Douluo Dalu: 1st Cycle: Dancing Panda

Karni landed. With a single jump he crossed a third of the flower field. This was around as deep in as it was when he rescued the military man.

He jumped again. In the air he felt the pressure around him tightening. His Relaxing Aura was getting aggressively used up. Now he was two thirds of the way in. His worries already grew. The pressure was rising greatly. The environment—the central presence—really didn't want him here. It was almost intelligent. No… by this point, it was intelligent. It wasn't just the environment's influence anymore.

He jumped for the third time, landing just before the true swamp of mercury started. His face was sweating. The consumption of his bloodline right here was a good bit stronger than the chaotic mercury sea he went through with Siduo.

For a brief second, he considered if he should return. He could no longer guarantee his own safety. However, if he were to do that, he would doom the flower to its death. It was rapidly becoming worse. Whoever gathered in the Tang Sect camp would not get here in time to stop the final death. And at that point, who knew what would happen to the environment.

But more than the environment, Karni's heart ached when he saw the struggle of the plant. A struggle to stay alive. It was not like the Thunderclap Nether Vine. Those lived at the edge of life. They wished to be struck by lightning, called it upon them, hungry for growth despite the danger. Yet here, it instead looked like the Mercury Cyclone Flower did not have a choice. It was desperately fighting for his life.

It was a peaceful species that grew quietly and could only grow quietly, for when they were disturbed unwillingly, their biology forced them to self-destruct. They did not have a choice. They would die due to some external force interfering… it reminded him of his own predicament and how he ended up in Douluo Dalu. Yanked away from his home without a choice.

And he could feel the emotions here, more than ever. That constant feeling he had had from the start, the one that told him the whole disaster felt alive, was confirmed here. He could feel the very will of the plant. It tried keeping itself alive, it tried keeping the environment under control, and it tried to keep out invaders. Him. It was why he had to release so much Relaxing Aura.

He made a decision. He would go on. However, he would have to adapt.

He jumped into the swamp, determined, with Flight into the River. His Relaxing Aura lessened, focused. He directed it only to his immediate surroundings.

The swamp was calm just a minute ago. It was thick, but it was shallow. It almost resembled a mirror. Flowers and trees were reflected through the mercury, making it look bottomless. But as soon as he retracted his aura, the swamp came alive.

Mercury bubbled, then splashed into giant waves coming at him from all sides. Plants that would be considered a whole block away extended hundreds of vines toward him. Flowers on the ground bloomed, and turned their heads directing their aim, sprouting mercury from the insides, chomping at him, wanting to eat him.

He only lasted five seconds with Drunken Ghost Dance before he had to Shift. This was too much at once. He was overwhelmed despite the Relaxing Aura. If he hadn't directed the aura into his immediate surroundings, he would already have been taken by the swamp. The swamp was just too aggressive!

He jumped from tree to tree, using Flight into the River at full power constantly, yet he still had to constantly Shift.

But he soon discovered the true terror of this place. The will of the Mercury Cyclone Flower resided over the area. It was observing him incessantly. Just as he came out of a Shift, hundreds of sharp and deadly leaves were directed toward him.

The leaves had a dead brown and red colour, but they glimmered with silver through their veins.

Karni's fifth Soul Ring shone, the Guardian appeared in his hands. Quivering Silver Feathers were released through the Greatsword, slashing the leaves at the centre of the group apart, as well as pushing a lot of them to the side. It was impossible to resist when Space itself was sent to make an opening.

He squeezed in through the middle, but yet more vines waited for him, and just behind it, Karni saw another wave of mercury coming to envelop him.

He quickly switched to Twin Swords mode, spun, and Shifted. This time farther than before. It would take a bit more Spiritual Power to connect those two cubes through the grid, but he was not lacking in Spiritual Power right now. He hadn't used it since he and Siduo entered this place.

But then leaves started gathering, but differently this time. With greater urgency. With greater size.

The wind within the swamp picked up, the leaves shaped into a long sharp blade. Then they were practically shot at him.

He barely dodged it with Drunken Ghost Dance. It was too fast for him to spin the Guardian in time to Shift. But just as he dodged, the second one came, same terrifying speed, same shape, different position. From another side.

He could only place the Guardian into the Greatsword form in time, but he was knocked into a tree.

