Path of the Berserker

“Do you really think it was him?”

Kelsey sat within the darkness of her own mind as Venja asked her the question.

She still wasn’t sure herself.

But she couldn’t deny what she’d sensed.

Or what she’d heard.

“It sounded just like Max,” she said. “Felt like Max.”

The towering woman shrugged her shoulders. “You seem as convinced as anything as far as I can tell. Whatever happened it was certainly real to you.”

“Yeah, I know,” Kelsey said. “But is it possible? Did the real Big Sis ever do anything like this before? Sense other Berserker from millions of miles away?”

“The real Big Sis?” Venja said with mock offense. “How insulting!”

Venja chuckled. “You and Max both think I’ve been alive for ages like Threja, but I’ve only just come to be. And believe it or not, I am my own person. The real Big Sis is still the real Big Sis and I’m still me. I’m not a replica.”

“Okay, okay…sorry,” Kelsey said. “But what do you think? Really?”

“I think if you sensed it, you sensed it,” Venja said. “But I have no idea of how any of it may be possible. But it all happened within the spiritual realm so who knows?”

Kelsey sighed. “Yeah, I guess so. But aside from that, what about the demon, did you see it too?”

“Only from what you described,” Venja said. “I knew it was more powerful than anything I’d sensed before and now this explains why. It’s more than just an awakened demon, it’s a corrupted human soul reborn.”

“And that’s bad right?”

Venja shrugged. “Honestly, I have no idea. But it sounds pretty bad.”

Kelsey sighed. “I wish I had some way to put all this into perspective.”

“Didn’t you say you recognized the name?”

“Yeah… Hong Fang. He was nephew of Lo Fang, an enemy of Fia’s Family. Max killed him and took over his sect.”

“I see.”

“Either way this I’Xong’Zhang or whatever it calls itself now is hell bent on revenge. It wants to destroy the whole city. I’m not sure if it can even break through the barrier, but I’ve never encountered a demon like this before. One that can think and express emotions. Like a real person.”

“Is that what you consider it? A person now?”

Kelsey blushed, knowing Venja could sense her inner thoughts.

“Indeed, I can sense them,” Venja said. “But you need not be ashamed, Kelsey. Taking a sentient life is cause for moral contemplation. Where would your humanity be without it?”

“I guess.” She sighed again. “Maybe it’s the thought that this thing might be able to outsmart me too. It’s not some dumb mindless monster like the other demons I’ve fought.”

Venja laughed. “Please, you are much smarter than Max and he seems to make out just fine.”

Kelsey grinned. “Yeah, but Max has the power of the Chun on his side.”

Venja laughed again.

There was no getting around it. The [Odds Against Her] had just increased.

And preparing herself to face this demon would take time.

“One thing is for sure,” Kelsey said. “I’m in no shape to kill this I’Xong’Zhang or whatever it calls itself. I need to up my game big time. And if it knows kung fu as well, I need to really start fighting more cultivators to hone my skills.”

Venja nodded. “So, what is your plan then?”

Kelsey thought for a moment.

“First, I need to get back to the city. Check on things there. Defend the sect. Make sure Lee is okay. Then I need to find out if there’s ever been anything strong enough to breach the barrier before. Lee said they prepare for it, but I’ve never actually seen it happen. Not yet. But I get the feeling this thing might be able to do it at some point.”

“Best to be prepared then,” Venja said. “What else?”

“I need to find out if what I sensed was real or not.”

“You mean Max?”

“Yes,” Kelsey said. “It’s time I wrote my blockhead big brother a letter.”

* * *

I followed Chief Yora back to the academy.

Crossing the assemble yard we made for the library and after producing a set of elaborate keys, she let us inside. With a wave of her hand, she illuminated the Qi lighting within the building and then led the way upstairs to the top floor.

“This area is permittable to you now as a Black Robe,” Yora said as she unlocked one of the roped off areas at the back of the top floor. “But I will grant you access to something even greater.”

My curiosity piqued at that.

As we walked through the dusty bookshelves, I couldn’t help but glimpse at how many ancient tomes I saw. Untold manuals, histories of the campaigns against the Hell Worlds, new techniques possibly. I wanted to sit down and soak it all up immediately, but Yora had us walking past them and towards the back swiftly.

We finally reached a locked cabinet filled with several more tomes bound in black leather. Upon opening the cabinet, she withdrew one of the tomes and set it upon one of the reading tables.

“Sit,” she said, and I did so immediately.

I reached to open the book and she stopped me.

“Wait,” she said. “Prepare yourself…for what you may see.”

