《DEZION. Rise of the Supreme sovereign.》


 Chapter 1 Hetrea. Prelude.

    Chapter 1 Hetrea. Prelude.


    In a universe filled with hundreds of billions of galaxies.


    There is a dark space that has been discovered because of its particular emptiness. No light, no stars, no world, no planets, nothing but a pool of ominous darkness. Those whose civilization had developed to the point they could map the universe came to see this ¡°Void¡± like a hole in the universe. Is it a dark hole? Is it a void in space? Is it a vacuum in reality? No one actually knows. During the passing of the ages, they have observed and studied it. And realized that this darkness, this black hole is gradually but certainly creeping onto the universe.


    Those who know of its existence have given it all kinds of dreadful names.


    But unbeknownst to every living being in this universe inside this darkness, space and time are distorted. This darkness is actually a link that broke space and time. A link or a gate to a peculiar world. A World that only those who live in this world know of its existence. A world that one you enter you may never leave again.  A world of a proportion ever seen before.


    Hetrea.


    Hetrea itself is the size of the biggest galaxies out there IC 1101 and still growing. A world so big that worlds on the outside are small like specks of dust.


    The whole Earth may have been considered one of the tiniest, most remote pieces of land that could barely be considered an island in this world. Is like comparing the island of Nauru on Earth to the whole world.


    The continents of this world are innumerable like stars in the sky. Lands are vast and life is very abundant. In fact so abundant that it holds beasts and plants so big they can rival the size of planets.


    The mass of this world is something unimaginable. Having 7 atmospheric layers and 9 inner layers dividing the inner structure of this world.


    The darkness around Hetrea is one of his atmospheric spheres which is unimaginably dense with gravity so strong that not even light can escape it.


    Day and night may have been impossible if it wasn¡¯t for the atmospheric layers surrounding this world.


    The 7 atmospheres are each measured in light-years. Some in tens others in thousands. Every one of our atmospheric layers has a natural atmospheric seal or something similar to a tick barrier separating each layer Which separates them and locks them in place. It is very hard to cross them, each layer has its temperature too, going from outrageous heat to extreme cold.


    That is why it has another name: the heavenly seven layers.


    The first 4 are quite amazing but also simple. But the last 3 are magical and extremely dangerous. But full of celestial treasures.


    The 5th heavenly layer. Also called the Spaceso-sphere. It''s the biggest layer of them all and It contains about 100 trillion stars. Some are closer in and some are farther away in the Spaceso-sphere.


    The whole Spaceso-sphere actually Orbit Hetrea giving this gigantic world its day and night cycle.


    The sun that shines on you today or the stars you see that night may never appear again above you in your lifetime.


    The Spaceso-sphere looks harmless but is full of space cracks, areas where space folds, space wormholes. Toxic space gas. Each star has its temperature and gravitational pull. There are gravitational pockets that compress everything inside it to nothingness. space and gravitation expansion spaces that appear and Disappear randomly.


    The Spaceso-sphere is also home to some star-devouring beasts, Celestial beings, and some mythical beasts.


    Story¡¯s says about a gigantic star, the biggest, the brightest and hottest star Hanging above the Hreghen continent also known as the burning lands. It''s the only star that is always there. The burning lands know no nights. And the star is rumored to be home to a flock of mightily Phoenixes that sometimes descend to Hreghen to lay their eggs.


    This world is overflowing with life, energy, and power.


    Beasts grow and evolve constantly. Where a forest can just grow and sprout overnight. Magical places appear out of nowhere. Oceans are immensely deep giving a home to the most terrifying and the most gigantic monsters.


    This world is mother to thousands of races and millions of species. Those species are divided into those who are born on hetrea or those whose world was integrated into Hetrea and with its Habitants migrating to it.


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    those who are born can receive a special power bestowed by her will. Not everyone, of course, only a select special unique being. These are called the chosen ones.


    Those who are not born in Hetrea are not favorite by her. That doesn''t mean you won''t be able to grow stronger. It just means that there won''t be a chosen one between your people.


    They appeared all around the world no matter their species or race. Each race has a different power system.


    In this world also live humans. Humans are native to Hetrea and also grew fast but still nothing compared to beasts. At the age of 15 most finish their education, From there you can participate in the awakening ceremony. If you do awaken you will most likely join the Military, a family, or an organization. Where you will follow training for another 4 years. Most Mary at 20 and build their own family.


    Most Empires encourage their citizens to build a family before the age of 20.


    This is a tradition of the holy continent. and other continents Associated with the union of governance adopted this tradition too. That doesn''t mean it''s like that on every continent. Because the emperor of a land is the one who makes the rules. But every human empire imposed marriage at 20.


    Why all that craziness you might think? Well, because people die very easily, actually the death rate is very high, sometimes cities and even empires can just get destroyed overnight. And this makes population very important to an empire.


    A kingdom is a land ruled by a king.


    An empire is a land ruled by an emperor.


    It¡¯s easy right, but no.


    it¡¯s not as simple as that, all in this world revolve around power. Not only the power to rule but also the power to defend. defend your land, your people, the power to protect those that live under your name.


    The holy continent, the strongest human continent, has stipulated his rules on which one can be considered an empire or kingdom.


    The first requirement is the strength of the ruler or the ruling family. The second is the population. Each kingdom must have a population of at least a billion Habitants.


    Each empire must have a city that can hold a billion lives and a military power of at least 10 million.


    And also must rule over a minimum of 10 affiliated kingdoms.


    The holy emperor is one of the most influential humans alive. has an organization called the union of governance.


    Every ruler that wants any form of relationship with the holy continent must by rule first join this union. And must pay a price... A price in talents. In this world, talent is valued like gold, like diamond, and is very important.


    Each year 10 of your best-talented children must go to the holy continent, be a student of the union and work for 50 years for the union.


    But in the end, most stay for life.


    The union of governance is considered the strongest human organization to ever exist.


    Its influence extends to the whole human race. people of unimaginable power govern this union. People that the human race depends on


    But you may think why should I join them?


    Why? because humans aren¡¯t the only, nor the strongest race in this world. basically for protection. And deterrence of hostile forces.


    The union vow to defend you and your land whenever you face a catastrophe. Any other land that isn¡¯t associated with the union will have to defend themselves and protect themselves from whatever disaster they may face.


    One of the races that trouble humanity is the ocean-borns.


    The ocean of this world is something let¡¯s just say of extreme proportions and those that live in it do not fall too far behind that Description either, in size and quantity.