He instinctually jumped away, feeling the danger coming through the Golden Insight. The tree was slashed apart like butter. Mercury spilled from it as soon as he got away, attacking him as well.

Leaves came from above at the same time. He couldn't Shift. Panda Cushion and the Guardian strengthened with Quivering Silver Feathers were his best option. He was thrashed into the ground.

This was his skills working together in surprising synergy. At least it was effective defensive synergy, but it wasn't enough.

But a shine came from Karni that very second. His Battle Armour. Flow. He jumped from the ground with far greater force than before. Flight into the River got a tremendous boost due to Karni's Battle Armour. But the deeper he went, the stronger, faster, trickier the attacks became.

He split the Guardian into Twin Sword and kept only the Longsword part of it, while putting the other in only the Drumstick form. He had modified the Guardian since he battled against Shi Zan the Stonefish Soul Master. The automatic change in shape was something he could control now, which enabled him greater versatility.

The leaves cut at him, the vines stretched to catch him. The mercury waves came at him and shot out like geysers at times. But he was untouchable now with his Battle Armour on. Karni's best, most practiced specialty was still being untouchable, despite the many changes in his abilities.

Then he started seeing the light at the end of the thick swamp.

Suddenly the waves rose around him so high he could not see the end. All the trees surrounding him stretched to catch him. Every little thing was going after him but the closest things.

Thousands upon thousands of leaves formed a sharp net around him.

Another Soul Bone appeared. His head piece. Hop's Skull Bone. It perfectly fitted onto the Battle Armour's crown. In fact, it even looked like it completed it.

But Karni didn't release it immediately. He waited for the surroundings to close in. The skull bone started to shine; Karni gathered Soul Power and Spiritual Power in it.

As the walls came closing in, he raised the Guardian, putting it together in the Greatsword form. He didn't have enough Disordered Spiral Resonance to unleash Sonic Entropy, but he didn't think he needed it.

Still Harmony released, heightening his senses, combining with his Spiritual Power to release the Wave Abyss. The world turned black and white. Soundwaves bounced off of the tiniest of leaves. No movement escaped Karni's senses. He needed perfect timing.

The waves of mercury reached him. His Skull Bone, Nerve Authority released a gigantic ray of spiritual power, touching, barely hitting the waves, vines and leaves in front of him. Yet all of them fully stopped in their tracks, incapable of moving forward, even becoming chaotic and uncontrolled.

His Greatsword slashed, Quivering Silver Feathers enveloping it. Into the giant mercury wave, silver against silver. His intent mixed into it. His will. The Greatsword Consciousness exploded, willing itself through wave.

The opening showed, and Karni immediately used Flight into the River to jump through it.

The world had light again, no more thick trees covering the sky. No waves close by. A big clearing of silver. Vines stretched out in a circle, forming patterns. At the middle was a single twisting, trembling flower.

Karni's Relaxing Aura exploded, calming any danger that would come his way. He landed directly in front of the flower. It looked almost shrivelled up, trembling weakly. Mercury seemed to be taking it over.

"Leave, human!" The voice was mighty, commanding, desperate, feminine. Old. Even if it couldn't attack Karni right now, it did not want Karni anywhere nearby.

Karni sat down in front of it, he wore a small, yet sad smile. "No."

He felt the pressure on his Relaxing Aura increasing. The flower wanted to break free from his influence. And it was succeeding. Karni could, at most, last thirty seconds. However, there was something odd about this particular small area. He did not need to influence it directly. His influence affected only the flower itself and the surroundings outside of the area. It was… like a dead zone.

He sighed and stopped releasing his aura. The domain would come for him, but it would need time. Karni did not know why the flower didn't have control over this immediate area. However, he decided to use this chance.

"I want to help." He said almost in a whisper.

The waves rose higher and higher outside of the swamp.

"You're suffering. I can see you want to live."

The mercury already rose to his chest while he was sitting. Behind the swamp, the mercury sea started looking like incoming mountains.

He moved forward softly. His right hand directly touched it, her, hugging the flower. His body and his left hand followed after. Only his right hand was directly touching. The hand burned. The mercury was seeping into it.

"Please. I can help you live." Karni's voice was soft, as if he was feeling no pain. His Relaxing Aura was not active, but his Spiritual Power opened up.

The mercury stopped rising, the pressure released. But the mercury still seeped into his arm. The last will of the Mercury Cyclone Flower trying to resist. It was corroding his right arm.

