Several hours later, Chun was finally back at his quarters. After his ‘reward’ from Kanta, his day was mostly uneventful. A few other workers came by his office to thank him or simply for the treatment. Nothing more than a few small bruises this time that would heal naturally in a few hours, but he used some of his healing ointment simply so they could get back to work.
Chun cast off his robes before folding them up and placing them in the chest in his room. He thought again of the immense amount of imperial coin under the false bottom of his chest. Now that his choices were unrestricted, he would have to think about what to spend it on. While the wealth was finite, he had plenty of it, but he had to spend it somewhat smartly. Despite this, Chun knew himself- and his past life- enough to know he’d likely spend some of it on food or random accessories. But he vowed to himself that at least 90% of his wealth would go to various equipment to aid his progression in this new world. The first item he’d likely get was actual clothing to fight in as well as some sort of weapon. Bettering medicinal items were likely on that list as well.
As Chun sat on the side of his bed, now only in a fresh pair of underwear, he took Kanta’s talisman from the top of his chest where he’d set it. Silver markings were on the surface of it. They were the strange characters of this new world that Chun could understand seamlessly. It was an address as well as the name of a location: Rose Treasury Pavilion.
He searched his mind for a moment for the location. A part of him said it was near the southern district of the Sapphire Port. Though he wasn’t sure of its specific location.
Chun looked at the setting sun from his window. He made a note to himself to venture into town the next night after his shift at the Studded Pearl. For now, he was mentally exhausted after what Kanta had rewarded him with. Despite his enhanced endurance, so many orgasms would exhaust anyone.
Chun closed the curtains to the window, turned off the lantern in his room, and got into bed. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.
***
Chun didn’t expect to open his eyes to the same ceiling he saw in his past life. The same room he’d chosen, the modifiers of the world. Where he’d chosen his new body.
Chun shot up, but he noticed a slight difference in his body. He didn’t feel as refined as he had before. He looked down at his body to see that he wasn’t Chun Hyang, the martial artist. He was Ethan Hughes.
“Hello,” a familiar voice said next to the man.
Ethan turned his head to see the blue and red eyes of Chun staring at him. He was kneeling on the other side of a low table. In front of him was a small cup filled with some steaming liquid that Ethan assumed was tea.
He looked around the room, spotting many of the same items as had been there before. However, now the mirror was just a mirror, showing the general reflection of whatever was facing it. The map on the wall looked unchanged from how it did at the end of the world modifications. Even the screen on the wall was on. Though now it only had a single button on it that read ‘review choices’. Lastly, there was a door on the last wall. A close shoji door that read ‘wake up’ in Dai’Gyo’s language. Ultimately, Ethan looked back at his newer half.
“I was a bit surprised to be back here, too,” Chun stated. “But it seems that this is the only place our consciousnesses will be separate.”
Ethan was still shocked at the act of talking to himself. Why was the character he created speaking to him? Then the memories of Chun’s life before he’d ‘entered’ it flashed before him. Did Ethan even create him? Or had he essentially hijacked his body?
“How… are you here?” Ethan asked slowly.
Chun raised a brow. “Because we are two separate souls who share a mind.” He stated, as if it were obvious. “Though my… well, your past life called it a ‘consciousness’.” He paused for a moment, but seeing Ethan’s confused expression, he continued. “Wealth of the Mind had fabricated a world and let you alter it to your desire, correct?”
Ethan nodded after a few seconds.
“And so when your consciousness needed to actually be projected into the world, it made a body for you. One of your own creation.” Chun gestured to himself. “One with memories of the world that fit with all the traits you made it. I can only assume the limited choices I’ve subconsciously had for myself are due to how you chose my background, skills, and a few other things.”
Ethan slowly sat on the other side of the table, kneeling on the small cushion in front of it. “But how are you here?” He repeated.
“The best I can explain it, this room is akin to your mental space. At least while you are asleep. Due to two consciousnesses being within your mind,” Chun gestured between himself and Ethan, then the room around him. “We are two separate entities here.”
Ethan nodded again, generally understanding what his newer half was saying. He was still simply confused about the situation. The pamphlet Wealth of the Mind had given him said nothing about needing to converse with his new life.
The two entities sat in silence for a moment. Ethan looked around nervously while Chun calmly sipped his tea.
“I do have a few questions about your decisions, though. About me, and about Dai’Gyo. To me, the world is how it always has been during my lifetime. I didn’t expect it to be crafted by another so closely.” Chun stood up and walked over to the map, taking his cup with him. He looked over the map in its entirety, though most of his attention was on the Eastern Ports and the Celestial Empire.
“You have my memories, don’t you?” Ethan asked. He vividly remembered being bombarded by Chun’s memories before he… invaded his mind? He was still deciding on what to call it.
