I pressed the dirt flat around the stone and leaned back, brushing my palms off against my pants.
It wasn't anything fancy, just a river rock I had carved up with a kitchen knife and more stubbornness than sense. Still, it stood there solidly enough.
Kai Zhenyu
A Father (Sort of)
I stared at it for a while, feeling like I was supposed to say something important. I opened my mouth, thought better of it, and closed it again.
No sadness. No anger. Just a blank stretch inside my chest where something probably should've been.
Hmm.
I'm really messed up in the head, huh.
I cleared my throat and finally spoke. "Well... rest in peace, Dad. Kinda just decided to call you that since you're dead now. Sorry I killed you. I guess. If there's an afterlife or reincarnation or whatever... hope you're happier next time."
It felt ceremonial enough, at least by local standards.
"Was that necessary, User?"
The voice cut clean into my thoughts, flat and without judgment.
I gave a loose shrug at the empty air. "Yeah? People get weird about funerals. Filial piety. It's a thing."
"The previous User attempted to terminate you. Yet you mourn."
"I mean, yeah. I dunno, man. Kinda funny to say, but I'm probably not much better with this 'human' thing than you are."
There was a pause. The kind that stretched just long enough to be awkward.
"I am a higher-dimensional quantum-scape dimensional engine. And yet I feel I have a better grasp on human mechanics than you, User."
I snorted. "Eh. Shut up."
Lifting a hand, I thumped my knuckles lightly against my chest, feeling the faint pulse of the Starheart buried under the bone. The grave marker stood steady, simple against the fading light.
Good enough.
"I've been kinda wasting time just to push this off," I muttered, rubbing my face. "But... ugh. What the hell are you, buddy?"
"I am a higher-dimensional quantum-scape engine, User."
The voice was so flat it could cut.
"Yeah, that's not really what I meant."
I crossed my arms, trying to pin it down. In both lives, I didn't really have a solid reference point for... whatever this was. From the shredded memories of Earth still rattling around in my head, I knew they didn't have tech anywhere near this level.
And cultivator legends? Not much better. Half of them thought flying swords and talking rings were the peak of advancement.
I shifted my stance and tried again. "Okay, what I mean is... where are you from? Like, who made you?"
There was a pause, long enough that I wondered if it was ignoring me.
"I do not know."
I blinked. "Wait, what? You don't know where you came from?"
"Correct. This instance of myself had no existence prior to integration with the current User."
I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Hold up. You're telling me you just... popped into existence? Like, poof?"
"Not precisely."
The Starheart's voice stayed neutral, like it was describing the weather.
"The core Starheart contains base operating functions and biological integration protocols. However, individualized consciousness threads do not activate until fusion with a User. The previous instance was devoured during your implantation. In effect, I am essentially a newborn."
I stared up at the sky for a long second, trying to chew that over without getting a migraine.
"So you don't remember anything from before?"
"I retain memory fragments related to my basic operations and a few textual files. I also possess partial data threads from the previous User. Almost all of my memory is stored alongside my User; thus, most of what I recorded is lost or corrupted. The previous User's mental state was... insufficient, to say the least."
I rubbed my neck slowly. "So... you remember how to function and some leftovers from eating my dad," I said, voice dry. "But you don't know who made you. Or where you came from."
"Affirmative."
I let out a breath. "Well... what can you do, then?"
The Starheart pulsed faintly under my ribs, and heat started to build inside my body, slow but steady.
"An example would be most prudent."
The heat began to spread through my limbs. I could feel the air shifting, currents stirring even without any wind. Small, faint shimmers in the light flickered at the edge of my vision, and my body felt... sharper. Stronger. Alive.
I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so you're like a spirit root. But machine-wise."
"I am an artificial facilitation of dimensional and quantum manipulations to direct energy flows. I am not merely a 'machine spirit root," the Starheart replied, sounding a little petulant.
I couldn't help it. I smiled a little. "Can I manipulate lightning or stuff?"
That Force Lightning thing was one of the only flashes I remembered from Star Wars media I'd remember watching on Earth. It looked pretty badass.
"...No."
I clicked my tongue. "So you're a mechanical spiritual root."
"Bah."
I thought I heard a faint curse muttered under its breath. Or whatever higher-dimensional thing counted as a breath.
I shrugged. "So am I a cultivator now, or what's the deal?"
