The Dawn of the New World Chapter 1500

Hao Xuan swung the heavy blade a couple of times to get used to its weight. It belonged to one of the guards that came with Nae Shin.

He glanced over his shoulder to see Liet already sitting down cross-legged.

"Prepare yourself while I find the breach."

"Un, it won't take long," he replied but still seemed unsure, "Is there anything I can do to help you out there?"

Hao Xuan thought about it for a second but couldn't come up with anything.

"Not really, unless you can turn back time or something and restore my abilities."

He expected a scoff or a chuckle but Liet was eerily quiet.

"What?"

"It's just...I can try to cast a boon and maybe something happens?"

Hao Xuan turned around with a furrowed brow, "Explain, and make it quick."

Liet didn't beat around the bush, "When I receive a new connection and re-create a piece of music from beyond the veil, sometimes it can give those who listen to it a boost of some kind. Be it physical, mental, or otherwise."

"What kind of boost?"

"That I...don't know. Sometimes it is one thing, sometimes it is another. It wholly depends on who the original creator was...I think."

"Are they all good?"

"So far, yes. The last boon I received made all the listeners ecstatic, happy beyond reason. It washed away their sadness. The one before that made them want to fight, rousing their battle spirits to no end. What do you think?"

Liet reached out behind his back and pulled out a long stringed instrument from somewhere. It had a large pear-shaped body and a much longer neck than one would expect. (*Look up 'Sitar' if you're interested in the actual instrument)

"Where did you even put that- never mind," he didn't have time to question things, "Go ahead, play me a tune," Hao Xuan threw out the words before jumping over the rubble to land on the roof of the neighboring structure.

Liet closed his eyes to focus his thoughts while Nae Shin tried to keep as quiet and as still as humanly possible.

When he opened his eyes again just a few seconds later they had turned cloudy white. Liet was staring straight ahead but his fingers pulled and plucked at the strings as if moved by an invisible force.

The resulting sound was incredibly soft- a slow melody that could make even the hardest of men fumble.

Hao Xuan's ears perked up, mostly because he was worried the sound would draw the Umbral Spirits in but even after knowing where it was coming from he could not pinpoint its location because of how the sound was dispersed evenly throughout the area.

He moved his hands through the whirlwind of Yin energy that encompassed the entire sector, noticing that it did not affect the tune ringing in his ears.

"It's not a physical effect. The sound is coming from behind the veil so it doesn't matter how loud my surroundings are. And-" he flexed his biceps to confirm the effect, "I don't feel tired at all. Reminds me of when I was a kid, waking up refreshed from naps under the old mulberry tree. This is amazing!" he exclaimed.

But the very next second a voice came from under his feet, bringing him back to reality.

"Are you really that happy to hear some strange sounds?" Ryuk muttered in annoyance, "It just makes me loopy."

Despite the interruption Hao Xuan was happy to hear his voice again.

"Where the hell were you?"

"Here, waiting outside. I went back like you said and waited until most of the human-things left. They didn't know where you went."

"That was quite a while ago. Where did you go after?" Hao Xuan still didn't trust him completely, not just because of what he was but also because his experiences so far had been quite limited and that could lead to trouble if Ryuk wasn't careful. But-

"I was here," Ryuk proclaimed, "That other human in there is different. Getting too close to his kind is not good. They can sometimes see us!"

"Really?" Hao Xuan was intrigued, "You can tell that?"

"Mhm. Very troublesome his kind are, we only observe from a distance."

*EEEEEEEEEeeeeeeEEEEEEE*

Another screeching howl echoed in the surroundings, sounding more and more wretched with every passing second.

Hao Xuan gestured towards its direction, "What about the spirits? Got any information about them?"

"Hmmm, no. We are similar but opposite in more ways, nothing to do with each other. All I know is that mortals like you can't hurt them."

With a forceful swing of his sword Hao Xuan shook his head, calling forth the Crown of Darkness.

"I know. Chances are those spirits are either Wraiths or Specters since those two are the most common ones. Specters won't be too much trouble but that howl, it sounds like a Wraith."