Myriad Rivers to the Sea

The pale light of dawn crept through the gaps in the heavy steel doors of the secondary armory. The Frostveil Realm offered little warmth as the harsh winds continued to scour the dead city outside. Inside the stone hall, the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples had not been sleeping but had been working through the night.

Elder Cai stood near the center of the room and gathered the remaining elders and disciples to discuss their next steps for the day. They had spent the night rotating watches and sending patrols into the adjacent districts but the results remained grim. The capital held no other living souls.

"We have scoured the immediate vicinity and found nothing but frozen rubble," Elder Cai announced to the gathered group while keeping his voice low. "The capital is a graveyard. If there are any survivors from the initial attack, maybe they fled outward. We also need to check on the places outside of the capital as well."

Ren Shu nodded while keeping his hand resting near his hilt. "We should expand our search radius. The enemy seems to have moved on but we cannot let our guard down while exploring unfamiliar territory."

Elder Cai agreed and began assigning specific teams for the morning operation. "We will send out scouting parties to explore the lands beyond the capital walls. You will travel in pairs to ensure safety. One elder will accompany one disciple. Great caution is advised at all times while you are out there. Do not engage any hostile forces if you spot them. Use your movement arts to retreat and report back here immediately. This armory will serve as our headquarters until Elder Huo Zheng returns with instructions."

Not everyone was selected to leave the safety of the stone building. Half of the force remained behind to guard their headquarters in case anything else happened. They will continue to search through the capital as well but there wasn’t much hope of anything there. The selected scouting teams checked their gear and accepted their orders. The groups slipped out through the steel doors and vanished into the pale morning mist to seek out any remaining signs of life.

Li Yu watched the scouting parties depart before turning his attention back to his bronze cauldron. He decided to prepare another meal for everyone remaining in the hall to keep their spirits up.

He pulled out several bags of a special kind of rice that he had purchased on his travels that was known to impart a peppery flavor. The grains were rich in earth Qi and provided excellent sustenance but more importantly for him the texture it gave. He washed the rice with clear water and poured them into the remaining savory broth from last night. Li then added some fresh water and let the mixture simmer into a thick and hearty porridge.

He tossed in a few dried Bonson Berries to add a hint of sweetness and to further stimulate the flow of spiritual energy within the body. The aroma of the cooking rice filled the stone hall and drew the attention of the disciples who had stayed behind to stand guard.

"You are working hard this morning, Li Yu. If I have not seen you right I would really think that you are a cook by trade." Ren Shu noted with a smile as he walked over to the cooking station. The disciple had been assigned to guard the main entrance and oversee the defense of the hall.

"A good meal keeps the blood flowing and the mind sharp," Li Yu replied while stirring the cauldron with his wooden ladle. "I am making enough for everyone here. I will also seal several portions in containers so the scouting teams have something warm to eat when they return from the cold."

"Everyone appreciates it very much. It’s not everyday that the Holy Son of a powerful sect cooks for everyone." Ren Shu said with a chuckle. "Knowing we have a warm meal waiting helps ease the tension we all feel in this place."

Li Yu smiled and continued to tend to the meal he was making. He observed the far corner of the hall where Crown Princess Yuehan sat on the stone bench. Her three people were gathered around her in a quiet huddle.

The young maid named Meilin was gently brushing the dust from the princess's hair. The middle aged warrior named Gao stood like a sturdy pillar with his arms crossed over his chest. The highly skilled swordsman named Xiao paced near the edge of their small camp while casting frequent glances toward the steel doors.

Xiao stopped pacing and let out a long breath. The swordsman carried a slender blade at his waist and his eyes were sharp like a hunting hawk. He looked at the ruined city visible through the cracks in the doors and then turned his gaze toward Yuehan. A deep conflict waged within his expression but he eventually set his jaw and made a firm decision.

Xiao walked over to the stone bench and stopped a few paces away. Gao noticed the approach and narrowed his eyes while stepping slightly in front of the princess. Something had been off about him ever since these events happened and Gao wasn’t quite sure what was on his mind. Meilin paused her brushing and looked at the swordsman with a questioning gaze.

"Princess Yuehan," Jian spoke up. His voice was steady but held a trace of something else.

Yuehan lifted her head and looked at him. The warm broth from the previous night had brought some color back to her cheeks but her eyes still held a sadness that was hard to miss. "What is it, Xiao?"

