0 The Great Mistake

"Wu Chen!"

Five tall and strong immortal cultivators, clad in fine soft robes and solid boots, bellowed this name with blood rage. They flew after a man's trail with glowing swords at their feet. Their curses caused thunderclaps and sonic booms, which triggered vehement storm clouds. Their power made mountains quake and tremble: the grounds rumbled with threats of collapse. But their focus was only on their chase for this troublemaker and their desires to end his life.

Their chase left a trail of chaos upon villages and towns. The common folk could only cower beneath the cultivators' terrifying, unworldly magic that made the ground explode and molten lava rain from the skies. The unrelenting attacks left little cover for the innocent to hide behind. Homes were blown into rubble. Shrapnel burned through robes and light armor. Even the Ugaria Grand Pagoda's twelve-levels of wisdom and peace, which stood at the heart of Seria, suffered beneath the cultivators' overwhelming onslaught. Solid foundations crumbled along with the generational illusions of peace.

All because of one man - Wu Chen. This handsome man's long gold and light blue robes billowed about his tall body as he sped through the skies. The swift winds pushed back his long fine dark hair from his gentle jawline and features. His cool and dark narrow eyes held focus toward the safe spaces he could fly toward and avoid his enemies lightning strikes intending to damage a meridian.

Wu Chen cast a backward glance at the ground devastation that was left behind. The cries and anguish of the innocent made his heart race anxiously. It pained him that the powerful were disregarding people as insignificant obstacles to their intentions of catching him.

"I can't let the innocent fall like this." He stopped and turned around to face his assailants.

"God of Law: Serenity's Blessing!" His soothing voice carried across the skies with a resolution of peace. His spirit sword of silver and light surfaced before him. It twirled in a mad spin as it drew in elemental energies to empower his spell.

With purposeful waves and strokes of his hands, he cast the sword's power against his enemies to counter their plight for him. A wave of white-silver light was cast as a gentle wave across the burning lands to put out the fires and stop the ground calamities. But it drained nearly half of his spirit energy.

"It's okay. I should recoup enough for the tribulations." He swallowed an energy pill to help him recover what he had expelled to the best of his ability.

The common people looked up to him with relief and gratitude for his aid. Satisfied that they were safe, Wu Chen carried on with his plight, and toward uncultured lands to ensure no further harm could come to the innocent.

For the few who knew the history that led to this chaotic battle, they would understand the greatest immortal cultivator’s rage across the heavens. And the dire fight for his life. All his life Wu Chen had tried to do right by twelve martial sects, only to suffer a betrayal from all of them. Now the sects' minions dared to hunt him across the skies with clear threats to end his life.

However, the deadliest magic was being cast by the Grand Lord Master of the Faith Sect - Li Dyon. He used a portion of his might to call upon a power unique to him, the Soul Destroyer. A power manipulated through a long sword of off-worldly might and grace.

“Wu Chen dies today! The Faith Sect will right the wrongs of this universe and end your life!” Li Dyon bellowed as he chased after Wu Chen’s trail across the skies.

“Do your worst. Your best was pitiful.” Wu Chen’s deep voice rebounded across the lands as a cackle. All heard his taunt.

Where the martial sects held hope that the Heavenly Golden Sect and Faith Sect could bring this devil down, the common folk prayed he would triumph.

Wu Chen may have been arrogant, fighting against the martial laws and not caring for sect authority, but he had always fought to bring peace and hope to the common Serian. Not wavering in his principle of where the strong should protect the weak.

His mind was filled with strategies that would take his fight away from the towns. He had to complete the final stage to become immortal: for the sake of mankind. If he were to die, he would make it so that the common people could continue to live in peace and away from the abuses dealt by power hungry cultivators.

“The Primordial Tribulations. I will not fail!” His voice carried to every ear. Prayers and curses came at him as a response, but he kept his mind focused and power strong as he sped across still lakes, snow capped mountains and lush green forests that were waking to the glory of a golden dawn. To ensure the people of his world could continue to live in peace under the Laws he had applied to give them protection, he had to pass this test and be the strongest.

The icy brush of Seria’s morning breeze wetted his smooth cheeks and clung to parts of his robes that were marked with sigils of the last Law Bringer. He relished the touch of nature as he materialized his sword in his hand and stopped his plight.

“Wu Chen!” A new voice entered his awareness. It was a most welcomed voice and one he loved dearly.

“Yan Hua.” His battle worn face warmed with an endearing smile for the woman gliding into his view.

She was beautiful beyond measure, wrapped in fine blue silks trimmed in gold and bearing the sigils of a Hope Cultivator belonging to the Faith Sect.

Her long dark hair flowed around her slender shoulders and fine features like gentle strokes of waves against a shore. Her snow-white skin was soft and eyes a calm blue filled with genuine wisdom and care for him.

She moved toward him with the elegant body and grace of a dancer.

Despite the place she was from, she had always helped him guarantee peace for the secular world. Over the years, he was able to trust her. She never left his side through all the toughest battles. Like the one he was going through now. And this was probably the toughest battle of his life.

“Heaven favors the righteous order. I’ll stand with you.” Her voice was gentle, but her words were tough with a surety that carried relief for him.

Wu Chen smiled, feeling all the aches and pains of his physical body mean something. And everything he chose to do and believe in was special to the person he loved.

The skies grew dark as five grand immortal cultivators flew toward them with their swords ready for killing blows.

“Bring it on!” Wu Chen bellowed to shake the skies and clouds before the oncoming warriors.

But there was a waver to his tones. A moment of weakness as he felt the inkling of a truth he had never felt before. End. It didn’t matter. Yan Hua was with him. He would fight hard to protect her and save Seria from the horrible fate of servitude to the greedy sects.

He raised his sword high and mustered up all his power, treasures and spirit to fight the grand lord masters and defeat them. But before he had the chance to strike, his back was struck with a crippling power.

Chaotic energy raced through his meridians to shatter them one at a time. When the power reached his heart, he saw the truth. The crippling power came from Yan Hua and the Faith Stone she carried on her sword.

"I’m sorry, Wu Chen. But this is for the greater good." Her voice was gentle and held the same care for him, but it was void of love or any sentiment they once shared. She stared at him with such a sober and unfeeling gaze that it made his heart feel pain. Her hands twitched with a hidden desire as she raised her sword again to cast upon devastating universal magic containing the Power of Faith from her Faith Stone.

His eyes reflected the oncoming deathblow with a truth he never wanted to know. The emotional disturbance he felt in his heart made him momentarily weak and vulnerable.

"Now is the time! Strike!" Powerful voices hit the sky and ground like thunder and lightning as they struck Wu Chen while he was vulnerable.

Wu Chen wasn’t backing down and kept up his fight to cause thunder to break the skies around the grand martial lords.

And the people below fled to what safety they could, and witnessed cultivator gods shatter a lone light in the sky. Wu Chen was defeated by many magical swords at one strike, causing him to explode as a dying star and break the foundations of heaven before he was no more.

When the dust cleared and the heavens were calm, the people saw six immortal cultivators towering over them. New world edicts were written with the immortal Powers of Law. They were cast upon the common person to overwrite every value of life Wu Chen's Law Bringer rules had given them.

The death of Wu Chen was a dark future for Seria. The people could only hope that one day a new hero would rise to give them peace and hope once more.