Wreath of Lilies, Cauldron of Poison

Chapter 19

Dao of Twoflower

Outside of Windlepoons Concoctions, a few loyal customers of the stores were peeking inside through the gaps in the door, hoping to see Ethel. They were so used to the old granny opening the store even through hail or shine that they felt uneasy when they saw the store closed.

“How long has it been since the last time she closed the store?” an elderly man asked.

“I think it’s when her husband died. She’s a tough woman, that one. Usually she opened the store just as the market opens. It’s well past noon now, I don’t think the store will open today.”

“Well, she must have something going on. We should check on her tomorrow.”

Ethel, who had been sitting in front of a cauldron did not hear the kind words of her customers. She was worried about the girls in the attic. She heard so many screams and loud sounds from there that even she wanted to, she could not sleep. She tried going up but the entrance was blocked by threads so dense that she couldn’t get through.

In the attic, the blonde girl had fallen into a state of deep meditation while her Golden Silkworm was perching on her head. The golden light within the cocoon had grown considerably brighter compared to earlier in the day. One could see the silhouette of a woman within, every time the cocoon shone.

Contrary to Connie’s expectations, the two souls within had not actually finished their battle. The intense struggle was two souls trying to undermine the other. The true conflict had yet to begin.

“What is this place?”

The female assassin found herself standing in the middle of a field. There was a lake to her right and the sun was shining bright. It was a perfect summer day scene.

Yet she knew that this was not real. She recognized every trees, every single blade of grass. This was her childhood romping ground. A place she had not visited for many years. If this was real the trees should have grown bigger and the wind should have been blowing.

This was not the case.

Kelly reorganized her thoughts and remembered what had happened. She had been stripped naked and placed into some kind of pod. Yet she was now fully clothed and her knives were there by her waist.

As she was walking around to get her bearing, she found a figure standing under the shade of a large tree. “This is a beautiful place. You are very lucky.”

“Who are you?” the female assassin asked warily.

“My name is Illumca. Illumca Fir Liban,” the figure paused to inhale. “And you are Kelly Starwell. C-Rank Member of the Guild of Assassin.”

She walked out of the shade and Kelly could see her form. She was wearing a cloak that covered almost all of her body. She moved haltingly as every breath she drew was painful.

“You,” Kelly gripped her knives tight. Her eyes turned murderous as she gauged the frail looking creature before her. She was loathe to call her a girl as her deformed and pus covered body disgust her. “You are that thing I saw talking to the target. Where is this?!”

“Aah…those eyes. How many times have I seen such eyes looking down at me,” Illumca laughed mirthfully, ignoring Kelly’s question. “My people, my family, the slave traders, the bandits. All of them reacted the same way when they saw me.”

The sickly girl walked forward defenselessly. Her bare feet crunched some fallen dried leaves with each step. “But you…you are a very fortunate girl. Born a daughter of a well-off family in a town. Left for the city in search of excitement. Joined the Guild of Assassin for stimulation. And you are gifted at it.”

Unnerved by the private details the girl was spitting out, Kelly let out a fierce yell and thrust her knives towards Illumca’s heart.

“Fireball!”

A spell was fired at Kelly. She dodged it by a hair’s breadth by twisting her body to the left. She fell to the ground and spat out dried leaves that had entered her mouth.

“Fireball!”

Another ball of fire was shot at her. She rolled away as more was summoned and thrown, creating a line of small burned craters.

“Shadow Step!” Kelly shouted the skill’s name the moment the onslaught of fireballs stopped.

She expected to arrive at the back of the ugly creature. Instead she found herself staring into one crazed eye. “Yes. You are an assassin. Us Mages are weak against your kind,” she held out her hands and grabbed both of Kelly’s cheeks. The smell of dried pus and blood from her caused Kelly to gag.

“But just as I know your past, I also know your thoughts. This is because this is not the real world. This is a world of souls. Our souls have begun to merge and i have taken your memory as mine. Luckily I have a good teacher otherwise i'd be the one in your place."

She then continued, as if the words she just spoke was an afterthought.

“Where was I? And then you found love. A childish man with a stupid smile that has been chasing after you for years. And as you grew fond of him, and him of you, you decided to follow him out of the business.”

“I am jealous. Such fortune. Such good karma! Why can’t I have such good luck! Why can’t I have such a nice life?!”

Jealousy. Envy. She spat out all the negative feelings that had plagued her for years in a tirade of curses. She suddenly stopped and her furious face turned calm and her eyes turned to longing.

“But this is fine. All the suffering I endured was worth it, because it let me met her. She was different! Connie. My Connie! Her first reaction when she looked at this grotesque body was not the same as the others. There was no pity in her eyes. She touched me without disgust. Even as my filth dirtied her slender hands she did not show a lick of it.”

She threw Kelly aside and laughed.

“So I must be beautiful. So that she will not feel ashamed of me. I must be stronger! So that I can destroy her enemies! More beautiful! So that she will look at me with love.”

She then reached into her chest. Breaking through bone and flesh. The sound was so guttural that Kelly wanted to close her ears. Illumca took out her heart and held it between her hands. It was still beating with blood dripping from its surface.

“I shall love and hate in equal measure. My hate shall be the hellfire that burns my enemies to ashes. My love shall be the sun that brighten my beloved’s heart.”

A flame burst out of the heart in her hands, immolating the still beating organ.

“This is my purpose. This is my Dao.”

Finally, from the ashes of her heart, a symbol crafted of Amaranth, Rose and Butterfly appeared and floated into the air.

“Dao of Twoflower!” she reached out towards the symbol of her Dao.

The moment her finger made contact with it, the world turned white.