Soon, the smoke cleared, but Zark was no longer in the room. Nothing remained of the once lively young man, not even his remains.
To someone else, killing an innocent might be at least upsetting. It can even break weaker people. But Rand felt only indifference. To him, it didn’t matter whether he killed an innocent or a true villain, one person or a thousand. From childhood, as a future emperor, he was taught to use death of others as an essential tool to achieve his goals. His decisions to kill were based on concepts of benefit and harm, utility rather than emotions. Will the death of someone bring him more benefit than harm? If so, he or she should probably be killed.
When Rand was very young, he once asked his teacher:
"Can you condemn an innocent person to death for a small, temporary gain?"
To which the teacher replied:
"Of course, Your Highness. 'Benefit' for a ruler or even an ordinary cultivator is far more important than foolish human moral principles. You should not give in to weakness, and when making any decisions, be guided by something else. Also, remember that all people under the sky are your future subjects. It is a great honor for each of them to die bringing benefit to you, and therefore, to the entire empire."
Rand pushed thoughts of this old conversation aside and reached out to the crown floating in the air, which obediently flew towards him. As soon as it landed on his head, Rand stroked it like a pet and praised it aloud:
"Good job, Aina. You helped me a lot; I couldn't have managed without you."
He immediately felt an indescribable joy and satisfaction emanating from the crown, she clearly was pleased with his words.
To Rand, the crown was both a pet and a friend. He often shared his plans and thoughts with it, but the last few weeks were an exception as the crown had been asleep most of the time. She was quite intelligent but found it difficult to communicate with words due to certain restrictions. However, she could convey complex emotions and various images exceptionally well.
Despite Rand continuing to stroke the crown, her joy soon turned into concern. Rand immediately understood the reason for this new emotion.
"You think it was pointless to do all this, right? That some might still link my visit to Zark's shop, his sudden wealth, and the purchase of the Earth Devouring Serpent and the latter's future attack on Weed, right?
In his mind, a fuzzy image of a nodding girl appeared.
"You're right. With some bad luck, someone could connect these events, whether the assassination attempt on Weed succeeds or fails. But at best, these would only be vague suspicions. No one could use them to accuse me of anything. Of course, there is still some risk. But I didn't have much choice, did I? I couldn't just sit and hope for the best. Eyron in general was right. Weed can be seen as an unpredictable, powerful snake that could bite fatally at any moment. And the most frightening thing is that it grows stronger with each passing second."
"If I didn't use this wealth, what could I have done? Try to secretly kill Weed with your help? But you felt it with me back then too, didn't you? Even if he’s just an ordinary boy protected by a powerful entity, and we managed to kill him, we probably wouldn't survive the retaliation from the being behind him. In other scenarios involving Weed, it would be even worse..."
Rand was again overwhelmed by the crown-Aina's anxiety.
"Don't worry so much. If everything goes according to plan, we won't be involved regardless of whether Weed survives or not. At worst, we will just confirm that he is extremely dangerous, and then we can act based on new information about him. And remember, if something goes wrong, we can always retreat."
But these words did not satisfy her, Aina still filled Rand’s mind with her doubt and uncertainty.
"Alright, enough of that, it’s already decided. Now, we need to deal with the snake. You’ll help me with the negotiations, right? We need to convince him to attack Weed without the collar. Because if the sect sees the last moments of Weed's life and notices the Palace’s collar, it could lead to very unpleasant consequences."
After getting Aina’s agreement, Rand stepped outside as the room was too small for the upcoming display. The sky was beginning to lighten, although the sun was still hidden below the horizon. Dawn was near.
"Formation, maximum expansion of the concealment zone," commanded Rand. The membrane-dome surrounding Rand’s hideout from prying eyes quickly expanded, stopping only when its radius exceeded a hundred meters.
Once the formation changes were complete, Rand took the control ring from the artifact and put it on his finger. Then, he picked up the beast pouch containing the snake. Unlike an ordinary spatial artifact, it could draw in air and Qi from the surrounding space, providing minimal living conditions. However, animals still disliked staying inside for long periods, especially if they were conscious. After all, there was nothing inside but air, Qi and darkness.
