Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Chapter 918: Truth and the Tears

The vast expanse of the void blurred past them as Zhan Tian, Tielan and Li Canghai traveled toward the military camp. During the journey they discussed how to handle the reunion. Tielan and Canghai were still slightly hesitant about making a public spectacle of their return. They wondered if they should just let Li Yu know in private and quietly exist as a family in the shadows for a while longer.

Zhan Tian dismissed the idea entirely.

"We are not hiding." Zhan Tian stated as he crushed a rogue spatial storm beneath his boot. "He is my grandson. He comes from two of the most supreme clans in existence. He has lived his entire life in the mud while possessing the bloodline of the heavens. He needs to step into the light and claim his legacy. We will be right beside him to kill anyone who objects."

Tielan and Canghai exchanged a look but they did not argue. The Worldkeeper had spoken and his confidence was infectious.

They arrived at the outer perimeter of the desolate realm in no time. They masked their descent to avoid causing a panic among the regular soldiers as they landed silently near the central command structures. Tielan stepped forward to handle the military logistics. She walked directly into the command office of Chief Instructor Lei Gang.

Lei Gang was currently reviewing a stack of jade ledgers detailing the physical progression of the recruits. He looked up and instantly dropped to one knee when he saw the Supreme Commander enter his office.

"Commander Tielan." Lei Gang rumbled respectfully.

"Rise, Lei Gang." Tielan ordered softly. "I am here to inform you that Recruit Li Yu will be departing the vanguard camp today. His training here is concluded. I will be taking him back to the Zhan clan for him to receive his full inheritance."

Lei Gang stood up and nodded.

"Understood." Lei Gang replied with a genuine smile breaking across his scarred face. "With his actual status revealed and proper resources, he is going to grow into something truly monstrous."

Lei Gang crossed his arms and looked out the window of his office. "I am just happy I got to help forge the base layer of his iron. I cannot wait to see the monster he becomes when he finally reaches the peak."

Tielan offered the instructor a rare and warm smile of gratitude before turning and walking back out into the camp. She rejoined her father and her husband. The three of them walked purposefully toward the premium courtyards located at the edge of the camp.

As they approached Li Yu's designated courtyard they extended their divine senses. Tielan immediately noticed the presence of eight other individuals inside the perimeter and Tielan did not want an audience for this moment.

She raised her hand and channeled a gentle but absolutely irresistible wave of Qi. She sent a direct transmission into the minds of the eight retainers.

'Wait outside.'

Before Fenric, Oram or any of the Eidolons could even process the voice echoing in their heads, the Qi swept over them. They were lifted cleanly off the stone floor and deposited gently on the dirt road outside the heavy wooden gates. A loud click echoed through the air as Tielan locked the courtyard entirely, sealing the place so no one could look inside or enter.

Outside the gates the eight retainers scrambled to their feet and they were terrified once more. This had already happened not too long ago back at Gilded Fate City.

"What was that?" Gart gasped as he dusted the dirt off his pants. "Just what the heck is this kid?"

The seven Eidolon operatives shook their heads slowly. They truly did not know. They only knew that their Grand Envoy was tied to powers that were even stronger than they were. Looking back at it now, it was very lucky of them that he even offered to help store his Ancestor.

Inside the courtyard, Li Yu was sitting in a meditative posture on the smooth stone training floor. He was currently reviewing the complexities of the Nexus Mind Technique that Oram had gifted him.

He felt the sudden spatial displacement when the eight retainers vanished. A second later he felt three distinct and overwhelming auras descend directly into the center of his courtyard. Li Yu opened his eyes and stood up quickly. He summoned his Qi and prepared for combat.

But when he looked at the three figures standing across the courtyard, his internal energy shattered completely. His hands dropped to his sides and his breath caught in his throat. The three visitors had no protective masks this time. They did not obscure their features in shadows or light. They stood in the open air allowing themselves to be clearly seen for the first time.

Li Yu stared at the woman in the dark commander robes. He recognized the terrifying aura of Supreme Commander Tielan. But he was not looking at the commander. He was looking at her face. It was the exact same face that had smiled at him when he was a child.

