The Stepping Stones

Master

I'm a fiction made real.

I'm a lie that turned the truth.

A spirit cast into reality through the power of a thousand lies.

I don't remember when I gained consciousness at first but the first thing I remember was the face of a filial young man that used my name to hide his inheritance.

"Mother, my master is very kind and helpful in his teachings. You don't have to worry about me, I'll definitely sort out all of our family's troubles by learning from him. It is my luck to be taught by him, otherwise how else would I have become so strong in such a short period." This was the first anchor of my existence, the voice of my first indirect disciple.

It helped me sort out my thoughts as I became aware of who I was and the reason for my existence.

Since then, I keep becoming more and more aware as the kids kept pinning their wildest immortal skills and manuals to have come out of my inheritance.

I'm a free and unfettered old immortal, and also a smokescreen behind which the legendary cheaters hide their faces.

I was happy with this broken fate, content with my reality but when those kids started growing up, things began to change.

Since I was believed by everyone to be kind, selfless, and righteous, that's how I turned out when I gained consciousness.

In the beginning, when the kids were weak and continuously bullied, I even helped some of them delay their tribulation and avoid their risks, but since I wasn't a physical entity but existed as an independent information state lifeform, there were limited ways in which I could help them, like indirectly delaying and interfering the actions of people that were out for their blood.

This changed when the kids began to grow up. Years of self-torture and loneliness distorted their pure vision of life. 

Addicted to taking the center stage at each point in time, their aura, attitude, and nature brought them all sorts of troubles. There were limited ways in which I could help them, hence, most of the time, these indirect disciples of mine only had themselves to depend on when facing them.

Still, perhaps due to their abnormal luck or fate, every adverse situation only helped them grow beyond my wildest expectations and soon they had built their own forces.

It was a gratifying experience as their master, even though they weren't aware of my existence but it all began to fall apart, my pride and hopes for them.

For treasures and adultery, they didn't hesitate before spreading chaos, killing people in hundreds, and ruining innocent lives in thousands. It was painful, it was unbearable but I couldn't teach them kindness and disciple.

As more and more of my innocent and pure little disciples turned into mass-murdering psychopaths, I seemed to have gained even more power from them.

My state of existence slowly turned from blurry to real, I cheered in joy, finally having the ability to teach the true righteous ways of humanity to my disciples. 

'They will surely appreciate their master finally appearing in front of them.' or so I thought but it didn't turn out to be as I hope for.

I decided to go with my first 'disciple', since he seemed to have forgotten the gentle and kind demeanor of his early days.

I found him within a ruin he was exploring together with his 4th wife and appeared in front of him, free and unfettered, same as he had described my existence to be.

But instead of the awe and respect, I was expecting, his eyes shone when he saw me, revealing a spirit locking spell and binding my newly born physical spirit.

I calmly told him who I was to make him avoid any misunderstandings, "Kid, I'm your master. Remember the immortal art you learned back in your hometown that you got from that stone bead, I seemed to have taught you that."

My disciple panicked and revealed his killing intent, "How do you know about that bead? Who are you?"

I gently explained, "As I said, I'm your master, you might not know me but I know everything about you."

"You? My master? Old fraud, I am who I am because of my own efforts only, there is no luck involved! Now, give me everything you have, your abilities and treasures, or I strike you down."

Looking at his pure eyes now shining with greed and evil intentions, my heart broke, but I didn't chide him, since it was my fault I was able to help him every time. 

Nonetheless, seeing as he didn't remember how many time I and pure luck had saved his life, I began to recount every event in which he would've died if not for my help or luck, "So you remember that sect that had enmity with you because of you having an affair with their holy maiden? I was the one who delayed their elders and had them run around in circles until you were strong enough to defeat them and that one time when you were flung in a chaotic void..."

Instead of the admiration his eyes only shone with more and more apprehension as he listened. 

Finally, before I could even finish my sentence, he revealed his immortal sword intent, something that he had claimed to have been taught by me, and slashed my spirit in half, turning my existence into a blurry state again.

I felt pain from the depths of my origin, knowing my first 'disciple' was beyond redemption.

That was my final thought before I was sent into eternal slumber.

....

The youngest sword emperor finally came out of the ancient ruin and saw his lovely perfect ethereal heavenly 4th wife waiting for him, as vulnerable and dependant upon as the rest of them all.

"Did anything happen, dear? You look glum," She asked in concern.

The aggressive champion, the unchallenged sword emperor cleared his head of any uncertain thoughts and smirked, "Yeah, it was just an 'inner heart demon', something I needed to overcome that troubled me. Don't worry, I've killed it, now I'm free."

Author's Note:

The kind immortal spirit, the perfect smokescreen of the 'cheater' met his gruesome end in the hands of his first 'disciple'.