Author's Note: For those interested, there are now five advanced chapters (we're on chapter 37) and a poll about drawing that we will be requesting in the future for this story on my on P-atreon, which you can read and vote for just $5.
I also finished the first volume of my other story, "Welcome to the Alternate Multiverse Chat Group."
So if you can, please go to my profile and check it out.
Remove the spaces and dash: p-atreon/ Krakenian01
X-X-X-X-X-X
Third Person P.O.V
In the eyes of most beings, the Saiyan race was full of curiosities; many would categorize them as simple barbarians who only knew how to ravage other worlds and races.
Others would consider them a war resource to be exploited, but the truth was that they were something simple to understand, both in life and in death.
The lives of those who were once one of the greatest conquering forces in the universe tended to be like an explosion in most cases, fleeting but striking, exciting but dangerous, brilliant, but also very destructive. After all, they were a race born for war; living another day to be able to die fighting was the norm for them.
Few and rare were those who didn't love the feeling, the thrill of battle, the increasingly frantic heartbeat, the uncertainty of knowing whether they would die or win, the blood pumping through every vein in the body and the taste of it when wounded, the pride of defeating even those who seemed above you.
And Leek had been halfway between those strange Saiyans and "the normal ones".
He had let his instincts get the better of him on two occasions.
The first time was when he almost died during his fight against that pack of gorillas.
Even pressured by the sheer numbers of these beasts, he fought, eliminating them one by one while incurring more and more wounds, until only the leader of this pack remained.
And if their duel hadn't been interrupted, he might have actually died, either during the fight or afterward, due to being left vulnerable by his multiple injuries.
After this, he had realized, even if only subconsciously, that this wild side could be a hindrance rather than a strength, so he sought an answer: martial arts.
That way, perhaps he could go from a "wild" warrior to a fully formed one, if it had worked for Goku and Broly, then perhaps it could work for him as well.
He learned from Xiao Ning'er, learned from Huyan Xiong, perfected his ki control, and meditated, trying to lock away that part of him, and he reached the point where he was confident he had it all figured out, even during his second fight to the death, he was able to maintain good self-control, defeating both Behemonts.
But when his third fight came, things changed; in that mental space, the nameless old man had cornered him to limits he'd never reached before, and with an ease that only infuriated Leek.
Little by little, his control began to loosen, like keeping a closed fist around an object while slowly falling asleep.
In this way, the Saiyan reached a point where, even though he maintained some control over his emotions, his actions became more savage, anyone could have noticed this just by looking at his demeanor during the fight.
Unable to maintain control to think calmly, and unable to completely let himself be overcome by anger to try to crush the enemy.
Leek was truly an atypical case compared to the rest of his race, although of course, this was because his being still clung to his humanity in a way and rejected his Saiyan side, willing to accept only the power it gave him, but unwilling to deal too much with the disadvantages it brought, simply trying to ignore or suppress them, a truly childish way of thinking.
Perhaps that was why his "Saiyan side" presented itself to him with a frown when he was about to lose.
What was the point of continuing to suppress his instincts if it would only lead to his death?
And all for what? To avoid the fear of the spiritualists? To avoid being rejected by them? To avoid being seen as a monster?
Once again, what good would all this do him if it ended up causing his death in battle?
Killed for not harnessing his own power, killed for being unable to accept what he was now and what he had ceased to be.
Leek had never felt more foolish than when he understood this truth by taking the metaphorical hand his Saiyan side extended to him.
Being a Saiyan didn't mean being a savage or renouncing the path of martial arts.
Saiyans grew stronger using emotions like anger; these were their fuel, but that didn't mean they should be slaves to that feeling.
Just as Goku did, just as Vegeta knew how to accept it, and just as Broly learned to do it, combining fighting styles with anger and other emotions, using them to strengthen himself in battle, was something he had to learn to do, not avoid.
As he sat cross-legged in the middle of this seemingly endless dark space, that was the answer he came up with.
"And it took you so long to understand something so simple? And we're supposed to be the least intelligent race?" A slightly rude voice, a hint of mockery but similar to his own, came from behind him, and Leek hid his surprise before answering without turning around.
"Well, it's not like I have much experience being anything other than human, and I've only been a Saiyan for a short time, so I think I get a free pass"
"Are you seriously trying to look cool in front of yourself by answering without turning around? I saw the little start you had when you realized I was here before you calmed down"
Leek didn't need to see his other self's face to know he was rolling his eyes; his tone made that more than obvious, but that didn't mean he was going to give him the pleasure of answering the question.