    Absolute strength matters but strength in numbers also matter.


    The ocean is full of mysteries, is ever-changing, and full of growth and evolution. Treasures in the ocean are innumerable. Battles in the ocean are fierce, cruel, and bloody.


    The ocean is about 65 % of this world. A gigantic mass of water Unlike those hundreds of thousands of continents shattered across the world. There is No place the ocean doesn¡¯t reach.


    The ocean borns alone can exterminate the human race If they ever wish, and unite their power on the humans.


    But Luckily they are divided and different sub-races fight each other. And This is Good. They are divided and have their own war going on, and humans have good relationships with some and fight wars against others.


    We even helped them fight a war against themselves.


    The insect race is also one of our biggest nightmares. They are also divided into different sub-races and also can be a big problem. They govern the inner layers of the world. The land under our feet. The inner world is also massive ... Very massive.


    We, humans, live on the outer shell of the world. You can just imagine how big the inside is. That belongs mostly to the insect race. Which is a war-driven race. Some other races live there too but much deeper. They also live under constant war with the insects.


    Humans have only made contact with some races so far. some we are at war with and some we are friends with.


    The beast race, the winged race, horn race, the plant race, the celestial race, dragon race, ethereal race, the undead, the elementals, the bug race, the ocean born, the beasts, the monsters, the tusk race, the elves, the dwarfs, Are some of the races that we know live on this world. and every other race in this world all have sup-races and their own living places. But all of them have wars For some reason or another. We humans have to by the way. That is why the union of governance is so important to human development. If humans want to ever rule this world humans have to unite. because United humans are strong.

 Chapter 2: Im sorry.

    Chapter 2: I''m sorry.


    "Mother?¡± called a 12-year old boy with blond hair and deep dark emerald green eyes with very adorable facial features.


    ¡°When can I leave? I have to go meet my friends, I promised them we will go to the dream forest to have some fun today.¡±


    This 12-year-old boy was Dez. Dezion Selklor is his full name, but everyone Just calls him Dez. The prince of Leven city the capital of the Selklor empire one of The three empires of Tybalt, one of the continents inhabited by humans. One Fairly young That has 6000 years of history.


    ¡°Son, Did you finish your training? Did you finish your studies and beast dissections session with your father? Did you Visit your grandfather already? Don¡¯t you think that there are so many things for you to do and stay here today?¡±


    Questions after questions kept coming. all the things he had to do and didn''t do are listed one after the other. In her own way, she was telling Dez that she disagreed, but Dez didn¡¯t give up and tried to persuade his mother.


    ¡°But mom, I already told the other heirs I¡¯m on my way and they are waiting for me. Dad told me that he agreed. And to have fun, but Blyana doesn''t allow me to leave the mansion because my punishment isn''t over.¡±


    Alicia Selklor, the mother of Dez Selklor, the Empress of Leven city clearly understood her Husband is very forgiving when it comes to his son. Unless it''s related to his experiments, the Empire, or his enemies he''s a very easy-going man.


    ¡°Come on mom, I''ve been inside all day. I¡¯m sorry I will not do it again. I already told you it wasn¡¯t my fault."


    "That maiden she''s just too na?ve, and actually, my sister told me to scare and trap her in a room full of insects, we just happened to forget about her for a few days. Mother, I''m truly sorry, but isn''t she alive and well, and also shouldn¡¯t we both be punished.¡±


    Dez held the hands of his mother Looked her in the eye and pleaded


    ¡°Scare her? you traumatized her. Did you think about the family name, our reputation, what would people say about us? You locked a poor girl in a room full of insects for 5 days. No food, no water, no light. She even had to eat those insects to stay alive. You call that a joke?" Empress Alicia was genuinely displeased.


    "Do you want rumors out there that we let our kids traumatize young little maidens, is that the way we treat our servant? our people! We are rulers, not tyrants!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry mother, I was really just playing. I promise I will never do it again. I did behave foolishly. Mother, This is the last day they will be here before they leave for their own city. It''ll be ages before I see them again. Allow me to go this once.¡±


    After looking for a while at her son she said,


    ¡°OK, you can go but don''t cause any more trouble, and be safe. remember don¡¯t stay there the whole day, If you dare come late you will have a personal training session with me.¡±


    Dez after hearing his mother speak about training with her, Dez remembered how brutal her mother can be during training sessions. He was so scared a shiver went down his back, besides that he still held a happy smile on his face.


    ¡°Yes, mom I¡¯m always safe and well-behaved.¡±


    After Saying those words Dez took off running at his highest speed to the door.


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    Inside his mind, he was screaming of happiness. "Oh yeah, the dream forest! I¡¯m going to the dream forest."


    Shortly after Dez left.


    ¡°Blyana, follow him.¡±


    After that, a voice responded.


    ¡°Yes, your majesty.¡± A shadow quietly moved and disappeared from the room.


    The dream forest is a place owned by Lord Kaihen. Not only does he own it, but he also infused a domain on it. Most of the soul Emperor humans have the ability to open domains either in battle or as a landmark. They are called battle domains and land domains which the latter are declarations of ownership. This particular domain doesn¡¯t affect its surroundings or the land itself like the battle domain. It mostly lets the owner know what''s going on. If someone enters his domain, how powerful they are, and if they have any ill intention. This is one of the most basic uses of the land domain. This land domain can also fuse into an item and be left for the later generation.


    Kaihen being the rank of soul Emperor also has very powerful soul companions that He left in charge of the dream forest, and most of Emperor Kaihen''s soul companions are related to nature.


    Dez took out an emerald leaf pendant that had golden wings. And was marveled by its beauty.


    ¡°Dad even gave me his Crest, which represents his authority. As long as I have this crest everything inside the forest of dreams will obey me.¡±


    Looking at the emerald green leaf insignia with golden wings Dez was extremely excited.


    Empress Alicia is more of a strict mother; she grew up with harsh times ruled by constant wars and killing. Leven city was at its lowest point. The Selklor family had no soul Emperor rank powerhouse And they were under constant threat of invasion. Kingdoms defected, famine hid the land. Trades were broken and the empire was pushed into isolation. Poverty and death were at their highest. But everything changed when She met Kaihen.


    He changed everything.


