Demon of Dawn and Dusk

“Darian!” Astra called out in a sing-song voice. “I’m baaaaaaaaack!”

I stared at the entrance to the cave as the wall turned transparent and Astra sauntered in.

It was the morning the day after I agreed to Astra’s deal. At least, I assumed it was morning. Without the sun, it was difficult to tell the time. Yesterday, the light crystals dimmed several hours after Astra left, to simulate the sun setting I guessed. However, that was only speculation on my part. Without going outside, I couldn’t tell for sure.

I fell asleep right around that time, and when I woke up the light crystals were bright once again.

After washing up at the waster basin, I started my morning exercises to warm up before starting my day. I liked to do them before eating breakfast, since I never liked exercising on a full stomach. I had been in the middle of that when Astra returned.

“Welcome back, Teacher,” I said, giving her a bow.

I figured that since Astra had agreed to teach me cultivation, even if it was only for a year, I would view her as my mentor and treat her with the respect she was due. It was the least I could do, considering what she was doing for me. She might have been a demon, but she still treated me with more respect and kindness than my own kin had. I would not pay her back by being an ungrateful cur.

“Tch.” Astra clicked her tongue with displeasure. “I told you, I’m not your master and I’m not going to be. That honor belongs to someone else.”

I stared at her in bewilderment.

“Who?” I asked.

Astra mentioned the same thing yesterday, but I had been too preoccupied to question it. Now that she brought it up again, I couldn’t help but wonder who she was talking about and why she was so certain that this person, whoever they were, would become my master.

“I’ll explain later,” Astra said, waving off my question. “What matters right now is that I’m not your teacher.” She grinned at me. “If you want to show me the appropriate respect, then call me Big Sis. Come on, you can do it. Repeat after me. ‘Big Sis Astra’.”

I glared at Astra and wondered if all demons were like this, or if she was an exception. In any case, my view of demons as being nothing more than violent beings hellbent on destruction was thoroughly gone now. They could be as silly and ridiculous as any human.

“No,” I said in a flat tone. “I refuse.”

Astra pouted.

“You’re no fun,” she said with mock sorrow. “And I went through all the trouble of procuring breakfast for you. It’s the least you can do to thank me.” She stopped pouting. “You haven’t eaten breakfast yet, have you?”

I shook my head.

“Not yet, no.”

Astra grinned.

“Good. Otherwise, this wouldn’t work.”

She proceeded to produce an ornate wooden table out of her storage ring, as well as a pair of chairs that matched it. The table was painted red, and carved with images of spirit beasts. Each beast had gemstones for eyes.

Astra then took out several dishes from her storage ring and placed them on the table. Each one looked more delicious than the last. My mouth watered and my stomach growled at the sight and smell of them.

“Now then,” Astra said after she finished, placing her hands on her hips. She wore a smug grin on her face. “You know what to say.”

I alternated between glaring at Astra and drooling over the food on the table. On the one hand, I didn’t want to give in to Astra’s demands. On the other hand, the food looked delicious. I had never seen so many mouthwatering dishes in my entire life. Back on Mt. Wind Dance, I ate the same food as the servants. While it wasn’t bad, it couldn’t compare to the feast before my eyes now.

My resolve crumbled within seconds.

“Thank you,” I said through gritted teeth. “Big Sis Astra.”

“Good boy,” she said, skipping over to me and ruffling my hair. “Keep it up and this big sis will treat you right.”

I pulled away from her, cursing my weak willpower. Without another word, I washed up at the basin before joining Astra at the table. The food was divine and tasted as delicious as it looked. To my embarrassment, I let out moans of pleasure as I ate. I tried to hold them back, but couldn’t. It seemed that I had a weakness for delicious food.

Halfway through the meal, I noticed that Astra wasn’t eating anything. She just leaned against the table and watched me with an expression that was a mix of amusement and affection. Just yesterday I would have found this suspicious, yet today I saw nothing wrong with it. It seemed that I had overcome my fear of Astra already. In my defense, she hadn’t harmed me in any way and had even helped me a lot. Of course I would think well of her.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” I asked, embarrassed.

Astra shook her head.

“I no longer need to eat mortal food,” she said.

That meant that she was at least at the Golden Core realm. Cultivators who reached that point no longer needed to eat, drink, or sleep. They were beyond such mortal concerns.

I learned that particular tidbit when I tried to offer my uncle a sweet, back when I was a child, in the hopes that it would soften his heart towards me. It didn’t work of course.

