Chapter 65: Chapter 64 - Karmic Restitution

Qing felt true shock as she listened to Lind. His talents were very rare to be in one person but his status as a 6 elemental balanced out his good fortune. All of that was thrown out at the revelation that not only was he reborn, but it was NOT a talent but deliberately done! She had never heard of that.

The talent of rebirth usually referred to a cultivator getting a lucky chance or somehow intentionally sending their soul into samsara but holding it together to assume a new life. The soul would find a compatible vessel near death or replace a descendant if they were truly vile.

She had never heard of them being literally reborn from the very beginning as Lind outlined nor was there any record of meeting 'gods' that directed such souls. Qing found the tea had gone cold but words would not come. She had studied many things concerning mental and physical health issues, but she was still very young.

"Lind, are you sure of what you just told me?" Qing saw him nod and his confidence made it seem like it had happened. "I need to consult my seniors on this matter. I believe you Lind, but I have no reference for this issue."

Lind's disappointment was clear but then an idea seemed to come to him.

"Would an expert you could ask be helpful?" Qing had no idea what Lind was talking about until she recalled the report that said a senior scared off a Gold Tier World Realm like they were a child. Was he connected to a powerful senior outside of Darkmoor Kingdom entirely and not aligned with the Demon Empire?

"If they are willing, then possibly but do you trust them?" She saw Lind instantly nod and no doubt it was due to the protection offered at a key moment when Lind was barely alive and nearly cornered by the Demon Empire envoy.

"Let us go then." Qing smiled and offered her hand to the young man.

****

The Stone Ward was strangely quiet as Lind and Qing made their way through it. She was wearing her cloak once more but Lind walked openly as he had always done. His body felt so weak. If not for Qing, he would not have made it far in the Inner District. She was able to restore his flailing stamina and had even offered to carry him but Lind stubbornly refused that last part.

Lind suddenly paused as he reached a key turn and began to blush. While the homeless and swarthy faces of the less than honest salesmen could be ignored, the next part would be…worrisome. Sighing, he stepped forward and led Qing to the brothel he had passed so many times in the past few months.

He saw disdain flash on her face but that was all as she followed him to the rundown shop next to the brothel. Lind bowed to the shop and waited. The door remained closed and a cold sweat began to form on his back until Qing stepped forward. The wards flared to Lind's Eyes but that was all.

"I have come to help Lind Frey but he spoke of something beyond belief. He trusts you to help, senior, please allow me to speak with you." Lind felt touched a bit, but given how many had come to the shop just over his short time training, Younger Twin had ignored them all. Lind could enter any time he wanted but he was also worried the Immortal Will could be fading away.

Both were surprised as the door slowly creaked open.

"If not for the unusual situation I could not break the rules but a possible inheritor is at risk. I can only bend so far, little girl." A frown was now truly on Qing's face but it was hard to argue with the pressure coming out of the shop now. Lind could not tell much, but he could feel there was a change to the pressure. Whether it was good or bad, he did not know.

The shop interior was the same as always at first, but LInd noticed a sharp decline in the profound formations he had seen for so long. They were holding, but the brightness of the Qi had decreased massively. Even so, Younger Twin materialized as easily as always and looked as firm as ever.

Both cupped their hands and bowed. Lind noticed that Younger Twin was looking at him strangely but after what happened, Lind could not blame him. Possession was a horrifying thing but there were usually more warnings before it got that far. Lind had shown none of those warnings.

"You are better than I expected, disciple. Your hard work saved your cultivation this time, but I paid a heavy price to protect you from that demon. This world is strange from what I can tell but I had no idea how much. Sit." Both of them suddenly found themselves in the very first room Lind had come to so long ago.

A warm fire burned in a hearth as steaming tea was laid out on a table between 2 couches. Lind happily drank the tea and found his body felt so much better. The soreness was far more faint but still present. Lind relaxed onto the couch as Qing seemed to also enjoy the tea but kept her cloak on and hood pulled over.

"You know I can see you entirely and have no body to respond, little girl." Qing's Qi flared but she carefully pulled back her hood and her platinum blonde hair fell out loosely but that was as far as she revealed. Younger Twin looked at her in amusement but made no comment.

"Lind, please tell him what you told me." Qing watched as Lind relayed the oldest truth about himself once again. He had just gotten to what the 2 women in the white space said before Younger Twin held up a hand. His mysterious eyes seemed to actually become full of awe looking at Lind now.

"So, Full Rebirth. You continue to surprise me, Lind Frey. Truly surprising but I think you have a misunderstanding of reality." Qi began to flow before a massive sphere appeared and began to show many layers at the bottom before having larger sections towards the top. "Normally, this would not be discussed in a Mortal Realm, but given your experience, you need to understand what you can."

The lowest layer lit up but Lind noticed a severe lack of Qi outside what was used to light up the layer. Above that was another thing layer but while it lit up in a similar way, there was Qi flowing more easily and as Lind looked up, the more profound the Qi became until the larger sections were impossible for him to perceive.

"This is the entire known realms of cultivation plus a known place treated as below the Mortal Realms. Based on your descriptions, Lind, you were born in the Barren Realm." Younger Twin pointed to the lowest section. He moved his hands up to the next 2. "These represent the place you are in now, the Mortal Realm and this includes the Floating Isles to allow Sky Realm to cultivate. All of those 3 layers together are the source of mortal souls, your soul, but they are still part of the overall cultivation world."

Golden and black light began to float between all of the sphere. Lind thought it was Qi but he saw Qing nearly jump out of her seat when the light appeared. Lind could not perceive what it was exactly but the golden one seemed familiar until suddenly his own body was glowing faintly with golden light.

