Vera lay on a soft bed. A bed softer than any that he had ever lain on. Slowly but surely his consciousness was getting back to him.
Morning light seeped in through the window; a shimmering stray of light struck Vera's eyes.
"Ummm..."
As soon as he'd made a noise, multiple steps pattered on the stone floor to wake him.
"Vera?" a chorus of voices calling out his name.
In all his slumbering he couldn't tell who was calling to him.
"Master?..."
"Vera, wake up."
"Master, give me five more minutes. I'll come to the training hall on my own."
"Vera, wake up. It's me, Ken."
"Ken? Who's that?"
As the two 'conversed', a heavier set of steps approached the bed. Its large hands picking Vera up.
"Little one, wake up. You've been sleeping for quite some time."
"Master?... When did you get so big?"
"Open your eyes, little one."
As the morning light shifted from Vera's eyes, he finally willed himself into opening his eyes.
"Master?..."
"When did you become so furry? Can you go through puberty at this age?"
"Your master would cry if you mistook him for me."
"Huh?..."
As the haze of sleep cleared from Vera's eyes, he was able to see his 'master's' lustrous red and white coat.
"Who are you? You aren't my master."
"..."
"Are you kidnapping me?"
"..."
"I'll have you know I'm a martial artist. You should send me back home for your own good."
"Ken... Can you handle the little one?"
"Yes, my lord."
The mountain lord set Vera back on the bed. Ken followed to the bedside to wake Vera up.
His almost 'golden' yellow teeth glistened as he smiled at Vera.
"Who is holding a lantern to my eyes? Can't you see I'm sleeping?"
"Vera, it's me, Ken."
"Ken?..."
"Ken!"
Slowly Vera's haze came to a halt. The bright yellow from Ken's teeth roused his slumber.
"Ken! The Rakshasa! It's coming!"
"Vera, calm down."
"No, Ken, you panic. You need to get away before that thing finds you."
"Vera, it's alright."
"No, it's not. I can't handle him in my current condition..."
"My current condition..."
"The Rakshasa has been dealt with."
Memories of the battle soon came to mind. With some pacification, Ken was able to explain the entire aftermath.
"So... the mountain god handled the rest?"
"Yes."
"Yeah, I handled it. I'm pretty cool, right?"
"Ken... What is that ape doing in the village?"
"Vera... that is the mountain god."
"Ohh..."
The mountain god's torso-sized face was planted by Vera's bedside.
"Hello, good sir. I failed to recognise your regal status due to my ailments. If you could forgive this one time."
"Ken, Renta has brought an interesting one to the village this time."
"Hahaha. You should see him at dinner. He's a riot after a cup of wine."
"Hahaha."
"Well, little one, I'll forgive your insults as many times as you want. After all, you saved my people."
Despite the mountain god's towering physique and touted 'warlike nature', he seemed to be a very agreeable person.
After some more chatting, Ken soon left the room to inform the family of Vera's awakening. Leaving only Vera and the mountain god in the room.
"Sir mountain god."
"Yes?"
"You seem a bit different from the legends about you."
"You mean the legends of the Zhuyan, challenger?"
"..."
"You knew?"
"Well, it's not often that strong humans come to the continent. As well as have the scent of the Bixie on them."
"And you still saved me?"
"Well, it's not like I could slap the benefactor of my village in the face."
"..."
"And I'm not really the Zhuyan anymore."
"Pardon?"
"Well, after the little brat came down again, I was informed the precursor had taken root."
"Little brat?"
"I'm sure you know him. He told me about you on his way back."
At that moment Vera's bones chilled. Memories of his encounter with him came to mind. While the answer was clear, he trembled in fear as he spoke.
"...Vast Heaven?..." A cold sweat ran down Vera's palms as he uttered the name.
"Vast Heaven's my ass. The kid couldn't wipe his own arse when I first met him. That old coot Dao Tian brought him along."
