Nice To Finally Meet You

  For the rest of the day, the women loitered near Nadia, doting on her.

  Dar had caught sight of the two Gilded Sect elders learning to till the ground.

  He had once used magic to do it all himself—now, the people relished the challenge.

  Whether through magic or Aura, they worked the earth like it was a form of training.

  They took turns, cheered each other on, ughed, and groaned through the effort.

  It was a sight to behold.

  Dar felt the same way Teyren often did—there was never enough time.

  Even with a hundred years, he might not accomplish all he needed to.

  His people were making tremendous strides, but there were things only he could do.

  Things that couldn’t wait.

  Dar loved constructs.

  Creating things with the elements, even when he was tired, filled him with excitement.

  One evening, Serel told a story about a visiting academic who recounted a technique a Nascent Soul cultivator had demonstrated for them.

  The process was not revealed beyond telling them it took a part of the soul and blood.

  The soul connected the two, and the blood essence allowed the magic to build a body that, for all intents and purposes, felt and looked real.

  Since then, Dar had not stopped thinking about it.

  He envisioned himself as one precise, efficient, enduring construct.

  An alternative to him, who could help out, knowing what he knew, and he would know it knew too.

  He pulled water from the nearby well, purifying it until it shimmered a radiant sapphire blue.

  Extending his hand, he guided the water, shaping it slowly—first a blob, then something like a body melting into form—glowing, unsteady.

  Bit by bit, it refined into a rough figure, mirroring his own posture with its hand raised to meet his.

  The watery form shifted and stabilized.

  Eventually, he found himself staring at a blue reflection of himself.

  Then his Qi moved in a new way, until it became dense, and inside of him, his Qi shimmered like a river of ruby dust bright under the sun.

  He sliced his hand and let blood flow into the water clone.

  To the count of three, he suddenly felt very weak.

  The feeling passed.

  He imagined the skeleton—delicate but firm—constructing itself within.

  Qi flowed from his hands to the clones, his Qi moving around each Chakra, then to the clone and back.

  Over and over, he built what seemed impossible to him, but he was watching it happen.

  “Watch it steal my wives and my life.” He muttered, half joking.

  Then came organs, sinew, skin, and eyes, before him stood himself.

  Finally, Dar poured a rge reserve of Qi into the figure.

  He imagined a Dantian, forming a much smaller version of his own inside the clone.

  By the time he was done, he was trembling in exhaustion, most of his reserves spent.

  He removed his hands, which were stuck to the clones.

  Breaking the connection started something.

  It looked at him, then around, with a look of surprise.

  Dar tilted his head. “Can you speak?”

  The clone turned to him. “It seems out of five lifetimes; you are the one to prove we aren’t crazy.”

  Dar stared as the clone flexed its hands, then closed its eyes. “This shouldn’t be possible. But Qi seems to upend logic, doesn’t it, buddy?”

  “Who are you?” Dar barely whispered.

  “échale un ojo, hermano. You already know — you killed it, wow, all those damn documentaries, travelled the world, found where our ancestors rested.Eso… y también el pinche PTSD y depresión. Perdón, bro — that part’s on me.”

  “Solomon?!” Dar cried out.

  “Si!” Solomon said with a smile and embraced him.

  “You need a hand, then I am your man, brother.” The clone said, ughing with tears in his eyes.

  Dar started crying too. “I'm not crazy?!” he stated, almost afraid this was a dream.

  “Well, who knows? I am not a physician.” The clone ughed while tussling his hair.

  “But I am naked, SOOO” he said, looking down at himself.

  Dar blinked, then took off his outer robe and handed it over. Then, he stumbled from weakness, so Solomon waved his hand, and a solid stool of dirt rose for each and donned the robe.

  “You can use magic?!” Dar decred.

  Solomon's brows rose. “Why are you surprised? Aren't I you?”

  Dar leaned forward. “I don’t know,” he admitted.

  Sol nodded too. “Have you heard us talking to you?” he asked.

  Dar paled then nodded.

  Sol tilted his head back and closed his eyes. “So, we exist somewhere separate right now. It didn’t make sense when we came into being, and it still doesn’t make sense now that I am here outside... What I can tell you is that there is a pce where a myriad of rainbow lights is present.

  Sol took a breath and looked at his hand as check if it was all real.

