Author's Preface
The next day, Blue stood in Aaron's office.
"You're leaving it, huh?"
Blue lifted a hand and traced the scar that reached from the bottom of his chin, up and across his nose, and stopped just above his right eye. "I am. I guess it's a reminder not to be so naive. I want to help everyone, but there are some who are beyond saving." Blue sighed. "It is hard to imagine that with everything happening, there are still people who will harm others to achieve some lofty goal."
Aaron closed his eyes for a second and nodded. "I'm glad you've recognized that. Although, I'm not sure what took you so long to come to that realization."
"I... I guess I had only tried to see the good in those men last night. I had hoped Earth was different from Murim in that aspect. Now I know that wickedness traverses even worlds." Blue took a seat in front of Aaron's desk. "So, you didn't call me here to have a philosophical debate. What's up?"
Aaron slid the red crystal across the desk.
Blue's eyes widened.
"So you do know what that is. I thought you might."
"I mean, I do. But what made you so certain?" Blue grabbed the crystal and examined it.
"All that talk of gods and everything else. That crystal... it's not something from Earth. The bodies we've found, too. What happened to them isn't something a human can do to another. Even if they wanted to."
"It's Hatred. I've seen these crystals before. So have you. In the gates, the anchors, they carry the same power. Although I'm not sure what they do exactly, I have an idea."
"That being?" Aaron asked.
"I think they corrupt those who take power from them. I saw them in Murim. I also saw men inside the gates fighting alongside the monsters. This has to be some way of turning people into slaves, or maybe even monsters themselves."
"Well, fuck. This just got a lot more complicated. If they are using these to lure people who have no power, or even using people who already have a complex, this could be worse than we thought." Aaron stood and took the crystal from Blue's hand. He walked toward the window overlooking the city. "What in the world is their plan?" He turned back to Blue. "We have to find out what they are up to and what their purpose is."
Blue nodded. "I agree, and Eclipse will help when we can, but I also have things I need to do outside of all this."
"Right... the pendant. When do you plan on going to the dungeons on that map?"
"As soon as possible. I'll train the ones who chose to learn qi until they're ready. That's when I'll head for the first dungeon. So maybe a week, maybe a month." Blue stood. "But if there is anything you need, let me know. We will be available to you and the Association."
"I'm sure Titus will be happy to hear that." Aaron smiled.
"I wouldn't be so sure. I still can't get a read on him. And from what Chris told me, standing up to him isn't a good idea unless I want to die." Blue shrugged his shoulders.
Aaron let out a loud laugh. "You would most certainly die."
Aaron nodded as Blue walked out.
Back at the Eclipse Guild, Blue walked around as he watched everyone working. Builders were establishing the frame of what the Eclipse building would eventually look like. Those who wanted to remain civilians worked as best they could. The Eclipse Guild turned no one away. They tried to make sure those who wanted a job or needed work had one.
As Blue approached the makeshift barracks where the sixty-five men and women who had chosen to learn qi were staying, Yuki approached him.
"Hello, Blue. Wonderful day out today, huh?"
Blue turned and smiled. As he did, her face went pale.
"My goodness, what happened to your handsome face? Not that it's not still handsome, but still, what happened?"
"My own naivety happened," Blue said.
"Dear, well, I won't pry any further. I just wanted to see if there is anything I can do to help you."
"There isn't right now. I hear you're training with Eve and helping her, correct?"
Yuki nodded. "I am, although she doesn't seem too enthusiastic about having me around." Yuki put her hand on Blue's shoulder. "Maybe you can help me with that?"
Blue smiled. "I'm not sure I can. She won't tell me why she doesn't want you around. You seem like a really nice person, though, so I'm sure she'll warm up to you. Just give it time."
"I wonder who else would warm up to me?" Yuki smiled and winked at him.
"I'm sure everyone will. Cynthia especially. She's the nicest person I've ever met. Anyways, I need to get going. It was nice chatting with you, Yuki. Good luck with Eve."
Blue walked away and waved. Blue walked into the barracks. All sixty-five men and women were sitting in the lotus position, reading the scrolls and trying to wrap their heads around what they were looking at.
Blue stood in the center of the room and clapped loudly. "I know it looks foreign, because it is. In reality, it is very simple. You don't need much qi to be able to resonate with the golden gate. Earth doesn't have much qi, but Murim is full of it. Things in Murim run off qi like Earth runs off oxygen."
Blue took his time and went down the rows one by one, helping each person understand what was written on their scrolls. He returned to the center of the room and sat.
"Now, we will breathe together. Remember, feel the qi going through your meridians and down into your abdomen. Focus on it. It may feel as small as a grain of sand. You must condense it, and when you can do that, your dantian will form."
A hand went up. Blue looked at the gentleman and nodded.
"But sir, how will we know if we did it correctly?"
