Gleam [Karma Cultivator Isekai] - Chapter 126: Last night

“We have to get him to voluntarily open a scroll?” Chance tried not to sound too doubtful of the entire plan, but he was pretty sure that he hadn’t done a very good job at it.

Bella and Rilu had come out a minute ago, joining him and Lucy in a small, pretty garden outside the dining room. Bella gave him a brief rundown of what had transpired, but Chance could tell she’d skipped over at least a few important bits. Either way, the situation wasn’t looking good.

“I know it’s not an ideal solution,” Rilu said apologetically. “I did try to think for quite some time to determine another way, but none came to mind. My hands are almost entirely tied.”

“Well, I’m not going to complain about a gift. And it does sound like you helped Bella, so thank you,” Chance said, inclining his head. “We appreciate that.”

Rilu chuckled. “I’m not so sure you’ll thank me when Bella tells you the exact method with which I helped her. Regardless, there is little more I can offer you. More interference will only cause you difficulties.”

That’s a dismissal if I’ve ever heard one. He’s already done more than he needed to, though. It doesn’t seem like Rilu has plans to actually ask us for some form of repayment for his help. He genuinely just wants to help us get rid of Vex.

“We’ll probably be on our way, then,” Bella said. “Unless there was something else?”

Rilu shook his head. Lucy opened her mouth, a conflicted expression on her face, then closed it again when Rilu sent her a gentle glance. She just pressed her lips together and sighed.

“I think that’s it. Good luck, both of you. Especially you, Chance. No offense Bella, but Chance owes me a favor. I’d really rather he lives long enough to pay it off.”

“Long enough to help us fight Vex?” Bella asked, a small grin flicking across her lips.

Lucy let out a bark of laughter. The smile faded quickly from her features, replaced by a serious expression. “Good try. Unfortunately, I work directly for Rilu. If I step in, then Rilu gets pulled in as well. He’s done everything he can to help you without getting your Karma tangled up with his. That’s an immense gift he’s given the two of you. If you use it right, I’m confident you’ll succeed. But, unless Vex is stupid enough to directly attack Rilu, there’s absolutely nothing more that we can do.”

“We’ll be watching, though,” Rilu said. “And, for what it’s worth, I hope with every fiber of my being that you find a way to succeed.”

If I survive this, I think I’m going to need to take a good, long look at my own Karma cultivation. I never want to end up with my hands tied like this, unable to help someone because they don’t have Karmic ties to me or whatever.

Yamish doesn’t have any trouble like that, but I think his problem might actually be worse. I’d rather have my hands bound than go around, murdering people heartlessly just to keep the balance.

“Chance?” Bella put a hand on Chance’s shoulder, pulling him from his worried thoughts. He gave her a weak smile.

“Sorry. I got distracted thinking. I’m ready. Rilu, I don’t suppose you could tell us just how far Vex is?”

Rilu and Lucy exchanged a glance.

“It depends,” Lucy said a few moments later. “He is heading in this direction together with Shae. They’re seeking the Red Hand, but–”

“He’s somewhere near us?” Chance finished, not even slightly surprised when Lucy nodded.

“Lin took a liking to you, apparently,” Lucy said. “A vile man, wrapped in layers of bad Karma so tightly that they might as well be a cloak. And yet, despite that, the universe does not seem to hold a grudge against him. I do not know what he cultivates, but I know that it concerns me.”

A flicker of hope passed through Bella’s eyes. “Do you think he’ll be enough to defeat Vex?”

Rilu was shaking his head before the words even finished coming out of Bella’s lips. “No. The Red Hand is a powerful cultivator in his own right, but he is far from Vex’s level. There is no contest between them.”

Chance pursed his lips. Something about their whole conversation felt… off. Rilu kept saying that he wasn’t able to help them more, and then subsequently helped them more right afterward.

I don’t get it. He’s basically said, ‘sorry, can’t do anything’ like a dozen times now. They’re really spending a lot of time reminding us that there’s nothing they can do. Why?

“Is anyone else in the area that might be able to help?” Bella tried.

“Just Lin,” Rilu said. “And that leads me to my next warning. Vex has been accelerating. I believe he has observed my presence in the matter and fears that I will interfere directly. He will be here far sooner than we originally thought.”

“How much sooner?” Chance’s blood ran cold.

“A day. Maybe two. But – I can take you with us,” Rilu said, gesturing to Lucy. “Not far, but to one of the other Scholar-cities. It would not stop Vex, but it would delay him. Throw off Shae’s trail.”

“You mean it would buy us – what, a week?” Bella asked.

“A few days.”

“To do what? Make good with our lot?”

Rilu gave Bella a sad smile. “I’m afraid so, yes.”

She and Chance exchanged a look. An unspoken look of understanding passed between them and they both turned their gazes back to Rilu.

“We’re fine here, I think,” Bella said. “I’m done running. I’d suggest that Chance take you up on your offer and leave me to face Vex on my own, but I know he wouldn’t even consider it, so I won’t bother.”

“Damn right I won’t,” Chance said with a grin. “Thanks for your help, Rilu, Lucy.”

The two Karma cultivators pressed their hands to their chests. Chance wasn’t sure what the gesture meant, but he returned the favor. It seemed respectful. Lucy reached into a pocket and tossed Chance a small bundle. He caught it, a surprised expression passing over his face.

“Goodbye, Chance, Bella,” Rilu said. “May the universe see you favorably. I suspect Lin will approach you after we leave. Just remember my gift. It is your one and only way to defeat Vex – even if only temporarily.”

