Heaven's Golden Finger

Two for the Price of One

Things were not coming together at all. The images in Shirong's head just didn't seem to want to focus. Oh, his element moved through both attributes the way he'd been taught, but that wasn't good enough. Heaven didn't want to combine with Earth at all. Not yet, at least.

Quite suddenly Shun Shixiong said, "Try two after all. You'll damage your cultivation if you try to force yourself."

Shirong wanted to argue, to remind his Shixiong that he'd never wielded two swords before. Except in a way he had. Shun Shixiong was likely to have a fit if this worked, but at that moment Shirong knew he'd little choice. He was too deeply emmeshed in the effort to create his weapon.

"They're going to look strange," Shirong said. "But I'll try."

"You can always learn to adjust them later." With an unusual flicker of humor, Shun Shixiong added, "You should have seen mine, first time round."

Hopefully Shun Shixiong would expand on that later. For now, however, Shirong had to focus. Two blades, of a sort, one glowing brilliant white, the other an impossible black, both intertwined with a fine thread of green, like a vine growing along their surface. No obvious edges, but Shirong knew that didn't matter. All that mattered was that they did what his mind said they should.

Tong Si cursed softly as the blades took form. "What the hell are those?"

Too busy focusing on maintaining control, Shirong turned his attention on his target. How did the motion go again? Ah, yes, that was right. He tightened his grip on the shapes of the weapons' hilts. Flicked one up, the other down, slicing the wood into pieces in two swift movements.

Afraid of losing control, he released the blades. As they faded and he opened his eyes, he was relieved to see Shu Shun's expression. Resigned, yes, but also highly amused. "Most people," his elder sect brother said calmly, "do not create weapons that destructive their first try. But I've never seen anything quite like those before. Would you care to explain what odd thought came into your head just now? Given one did?"

Ruefully, Shirong said, "It was just something from another life." He had to be careful how he explained it. The others didn't know he'd transmigrated to this body. He'd prefer to keep it that way. "I'm not sure what to call them, though."

"How about impressive," Tong Si said suddenly. "I've seen Leifeng Sect weapons summoning before. I've never seen any disciple cut a piece of wood quite so easily their first try."

Shirong flushed at the compliment but shrugged it off. "I'm lucky," was all he said. There really wasn't much else he could tell the man.

"Best practice summoning until it becomes second nature," Shun Shixiong said. "Summon and hold five minutes. Tomorrow I'll want you to increase that to ten."

"Yes, Shixiong." As Shirong returned to the task of focusing on his weapons, he reflected that he was lucky in several different ways. Not just that he could summon those blades but that they seemed to work exactly as his memory said they should. All despite being purely imaginary weapons from his old life.

And, lastly, lucky Lucasfilm and Beat Games weren't anywhere in this era to charge him with trademark infringement.

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Sleep didn't come easy after that summoning. Shirong was growing more and more accustomed to this world but finding himself in possession of two weapons created simply by thought was a bit more than he felt prepared for.