Gleam [Karma Cultivator Isekai] - Chapter 129: In the dirt

Rilu wasted no time in tossing Chance a healing pill. Chance put it between his lips numbly, unable to take his eyes from Vex’s remains. It didn’t feel real. He could dimly hear the sound of fighting in the background as Lin and Shae battled, but that felt so far away that it didn’t even matter.

The wound on Chance’s palm stitched itself together and sealed shut. He walked up to Bella, standing silently beside her and holding a hand out. Bella looked up at him, then down to his hand. Slowly, she took it and Chance pulled her to her feet.

“It’s done?” Bella asked, speaking softly as if her words would somehow cause the world to remember that Vex wasn’t meant to be dead.

“It’s done,” Rilu confirmed. “He is dead, and dead he will remain. Vex is gone.”

Bella’s hands clenched and unclenched at her sides. She took a trembling breath and let it out, her lips pressing thin. “I… I don’t get it. Why don’t I feel anything?”

“There is only so much that the human mind can handle. I suspect all the emotions you would have felt now have already been felt.” Rilu put his hands on their shoulders. “And you will feel more than you care to soon enough. It will come with time.”

A loud crash spit the still air. Chance glanced over his shoulder in the direction of Shae and Lin’s fight. It was still going strong. The two powerful cultivators were so fast that all Chance could pick up were the after-effects of their attacks.

“We really got ourselves in a bit over our head, didn’t we?” Chance asked.

Bella wiped her face with the back of a sleeve and coughed into the crook of her elbow. “That’s one way to put it.”

Another crash roared through the sky and the ground trembled. A wave of Essence passed over Chance, buffeting his hair and forcing him to squint.

There was no more fighting after it.

“And so it ends,” Rilu said, not looking particularly pleased. “The Shikari is dead.”

“Lin won?” Chance asked.

I… I’m not actually sure if I should be happy about that or not.

“And departed with haste. He wisely chose not to remain in my presence for long. His very Essence disgusts me. Lin is in direct opposition to us, Chance. You should be wary around him.”

“He’s definitely a bit out there,” Chance agreed. “I… well, he was nice to us, though.”

“Kindness does not make a man good. The evil can do great acts, but that does not change who they are.” Rilu’s eyes narrowed as he looked into the distance. “If it would not interfere too greatly in my cultivation, I would purge Lin as well. Alas, I have already done far more than I should have.”

A flash of shame washed over Chance as he realized that they hadn’t even thanked Rilu for his help properly yet. He inclined his head respectfully.

“Thank you so much for everything you did. Bella and I would be dead if you hadn’t given us that scroll,” Chance said. “I have to admit that, for a moment, I thought you screwed us over. I’m sorry about that too. I should have trusted you.”

Rilu laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “You saved yourself, Chance. The universe gives us tools. Today, I was the tool. Tomorrow, I will not be. Nothing will have changed, though. So long as you remember that everything you could ever need will be provided for you, then you will make it very far along your Path.”

“Chance is right,” Bella said. “Thank you, Rilu. Not just for the scroll, but for the help with my own Path. After meeting with Yamish, I was a little worried that all Karma cultivators were insane.”

“Hey!” Chance glared at Bella. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Bella threw her head back, laughing. Chance opened his mouth, then paused to listen. Her laughter – unburdened and free – was beautiful, and he didn’t want to interrupt it. Bella continued laughing, her mirth turning to a trickle of tears that ran down her face.

“Why – why am I crying?” Bella asked through her uncontrollable laughter, trying to wipe her face with the back of a sleeve and completely failing at the task.

“Emotion is an odd thing – one that evades me just as much as it evades you.” Rilu gave them both a wry smile. “This time, it is truly time for me to go. And for you – it is time for a decision.”

Rilu tossed two wooden tokens to Chance, who barely managed to snag them out of the air without dropping them.

“Will we see each other again?” Chance asked. “And what about Lucy?”

“If Karma wills it. For what it’s worth, I suspect we will,” Rilu said. “I’m looking forward to that time. It is always a wonderful feeling to see a planted seed flower. Goodbye, Chance. Goodbye, Bella. You’ve got some choices ahead of you.”

Bella managed to raise a hand in farewell; still caught in the throes of hysterical laughter. Chance and Rilu exchanged one last look before the Karma cultivator shimmered and faded away in a swirl of golden particles.

Still caught in a mixture between laughter and sobs, Bella sank to the ground. Chance sat down beside her and she leaned her head against his shoulder.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

It was a clear, bright day. The sun shimmered overhead in a bright blue sea, shining down on them. The heat was carried away by a gentle breeze that, while not enough to cause any chill, kept the temperature ideal.

Chance wasn’t sure if the beautiful day fit Vex’s death. Part of him almost felt like the vile man had deserved a torrential downpour to sweep away any last traces of his existence. But, the more he thought about it, the more the day felt right.

Vex was gone. He didn’t have to deal with the days anymore, and it wasn’t going to matter to him if it rained or not. The only ones that remained were those who were left behind. And, for them, a sunny day was exactly what they needed.

It was several minutes before Bella got control of her emotions again. If anything, Chance was surprised she’d managed it so quickly. If he’d been in her shoes, he was pretty sure it would have been an hour before he could think straight again.

“What did Rilu give you?” Bella asked, her voice stuffy.

Chance looked down at the tokens in his hands. He’d nearly forgotten that he had them in the first place. But, even with just a single glance, he immediately knew what they were. Rilu’s parting words made a bit more sense as well.

