the whole thing. I felt no anger as I left and more relief, but what surprised me was that he felt terrified, but that terror was soon forced down a true heroic showing."

This comment did bring the emperor some peace as he asked, "Do you know of his current location? We may bring him to our side." The God Of Thunder simply said, "I do not know of his current location as I was only able to find him due to pure luck and the energy the Spear was putting off due to its awakening, but now it seems to be hiding his energy signature. I do apologize, as I did promise to leave him be if he survived."

The Jade Emperor, understanding the importance of a God's word, nodded as he said, "While it is a loss regardless, it may put in his mind that we are not a malevolent pantheon that does not go against our word like those Greeks and Romans, so, either way, we did learn a few things, I do hope he remains as you have described."

The two then nodded to each other as the God Of Thunder left, but before leaving, he said to the Jade Emperor, "Do let me know if the boy returns for the rematch if I do not find him myself, I feel a great change approaching the thunder speaks of things rising old things." He then disappears with a flash of lightning as the Jade Emperor meditates on this revelation, as the return of the Spear always brings great change.

Wars have been won and lost when that Spear appears upon the world, with some Gods forever being felt by its light and its truth. There are many who will seek to hunt that child down simply for existing, and while he does pity for the child, such as the fate of those that inherit the spirit of heroes. The fact that the Spear Now lies within the inheritor of the great general does bring some pride in the fact that the Spear has found a worthy wielder in someone from his country.

In regards to the boy's location, he has been able to keep an eye on him due to his wisdom, allowing him to know whatever occurs within the country of China. Still, when he leaves, he will lose sight of the boy, and while the Spear is masking his presence and his words, he does feel the boy's spirit burning brightly.

Releasing his sight, the emperor gave a silent wish for an uncertain future.

(Cao Cao POV)

(What are you trying to do?) My Spear asks as I focus on waving my fingers in a circular motion, to which I respond, "I am trying to open a gate to one of the places you mentioned." The Spear seems to have questions asked (But how? As normal human magic requires intense calculations and time to do work?)

"Well, it would if I did not have a bypass." Upon saying this, I focus my LP on a new skill, MCU Sorcery, and since it has been over six hours, I have 43,200 LP to use after using my massage skill to fix the soreness from sleeping in an alleyway all night. I began to try to open a portal as they do in the MCU, and after using 30,000 LP to get a D-rank MCU Sorcery skill, I have been trying to open a portal to see the distance I can cover.

One would need a sling ring to open portals, but with Archmage and Blank, I should be able to bypass it. So after an hour of swinging my arm in a circular motion with intense focus, sparks form, opening a portal to a field outside the house I had in China as my family used to visit our grandparents before all of this. Was this an impulsive move? Yes, but I wanted to see if it was still there.

So, after going through it, I closed the portal immediately, and now, on the outskirts of China, I see nothing. There was no house nor any village, and all I could do was stare into the distance as a single tear fell from my left eye. From this, my fears were confirmed. 

Either my family does not exist, or they have never met. Soon, my Spear, sensing my sadness, asks (I'm sorry for what is making you despair so much. But what was here or supposed to be here?) Rubbing the tears away, I say shakily, "Nothing, at least nothing or now. I am sorry, but I cannot tell you just yet." I feel the Spear nod in agreement as it says (Regardless, we are here for you if you ever desire to tell us.)

Nodding in thanks, I ask, "You keep saying we, but am I talking to a single person or a collective consciousness?" The Spear understanding my need for a distraction answers (Well, it is the latter with one person allowed to speak at a time. While this Spear does hold the dying will of God, it is merely his truth, and once you are able to access the space, we can all greet you, and unlike those heavenly dragons, this sacred gear is not corrupted due to its innate holy nature.)

Another thing to think of as I then ask, "Is the one who stabbed Jesus Christ within the spear?" The Spear then answers again ( Yes, he is, but he has not spoken for a long time as the last person he spoke to was the first wielder of this sacred gear. It is nice, though, that this is not purely a boys' club. There are a decent number of females here with us.)

"Oh boy, that is going to suck growing up," I say while chuckling, as I am not going to be able to relieve myself in the future if there are people watching. I am not into that, after all. 