He slowly shifted his gaze to the man standing next to her. He recognized the steady aura of Commander Canghai. But the face belonged to the father who had taught him his first words.

Finally, he looked at the massive white armored warrior standing slightly behind them. Li Yu recognized those burning eyes and that wild white mane instantly. It was the man from the River of Souls.

Li Yu felt his mind fracture under the weight of cognitive dissonance.

Nothing made sense right now. His parents were dead, they had died in a beast tide back when he was a kid. He had mourned them and even gave them graves by the river side. He never saw their bodies but no one expects there to be bodies left after a beast tide. Yet here they were radiating a level of cosmic power that defied all comprehension. And the old man from the Law River was standing with them.

'Is this death?' Li Yu thought wildly to himself. His heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird. 'Did I push my blood vitality too far and die during training? Is the man from the river a manifestation of death who brought my parents to escort my soul?'

He was completely stunned. He could not move his feet and he could not force a single word past his lips because his brain simply could not process the reality standing in front of him. Tielan took a trembling step forward. The sight of her son standing there looking so lost and confused broke the last remaining walls of her composure.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Li Yu." Tielan spoke softly. Her voice cracked with emotion as tears began to stream freely down her cheeks. "We have wronged you. We left you alone for so long. Please forgive us."

Li Canghai stepped forward and stood beside his weeping wife. His own eyes were shining with unshed tears.

"We have a massive amount of things to explain to you." Canghai said while his voice carried a deep and desperate warmth. "But it is truly us. We are your mom and your dad."

Canghai walked across the stone floor and opened his arms. He went to pull his son into a hug. Li Yu flinched and took a step backward. His eyes were wide with a mixture of terror and hope.

"No." Li Yu whispered as his voice shook violently. "My parents are dead. How is this possible?"

Canghai did not stop as he closed the remaining distance and wrapped his arms firmly around his son. Tielan rushed forward a second later and threw her arms around both of them. They hugged him tightly, tighter than they have ever hugged him. They pressed their faces against his shoulders and wept.

The moment their physical warmth enveloped him, the connection flared to life inside Li Yu's chest. It was an instinctual and absolute truth that bypassed all logic and reasoning. The profound resonance of their souls sang in perfect harmony with his own. He knew instantly that it was really them.

The defensive shell that Li Yu had built over years of survival, the stoic armor he wore to navigate a cruel and lonely cosmos, shattered into a million pieces.

Li Yu buried his face in his mother's shoulder and began to cry. He cried his eyes out like he never had before. He wept for the lonely nights in the lower realm. He wept for the exhaustion of always having to be strong and staying alive. He clung to his parents as if letting go would cause them to vanish into the mist once again.

Zhan Tian stood a few paces away and watched the embrace. The ancient Worldkeeper smiled broadly while a few silent tears tracked down his own scarred face. He crossed his massive arms and felt a sense of peace settle over his violent heart. His family was finally whole.

They stood there in the center of the courtyard holding each other for a very long time. The desolate military camp faded away entirely and there was only the warmth of the reunion.

When the tears finally slowed and their breathing steadied, they moved over to the large stone table. Tielan wiped her eyes and busied herself with brewing a pot of spirit tea while they all sat down together.

Canghai poured a cup for his son and offered a gentle smile.

"Before we explain what happened to us," Canghai began softly. "We need to introduce someone else. The man sitting across from you is Zhan Tian. He is Tielan's father. He is your grandfather."

Li Yu looked at the massive white armored warrior who was currently sipping from a tiny teacup that looked comical in his huge hands.

"We met." Li Yu commented while his voice was still thick with emotion. "I saw him on the grey river twice. I tried to find him again each time but never could."

Zhan Tian laughed loudly and slammed his cup down on the stone table. "Yes, we did! We crossed paths on the River of Souls! You have a pretty strong soul hiding in that head of yours, brat!"

Li Yu managed a small smile. He had a grandfather. A grandfather who felt incredibly strong at all.

"But why did you leave?" Li Yu asked while looking back at his parents. The desperate need for answers finally outweighed his shock. "Why did you pretend to die?"

Tielan reached out and held his hand across the table.