Rand infused his Qi into the pouch, allowing the snake to emerge. It didn’t take long. The snake began to slither out, gradually increasing in size. When it was fully out, a snake over forty meters long stood before Rand, with a mouth so large that it could swallow three Rands at once.
After exiting its confinement, the serpent spent the first few seconds observing and studying its surroundings. Once it was sure it was outside and alone with Rand, it immediately lunged at the masked figure. Rand, seeing the snake’s gaping mouth rapidly approaching, did nothing and remained standing, knowing the snake’s attempt was doomed to fail.
About half a meter from Rand, the snake seemed to crash into an invisible, unbreakable wall, after which it fell to the ground and shook in convulsions that engulfed its entire body.
Rand waited until the convulsions, probably very painful, ended and the snake regained its senses. Then he spoke:
"It was foolish to even try, little snake. You’re smart enough to realize that as long as you wear that collar and I have the control ring, you can’t harm me."
The snake didn’t react to Rand’s words but instead turned and made a desperate attempt to flee towards the forest at high speed.
"It’s useless; you can’t escape either. Stop," commanded Rand. The snake immediately froze, becoming like a statue.
"You can move," permitted Rand, and the snake began to move again, turning to look at Rand with fear and hatred.
"I know that you understand me and can even speak human language, though you and your kind probably dislike it. So I’ll be brief; I don’t have time to teach you obedience. I’ll need your services soon. Therefore, I propose a mutually beneficial agreement. Over the next month, you will follow five of my orders, after which I will release you. Don’t worry, all my tasks will be within your abilities.
What do you say, do you want to be free?"
The snake was taken aback by the offer for a second, then let out a sound resembling laughter, and said in a nearly hiss-free voice:
"You pathetic human, trying to trick me? Do you think I'm stupid? Why should I make an agreement with you? Soon, I'll break this collar and devour you. You’re just an insignificant creature hiding behind an artifact-mask, but I still can feel that you are weak, very weak."
"Ha, you’re amusing, little snake. It seems a small demonstration is necessary. Fine, I’ll show you who’s truly weak here. But first…"
The control ring on Rand’s finger flashed, and the collar fell to the ground. The snake couldn't believe it at first. How could this pathetic human abandon the only thing keeping it from eating him? It was simply unthinkable. But by re-checking everything, it was convinced that it was really free, and this was not some kind of trick. Did this human boy think that now it will be so glad to be free that it will spare him? How foolish…
Still, the collar imposed many restrictions on it and weakened it a lot. Snake dislike greatly this felling of weakness, so before attacking and devouring its former "master", the snake decided to circulate Qi through its body in order to fully restore its strength. Anyway, a person before her will not have enough time to escape anywhere.
As a side effect of the circulation of the huge amount of Qi stored in its body, the energy aura of the snake began to expand and strengthen rapidly, beginning to exert a tangible pressure on the surrounding space and creatures. Rand immediately felt this pressure, it seemed to him that a rapidly growing weight appeared on his back, and the Qi circulation in his body began to slow down. But, no matter how hard it is. Rand tried to show with his whole appearance that the snake's aura had no effect on him. When, a few seconds later, the snake felt that it had regained at least most of its strength, it looked into Rand`s eyes, who was standing not far from him, and said:
"Fool, do you think I’ll be grateful after you had freed me and spare you? This collar was the only thing separating you from my stomach, and now…"
"Calling me a fool? Such insolence," Rand said, removing his mask, and at the same time revealing a crown on his head. Immediately, Rand’s "head" began to emit a monstrous, all-consuming aura that dwarfed the snake’s aura. It was like comparing a gentle spring breeze to a raging summer storm, with Rand’s storm easily overpowering the snake’s breeze.
Feeling the immense power emanating from the small human, the snake involuntarily spoke:
"Peak of Core Formation? No, stronger. Impossible… Is the Great One at the Nascent Soul stage?"
