The golden engravings were long burnt into Vera's mind. Walls ran red from the heat of compression.
The air shimmered with a dry, baking intensity, the kind that would sear a man's lungs at first breath.
Vera's raw flesh pressed into the scorched earth; his energy warded off all the heat. His hair was thick with sweat; droplets fell to the ground at each step of his.
The void in his gut was sated.
Low thuds followed each step, its authority far exceeding that of a second-grade martial artist.
"I told you we still had a week, didn't I?" Ezra remarked, his eyes sharpened as he followed Vera's visage.
"You did... but I felt like I could go faster."
"Arrogant brat..." A quiet smirk crept onto Ezra's face.
A dry towel floated to Vera as Ezra walked away from the qi cultivation chamber.
"Dry yourself off before you come to the study room. I don't want you sweating up the sofa again."
"Yes, senior."
The patter of hooves and paws disappeared into the hallway; Vera followed the two slowly.
His brows were creased as he thought about the past two months.
In the end I didn't learn any more about that sensation...
His hand pressed against his gut as he walked. The pure qi in his body was being converted into manifested qi.
It doesn't burn as much anymore. Am I close to the boundary of humanity?
A loud voice resounded from the far end of the hallway.
"Stupid brat! If you walk so slowly, I'll finish the two-hundred-year whisky bottle on my own."
"Calm down, senior! I'm coming right now!"
A loud rip resounded through the air as Vera dashed to Ezra and Sword Dog.
After some bickering about damaging the tiles with his dash, the trio reached the study room.
Two glasses of whisky were on the table. Vera pulled out a slab of ice that Ezra had kept in a cabinet that was transfixed to the mountain's edge.
Cubes of ice clinked against the rounded bottoms of the tulip glasses as Vera tapped glasses with Ezra.
"Senior, why do we use these rounded glasses?"
"These are tulip glasses. It's used to build the liquor's aroma, a good fit for rich liquor."
Vera pulled a chair up near the fireplace.
"When should we excavate the frozen wave?" Vera asked as he swirled the whisky against the cup's rounded bottom.
"Huh?... You sure are brave for someone who passed out when he saw the Chaotic Sea for the first time."
Ezra crunched on brittle paper as he took a run at Vera.
"Ha! I have half a mind to run away before we start the excavation. It's in your best interests to start it soon."
"Like you could leave my mansion without my permission. You would find yourself stuck on a mountain for the rest of your life."
The hairs on Vera's nape stood upright.
"Please, anything but the mountain."
Quiet laughs permeated through the room; as they dimmed, only the sound of crackling firewood remained.
"Brat—Vera, rest well tonight. I'll set up the path by tonight." Ezra's eyes glistened against the chaotic flames of the fireplace.
"Hm..."
Vera's breaths slowed down. Quiet and stable undulations ran through his chest.
The two drank in silence for the rest of the night.
Sip after sip, the flames ran thin. A low ding resounded from the grandfather clock.
Vera got off his chair and walked to the corridor; Sword Dog's paws pattered against the study's carpeted floors.
As he reached the door, Vera stood still for a moment.
"Senior... I'll be alright."
Ezra took a swig of his whisky and cleared his throat.
"I know; go and sleep now."
Ezra's brows were creased; he stared at the dimming fireplace as Vera's steps drowned into the corridor.
***
Shards of frozen air rained onto frozen earth.
Waves that could swallow mountains stood frozen at the boundary.
Despite the Chaotic Sea's enormity, Vera and Ezra stared at a specific wave.
Through the frozen saltwater, a vague image of a body remained. Weak tremors engulfed Vera's fingers.
Sword Dog sat beside Vera, its warm coat pressing against his legs.
"I'll create a thin barrier that surrounds your body and forges your path. Remember, your only task is to dislodge the wave and carry it back. No matter what happens outside your task, do not react. I will take care of it." His words didn't stray from the task. Ezra's usual tone was nowhere to be seen.
"Hm. I won't react. Remove the railing." Vera's eyes only looked at the wave. His mind was voided of all other matters.
Ezra inched towards the railing. His steps halted as his horn pressed against the guardrails.
"Open it." Vera spoke; his tone ran low, devoid of the tremors that plagued him moments ago.
The space surrounding Vera shifted. A moment ago Vera stood within the mansion's pathway, but now...
Frozen Void.
Still earth, which denied the very concept of life. Even the brush of wind was nowhere to be felt.
His very voice was swallowed by the void. No echo, no resounding. His voice existed within the barrier and died as soon as it left.
Slow steps. Under his feet a platform would appear with certainty. The barrier followed his every movement perfectly.
The distance between Vera and the true nature of the void was not more than an inch.
Shards of ice rained across the chaotic sea, yet when they approached Vera, they stood in place.
Creeping to the barrier, each shard was held in place.
As Vera walked past them, they fell as usual.
All things that could kill him stood an inch away. But Vera knew that they would always stay an inch away from him.
At this moment, Vera only held one thought.
Dislodge the wave and return with it.
Behind the railings, Ezra and Sword Dog watched intently.
Frantic whimpers escaped Sword Dog as it watched Vera go deeper into the Chaotic Sea.
Yet Sword Dog sat in place. Vera had told him, 'Stay.'
Ezra, on the other hand, held no emotion. Qi ran through his meridians fiercely. His eyes followed every shard that approached Vera; warm sweat ran down his coat.
Despite all their planning, there was one thing Ezra hadn't expected.
Things happen before I see them happen.
In the millennia of his gaze, all things moved with order. Nothing could provide randomness in the Chaotic Sea.
But now that Vera had disrupted the ecosystem, Ezra could tell...
Light moves slower in the Chaotic Sea.
An immortal is all-powerful, not omniscient.
Thousands of shards rained towards Vera; their motion followed a systemic randomness.
Effort he hadn't used in a thousand years came to light.
Warm sweat painted his coat a shade darker. Golden patterns flourished against his skin.
At this moment, Ezra was reading the path of thousands of shards, predicting where they would land in a moment's time and locking them in place.
A task only the Divine Sage of Wisdom could handle.