“You could still eat for the enjoyment of it,” I pointed out.

Astra shook her head.

“Dealing with the impurities involved is a hassle I don’t want,” she said. “If I want to eat something, I’d rather eat a meal cooked by a spirit chef. At least then it would benefit my cultivation as well as taste delicious.” She gestured to the food. “Don’t let that stop you from enjoying your meal.”

After a moment, I shrugged and continued eating. After I finished, Astra put away the remaining dishes, though she left the table and the chairs.

“Now then,” Astra said. “I assume you studied the manuals I gave you yesterday.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “You better have. Great potential or not, I won’t tolerate any laziness from you, Darian.”

I snorted.

“I’m insulted,” I said. “Given how much you observed me back on Mt. Wind Dance, you should know me better than that.” I frowned. “However, I am concerned.”

“What are you concerned about?” Astra asked.

I walked over to the wooden table beside the bed, where I had left the manuals that Astra gave me, and picked up the three she told me to focus on. I returned to the table and laid them all out in front of me. I tapped the one labeled as “Asura Crucible Body.”

“This is a demonic cultivation technique,” I said.

Astra raised an eyebrow at me.

“Yes, I know,” she said. “I’m familiar with that particular technique, intimately so even. I practice it myself.”

I tapped the second manual on the table. This one was labeled “Soul of Divine Fire.”

“This is a divine cultivation technique,” I said.

Astra nodded.

“Yes,” she said. “I know this, Darian. I’m the one who gave you those manuals. Why are you stating the obvious?”

I paused, taking a moment to find the right words to express my thoughts.

“Did you want me to choose between the two?” I asked. “Or did you want me to cultivate both at the same time? You didn’t specify this before you left yesterday.”

I left out the third manual, since it seemed like the technique described in that one could be used in conjunction with either Asura Crucible Body or Soul of Divine Fire.

“I want you to cultivate using both techniques,” Astra said. “There shouldn’t be any issue. Asura Crucible Body is a physical refining technique while Soul of Divine Fire is a qi refining technique.”

I stared at her in disbelief. Was Astra being deliberately obtuse or did she truly not understand my concerns?

“I don’t know much about cultivation,” I said. “But isn’t that impossible? I thought divine qi and demonic qi were inimical towards each other? Wouldn’t cultivating a divine soul inside a demonic body kill me?”

Astra made a so-so gesture.

“To answer your second question first, yes and no,” she said. “Anything demonic is weak against divine qi. It is heavenly in nature after all.” She gestured towards me. “However, I understand why you’re concerned. To answer your first question, it isn’t possible to practice both divine cultivation and demonic cultivation. One of the reasons why our Dawn and Dusk Sect is so powerful and prominent is because we have a number of experts who are simultaneously divine cultivators and demonic cultivators. We call them divine demons. However, they are rare. The number of divine demons in the Dawn and Dusk Sect can be counted on two hands.”

I blinked at her, unable to wrap my head around her words. The very idea of a divine demon made no sense to me. I thought the divine came from the Heavenly Realm, while the demonic came from the Underworld. The two were polar opposites, so how could they coexist together?

Then again, Yang contained a bit of Yin and Yin contained a bit of Yang, as represented by the taijitu. Huh. Maybe the idea wasn’t so far-fetched after all. Still, I had trouble accepting it.

“To answer your third question,” Astra continued. “As long as I’m around, I won’t let you die, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

Meaning that there was a chance that practicing both a divine cultivation technique and a demonic cultivation technique could kill me if I was either careless or unlucky.

My suspicions about Astra, which had been quiet today, flared up again. What if she wasn’t trying to kill me? What if she was trying to use me for some kind of twisted experiment? Could I take her words at face value?

“You know,” Astra said in a sardonic voice. “I’m getting better at reading your facial expressions. You’re having unkind thoughts about me again, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” I admitted without an ounce of shame.

Astra sighed.

“I would get annoyed about that, except that I can’t blame you this time,” she said. “In your shoes, I would be skeptical as well. Even within the Dawn and Dusk Sect, attempting to cultivate divine qi and demonic qi within oneself is considered risky and dangerous.”

“Then why take that risk?” I asked in a bewildered tone. “Why not have me just practice a divine cultivation technique or a demonic cultivation technique? Why do you want me to practice both?”

Astra took a moment before responding.

“While you were unconscious, I took the liberty of examining you, Darian,” she said. “From what I saw, you meet the requirements to become a divine demon, though that isn’t guaranteed.”