    Kaihen is a scholar genius he is a specialist in Biology, Chemicals, and bioengineering, psychology, literature, ancient literature, alchemy, natural science, environmental science and is recognized as the youngest plant grandmaster or botanical grandmaster. Owning the Title master of nature. He also pioneered the field of artificial life creation. Kaihen¡¯s background was massive; he came from the holy continent. He was a genius prodigy meticulously cultivated in the holy Academy and later was part of a select group of individuals that were in the management of the union of governance. He was also part of the secret department That worked in the dark doing specific tasks Against other races. He was the mastermind behind all the planning that had to be done to secretly achieve their goal. it may have been manipulation Of other races, kidnapping, massacring other races, or disposal of unwanted trouble. everything that was dark or had a controversial viewpoint on it had to be done by them. But after some internal disagreement, he left. And after marrying he decided to leave that life behind.


    Some of the plant lifeforms that live in the forest of dreams are the result of Kaihen¡¯s experiments and power. Emperor Kaihen is a special person. A chosen one and he had his own unique ability.


    The dream forest was created by Kaihen after separating the land. This place is used for another of his experiments. He¡¯s trying to use the plant to genetically evolve small and normal animals by letting them eat the plant and fruits he created.


    Kaihen has been studying the grafting and Cultivation of magical plants, and also how to incorporate some magical herbs to create new types of magical plants.


    All this is to study the effects of Magical plants and spiritual fruits on living creatures. Seeing if the animals¡¯ potential can be manually triggered and can evolve into a beast and gain power and abilities. Studies have shown that some normal animals or even beasts have evolved by eating rare or legendary plants.


    Why would Kaihen do something like this you will ask.


    Well, the same way you have magical plans and you have a normal plant.


    You also have an apex beast that has great power and you have a normal beast at the bottom of the food chain.


    The same goes for humans. you have normal humans that can¡¯t awaken. Not every human can become a soul fighter. This in turn limits the power of your empire. During the war, an emperor cannot be everywhere, at the same time fighting on every front. He needs his army to be capable and strong. Strong not only to attack but to defend and protect the conquered lands and resources.


    If evolution can be triggered in animals it may open a whole new path for humanity. Something that may not only help humans awaken but go even further and reach greater powers. But till today the result is far from acceptable.

 Chapter 3: To the dream forest.

    Chapter 3: To the dream forest.


    Outside the mansion.


    Dez stretched his hand and the ring on his finger glimmered for a second and a hoverboard appeared in his hand. This was the latest model: the sky-9000. A metallic beauty, this was the latest, fastest and strongest hoverboard on the market. The normal version alone cost one hundred thousand neo coins. This Sky-9000 that Dez had was a limited edition that can generate a barrier to protect his owner from attack as long as it has energy.


    stepped on his hoverboard Dez started to fly to the inner city gate. The city of Leven is surrounded by 2 tall walls. The inner wall and the outward wall. 100 meter high walls that protect against beast hordes that sometimes attack the city. They are so far apart that if you''re on the inner wall you won''t be able to see the outward wall.


    Passing through the streets some people greeted him. Nearly everyone who lives inside the inner walls of Leven City knows of the heir of the Selklor family.


    People here Had Great Expectations for Dez that he would surely be someone special. And Dez didn¡¯t disappoint. He was always the best at everything he did.


    Approaching the gate some guard approached Dez.


    ¡°Young master, are you leaving the city alone?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. His Majesty knows about this and I¡¯m not going too far. I¡¯m going to the forest of dreams¡±. Dez replied, pointing at the emerald leaf crest that was flapping its golden wings hanging around his neck like a living thing.


    "Teleport me to the East gate."


    ¡°Ok Young master, take care of yourself and don¡¯t venture too far.¡± Said the guard Smiling.


    After being teleported Dez appears on the teleportation circle of the east gate. Without wasting time waving his hand Dez hurriedly flew away speeding his hoverboard more than 250 kilometers per hour.


    It was his maximum speed without the barrier and he enjoyed it.


    The feeling of freedom.


    Dez always dreamed of adventure.


    To places where no humans had ever gone before.


    After 10 minutes of flying at top speed, he saw his 2 friends sitting on their hoverboard waiting for him.


    The girl had round pink glasses on and a lollipop in her mouth. She was wearing a black Jersey and a yellow jacket. Whit black pants and brown and black sneakers.


    Behind those glasses, she had a beautiful purple eye on the left and the other eye was black.


    She had silky black hair cascading all the way down to her waist and the front hair was cut a few inches above her glasses. She had a very cute nose and small rosy lips.


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    She was Called Suki Loong of the Loong family.


    Dez girlfriend. And she was close to turning 12. There had been talk about marriage between families too.


    The engagement was a proposal her parents made with the Selklor family. Normally supreme Imperial families try to marry the husband if possible into their family but she was married out into the Selklor family. For girls this is also not rare but her talent is outstanding making this a very hard decision


    This was a political move. The long family is very ambitious. They had the strongest empire on this continent Until the Selklor family recently took over that title.


    Suki is also the heir to a supreme imperial family, an Imperial family having a very strong Empire under their command.


    And the boy beside her was Ethan, one of Dez¡¯s best friends. Ethan was a bit older than the 2 others; he was already 12 years old and 8 months.


    Ethan was also the same as Dez and Suki; he was also an heir of a supreme imperial family Which means he is also the son of an Emperor.


    Ethan had dark brownish skin. For his age, he was already very muscular dressed in a white turtleneck bodysuit with a black chain with a hanging fist around his neck.


    This fist looked like it was made of tiny earthen stones and magma flowing between them. He also had a red jacket that looked like it was made of very sturdy material.


    Around each arm, he had 3 silver and gold bracelets and around his feet, he had another 3 more. There were force bracelets.


    They attract each other like magnets but on a way bigger scale.


    They are used to train the body. a normal man will find it difficult to walk with 4. one on each limb. not even thinking about having 12.


    Only an Awakened human would have the physique to use 12 bracelets.


    Because the bracelets not only have the pulling force but also the pushing force and the ring will randomly push and pull In random directions constantly making you continually control your body and muscles.


    Ethan¡¯s face had a very strong look to it and a manly square jawline.


    With spiky dark red undercut hair and some black glasses on. He totally looks like the badass boss you didn¡¯t want to mess around with.


    Ethan was the first to jump off his hoverboard. Before he could speak his bracelet activated and he stumbled and nearly fell. But not only did he not fall he ended his stumbling in a masculine pose.


    Looking at his funny posture Suki starts to giggle unintentionally shining her unique and charming beauty.