  “We appear there when you are using your Qi in a specific way. Additionally, none of us can recall anything like this before, so it must be reted to Qi. We cannot read your thoughts, but we perceive your senses and memories in the same way you share them with your loved ones. Your feelings also transfer to us. I don’t know if it's because we are connected, share a soul, or what, but there is more at py here than we knew before your birth.”

  Solomon extended his hands if at a loss.

  Dar stared at a Sol. “I am getting memories from when you opened your eyes now.”

  Sol smiled. “That is handy, can you feel emotion, or hear my thoughts?” he asked, reaching for his notebook, but he didn't have one, so he reached across and took Dar's and started taking notes.

  Sol stopped, ughed, and then turned the book around.

  The pce where Dar had stopped writing, and Solomon began was the same.

  “Watch out, I can run up your bar tab with Bram now, and none will be the wiser.” Sol joked.

  Dar ughed, then became silent. “Suddenly, I don’t know what to say or ask.”

  Sol tilted his head. “As in you're shocked or you literally feel different?” he asked, making a note.

  “I feel different.” He admitted.

  Solomon asked quietly. “Do you feel that pain of living now?” he choked.

  Dar sat still, and tears started to roll down his face. “No,” he mouthed.

  Solomon took a quivering breath, then smiled. “That’s good, buddy, that’s great, you don’t need that, let me hold it for you.” He said, equally upset but happy.

  “I mean, I feel… I feel your pain, but it's not my pain.” Dar articuted it slowly.

  Sol nodded.

  “Are we... are you a clone of me, or are you different?” Dar asked, not sure now. A certain surety he once had was weaker now.

  “Well, we all exist with one another's memories.” Sol thought aloud. “You and I feel each other's feelings, you and I love Mom, Dad, and the wives.”

  Dar gritted his teeth. “I don’t know how I feel about that.”

  Sol smiled. “I wager that is where cultivators run into problems, what happens when the YOU that you create decides it wants what you have?”

  Dar swallowed. That idea terrified him.

  Sol rolled his eyes. “No one is stealing anything, “he said with a sigh. “But,” his eyes gnced around. “We run into two problems right off the bat.”

  Dar leaned forward and nodded.

  “The first is our nature, people who find out you have multiple whatever we are, just like the healing they will want to peel us open and figure it out.. then hide it and never use it because sects seemed to be filled with morons.” Sol griped.

  “The other?” Dar asked.

  “What do you think happens in a house with three women and one man that suddenly has clones?” Sol hissed.

  Dar knew Sol was right. Alia had made him feel guilty the moment she saw him after he had in with Cheri. She wasn’t entirely jealous, but she wasn’t happy either.

  Dar stepped closer. “May I touch you?”

  Solomon stared at him, then smiled. “We are the same everywhere, why are you worried about that now?” he joked, making Dar sputter.

  “I am joking,” Sol sighed and stood with him.

  Dar id a hand on the clone’s chest and was startled by what he felt. The body was solid—real. The only noticeable difference was the reduced Dantian.

  With a thought, Dar transferred more Qi, watching the clone’s expression.

  “How’s that feel?”

  Sol nodded. “Feels like you're topping me up. Don’t expect me to fall in love with you, though.” He grinned.

  Dar chuckled. “I prefer a more feminine partner. With some experience.”

  They both nodded in amused agreement.

  “Well,” Dar said, “shall I bring you back? Let’s see how bad the reversal is.”

  Solomon looked around, saw someone, and gave a wink. “Good luck.” He chuckled

  Dar smiled. “Same to you, brother.”

  With a shared thought, they raised their hands and pressed them together—mirror to mirror. The clone’s blood began to flow backward, rejoining the original vessel.

  The water that shaped the body lost cohesion and shimmered back into its pure state.

  Dar caught it mid-air, his hand glowing faintly.

  With a smooth gesture, he guided the water back into the well.

  Then he sat down, grounding himself as his Third Eye chakra was fed gently. The memories trickled in—not overwhelming, just enough to offer crity.

  He felt them as though watching through another's eyes, yet the emotions were unmistakably his. Same thoughts, same instincts… but filtered through a slightly different lens, a lens that held many deep regrets.

  He nodded slowly, centered.

  Then he froze.

  He felt it—a presence.

