Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

The Sword God stood before Godslayer’s remains. His body had not just been cut in half but also subsequently destroyed. He had hoped that Godslayer didn’t have enough Qi to come back to life, but as it turned out, he had enough to do so once more.

However, when he returned, he wasn’t Godslayer anymore. The blackness surrounding Alex’s body and aura was now gone, fully retreating back into the body. What remained there was Alex alone.

‘How the hell is he doing this? Where did Godslayer retreat to?’ the Sword God wondered. But this wasn’t the time to be so concerned about that. He knew now that all of Alex’s energy had been drawn out, so if he were to do it now, he could most likely kill him.

He wouldn’t have the energy to come back.

He raised his sword, ready to swing down when someone appeared before him.

“Stop!” Starsight screamed just as the Sword God’s sword came down.

The Sword God stopped at the last moment, confused and angered. “What are you doing, Starsight? Move. I need to kill him.”

“You can’t!” Starsight said hurriedly, her voice trembling. “You cannot kill him. He cannot die.”

“What?” The Sword God suddenly thrust his blade forward and placed it on Starsight’s neck. The touch of the sword alone was enough to bring unbearable pain to her. “What bullshit is this? You tell us he needs to die one moment, and the next moment he cannot die?”

“Y-yes,” Starsight said. “I… I know what I said.”

Starsight’s entire body still shook from her earlier experience, and now with the pain, she could hold it in no longer.

And yet, with the blade pressed against her and the angry Sword God standing before her, she remembered the divination she had seen just a month ago.

She had always wondered why he would be angry at her, even holding his blade against her. It made sense now. She had stopped him from killing the one person he had wanted to kill.

“Move, Starsight, or I will kill you first and then kill him,” the Sword God said.

“Please, you must listen to me. He cannot die,” Starsight begged.

The Sword God didn’t care. He needed to get rid of Godslayer now. He raised his blade and—

“That’s enough.”

The Winter God’s words alone were enough to freeze the Sword God. It was rare that the woman ever spoke when in the presence of others, always remaining quiet and cold. But when she spoke, her strength became apparent.

The Sword God slowly lowered his sword, not wanting to defy someone in the Celestial realm.

The Storm God stepped forward. “Alright, things have become a bit too convoluted. Maybe it is time we put down the weapons and just talk for a while,” he said and looked to the other gods.

Once everyone seemed to be understanding, he turned toward the woman. “Alright, Starsight. Explain from the beginning what it is that you saw this time.”

* * * * * *

Alex was not in his right mind. He stared at the ground, seeing the remains of the sword. Midnight had been shattered.

He slowly reached for the hilt of the sword and pulled it close. A portion of the blade still remained attached to the hilt, and even that was cracked.

There was a simple reason why the sword had shattered. It was because it was weak. Alex had known that for a long time now.

He had even thought of reforging Midnight before, but he had put it aside so he could focus on the tournament. He had told himself that he would focus on his sword and Pearl’s spear once he was done with the tournament.

And yet, right after it had ended, it was dead.

Alex reached for one of the larger shards of metal, remembering what Madhammer and Grimsight had told him before. The nascent soul of a weapon could be taken out if it stayed within the blade.

There was a ray of hope.

Alex reached for the other shards, hoping to find a fragment of Midnight’s nascent soul. Anything. He searched with great hope, uninterested in the conversations around him that were deciding his fate even as he searched.

“I’m sorry,” a weak voice spoke in his mind.

“I told you we were weak,” Alex told Godslayer, his voice carrying unhidden anger.

Alex wasn’t sure if he had the right to be angry or not. The situation they had fallen into wasn’t Godslayer’s fault, and without him, he would have likely died by now.

And yet, he couldn’t help but be angry at him for destroying Midnight, a soul forged from a part of his own. He was no different than his son.

“You were right,” Godslayer said with his weak voice. “We should have run away. But… but I thought I could kill him. I… I haven’t changed, have I?”

Alex grabbed another shard, searching for Midnight. He couldn’t find him anywhere. He picked the smaller shards next and then moved on to the finer pieces. And yet, no matter how much he searched, he could not find Midnight at all.

“Blame me. Curse me. Say anything. Please,” Godslayer said. “Don’t leave me alone. Not now.”

“You killed him,” Alex said. “You killed Midnight.”

Godslayer could hear the resentment in Alex’s voice, and he would be right to have it as well. But…

“I did not,” Godslayer said.

Alex felt the resentment turn into anger. “Are you trying to turn the blame on me?” he asked. “You killed Midnight.”

“No!”

“Don’t you turn this on me. You killed Midnight.”

“No, I didn’t kill Midnight,” Godslayer answered. “Because he’s not dead.”

Alex paused. “What?”

“He’s not dead,” Godslayer said.

“I can’t find him. Where is he then?” Alex asked.

“With me,” Godslayer said. “I saved him.”

Alex heard those words and immediately threw himself into his Spiritual Sea. There, he saw the weak crystal ball with the black flame at the center that was Godslayer.

And right next to him was a flicker of white light, like a tiny, tiny sun.

Alex could feel his connection to it immediately.

That was Midnight’s nascent spirit.

Godslayer had saved him.