Realizing who stood before it, the snake froze, unable to even move without permission. Beasts instinctively obey stronger beings. Resistance was possible if the difference was just one stage, but with two stages, it became almost impossible
Rand looked at the frozen snake and commanded:
"Bow before me, pitiful snake."
"No… not before a human, no…" the snake replied, struggling to resist the urge to obey.
"Bow," Rand repeated, his aura’s pressure intensifying. The snake, realizing the futility of its resistance, submissively lowered its head.
"Now do you understand, wretch, that we exist on entirely different levels? When I offered you an agreement, it was an act of incredible generosity, not weakness. Be grateful that you can still be of use to me, or I'd kill and gut you right here and now," Rand said with feigned anger, calming down a moment later and continuing in a more serene voice, "But I am exceedingly magnanimous, so I’ll offer again: fulfill ten of my orders over the next month, and you may go free. You can agree or refuse, but I must warn you, if you refuse now again, indulging your pride, I will get rid of you and find a more reasonable snake."
As soon as Rand finished speaking, the snake responded immediately, fearing even a moment’s delay might change Rand’s mind.
"Forgive my rude behavior, great one. I am but a beast who has only recently gained intelligence and failed to recognize who stood before me. Thank you for your generosity, I accept your agreement."
"It seems there is a sliver of wisdom in your empty snake head. But mere agreement is not enough; I do not trust you. Swear by your lineage, or else…"
The snake was clearly uncomfortable with this demand but complied nonetheless:
"I, Jormgadrant, swear by my bloodline and lineage that before I regain my freedom and will, I will fulfill ten orders from the human before me over the next month. If I break this oath, may my foundation be destroyed, and my bones turn to dust."
"Good, now get back into the pouch and wait until I call for you again. That will be my first command to you."
As the snake obediently retreated into the pouch, Rand addressed the Mist Kingdom Crown, Aina, resting on his head.
"You saved me. Without your help, it would have been challenging to frighten and subdue that foolish snake." Aina felt a surge of happiness at his gratitude, but Rand’s next words dimmed her joy: "I sense this brief demonstration drained a significant portion of your reserves. And you accumulate your own Qi very slowly. So return to sleep to restore your energy quickly. I will need your help again in the future."
Though not entirely pleased with his decision, Aina complied, disappearing from Rand’s head and retreating into the depths of his soul, where she entered a restorative sleep.
As soon as this happened, the edge of the rising sun appeared on the horizon, weakening the formation that relied mainly on moon Qi, rendering it incapable of maintaining such extensive concealment. Thus, Rand immediately ordered:
"Formation, energy-saving mode. Minor concealment."
The dome quickly shrank to cover just the rock and the entrance to the underground hideout.
With nothing else to do outside, Rand headed back into the hideout, contemplating as he descended the steps into its depths:
"I'd like to set out right now, but I should wait for the amulet to recharge. So, the next twenty-four hours should be spent in the hideout before heading towards the village involved in Eyron's plan. There, I need to scout the area and leave the pouch with the snake. I can`t return with it to the sect. It’s too conspicuous, and anyone with spiritual sense can detect a powerful beast within. It’s a shame it can’t be stored in the ring Byron gave me; that would make things much simpler."
For the next twenty-four hours, Rand spent most of his time planning his future actions.
When the wait was over, and the amulet was recharged, Rand dressed in ordinary clothes, set the Twelve Dark Moons formation to automatic mode, and used the teleportation formation to move as close as possible to the village. Even so, he found himself several hundred kilometers away from the village. It was too remote from the main civilization centers. Likely, this is why no one had cared for so long about the fox terrorizing the village, and now no one cared that a powerful wolf pack capable of destroying it was nearby.
After walking the remaining distance to the village in a day, Rand observed it from a distance but decided not to enter. Instead, he found a secluded spot nearby and released the snake, giving it a new command:
"Take the pouch and hide underground here. Do not come out without my order. I will come for you in a few days."
The snake silently took the pouch in its mouth and used a technique to burrow into the ground as if it were water.
After instructing the snake, Rand spent a few hours exploring the surrounding area and then headed back to the sect.