Xiao bowed deeply at the waist and held the position for a long moment before standing straight again. "I have served the Frostmoon Empire for many years. I swore an oath to your father to protect this family and uphold the honor of the crown. My soul was bound directly to the King to ensure my loyalty and I bore my duties with great pride this entire time."

He paused and swallowed hard before continuing. "But the King has fallen. The moment his life ended, the binding on my soul fractured and dissolved into nothing. I am no longer tied to the crown."

Gao frowned and his broad shoulders tensed. "What are you trying to say, Xiao? The King may have fallen but his daughter sits right in front of you. The royal bloodline survives and she needs our strength now more than ever."

Xiao looked at the older warrior and shook his head slowly. "The bloodline survives but the empire does not. The capital is in ruins and the citizens are gone or at the very least mostly gone. We need to accept that fact and no kind words will change it. We are standing in a graveyard, Gao. I am a cultivator who seeks the peak of the sword Dao. Staying here to guard the ashes of a fallen kingdom serves no purpose for my path or the oaths I swore to."

Meilin dropped the brush she was holding and glared at the swordsman with fierce anger. "You coward. You are abandoning her when she needs us the most. You ate the King's food, learned techniques, obtained resources and practiced the royal sword arts for decades. Now that the palace is gone, you simply turn your back and walk away like it meant nothing?"

"I am not a coward, watch your tongue." Xiao defended himself while keeping his voice low so the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples would not overhear their private dispute even though they could easily hear it anyways.

"I fought for this kingdom each and everytime. I would have died defending the place if I had been stationed above ground. But I was trapped in the dark while the enemy consumed our home. I survived by chance and now that my soul is free. Fate changes and one must adapt. I choose to forge my own path rather than pretend we can rebuild something that is truly gone."

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Xiao looked directly at Yuehan and offered another deep bow to show that he wasn’t just words, he meant everything he said. "I am sorry, Princess. I cannot stay here. I must find my own way now that fate has changed in such a way."

Yuehan felt a sharp sting in her chest as she listened to his words. She understood his logic and knew she had no right to demand his service now that the soul bound was broken. He was a free man and he was choosing his freedom. Yet the departure felt like another piece of her fragile world was crumbling away into dust and just reinforced her current position. She had lost her family and her people just yesterday. Now the few survivors she had left were beginning to scatter to the winds.

"I understand, Xiao," Yuehan said softly while forcing her voice to remain steady. "You served my father well and you owe me nothing. If your path leads you away from these ruins, then you are free to walk it. I will not stop you from seeking your Dao."

Xiao looked relieved but also carried a heavy guilt in his sharp eyes. "Thank you, Princess. I hope you find safety and peace in the days to come."

The swordsman turned around and walked toward the steel doors in a hurry because his guilt was eating at him but at the same time he knew this place was no longer for him. Ren Shu and the other guards watched him approach but they did not intervene. They had heard the conversation and knew it was an internal matter for the Frostmoon survivors to handle. Xiao slipped through the gap in the doors and disappeared into the freezing wind to seek his own destiny.

Yuehan watched him leave and a fresh wave of loneliness washed over her. She pulled her fur cloak tighter around her shoulders and stared at the empty space where Xiao had stood. She wondered if the other two would follow his example and leave her truly alone in the dark armory.

"He always was too ambitious for his own good," Gao grunted while crossing his arms again. The middle aged warrior possessed a rugged face marked by old scars from countless battles. He looked down at the young princess with a softening gaze.

"Are you going to leave too, Gao?" Yuehan asked with a trembling voice. "Your soul was bound to my father as well. You are a free man now as well. You do not need to stay here in the cold and watch over me. You have done more than enough for my family and I would not blame you for leaving as well."

Gao let out a gruff chuckle and shook his head. "I am a free man, Princess. My binding dissolved the same time Xiao's did. But freedom does not mean abandoning the people who gave you a life worth living."

The older warrior took a step closer and lowered himself to one knee so he was at eye level with her. "Before I was a royal guardian, I was a wandering mercenary. I had no honor and no real home. Your father found me bleeding out in a ditch after a bad contract went wrong. He did not execute me for trespassing on royal lands or for what I had done. He healed me and gave me a purpose. He trusted me to guard one of his most precious treasures."

Gao placed a hand over his heart and spoke with unwavering conviction. "I owe the king my life. A severed soul bound does not erase a life debt in my eyes. I choose to stay because my honor demands it and because I have grown to care for you as if you were my own kin. I will stand by your side until my dying breath, Yuehan. You do not have to walk this path alone."