"So, we're in my or our mental space? I assumed so from how comfortable I felt here, but your presence confirms it." Leek moved on to another topic as he stood up.
His other self shrugged before answering. "I guess so, though it's a bit empty, don't you think?"
"Maybe it's like the stages of sleep? You know, when you have deep sleep and when it's light sleep, maybe this is because I'm deeply asleep, like a dreamless sleep"
"I'd say you're more unconscious or comatose than asleep, your body is almost completely destroyed because you tried to handle that amount of energy, not to mention the mental fatigue and the fact that your ki reserves were almost completely depleted"
"So... we won?"
"Of course we did, once we unleashed the Ozaru's power in human form, that creepy old man didn't stand a chance." The ghostly Leek said as if it were obvious.
"Wait, we used the Ikari state?!" Leek blinked in surprise, he hoped it was just a temporary power boost due to anger or resolve, not something like what Broly could do or what Goku did when he defeated the Demon King Piccolo.
"It was only temporary, and due to the circumstances, only for a few seconds until we finished off that old man. If we had gone beyond that time, we would have truly died, so you're still far from being able to use something like that. While it's not all disappointing news, a power boost will surely await you when you wake up"
"I guess so, but… we're still weak, aren't we?" Leek asked his ghostly counterpart.
"Tch." The other Leek clicked his tongue before sighing. "We are." He finally admitted.
"And that old man was just a fragment, plus there's the other guy who wants to refine spacetime"
"The Sage Emperor." The transparent Leek nodded, his expression thoughtful this time.
"Do you think the old man was telling the truth?"
"That's irrelevant." The other Leek replied, crossing his arms. "Whether he exists or not, the path forward is obvious, isn't it?"
Leek gave a short laugh before nodding. "I guess so, we'll keep climbing until we reach the top, if there really is someone there, then we'll surpass them, and if not, then we'll simply claim that place as our own"
"Now you sound more like a Saiyan." The other Leek smiled before taking another deep breath, changing his expression, and asking in a serious tone. "Then, will you give up who you were before?"
Leek shook his head a few times while maintaining his smile. "I still can't remember much of my past, but the parts I still have make me who I am right now; forgetting or discarding them would be just as foolish as denying who I am now"
"Then, who are you?"
"I'm Leek, the Saiyan." He said, pointing at the transparent Leek. "And also the human." He added, this time pointing at himself. "Children are the only ones who choose, and men take everything, right? So I'll accept everything without denying any part of who I am." He finished by extending his fist.
"Bastard." The other Leek snorted with a smile. "Trying to look cool again." He commented before closing his eyes and extending his fist, bumping it with Leek's with the firmness only a warrior could muster. "You better not lower your hands again, even if you think you're going to lose, or else I'll kick your ass myself"
"I'll try not to, but you know what they say, to err is human"
The ghostly Leek shook his head a few times as his entire body turned into particles of light. "Don't let me down, or the blood that runs through our veins." He said with a smile before losing his entire form, being absorbed by the "real" Leek.
Leek clenched his fist as the light completely merged within him. "I won't." He said in a whisper before smiling. At that moment, in front of him, he saw a light emerge, shining brighter and brighter.
"Looks like it's time to wake up, let's find out what happened after I fell unconscious." He said before the light filled the entire place.
#####
Third Person P.O.V
"Ouch ouch ouch, I take that back, I want to be unconscious again, this hurts so much!" Leek complained as he writhed a little on a makeshift bed inside what looked like a tent.
His arms were completely bandaged, while the rest of his body had a few thinner bandages here and there, he supposed it was obvious; after all, most of the damage he sustained in that last fight wasn't due to the old man, but to his own final attack.
At that moment, a man entered the tent. "He's really awake." The stranger said, staring at the Saiyan, his eyes wide in surprise.
"Umm, hi?" Leek greeted, slightly confused, not recognizing the man. "Who are you? And what happened?"
The man seemed to regain consciousness, turning to speak outside the tent. "Tell the patriarch that the young master has woken up!" He ordered before looking back at Leek, clasping his fist to his palm, and bowing.
"Huyan Han greets the young master!" He said in a respectful and impressed tone.
"??" Leek seemed quite surprised and a little confused by what was happening, so he didn't know what to say, though that wasn't a problem, because the man continued speaking a couple of seconds after finishing his greeting.