Soon, the smoke cleared, but Zark was no longer in the room. Nothing remained of the once lively young man, not even his remains.
To someone else, killing an innocent might be at least upsetting. It can even break weaker people. But Rand felt only indifference. To him, it didn’t matter whether he killed an innocent or a true villain, one person or a thousand. From childhood, as a future emperor, he was taught to use death of others as an essential tool to achieve his goals. His decisions to kill were based on concepts of benefit and harm, utility rather than emotions. Will the death of someone bring him more benefit than harm? If so, he or she should probably be killed.
When Rand was very young, he once asked his teacher:
"Can you condemn an innocent person to death for a small, temporary gain?"
To which the teacher replied:
"Of course, Your Highness. 'Benefit' for a ruler or even an ordinary cultivator is far more important than foolish human moral principles. You should not give in to weakness, and when making any decisions, be guided by something else. Also, remember that all people under the sky are your future subjects. It is a great honor for each of them to die bringing benefit to you, and therefore, to the entire empire."
Rand pushed thoughts of this old conversation aside and reached out to the crown floating in the air, which obediently flew towards him. As soon as it landed on his head, Rand stroked it like a pet and praised it aloud:
"Good job, Aina. You helped me a lot; I couldn't have managed without you."
He immediately felt an indescribable joy and satisfaction emanating from the crown, she clearly was pleased with his words.
To Rand, the crown was both a pet and a friend. He often shared his plans and thoughts with it, but the last few weeks were an exception as the crown had been asleep most of the time. She was quite intelligent but found it difficult to communicate with words due to certain restrictions. However, she could convey complex emotions and various images exceptionally well.
Despite Rand continuing to stroke the crown, her joy soon turned into concern. Rand immediately understood the reason for this new emotion.
"You think it was pointless to do all this, right? That some might still link my visit to Zark's shop, his sudden wealth, and the purchase of the Earth Devouring Serpent and the latter's future attack on Weed, right?
In his mind, a fuzzy image of a nodding girl appeared.
"You're right. With some bad luck, someone could connect these events, whether the assassination attempt on Weed succeeds or fails. But at best, these would only be vague suspicions. No one could use them to accuse me of anything. Of course, there is still some risk. But I didn't have much choice, did I? I couldn't just sit and hope for the best. Eyron in general was right. Weed can be seen as an unpredictable, powerful snake that could bite fatally at any moment. And the most frightening thing is that it grows stronger with each passing second."
"If I didn't use this wealth, what could I have done? Try to secretly kill Weed with your help? But you felt it with me back then too, didn't you? Even if he’s just an ordinary boy protected by a powerful entity, and we managed to kill him, we probably wouldn't survive the retaliation from the being behind him. In other scenarios involving Weed, it would be even worse..."
Rand was again overwhelmed by the crown-Aina's anxiety.
"Don't worry so much. If everything goes according to plan, we won't be involved regardless of whether Weed survives or not. At worst, we will just confirm that he is extremely dangerous, and then we can act based on new information about him. And remember, if something goes wrong, we can always retreat."
But these words did not satisfy her, Aina still filled Rand’s mind with her doubt and uncertainty.
"Alright, enough of that, it’s already decided. Now, we need to deal with the snake. You’ll help me with the negotiations, right? We need to convince him to attack Weed without the collar. Because if the sect sees the last moments of Weed's life and notices the Palace’s collar, it could lead to very unpleasant consequences."
After getting Aina’s agreement, Rand stepped outside as the room was too small for the upcoming display. The sky was beginning to lighten, although the sun was still hidden below the horizon. Dawn was near.
"Formation, maximum expansion of the concealment zone," commanded Rand. The membrane-dome surrounding Rand’s hideout from prying eyes quickly expanded, stopping only when its radius exceeded a hundred meters.
Once the formation changes were complete, Rand took the control ring from the artifact and put it on his finger. Then, he picked up the beast pouch containing the snake. Unlike an ordinary spatial artifact, it could draw in air and Qi from the surrounding space, providing minimal living conditions. However, animals still disliked staying inside for long periods, especially if they were conscious. After all, there was nothing inside but air, Qi and darkness.