“They’re transport tokens,” Chance murmured. “To Gleam.”

Bella’s eyes widened. “But we can’t–”

“We can, actually.”

Bella paused. Blinking in shock. “You’re right. Vex is dead. We don’t have to run anymore.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure there’s still an order our for our heads,” Chance said, rubbing the back of his head. “But Yamish said this was until Vex was dealt with. So, unless he lied to us, that should be that. Vex is dead. I passed his test, so we should be allowed to go back.”

Bella looked from Chance to the tokens in his hands. She bit her lower lip and leaned back, drawing in a deep breath of the fresh morning air.

“Is… is it even a good idea?” Bella wondered. “Going back, that is. The Shikari betrayed us at the drop of a hat.”

“Not everyone. Pete never did. Neither did Yeo. Pete’s still in Gleam somewhere, and I’m sure Yeo will return so long as Yamish really wasn’t lying. And there’s Jade and Wren as well. They both believed us.”

Bella nodded slowly. “And where else would we go? Another scholar city? I suppose we could, but that almost feels like running.”

“I’m not sure if it would be running, but I think I’d like to be a proper team again,” Chance said. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “Don’t get me wrong. Traveling around is fun, but I really enjoyed getting to be a team with you and Yeo. Just going around and helping people, no big threats or axes hanging over our head.”

Bella raised an eyebrow. “What, am I not enough?”

“What? No, I–”

Bella burst into laughter at the panicked expression at Chance’s face. She took one last look back at Vex, then pushed herself to her feet and held her hand out. Chance took it and Bella pulled him to his feet.

“I like the idea of it as well. I do hope you realize the chances of us being normal Shikari are probably zero, right? Even if everyone magically forgets the kill order that was out on our heads, Yamish isn’t going to leave us alone.”

“Probably true,” Chance admitted. “But that’s out of my control, so I’m not going to worry about it. I just want to meet up with our friends again so things can be as close to normal as they can be. Everything else can be dealt with as it comes.”

“I suppose we’ll find out. What do you think, then? Did Yamish already handle things?”

“Only one way to find out,” Chance replied. He activated his third eye, revealing the strands of Karma crisscrossing throughout the world around them. Drawing a deep breath, Chance reached out.

Yamish answered.

The air before them twisted, a mass of gray twisting into being as Yamish quite literally unfolded himself as if emerging from a tiny box the size of a watermelon. He floated in typical upside-down, legs crossed above his head.

“Chance,” Yamish said, his smile looking like a frown because of his position. “I was wondering when you would decide to reach out. I had thought you may have done it earlier. During the fight with the Rank 6 fools – or when Lin appeared. How fascinating. You completely ignored me until the entire test was complete.”

“Calling out to you was an option?”

“No,” Yamish replied. He righted himself. “It was not. But I expected you to try it nonetheless. Fascinating.”

“He passed, right?” Bella asked. “We can go back to Gleam?”

Yamish glanced at Bella, then back at Vex. “Yes. He passed.”

If Chance didn’t know better, he would have thought that Yamish might have been making a joke. For that matter, maybe the strange cultivator was. Chance still had absolutely no idea what made Yamish tick, and he got the feeling that he never wanted to find out.

“We can return, then?” Chance pressed.

“You may. As in all things in life, balance has been achieved. I have already made the arrangements for your return,” Yamish said. His legs unfurled and he lowered to the ground to stand before them normally. For several seconds, Yamish was silent. Then he inclined his head in the faintest show of respect. “You have both impressed me. For a pair of mortals, you show great resolve. My true self made the right decision with you, Chance. I look forward to our next meeting, but you will be permitted to enjoy the rewards of your work for the time being.”

With that, Yamish vanished as if he’d never been there. Bella and Chance exchanged a glance.

“That wasn’t ominous,” Bella drawled.

“Let’s not worry about it too much. You heard him. I’ve got some time off, and I’m not planning to sit around wasting it.”

Bella nodded. “Not going to argue with that. What about Vex? You think we should check if he had anything important?”

Chance chewed his lower lip. Vex had been a powerful cultivator, but the idea of rifling through the dead man’s pockets wasn’t ideal. The less they had to remind them of Vex, the better. But, at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel like Vex owed Bella something for everything he’d taken from her.

He called on his Essence, sending a snake of golden energy twisting across the ground and into Vex’s body. There was a soft thump as one of his pockets pitched open and a tiny bell rolled out, dropping to the grass and rolling until it came to a stop at Chance’s feet.

Chance picked the bell up and wiped it off before handing it to Bella. “Here. Courtesy of Vex, as an apology for what he did.”

“I don’t suppose you know what it is?”

“No idea, but my Essence thinks it’s important.”

Bella studied the bell for a moment, then shook her head. She took Chance’s hands in her own and pushed the bell back into his palm. “Then you hold onto this for me. Your Essence found it, which means it’s probably a pretty strong artifact.”

“But–”

“Chance, you’d give away literally every artifact you had if you could. Just take the gift.”

“Fine, fine. Thank you. I’ll let you know if I figure out what it’s for.” Chance cleared his throat and tucked the bell into his pocket. He then held out one of the tokens. “Shall we?”

Bella took the token from him with a smile. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

The two of them snapped the tokens between their fingers. Essence roared and they both vanished, leaving Vex’s body in the dirt behind them.