    Not giving Ethan too much attention she asked.¡°You finally came, what took you so long?¡±


    ¡°Well first I had to get permission from my dad and he gave me some tasks to do for him. After that I had to convince my mom too to let me come, long story short. here I am¡±.


    Said Dez walking closer to his friends.


    ¡°I want to go in already. Why are we wasting time here chit-chatting, we can speak while we are walking.¡± Ethan spoke impatiently while walking in front of everyone.


    ¡°Come on, let''s go. Let¡¯s go guys follow me, today I¡¯m going to catch a Ferocious beast. I will wrestle him to the ground with my arms and make him submit and be my pet.¡± Ethan said while flexing his muscles.


    ¡°Ethan¡­ that¡¯s the wrong direction and there are no Beasts in the dream forest, only small and cute animals.¡± Said Suki looking at Ethan like he was an idiot.


    ¡°Yeah, that is true but not entirely. Ethan, the area of the dream forest we are going to doesn¡¯t have any Ferocious beasts or big animals; we can only see small animals there.  Maybe you''re mistaken, what you''re talking about is the beast sanctuary, which is a private research area even I can''t enter.¡± Dez explained further.


    ¡°Anyway I don¡¯t care, let¡¯s go, guys, let¡¯s have some fun.¡±

 Chapter 4: Yes, your Majesty.

    Chapter 4: Yes, your Majesty.


    Dez and his friends began strolling inside a forest 12 kilometers outside the eastern city gate.


    ¡°Is this your dream forest? Dez I can¡¯t see anything special here.¡±


    Ethan asks while looking around acting like he¡¯s searching for something.


    ¡°You will know when you see it. there is no way you can miss it. Just relax a little, we will get there soon.¡± Replied Dez


    ¡°And what are we going to do there today?"


    Suki had a big smile on her face, she looked very interested in this adventure.


    It was the first time he saw Suki so interested in something and that made him happy.


    Dez¡¯s feelings for Suki were a little confusing for him. He¡¯s always busy with training and studying; he barely sees her. Sometimes they only spend a few minutes on the communication watch. Her appearance definitely attracts him. but for his actual feeling, he felt confused.


    And Suki lives in another city too. Very far away from Leven city, when you need to go there you will need to go with a long teleportation device. Or a normal journey will take you close to a year. Yet no matter how little he sees her, her beauty always mesmerized him just like this moment.


    ¡°Hey, Dez¡­. I¡¯m talking to you, why do you have that foolish look on your face? Stop daydreaming, what are your plans for today?¡±


    Getting his composure back Dez replied.


    ¡°Well, do I have to even plan something? We will just do stuff, have fun, I don¡¯t know. There are a lot of areas to visit, things to see and experience. You''ll see, just wait.¡±


    Suki at first wasn¡¯t too happy that Dez didn¡¯t have a plan but after hearing his word she calmed her heart and decided to wait.


    ¡° My dad sealed a big chunk of the heart of this forest. The deeper part of this forest is very big. My dad told me that he did use his domain to claim it, and transformed it into a dream forest; the rest is open and wild outside of his domain. That¡¯s why he has one of his plant life forms living inside this place and protecting its entrance as guardian here. You won''t know or see it but it''s here."


    Suki has always been attracted to the unorthodox side of things like sealing, illusions, cursing, blessings, and all the intangible aspects of this world.


    ¡°How did your dad seal it?¡±


    ¡°I never ask him so I don¡¯t think I can describe it, I myself know very little about that. But I¡¯ll show it to you when we get there.¡±


    For Dez, his most fun activity when he visits the dream forest was to play inside this dream forest and nothing else.


    ¡°Did your father really use his domain in a forest? Why not on a city?¡± Ethan didn¡¯t understand why emperor Kaihen would do something like that.


    Suki had to shake her head, this Ethan sometimes annoyed her.


    ¡°What city? Your blockhead isn¡¯t Leven City under the domain of the Selklor family."


    Dez looked at Ethan and shook his head too.


    ¡°We only need one capital and besides, domains are used on important places and this forest is also very important, it¡¯s really worth it. Once you get inside the dream forest you will understand. If I could choose, I may have definitely lived there instead of Leven city. It¡¯s absolutely gorgeous too you¡¯ll see.¡±


    ¡°Na bro." Ethan didn''t believe him.


    "That¡¯s so boring. You need to live in a volcanic area like my family. feel the earthquake, see the eruptions, magma beast thrown into the air like fireworks, now that¡¯s awesome. It¡¯s all about the eruptions my friend.¡± Said Ethan full of pride while patting Dez''s shoulder.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why your brain is built like that. Giggle suki.


    Ethan looks at Suki in confusion but like a moment of realization, he connected built like that = brain + eruption. he understood she was calling him stupid in his face and he had enough.


    ¡°Are you trying to pick a fight with me? weird eyes! Yelled Ethan.


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    For the loong family, their eyes are very important to them as a symbol of pride and honor. ¡°I dare you to call me that again brick head.¡± Say suki with an angry face while taking her glasses off.


    ¡°Ohh you think I¡¯m afraid of you? The last time I lost I was only 11, and you cheated. You haven¡¯t tried the new Ethan yet. don¡¯t ask for it. or you¡¯ll regret it.¡± Said Ethan pointing his finger at Suki.


    Seeing his friends gazing fiercely at each other and about to fight, Dez felt he had a responsibility as a good friend to stop them and step in.


    ¡°O the sight of hot-blooded children." Said Dez imitating the posture his father usually takes. "Ok, that is enough guys, we aren¡¯t little children anymore that fight for little things every time.¡± Said Dez stepping in between his friends.


    ¡°And you, you¡¯re close to 13 already Ethan. Show some maturity and don¡¯t get angry for small things." Said Dez, putting one arm around Ethan''s shoulder like a good friend. "And you Suki, you need to stop being so mean to Ethan, we are friends. Calling him stupid is so immature. Said Dez shamelessly, putting his other arm around her shoulder. Hugging them he emphasized, "We are friends."


    Dez had a smug smile on his face like a senior who did a good job scolding his juniors, forgetting how often he himself called Ethan blockhead.


    ¡°Wait¡­."


    "what ¡­.¡±


    Suki and Ethan were flabbergasted.


    ¡°Yeah¡­. What are you going on about maturity and that bullshit? Aren¡¯t you the one that 2 years ago went Challenging every kid during the Imperial meeting and beating everyone up because ¡®YOU¡¯ wanted them to call you young Majesty and not your Highness? Then you line them all up and let them yell we love and obey your majesty Dezion in unison until ¡®YOU¡¯ were satisfied?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha Well¡­ ¡®that¡¯¡­..¡±


    ¡°That''s the old me you see.¡±


    True be told his mother had bestowed on him some ¡®personal training¡¯ for doing that.