Rand infused his Qi into the pouch, allowing the snake to emerge. It didn’t take long. The snake began to slither out, gradually increasing in size. When it was fully out, a snake over forty meters long stood before Rand, with a mouth so large that it could swallow three Rands at once.
After exiting its confinement, the serpent spent the first few seconds observing and studying its surroundings. Once it was sure it was outside and alone with Rand, it immediately lunged at the masked figure. Rand, seeing the snake’s gaping mouth rapidly approaching, did nothing and remained standing, knowing the snake’s attempt was doomed to fail.
About half a meter from Rand, the snake seemed to crash into an invisible, unbreakable wall, after which it fell to the ground and shook in convulsions that engulfed its entire body.
Rand waited until the convulsions, probably very painful, ended and the snake regained its senses. Then he spoke:
"It was foolish to even try, little snake. You’re smart enough to realize that as long as you wear that collar and I have the control ring, you can’t harm me."
The snake didn’t react to Rand’s words but instead turned and made a desperate attempt to flee towards the forest at high speed.
"It’s useless; you can’t escape either. Stop," commanded Rand. The snake immediately froze, becoming like a statue.
"You can move," permitted Rand, and the snake began to move again, turning to look at Rand with fear and hatred.
"I know that you understand me and can even speak human language, though you and your kind probably dislike it. So I’ll be brief; I don’t have time to teach you obedience. I’ll need your services soon. Therefore, I propose a mutually beneficial agreement. Over the next month, you will follow five of my orders, after which I will release you. Don’t worry, all my tasks will be within your abilities.
What do you say, do you want to be free?"
The snake was taken aback by the offer for a second, then let out a sound resembling laughter, and said in a nearly hiss-free voice:
"You pathetic human, trying to trick me? Do you think I'm stupid? Why should I make an agreement with you? Soon, I'll break this collar and devour you. You’re just an insignificant creature hiding behind an artifact-mask, but I still can feel that you are weak, very weak."
"Ha, you’re amusing, little snake. It seems a small demonstration is necessary. Fine, I’ll show you who’s truly weak here. But first…"
The control ring on Rand’s finger flashed, and the collar fell to the ground. The snake couldn't believe it at first. How could this pathetic human abandon the only thing keeping it from eating him? It was simply unthinkable. But by re-checking everything, it was convinced that it was really free, and this was not some kind of trick. Did this human boy think that now it will be so glad to be free that it will spare him? How foolish…
Still, the collar imposed many restrictions on it and weakened it a lot. Snake dislike greatly this felling of weakness, so before attacking and devouring its former "master", the snake decided to circulate Qi through its body in order to fully restore its strength. Anyway, a person before her will not have enough time to escape anywhere.
As a side effect of the circulation of the huge amount of Qi stored in its body, the energy aura of the snake began to expand and strengthen rapidly, beginning to exert a tangible pressure on the surrounding space and creatures. Rand immediately felt this pressure, it seemed to him that a rapidly growing weight appeared on his back, and the Qi circulation in his body began to slow down. But, no matter how hard it is. Rand tried to show with his whole appearance that the snake's aura had no effect on him. When, a few seconds later, the snake felt that it had regained at least most of its strength, it looked into Rand`s eyes, who was standing not far from him, and said:
"Fool, do you think I’ll be grateful after you had freed me and spare you? This collar was the only thing separating you from my stomach, and now…"
"Calling me a fool? Such insolence," Rand said, removing his mask, and at the same time revealing a crown on his head. Immediately, Rand’s "head" began to emit a monstrous, all-consuming aura that dwarfed the snake’s aura. It was like comparing a gentle spring breeze to a raging summer storm, with Rand’s storm easily overpowering the snake’s breeze.
Feeling the immense power emanating from the small human, the snake involuntarily spoke:
"Peak of Core Formation? No, stronger. Impossible… Is the Great One at the Nascent Soul stage?"
