Chapter 417: Sowing Seeds

’Judging by the sound of destroyed cargo but lack of screaming and oofs...I think Uncle Zhen Jin is winning in there.’

=Indeed.=

Immediately after sending Archanidame to do her [Possession] thing via Possestol, Zhen Liu found it prudent to hang around in case shit went sideways in there. Of course, he made sure he was out of sight in case his other family members came by to either help or panic scream, namely by hiding in a literal closet.

’Well, fourth time’s a charm, and I can now confirm that when the kaijin are possessing somebody, the feedback gets muted.’

=All souls and formulas release a frequency milord, there’s bound to be interference.=

’Fair.’

As Zhen Liu continued to listen though, Logos decided to ask a question.

=Milord...why are you here?=

’Philosophically speaking, physically speaking or emotionally speaking?’

=Not physically speaking, I am well aware that hiding in a storage closet is a very effective means it hiding...usually, but I suppose the first and third are somewhat related to this...why are you here, trying to help him breakthrough?=

’Uhh...because he’s family?’

=Milord, I have seen through your memories, both sets of them, so even I know you know that answer is rather weak...so why?=

’Man, you are significantly more inquisitive than your counterpart. Where is Pathos anyways?’

=I took up the moniker of Logos for a reason and as for Pathos...well...=

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<OKAY, OKAY! I PROMISE NOT TO DROP OFF ANACHRONISTIC TOYS AT THE ESTATE, ANYMORE! HONEST!>

[That includes the cookies?!]

=But the kids love those!=

[THEY KEEP TRYING TO FEED THE CHOCOLATE ONES TO THE DOGS, AND THE DOGS AREN’T HELPING!]

"Should...should we help the funny clown?," Janice asked her older brother.

"I’m... I’m honestly afraid to get involved," Jasper replied.

"Let’s just...go and do our reading lessons for the day."

"Okay."

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=They’re dealing with a HR issue.=

’Wouldn’t it be a KR issue?=

=Back to the original question. You still haven’t answered my question, though.=

’Of course you noticed the deflection,’ Zhen Liu grumbled,"well...if I had to give reasons? Future prep, guilt and camouflage.’

=Future prep and guilt?=

’You’re in my head, you know I plan to go on an independent excursion, well, independent as one who can make monsters on the fly can be. And it behooves me to make sure on that the off chance I piss someone off that attempts to use my family as leverage, my family can rip out their throats before it can happen. Plant the seeds for the future?’

=But aren’t they technically...not...your...=

’And that’s where guilt comes in,’ Zhen Liu transitioned, ’I try not to think about it so much, but...I stole this guy’s life. I may not have been the guy who killed him, but I straight up took this dude’s identity and turned his life upside down. Actually, not upside down, straight up threw it into a teleporter and hit "surprise me"...I don’t know...what to call this feeling, but...I figured I’d make it up to the people who raised this body of mine. Previous guy may have had grudges with them, but...he still cared about them, ya know? Blood is blood, I guess or something like that.’

=Milord...=

’That and the louder and more obviously powerful everyone else gets, the easier it’ll be for me to blend in. I could literally feel the daggers pointed at me the moment I suddenly went from cripple to wunderkind.’

=Of course,= Logos affirmed while mentally filing a note about his lord’s personality.

With that bit of awkward conversation out of the way, Zhen Liu and Logos brought their focus back to the battle in the cargo hold, which is when Archanidame suddenly chimed with a weird question.

[Milord, Logos...if weaponized seeds were to rapidly grow inside a body, would it be more likely for the body in question to be drained to death or explode?]

’What the fuck?’

=This...feels like that thing Pathos talks about...narrative concidences?=

<NARRATIVE PARALLELS AND THIS IS NOT THAT!>

=Oh, she got free.=

[Second question, I know if getting stabbed a rusty blade can cause one to develop tetanus, can that same thing happen if one’s flesh starts to rust?]

’Ah fuck.’

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"Skr-skr-!"

*Squelch!*

"SKREEEE!"

"Well that’s just disgusting," Zhen Jin commented as he readied himself for something far grosser.