I nodded, still not knowing what to expect.

I decided to channel my Frenzy and engaged my [Soul Shield] technique just in case.

When I opened the book the first thing I saw was a giant illustration of a creature that looked like a disembodied brain with spider-like legs. Immediately my [Soul Shield] technique flared, protecting my Flame from the sudden insight into the cosmic unknown.

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Below it was some script.

Mind Reaper (D’Mjulthu)

These dog-sized monstrosities are common upon the Hell Worlds of Vathulas and Elferum. While weak physically, they can exude massive auras of Demonic Qi that can immediately disrupt one’s core. Often found accompanying larger hordes for protection, even one can easily turn the tide of a battle if not quickly dispatched. If discovered, they must the addressed with the utmost priority.

-Imperial Marshall Wi Chu Lou

“Wow,” I said. “You have hunter’s manuals for the hell worlds?”

Yora chuckled. “We do not refer to them as such but yes, it is a manual of sorts. A compendium of the various demons encountered on the Hell Worlds. Unfortunately, not many have the mental fortitude to even recall their encounters if they survive. And if they do, it is normally clouded and obscure. Only a select few have the ability to behold so plainly what would drive others mad. That picture included.”

I looked up at her. “Seeing this picture would drive people mad? Just the picture?”

“For mortals, most certainly.”

“Damn…”

But then something else occurred to me. “Back on my world, we had things called comic books and movies. Fiction. They had monsters that looked sorta like this all the time.”

“Fiction…” Yora said contemplatively. “Perhaps it might have aided in your development of a resistance. But fiction and reality are not the same. The universe is connected in multifaceted ways. To see this, at some primal root of one’s being, we understand it to be truth and not fiction. And the terror of that unspeakable truth is often enough to drive one mad.”

I could certainly attest to experiencing that myself.

Like when my Flame acknowledged something new.

It didn’t even feel like new discovery sometimes, but almost like remembering something forgotten. I looked back to the brain spider thing on the page.

“Guess our shield of ignorance was too strong to break through being Terrans.”

Yora chuckled. “Perhaps. Prepare yourself now…”

Before I could even acknowledge her warning, Yora began leafing through the manual. My [Soul Shield] Flared again as I saw creatures I recalled from the horde just outside the academy. I saw others I did not recognize as well, alien looking things nearly impossible to describe, horrifying and mystifying at the same time. It was almost enough to make me look away, but I forced myself to endure.

To behold the unseen.

“How good are you at illustrating?” Yora asked as she finally turned to a blank page.

I shrugged. “I can do a mean stick figure.”

She twisted her lips into a frown. “It is a skill you will need to acquire then. I will arrange lesson for you with Master Eiji. He is quite skilled with the brush.”

I was starting to put two and two together now.

“So you want me to paint pictures of monsters?”

“Yes,” Yora said. “Of what you have seen. We have precious little information of the nature of our enemy. This tome comprises much of it.” She turned back to the first monster and then tapped on the name. “This also. The common name is what we have dubbed them, but the second name is its true name. It’s demonic name.”

I looked at the name again, D’Mjulthu, and tried to pronounce it. “Duh Meh Jul Thu?”

Yora flinched. “You must have gotten it exactly right. You just caused my skin to prickle.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” she said. “You may possess a rarer talent than you think. Have you ever heard anything while you were cultivating the Bloodmoon back on your home world? Whispers? Voices?”

I’d heard a lot of shit, but I couldn’t tell her that. “Sometimes maybe?”

She tapped the on the name signed at the bottom of the inscriptions. “The man who inscribed this was a legionnaire of great skill and talent. An Imperial Marshall. He was able to make sense of the demonic noises the demons made and was able to decipher the true names of some of them. To hold one’s true name is to give great power. His insights have helped us many times over the years.”

I could certainly understand demon speak, especially when I was in demon form.

“Imperial Marshall Wi Chu Lou,” I read his name aloud. “What happened to him?”

“He was lost on his fourth tour over a hundred years ago. We have not met a talent like his since. Until you perhaps.”

My insides suddenly froze. “Me?”

“That Awakened Spirit Beast spoke to you. That’s not common. You may have an affinity for these sorts of things. It was said that Wi Chu Lou possessed the same talent.”

Damn, I was getting damn close to being outed, but it didn’t seem like she was on a witch hunt. It made me look a bit closer at the name on the page.

Could this Wi Chu Lou have been a Berserker as well?

I huffed out a laugh. “Perhaps I’m his reincarnation.”

Yora grinned at that. “Let’s hope so. The president would be well pleased to have such a resource. You could fill this tome with new insights. Speaking of which, did you notice any that you saw tonight that are missing from this book?”