The princess felt a warm tear slip down her cheek and she reached out to rest her hand on the warrior's armored shoulder. "Thank you, Gao. Your loyalty brings me great comfort in this dark time."

Meilin picked up the brush from the floor and resumed her place behind the stone bench. The young maid had red eyes and sniffled quietly as she worked the tangles from the royal hair.

"I am not going anywhere either, Princess," Meilin sniffled while gently brushing. "We were bound when we were children so we could grow up together safely and I could serve as your main maid. My binding is still active and I could not leave even if I wanted to run away."

Meilin paused and leaned forward to rest her chin on Yuehan's shoulder. "But even if I was free like Gao, I would never leave you. You are my princess but you are also my friend. We will survive this nightmare together."

Yuehan reached up and patted the maid's hand. The stinging pain of Xiao's departure was smoothed over by the genuine dedication of the two people who chose to remain. She was the leader of a ruined empire but she still had people who believed in her and cared for her wellbeing.

It didn’t occur to her right now since Princess Yuehan was lost in her grief but she also had the friends and allies she made along the way as well. Those friends were in other kingdoms within this realm that might not have suffered the same fate. There were friends on other different realms as well and there were allies that her family had, such as the Heavenly Sword Sect that had come to investigate. The very same allies that were here now to protect her and find further answers.

Li Yu watched the exchange from his cooking station but did not interfere. He heard the words spoken and processed the varying degrees of loyalty displayed by the three attendants. It was a fascinating and sobering look into the nature of human connection and servitude. It wasn’t just human connection, it was any connection.

He thought about his own situation and the people he interacted with. Many of the individuals around him were bound to his soul in one way or another. It was a reliable method to ensure secrets were kept safe in a dangerous cultivation world where such secrets could become weaknesses to an enemy. That was really one of the few ways they could be trusted with performing tasks and be kept around at all times. But the departure of the swordsman raised interesting questions in his mind about the future that he didn’t really think through much until now.

'If I were to perish one day, what would happen to the people bound to me?' Li Yu pondered while stirring the thick porridge. 'Would they all simply leave right away as Xiao had done? Would they scatter to the winds the moment their souls were freed from the chains?'

He stirred the cauldron and considered the personalities of his followers. He had friends too but it was different with them because they were not bound. He did not blame Xiao for making the choice to leave either. If people never wanted to be there, they would of course leave the moment they gained their freedom. Li Yu ultimately figured that some of his followers would go and some would stay similarly to what had happened with the princess. It was only natural and made perfect sense in the grand scheme of things.

'Even if they cared about me, they might not care about my sons or daughters if I ever have them,' Li Yu thought with a peaceful smile. 'They would forge their own paths just like Xiao. But some would stay behind to honor the bonds we built and friendships we have made.'

He found a strange sense of comfort in that realization. Loyalty could be forced through soul bindings while a person lived but true devotion was a choice made freely. Li Yu truly believed that while some of his followers were bound to him via a soul contract, some of them truly saw him as a true friend as well. He knew that he saw some of them as a true friend so it only stands to reason that at least some of them would share a similar thought. Li Yu accepted that he could not control what happened after his time ended and he was fine with that natural order. Life would carry on for all beings even when missing those that were lost.

The porridge finished cooking and bubbled with a rich earthy scent. Li Yu filled several containers and sealed them tight for the scouting teams out in the cold. He then filled a few wooden bowls for the people resting in the hall. He carried a tray over to the stone bench where Yuehan and her two remaining people were talking quietly.

"Breakfast is ready," Li Yu announced softly while placing the tray on the stone block. "It is a thick porridge made with spiritual grains and Bonson Berries. It will provide lasting energy for the day."

Gao accepted a bowl and nodded his thanks while Meilin eagerly took a portion for herself. Meilin truly enjoyed Li Yu’s cooking and was surprisingly not shy to accept. Yuehan looked at the steaming food and then looked up at Li Yu. Her eyes were still filled with sorrow but they lacked the paralyzing emptiness from the previous day.

"Thank you, Li Yu," Yuehan said while picking up her bowl. "For the food and for listening."

Li Yu offered a polite nod and sat down nearby with his own meal while giving them their space. He did not see himself as some great savior that could make anyone feel better with just his presence. Li Yu had done what he thought was right and now kept to himself to let the other person heal. The ruins outside were frozen and dead but the small group inside the armory continued to find warmth in each other. They ate their food in comfortable silence while waiting for the scouts to return with news from the frozen wasteland.