Beyond The System
Chapter 136: Distant Home

I snorted and rubbed my eyes. Guess I was getting a little tired.

Movement shifted beside me. “Are you alright?” Thea’s voice was soft.

“Did you hear?” I asked.

She nodded from my side. “Yeah. I didn’t mean to, just ended up half-awake.”

She hesitated before adding, “Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for.” I sighed. “Just. well...” I couldn’t quite pin down a way to vocalize the thoughts swimming through my head.

“It’s alright,” she said gently. “How about we talk about something else?”

“Like what?”

“Hmmm. Maybe…” She glanced down, ears reddening. “What kinda house would you like?”

Didn’t seem like something to be embarrassed about. I chuckled. “One with a good cook.”

“Yeeaah. Well, either we learn fast or hire Miss Star,” she joked, shuffling a little closer.

“We could hire her to teach us,” I offered.

“Then we’ll be cultivation masters and culinary masters,” she agreed.

“Let’s see… What else? How about a shower and bat. A real big one. Big enough for two.” I finished that one with a Phantom Whisper.

A soft punch to my chest. “Idiot.”

“I mean, I don’t know. What about you?” I gave up, handing her the baton.

She took a quick breath. “I wouldn’t mind a town.”

I blinked, taken aback by the large shift. “How is that a house?!”

“Somewhere you don’t have to worry about finding your friend in an alley half-dead. Where you’re not kidnapped and dumped in the woods.”

“Not a fan of that, huh?” I tried to joke.

Crackle.

“Nope. You’re not either, right?”

“Don’t hurt me, oh Great Grandmaster Lightning Princess,” I surrendered, lifting one hand.

A light jolt shot through my right flank. Not much more than a poke, but I'll admit, it made me twitch.

“That kind of place would be nice though, wouldn’t it?” she murmured.

“Yeah. Of course.” There was a pause before I spoke again. “It might be a while before we get the chance, and even then, we’d have to convince others to come with us. If we even—”

“Survive,” she finished.

“I still want to dream of somewhere like that,” she added quietly.

“Me too.”

Time passed, and eventually I noticed her breathing deepening beside me; either dozing off again or slipping into cultivation like the others.

I’d burned through a good chunk of Internal Force forming the needle earlier, and my Body Refinement still needed attention… but I waited. I watched Vel instead, waiting for the inevitable outcome of ambition.

And, right on cue, I gave her a firm shake.

Her eyes opened slowly. “Why are—urp—I don’t feel well.” She turned a mix of pale red and green that did not look promising.

“I told you not to keep going,” I said, though I wasn’t exactly one to talk. “If you even feel a hint of that, stop.”

“I didn’t mean to. It was just so easy once I started.” She pouted.

“It’s not a big deal.” I softened. “But it is dangerous, so you’ve gotta be careful.”

She nodded.

“Could you stop by yourself?” I asked, just to be sure.

“Of course.” She smiled, small but steady.

Suddenly, the carriage jolted to a stop followed by a shout from outside. “We’re camping here for the night!”

It was Marcus, who I guess was acting as driver and apparently claiming executive authority for campsites.

“Perfect time to try your first conversion.” I looked at Vel. “To use your new power, focus on circulating it around your Nexus. It’ll start to spread through the rest of your body after that.”

We both hopped out, leaving the rest behind. The only one who joined us was Marcus. Even Miss Star must’ve been busy, or just decided to stay inside.

“What you two kids up to?” he asked, strolling over with a lazy grin.

“Training!” Velea answered with gusto, chest puffed out like a champion.

He let out a snorting laugh. “Don’t let me stop you, girlie. Good to see someone so eager to learn. You’ll do great with someone who’s got real battle experience, I’m sure.”

Did… did he just compliment me?

“But for now, you’ll have to make do with Peter,” Marcus finished, like a knife.

Of course not.

I sighed. “Alright, Vel. Just circulate your energy and come at me.”

We weren’t in a clearing this time, but instead parked beside a thick patch of forest. The road stretched out behind us, long enough that the end had faded into horizon haze.

Honestly? I was impressed. Not that Velea could threaten me, not now, not even when I’d first arrived here. She was just too light, her strikes too soft. But her form? She’d clearly been trained.

Every move came with a sharp little vocal cue, bright and full of focus. A “Huah!” with a kick, or a “Yah!” with a punch.

And she wasn’t just enthusiastic; her stamina held up longer than I expected, even as her face turned bright red from exertion.

Puff. A small fist thudded into my stomach.

“Hah! Got you!” she cried, throwing her arms up in victory, basking in the last golden slivers of sunlight leaking through the sky.

“Nice job.” I smiled and ruffled her hair, even though I’d let her land it so she could rest. “You should have your own Internal Force now.”

“So now?” she asked, bouncing in place, eyes wide. Honestly, the resemblance to her sister was uncanny sometimes.

“Now you rest. Then repeat. Maybe one more round, and after that, I’ll start teaching you the Harmonic Foundation.”

“What about weapons and skills?” she asked, stepping closer, eyes gleaming with borderline greed.

“Of course,” I said. “But first, I want to train. Can I trust you not to accidentally blow yourself up?”

She rolled her violet-speckled eyes. “Of course. I just didn’t take you seriously the first time.”