I could feel the laughter from the Spear as another voice answered (While that is humorous, we cannot actually see what you are doing unless you allow us to. But hey, don't feel bad. It is a natural part of growing up, or it will be. Also, why do you even know about that ?)

'Well, when one lives in a village with nothing to do, you read some things and learn other things from certain people." The answer does convince them somewhat, to which I ask, "Do you all wish to be free as I would not want to be stuck in a spear for eternity?" 

I could feel the voices become more solemn as they say ( While that is kind of you, most of us would not like where we would go, so most would want to remain here. Also, some simply wish to remain here as a way to subvert mortality as even if they physically die, they get to live through the next wielder.)

That actually makes a lot of sense, to which, after nodding, I try focusing again on my old home in Washington back in the USA, and as the spell worked after a couple of minutes, I hopped through and saw nothing but endless nature. My old house used to be outside of Tacoma, and while the house is there, it seems more run down, which does cause me some slight anger, but I force it down and walk over to it.

Opening the door, I saw the place covered in dust and dirt and, after looking around, decided to use my LP on cleaning magic, which only cost 2,000 LP. After buying it, I put my hand on the wall and focused my magic across the property. I saw the grime and dirt, as well as rust, simply disappear as the place returned to a clean state. 

The house wasn't much as it was a one-floor house with a basement and one full bathroom. But it was home. The house did have plumbing and power, and thus, I had to deal with that or simply move the house.

For now though, I walked over to where my old room was and saw only a mattress which I cleaned off and lay down on it and after doing so, the Spear, with a bit of curiosity (So this is our place of stay, it is interesting. I never would expect someone to feel at peace here.)

"I always did enjoy being close to Nature, and I wasn't one for being overly social, so this place just worked as the weather is okay even if it rains quite a lot, and oh lord, when it rains, it pours here." My comment causes a small feeling of mutual understanding ( Yes we understand, but some of us feel odd as they lived in palaces or castles all their lives.)

"Yeah, I heard as such from other Longinus users. But such are humans as you could be the most resplendent or the most poor. It's almost like a gacha game in a way."

(What is Gacha? We have not heard that term yet.)

"It's nothing. We shall not speak of it." I say with finality. (Whatever you say, it feels like you are hiding something.) I give no response and wonder how long I can stay here as someone will eventually come to check here. But for now, I keep a mental blueprint with my now-perfect memory of the entire house and fall asleep in an actual bed with the Spear acting as a warm presence.

After falling asleep, I found myself in a room that seemed endless, and in front of me sat hundreds of robed men and women. The two that stood in front of me removed their hoods, and I saw a bearded man and a young woman. He said, "Welcome Cao Cao to the Spear Of Longinus, and we are the previous users. I am Cato Sicarius. I have been the one speaking to you most of the time. And this by my side is Lady Celestine, a woman who fought in the Crusades so her husband, who had damaged his legs, could raise their children."

Giving them both a small bow, I ask them, "Well, I am Cao Cao, a descendant of the original Cao Cao, and I must ask if you both are going to train me to wield the spear?" The two then nod as Celestine gives me an almost scary smile as she says, "Oh yes, child, we will, and you are going to love it."

Looking at Cato, he gives me an almost sorrowful look as we are then taken to another place that looks like an endless desert, to which Celestine says, "This is where I fell in battle against an army of Fallen Angels seeking to claim the Spear, and while I killed them all they had struck me down with poison from their leader. And so I train all the wielders of the Spear to not only survive but thrive, and now you are the next. So buckle up, child, as it is time to suffer."

"Don't you mean it's time to train?" I asked hesitantly.

"I know what I said. Now take up arms, child." She then forms her own version of the Spear of Longinus, and after doing so, she nearly teleports and stabs me through the chest, to which she says, "And here there is no concept of death, so we are going to have a lot of fun." 

Feeling complete and utter pain, I then notice the wound disappearing as she says, "I know this may seem harsh, but you are going to come out of this training stronger and better. Mostly as to not follow the footsteps of other Longinus wielders as they are burdened with suffering and death while those that wield the Spear are burdened with destiny."

Standing back up, I summon the Spear, and we begin to train, thus becoming one of many training sessions. And while I would never admit it, the fact that they are willing to train me, unlike Ddraig, brings me great joy as well as great pain as she stabs me through the face.