The air around them rippled. Chance watched in awe as the garden – and then the entire city after it – started to turn translucent. Motes of golden light rose into the air, streaming into the sky.

Within seconds, the entire thing was gone, and the two of them were standing alone on a grassy plain once more. It was several seconds before either dared to breathe again.

“Whewh,” Bella said, flopping to the ground and stretching her legs out before her. “That wasn’t how I saw the day going when I woke up.”

Chance sat down beside Bella and leaned against her shoulder. “I guess it was a pretty good break from the tedium, huh?”

Bella burst into laughter. “You really do always find an optimistic way to look at things, don’t you?”

“No point looking at them any other way.”

The two of them fell silent, and neither spoke for nearly ten minutes. They just sat there, watching the clouds trace through the sky above them and enjoying the faint wind as it rustled their clothes.

Chance unfolded the package Lucy had thrown him, but froze as he saw the label drawn across it’s back.

Just a plain old tent.

Chance tilted his head to the side.

Is this just a practical joke?

“You think we’re going to pull it off?” Bella asked, breaking the stillness.

“I’ll be honest, I’ve been trying to think of a plan, but nothing’s come to me,” Chance admitted. He pulled his eyes away from the tent. “So… I don’t know.”

“That hard to say no, huh?”

“That just seems like jinxing it. I don’t want this to be the end.”

“Me neither.”

A foot thumped against the grass behind them. Chance and Bella didn’t even bother looking back. Rilu had already told them who it was, and Chance could smell a faint scent of blood that hung in the air.

“Nor do I,” Lin said, flopping to the ground. “The two of you make a cute couple.”

“Thanks,” Chance said, finally looking back at Lin. “Why are you here, though?”

“To help.”

“But why?” Bella asked. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but there’s no reason for you to be here. You aren’t tied to me or Chance. Vex doesn’t care about you.”

Lin let out a bark of laughter. “But Shae does, and I have eyes in the darkness. I know that Shae approaches together with Vex. The two of them hunt all of us. I would have been a weed before their scythe if they caught me alone, and Shae planned to claim my life before yours. Thus, I arrive.”

“Well, three of us is better than two.” Chance rubbed the back of his head. “It does make things considerably less romantic, though.”

Lin snorted. “My apologies. You have grown a considerable backbone since we last spoke, Chance. You were a cowardly pup. A kind, cowardly pup.”

“I don’t think it’s cowardly to not want to get killed. That’s just called self-preservation,” Chance countered. “But it’s hard to worry about that kind of thing anymore when you know that tomorrow might be your last day.”

“The Will of the Damned,” Lin said, an approving smile crossing over his features. “You have found it. Few do.”

“What’s that?” Bella’s brow furrowed and she tilted her head slightly. “Something to do with Karma cultivation?”

“It is not a power. It is a mindset. A way of life. To understand that there is no tomorrow – there is only the present. It is the drive to drive forward without regard for what may happen in the future. A great gift. A rare one.”

“Not one that’s going to help us much with Vex, though,” Chance said.

“No,” Lin agreed. “Not at all. I was hoping that your Karma Cultivator friend has given you a method with which we can succeed.”

Bella looked at Chance out of the corner of her eye, the question clear in her expression. Chance knew what she wanted to ask because he was wondering the exact same thing.

Just how much do we trust Lin? Just because he’s in the same boat with us doesn’t mean we’re allies. We just aren’t enemies. He’s a loose cannon.

“Not exactly a way to win, but if we share it with you, I think it might genuinely impact the likelihood of us succeeding,” Chance said honestly. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt like telling Lin about the scroll was a terrible idea. “I hope you don’t take offense. It’s not that I don’t trust – actually, it is. Sorry. I know you’ve helped us, but I don’t trust you.”

To his surprise, Lin let out a booming laugh. “Very good. You shouldn’t. I have found you amusing, but never an equal. There was no trust to be had between us, Chance. Now, even though we find ourselves together in hopes of defeating an impossibly powerful opponent, there should still be no trust. Only understanding. You will do everything you can to stop Vex?”

“Of course,” Chance said.

“Then I will handle Shae. If you have any tricks from that powerful cultivator, then they are best used on our true foe.”

Bella and Chance nodded.

“Together, then,” Bella said. “We’ll do what we can.”

“As will I. At the very least, we will die a glorious death,” Lin said, his lips splitting apart in a wide grin. “I feel Shae’s Essence approaching. He is wild. Furious. Perhaps I can use this to my advantage. We will see. Tomorrow, we will fight.”

One last night, huh? Well, I’m not wasting it. At least I know why Lucy gave me this.

Chance tugged on the package, and a tent sprung out from within it, expanding before his eyes and staking itself into the ground.

“What’s that for?” Lin asked. “Cute little artifact, by the way. I hope that’s not your plan to defeat Vex.”

“Nope. It’s where we’re going to wait out the night.” Chance nodded to Bella. “Do you mind keeping watch?”

Lin snorted. “Go ahead. I would not fit, even if I wanted to.”

“Did Lucy really give you this for no other purpose?” Bella asked, holding back a laugh.

“Yeah. I’m not complaining, though. Are you?”

“No,” Bella admitted as she ducked into the tent. “I’m not.”

Chance followed in after her, and the two of them sat down, leaning against each other, and taking what solace they could in each other’s company during what might have very well been their last night on Centurion.