Through some miracle, I crossed the final step of the mountain path. That final step threatened my very existence, as if the world itself was crushing down on me. The only saving grace was my own defiance; I refused to back down when I had already reached this far. In that moment, I saw Malach's face, "Is that all you got, little Zee?" The memory brought anger with it, drowning out all sense of reason as I crossed the final threshold. The second my foot landed on the summit, all the pressure ceased, as if it were only a distant memory. "What the hell was that?" I spoke out loud as I looked around the summit. It was barren; a few distant peaks rose above the horizon. But the summit itself was covered in snow, the first thing that struck me was the lack of wind, or any natural factor for that matter.
With no other direction to move, I strode forward with a false sense of confidence. My heart was racing, and my breath was rapid. I could feel the tension in my muscles, ready to move at the slightest sign of danger that never came. The more I walked, the more confident I became. My mind was racing at the implications of what was happening, but I did not get a chance to think about it for long. My eyes caught sight of a solitary throne at the very edge of the summit. My body yet again moved of its own volition as I walked towards the empty throne. My mind was in a daze, but the unmistakable feeling of being watched returned stronger than ever. When I reached the throne of bone and metal, an involuntary shiver ran through my body. The sheer energy emanating from this seat brought fear to my heart; this was no simple throne. Yet still I could do nothing to resist as I took a seat in the empty seat.
The screams of thousands of souls pierced my mind with ruthless efficiency; my heart and mind stopped for a second as I was overwhelmed by the sheer pain and agony with which they screamed at me for release. The pressure on my soul was so much that I lost consciousness within seconds of sitting on the throne. Unbeknownst to Zeon, a shard of power was drawn into his very soul. Black and blue energy wormed its way into his soul eternal, burrowing deeper like a parasite invading his soul. As it drove deeper and deeper into his being, a heart-wrenching scream reverberated across the summit.
—
Far away in a dimension that no mortal had set foot in for a millennium, within the eternal darkness of this realm. Stood, what looked to be a man dressed in all white, carrying a lantern that pierced the darkness. His red eyes glowed with interest as he watched the boy sit on the empty throne. "So it has begun." He mused with a voice so serene, as if it were made up of the most perfect of melodies. While simultaneously speaking of an ancientness so unfathomable it would break the mind of any mortal who heard it.
—
Regaining consciousness was no easy feat; my mind had woken up, but my body refused to move. It felt like I was trampled by a hundred angry rhinos; everything hurt. My eyes felt impossibly heavy. My mind was in a fog that clouded my memory 'What happened?' but no answer ever came. For what felt like hours, I just lay there in the ancestral cave. The last thing I remembered was the ritual losing strength; after that, everything was black. The pounding headache stopped my thoughts as it hurt too much to even think at this moment. I drifted in and out of consciousness multiple times. At some point, I felt two strong arms lifting me up and taking me away. The strong arms placed me down on a soft bed as wakefulness left me once more.
When the pain finally left my body, I was in a state of utter confusion. No matter how I tried, I could not for the life of me remember how I got in such a miserable state. Slowly sitting up in the bed, I noticed that I was shirtless. Worry flashed through my mind, 'shit!' That means they saw the tattoo. On my back was a tattoo that I had been explicitly ordered never to reveal until I was ready to bear the weight of what it meant. And I was anything but ready; the tattoo itself was a large clenched fist, surrounded by clouds within a circle of lightning across my back. Hopefully, whoever saw it did not know what it means, or I can kiss my less-than-peaceful life goodbye. The implications made cold sweat pour down the side of my face. My face scrunched up in a grimace at the sudden movement. My body was not yet fully recovered.
A rumble originating from my stomach drew me away from my musings. I was ravenous, and I needed to fix that. With slow, deliberate steps, I left my temporary room as I headed for the kitchen after putting on a shirt that was neatly folded on the chair in the small room, hiding the tattoo once more. It was around nine in the morning if the clock in my room was correct, meaning that most of the warriors were already in the yard doing their drills. The kitchen itself greeted me with some of my aunties hard at work preparing breakfast. The kitchen was right next to the dining room, so I just took a seat as breakfast should start soon.
Taking out my phone, I started looking through my messages. The first thing I noticed was a missed call from the dean of the Imperial Academy. Curiosity bloomed in my chest; there should not have been a reason for them to call. I had long since acquired enough points to graduate. With that in mind, I called the dean; the phone rang for less than a minute before he picked up.
"Ah, Mr. Whither, just the man I was looking for." The dean's voice was smooth and eloquent, exactly what you would expect from someone in such a prestigious position.
"Good morning, Dean Alister. How can I be of assistance on such a fine day?" I spoke cordially, in the presence of someone like Dean Alister, even my arrogance had to take a back seat. You do not get in a position without either connections or incredible feats within the rifts, and Alister had both.
"I was surprised to hear of your abrupt decision to leave the Academy. Is there any reason in particular?" Dean Alister was not one to make small talk, so he went straight to the point. Something I was more than happy with.
"Oh, it was nothing much. As the last scion of my house, I figured that it was time to take my duties seriously." I waved him off Although I respected the man, he did not need to know of my business.
"I see. Then I have a small favor to ask. You see, with your victory against Xiao in the provincials. You have been selected to represent Gauteng in the upcoming Nationals." The words did not come as much of a surprise; this was the entire reason I even participated in the tournament to begin with.
