"What are you doing again?" Coralline asked.

"I'm going to advance my cultivation. And I don't want to be disturbed," Azura answered proudly.

"And you need seclusion for this, why?" Coralline asked as the pair made their way to a private meditation area. Azura hadn't used it much, but it was popular, so she figured she'd try it out. She felt like it made her seem mysterious, a fitting image for a powerful cultivator.

"Ah, mother, it's hard to explain my vast thoughts in mere words."

"You know," Coralline said thoughtfully. "I heard that vows of silence until a breakthrough is achieved can help with cultivation. It's why these meditation chambers and seclusion are so popular. All the cool kin do it."

WHAT!? OH, I'M SO IN! Azura thought.

"Yeah! I know about," Azura said proudly. "I'll be silent as a stalking cat. Mice will be like rampaging herds to my ears. The grass won't even be disturbed by my passage."

"What does that last one have to do with being silent?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Are you going to start this vow of silence soon?"

"Dearest mother, I hate to deny you my linguistic charm, so I'm loading you up before I must deprive you of your greatest pleasure."

"Gee, thanks…"

"Naturally. For I'm a paragon of virtue, an avatar of the silent, and… oh, she's already leaving," Azura said, only now noticing her mother walking away. It was time to get serious.

The private meditation area was the largest they had available. It wasn't grand or anything, just a designated area for cultivation. A circular dirt trail that looped the area with a small pond in the center surrounded by lush foliage. It was too picturesque to be natural. Whoever created it should make her one.

Azura sat by the water's edge, crossing her legs, her tail resting in her lap. Azura cleared her mind… then had to do it several more times as various random thoughts kept intruding. Why couldn't everyone acknowledge that fish was the world's most superior food? It was flaky and melted in your mouth. Azura had to swallow the saliva that suddenly built up in her mouth. Perhaps she should have eaten before she had started… Realizing her thoughts were drifting again, Azura changed tactics and, instead of clearing her mind, she let them flow through her without paying attention. It worked better. Gradually, all her irrelevant thoughts left, and she was left with a clear mind. Intentionally, she brought her focus to her battle with the eldritch lords. How, in her desperation, she had consumed a portion of her ki. The power…

In those moments, she felt invincible. Yet there was something beyond the raw power. She had commanded the world on what to do. She had told it what it should be. The power was great, but this… concept was something more. Again and again, Azura relived those moments searching for that feeling. The consumption of her ki brought her much closer to her power. She had been fully attuned with her ki in those moments. Attuned? Like her affinity for blood? In those moments, she had wanted to win. She had wanted to live… There was something there just out of reach. Her initial use by burning her ki had been crude. She needed something more aligned with her ki.

Frustrated, Azura stood, her body stiff. How long had it been? Days? Azura pushed the thought aside. Her intense focus was unwavering. Azura began pacing on the trail as her thoughts spun. Each time she had felt that higher connection, she had to consume some ki. Did she need to do it again? Perhaps. Although she was close enough that she might be able to avoid it.

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Azura gathered her ki into her right palm, looking at it while she mindlessly walked the trail. The ki spun lazily, giving off a crimson hue. Blood… Life…Ki… a higher concept, a reordering of reality. Yes, she was close. She felt this back then, but without the consumption of ki it was muted. She couldn't feel it. She needed more. Azura pulled more of her ki into her palm, ramping up the speed. A crimson vortex stirred the surrounding vegetation as Azura's pace unconsciously quickened.

Soon, the entirety of her liquid ki spun in her palm, her body empty. The frailness of her flesh was something Azura hadn't felt in a long time. Her life was vulnerable, exposed. A life that could easily be extinguished by a random magic blast, leaving her to bleed out. A life that would fail without blood… Life is blood. There it was. Azura felt a connection. Her ki had reached out and connected to something greater. It was tenuous. Not complete, but the connection was there. To use this, she needed a greater understanding. Not just understanding. Azura knew you needed blood to live. That was obvious. This was more. An experience that connected her ki to the concept itself. Simple knowledge wasn't enough. Azura pushed harder, reaching for that last piece, the first step onto something more. The world seemed to hold its breath waiting for the fundamental shift that would change everything. That was when Azura hit the stone.

"DDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Azura screamed as the small toe on her paw painfully collided with a rock on the trail. All her ki had been pulled into her exposed ki spiral, leaving her body vulnerable for the first time in years. Azura lost control of her ki, which rebelliously returned to its home by her core fragments.

"Mother fucker…" Azura whispered as she gently massaged the feeling back into the digit.

"Are you already done with your vow of silence?" Coralline asked, striding forward. Azura immediately leapt to her feet, projecting an air of confidence.

"Err, yes, I achieved my goals. My vow of silence is complete."

"It sounded like you were screaming."

"I wasn't… I was.. errr… I was declaring… my… discovery. Yes. I made a discovery." Azura proudly put her hands on her hips, thrusting out her chest. If she looked confident enough, then her mother wouldn't pry.

"It sounded like you hurt your toe. Coralline looked down at the digit Azura had been cradling."

Shit it didn't work. Azura desperately reached for an excuse, thinking of the accidental yowl she made. "No! It was the err… the… the. It was the Daaaaoooooo. Dao. Yes, I have discovered the Dao."

"Dao? Are you making up words again?"

"NO! It's totally real."

"Hmmm," Coraline said, pursing her lips together. "Funny, I recall hearing DDDDAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOO! Mother fucker."

…

…

…

…

"You heard that?"

"Yup."

"That's the… the… uh… the uh… technical… Yes, that is the technical term. You can just say Dao, though." Flawless cover-up! Azura internally congratulated herself.

"What is the Dao even supposed to mean?" Coralline asked, shaking her head.

"Uh…" Azura quickly looked around, seeking inspiration. She quickly glared at the offending stone embedded in the trail that caused the whole mess.

"Path!" Azura shouted quickly. "It's the uh, the uh, path of … cultivation?" The last word sounded like a question, so she promptly reiterated. "Yes. It's the path of cultivation. It is how to reach a higher road for your cultivation."

Coralline eyed her daughter. "That makes no sense. You're just making things up since you accidentally broke your vow of silence after two hours."

Only two hours had passed!?

"Ah, dearest mother. When you are as talented as I am, a few hours can equal a lifetime to those less gifted." She sniffed haughtily; her nose pointed high in the air.

Coralline sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Feed me fish?" Azura suggested. It seemed like an excellent suggestion to her.

Coralline sighed again. "If you wanted some fish, you didn't have to go making things up. You could just have asked."

"I'm not. The Dao is real!"

"Uh huh."

"It is! Remember those times I consumed my ki?" Azura asked.

Coralline looked at her daughter, her expression showed curiosity rather than the mockery from before.

"I recall."

"Well, each time I did that, I not only had more power, but there was something more. Something more…. Significant. Something that had…" Azura reached for a word that encompassed her command over the world. She could still recall that feeling, SHATTER. She had wanted to break something, and that is what happened. "Authority, or providence, granted by the Dao. I could empower my ki directly with something more."

"Hmm, authority sounds good," Coralline said thoughtfully. "Are you being serious?"

"Yes! It was good that I consumed my ki. Otherwise, I wouldn't have noticed it. I'm not fully there yet, but I'm close, I'm just missing something else. I'm a half step onto something new. I need something to push me the last little bit."

"You might be in luck. The last of Fatania's spies has returned. We are ready."

"You mean…" Azura asked, her heart hammering.

"Yes. Tomorrow, we attack Deepmere."

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