The Blade in the Pit

The pumping of adrenaline slowed down and his heart rate returns to normal. But instead of getting faster, it beats slower and slower, weakening every second. Dark clouds overwhelmed Levi's vision and he felt his mind collapsing. His legs slowed down, his hearing loses, all the pain in his body is vanishing, becoming forgotten. The reason was simple. Levi realized he was close to death. The feeling of loss, that was the worst pain. When all senses disappears and the mind is nothing but a boiling image of memories. They all are losing. Deleting. Everything is being removed from your soul, until...

When his legs froze working, he felt his body pulled by gravity and he fell into a pit.

● ○ ●

When he woke up, he first felt coldness seeping through his back. At first, he thought it was only a dream. That he was in his house, sleeping in bed. Or that he was just dozing off on his roof. But reality came in and his senses returned. The first thing he did was stand up. He don't know. He just wants to stand up to know if he is alive. And when he did, he looked to his surrounding. Darkness. Again.

There was nothing but darkness is clouding his vision. Light is coming from the moons and stars up above but is very insufficient to cast away the shadow that looms his vision. Up above are also hordes of undead looming over him, watching him from the edge of the pit. It's as if they are stopped by a barrier.

Wet. Why is he wet. Even though he can't see, he can feel thick liquid sticking to his arms and clothes. The stench is as awful but very familiar. The scent of blood. He took a step. His boots created a ripple among the liquid he was stepping. There were blood here. Many blood. But no bones or any piece of flesh is littered. There was just liters and liters of blood.

Levi stepped forward, going for the center of the pit. He could vaguely outline a faint shape of an object placed in there. He walked grumpily like a zombie. He reached for his hand and felt something. Running his hands over it, he was almost certain it was a saber. The hilt was long and there was only one blade. One thought crossed his mind. Treasure...

A great treasure. It was even a weapon. Alone in the pit of blood. He was almost certain it was extraordinary. And Levi has the need to grab it.

Levi used his fingers to touch where the blade was stuck on. It was a hard surface. Must be a rock. But Levi felt the rock was inscribed with characters. When he touched the characters, they glowed red momentarily. A rune. Runic array, he thought. Arrays were usually installed to protect sacred items, to strengthen them and even refine them. And to unlock an array, only an array master can do so. But if there was a key, the sealing array maybe broken.

But where is the key? Levi has no knowledge of arrays. But as a thief, he knows any lock can be opened with something compatible with it. Delving deeper into his mind, he thought. Since this is a legendary artifact, then only cultivators can wield it. Cultivators can use their own qi to refine weapons to be their own. And once refined, they can control the weapon at free will, and no one but them can use it. But if an array was installed to preserve it, it means the original owner was dead or have abandoned it. This weapon may have been owned by a dao expert. But if it was placed here for centuries, maybe the qi used to refine have already weakened.

That's right! All I need is qi! My own qi to refine it. But Levi is not a cultivator. So where can he get his own qi?

As he was thinking on this problem, light flashed from the skies and illuminated the whole world like daylight. Levi glanced up. The heavenly sword qi. It was happening again.

Wait.

Heavenly... sword... qi?

Qi?

That's right! The sword qi! If he can use even just one percent of the wave, he could break the seal. But how?

His eyes brightened upon an idea.

● ○ ●

Beyond the realm of clouds, a great palace was centered in a forest. Sitting by the table, Emperor Jade Kuan-Ji sips his freshly brewed tea. With him is a middle-aged man with a fierce demeanor, akin to an eagle. The two were smiling as they chat together.

"Senior Aron, what is the feeling of standing above the peak of sword dao, undefeated, and praised by all celestial beings?", said the emperor.

The man chuckled. "Hahaha... I don't really know what to feel. And besides, I wouldn't openly say I'm the best in the dao of sword."

"Why is that?", the emperor rubbed his beard.

"Because... I'm getting weaker every passing year. You know the duel that happened two centuries ago? Actually, I was only bluffing when I told Venerable Mei I haven't yet casted my best techniques. The truth is... my dao heart is getting weaker and weaker and the sealed memories are coming back. I can't stop it."

"Is that so? But I'm very sure you're still the best in swordmanship. No one in the entire kingdom can steal your glory. Not even Venerable Mei. Your dao is not collapsing. It must only be affected by your memories which are being unsealed. If you want, I can seal them again."

"No need, my friend. These memories are the greatest part of my life. I want to remember. I was a sword master for dozens of millenia. In all those years, I feel that something inside me is not full. I always felt that I am lacking something. Maybe, by remembering my past memories, I could refill me heart once more."

The emperor sensed sadness. He raised his cup and they cheered. "Do you want to return to the mortal realm? Why are you casting strange techniques over the seal of heavens?"

"I... don't know. Maybe yes."

"Are you sure about that? You know humans are greedy and disrespectful beings. You might get cursed."

"That will never happen..."

A soft but booming sound resonated across the kingdom. "Faq you, heavens! I curse you for the rest of my life!!!!"

Aron spat all his tea. "What the heck?! Who dares to curse the heavens? Audacious!" He motioned his hand downwards, resembling a striking manner.

● ○ ●

SLASH!!!

Levi saw a very very very powerful lightning descending from the skies. The sword wave actually changed direction and strikes him instead. Levi could only brace himself and clutch the hilt of the blade very tight.

KACHAAA!!

All the world's blinded by the sudden strike of lightning wave. The molecules vibrated vigorously, transmiting the sound hundreds of kilometers away. Even the whole city of Qiguai was startled by the booming noise. At a distance, they saw a quick flash of lightning that descended on the center of the ruins.

It was only for a second, but Levi felt he was toasted for thousands of years! The scorching heat is very very painful and all his clothes shredded to ashes. His hair was gone and there was a big slash on his head. Most of his skin has melted, revealing the bones on his back and chest. He fell down, paralyzed, unknown if he was dead or alive.

The surrounding suffered a worse fate. All the lands tens of meters away are gone, burnt to ashes. Even the Undead roaming around are struck by the lightning, almost all of them vanished.

Levi was unexpectedly the sole survivor. He laid there, spasming. His brains already fried but his heart is still beating weakly. The saber and the array have absorbed most of the qi, but the impact is so great it crushed Levi apart. His limbs are shattered. Only his left hand is clutching the saber.

But the heavens seemed not satisfied by the punishment. They seemed to be very much angered by the curse of the little kid. Another powerful wave of sword qi descended like a lightning. Much more powerful than the first.

KACHAAA!!!

All the lands a hundred meters away are deciminated into nothingness. It was sunken considerably and everything on it are burnt to ashes. Nothing was left but a big patch of burnt land.

KACHAAA!!!

It was longer and much more powerful. Words cannot describe how it destroyed everything it touched. Even the air burned and vibrated tremendously. It caused a magnitude 7 earthquake. The seas far away sensed the powerful qi and immediately quietened.

In the center of all these burnt soil, the entirety of the legendary artifact was shown. It was a long saber, so sharp and dark. Darker than any dark you might see. The red runic array installed on it was completely broken. Instead there are new yellowish runes that run through the blade in arc. The saber crackled with yellow electricity every once and then.

The saber was already full of qi. All it need is a life force and a seal from a new owner. Legendary artifacts have spirits. They can think and move by themselves if they are free of bound. The spirit of the saber seemed confused when it looked at the surroundings empty.

"Where is my owner?"