I frowned.

“What requirements?”

Astra pursed her lips and tapped her chin with her index finger.

“How much do you know about spirit roots?” she asked.

“I know that they’re necessary to become a cultivator, but that’s it,” I said with a shrug. “Without spirit roots, one can’t cultivate. Otherwise, I know nothing about them.”

Lucius never told me much about spirit roots, and none of my kin talked about them within my hearing. Due to my uncle’s decree, which forbade anyone from teaching me anything about cultivation, they kept their lips closed around me. The little I knew about cultivation came from years of eavesdropping on others, as well as Lucius pushing against the boundaries of my uncle’s authority in order to educate me as much as he could.

“In that case, it’s time for your first lesson in cultivation,” Astra said with a grin. “Be grateful. There are plenty of teachers out there who would have thrown you in head first without explaining things beforehand.” She spread her arms out wide with a flourish. “Bask in my generosity.”

“I thought you said that you weren’t my teacher,” I pointed out.

Astra gave me a flat look.

“Shush you.” She cleared her throat and took on a lecturing tone. “You’re right in that spirit roots are necessary to become a cultivator. However, unlike what most believe, every being has spirit roots. As their name implies, they are the root of one’s spirit, the core of one’s being. Most don’t have spirit roots suitable for cultivation, which led to the misconception that only a few people have them. This is false.”

As Astra spoke, I gave her my full attention. This was my first actual lesson in cultivation, and I didn’t want to miss a word. Granted, I hadn’t expected it to take the form of a lecture like this, but I wasn’t going to complain. I thirsted for this knowledge the same way the earth thirsted for water after a long drought.

“In order to cultivate,” Astra continued. “One’s spirit needs to be aligned with a particular aspect of reality. Spirits roots that don’t have an alignment are called blank spirit roots. Most beings have these kinds of spirit roots.”

“What do you mean by ‘aspect of reality?’” I asked.

“For most, this means the Five Elements: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood,” Astra answered. “However, there are other kinds of spirit roots.” She looked lost in thought for a moment. “I once knew a man whose spirit roots were Sword-aligned. As you might guess, he was a powerful sword cultivator and good sparring partner. He was obsessed with becoming a hero of justice, though he lost his way for a while. He found it again after enduring several hardships.” She chuckled. “I should pay him a visit soon. I haven’t seen him in decades.”

I stared at her in fascination. The idea of having spirits root aligned with a weapon sounded appealing to me. I wondered what kind of spirit roots I had.

“What other alignments are there?” I asked, eager to learn more.

“Anything really, though the more powerful the concept, the more mystical weight it has, the more common it is,” Astra said. “This is why spirit roots aligned with the Five Elements are the most common. The interactions between them govern reality. The alignments of one’s spirit roots determine the kind of mystic arts one can use, and it is possible to have more than one alignment. Spirit roots aligned with three or more of the Five Elements are called impure spirit roots. They are the most common kind of spirit roots, and the least desirable.”

I frowned.

“Why?” I asked. “Wouldn’t having more alignments mean being able to use more kinds of mystic arts?”

“Yes, however those with impure spirit roots cultivate at a much slower speed,” Astra said. “The more alignments they have, the slower they cultivate. It is rare for a person with impure spirit roots to reach the Foundation Establishment realm, not without help from medicines, natural treasures, and fortuitous encounters. They have more versatility when it comes to the mystic arts, but that doesn’t matter if they never step beyond the Qi Condensation realm.” She made a so-so gesture. “If someone with impure spirit roots ever does make it to the higher realms, that versatility would give them an advantage, though not a big one. After all, magical treasures and talismans exist.”

Huh. I hadn’t thought of it like that. The idea of being able to cast all kinds of mystic arts sounded amazing, but not at the cost of a slower cultivation speed.

“Spirit roots with two different alignments are called pure spirit roots,” Astra continued. “Cultivators with pure spirit roots are almost guaranteed to enter the Foundation Establishment realm, though entering the Golden Core realm is difficult for them. It’s not impossible, but it takes a lot more effort. Most don’t succeed. Part of it depends on the quality of their cultivation technique, and part of it depends on the compatibility of their alignments. If the alignments of their spirit roots are compatible, such as with Fire and Wood, their chances are much higher. If the alignments are incompatible or in opposition to each other, such as with Earth and Water, then it’s almost impossible.”

“What about spirit roots with a single alignment?” I asked.

Astra grinned.