"We are currently on our way to Glory City, by orders of Patriarch Huyan, Lord Ye Shuo, and Elder Hong Yue Mu, you are to be kept in this tent until you recover; it has been four days since your group left the St. Ancestral Mountain Range"
"Our group? Ah, you weren't in the initial team that came with us, weren't you?" Leek asked again, he vaguely remembered what the guards he arrived with had looked like, and this one didn't resemble any of them.
"No, we arrived last night with City Lord's group, Master Ye Zong, Patriarch Huyan left a group to await instructions before they left, and when the first letter arrived, Lord Ye Zong contacted us"
"Ah, I see, so how far are we from Glory City?"
"We-"
"We just passed the halfway point not long ago." Interrupting the man mid-answer, Huyan Xiong entered the tent along with three other people Leek recognized.
"You may leave; we'll take it from here." The patriarch said to the guard, who bowed once more before leaving.
"Saiyans really do have impressive physiques; you recovered much faster than we thought you would." Huyan Xiong said with his arms crossed and a smile.
"Ha, well, I suppose so. We're the kind of people who fit the saying that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Leek replied, laughing a little before looking at the rest of the people.
"Lord Ye Zong, Lord Ye Shuo, and Lord Hong Yue Mu." He bowed his head slightly in greeting.
"Do you know how much trouble your request to venture into the St. Ancestral Mountain Range caused?" The City Lord asked with a serious look.
"Haha." Leek laughed a little as he rubbed his head with his bandaged hand. "Well, normally I would say I'm sorry." He said in a slightly embarrassed tone, before smiling as he looked the man straight in the eyes. "But that's not what you want to hear, is it?" Both the Saiyan and the Spiritualist held a staring contest for a few seconds before the City Lord sighed, shaking his head and letting out a short snort, which caused a short laugh from Huyan Xiong and a discreet smile from Ye Shuo.
"I told you he'd figure out the trick." Huyan Xiong said, gently nudging Ye Shuo with his elbow.
Leek seemed happy that his guess was correct, the moment they entered the shop, he used his ki detection, and since it wasn't just a tool that measured power levels, but also a limited way of sensing an individual's emotions, Leek discovered that there wasn't a single hint of annoyance or dissatisfaction in the City Lord.
He actually seemed a little… happy?
"Actually." Ye Zong began once more after finishing his sigh. "I have you to thank, not only did you eliminate a threat that could pose a danger to Glory City, but thanks to you, the lives of three Black Gold-rank Spiritualists were saved." The normally serious man said in a gentler tone.
Leek blinked, he hadn't met Ye Zong for long, but from those few occasions, he had pegged the man as someone unlikely to show anything more than seriousness or a position of power to others.
At that moment, the three spiritualists stepped forward, bowing their heads slightly in gratitude.
"Not only was my life saved by bringing me out of the Dark Ruins, you also allowed my family's honor to be preserved, I don't know what would have happened if that specter had taken over my body and then returned to Glory City." Hong Yue Mu said.
"Your actions and the way you handled things were what allowed us all to get out of the ruins alive. I'm truly grateful, and it seems that in the end, it was an adventure similar to the ones you told me you preferred, right?" Ye Shuo added, referring to how Leek had told him during the trip that he preferred simple adventures where he only had to worry about punching the bad guy in the face with his fist.
"It seems I really wasn't wrong in entrusting my daughter to you, you're a tough guy, boy, more than I first thought, and that last attack you launched was incredible." Huyan Xiong concluded.
Leek blinked in surprise, an inexplicable embarrassment washing over him, all these men were figures of power and influence in Glory City, but now they seemed to regard him with genuine respect, and their words sounded quite honest.
"Uh… thank you." The Saiyan lowered his gaze slightly, not knowing what else to say, he didn't consider himself to have done anything truly worthy of praise or thanks.
During that fight, everyone had fought for their lives; the only difference was that he was the one who sustained the most injuries.
Once the atmosphere returned to normal, Ye Zong resumed leading the conversation. "In the time I've been here, they've already told me everything that happened, but there are still blank spaces, so I want to hear your side of the story, who the soul was that they found, what it told you, and other details of what happened"
Both the city lord and the other three spiritualists sat near the bed, while Leek nodded a few times, ready to share what he knew, although, of course, he would take certain liberties with the content of the story.
#####
Third Person P.O.V
Once the explanation was over, everyone found themselves in a state of obvious contemplation. After all, the information they had received, although revealing, was unreliable.