His mind flashed to a memory he did not know he had.

"Help me! Karni, help!" A woman's voice shouted. His mother's. He was in a fiery inferno. A burning house.

He held up a burning wood support with strength he didn't know he had with his right arm. The arm was being burned. He was looking for the voice of his mother.

"Please help me!" The flower suddenly cried out desperately, while the silvery liquid enveloping his arm held on tighter, rather than letting loose, now holding Karni desperately.

His mind returned to reality. "I'll help." His words were determined. His mind connected with the flower's, his Spiritual Power welcoming. His bloodline exploded to support himself, his Soul Power released fully.

The flower somehow sensed Karni's feelings, even seeing the memory he just went through, she felt it through the Spiritual Power he released.

"Lily! Hop! Hope! Strengthen me!" He shouted out.

Lily fused into his body. Strengthening his Panda Cushion.

Hop released his energy in his Spiritual Sea, stabilising it.

Hope released a soothing Sound in his Spiritual Sea, calming down the surging Spiritual Power.

This was a powerful Soul Beast. Karni now felt it more than ever. It almost had the energy of a Hundred-Thousand-Year-Old Soul Beast.

The Mercury Cyclone Flower released her spiritual power, opening herself up. Her mercury mixed with Karni's blood in his right arm. The mercury was her blood. A contract was being created.

The Mercury Cyclone Flower's energy slowly fused into his very being, its energy transferred through the mercury. Her very origin fused into Karni.

His Royal Bamboo Panda appeared, a fourth deep Black Soul Ring with shades of Red rising.

Silver veins were rising on his right arm at the same time. Mercury trying to seep deeper into the rest of the body. He had to use Soul Power to hold it back. An arm was one thing, but the body? That could get dangerous.

It was here that he felt the will of the Mercury Cyclone Flower, now within him, helping him, keeping the mercury within him at arm's length.

He was in a meditative pose, absorbing the powers, stabilising them. The Mercury Cyclone Flower was terrifying. This was the power of a Soul Beast that had almost reached the Hundred-Thousand-Year level. He was lucky that his Spiritual Power had gone through so much advancement over the years.

His body was strengthening with the addition of such a powerful Soul Ring. The deep Black Soul Ring with shades of Red now stabilised, freely floating in the fourth position.

No fifth Soul Ring appeared, and Karni was glad for it. What this meant was that his compatibility with the Mercury Cyclone Flower was not high enough for any more Soul Rings. With such a new powerful Spirit Soul, he could not hold back the appearance of a fifth Soul Ring at the moment.

The Spirit Soul stabilised, as did the new Soul Ring. His Soul Power jumped directly to rank 57. However, with this new Spirit Soul, Karni was afraid that he will have to hold back on breaking through Soul Emperor for a good while. At least a year, so he stabilised himself and let his Spiritual Power grow a bit more.

He breathed a sigh of relief as everything was over. He stayed in the meditative pose, focusing on keeping himself together. He dared not fall unconscious in this environment, he still felt the instability of it; now more than ever since the new Spirit Soul disappeared and joined him instead.

"Welcome." Karni said in his mind. "I am Val Karni. You can just call me Karni."

"I am Hopper, but you may call me Hop."

"I am Hope." Hope slithered her tongue.

"I am Lily, I was also saved by Karni. He is a good man."

The flower changed her appearance… into one of a human. She looked like a tired, yet kind old lady. "I am Tempest."

The whole group looked in amazement as they saw the human form of Tempest. Her hair and eyes looked like mirrors, parts of her wrinkles had silver mercury running through it as well. Her presence was mighty.

"I will explain everything soon." She said. "But first we still have something to deal with. Val Karni, the environment won't stabilise until you deal with the Soul Bone. Either absorb it or destroy it!"

Karni was surprised at that. He opened his eyes. Indeed, there was a Soul Bone inside the flower that made it look as if the flower had yet to truly die.

"Right Leg Bone? Not a Right Arm one?" Karni was slightly surprised. Then again, his connection with the flower—Tempest—had nothing to do with what bone appeared.

"It's better this way." Lily commented inside his head.

"I agree." Hop added. "Your right arm needs healing right now; it wouldn't be able to take the power of the bone."

Tempest seemed sad when she heard that. "I am sorry. I… I didn't know any other way.

