Gen focused his attention inward, spreading his consciousness through the winter air. As his mind expanded, the world seemed to slow. He watched the intricate, deadly web of Singing Mercy spreading its red threads. He cast his full attention on Kai.
The God Asylum was a spell from the Li family library. A prison spell, born from **Shidow**, that could adapt to the level of any opponent. He had never managed to use it correctly—not on Varja, not on Buqu. It had fallen behind. But now, he had no choice.
He spread his tension. It covered Kai in one clean, silent swoop.
Kai frowned. He felt something foreign attack his mind. He turned to Gen, who stood motionless, and something clicked into place. His Qi intensified into a violent wave, trying to break free from the constricting prison. The clash was titanic. Neither of them moved, but their auras flared in the winter sky, clashing against each other like two locked stars. The God Asylum was just what it said: a prison for gods.
A few seconds later, Kai's face suddenly lost all its luster. The web of Singing Mercy stopped spreading, freezing in the air mere feet above the villagers.
In his mind, Kai could see Gen. The figure moved towards him, growing larger and larger, while Kai's own form shrank smaller and smaller. By the time Gen and Kai stood face-to-face, Kai was kneeling before the normally-sized Gen. Chains of black, cosmos-like light bound his ankles and wrists, chaining him to the ground. The familiar, infinite desert.
Gen glanced around, but he could not see the figure seated on the distant throne this time. Yet he had done it. He had used the God Asylum.
He smiled.
Then he pointed his finger at Kai, condensing the End of the World Finger. "What is your last wish?"
Kai spat on the sand. "Go to hell, little fool. More and more of them will come. Your friends, all those you love… they will be hunted, tracked, and killed—"
The dark light of the End of the World Finger pierced through Kai's head before he could finish.
Gen's eyes opened once more in the real world. Kai's body hung motionless, then fell from the sky. Before it could land, the residual energy of the End of the World Finger disintegrated it into nothingness, so the villagers below never knew what had happened above.
Gen turned to Buqu, who merely shifted his sleeping position without a word.
But as Gen prepared to land, he felt it again—that wrongness. He had felt *six* auras. There were only three opponents here. Where had the others gone?
Confused, he ascended into the sky, shooting through the air in a desperate search. In the distance, he could still vaguely feel auras clashing. By the time he arrived, he saw it.
Three bodies lay on the ground. In the middle stood a young woman, wielding a sword of shimmering blue light. Gen stared, a vague feeling of recognition stirring. He knew her, but he could not say exactly who.
To the side, seated in the snow, was an old man with a thick scar running down his face, holding a simple sword with a lover's care. The old man took a moment to look at Gen, then stood up.
"Lia. Let us go. This mountain has nothing left to teach you."
The woman—Lia—banished her sword and bowed towards the man. "Master. But I cannot leave you here."
The old man waved a gnarled hand. "I have taught you all I can. Now it is up to you to improve and see the world. Go. I wish to be alone."
"Master—"
The old man's single eye flashed. "Go away. I said. I am not your father." He turned and moved deeper into the mountain without another look.
Gen stood in the air, observing the scene with confusion. But he could feel the pain in her expression—the falling of her shoulders, the sinking of her chest. Then it clicked.
*Lia.*
Yes. Lia Kai. Varja's daughter.
Gen's eyes widened. He rushed to the ground. "Lia! It's me! Gen!" he called out.
But Lia only waved a hand for him to stay at a distance. Her expression was as frosty as the mountain. "I know. No need to shout."
Gen smiled weakly, scratching his head. He took another look at Lia. Her figure had matured, growing into that of a real woman. Lia was seventeen now, like him, but the difference in her was staggering. He could hardly recognize her. It had been over two years and seven months since they parted after Varja's death.
"How have you been?" Gen asked, the words tumbling out. "Have you been in this mountain for long?" He wanted to know everything. After all, he still felt the guilt of Varja's death. Though Nix was dead, a part of him might never forget.