"A great evil unknown to us?" Ye Shuo commented as he combed his beard.
Leek decided not to distort the account of what had happened with the old man too much; he only avoided mentioning the Sage Emperor, changing his existence to an unknown one, and also hiding the fact that he wanted to refine all of spacetime.
As he recounted everything that had happened, he considered whether he should be honest, but in the end, he decided to keep that information to himself for two reasons.
The first was that, at least, as far as he knew, there was no proof that what the old man had told him was true.
The second was that it could spread panic among the spiritualists, and he sincerely doubted that Glory City had a method to stop an event of that magnitude.
So the Sage Emperor's warning ended up morphing into a warning about an unknown evil that had caused the old man's city to fall, and the old man had gone from being just a fragment of his true self to a complete but weakened soul, hoping to steal a body so he could exact revenge.
That way, he would still put the city lord and the spiritualists on guard, something that could give them some coherence to the spirit's actions, while he continued to grow stronger until he reached a level high enough to kick that Sage Emperor's ass if he really existed.
"This could be troublesome to deal with." Ye Zong said.
"Yes, although I'm not sure if what he said about that great evil being alive was just a guess and not a certainty, it's still worrying that someone even stronger than him could be wandering around." Leek added.
"We'll have to take action, investigate further, and keep an eye out for anything that might give a clue as to who the person he was talking about was." Hong Yue Mu said.
"So why don't we organize a scouting party to the Dark Ruins? I know it's dangerous, but if there's any place we could get a clue about what's going on, it's there." Huyan Xiong added.
"I'll consider it." Ye Zong said after thinking for a while. "While it's true that this could be a future problem we might have to face, we can't endanger too many people or resources based on a Specter's feelings of revenge." the City Lord concluded, and both the Saiyan and the other Black Gold-rank Spiritualists seemed to agree with him.
"It seems that's that, then we-"
"Ah, please wait a moment." As the adults stood up, ready to leave the tent, Leek caught their attention.
"There are more things I'd like to share with you." He said before raising his hand, on his finger, the interspatial ring Lanruo had given him flashed for a second before five more rings appeared in his lap.
It was fortunate that they hadn't taken back the ring Lanruo had given him, likely considering that, since it was something she had given him, it was too personal for them to touch.
"In the cave that had the inscription patterns that teleported me near the chamber where Hong Yue Mu was, I found these rings; they were in the possession of five corpses that somehow still emitted a trace of energy, and inside, I found some armors, weapons, and other things." He said, taking one of the rings.
"So that's where you got the armor and sword you had during the fight?" Huyan Xiong said, quite surprised.
"Yeah, to be honest, after I broke free from the mental space the old man had trapped me in, I was so focused on him and the fight that I completely forgot about them and ultimately didn't use them. Do you know what level those items were?" He asked.
"Heh, well, boy, they were pretty strong, the armor was Gold-rank, though it's broken." Huyan Xiong shook his head a few times as he raised his hand, making his ring glow, revealing the armor, sword, and bracer.
"Oh, so it was because of that blow he gave me." When Leek saw the broken part of the armor, he remembered the kick in the side he received during the fight.
"That armor prevented the damage from being more severe than it should have been, but you still ended up with a couple of broken ribs." Ye Shuo spoke.
"The armor broke, and he still broke two of my ribs? That guy really was something else, I even had my body reinforced with ki." Leek complained half-jokingly as he shook his head a few times.
"But these." Huyan Xiong held back his laughter before continuing, and Leek saw how the other spiritualists seemed to smile a little, and even Ye Zong seemed a little amused to learn that Leek had used that bracer and sword. "They're for female cultivators"
"What?" was all Leek could manage to say, understanding.
"Well, none of us know the exact capabilities of these objects, but they're a set, and they seem to absorb and enhance the Yin energy of whoever uses them by synchronizing with their user, and the ones who absorb Yin energy are women, look, do you see what it says here?" He said, pointing to two similar inscriptions on both the sword blade and the bracer.
"It's not part of the inscriptions on the weapon; it's a title or signature, it says 'War Maiden'." The patriarch finished explaining.
"…"
"…"
"Damn it." Leek lowered his head, knowing he'd been running around with equipment that basically said he was a girl. "The moment we return to Glory City, I'll study at least the basic things about the languages of this place." He said in a defeated tone.