“Those are called heavenly spirit roots,” she said. “This is because those with heavenly spirit roots are said to be gifted by the heavens. Not only do they cultivate faster than those with impure and pure spirit roots, but as long as they cultivate with diligence and don’t die along the way, they are guaranteed to reach the Golden Core stage.”

I took a moment to digest everything she told me.

“What determines the purity of one’s spirit roots?” I asked. “Is it determined by fate or is it something one inherits?”

“Most inherit spirit roots from their parents,” Astra said. “Both in purity and alignment. If two people with impure spirit roots have a child, that child will most likely have impure spirit roots. Even then, fate plays a big part. A child with pure or heavenly spirit roots may be born to parents with impure or blank spirit roots, and vice versa. Granted, it’s rare, but it does happen.”

“So, in order to become a divine demon, one needs to have heavenly spirit roots?” I asked.

Astra walked over to me and pinched my cheeks.

“No, though I can see why you would assume so,” she said.

I brushed away her hand and scowled at her.

“Will you stop that?” I said, rubbing my cheek. “Why do you insist on treating me like a child?”

Astra pouted.

“I can’t help myself,” she said. “You’re just so adorable that it takes all of my willpower just to hold myself back. Be grateful that I hold back at all.” Her pout morphed into a grin. “Besides, I’m over three hundred years old, Darian. To someone like me, you are a child. When you reach fifty years of age, then maybe I’ll consider treating you like an adult. Maybe. I make no promises.”

The idea of dealing with Astra and her antics fifty years from now filled me with weariness. However, I didn’t hate the idea. While I found the way she treated me irksome, I also liked it. No one had ever treated me with this level of familiarity. Even Lucius maintained some distance between us, though I believed that was more for my sake than anything else. Otherwise, my uncle would have tried to keep us apart. Honestly, it amazed me that he allowed Lucius to teach me the basics of the Dancing Wind Blade fighting style in the first place.

“To continue with the lesson,” Astra said. “In order to become a divine demon, one needs mutated spirit roots. Specifically, mutated pure spirit roots.”

“Mutated spirit roots?” I asked.

“Remember, not all spirit roots are aligned with the Five Elements. Those aligned with other aspects of reality are called mutated spirit roots. Take your Clan Wind Dance, for example. From what I observed, almost all of them have Wind-aligned spirit roots, which is nothing short of amazing. Mutated spirit roots are rare, even rarer than heavenly spirit roots. For an entire clan of cultivators with mutated spirit roots to exist is a minor miracle.”

I blinked at her in surprise. I hadn’t realized that Clan Wind Dance was that special. Of course, that didn’t make me feel any more positively inclined towards my kin, not after the way they treated me. Special or not, it would be a long time before I forgave them, if I forgave them at all. If it hadn’t been for Lucius and my father, I wouldn’t have considered it in the first place.

“In order to become a divine demon, one needs mutated pure spirit roots,” Astra continued. “This duality is important. Not only that, but they need either divine or demonic spirit roots. Preferably both, however finding someone with both divine and demonic spirit roots is less likely than someone with impure spirit roots achieving immortality. As far as I know, only one person like that has ever existed; the Founding Ancestor of the Dawn and Dusk Sect, and the first divine demon.”

“What kind of spirit roots do I have?” I asked, both excited and afraid to hear the answer.

“You have Fire-aligned and demonic-aligned spirit roots.”

I frowned.

“Fire?” I asked. “Not Wind, like my father and the rest of my kin?”

Astra shook her head.

“Nope,” she said. “It seems that you take almost entirely after your mother, Darian.”

My mood darkened at the mention of my mother. I didn’t know much about her, and I avoided thinking about her as much as possible. She was the reason why my life had been so difficult up to this point, the reason why my own kin hated me. To me, she had always been nothing more than the demon who seduced my father and then abandoned me as soon as she gave birth to me. If she hadn’t, my father wouldn’t have been forced to bring me to Mt. Wind Dance.

At least, that was what I always believed. While he never said so, my uncle always gave me the impression that my father brought me back to Mt. Wind Dance out a sense of responsibility and obligation, not love. Who could ever love a filthy demonkin like me?

However, after meeting Astra, I began to question this. What if everything I took for granted and held to be true turned out to all be lies? What if my father brought me back to Clan Wind Dance because he loved me as his son, and not just because he felt responsible for me? What if my mother hadn’t abandoned me? If so, where was she and why hadn’t she come to see me? Was she even alive?

