The narrow path leading to the cave was unchanged. Sila slowly walked inside. He lightly touched the caves wall and found the claw mark he left behind the last ti he was here. At that ti, he had successfully unleashed the might of Tigers Claw for the first ti and felt elated, his heart dancing and jumping with joy. Many months had passed, and he could perform the sa move as easily as breathing today. Sila left a similar mark next to the previous one, his mind longing for the preceding excitent he gained from the achievent.
A humans emotions were truly strange. Even when he repeated the sa actions in the sa place, doing it at a later point in ti gave off a different sense of achievent.
The open area surrounding the pond was still there, with the missing ceiling that revealed a shining full moon. How many players got a chance to enter this place? There had only been a few. Being the only player to visit this place twice, Sila couldnt help but make a comparison.
He compared himself with the Sila who previously visited this cave.
Sila stopped his feet in front of the pond. He looked at the ti in his system window indicating that midnight would arrive in less than five minutes. He shifted his gaze to the water surface and saw the reflection of himself and the moon.
He was about to dip his hand into the pond, yet he stopped mid-way.
The last ti I did this, ti went by rather fast. What felt like a few minutes turned out to be three days. Maybe I will go back late if I dip my hand into it.
Sila stared at the water surface without knowing what action he should take. His gaze lingered on it for a long ti until the new day arrived. In an instant, the eyes of his reflection changed color and stared back into his.
Dark Self, right? asked Sila.
Finally, we can talk face-to-face.
Even though he had expected the reply beforehand, seeing his reflection actually talk made Sila shiver with excitent.
Mn. When you seized control of my body, I witnessed everything but couldnt move. Is that what life is like for you all the ti?
Yes. Are you going to complain? Its just a few minutes. I have never once complained, and Ive been forced to just watch from the inside for more than twenty years.
Has it been that long? How co Ive never noticed you before?
Youve always known about , but you just avoid the truth. Im your loneliness. I was you when Nunthima left you. I was you when Teacher Mora scolded you for sneakily watching other disciples practice the dojos martial arts. I was you when you had to hear all of the insults that the other disciples threw at you. I was you when you trained by yourself while other disciples got to learn martial arts. I was you when you felt alone even while you were surrounded by people. We have always been together. However, you only recently acknowledged my existence.
I always thought you would be... erm... more evil than this? Since your na is Dark Self.
We are both Sila and we are both Dark Self. Your enemy is similarly my enemy. Its just that we have different approaches regarding many things. You keep the negativity to yourself while I unleash it. You take the bla and say you are okay with it while I think its not my fault and I wont tolerate it. Thats all.
You also seem smarter than even though you are .
Its for the sake of survival. You have what I dont have, which is the body. In order to maintain my state of existence, I have to attentively absorb what we learn. We have learned the sa things, practiced the sa arts, read the sa books, and seen the sa world. However, you neglect so knowledge while I dont overlook it. Thats the reason I am better than you. In a world where only the mind matters, I have to devour everything we learn in order to survive. In the end, Im strong enough to make my appearance in your world.
What do you want? asked Sila.
You already know that. We are the sa person. What you seek is what I seek. The question is, what thod will we use? Your thod or my thod?
What is your thod?
The opposite of yours. Since our mission is to obstruct Montra from winning, we will use the Wicked Union as our pawn. When the war starts, we will leave everything to them and head straight to assassinate Montra. Thats all there is to it.
There are a bunch of flaws in that plan. If sothing goes wrong, we will lose instantly. Sila started to use We with his Dark Self in order to build up intimacy.
No, youre wrong. You are thinking too hard. There is only one hole in my plan: Are we strong enough?Are we strong enough to place the world beneath our feet?
The strength of a single person is limited. Humans will be weak if they are alone.
With , you have all the support you need. If we join forces, we can trample on even Monster Soul. There will be no ga, no war, and no victory for Montra, replied Dark Self.
If we do that, other players will suffer. So of them are only playing this ga to have fun.