"We had you during a very brief period of peace." Tielan explained softly. "We wanted to raise you far away from the clan and far away from the crushing burdens of our titles. We wanted you to have a normal, happy childhood without the constant threat of assassination. But that peace ended way earlier than we ever anticipated."

Canghai nodded gravely. "A massive conflict erupted in the cosmos. We were required to return to our posts and shoulder the burdens. If we brought you back with us, you would have been targeted immediately by enemies vastly more powerful than you could comprehend. We had to leave you hidden in the lower realm for your own survival and peace."

"We were agonizing over our options," Tielan continued. "When someone we knew and respected approached us. He offered a solution. He told us he would stay behind and watch over you from the shadows as you grew up away from the eyes of our countless enemies. And he has done exactly that until this very day."

At the exact mention of this friend, a rift opened up a bit away from the table. The darkness swirled and condensed into the figure of Khaos in his human form.

"I am sorry for listening in on a private family moment." Khaos said with a respectful nod toward the table. "But now that the truth is finally coming out, I felt I had to be present."

“Khaos?” Li Yu stared at the man. The mysterious person who had guided him and most likely saved him from death on at least one occasion. After being with him for a long time he was suspicious of him but never got any answers. It always seemed like he had his best interest at heart though so he didn’t push the matter too much.

Zhan Tian narrowed his eyes as he looked at the entity. The Worldkeeper recognized the man instantly but a look of deep confusion crossed his scarred face.

“I know you.” Zhan Tian rumbled via Qi transmission. "But why does my grandson call you Khaos? You are known across the realms as VoidClaw."

"It is a long story, Worldkeeper." VoidClaw replied with a small and polite smile. "Khaos was a suitable alias when I met him. Let him think that my name is truly Khaos."

Zhan Tian stood up from the stone bench and his massive frame cast a long shadow over the table. The Worldkeeper possessed a level of combat power that exceeded even VoidClaw. In the strict hierarchy of the cosmic elite, Zhan Tian was one of the apex predators.

But for the very first time since returning from the abyss, besides the ancestors of the Zhan clan, Zhan Tian did not call someone a brat. The Worldkeeper stepped away from the table and faced VoidClaw. He placed his massive hands at his sides and offered a genuine and deep bow of gratitude.

"Thank you, VoidClaw." Zhan Tian said via transmission once again. His booming voice was filled with complete sincerity. "Thank you for protecting my grandson this entire time. You kept my bloodline safe when I could not. I personally owe you a debt that can never fully be repaid."

VoidClaw was visibly taken aback. His eyes widened in shock which was rare for him. Receiving a bow from the Worldkeeper of the Ethereal Horizon was an honor that entire empires could only dream of.

"It was an honor, Lord Zhan." VoidClaw replied quickly while returning the bow even deeper.

Li Yu quickly stood up from his seat. He looked at Khaos and everything slowly began to click into place. It all made much more sense now. Li Yu clasped his hands together and bowed deeply to Khaos.

"Thank you for everything, Khaos." Li Yu said sincerely. "For all of your help and for watching over me when I was alone."

VoidClaw smiled warmly at the young man. "It is no problem at all, Li Yu. I was incredibly happy to see you grow up into the cultivator you are today."

VoidClaw then turned his attention back to the Worldkeeper and via transmission. "Lord Zhan, there are a few matters I need to discuss with you. The parents can fill the boy in on the rest of the domestic details."

Zhan Tian nodded in understanding. "Lead the way."

The Worldkeeper and VoidClaw stepped backward and simply vanished into the fabric of space, leaving the courtyard in sudden quiet.

Li Yu sat back down at the table and was still overwhelmed and processing everything. He looked at his mother and father. The massive weight of their sacrifice was beginning to settle in his mind.

"So you faked your deaths." Li Yu said quietly.

"We did." Canghai confirmed with a heavy sigh. "Right before your true cultivation journey began. We needed to sever all ties so that no diviner or tracker could ever link you back to our cosmic presence. We had to break your heart so that you could live a life we thought would be better for you."

The evening wind blew through the courtyard as the parents continued to explain the desperate lengths they had gone to in order to ensure their only son survived the cruel cosmos.