    ¡°Those are past days, I¡¯m more mature now. I¡¯ve grown up now can¡¯t you see? And I¡¯m about to enter the Leven Academy. so I have matured and I¡¯m not a kid anymore unlike you guys.¡±


    Ethan couldn''t believe his ears. "Bullshit!!"


    ¡°Dez you''re only 12, and aren¡¯t we all going to enter our own Academy.¡± Suki replied with a sarcastic voice.


    Dez Acted like he didn¡¯t hear a thing, he put his hands behind his back, straightened his body like a pointing spear, and with fluidity in his steps kept walking.


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious that you guys can¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, really¡­ I have a great idea, it has been a long time since we had sparred. Why don¡¯t we fight and see who¡¯s the strongest among us? Why don¡¯t we do a little sparring before we go to the Dream forest?¡± proposed Ethan. He was eager to beat that arrogance out of Dez.


    ¡°Better not. don¡¯t worry About that and waste our time. I¡¯m always going to be stronger than you two no matter what.¡±


    Dez spoke with a carefree tone and kept walking. Undeniably he still had his ego inflated.


    Not long after he spoke he Instantly felt a dangerous feeling locking on his back.


    He instantly jumped away. And he heard a low boom. After looking back he saw that Ethan had hammered slam the ground.


    ¡°You have some fast moves ¡®your majesty,¡± said Ethan, giving Dez an evil smile.


    ¡°What do you say, Suki, why don¡¯t we teach our ¡®lord¡¯ here some lessons before we continue?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Ethan, I think that¡¯s a great idea. It seems someone has gotten a little cocky over the months we weren''t here¡­¡±


    After that Suki took out 2 silver spirit energy guns pointed at Dez and smiled.


    ¡°Wow¡­ no.¡±


    ¡°guys¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute this is a misunderstanding.¡±


    ¡­.(Evil smile)


    ¡°Guys come on, we always fight one on one, aren''t we? Why are you both going against me?¡±


    ¡­(mocking smile)


    ¡°Wow, Suki guns? Really? you know I¡¯m not at the awakened level yet, there is no way I''m moving that fast. I¡¯m not winning against those energy guns that are unfair¡­ come on can¡¯t we talk about this like the friends we are.?¡±


    Every time Dez spoke he did so While stepping back. With his hands raised.


    ¡°Maybe you''re right, guns may be overkill. I don''t need a dead husband before marriage.¡±


    Hearing that Dez took a breath of relief. But not for too long.


    Putting her gun back into her space ring Suki opened her jacket. Her jacket was full of small pockets from top to bottom.


    In these pockets, she had small needles, poison needles, kunai, short throwing knives, shurikens, a pocket holding a set of small and palm-size balls. and if that wasn¡¯t enough from her space ring she grabbed a bow, to be more specific a one and a half meter long compound bow that was full of wheels and lines.


    After arming herself she jumped to a close-by tree and disappeared. You could only hear her voice.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to entertain you well my ¡®majesty¡¯.¡±


    Ethan, on the other hand, deactivated his 12 training bracelets and put them also in his space ring.


    From the ring, he took 2 black and red flame design iron gauntlets that went all the way to his elbow and 2 boots from the same collection that went up to his knees.


    Smashing his fist into each other you could hear some booming sounds displaying his immense physical strength.


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°You guys are determined to test me today.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­.¡±


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to play a little rough today.¡±

 Chapter 5: I didn’t see that coming.

    Chapter 5: I didn¡¯t see that coming.


    Dez Smiled while taking out a sword and long dagger.


    They were made from epic beast bones and look like blue crystals with a silver handle.


    The sword and dagger had a very sharp blade and were Double-edged.


    ¡°Let¡¯s have some fun boys,¡± said Dez, taking his stand. His green eyes started to change color and made his whole iris completely red and white rings formed where his pupil was.


    Dez''s bloodline gave him the ability to see little specks of light that light up and show flaws in an opponent''s attack and movements. Making fighting extremely easy for him. The longer he fights the more he can ¡®see¡¯ and Ethan knows that.


    Seeing that Ethan thought to himself:O well shit, how can he activate his bloodline power just like that, and he¡¯s controlling it so effortlessly. Seeing Dez progression Ethan battle will surge.


    ¡°hahaha this will be great, I don¡¯t care, I''ve never backed down anyway and this is better. Now I Don¡¯t have to hold back." Shouted Ethan. And thought: Suki you better do a good job covering my back.


    Ethan after focusing his mind on Dez, he was very Fierce like a charging bull.


    opening his attack with a big move he jumped, joining his hands together trying to make a big slam attack that Dez couldn¡¯t block.


    Indeed.


    Dez did not try to block that attack. If he did he might end up with broken arms. Ethan¡¯s strength was that strong.


    With a minimal shift in his position, he dodged the attack and tried to use Ethan¡¯s momentum against him pushing him with his leg trying to off-balance him to slash Ethans back with his sword.


    But Ethan''s balance was impeccable. He didn¡¯t take a single extra step and stood there like a rock.


    At the same time banding his back, he kicked backward so strong you could hear it coming.


    Dez had to give up on his attack.


    Instead, he uses his blade to timely chop at Ethan''s boots while twisting his shoulders doing one more dodge. This time the attack came from Suki who had Released an arrow.


    Then he immediately ducked his head letting another arrow narrowly past his head.


    Right behind the arrow came a silent finger size poison needle aiming at his foot. All her needles had a numbing Poison.


    He easily took a step back and avoided it but soon he realized that after duking and stepping he somehow had his back to Ethan.


    Feeling the danger coming he jumped forward, behind his back came a wind pressure brushing his back. He just escaped a powerful punch. He made a roll on the ground


    Tub, tub, tub. Arrows after arrows were Hitting the ground inches away from his body leaving a line of arrows behind his back. Then he stood up and ran to the closest tree and took cover. his heart was beating fast, this was different. Totally different from fighting a single person. his bloodline ability was reacting nonstop, every passing second he felt danger coming at him but he liked it and he was feeling amazing.


    All that took time to explain but it happened extremely fast.


    Ethan went after Dez, he didn¡¯t care that there was a tree between them. He made a roundhouse kick, snapping the tree into pieces trying to reach Dez.