It took the Rust Rodent a couple moments to address the issue with it’s throat, namely that it got smashed in with a makeshift bamboo pole.

In pained panic, the Rust Rodent began to grab it’s throat in an attempt to try and fix it’s throat.

It’s solution?

To use a claw to rip it open so it could breathe again, and it’s newly acquired mastery over aether to speed up it’s healing process.

A metallic smell filled the room as the rodent’s blood began to flow, staining the floor and it’s rust colored fur with a much a deeper shade of red. The blood flowed for a good while, until finally stopping, rapidly hardening into a strange, metallic looking scab around it’s throat.

Zhen Jin was a touch unnerved by the way this monstrosity healed, but he managed to swallow his disgust.

’I can’t control the world, I can control myself. I can’t control the world, I can control myself...,’ Zhen Jin repeated like a mantra to himself. As he did though, his body kept glowing brighter and brighter with a deep green color.

Thin threads of aether taking on a spider web patterned cloth began to form over his body...not that he noticed due to focusing on the battle at hand.

"Skreee..."

With it’s throat now "fixed", the Rust Rodent leveled it’s eyes towards the source of all it’s pain, a certain annoying old man who was now glowing green.

It didn’t know why this was occurring, it didn’t care why it was happening, it just wanted it’s debt paid in blood and flesh.

Tasty blood and flesh...

"Skreee..."

The Rust Rodent entered, for the first time this entire fight, a strange looking stance that seemed to signal to anyone observant enough that it was preparing itself to charge forward.

Man and beast stared each other down at this moment, both had a feeling this would be the determining strike, but only one knew how this was going to end.

’Well...I hope it ends that way at least,’ Zhen Jin mused.

"SKREEEE! [Grinding Maw]!"

’Oh well that’s just perfect.’

Without care or knowledge for Zhen Jin’s thoughts in this moment, the Rust Rodent rushed forward with it’s mouth wide open, a construct of aether forming around it to take the shape of a giant metal jaw, filled with grinding teeth and gears.

At the same time, Zhen Jin rushed forward using an art that he was taught a long time ago, but never really grasped...until now.

[Petal Dance.]

Zhen Jin’s form took an almost illusionary quality as he rushed forward and rose petals made of aether peeled off his body.

The two forces soon collided with another, but (un)surprisingly, there was no explosive conclusion. If anything, it looked as if nothing happened.

The Rust Rodent’s mechanical maw crushed down on Zhen Jin’s petal-like form, but it didn’t amount to much. The petals composing Zhen Jin simply reformed on the other side of the rodent, no signs of injury present on either party.

If this moment was moment photographed, both before and after the two crossed paths, the only difference one would be able to find is that the two subjects traded places.

There was, however, one difference in this picture, aside from the obvious.

Before the crossing, one of Zhen Jin’s hands was closed and tight fisted.

After the crossing, both of his hands were now open and loose.

"Skrk?!"

The Rust Rodent began to act as if it was choking on something... something that was growing bigger by the second.

’Huh. I guess it did work.’

Zhen Jin let out a sigh of relief as his gambit began to work it’s deadly magic, a good thing too...because at this point his adrenaline was wearing off...and he was starting to feel the pain in his leg...

When Zhen Jin stared down his leg, he noticed that the patch of rust, inflicted on him by the rat earlier in the fight, had grown significantly larger. It was only now that it had reached his joints.

’Oh shit...how did I not notice that?’

On cue, as if his thoughts sent some invisible signal, his body began to spasm in pain, and he promptly collapsed. As he fell, the sound of metal and flesh tearing behind him seemed to herald his own collapse.

’Ouch...’

Zhen Jin’s eyes soon grew heavy as the pain in his leg grew deeper by the second, punctuated by both physical and mental exhaustion, but he was at least given a rather beautiful vision before passing out.

That image being simply a mass of flowers and trees growing out of a certain lump.

"Zhen Jin!"

"Father!"

At that exact moment, he could hear the sound of his brothers and son finally arrive.

’Took y’all long enough...,’ he thought as he finally passed out.

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[Well shit...I can’t have my first possession end in death...looks like I’ll have to be a little... mischievous.]