“I’ll have to check,” I said. I didn’t recall seeing anything that resembled those flying squids, or that amoeba thing with teeth. “Maybe…”

“You’ll have ample time to check later,” Yora said closing the book. “I will allow you strict access to this cabinet. You will come here to study further to build you mental fortitude and also to add to the compendium when your artistic talent is honed.”

“Can I start right now?” I asked.

“No,” she said, handing me the key. “For now, get some rest. You will join the upperclassmen in the morning as a new tier. You are already a half step from advancing to become a full-fledged legionnaire. You need only further hone your Bloodmoon resistance. You’ll still need to be able to survive an hour or more to do any good on those planets.”

I was rocked back on my heels.

I’d just gotten a huge boost in my advancement.

“Thank you, Chief Instructor,” I said, rising to give her a bow. “This is a great privilege and honor. I will not waste it.”

“I’m more concerned about us wasting you,” she said with a smile and a subtle hint of lemonade. “Which brings me to one final thing you shall need to master before I grant you the title of legionnaire.”

I raised a brow at that.

“You have proven both your skill and strength as a fighter, but on the Hell Worlds being permanently bound to the ground is a distinct disadvantage. I’m not certain what fighting path you follow, but you must expand your training to include some form of aerial maneuvering.”

“Aerial maneuvering?” I said. “You mean like flying?”

Yora chortled. “If that is what you choose. Come.”

She led me to another section of the library and selected three books.

“These are all manuals of various forms of techniques that will grant you air superiority in battle. From free flight, which most choose, but requires great reserves of Qi.” She pointed to one of the books. “Then there is this one on utilizing the flying sword or flying weapon techniques and finally this last one which is less popular but is very efficient—air walking. Choose any you feel you may be able to master.”

My eyes widened as I looked at the books.

For a brief moment I had a flashback to being within Hong Fang’s den and looking in that chest containing martial training manuals, wondering how the hell I was going to afford any of them. Now, here I was, having my pick of top tier techniques and all of it for free.

Chun, you’ve come a long way my boy, I thought to myself.

The Struggler and Demon agreed.

“Don’t forget to see Master Eiji about the art lesson,” Yora said pushing to books towards me. “In truth, that may prove the most valuable talent you can provide as a legionnaire yet.”

* * *

I ascended the staired within Du Gok Bhong in a state a semi-shock and awe. I couldn’t believe how the night had eventually turned out. I’d gone from thinking of myself as the chief suspect to the chosen one.

I still had things I wanted to discover, like the voices within the crystal and my connection to Kelsey, but now I could explore them far more freely.

I only had to worry about I’xol’ukz opening another gate on my behalf perhaps.

Hopefully I could control that somehow too.

But in the meantime, I had a ton of new stuff I had to learn.

Not least of which was learning how to draw.

Who’d have thought my Berserker path would lead me to becoming an artist?

I was just about to head down the hallway towards my room when a figure emerged from the darkened corridor ahead of me. I tensed immediately, squinting to see if it was perhaps Blue Rose, being so small. But the long hair didn’t match nor did the male voice that came with it.

“Out late I see,” Jei Su Long said. “I wonder doing what?”

My apprehension turned instantly to irritation.

“What the hell do you want?” I said stepping forward. “Another ass kicking?”

“I see you trying to curry favor with the Chief Instructor,” Jei Su Long said. “But whatever you’re up to, it won’t work.”

“Pal, you have no idea what I’m up to,” I said pushing past him to get to my room. “And if you want a rematch just let me know. Until then, I don’t have much to say to you.”

“I’m still your upperclassman,” Jei Su Long said, stepping in my path again. “You will show me respect!”

“Go check Yora on that one, chief,” I said with [Indifference]. “I’ll be joining your class tomorrow and likely surpassing you soon after.”

“What?”

I laughed as his insides filled with anger.

“You’re not the only one blessed with special privilege,” I said. “The only difference, is that I’m earning mine.”

I slammed my door in his face and ignored the yells and curses that came after.

I had no time to waste on an upstart like him.

I pulled out the three training manuals instead and set my mind to loftier goals.

Which style should I choose? I wondered.

Flying around like superman sounded cool, but it didn’t seem very Berserker like. Neither did flying on my Phalanx Glaive like a giant surfboard. That left air walking. But what the hell even was that?

I didn’t know what to pick just yet.

Not until I studied them all.

But one thing was for certain.

No way was I going to learn how to soar with the eagles if I kept entertaining jive turkeys like Jei Su Long.