“How long since we last met? Can we, ageless things in this void, even keep track of such time?”
Xilong’s words were woefully indifferent as it stared towards the middle-aged man seated at the drawing table. The latter placed his brush onto the table and released a mirthless chuckle.
“Of course, we – old, ageless things that we are, can certainly keep track of time,” the man released an emphatic sigh.
“The flowing of time, its origin, and conclusion – all are grasped in our fingertips, and coherent to our minds. For you, it may have been an uncountable number of eons since we last met, but for me, it was nigh but a hundred mortal years. Just enough to complete my most recent compilation.”
The heavenly dragon released a disdainful snort, and withheld its burning gaze from the middle-aged man. Xilong surveyed the small collection of bookshelves surrounding the latter, and couldn’t help but flaring its nostrils in surprise.
“I remember, you had an empty collection since you sealed yourself in,” the dragon curled its whiskers.
“Stalling time within your domain to a hundred mortal years… what exactly were you observing? The Realm has experienced three shifts in paradigm since the time we were absent, and all was invested into a single recording?”
“Don’t underestimate the complexity of the duties reserved of a compiler. To capture all details, both visible and hidden, as well as those they wish to retain private; some matters and projects require much more time.”
The man slowly exhaled and stretched his body, releasing inadvertent sighs of relief as the distinct sounds of popping joints brushed at the heavenly dragon’s ears. Xilong suppressed its irritated grumble and watched as the middle-aged man stood to neatly slot the just completed tome into an adjacent bookshelf. The twin golden suns scoured the indefinite symbols scrawled across the books, scrolls, and tablets.
“These books and tablets and scrolls, all depict a single person? But what single entity could require such effort, such dedication and time?”
The man’s fingers paused directly before the spine of a randomly shelved tome, and he glanced towards the heavenly dragon. Silence stretched as the former’s lips drew into a halfhearted, archaic smile, and a resounding voice of resolve and bravery blasted in the small room.
“I needed to revise a biography. The Archives of Time was to be reconfigured almost completely after that incident, and as its compiler, I have little desire to display myself as incompetent before our master.”
“Are you mocking me for being incompetent, Compendium?”
Xilong’s claws flickered as the heavenly dragon trembled with anger, and the twin suns erupted with an uncontrollable blaze. The middle-aged man revealed a wan smile, and reached for a leather tome resting on a corner of the drawing table.
“Xilong, none of us issue blame for that day,” Compendium consoled with a placid voice.
“The might of the Third Progenitor, alongside of the full confrontation of the Creator – not even our master could have accomplished it, much less you. We, as fellow envoys, can hardly find fault for that. However… to demand unilateral presence afterwards –“
“I had no choice in that matter. You were not there when the Sanctuary fell, how dare you speak with such conciliatory manner!”
Xilong erupted with a scathing voice, and its claws directly gouged into the crystalline floor with relative ease. The heavenly dragon hissed at the middle-aged man in warning, and scarlet light began to flicker from deep within the crimson-stained scales.
“You have no idea what she has witnessed, what tragedies she had experienced after the fall –“
“I am the compiler of the Realm. All events by nature are revealed to me, regardless of my absence of presence. Do you think I can idly choose deafen myself to the void’s whispers?”
Compendium retorted with a mild anger displayed on his countenance. The middle-aged man stomped his foot onto the floor, causing the sky blue crystal to erupt with a brilliant radiance. As the golden light surged through the walls, ceiling, and floor of the room, the heavenly dragon’s claws were gently but surely forced from the cracks it had caused.
“Do you truly believe that we, as the envoys created for the purpose of serving as the auxiliary functions of the Sanctuary, do not know of its experiences?” the man furrowed his eyebrows in consternation.
“You state with confidence that as the sole witness of the incident, you know her condition the best. Since you so dearly possess… such powerful knowledge, why were you the first one to assume your presence? Have you only knowledge of the capabilities of others, and not of yourself!?”
“She was suffering!” Xilong shouted with bared teeth.
