10 Mao Lus Path & the Rules (1/2)

The door was 50 ft tall. It was made of a dark metal. Next to it Mao Lu felt goosebumps spread across his skin, the hairs on his arms stood up, and a cold air blew against him. The air smelt very stale here, and the suffocating pressure he felt had now doubled.

On the door there were strange carvings, and yet again he couldn't read them.

\”To protect a realm a Gatekeeper has to defend or attack, and must be highly capable at one or the other. There are many types of ways to use essence, but for a Gatekeeper there are only three main paths. Creation and Destruction, and Time. Once a path is chosen it can not be changed. Earlier you chose the less conventional path, Time.\”

\”Time! When did I chose it?\” Mao Lu wondered in his heart.

\”This doorway will lead you to where you can learn about Time. Out of the 400 Gatekeepers only 10 are on the path of Time, which you should be glad. Out of the three it is the most powerful.\”

\”So I got lucky, and chose a good path!\” Mao Lu felt somewhat relieved.

\”It wasn't luck.\” Gates voice was stern, \”It was your nature. When I asked you earlier which path you wanted to take at that crossroads, you didn't hesitate to keep going forward. Just like time, it is something that does not hesitate and will move forward regardless of what obstacle that tries to oppose it. Also the path itself also chose you, meaning you have talent for it. You are destined to become a Gatekeeper that goes down the path of Time.\”

\”...but…\” Mao Lu thought, he had hesitated, at least in his heart he had momentarily. In his entire life he only continued forward because sitting down and doing nothing wouldn't change anything. It had become his nature to always take a forward stance, but that didn't mean he didn't hesitate. There were many things in his life that he'd hesitated about. Was he really destined to go on the path of Time?

Whilst Mao Lu thought this, he was also inwardly amazed at how well he was taking this and absorbing all this information. \”How am I so calm about all this?\” he wondered.

\”Now enter the door and begin your path.\” Gates commanded.

\”Wait.\” Mao Lu spoke up, \”Before I enter, do I get to know what I'm protecting this realm from, or what the rules I must abide by are?\”

Although Mao Lu was rather patient, he felt that before he began training in anything he needed to understand the cost of it.

For a moment Gates was silent as if it were pondering whether now was the right time to divulge such information.

\”Since it is too late for you to turn back, it doesn't matter if you know now-\”

\”You mean I had a choice to turn back.\”

\”Everyone always has a choice Mao Lu, even destiny isn't undefiable. But now you have made your choice, you want to be a Gatekeeper, right?\”

\”I do. I want to be a Gatekeeper.\”

\”Then I shall tell you who you are protecting this realm from. Firstly you are protecting this realm from other realms. Gatekeepers are chosen by the purity of their hearts and the strength of their virtue, this doesn't necessarily mean they are peacekeeping. Many Gatekeepers have purely demonic hearts and are bloodthirsty and ambitious. There are 200 Gatekeepers of Mortal realms like yours, but out of that 200, 130 Gatekeepers are subjugated by Gatekeepers from the 100 immortal realms or 98 Celestial realms.

The 2 Deity Gatekeepers don't bother with such a thing, but if they did your resources and the people of your realm would become their slaves, easily.

There are also many conflicts between realms due the inhabitants. A Gatekeeper's duty is to give permission to those that request it, allowing travel across realms.

You are border control if you will. One Gatekeeper may give a group the permission to go to your realm, but as Gatekeeper of that realm, if you do not want them you need the strength to deny them into your realm, or to keep them under control once they've entered. There have been many cases where a Gatekeeper hasn't been strong enough and that has led to invasions and wars by other realms.

You must protect your own territory, it is the source of your power and if it is taken by those belonging to another realm, it will no longer be yours. And your power will be short lived and your life will also be short.

Secondly you are protecting your Realm from those beyond the 400 realms. Once every 10,000 years they come and try to devour the realms, and take the verscence that lies in them. Many Gatekeepers have perished in such conflicts with those unknown beings. If you are not strong enough your realm could very well be devoured, although that hasn't happened yet I'm sure you don't want to be the first. And I'm you'd like to avoid countless tragedies.