“I see through your eyes and listen through your ears. But I cannot read through your mind. I don’t know what you were thinking in those moments. Only what I can piece together via your actions. But that doesn’t tell me everything. So tell me,” Chun turned to Ethan, looking him straight in the eyes. “Why did you make the world the way it is?”
Ethan didn’t have a true answer, all things considered. What did Chun mean exactly? The immense amount of lewd modifiers he’d given the world? The variety of calamities he’d given to practically every region? The several disasters he had plagued the Celestial Empire with brought it to the brink of collapse in more ways than one. So ultimately, he decided on the answer that somewhat fit them all. “To make me, you… us, strong.” Ethan said, keeping Chun’s gaze.
“And is it worth it? My strength? My talent? My skill? Is it worth the fall of this world you’ve decided to live within?” Chun asked.
Ethan didn’t have an answer. “I suppose we will see,” Chun smirked at the response, showing him a flash of his unnaturally sharp teeth.
The native of Dai’Gyo turned back to the map and scanned over it. “You want to reach the apex of this world, correct?”
“That was my plan, yes,” Ethan said, though now he sounded somewhat unsure. Reaching the peak of strength felt like… well, he never thought of it as a small task, but now it felt so much more complicated. Honestly, most of the detrimental modifiers he’d given to the world had seemed so minor despite knowing their implications. He technically knew how to fix basically all of them. Cure the disease. Quell the rebellion. Kill a demonic empress. Stop the Khan from doing whatever the Khan was doing up north. He’d never quite understood how grandiose each of those individual tasks was, regardless of how strong he started. Seeing the world with his own eyes and living in it for a single day- seeing the memories of a lifetime within it- had made him realize the scale of the choices he’d made, and so far, he had yet to even truly experience any of them.
“Is it still?” Chun asked.
Ethan only nodded.
“The corruption of the merchants should be the first detriment we quell. Not only could we possibly fix the relations the ports have with one another, but with time and luck, we could even take them over. Granting us a sturdy foothold for whatever calamity we decide to take on next.” Chun explained.
“How long will that take?”
The native shrugged. “Depending on how furiously we fight to cleanse the ports, we will have the Sapphire Port taken within a year, and the others taken within the decade. By then, we should have ample strength to tackle whatever we want afterwards. However, if we take too long, the Celestial Empire’s fall will make things difficult.”
“A whole decade?” Ethan’s jaw dropped.
Chun turned and gave Ethan a confused look. “Obviously. And that is a generous estimate. If you are concerned with cleansing the world taking more than a natural lifetime, need I remind you of the modifiers you’ve chosen of me? With your memories, I now know more about myself than I ever had before. I knew I was special, but due to your choices, I am likely the most unique individual Dai’Gyo has seen in many millennia. Not only do I host bloodlines of Beast, Demon, and Spirit, but an ascendant version of each. Add on the body of a false immortal to expand my life span, a biology that lets me heal faster, more Internal Energy at the lowest grade of Martial Arts than what most have at the 3rd tier, and my monstrous vitality that allows me to withstand things I have no right surviving, and so many other things…” Chun’s voice trailed off as he looked down at himself, then back to the map. Chun turned and walked toward the door in the room and opened it. Beyond was a white light that somehow didn’t breach into the room. It was like looking at a physical wall made out of the sun. He turned back to Ethan and spoke before entering the barrier of light. “I hope I am worth the world you’ve made for us.”
***
Chun’s eyes opened to the ceiling of his room. The dream he’d just had was quickly fleeting. He swore he was talking to himself about… something. What was it? The morning rays shining through his window made the question leave his mind. He had to start his day.
He rolled out of bed, opened the chest in his room, and donned his robes. This time, he wouldn’t be late, not like yesterday. He was almost out the door when he snapped his fingers and went back to the chest and retrieved the wooden talisman Kanta had given him. He didn’t need it as a reminder of where the pavilion was, but he wasn’t sure if he needed to show it to some form of security.
Regardless, a few minutes later, he was gliding atop the roofs of buildings on his way to work. He kept glancing at several citizens as he went by, a simple part of his routine. He tried to keep his eyes off of particularly dark alleyways where people were often making out or having sex, but he wouldn’t lie to himself and say he didn’t slow ever so slightly to get a longer eyeful. He’d gone by the sections of the port responsible for the public punishment displays, but they were barren so early in the day. Generally, the guards didn’t lead the prisoners there until the sun had fully risen above the Sapphire Lake.
Chun entered the Studded Pearl and went about his normal day as an apothecary. Though this day, there were considerably fewer people coming into his office for his service. Most came in simply to talk to him on their breaks. Most asking about the various rumors that he’d killed a martial artist. Or how that particular rumor had spread, keeping the drunken hands of most of their customers to themselves and away from striking those around them.
After his work that afternoon, rather than returning home, he leapt atop the rooftops again and headed south. Towards the Rose Treasure Pavilion.