  Turning his head, he saw Cheri—red-faced, arms crossed, glowering.

  Before he could speak, she stomped forward, grabbed his ear with deadly precision, and began dragging him like a misbehaving child.

  “Wait, Cheri—”

  “Nope.” She hissed.

  “Let me expin—”

  “You made a clone, Dar!”

  “I needed some extra hands, my love.”

  She tightened her grip. “You’re coming with me, mister. Let’s see how your mother feels about you pying God in the backyard!”

  Dar sighed, utterly defeated as she hauled him off to be snitched on.

  In what felt like déjà vu, Dar found himself standing before a round table… and five very different gazes.

  Nadia sat with a cool, thoughtful look in her eyes—calcuting, weighing, judging.

  Lana sipped her tea, her eyes glowing faintly. A cookie hovered in her fingers, untouched. She didn’t blink once.

  Cheri was very clearly not happy, arms crossed with the same scolding energy she’d used to drag him here.

  Alia was red-faced and flustered, her hands neatly folded in her p. He wasn’t sure why she was blushing, but here she was.

  And Serel… her lips were parted, faintly moist. She hadn’t said a word, but Dar could feel it deep in his bones—she’d be calling him Mr. Bloodforge very, very soon.

  Dar exhaled, shoulders sagging.

  “Worth it.”

  Nadia spoke first, her voice calm but edged with quiet disapproval. “Baby… you said you wouldn’t become a blood cultivator. What happened?”

  Dar nodded, keeping his tone steady. “Technically, I’m not. The construct is water. I use a small amount of blood to give it sentience—just enough to tether it to me. When it dissolves, I recover everything it saw, felt, and did. It’s not blood magic. Not fully.”

  Alia suddenly bounced in pce, cpping her hands together. “It’s like a Dar inside Mr. Jellyfish!”

  Silence.

  Every head turned to look at her.

  She beamed at them as though they were all on the wavelength.

  Serel cleared her throat gently, rescuing Alia from the mounting silence.

  “Um… Mother-in-w, sisters—perhaps it would be best if we saw it happen. While we’re all present, that way, we can offer a more banced and informed judgment.” As she spoke, she gracefully produced a fresh notebook from her sleeve, pulled out a pencil, and dabbed it to her tongue to moisten the lead.

  Lana, ever the observer, took a measured sip of tea—then let out a cackle that echoed through the room. “KEKEKEKEKEKEKE!”

  Cheri instantly pointed at her. “Aha! So now that you want to see his ‘trick,’ you're admitting you're staying on to watch the drama! Suspicious!”

  Dar’s eyes darted from one face to the next. Somehow, this was spiraling—and he was catching more than two birds with one very chaotic stone.

  Cheri stood abruptly, arms crossed like a general preparing for battle. “Let’s take a vote! Blood magic is dangerous. All those in favor of seeing two Dars, raise your hands!”

  Lana raised hers first, zily, still chuckling to herself.

  Alia followed, lifting hers with quiet determination.

  Serel didn’t even look up—her hand was already in the air as she sketched, pencil dancing over the page like it had a mind of its own.

  Cheri whipped toward Alia, eyes wide. “Why?!”

  Alia stood slowly, clearly flustered. She leaned in, cupped her hand, and whispered something softly into Cheri’s ear.

  Cheri blinked. Once. Twice.

  Then her cheeks flushed crimson.

  She didn’t say a word—just slowly, hesitantly, raised her own hand.

  Dar opened his mouth. Thought better of it. Closed it again.

  Lana wheezed with ughter.

  Then Cheri, the rogue, blushed. Deeply.

  Her eyes flicked to Dar, then away, lips pursed, clearly unwilling to eborate. She didn’t say another word.

  Nadia cleared her throat, her tone shifting to formal judgment.

  “Dar Luso Bloodforge, please demonstrate your heretical blood magic.” She said evenly, almost with a tired resignation.

  Alia grinned.

  Serel cpped.

  Lana ughed.

  Cheri waited, cheeks still tinged red.

  They took a short break for Dar to recover.

  Then it was time.

  With a bow, Dar proceeded, feeling bitter inside.

  Water raced from every source in the house, then came through the open window.

  He followed each step precisely as Serel documented the entire process, without blinking once.

  Then once more, a translucent human form built itself from its heart outward in the stunned silence of the room.

