Immortal Paladin

[POV: N’wa]

N’wa was not unfamiliar with the idea of colleges. There had been one in her world as well. The difference was that, back there, attending one had never been her decision to make. She was a warrior, a faithful servant of the Slayer Order. Her life had been decided for her long before she was old enough to question it.

When she had decided to come here and applied for a course, she had felt almost childish. Yet now, sitting beneath the soft glow of the auditorium lights, N’wa found herself enjoying every second of it. Rows of black caps and gowns stretched like a dark river toward the podium. The mortarboard resting against her hair still felt unfamiliar, yet strangely comforting.

Four years.

Four long, luminous years of lecture halls that smelled of old paper and coffee. Four years of late nights spent tracing the rise and fall of civilizations she had never known existed, of heated arguments over primary sources until the library lights flickered in warning.

She had come from elsewhere, from a world where the stars burned in different colors and the concept of history was written into the bones of the world itself.

Yet from the moment she had stepped onto this campus, the history of this place had called to her like a half-remembered song.

She had studied its wars and treaties, its forgotten queens and quiet revolutions, and the fragile threads that had held civilizations together. She had written papers that made professors lean forward in their chairs. She had spent countless hours buried in books, chasing fragments of the past simply because she wanted to understand them.

Now, she had earned the right to sit here. Her diploma was waiting. The dean stepped toward the podium and began calling the graduates one by one. Eventually, the name she had used during her stay in this world rang through the auditorium.

“Nu Wa, Bachelor of Arts in History.”

Applause erupted around her.

N’wa rose from her seat and walked toward the stage, wondering if anyone here could understand just how strange this moment was for her. A warrior from another world, standing beneath stage lights and receiving a diploma for studying the history of a world that should never have existed.

She reached the dean.

“Congratulations, Nu Wa.”

“Thank you.”

The dean handed her the ceremonial diploma before shaking her hand.

“Congratulations again. You’ve worked very hard for this.”

N’wa smiled.

“I have.”

She returned to her seat with the diploma held carefully in her hands.

For something so ordinary, it felt strangely precious.

Outside, the evening air was cool and carried the scent of freshly cut grass and distant rain. Graduates spilled across the lawn in clusters, laughing, taking photographs, and calling out to one another.

N’wa stood among them, diploma in hand, watching the ordinary miracle of it all. She had made friends during her four years here. They were not warriors, cultivators, or people who had crossed worlds. They were simply people she had met along the way.

People who had somehow become important to her.

“So, what are you planning to do now?” one of them asked.

“Find a job, I suppose,” another replied. “Maybe something related to what we studied. What about you?”

“I’m thinking about graduate school.”

The conversation continued, drifting naturally from one plan to another. Some wanted to travel. Others wanted to work. One was already planning a wedding. Their futures seemed so simple compared to the life N’wa had waiting beyond this world.

Eventually, N’wa glanced toward the sky. “I should probably go.”

“Already?”

“I have somewhere I need to be.”

Her friends protested, but N’wa merely smiled and waved them off. She had been given a curfew. The others had insisted on it. Because she was the weakest among her companions, they treated her almost like a child.

The idea grated on her, but she could hardly complain.

This Tower was a dangerous place. There were threats within it that defied common sense, let alone the understanding of ordinary people. Even someone like her, who had survived the Slayer Order and crossed worlds, could not afford to underestimate it.

As she looked around the campus, N’wa felt a strange pity for the people surrounding her.

They were echoes.

They had been born from the Wheel of Reincarnation and remade into mirror images of perhaps another world. Their lives, their histories, their memories, all of it had been constructed from something that had existed elsewhere.

N’wa had always possessed a strong fascination with history, even before coming here. That was why she could see the seams. She could see the inconsistencies in this world’s history, the little flaws that revealed how it had been imitated from the Earth that existed within the Source.

Most people would never notice, but N’wa had spent four years studying the past of this world and she had time to compare. She knew where its stories did not quite fit together.

“Congratulations.”

The familiar voice came from behind her.

N’wa turned.

A woman with long dark hair stood there, presenting a professional exterior despite the extraordinary beauty that made her stand apart from everyone around her.

“The others were unable to join, unfortunately. Nongmin has his... business. I haven’t heard from Ru Qiu for a few years now. Tao Long was guarding Da Wei’s body.”

It was Hei Mei.