"You will start to sweat profusely. You will stink to high hell. That is your body expelling toxins and your meridians opening. That is how you know." Blue looked among the sixty-five participants. "This isn't a race. I don't expect anyone to achieve anything today. Just try and feel the qi. That is your goal for now."
Blue took a deep breath and released some of his qi, forming a thin outline around his body with it.
"Now, begin."
Blue stood as the group began to go through the breathing technique. He walked with his hands behind his back, giving instructions to each person where they needed them most. The next few weeks went on much like this, day in and day out, until only fifty of the original sixty-five remained. The other fifteen had decided the path wasn't for them, but those who stayed had successfully formed their dantians.
The golden gate to Murim stood on the western half of Columbus, now surrounded by the rapidly growing Eclipse Guild compound. In the two weeks Blue had spent training the men and women in qi, the guild hall had expanded to nearly twenty stories, with an underground facility Blue had specifically requested stretching another five hundred feet beneath the surface. Massive walls now surrounded the compound, separating Eclipse from the rest of the stronghold and making it look more like a fortress than a guild.
Blue stood at the gate of the compound with Eve, Chris, Samantha, Cynthia, and Darrien. They all stared at the nearly completed building. Darrien looked up at the gate and the massive walls that had been placed around the guild's property.
"Why do we need walls and gates? What are we, a damn military base?"
Blue laughed. "This is how they do things in Murim." He looked at Darrien. "And I kinda like it. Wanna fight about it?"
Chris laughed. "I think it looks awesome. It looks like those things in your stupid comics anyway, Darrien."
"THEY AREN'T COMICS! THEY'RE CALLED MANHWAS AND MANGAS, YOU UNCULTURED SWINE!" Darrien shouted.
Samantha looked between them. "Both of you are so childish."
Loud beeps interrupted the conversation.
"Oh, here it is, guys!" Cynthia shouted as the team took ten steps to the side.
A crane had pulled up in front of the massive gate that stood at the entrance to the Eclipse compound. Hanging from its hook was a massive signboard, slowly being lowered into place. Darrien and Blue both jumped onto the gate and each grabbed an edge of the sign before looking down at Eve and the group.
"A little to the left!" Eve yelled.
The boys moved the sign to the left.
"NO, TOO FAR!"
They moved it back to the right.
"Back left a little! Blue, raise your side by a hair!"
Blue raised his side of the sign.
"No, too much!"
Samantha sighed loudly as wind began to gather around her fingertips.
"WATCH OUT!" Cynthia shouted too late.
Blue and Darrien were sent flying off the top of the gate. Samantha used her wind to move the sign until it was perfectly centered, and Cynthia used her flux to weld the signboard directly to the gate.
"Perfect." Eve looked at Samantha and Cynthia as Blue and Darrien made their way back over. Both dusted themselves off and stood in front of the group.
"Welp, it's official official now," Darrien said.
Later that day, Blue stared at the golden gate. Thirty-seven men and thirteen women stood behind him.
Blue exhaled. "I wish I could come back there, guys, but I can't. Not yet. This is the best I can do for now." He turned to the group. "The place you're going is called Silent Edge. Anything you think you accomplished here, forget it. There, you are nothing. Only strength matters. Listen to your elders, train as hard as you can, and be useful to them.Oh, and beware of the rod. It's the scariest thing there."
The group looked between each other, each of them nervous. They had heard what lay beyond the gate and knew from Blue what kind of training they would have to endure. None of them decided to back down.
Blue took one step forward. "I wish you all the best! Go forward and make Eclipse proud. When you return, I promise you will be much stronger than you are now, as long as you don't quit."
Blue took a step to the side and gestured toward the gate. The fifty men and women marched through in a single-file line as the golden gate swallowed them one by one.
Eve approached Blue as the last of the group stepped through. "Does this mean you'll be heading out to look for the pendant?"
"It does. I'll leave tomorrow." Blue nodded.
"Please take someone with you," Eve insisted.
At that moment, Yuki walked up. "I'll tag along. I've always wanted to see what lies outside of the stronghold anyway."
Blue looked at Eve and shrugged. "Can't hurt, right?"
Eve stared at Blue, then turned and flung her hair into his face.
"Hmph."
She walked away.
Darrien appeared behind Blue. "I'm all packed and ready. When are we leaving?"
Blue ignored him and stared at Eve as she walked away.
Darrien looked at Yuki, then at Eve, then back at Blue. "What the hell just happened here?"
Yuki smiled. "I'll see you in the morning, Blue. I'm looking forward to helping you." She walked away.
Darrien stared at Blue wide-eyed. "You really are a dumbass."
"What? All I did was say it couldn't hurt, then she just stormed off." Blue looked between the two women as they walked away in opposite directions. "Seriously, what the fuck is going on?"
"Brother, brother, brother." Darrien laughed as he put an arm around Blue's shoulders and started walking him out of the guild. "We need to have a man-to-man conversation, because you are seriously dumb."