“Her soul Shattered; the fragments cast down onto the various mortal worlds! Are you suggesting that as the envoy of the… the indomitable Sanctum, I should merely watch and observe as she is hurt, betrayed, and butchered by others?! At the least, I could stave off her enemies and render them into nothing!”
“You are the envoy with the weakest Authority amongst all ten Disciplinary Channels. Forget attempting to apply the Construct of [Death] onto an Immortal existence, you cannot even assure absolute success on a mortal, of all creatures! Just because you could carelessly slaughter a few mortals here and there, you can forget about the requirement of bypassing the Authority of whomever assumes command over that mortal domain before your shoddy Construct can achieve anything!?”
The book was slammed onto the drawing table in a fit of anger, and the heavenly dragon’s claws were wrenched from the floor. The middle-aged man paid no heed to the disordered mess he had caused to the contents displayed on the drawing table, and instead raised an accusing finger towards the latter. As his words slashed at Xilong’s confidence, the sky-blue crystal began to exude a dazzling crimson light.
“Your actions, however with good intention they were, inevitably brought to attention the Immortals and their respective organizations that owned the mortal worlds you infiltrated. The Construct of [Death] can easily massacre any mortal creature, even if they should be the mortal world’s strongest creature – that, nobody will contest. However, should such mortals receive the blessings of the Immortal responsible for their oversight, can you achieve your prided results? Have you, ever!?”
“At least I have tried!”
Xilong belted a final defiant roar, and coiled its body in defeat. The heavenly dragon’s whiskers drooped towards the ground, and the twin suns relinquished their burning radiance as it glanced towards Compendium. When the dragon bared its teeth, the voice that emerged was tinged with exhaustion.
“Of all of the candidates for the position as the envoy responsible for managing the Gate of Death, I am indeed the weakest. But what does that matter? Did our master care that I possessed little Authority compared to the others, or did she seek my loyalty?”
Compendium sighed, and began gently rearranging the scattered objects on the drawing table into their proper place. The middle-aged man toyed with the feather brush, and carelessly tossed it to the side in a moment of thought.
“Loyalty is important. Your loyalty was the reason why you were chosen amongst the rest of the candidates, to the extent that she overlooked your astonishingly weak capabilities and low intelligence. Did you not remember that there were numerous methods to resolving a problem? Did you truly think that as faithful envoys, we would stand by and do nothing?”
Without turning to face the silenced dragon, Compendium clasped an inkstone, and raised his hand into the air. With a slight grunt, the dense inkstone was hurled onto the discarded brush, scattering fragmented stone and splintered wood across the floor.
“Surely you realize that all of the Sanctuary, even its envoys, are bound by God’s Will, and cannot enact much once its domain has been crippled. Other than you, whose origins allow for an exception, the majority of our Construct’s characteristics have been utterly suppressed by the void. We, on the other hand, can only assist by seeking the intervention of the Progenitors.”
The brush could not produce letters without an inkstone to produce ink, nor could the inkstone produce letters without a brush to direct its flow and control its depth. Should the brush be discarded, the inkstone must be shattered. The heavenly dragon stared at the remains of the brush and inkstone, a heavy glint reflected within its pupils.
“A substitute inkstone or brush will not procure adequate results, and will instead tarnish the foundations – is that what you are trying to imply?,” Xilong pulled at its whiskers in frustration.
“Not even a Progenitor can repair a Shattered soul. But if you are suggesting that a fragment of a soul can inherit the Sanctuary, then you are falling into madness.”
“An Fei was not the only one to be Shattered on that day, and you know of it as well,” Compendium narrowed his eyes into a thin glare.
“A fragment of a soul cannot inherit the Sanctuary, I shall gamble that the ultimate result depends on the identity –“
The middle-aged man’s words abruptly stalled midway as he gaped speechlessly towards the heavenly dragon, finding the same shellshocked expression reflected within the twin suns. The two envoys lowered their gaze towards the serene, crystalline floor below their feet, and balked at the creeping unease throbbing in their hearts.
“She will tear herself apart at this rate,” Compendium whispered in fright, then exploded into a tragic roar.
“You have long since awoken from your slumber. Are you truly going to observe as she tears herself apart – save yourself!!”