"Unfortunately, Dean, I am a very busy man. I think it would be more appropriate for the newcomer, what was his name again?" I mused, I knew his name, of course, but I had to put up appearances. "Wu Qi, to take my place instead. He is a far stronger cultivator after all. I simply do not have the time."
"You know that is not how it works, mr Whither. It is your name that has been selected, not his." He remained silent for a while, allowing the statement to linger before continuing. "So let us not waste each other's time. What do you want in return?" I was taken aback at how easily that happened. I expected more resistance before getting to this point. But it was welcome nonetheless.
"An interesting offer, mr Alister. As you know, I have yet to take my rank grading at the Hunter's guild. I am aware you have connections there, so all that I would ask in return is that we speed up the process a little." I never intended to refuse the chance to fight in the nationals; I merely wanted a bit more out of the exchange, as they needed this more than I. I would have been a fool if I had not gained a few more benefits from this exchange.
"That is certainly not what I had expected, but it is doable." The surprise in his voice was clear. Many in my position would have asked for the world in exchange, but I was not foolish enough to take advantage of this opportunity.
"Well then, Mr Alister, we can discuss the arrangements on a later date. With that, I bid you farewell." I hung up the phone as the rest of the Oshizulu family started entering the dining room.
Sipho and Mandla were the last to enter, concern clear on their faces. Until their eyes crossed my own, and it bled away, for relief to take its place. They made a beeline directly towards me, stopping only when they were directly in front of my table.
Sipho was the first to speak, "Oh, thank the ancestors you are okay." he sighed in relief. "When they told me that you were found unconscious in the ancestral cave with severe mana exhaustion. I was worried beyond belief." Sipho punched my arm and spoke with mock anger, "Don't you ever scare me like that again."
"Ok, ok, calm down. I'm alive, aren't I?" Sipho's antics brought a smile to my face; the tension I had been holding in since waking up faded.
Mandla stayed silent throughout the entire conversation, but there was a silent question in his eyes, making it clear he knew of the tattoo. Yet in that moment, I was not much worried, because I felt no hostility in his gaze. After that, we ate breakfast, and Sipho kept speaking excitedly about our upcoming trip to the city. As we finished eating, only then did Mandla finally speak.
"We need to talk, little lion." The seriousness in his tone made it clear what he was referring to, so with a sigh, I only nodded in response. "This is not the place for such discussions; let us go to my office instead." Following Mandla, I felt the worry in my chest build up again.
Once inside the office, Mandla closed the door behind him and activated a magical ward that blocked any sound from escaping the room. When that was complete, he turned to me with complete seriousness that sent a shiver down my spine. "So they have already claimed you?" He spoke after an uncomfortably long silence. My lack of a response was answer enough for him. "This changes things. We will have to speed up the timeline of our training, lest we not have enough time. And believe me, you will need every advantage you can, if you are to stand amongst them." There was a subtle hint of bitterness in his voice, but it was drowned out by the sincere concern in his features.
I wanted to say something, anything, but the mark would activate if I did, and I was not about to ruin myself just to explain myself. "From the bottom of my heart, thank you, uncle." I gave a low bow to show my sincerity, but he had no idea how much this meant to me.
He waved me off, "Think nothing of it, little lion." his jovial tone made me calm down. "I have already arranged with my people; our training begins the second this conversation ends. And it will be the most difficult thing you have ever done in your life." There was a sadistic glint in his eyes that made me choke, remembering Sipho's words when I mentioned training with Mandla. The pity in his eyes seemed very reasonable in that moment.
—-
Elijah had been very intrigued as of late, as the personal butler of the young master, he was the first to notice the change. Ever since his altercation with Wu Qi outside of the rift, it has been a nonstop battle for improvement. He was glad to see the passion with which Zeon fought to improve, as his ward, the order, had required him to guide the young master in this direction. He had been planning on starting soon, but the recent events beat him to it, a more than welcome surprise. He just hoped that it would be enough; the selection would begin in the following year. He did not even want to think about the price of failure. Through the years, he had grown close to his ward, and he did not wish to see him die needlessly.
—-
The rough terrain made running for my life difficult; gravel and large rocks were jutting out of the ground unevenly. My feet caught on a large rock, causing my forward momentum to end abruptly as I slid across the ground. Groaning in pain, I tried to lift myself up from the ground. But the loud roar and thudding behind me made it clear that I would not have enough time. Jumping to my feet, I turned to face the enemy that had chased me across more than half of this damn rift. The beast was large with bulging muscles peaking out of its brown fur coat, its three heads stared at me maliciously. Spittle flying as it roared at me again before charging, this lesser cerberus was a pain in the ass to deal with. Jumping to the side, I avoided its rage-fueled dash. Lowering my stance for more stability, I drew energy from my core as my gift activated. Forming my spirit armor, I studied the lesser Cerberus, its red eyes glowing with pure, unadulterated fury at the intruder that had invaded its home.
They were very territorial creatures, explaining their current state of wanting to bite my head off. Damn, Uncle, when you said the training would be difficult, I did not think that you meant that it would most likely kill me. The three heads stared at me. I could feel mana rising in the air as it grew in size. Without wasting time, I drew more power from my core, forming my soul into an invisible blade just like the elders taught me. Trying to fight this beast would have been the dumbest thing I could have tried.