Realizing who stood before it, the snake froze, unable to even move without permission. Beasts instinctively obey stronger beings. Resistance was possible if the difference was just one stage, but with two stages, it became almost impossible
Rand looked at the frozen snake and commanded:
"Bow before me, pitiful snake."
"No… not before a human, no…" the snake replied, struggling to resist the urge to obey.
"Bow," Rand repeated, his aura’s pressure intensifying. The snake, realizing the futility of its resistance, submissively lowered its head.
"Now do you understand, wretch, that we exist on entirely different levels? When I offered you an agreement, it was an act of incredible generosity, not weakness. Be grateful that you can still be of use to me, or I'd kill and gut you right here and now," Rand said with feigned anger, calming down a moment later and continuing in a more serene voice, "But I am exceedingly magnanimous, so I’ll offer again: fulfill ten of my orders over the next month, and you may go free. You can agree or refuse, but I must warn you, if you refuse now again, indulging your pride, I will get rid of you and find a more reasonable snake."
As soon as Rand finished speaking, the snake responded immediately, fearing even a moment’s delay might change Rand’s mind.
"Forgive my rude behavior, great one. I am but a beast who has only recently gained intelligence and failed to recognize who stood before me. Thank you for your generosity, I accept your agreement."
"It seems there is a sliver of wisdom in your empty snake head. But mere agreement is not enough; I do not trust you. Swear by your lineage, or else…"
The snake was clearly uncomfortable with this demand but complied nonetheless:
"I, Jormgadrant, swear by my bloodline and lineage that before I regain my freedom and will, I will fulfill ten orders from the human before me over the next month. If I break this oath, may my foundation be destroyed, and my bones turn to dust."
"Good, now get back into the pouch and wait until I call for you again. That will be my first command to you."
As the snake obediently retreated into the pouch, Rand addressed the Mist Kingdom Crown, Aina, resting on his head.
"You saved me. Without your help, it would have been challenging to frighten and subdue that foolish snake." Aina felt a surge of happiness at his gratitude, but Rand’s next words dimmed her joy: "I sense this brief demonstration drained a significant portion of your reserves. And you accumulate your own Qi very slowly. So return to sleep to restore your energy quickly. I will need your help again in the future."
Though not entirely pleased with his decision, Aina complied, disappearing from Rand’s head and retreating into the depths of his soul, where she entered a restorative sleep.
As soon as this happened, the edge of the rising sun appeared on the horizon, weakening the formation that relied mainly on moon Qi, rendering it incapable of maintaining such extensive concealment. Thus, Rand immediately ordered:
"Formation, energy-saving mode. Minor concealment."
The dome quickly shrank to cover just the rock and the entrance to the underground hideout.
With nothing else to do outside, Rand headed back into the hideout, contemplating as he descended the steps into its depths:
"I'd like to set out right now, but I should wait for the amulet to recharge. So, the next twenty-four hours should be spent in the hideout before heading towards the village involved in Eyron's plan. There, I need to scout the area and leave the pouch with the snake. I can`t return with it to the sect. It’s too conspicuous, and anyone with spiritual sense can detect a powerful beast within. It’s a shame it can’t be stored in the ring Byron gave me; that would make things much simpler."
For the next twenty-four hours, Rand spent most of his time planning his future actions.
When the wait was over, and the amulet was recharged, Rand dressed in ordinary clothes, set the Twelve Dark Moons formation to automatic mode, and used the teleportation formation to move as close as possible to the village. Even so, he found himself several hundred kilometers away from the village. It was too remote from the main civilization centers. Likely, this is why no one had cared for so long about the fox terrorizing the village, and now no one cared that a powerful wolf pack capable of destroying it was nearby.
After walking the remaining distance to the village in a day, Rand observed it from a distance but decided not to enter. Instead, he found a secluded spot nearby and released the snake, giving it a new command:
"Take the pouch and hide underground here. Do not come out without my order. I will come for you in a few days."
The snake silently took the pouch in its mouth and used a technique to burrow into the ground as if it were water.
After instructing the snake, Rand spent a few hours exploring the surrounding area and then headed back to the sect.