Karni shook his head. "No worries."

The correlation with his right arm was really only because he hugged Tempest. The Soul Bone was within her before he did that. There was no reason for it to be a Right Arm Soul Bone. Karni was simply excited that a Soul Bone appeared in the first place.

However, he was also reluctant. His energy was already spent. Would he be able to take in the power of such a powerful Soul Bone? … Then again, he did not have the ability to destroy it either. He was not strong enough to destroy an almost Hundred-Thousand-Year-Old Soul Bone.

"I promise I'll help make the fusion as smooth as possible." Tempest said. She could understand Karni's inner thoughts better now that she was fused with him.

He was determined. He dripped his blood on the Soul Bone.

The bone attached itself to his right leg. He immediately felt mercury seeping into his leg as well, before Tempest jumped in and pushed it back to where it came from. Instead, Karni's own blood seeped into the Soul Bone.

He felt the mercury from his arm suddenly start to flow in an orderly manner through his body. It passed pats of his body that could afford to be temporarily injured. It travelled all the way to the Soul Bone.

"It is the least I can do in exchange for my life." Tempest said in a melancholic voice.

The mercury which was in his arm seeped into the right leg bone. It seemed to further stabilise the fusion. However, his arm would likely keep the scars it gained today. Not only did the injury trigger a memory Karni was unaware of—a memory that showcased a similar injury—but the arm also acted as a place of contract between Tempest and Karni.

Despite the terrifying fluctuations of the Soul Bone, with Tempest's will it ended up being a smooth, if tiring process.

Soul Masters Ten Thousand Years ago struggled with Soul Bones—if Soul Bones appeared at all. Many times, Soul Beasts left their wills inside the Soul Bones. Yet in today's time, Karni saw the other side of that. Spirit Souls had control over the Soul Bones that belonged to them. Karni only had to use up a lot of energy, but he did not have to worry about the issue of a backlash from the Soul Bone.

With the fusion finished, Karni was barely keeping himself together. He was sitting in the middle of a wasteland of mercury, flowers and wind. He saw as the mercury slowly started calming down in the distance, how the walls of wind surrounding the whole expanse started clearing up.

He was tired, but he still dared not lose consciousness. What if the mercury suddenly rose now that the wall of mercury fell? He didn't want to accidentally drown.

"Say, Tempest, what is your story? How did it come to all this?" Karni asked. He was genuinely curious about Tempest, but he also needed a distraction right now.

Tempest nodded, sensing his state of body. "I have grown here for around six thousand years."

"Wait. You're younger than me?" Lily was surprised.

Hop nodded furiously as well.

"Haha. I suppose I am. But I have flashes of distant memories before that. Of godhood. Of a different type of grass. It feels like I've lived for hundreds of thousands of years."

Karni smiled. "The origin of your species does come from a fall of two gods."

"Indeed. Even we know it." Tempest smiled. "And this field was the one where most of us lived. Perhaps the newer members of our species don't have memories of it, but I do. We started growing here just as the gods fell. Or at least, it was where most of their powers settled."

Tempest sat down in Karni's Spiritual Sea, and the group gathered around. She was telling a story.

"I was like many others. Growing quietly and undisturbed. These plains were the best environment we could have asked for. Not many rivers ran through here, which meant not many humans lived here. We simply expanded and grew." She smiled, reminiscing of the old days.

"But without any of us being encumbered or disturbed by the humans, with no disasters falling upon us, we soon reached each other underground. We spread the mercury far and wide, at one point, I remember I was bordering five of my fellow flowers at the same time. Our pools of mercury did not invade the other however, we lived in peace, some of us even became friends."

Her face became sad. "But it was around that time that humans started growing rapidly. More and more of them came here, trying to establish cities. Whenever they did, they inevitably stepped on one of us."

She looked to the group. "Our main bodies our incredibly fragile, but they hold a lot of power. Something had to be sacrificed if we were to wield this power. It was our ability to defend ourselves when growing. The heavens are ruthlessly fair to all living beings. Those with great destinies experience the most suffering."

Karni wasn't sure if he completely agreed with that. There was suffering in many places of the world that was not fair in any sense, but in terms of cultivation, it held true most of the time.