Her arrival immediately drew attention from the people nearby.

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Hei Mei was a cultivator of a considerably higher realm than N’wa, and her otherworldly beauty made it impossible for ordinary people not to notice her. The same was true of the rest of their companions. Their cultivation had elevated them far beyond the appearance of ordinary humans.

“You didn’t have to come,” N’wa said.

“The national library is just across the college.”

N’wa glanced toward the distant building. Even so, it surprised her that Hei Mei had come. Hei Mei was usually too absorbed in her books to pay much attention to the world around her.

“It has only been four years,” N’wa said.

Four years since Da Wei had entered seclusion within his own mind.

For N’wa, those four years had contained an enormous amount of change. She had learned the basics of cultivation, raised her own strength, studied this world, attended college, made friends, and experienced countless things she had never imagined possible.

For the others, however, those same four years might as well have been a blink.

Suddenly, a shadow moved at the edge of the crowd. The world seemed to come to a standstill. The laughter disappeared. The graduates froze. Even the wind ceased to move.

N’wa’s body stiffened.

“It is time, N’wa,” called out the voice. “Time you stopped deluding yourself that this was ever your place.”

When N’wa turned, she saw an octopus-headed figure standing there, dressed in a pristine white suit. He looked eerie, yet somehow, he was familiar. N’wa immediately recognized him from the idols worshiped within the Slayer Order.

It was the Great Dreamer.

Her body reacted before her mind could.

N’wa dropped to one knee. “Greetings to the Great Dreamer.”

“Have you betrayed us, champion?”

“No.”

“Then why have you not killed the Immortal Paladin yet?”

N’wa lowered her head. She had a deal with Da Wei. A deal she had promptly ignored because of the allure this world had offered her. She had agreed to watch him and judge for herself whether he truly was the Evil God portrayed in the stories of the Slayer Order. But Da Wei had secluded himself within his own mind to peer into the future.

There had been little left for N’wa to observe, and then there had been the college.

“Redeem yourself,” said the Great Dreamer.

Something fell before her.

N’wa stared at it, a dagger.

“This dagger holds a portion of my power,” the Great Dreamer said. “This woman called Hei Mei. Kill her, and restore yourself to the side of the Order that took you in.”

N’wa reached down and picked up the dagger, but her hand trembled and her heart shook.

“I...”

She looked toward Hei Mei.

“I... I can’t do it.”

The dagger slipped from her fingers. It struck the ground with a faint metallic sound. For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

“So, you have made your decision,” the Great Dreamer remarked. “While you rot away and dull your edge, your brothers and sisters have been honing themselves. Four years ago, they found a path to this world. Since then, they have devoted themselves entirely to the path toward salvation. What about you? Da Wei have poisoned your mind and swayed your heart, failing to realize of the greater vision that we must take to save what needed to be saved.”

N’wa staggered backward. Figures began appearing around the campus. Hooded figures emerged throughout the frozen grounds, surrounding the college. They wore the mark of the Slayer Order: an eye above a crossed sword, stitched directly into their clothing. N’wa stared at the levels displayed above them. Her eyes widened. They had gained the status of players.

The Great Dreamer looked across the frozen campus and the rest of this world. “This floor is a mistake.” His voice carried through the motionless world. “So it is for the best that I get rid of it.”

The heavens fractured. Red cracks climbed through the clouds, spreading across the sky like wounds in reality, only to vanish almost as quickly as they had appeared. For the first time, confusion crossed the otherwise unreadable face of the Great Dreamer.

“How?” he asked aloud. “I am the master of this floor.”

“And I am the master of this Tower.”

The voice came from above. N’wa looked up. A figure hung suspended in the sky. It was Da Wei. An enormous azure dragon burst into existence behind him, its serpentine body coiling through the heavens. Da Wei descended gently onto the dragon’s forehead as though he had simply stepped onto solid ground, then looked down at the Great Dreamer.

“You’re quite arrogant for someone who is merely one aspect of the Supreme Void,” he said. “How about we end this right here? I’ll grant you my mercy and let you go this one time.”

The Great Dreamer shrugged. “That sounds awfully gracious coming from someone who struck fear into the hearts of his enemies through reckless valor and fearsome momentum.”