I shook my head. There wasn’t any point in speculating about this. The only ones who knew the truth were my parents, and neither of them were available at the moment. It was better to focus on the here and now.

When I came back to the present, I saw Astra watching me with a patient look on her face. She must have realized that I needed a moment to work through my emotions.

“Ready to move on?” she asked in a soft voice.

I nodded.

“Yes. Thank you.”

Astra flashed me a grin before continuing.

“Since you have the potential to become a divine demon, I figured it was worth a try,” she said

“Why bother?” I asked. “What’s the benefit of becoming a divine demon rather than being a purely demonic cultivator?”

That was a sentence I never thought I’d ever say in my life. It was amazing how much a person’s worldview could change within the span of a day. Just a week ago, the thought of becoming a demonic cultivator would have filled me with fear and disgust. Astra’s demeanor and attitude helped, but mostly I was tired.

I was tired of hating myself. I was tired of being weak. I was tired of being looked down upon by everyone around me. If my kin were any indication, then people were going to fear me because of my demonic heritage. If that was the case, why bother holding back? Why not embrace my heritage and become a demonic cultivator? At least then I would be strong.

That said, I didn’t plan on being a monster. As Astra pointed out to me, demons and demonic cultivators didn’t have to be evil and wicked. I could still be a demonic cultivator and a good person, or at least not an evil one. While I wouldn’t go out of my way to save people, if I saw injustice happening in front of me, I would do something about it.

“There are two reasons to at least try to become a divine demon, though they’re both related to each other,” Astra said, holding up two fingers. “The first is that demons are inherently weak to divine qi. When facing divine cultivators, they’re at a disadvantage. The second is that becoming an Immortal is impossible for demonic cultivators. If they tried, the Immortal Tribulation would destroy them in body and soul. Instead, they strive to become Devils, the demonic equivalent of an Immortal.”

Immortal Tribulation? I didn’t know what that was, but based on the name, I could make a guess. According to Lucius, becoming a cultivator meant challenging the heavens and defying one’s fate. After all, if humans were meant to be immortal, then they would’ve been born as such. Treading the path to immortality meant turning away from the path laid out by fate. However, the heavens were fair in that they gave one a chance to prove oneself.

This Immortal Tribulation must be the heavens’ way of punishing cultivators and testing their strength and resolve.

“Divine demons don’t have those weaknesses since they are also divine in nature,” Astra continued. “In fact, from what I heard, they have an easier time going through the Immortal Tribulation than most other cultivators.” She paused. “As for why divine cultivators would want to become divine demons, the answer is simple. Power. Demonic cultivation is a path to great and destructive power. Besides, demonic qi is poisonous to them, though they aren’t as weak to it as demonic cultivators are to divine qi. By becoming divine demons, they can eliminate this weakness.”

I stared at Astra in amazement, unable to say anything for several seconds.

“I can see the appeal in becoming a divine demon,” I said, before frowning. “However, it still sounds risky.”

“It is,” Astra agreed. “There is a chance that you may cause serious injury to yourself. However, with me around, the chances of that happening are low.” She gestured to me. “The decision is yours. If you want to give it a try, I’ll do everything in my power to aid you. If not, I will find you a different qi refining cultivation technique.”

“What if I try and it doesn’t work?” I asked.

Astra shrugged.

“Then we’ll start over and try again with a different technique.”

I pursed my lips and considered my options. Other than the risk involved, I had no reason not to try and become a divine demon. However, it was quite the risk. While I didn’t think Astra was trying to dismiss the danger involved on purpose, she wasn’t the one taking the risk. I was. In the end, if something went wrong I would be the one to suffer.

Yet, I couldn’t deny that I was tempted. One benefit of becoming a divine demon was that perhaps it would eliminate, or at least mitigate, people’s hatred and distrust of me. After enduring years of prejudice at the hands of my own kin, I found that thought enticing.

“Let’s do it,” I said. “As you said, it’s worth a try.”

Astra smiled at me, and her eyes shone with…pride? That didn’t make sense, unless she truly thought of me as her student. Or maybe she was happy because bringing a new divine demon to the Dawn and Dusk Sect would count as a significant contribution.

“Excellent,” Astra said. “We may as well start now. Follow me, Darian.”

“Where?” I asked.

Were we finally going to leave this cave? I hoped so. I missed the open air and the endless sky. I was starting to feel restless and suffocated from staying inside this cave.

“To the meditation chamber at the heart of this mountain.”