Ouch.

It happens. Students always underestimate their teacher’s instruction, Wyrem offered, in what I think he believed was comfort.

Maybe students would listen more if their teachers said anything useful, Luna shot back.

Why aren’t you training? Wyrem snapped.

This stupid thing isn’t blowing up! I’ve been at it forever! Luna complained.

To be fair, her frustration made sense. Her progress had been ridiculously fast at first. Even if she couldn’t advance her Spirit yet, she was still making progress passively. At least, judging by the leaves still flaking off as her automatic Purification pushed onward.

You might as well focus on both tasks, I offered. One’s already underway, and if your new form made everything stronger, maybe that's why it's taking so long.

Rather than accept the solid advice with grace, she fired back instead. You should train too. I’ll be stronger than you really soon.

A sudden rumble broke my concentration. And for once, it wasn’t from Thea or me.

I looked down at the now red-faced teenager beside me.

“Wanna get something to eat?”

She didn’t argue or give out false accusations, but rather, just nodded shyly.

I gave her a pat on the back and led the way to the front cart, guessing either Sia’s mother or Marcus was in charge of food.

We peeked in, me first, Vel’s head wedged under mine like a stacked snack search party.

Most people were busy, focused in meditation. And honestly? I was grateful.

Marcus, though… Marcus was fully absorbed in orchestrating a five-hound circus.

He was laughing quietly, seemingly commanding his dogs, who were flipping over one another, darting in synchronized loop over the others bodies. Their tails wagged like they were having the time of their lives.

And judging by the grin plastered across his face, so was he.

I cleared my throat. Ahem.

“Oh. Uh. Peter.” The dogs didn’t stop once while Marcus spoke. “Finished with her training already? What brings you here?”

Guess we’re just ignoring the whole familiar thing.

“Food. She—”

“We’re hungry,” Vel corrected, jumping in.

“We’re hungry,” I echoed.

Marcus sighed and reached into his wife’s pocket, who was sitting silently with her eyes closed.

Storage cubes really were something else. I still wasn’t sure how much they could hold, or how many we even had, but I shelved the curiosity for now.

The cube pulsed with a brief glow… and out popped a sandwich.

Just one.

Not two. Not one and a half. Just. One. Sandwich.

Marcus handed it to Velea without comment, then waved us off. “Head to the other carriage. Get some rest after eating.”

I shot him a flat glare. I wasn’t even that hungry anymore; I mostly just wanted to know what orange lettuce tasted like.

“What about—Eep!” Vel started, but I scooped her up before she could finish, setting her on my shoulders.

“Can you touch the tarp up there?” I asked, adjusting my stance to keep her from bonking her head.

“Put me down. I can’t eat like this.” She whined.

I shook my head, refusing. Nearly dove into the other cart. “How about a bite?”

“You’re ransoming my food? I was gonna defend you!” she said, mock-offended, even as I gently lowered her into place.

She held out the sandwich, and I took a modest bite. It was just lettuce, orange, but still just water in leaf form. The meat and cheese were nice though.

“Thanks.” I smiled down at her, then flopped beside Thea.

Velea plopped onto the other side of me. “Sure. I’m gonna take a nap after eating,” she announced.

“Just sleep. This trip’s probably going to get rough soon,” I advised.

She shrugged, took another bite, and I let my eyes fall shut.

It was still there.

Wriggling and thrashing. Bashing against the unstable core I’d wrapped around it, but I had more power now and confidence too.

I followed Wyrem’s advice, forming a proper needle core, hooked one end, then flooded it with all the force I could muster. Shot toward the tentacle, crushing the smaller core in my path without hesitation.

I first looped around the root, wrapping it in my Internal Force. Then pulled.

It definitely moved this time. Further from the Voidseed. But… another thing. Yeah, it was fighting me. Not just resisting, but actively pulling in the opposite direction.

Luna, can you help? I asked.

I can guide your energy flow, she answered. But, I think our differences would make my energy useless.

Just stab it, Wyrem suggested, like a complete maniac.

What?

You heard me. Really grab hold.

Well… I’ve done dumber things. When has listening to an energy-eating, man-killing, dragon-claiming worm ever gone wrong?

“RRGNG!” I couldn’t hold the grunt in. It wasn’t quite like slicing at my Grand Channel… but the pain was a different breed. A jolt. A shudder. Something surged through a place inside me I didn’t even know existed.

But I had it, and I pulled.

Cheering for you! Luna shouted from somewhere off to the side.

Just get it to your channel, Wyrem added.

I could feel sweat pooling on me. The root’s tug shifted; more focused now, like it knew what I was trying to do. It resisted harder, every inch a fight, but I didn’t let up.

I inched closer and closer to the target. A sliver of an opening in my channel where I could thread the black tendril through.

We both gave one last push, everything I had, and... YES!

As soon as it touched the first entrance, it flowed more easily. I started moving it toward the exit fracture.

Then it hit the second entrance. Finally I—

A voltage slammed through me.

Peter? Luna’s voice pressed into my mind, tingling against the pain.

Boy? Wyrem’s voice cut through next, sharp with concern.

A loud ringing exploded behind my eyes as every cell vibrated. 

Everything went black.

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