“And you’re being awfully talkative,” Da Wei shot back. “That’s not really a characteristic I associate with you.” His expression hardened. “Listen. N’wa is under my protection. So is this campus, and the rest of this damned floor. If you still want to throw hands, I’d gladly indulge you. But once I start, I won’t stop.” The azure dragon beneath him slowly opened its jaws. “I’m aware that the Tower is enduring a terrible war right now. So think very carefully about how you want to expend your soldiers. Mark my words, I might not walk away from the clash unscathed, but I’ll make damn sure it hurts you.”

The Great Dreamer stared at him for a long moment. Then he sighed. “Retreat.” The hooded figures surrounding the campus immediately began withdrawing. “Leave this place.” He gave Da Wei one final look before disappearing with the rest of the Slayer Order.

The moment they were gone, the frozen world began moving again. Sound returned. The wind resumed. People continued talking and laughing as though nothing had happened. N’wa stood there in stunned silence while, above them, the azure dragon soared through the sky, twisting and dancing among the clouds and scattering brilliant fireworks of qi across the heavens.

“What’s happening?”

“Is there some kind of event?”

“Look at that!”

The graduates pointed toward the sky, cheering at what they assumed was some elaborate celebration. Da Wei descended from the heavens and landed beside them.

“Come on,” he said. “Follow me.”

They hurried after him. By the time they reached the limousine, N’wa was still trying to process what had just happened. She climbed into the back with Hei Mei while Da Wei sat beside them.

“That was close,” Da Wei sighed.

Hei Mei looked at him. “What happened?”

“Long story short,” Da Wei said, “you guys got ambushed.”

Tao Long eventually entered the driver’s seat. He was naked. N’wa stared at him. Only moments ago, he had been the enormous azure dragon soaring through the sky. Tao Long hurriedly began putting on his clothes inside the vehicle.

“We need to hurry back,” he complained. “Da Wei’s body is unattended right now.”

N’wa blinked, then looked at Da Wei. The realization slowly dawned on her. This wasn’t Da Wei. Not really. It was a dream projection. He had been bluffing the entire time. The realization should have made her feel relieved. Instead, N’wa felt a strange chill. He had deceived the Great Dreamer. The Great Dreamer was a terrifying existence with authority over dreams, and yet Da Wei had managed to fool him into believing that he had personally descended to confront him with a dream projection. That was frightening in its own way.

Tao Long finished dressing and started driving. Da Wei leaned back in his seat.

“I finally have a roadmap for us,” he said. “But I still need more time in isolation. I found a rather interesting teacher, someone who might be able to enlighten us about what exactly the Supreme Void’s deal is.” He looked toward the others. “So I’m asking for a little more patience.”

“No.”

The word came out immediately. Everyone fell silent. N’wa felt like a child throwing a tantrum the moment she heard her own voice. She clenched her hands.

“I’ve run out of patience.” She lashed out. “You told me I was free to watch you. You told me I could judge you for myself. But what is this?” Her voice grew sharper. “You left me completely dry while you secluded yourself inside your own mind to look into the future. How am I supposed to decide whether you’ve been honest and sincere with me if you didn’t even follow your own words?” N’wa glared at him. “Damn hypocrite.” She took a breath. “Bring me with you.”

She didn’t even know whether that was possible. Da Wei simply answered, “Sure.”

When they returned to the building, N’wa found herself standing before Da Wei’s body. It was still leaning against the sofa, motionless and seemingly asleep. She stared at it for a long moment. She had come here with a purpose. She had promised herself that she would observe Da Wei and determine whether he truly was the Evil God the Slayer Order claimed him to be. She had spent four years waiting. Now she finally had her chance.

N’wa looked toward the dream projection. “What do I need to do?”

Da Wei’s expression became serious. “There’s a risk.” N’wa waited. “If you follow me, there’s a possibility that you’ll experience something worse than death. You could become trapped in an infinite loop, endlessly repeating the same existence without ever reaching an end. You might retain your memories. You might lose them. You might experience countless variations of the same fate.” His voice grew solemn. “Death would be kinder.”

N’wa swallowed. The thought of an eternity without escape sent a chill through her. But she had already made her decision. “I understand.”

Da Wei stared at her for a moment. Then he pointed toward his own body. “Pluck out one of my eyes.”

N’wa froze. “Excuse me?”

“Pluck out one of my eyes,” Da Wei repeated. “Then place it on yourself.”

N’wa stared at him, utterly befuddled. She wasn’t sure whether she had heard him correctly.

“You heard me.”