Chapter 693: Life and Death (1/2)

Chapter 693: Life and Death

Just then Lan Jue felt his shirt tightened. When he turned around, he saw a pair of lilly-white hands gripping his clothes.

“Qianlin!” Lan Jue gasped in surprise.

Ever since falling into this state Qianlin could perform basic functions, but this was the first time she’d taken the initiative. However, her eyes still bore that dull look.

Lan Jue tried to loosen her grip but she just held on tighter. He tried to convince her to let him go but she would not be swayed.

Tears had begun to well up in Lan Jue’s eyes. He pursed his lips, and after a moment sighed. “Alright, we stay together. Life or death, no matter what happens, we don’t separate.” He dropped his head and kissed her lips. The tell-tale light surrounded them and when it was gone, so was Zhou Qianlin. Lan Jue felt his Discipline surge to its peak.

A few minutes later Zeus-1’s cargo hold opened and two figures emerged; Lan Jue and the Pharmacist. They didn’t wear their mechas, they would be too conspicuous. Instead they relied on their protogenic understanding to protect them from the vacuum of space.

“Sis, why did you want to come? Did you sense something?” Lan Jue asked her.

The Pharmacist’s calm expression fractured, revealing uncertainty beneath. Her body shook ever so slightly.

“What is it?” Lan Jue asked, concerned.

She was silent for a time, fighting with herself to maintain calm. She bit her lower lip. “I felt… I felt it.”

He didn’t understand. “It? What do you mean?”

She sighed. “Ultus!”

“Ultus?” Lan Jue gaped at her. “First of the Banishing Blades… the one your husband bore?”

She nodded.

Lan Jue stared at her in shock. “One of the planets?”

Again, she nodded. “The largest one. I’m sure of it, Ultus is somewhere inside. If you don’t believe me, channel your consciousness through Captus. You’ll feel it, too.”

Lan Jue nodded and shut his eyes, searching his feelings.

His mind sunk into the mystical blade. Therein was a world of marvels, thick with the sword’s power. Reality existed in tiers, constantly emerging and collapsing before his eyes. Among it all was a faint sense, immortal essence so broad and profound that it seemed to permeate everything, its end and beginning.

This was the root of the Banishing Blades’ power. Therein he found Captus, shivering. He sensed it, felt it calling to something far away in the ethereal reality they inhabited. He could also sense Occisus and Demortus close by.

Lan Jue gasped. She was right, the sword was there. But that meant her husband…

His eyes opened and he turned his attention toward the Pharmacist. Her eyes were wet, and tears were suspended in space between them.

She had spent so many years, desperately searching for any news of her lost love. Now she had it, but it was news of his death. If Ultus was somewhere inside the alien planet then the chances her husband still lived were minuscule.

“Sis, it’s alright. Maybe –“Lan Jue tried to find the words to comfort her.

She waved her hand. “It’s fine, I’ve prepared for this day. I knew I was just lying to myself by hoping he’d come home. How could he still live? I just never thought it would be these cursed aliens that killed him! No matter the cost, I am going to get that sword back. It’s the only thing he left behind.”

“I’ll help you!” Lan Jue replied without hesitation.

She paused, staring at him with glistening eyes. Three simple words, but they were a solemn promise. Both of them had seen the strength of these monsters with their own eyes and still Lan Jue was eager to help. It was moving beyond words.

Lan Jue went on. “Do you have a plan? Maybe some way to awaken the sword?”