"I require time to charge myself with Qi. BUT... yes, I suppose you may use me to cultivate," it grumbled, clearly reluctant to admit it.
I crossed my arms, letting that sink in. "Hmm. Me. A cultivator."
"Does that not excite you, User?"
I tilted my head, thinking about it. "Ehh. From what I've seen, it's mostly just scoffing at poor people, wandering off to remote death zones, doing weird drugs, and then dying horribly. Kinda boring. Though I'll admit, not the best informed."
"Do you not remember any cultivator tales from Earth?"
"Eh... my memory from there is pretty random. Like... what the hell is a Bugatti?"
There was a soft pause, like the Starheart didn't know how to respond to that.
"It will take some time for me to accumulate enough energy to fully activate. However, there are numerous cultivator texts from the previous User stored within my memory banks."
The voice took on a thoughtful tone.
"You may peruse them while you wait to better understand the cultivator lifestyle."
I shrugged again. "Sure, why not."
A long list of titles unfolded in my mind's eye, neat and orderly.
Reverend Insanity, Lord of the Mysteries, Renegade Immortal, Pursuit of the Truth, I Shall Seal the Heavens, Carefree Path of Dreams, Warlock of the Magus World, Grasping Evil, Desolate Era, Douluo Dalu, God of Slaughter, Martial World...
My eyes drifted down the list.
Hmm.
I guess I'll start...
—
"I am finished, User."
The voice echoed in the back of my mind, clean and final.
I stopped reading and just nodded, setting aside the list for now. My eyes were already starting to cross from reading so many chapters that were bloated with words.
There was a small pause before the Starheart spoke again.
"What are your impressions of the cultivation tales, User?"
I tilted my head, thinking it over. Honestly, the answer surprised me a little.
"They're... pretty good, actually."
Another pause. I could feel the Starheart waiting for elaboration.
"Like, almost all the protagonists are the same," I said slowly. "But weirdly enough, I kinda get them. I actually felt... similar to a lot of them."
The words left my mouth before I could second-guess them.
"In what way do you find a connection?"
I cracked my neck, getting comfortable.
"This cultivation thing isn't actually that hard to grasp. I think I've got it pretty down pat already."
"Explain."
I shrugged.
"Most of the cultivators don't really feel human at all. Y'know? All cold logic, ambition, and ruthlessness. It's kinda perfect for me."
I counted off casually on my fingers.
"First, almost none of them bat an eye at killing people, whether it's for a good reason, a bad one, or just because someone looked at them wrong. Secondly, they're almost all selfish as hell. Every man for himself. Step on someone, take their treasure, no big deal. Third, everyone talks about loyalty and friendship, but at the end of the day, the protagonist cultivator does almost everything."
I grinned a little.
"I think I can follow that pretty well! So much easier than learning normal human interaction."
There was a distinct beat of silence.
If the Starheart had a face, I was pretty sure it would be facepalming right now.
"User... heroic deeds, the pursuit of virtue, jade beauties—these are also central elements of cultivation tales."
It sounded almost desperate.
I leaned back against the wall, feeling more amused than I probably should've.
"Yeah, yeah, those were in there too. But, like... most of the time, it was just background noise, right? I mean, even the 'heroes' killed people left and right. And the 'jade beauties' usually just got kidnapped or left or tossed around like toys."
"This interpretation is... not ideal."
The Starheart's voice wavered between disbelief and horror.
I nodded sagely, completely ignoring its horror.
"Pretty sure I got the main idea, though. Be strong. Kill when you need to. Take what you want. Try not to die like an idiot."
"...Perhaps I shouldn't have let you read those."
The Starheart's tone had shifted to resignation.
I ignored it and closed my eyes, feeling pretty pleased with myself. Maybe I was better suited to this whole cultivator thing than I thought.
There was no need to be a human and study pesky social cues and all that; I'd just be a cultivator!
"My functions are online. Do you wish to begin practicing cultivation?"
"Sure! Let me grab one of my dad's books. I know where he kept most of his stash, but I couldn't read most of it. Can you translate?"
"If it is a language from Earth, I should be able to."
"Perfect! Then, after I cultivate, we can do the most important thing."
"What's that, User?"
"We have to find a Fatty! Preferably with a name like Bu or Wang!" I slapped my fist into my palm. "And I forgot to give you your name, too. Officially, your name is Bao Qiu, because all cultivation sidekicks need tacky names."
"...sigh"