  A short time ter, the clone, hand-to-hand with Dar, shimmered, his golden corona over his body, slid over the clone's body, and appeared to seep into it.

  The new person opened his eyes, and they pulled their hands apart with an audible tackiness that had bound them together.

  Dar felt an exhaustion that nearly dropped him to his knees, but the clone supported him.

  The weakness passed, and Dar removed his outer robe once more and passed it over to the clone.

  The clone draped it on with the poise of a conquering hero, bowed deeply to the “council,” and then raised both arms high. Golden Qi sprayed out like celebratory sparks.

  “I, MR. JELLYFISH,” he thundered in mock severity, “HAVE COME TO OVERTHROW YOUR GOVERNMENT!”He pointed accusingly at the table.“REPENT YOUR ACTIONS, AND BEG FORGIVENESS FROM THY NOODLY SELF!”

  For a heartbeat, silence.

  Then, Alia exploded in appuse. “I love him!” she squealed, cpping like a child at a festival, her joy bubbling out unchecked.

  Dar and Solomon exchanged a nod of pride.

  Cheri looked at them both like they’d just broken the world.

  Serel had already flipped to a fresh page in her notebook, scribbling down “Mr. Jellyfish Decration: First Contact with Parliament. All is lost.”

  Lana watched, her face glowing faintly—eyes dancing, lips curled in a slow, wicked smile. Her amusement had reached a crescendo. “Excellent,” she whispered into her teacup, like a shadowy grandmaster watching chaos blossom exactly according to pn.

  The two Dars stood shoulder to shoulder as the women tried to process what had just unfolded.

  Alia stepped forward with gusto, her face radiant. “Hello!” she beamed, eyes practically sparkling.

  Dar and Sol exchanged a wary gnce.

  Solomon stepped forward and delivered a sweeping, elegant bow.“Who is this radiant being before me?” he said, his voice like silk and honey. “Such a shining star—your light is blinding. I am truly blessed to witness it.”

  And then—something no one had ever seen before happened.

  Alia gloated. With a triumphant glint in her eyes, she csped her hands behind her back and let out a delighted purr. “Hoooohooooo… perfect. Mmmmmm~”

  She began circling the clone like a noble inspecting a prize stallion she fully intended to acquire. Her fingers danced across his shoulders, arms, and chest with zero regard for decorum—or the stunned silence surrounding her.

  Both Dars leaned back ever so slightly, visibly uncomfortable.

  “This is very good,” Alia murmured. “Now tell me… what’s your name, handsome Mr. Jellyfish Dar?”

  The clone gnced at the original, then back to her. “…Dar Solomon,” he said cautiously.

  Alia’s smile twisted into something strange. Hungry. Focused. Victorious. She turned to Nadia, eyes gleaming with the holy fire of a woman who had just discovered her divine purpose.“Mother,” she said sweetly. Reverently. “I see absolutely no reason to consider this dangerous.”

  Then, with arms fring like a stage performer delivering the final line of a grand py, she decred, “This… this is what the heavens sent us. A comfort for our lonely hearts!”

  Solomon turned to Dar. “I rest my case.” He said with a small smile as Alia gave a speech.

  She paused, spine straight, chin high—every inch the noblewoman. “We must not reject destiny!”

  And with the regal air of a queen ciming her rightful throne, Alia seized Solomon, guided him into a nearby chair, and promptly seated herself in his p.

  She nestled against his chest and released a sigh so blissful, so utterly satisfied, the very air around them seemed to shift.Curtains stirred without wind, as if caught in the wake of her contentment.

  Dar blinked. Once.

  Solomon seemed completely unperturbed—his hand intertwined with hers just as she liked.

  A smile grew on Alia’s face as if she might gobble him up in one bite.

  Off to the side, Cheri looked both scandalized and envious. She bit her lip, reconsidering her position.

  Nadia studied the scene with a discerning eye.What struck her most was that she could no longer distinguish between them.

  Standing slowly, she stepped forward and shooed Alia off the clone’s p with a mother’s no-nonsense efficiency. Then she gently took his hand—and he, hers.

  The moment they touched, his Qi reached out to his unborn sister, brushing against her spirit like the warm memory of a lulby.

  Nadia’s eyes widened. “You… you are my Dar?”