Lia laughed, shaking her head. She turned to Gen. "You. Even after so much time, you still have not changed, Gen."
"What do you mean?"
"Look around you."
Gen fell silent, unsure of what she was talking about. There was no one else here but the two of them.
Lia's voice was soft, but it cut. "You see only what is of interest to you. No wonder they all eventually left. Son of the Immortal Jiang."
Gen's heart cracked. He turned aggressive. "Shut up! I bear this burden! I never asked for it! But you wouldn't understand something like that!"
Lia ascended into the sky without another word. "Master Suki taught me a lot of things. And I am grateful for that. Actually, leaving you people was perhaps the best decision I ever took. I do not regret my choice."
Gen's shoulders fell. How could he not understand what she meant? Liang, Lorel, Chubbs… they all left on their own wheel. Yes. But they would never regret leaving him. He was not their center of the world anymore. He was nothing more than the lost son of the Immortal Jiang. Alone and lonely.
Before Lia disappeared into the distance, he shouted, his voice raw. "I do not care if you hate me! I will always be on your side! For Master Varja, I shall carry your burden! All of you! Lia, Madame Su, Lolly, Liang, Lorel… all of you! I shall bear it! Even if I have to dive into hell alone for that! Just like Ning when he died!"
Tears trickled down his face. He was hurting and alone, yet he needed to be strong for them. Just like his father. He needed to do it alone.
Before Lia vanished, she heard the words and frowned slightly. *Ning died? And asked us to tell Master Suk he was sorry…*
Lia bailed her fist, said no more, and turned to leave into the distance.
Unknown to Gen and Lia, the old man, Suki, was listening. He held hard onto his old sword, his face aging in a matter of seconds. He sighed deeply, looking through the winter at the young boy.
"Gen Jiang," he told himself. "Slowly turning into an adult. He understands sacrifice and its importance. But he is still missing something important. That is why everyone left him. Until he sheds that off, I fear he might only ever be 'the son of the Immortal Jiang.'"
Suki shook his head and walked away.
***
Gen walked into the snow. Despite his torn dress and bare feet, he walked straight towards the village. His mind was foggy. Now he could vaguely understand what Liang felt that day. Liang had indeed seen the love of his life. Lia was his first love, the one he had to give up to follow Gen to the Sky Ocean. And now, Gen had denied that to him again. Beyond that, Gen had denied his trust. Something he might never regain.
Gen bailed his fist, looking at the Damocles again. He did not know why, but each time he felt down, his first reply was to look at the light of those swords. It was more than just the doom of annihilation. It was also his salvation.
He asked himself, "What is wrong with me? I do all I can to protect them, to help them. They are my friends and I care for them. But they all still leave me. Was it wrong to be the son of the Immortal Jiang?"
He was slowly touching the core blockage that the Tower of Wonder had shown him, but he still could not fully grasp it. Instead, he decided it was time for him to leave.
***
Few days later, Gen stood at the edge of the winter village in travel robes, a small pack on his back. Buqu and the old woman stood to the side.
"Be careful outside," the old woman said. "Buqu will not be there as a deterrent."
Gen nodded. "I will be careful."
"Good luck, my son. I hope you can find your friends again. You are too young to look this old."
Gen smiled a half-smile and nodded.
Buqu said no more, simply stating, "On the first of the last month, I will be there to get your head, whether you are ready or not."
Gen took a faint look into Buqu's eyes. After so many months together, he had become firm enough to look at the Divine General without feeling insignificant. The gap was slowly closing.
Gen said no more and ascended into the sky. His objective was simple: stop lamenting his situation and find his friends. Find Lorel and try to get her back. Find Liang and Chubbs and Madame Su. All of them.
Turning into a beam of light, Gen vanished. He had barely two months for that. The third year would end in three months, and he had still not defeated a Divine General other than Nix. There was still Buqu, Wushia, Deshia, Anming, and the final commander, Zeph. He had three months and two years left. Time was getting shorter and shorter. Now, he was starting to feel just how absurd this quest really was.