"And about the level, it's strange, on its own, it's incredibly strong, Black Gold-rank, but Ye Zong brought his second wife, she's an inscription master, and she said there are parts she can't understand, but it seems like joining a compatible user would change it's level"
Leek blinked a few times, being that what surprised him most out of everything he heard was that the city lord had more than one wife, and not the fact that he seemed to have something that might be an S-grade item, if he were speaking in gacha terms.
"I'll give them to Lanruo. I think it'll be a good gift for her,." He said after some thought.
"Haha, I was hoping you'd say something like that." Huyan Xiong said before putting the bracer and sword back into the ring and tossing it to Leek.
"Good, now I wanted to show you the rest of the things I got." He said, taking the ring where he kept all the things he found in the rings of the five skeletons in that chamber, and after a few seconds, a pile of objects lay on the floor next to the bed.
All the spiritualists' eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the objects; if obtaining five interspatial rings was already considered valuable loot, then the quantity and quality of the objects they saw could be considered a small fortune that could surpass the total value of several aristocratic families.
"This is everything I found in that chamber, well, everything that could be useful; there were some plants, but they were all withered or spoiled." He said before adding. "I'd like each of you to take a couple of things you like, I don't know how much this is worth, but it was thanks to all of you that I mustered the energy to fight back in the end. If even one of you had been missing, then the rest of us would have died, so please, take this as a thank you. As for the city lord, take this as a way of showing my willingness to be on friendly terms not only with you, but with the Snow Wind family, so that we can be trustworthy allies in the future"
"Are you sure about this? Many of these items are incredibly valuable." Ye Shuo asked, looking at the objects.
Leek waved his hand as if it were nothing of great importance. "We fought a fight to the death together and emerged victorious thanks to mutual support; I would be a scoundrel if I dared to keep all of this for myself." He urged them to continue.
"Although, of course, I would also like your help classifying all the objects. After all, as I said before, I have no idea how powerful these things are or if they have any special properties"
Faced with an opportunity like this, even if they were Black Gold-rank Spiritualists, how could they resist a gift like this? Whether it was the city lord, a family elder, or even the patriarch, they all stepped forward in the end and took a maximum of two objects each.
"Thank you, I will not forget this kindness. From now on, consider the Hong Yue family your ally." Hong Yue Mu said after taking a spear and an orange stone.
"Thank you for this, young Leek, if you need my help, don't hesitate to ask for it." Ye Shuo nodded respectfully to the young Saiyan before putting away a scroll and a magenta jewel.
"Haha, so soon, and you're already giving a dowry? You're a good son-in-law." Huyan Xiong patted Leek on the back while holding two scrolls in his other hand.
"I appreciate it." Was all Ye Zong said, limiting himself to taking just one scroll.
With that matter settled, Leek moved on to the last point he felt needed to be addressed.
"Now, there's this." He said, once again raising the ring Lanruo had given him, it flashed for a second before an ornate, three-compartment box appeared.
The same one from which the old man had taken the piece of mummified skin, so there were still two sealed compartments.
X-X-X-X-X
I only have one thing to say:
Sorry for the delay, but IT'S. TOO. DIFFICULT. AND. UNCOMFORTABLE. TO. WRITE. WITH. ONE. HAND.
Note: Xue Yin, who appears in the manhwa, is the inscription master whom Ye Ziyun calls Aunt Xue.
In the TODAG game, it's made clear that she is Ye Zong's second wife, while in the manhwa, she appears alongside Ye Ziyun and Nie Li at his funeral, so it's implied that she maintains that position in the manhwa.
On the other hand, some may notice that Ye Zong doesn't seem as unapproachable as he does in the original, this is because his initial impression of Leek is more positive than the one he had of Nie Li in canon.
This is because, you know, he didn't catch him trying to sneak out of his daughter's courtyard while he was half-naked.
Besides that, I also wanted to ask you for something else: I'd like to commission a drawing for this story, either a new cover or a fan art of a scene.
That's why I wanted to ask you to please join my P-treon, those who join, in addition to being able to read the 5 extra chapters there, will also be able to vote to decide which of these two options will be the drawing.
If we get 19 people with Legend rank to join, and I add a little bit of what I have saved (because the good artists I've seen on X aren't cheap), I think I'll be able to find a good artist to draw something for this story.
So far there are 12 people, so we need only 5 more (we are close to the goal!), so, if possible, please support me, if not, I still appreciate the reviews, comments, and power stones.
Remove the spaces and dash: p-atreon/ Krakenian01