Its not our fault. Since the Elders selected this place as a battlefield, it is the battlefield. The weak who cant even protect themselves should get out. In fact, its an act of rcy to drive them away. Even if Monster Soul collapses, there are still other gas out there. The decision is theirs, not ours.
Is that what you really think? I have never considered it that way.
Thats because I look at things from a different perspective. For example, I know that you arent here to ask these questions. You are here because you want to know about Dark Psychic Corrosion. Keep in mind that Im you. I always know what youre thinking. Dont beat about the bush or try to get along with .
Sila released a sigh of relief. He had tried to act friendly due to what Divine had told himfor a psychic power that focused on destroying, he needed to be gentle with it. However, that was his misperception. In fact, being gentle ant an act of acknowledgnt, not an act of kindness.
True. I ca here for Dark Psychic Corrosion and Five-Attributed Cloud Qi.
Dark Psychic Corrosion is a part of us, so it cant be destroyed. Your guess is rightit has beco a part of Five-Attributed Cloud Qi. The reason you cant put it into use is that, mind-wise, you are weaker than . On the other hand, I cant use Five-Attributed Cloud Qi because body-wise, I am weaker than yousince I have never had a body.
Qi was related to the balance between inner force and body, so the body was more relevant than the mind.
Then, what should I do to be able to use psychic power the way you did?
The fact that you acknowledge your flaws strengthened my existence. However, for you to be able to use Dark Psychic Corrosion, you will need to acknowledge you first.
You are , arent you? Why dont you acknowledge ? Sila asked with curiosity.
Yes, I am you. Look at you. Why did it take you so long to admit you have a dark side? It annoyed to see you make tons of stupid decisions. You always cared about others, even at the cost of your own gain.
How can I make you acknowledge ?
Just you trying your best to pay a visit in the Cave of Immortals is enough to make acknowledge you, at least to so degree. Even if, in fact, it displeases to see you wasting ti by coming here. Just using Moon Reflecting Mirror is enough. Such a wasteful trip.
Can I do that? This is the first Im hearing of this.
A mirror doesnt only reflect an enemy, it can also reflect oneself. Divine told us this when we passed the trial and got the skill. You listened and let it pass, while I pondered deeply over it.
Sila opened his palm and activated Moon Reflecting Mirror. A mirror then materialized and floated in front of him. Sila had never observed his reflection in the mirror before. Now that he did, he noticed that the man inside the mirror was Dark Self, not him. With that, he sat down on the ground and continued to converse through the mirror.
Even if you say that, I dont think it was a waste of ti. At the very least, I got to help Rex and had a little sparring match against Mister Crow.
You are free to think that way. Let say this first. Us acknowledging each other is just the very first step. From now on, you will be able to use Dark Psychic Corrosion while I can similarly use Five-Attributed Cloud Qi. The next step is for us to oppose each other.
Eh? Why do we have to acknowledge each other, then?
Dark Self was aware that Sila would understand what he wanted to say better if he gave Sila room to think. Rather than giving Sila a direct answer, he changed the topic.
When did you start becoming stronger? Do you rember?
Was it when I entered the ga? In the beginning, I felt like there was no way I could lose.
No, thats just you enjoying the ga. You started to beco stronger when I made an appearance as a harmful psychic power, devouring you from within. For the sake of survival, you never stopped polishing yourself or pushing yourself past your limits. Likewise, for , I started to beco stronger when you subdued . I needed to struggle to survive. In the end, I won over your qi and regained the state of my existence. Fighting each other doesnt make us weaker. Instead, it strengthens us both. Thus, your greatest opponent isnt Montra, but .
Sila imdiately understood. We are the duality of Yin and Yangoverwhelming each other yet supporting each other. When one of us grows stronger, the other one will also need to evolve to keep the opposing one in check. This process will continue until we reach an absolute balance.
When that ti cos, there will be neither you nor . We will completely beco one.
Do I need to teach you how to use qi?