    But before Ethan could have realized it a sword came straight for his right shoulder.


    Sadly before hitting Ethan, 2 of Suki¡¯s kunai hit his sword making it only scratch Ethan on his arm.


    For Ethan that was nothing, the clothes he was wearing were like armor on their own. Ethan started to throw some punches and kick combinations on Dez but he easily got away. And in the storm of punches and kicks, he managed to counter-attack Ethan, slashing him a few times.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    For Dez dealing with Ethan wasn¡¯t hard. Ethan was stronger, true but Dez was way quicker and had no problems evading Ethan''s attack.


    The hard part was that every time he saw an opening or a chance and made an attack came an arrow, or a needle or some type of hidden weapon flying at him. That hindered his attacks and supported Ethan.


    ¡°Damn Suki. She Can see the flow of the battle already to this extent, this is quite troublesome. But it¡¯s ok I¡¯m just warming up.¡±


    To be honest Suki wasn¡¯t doing anything too special. Ethan¡¯s moves were just too wild because fist Fight wasn¡¯t Ethan¡¯s forte and even she could see some openings. And she knew how greedy Dez¡¯s fighting style was. Knowing that Dez would not miss a single opening, She knew where and when to attack.


    The battle was indeed intense. They didn¡¯t seem like friends exchanging friendly moves or sparring but more like enemies trying to kill each other. But they never went for deadly blows or vital spots. But as the fight went on Dez got faster, Suki¡¯s weapons lost their effect on him, he was fighting 2 battles at the same time. One sword for Ethan and one dagger for Suki. And he was winning, using one dagger to defend and one sword to attack he managed to outsmart them and started to take control of the battle. Ethan no longer attacked but was on his guard defending. Even if he tried to grab the sword or bring him in for a punch he never succeeded. Dez was having the best time of his life against Ethan.


    ¡°Ethan, the longer this fight dragged on the better he gets, we need to end this quickly.¡± Suki was feeling frustrated. This was something she only felt when fighting Dez. Dez''s ability was only seen during  the time Patriarch and founder of the Selklor family ruled, and he was unstoppable. But ever since he died it has been lost and has not appeared in the Selklor family ever again.


    Suki already had her plan: ¡°We are switching tactics, we''re going full firepower.¡± Suki screamed at Ethan.


    ¡°Sure,¡± shouted Ethan before taking out the massive shield that even he had to hold with 2 arms.


    Dez, Ethan, and Suki were friends for a long time.


    So Dez understood that the shit just got real. And the most dangerous was Suki. He just didn''t know what she was planning.


    Ethan dashed at Dez performing his shield fighting art. It wasn¡¯t a killing art. Don¡¯t get me wrong if you get hit by that shield the best that can happen to Dez was some broken bones. The worst may indeed be dead. Because that thing hit like a full-speed moving truck. But the best quality wasn¡¯t for killing but protection. The Esmond family pride themselves on this shield Technique. It was only the basics but had a very high requirement on body control and body strength. Ethan Esmond is the pride of the Esmond family, crushing every one of his generations with power, Precision, impeccable timing, and sheer brutality.


    With burning rage like a mad bull, Ethan attacked Dez. But sadly for him, Dez was faster and his bloodline power helped him stay one step ahead of Ethan in every move he made.


    The momentum of the battle shifted again. Ethan was using his shield for attack and defense. Each swing had a wide range. And they were coming Very fast.


    His stand was completely different. His shield looked like it was a part of his body; there was little to no hole in his defense for Dez to abuse.


    Ethan took the momentum again. He was putting pressure on Dez who went back to mostly dodging.


    Even if Dez attacked, his attacks mostly landed on the shield; the shield was just too big. Ethan¡¯s fighting style changed so much you wouldn''t believe it was the same person. But even with that, the fight was at a standstill nobody was winning or losing.


    But Ethan was swinging a tower of a shield and was burning a lot of energy. Even though he was physically very strong he was just a 12-year-old boy.


    Dez who was being pressured knew that this Wouldn¡¯t last long. He was already falling into his rhythm and his attacks were breaking into Ethan¡¯s shield art. Ethan¡¯s guard won¡¯t last for long. And Ethan knows that too better than anyone else. Because this was exactly the way he lost last year.


    Looking for a way to make some separation he made the widest swing with his shield. Dez Was forced to move back to dodge.


    Ethan stabbed his shield on the ground and stood to hide behind it. Like he was waiting for something.


    Dez at first didn¡¯t understand that move but then Dez¡¯s face went pale. Then he realizes that all this time Suki didn¡¯t make a move. But He felt immense danger coming. A danger so big that all the hair on his hands stood up. his senses were screaming at him to run away.


    He Hurriedly ran away and used all his might to jump as far as possible.


    not a single second after he ran.


    BOOM¡­.


    There was a loud thunderous blast. So strong you could even feel the ground shake.


    A devastating attack.


    There was a great explosion where he stood before. Making a deep hole throwing dust and dirt with dead leaves and insects and rock into the air.


    Dez¡¯s body hit the ground and was pushed by the shockwaves, rolling him on the ground a few meters until he stopped. His whole body was hurting. And his right leg was bleeding. Some parts on his legs also had burn marks.


    Ethan was still standing steady like a mountain behind his shield, but his hands and feet were trembling nonstop. Even he didn¡¯t know the explosion would be this strong. ¡°I need to remind myself to not anger this psycho¡­. For sure.¡±


    Crawling away Dez was also very shocked.


    ¡°Holy shit¡­. She is trying to kill me, that crazy girl¡­.¡± Dez thought to himself.


    ¡°I need to hurry up and find her in this damn forest or she will truly kill me before I can even see what the fuck hit me.¡±

 Chapter 6: Where are you?

    Chapter 6: Where are you?


    Dez hurriedly stood up and ran away. In his heart, he told himself.


    ¡°I¡¯m not running away, this is only a tactical retreat. Only a tactical retreat to save my life.¡±


    Dez ran, jumped and stepped on a few branches and disappeared into the trees.


    Ethan went after him, but he was no way near as nimble or as quick as Dez was. Losing Dez made Ethan furious.


    ¡°Hey, you coward, you think you can run away from me¡­


    Get back here and fight like a man.¡±


    Yelled Ethan.


    ¡°Yeah sure. Why don¡¯t you try to take on one of Suki¡¯s bombs without your shield¡­ later we can talk about who¡¯s the better man then.¡±


    Scoffed Dez when he yelled back. Not wasting much time he jumped away to another tree and kept running.