"Dao Tian. The ascender?..." A minor heart attack ran down Vera's heart when he spoke the name.
"Yes, the one and only."
"I need a minute."
"Sure."
After Vera's palpitations calmed down. He tried wrapping the scale of what he'd heard around his head and gave up.
"Could you tell me more about Vast Heavens?"
"I'd like to, but the brat made me promise not to."
"?"
"He said, 'If he wants to find out more about me, tell him to come up and meet me.'"
"He also said you could wait here for another 500 years to meet him. But he would kill you after talking."
"Ahh... Sounds like something he would say." A light tremor shook Vera's arms.
"It looks like he really did you in, huh?"
"Yeah..."
Soon topics shifted. Vera was curious as to what the precursor meant.
"I'm not a guardian anymore, per se, as the root of the divine sage has appeared in me."
"Then what happens to the ascension path?"
"Same as usual. The challenger just won't fight me. Rather, they would have to earn my recognition."
"How would one earn your recognition?"
"Are you really asking me that?"
"Did I pry too much?"
"No. You've already earned my recognition."
"Huh... How?"
"You fought an army of Yakshas, while injured, without any qi. That ugly Rakshasa was also mortally wounded after your strike."
"I injured the Rakshasa?"
"His regeneration ability doesn't just run on thin air. I'm sure he acted like nothing happened. But from what I saw, you blew his head clean off. Another one or two of those would've killed the dog."
"But the rakshasa wasn't at the level of a guardian?"
"While that is true, it was something infinitely close to the level. If the precursor hadn't taken root in me, and he'd had some more time, the outcome could've been vastly different."
The notion of an evolved beast near the level of a guardian perplexed Vera.
"On that note, let's talk about what is going on with you, Vera."
"What do you mean?"
"You took on that damned technique, didn't you?"
"You mean the Inverted Heavens?"
"The one and only."
"I did..."
"The issue is that technique has a different effect on all its users. And you, my friend, probably have the worst of the lot."
Vera sat silently. While he was still unsure about the mechanic, he had a rough guess as to what it was.
"You seem to grow stronger the closer you come to death. The issue with this is that you only grow stronger, not sturdier."
"It goes to the level of your own strength, destroying your body, which only accelerates your condition."
"We had to douse you in anaesthetics, just so that you didn't tense your muscles in your sleep."
"Then, how am I able to move right now?"
"Even I'm not sure. If I were to guess, you don't retain all the growth from a battle."
"As good as it sounds, you need to be careful. The damage this time was mitigated; even so, you've been sleeping for almost three months now."
The room stilled. Shimmering dust frozen in place.
Vera's eyes grew wide.
"Did you just say I've been sleeping for three months?"
"Yes, Vera. And as far as I can tell, you still haven't healed completely."
Memories of the past few days came to mind.
The dragging of his steps, the overreaching in his stance, the unexpected speed and strength.
It was all laid out in front of him, but he couldn't recognise it.
"Don't worry too much. The little brat knew this would happen. He left two items for you before he left."
"Vast Heavens knew this would happen to me?"
"The immortals like to play with the fate of mankind. Don't think too much of it, for your own good."
"What did he leave me?"
"Well, I'd tell you, but it seems like you have two very excited visitors."
"?"
Before Vera could enquire, he heard three pairs of steps approaching his room. In all the time he'd spent with them, the cadence of their steps was unmistakable to him.
The room's mahogany door opened slowly. From which two surprisingly meek chimps walked through.
Having walked through the door, Linda and Renta stood silently across from Vera's bed. Expressions that wanted to say something but were held back by guilt. An expression Vera was all too familiar with.
"Vera..." Linda spoke, her tone low and sombre.
Renta continued to stare at the floor, his stubby fingers clenched.
A smile broke open on Vera's face.
"Hi guys, what's for dinner tonight?"
Tears dripped. Squeals resounded through the room. Their expressions mirrored that of the morning sun.
Today, Vera found a new reason to grow stronger.