Nine Paths of Asura-Original Wuxia

Chapter 6- True Power

"I've been waiting for you to wake up for so long, sleepyhead. Are you even a man? What do you need so much beauty sleep for?!"

Lineir was speechless, the voice in his head was bouncing around his skull and was loud enough to make anyone want to clap their palms to their ears.

But since it was all in his head, he didn't even have that option! He looked at the blade in his hand closely and became immensely excited despite his fatigue.

"You wouldn't happen to be one of those legendary immortal blades would you? Have I struck it rich? Will I finally be able to become a hero and never have to worry about food again?" The voice in his head grew incredibly annoyed at his youthful thoughts,

"Me? An immortal blade? Don't be ridiculous. There's little time for your questions. That undead blood is pouring in here, and the undead heart will know where I am after all this time. It's almost done refining the souls of the old city. When that happens, not just you, but the whole new city will likely perish. Choose now, follow my instructions and save the world or die here asking pointless questions!"

Lineir hesitated, it could be a trick after all. This voice might deny that it was an immortal sword, but Lineir knew that only immortal swords could speak out with true human-like speech. Furthermore, it appeared like the blood-sucking spider was actually a minion of this strange sword. However, his blood had really been returned to him. He even felt refreshed and the wound on his back had sealed shut as if it had never been there.

The voice started taking a softer tone but still reeked of arrogance,

"Ok, I see that you are the kind of person that doesn't rush things. But there's really no time. How about this, I promise to answer any one question of yours truthfully, and then you follow my instructions. After we deal with this calamity, I will tell you exactly what you want to know in full!"

Lineir paused, the black liquid pooling up to his ankles. Soon the pit would fill with undead blood and he would drown if he didn't leave anyways. He asked the question that first came to mind and felt most important,

"Can I trust you?"

The voice chuckled,

"Trust is a fine thing, but it is fine to know that I won't kill you right now. That undead heart over there though, that definitely will end your sorry existence if it is allowed to return to life! So listen to me and run out of this pit now! If you can make it to the undead heart, I have synthesized enough power from your blood to stop it from resurrecting. Go, unless you don't value your own life or anyone in the entire city!"

Lineir was sold.

His sister's life was at risk as well!

Immediately he realized that he was out of choices and began to sprint up the sides of the pit. Climbing up the side of the pit was far more difficult than it might seem. The black liquid made everything slippery and holding the sword in one hand, Lineir could only scrabble at the ground with two legs and one free hand. Sometimes he would jam the sword into the side of the pit walls and use it as a cane.

"Hurry, every second you delay, it gets stronger. Can't you hear its heartbeat? If the interval between each beat increases to the speed of a normal heart, even I can't stop what is coming!" The voice in his head urged him on calmly.

Lineir felt frustration coursing through him as he slipped yet again and received a face-full of black muck.

"Can't you do something about this? If you're so amazing, then help me through this!" He yelled out. The voice sighed,

"Look, I could help you through this, but I can only possess your body for a short time before your blood will experience corruption and die. If I do it now, then by the time we get to the undead heart you will already be a dead man walking, and I won't have enough time to seal the heart before you drop dead! Just get me there as fast as possible, and I will take care of the rest. Don't worry about tiring yourself out, once you're there I will take over!"