How are we opposing each other if you do that? I wont teach you anything. Similarly, you dont need to teach . However, we can observe and study each other all the ti. This is what we call overwhelming yet supporting each other.
Sila nodded. Actually, he felt Dark Self possessed the sa knowledge regarding qi that he did. Dark Self only lacked the proficiency to put qi into practical use. For exampleMontras last attack, Dark Self could use Formless Soldier to defend, correctly utilizing the tal elent against Montras wood-elent attack, despite Genesis Punch being a move of the earth elent.
In fact, although Genesis Punch was of the earth elent, its power also slightly leaned toward the tal elentnot pure earth. For the sake of comparison, Poluks Genesis Punch was at the sa level as Silas Dual Attributes. It was highly likely that Poluk was attuned to the earth elent like Sila. Therefore, he could exert the power of the tal elent to enhance his move.
Does that an I can now use psychic power? asked Sila.
Why dont you find that out yourself? replied Dark Self.
Sila opened his other palm and brought forth psychic power. Then, a loose ball of fine black dust floated above the hand. Sila felt glad that it no longer corroded his hand. It was the result of Dark Self acknowledging him.
He mimicked Dark Self by forming the black mist into a sword and crystalized it. However, the black mist distorted as it refused to combine, causing Sila to feel upset.
Do you think its an easy task because I made it look as such? Do not fret. There is plenty of ti for you to learn. By the way, I need sothing from you. Its about our qi.
Sila showed a mild smile. I wont teach you. If you want to use it well, you will have to study it yourself.
Thats not what I want. What I want is the right to na the moves. Since you already ca up with the nas for the five moves of the Dual Generating Attributes, I want the right to na the five moves of the Dual Overwhelming Attributes. With this, we will be equal.
What? This is what youre concerned about? Actually, I dont mind the nas. You should have known that our parents helped co up with the nas for all Single Attributes moves. I only ca up with the nas for the five moves of the Dual Generating Attributes.
Be it Supernova, Genesis Beam Punch, Hundred Victories, Rippling Moon Block, or Shapeless Fla; not one of them suits my taste. Since psychic power is the core of Dual Overwhelming Attributes, I shall be responsible for giving their nas.
Well, theyre just nas. It doesnt matter what you call them. Anyway, have you already co up with the nas?
Dark Self smirked. Yeah, I have. You will know and be surprised when I use them. I guarantee that they sound cooler than yours.
Whatever. This should conclude everything I am here for. I should go back already. Sila stood up and was about to deactivate the mirror.
Hmph. Dont you still have one more topic to ask about? The non-combat one.
Sila swept dust off his clothing and asked Dark Self, pretending to act like he wasnt interested in the conversation, Oh, right. About that. What do you think?
I think we dont have enough ti to spend on this topic. Our hands are already full of problems. We shouldnt seek more.
Is that so? Sila slowly walked to the caves exit.
Well, if you want the answer from the deepest part of your heart, I will simply tell you that you lacked people who gave you love and attention since your childhood. Thats why you desire to obtain love from others even if its just a small feeling. At the sa ti, you are afraid to adhere to it and experience the sa sadness you felt when it was gone. In the end, you lack the ability to make a decisive choice and leave the problem as it is.
Then, what should I do?
She gives all her love to you, but you share your love with several people. How is it fair for her? Try to look at the situation from her perspective. If she also shares her love with soone else, can you accept it? A loss is natural and inevitable. You cant resist it, but you can treasure it in other forms.
Sila listened and agreed. You are a better person than I thought. I always thought that you must be quite evil since you are my Dark Self.
As the words left Silas mouth, he wondered if this was what they called self-praise.
Hearing Sila, Dark Self replied, Im not evil. Im the opposite of you. In situations where youre a piece of trash, I shall be a good person.
As the words left Dark Selfs mouth, Sila wondered if this was what they called self-bla.
The Cave of Immortals had achieved its purpose. The one who went inside was a young man confused about himself with his mind full of questions, but the one who ca out was the new generation profound practitioner, enlightened about his own existence and with a mind full of answers.
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