    Not long after he heard a bang. And then something crashed down.


    It was the tree he was hiding in before when he shouted back at Ethan.


    Ethan was kicking all the trees in that area to the ground.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter where you hide, I WILL FIND YOU!¡±


    Yelled Ethan like a raging mad bull. But this time no answer came.


    He knew his little gimmick wouldn''t work for long.


    Dez was gone and silently gone too.


    Dez took a deep breath. His eyes went back to normal, and now he had some time to take a look at his injuries.


    Not too bad it could have been worse.


    Both of his legs had burn marks. He also had a cut on his left leg below his calf, but luckily it wasn¡¯t deep.


    After calming down a little, Dez had some time to think.


    "That bomb was so close, she is taking this way too seriously."


    Even though Suki can throw those bombs at him he didn''t doubt for a second that he would win. Dez has not given up on his chances of winning. He was reflecting on the fight and looking for a way to win. Dez knew that if you want to accomplish something sometimes it¡¯s better to use your brain and look for more than one way to get to your goal.


    This time it was the same. If he kept fighting Ethan and letting Suki rain down attacks on him, specifically that bomb. he would surely lose this battle. It is foolish and would never work.


    He first needs to find Suki.


    And finding Suki was easier said than done.


    During the battle, Dez wasn¡¯t able to sense her at all. It was like she was completely gone.


    ¡°Was I focusing too much on Ethan? it was so unusual that I never felt her position.¡±


    On a different tree about 100 meters away from Dez stood Suki.


    ¡°You think you can hide from my eyes. My little Dezion.¡±


    ¡° No man that I Suki Loong chose to marry can be a weakling. If you can¡¯t even win this little sparring I will be really disappointed.¡±


    thought Suki while taking out some tennis size balls, some green, some red, some metallic, and a yellow one.


    Yes¡­ the marriage proposal was a request she had made 2 years ago the same year Dez declared he wished to fight every other  child during the imperial reunion and bravely challenged them. And valiantly beat every single one of them. She was love-struck, told her mother and requested for Dez to be her husband.


    Both families showed some interest, but it ended mostly in a; let us wait and see. In this world, people marry at a very young age. And are encouraged to have a lot of offspring.


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    The only thing is that their marriage is politically complicated. And also that Suki is terrible at showing her Affection and emotions. She is also very young and rebellious, unlike other girls who are a lot more sweet but also more daring in taking the initiative.


    The light metallic Ball was a sleeping gas ball. And the green one had an itching-inducing poisonous gas that let your whole body itch for days. And the yellow ball was a small explosion ball, the same one she used just now. The red one was the most destructive one which was a fire explosion. She decided to use all of them. For Someone who has awakened these items are dangerous but not lethal, but for a normal person, they could be very lethal.


    Suki didn¡¯t hesitate to use them at all, for her, these items were just mere toys.The Loong family loves to fight from afar. And throughout the years they had managed to build this fighting style in their killing art.


    The family that holds the mountain city. Known as the city of Dragons.


    The Dragon city was built in a colossal mountain range. Adorn with sculptures of magnificent dragons.


    The tip of the mountain was transformed and sculptured to resemble a fierce dragon looking down on his city. From time to time you can actually see real dragons flying in the sky above the mountain region.


    And Suki from a very young age awakened what they call ¡°the eye of the mighty Dragon." It¡¯s a bloodline Heritage. Bloodlines can only be passed down by chosen ones. If someone possesses a bloodline power it means this person is a descendant of a person who awakened as a chosen one and carry part of their giftedness. That person will be a powerhouse in the future.


    This bloodline is the reason why she has 2 different eye colors.


    Later when she can master her power and ¡®open¡¯ her second eye both of her eyes will have the same color again. Those are called ''the true eye of Iskra'' the ancient dragon And she will be considered worthy to rule her household and they will be fated to attain greatness. Why? because only the ones who ''open'' both eyes can see and guide them and are the real and sole rulers of the Loong family.


    Suki closed her normal eye and her other eye started to change.


    Her iris changed and turned just like the one of a serpent. The image she was perceiving had changed. Now she was able to detect invisible fields of energy that surround every living thing; this can be used to see a target¡¯s emotions, health status, power level, or moral alignment. The Loong family members call this energy field auras. But hers was not there yet and was a lot simpler, but it could be used to find a specific person''s aura.


    And looking around her, she found Dez. "I hope you''re ready for this Dez." Murmur Suki with a smile on her face.


    ¡°What a headache..."


    ¡° How am I going to find her?"


    ¡°Think Dez Think¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°There has to be a way for me to get close to her.


    Or at least find her. Or perhaps I can find her by sensing her presence. It''s time to see if the training I did in the past 2 months can help me now.¡±


    Dez closed his eyes and started sensing around him. He instantly felt a strong presence coming from the southeast. From that Same direction came some booming sounds.


    That clearly wasn''t her.


    That was definitely Ethan. Dez didn¡¯t know what he was doing, but Ethan was raging and smashing and destroying everything around him. Other than that he felt nothing, then he felt it again, that life threatening dangerous feeling came again. Dez hurrely jumped away.


    Boom¡­another explosion but this time it was midair. Close to the tree he was hiding in.


    This bomb was different than the last one.  A yellow mist spread in all directions covering him too in a yellow mist.


    That same instant he felt his whole body itching.


    It was extremely unbearable.


    Hurrely dez took a healing gummy. And the itching went away. Dez ran for about a 100 meter then he hid again. Not long after he stopped he felt a danger like no other before.


    BOODOOM¡­


    For Dez, it felt like a world-ending explosion. All he saw was a wall of flame rushing his direction. Fear crept into his heart he took his hoverboard and flew away hurriedly. Standing behind the protection shield he saw trees burning and flame covering all the area he was in.


    ¡°This can¡¯t be right, is she crazy? it''s impossible I cannot feel her presence either and how is she finding me so fast? Where are these attacks coming from?


    The longer I''m alone the more dangerous she gets. I need to return to where Ethan is."


    He tried again and it seems Ethan was staying at the same spot too. He wasn¡¯t moving or searching.


    "Did they plan this from the beginning?"


    Dez wasn''t sure.


    ¡°Come on, I have to focus now. This is not the time for distractions.¡±


    ¡° I think I only have 1 option; I can use Ethan as bait and lure her out¡±


    "This time I will focus my attention on her. If I can''t, I¡¯ll have to take that big Boy out and then look for her.¡±


    ¡° I have to show you guys I also have some tricks of my own."