"As more and more of them died and caused disasters, I slowly took over their areas. While doing so, I obtained many of their fractured memories, forming a cohesive story of our joint past. Eventually, the region became an almost forbidden one to humans because of the many disasters. People did not try to settle here anymore, but they did walk through it occasionally. Because I was just one flower that was left here alone, it was unlikely for me to ever be disturbed."

She looked to have aged as she said it all. "It held true for thousands of years. With such calm growth, I cultivated to 99 thousand years old. But I stopped just before I would reach the Hundred Thousand Years Old. I knew my limits. I would not survive it at all. Like I said, my species have next to no defence until we are about to die. And it is the destiny of all Soul Beasts that wish to expand to either become human or to face tribulation."

"So, I simply stayed dormant. I didn't want either of those. I liked my peace. Underground I let the mercury undergo a qualitive change through the years. I hoped that maybe someday I could get enough control over it that I could truly break through the Hundred-Thousand-Years rank. But, well, then a mecha decided to step on me." She almost giggled with the way she said it. Perhaps it was because the worst of it was over, that she felt like a burden had left her shoulders.

"I have experienced all of the consequences." Karni smiled. "It is quite terrifying."

Tempest nodded. "And keep it in mind. Because that very domain is in the Right Leg Bone. If you use it at your current level, the ability will simply devour you, as it tried to devour me. Only use it as a last resort."

Karni was surprised, yet a bit sceptical on the inside. For now, he decided to take those words to heart. It was just a bit hard to believe that a Soul Bone held so much power, especially so when it wasn't that hard to fuse.

"What does the God Realm look like?" Hop asked. "I have heard stories of it from my teacher but could never imagine it."

"Hm. It is vast, and filled with special energy, but I do not know much of it. What I know more is the past of the Soul Beast that was tied to the Withering Goddess."

"Withering?" Karni asked. "I thought it was the Mercury Goddess."

"Well, she controlled Mercury to a great extent, but her Godhood was wider. My ancestor was a Bluesilver Emperor, though not of the Royal Line. It is his memories I have. It became a Spirit Soul of the Goddess."

Karni now became confused. Goddess? With a Bluesilver Emperor? Withering Goddess of Mercury? He knew of no such goddess.

"I do not remember the name of the goddess. That much is lost to me, but the powers of the Withering Goddess and the Sky God joint with the bloodline of the Bluesilver Emperor and created something new. My species. A godly species." She seemed proud of her ancestry.

Though Karni could still not figure it out. He knew neither of the Sky God nor the Withering Goddess positions from the books. He only knew of them due to the Spirit Beast Classes in Shrek, when they covered the Mercury Cyclone Flower and compared it with the Thunderclap Nether Vines.

"Val Karni, may I ask something as well?"

Karni nodded. "Of course."

"What was up with that memory I saw? The house aflame."

Karni scratched his head. "I will be honest… I do not know. It was a memory I did not know I had… except now that I saw it, I know when it happened." He looked to Hop, Hope and Lily as well.

"It happened just before I came to this world."

Tempest was silenced. "You're not of this world?"

"No." Karni smiled.

"We were surprised as well when we first heard it." Hop laughed.

"But, didn't you say you fell asleep then woke up here?" Hope asked.

Karni nodded. "It was my last memory before I came here. I fell asleep, then woke up in that dark void with the golden flow that most likely brought me here… But this memory is later than me falling asleep. It happened after it… I just can't place it exactly. It's like it was suppressed… and I think I know why it was."

Hopper's eyes widened. "The things you cannot hear… you cannot feel the element of Space directly either… you…" They all saw that memory when it unlocked.

"I awakened some power, yes. Back on Earth. I actually had some powers even there. I would not have been able to hold up a burning support beam otherwise. However, my powers felt freer than here. At least in that one moment of the memory." Karni rubbed his eyes inside the Spiritual Sea. He was getting really tired. All of this new information was stressful. When would the Tang Sect come?

"It's quite funny that I was convinced by a memory you didn't even know you had." Tempest chuckled. "I didn't believe you fully until then. But that memory felt so real in the moment. And so similar to this situation, I was just overtaken by it."

Karni thought of his arm. The corrosion of the mercury went deep. "Indeed. A burned right arm before I came here… and now a corroded right arm, in a much similar… way." Karni slapped his face a bit. He really was starting to lose consciousness.

"-ki! Kiki!" He heard a voice far away.

He saw Siduo, in her yellow uniform rush toward him.

"Hah. About fucking time-" He passed out.