"It would seem you have been busy in your current life, disciple. I am sure you have heard of these energies but they are one of the most ephemeral and nearly impossible to cultivate either intentionally." The Immortal Will did not seem surprised by what Lind had done but Lind felt shock that mirrored Qing. Karma was something that concerned cultivation as they progressed more and more. It could stunt a cultivator or bring them forward like nothing else could.

"How are you doing this?" Qing was looking at the 2 colors gently but she saw no resonance on her own body, but then looked at Lind in fierce curiosity. A light laugh brought them back to Younger Twin.

"I am an Immortal Will, young lady, so summoning the karma of my source is easy. Most cultivators accrue both of these throughout their journey. In the Celestial Fields, it becomes healthy to monitor the balance between them." The flowing lights became larger and Lind felt awe from the golden light while the black light inspired fear. "What you are feeling is normal but it is important to remember that of the 2, karmic retribution is not evil. It is the punishment for twisting the world out of shape."

Lind wondered what Younger Twin had done to have that on his Immortal Will. As if reading Lind's mind, Younger Twin smiled forlornly.

"No one is a saint or a devil completely my disciple. Even so, it is not always clear why one or the other is earned but there is one truth known to the Immortals, retribution is far easier to incur than restitution." Lind glanced at his faintly glowing hands and wondered why he responded but Qing, a healer, did not.

"I have not had a happy history like you Lind, but I did not keep my innocence when I confronted the darkness." Qing did not get into specifics but her tone and face told Lind all he needed. She had killed someone or maybe more and it was not solely out of justice or because she had to. She chose to do it.

"That is perfectly normal and the fact you do not resonate with either shows you are in balance. There is nothing wrong with that in your realm. In fact, that should be the goal for most cultivators. Lind Frey seems to be an exception here." Younger Twin smiled and plucked the flowing golden strand and Lind suddenly felt something respond within him. It was not his body or mind, so it could only be his soul.

'No one makes Big Sis cry!'

'What do you think of Teyla?'

'I want Kor and his sisters to be treated better.'

'I won't let you die.'

'I want to help.'

Lind's voice suddenly began to whisper but he was not personally speaking it. Each time, the golden lights flared, some strong and some weak, but all of them resonated with golden light. Younger Twin looked surprised but smiled as Qing looked gently at Lind. He began to blush deeply as he learned what had given him his karmic restitution glow.

"I am surprised, young man. I knew you were hard working but truly you are a rare one. That is not all that there is to you, however." The Immortal Will was merciless as it now moved to the black lights and Lind felt sick to his stomach. The feeling of falling into darkness flared but it did not swallow him as it had before.

'I will destroy that monster!'

'People are not things!'

'Why did you kill her?!'

'Why did you lie to me?'

Lind heard the whispers but now they were causing pain. Strangely, there was barely a reaction in his body but the golden glow became fainter on his body. Why? Most of those were statements that did not lead to any actions, so why?

"Heart demons are not your actions, but deep seeded scars you are ignoring, Lind." Qing's gentle voice eased the pain on his soul. Lind remembered what they spoke about in his quarters and really understood what was happening.

His 2 lives were culminating in deeper issues than a single life would. A true teenager would not have the experiences to make these seeds blossom as the comprehension was not there to deepen them in the first place. His previous life was making it easier to sow heart demons, not more difficult!

"One thing to clarify, Lind, is what happened when you were reborn. They did not lie to you exactly. They told you what you could understand. You thought you were in an afterlife, but that is not what you described." Lind turned towards the Immortal Will and hoped to find the truth, but a deep sigh came from him. "I can't promise this is accurate, but this sphere is all I know for certain, yet there is a myth."

A massive shape swallowed the sphere, but Lind could not understand what it represented. The sphere was broken into more slices than known cultivation realms as well. He wished he could ask, but Lind held off awaiting further revelation.

"I only know of the Immortal Realm and its tiers. Beyond that, however, is supposedly a Divine Realm. Immortals can already create things like me and spaces like this for its Inheritances, but extend that and would it not be possible for dead souls to call Divine Realm cultivators to guide them?" Lind felt drained. He had assumed he was summoned but it was the other way around?

"How can a barren soul do such a thing, senior?" Qing asked the question Lind wanted to know the most and Younger Twin smiled at her. He pointed at the golden light once more and excited it until a strange thing occurred.

A pressure was building in Lind and the room but then it was like something dispersed it at the last moment. For just a split second, Lind felt something familiar. It was barely in his memory, but he felt like the white space was nearly at his fingertips.

"Karmic restitution is not restricted to cultivation, but to opportunity and reward. You changed the fate of those around you without selfish gain. It is something you will understand better later but how would you explain to a child the death of a sibling?" Lind felt something inside his chest loosen. His golden light flared and turbid air seemed to flow out of his mouth, ears, nose and all ways it could.

A vile smell filled the room briefly until the Immortal Will snorted and it vanished. Death is a fact of life but a child could not grasp that easily. Adults softened the blow and use stories to comfort the child until they could understand later.

Cultivators, Lind had met cultivators because he had changed fate to such an extent it called them to him and he earned a reward. Rather than waste his time left, they explained it as best they could to get him to choose his reward and live.

Tears streamed down Lind's face as gentle arms embraced him.

"That was the easy one, little girl, the rest is up to you." The firm voice of Younger Twin was the last thing Lind knew before blinding sunlight told him they were back in the street. Qing picked him up and Lind did not object as he was carried like a child back to his quarters.