    Dez used the hoverboard to silently move closer to the destruction site Ethan left behind.


    When he came close he tried again to find Suki, but again he didn¡¯t feel a thing.


    Ethan was like a bonfire in the middle of the night. Dez was only 12 and can only use his 5 senses to sense what''s going on around him. Sensing presence is something new to him, he wasn¡¯t very proficient in it yet.


    But what he didn¡¯t expect was that Suki already learned how to hide her presence and move silently like an assassin from the training she did with her guardian Night, and it was working unexpectedly well.


    "Welcome back Dez, welcome to my arena. Do you like  it?"said Ethan looking at Dez with his biggest smile ever.

 Chapter 7: Wild!

    Chapter 7: Wild!


    Ethan took a kunai from his ring and threw it to Dez. Grabbing it Dez saw a note. "Stay here he''ll be back"


    That moment Dez understood she was really planning things.


    "As you wish. Let the second round begin."


    Dez jumped off the hoverboard and sped up in Ethan¡¯s direction.


    Rushing Ethan Dez performs a stabbing attack on him.


    But Ethan got his shield from his ring and blocked the attack.


    ¡°Look Dez, look at the magnificent arena I created. Now as you can see there are no trees in this area for you to go and hide. No place for you to escape to.¡±


    Ethan really did make an open area of about 100 meters where there was not a single tree standing.


    The terrain was also difficult to maneuver in with all the trees and branches thrown all over the ground. It made it somewhat challenging for Dez to move as fast as before. Fighting here clearly wasn''t favorable for him.


    Slashing backward Dez cut an arrow down.


    In his mind, Dez thought.


    ¡°Arrow hmmm. Meaning you¡¯re still here, but how far away are you that I can¡¯t sense you?¡±


    Dez took a step backward trying to back away in the same direction the arrow came.


    But the second arrow this time came from his right.


    ¡°As I thought this won¡¯t be easy, to find her out will be difficult. Maybe Ethan can help me, hahaha.¡±


    Dez again rushes at Ethan.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m disappointed in you.¡±


    ¡°I never realized my friend was a Coward.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck are you talking about.¡±


    ¡°Ethan, aren''t you a real warrior? Why don¡¯t you fight me like a man instead of hiding behind that shield? Is defending all you know. You¡¯re a coward. You gave up because you know you can¡¯t even touch me. Hahaha¡±


    Mucked Dez with a smile on his face.


    ¡°You ask for it¡­¡±


    Seeing Ethan putting his shield away Suki nearly facepalmed.


    This IDIOT, he¡¯s going to be the death of me one day, how am I supposed to use the Bomb now.


    ¡°Should I bomb Ethan and Dez together?... Maybe not, Dez can get away but Ethan that brick may not even see it coming. If I accidentally take Ethan out I''ll have to deal with Dez on my own. This is so frustrating.¡±


    ¡°Ethan, use your shield.¡±


    Yelled Suki.


    The same moment she yelled she saw Dez changing direction darting straight to her.


    ¡°Hahaha, I finally found you.¡±


    Ethan again was left behind. "What the fuck just happened? And our manly fight?"


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Yeah he understood, he had been used, and like a dirty piece of paper thrown away and left behind. This time his head nearly exploded from anger. Ethan had a short fuse, but he never felt this angry this many times in such a short period.


    The desire he had to put his hands on Dez Asphyxiated him. It wasn''t anything evil or malicious. It was just to prove himself to show he was equal to his friend. So he could stand beside his friends so that they didn¡¯t leave him behind. He was literally trying to keep up with 2 monstrous talents. But he did not get the chance. Every time they were getting into it Dez would run away.


    They fought but he barely even touched Dez. While Dez had all the pleasure of the world slashing him up. He knew that if it wasn¡¯t for Suki he would have lost already. He was furious, he was eager, he wanted to get his chance too, all he had was strength and a lot too but it was all meaningless if he couldn''t even touch him and give him a good one.


    Taking out 8 small mini bombs between her fingers Suki threw them out spreading them in a line in front of her.


    Those mini bombs were smoke bombs and when they hit the ground the smoke spread extremely quickly.


    Dez was forced to stop. Remembering his bad experience he didn''t know what type of gas that was. He didn¡¯t dare to go in.


    ¡°YOU. ARE. KIDDING ME!¡±


    Dez stood there dazed for a second. Her smoke quickly spread, it got darker and thicker very quickly. He lost all sight of Suki in a matter of seconds and with that her presence too. Then he realized, indeed she was that good. All around him, he only saw thick black smoke moving in his direction.


    This is so infuriating.


    This time he was getting tired of this.


    ¡°O well I guess I need to try again.¡± Dez was planning to hover out of this area.


    Before he could react he saw something coming from the smoke.


    Ethan came from the thick smokescreen In front of him.


    A lapse in judgment. The smokescreen had no negative effect on it. And Ethan made a sneak attack. For the first time in his life, it was aided by the smoke but regardless it was a sneak attack from that beastly wild Ethan, this was actually a shock for Dez.


    ¡°O no, you don¡¯t!¡±


    Ethan this time gave his all and exploded with pure savage violence. Before Dez could react, Ethan had slammed his body into Dez.


    Gripping him with both arms around Dez¡¯s waist One holding him and the other arm locking it up He lifts him in One smooth motion. Squeezing him Hard, Ethan had his shoulder on Dez¡¯s chest. He kept the charge going, smashing Dez¡¯s back into a few more trees.


    Then he bent his waist and slammed Dez into the ground. That slam took the wind out of Dez, but Ethan wasn¡¯t done. He lifted his hands high, spread his leg wide but steady, and slammed his fists on Dez''s gut. Taking him by his feet lifting him he punched Dez in the stomach again with an uppercut.


    Dez¡¯s body went up at least 2 meters in the air then Ethan jumped and round kicked him right in his ribs sending him crashing down a few meters away. This time he felt it. The bone snapped.


    Dez¡¯s body hit the ground, bounced from the impact, and kept rolling. After Dez came to a stop he spat out blood.


    Groaning in pain he struggled.


    Ethan on the other hand let out a beastly roar. Like a savage beast. But he did not attack again.


    Dez was indeed struggling to sit up, spitting another mouth of blood. This was unexpected. Today for the first time he faced setback after setback during this fight. Things we''re not going his way today.


    Turning his hand he took out a gummy from his ring and threw it in his mouth and started to chew.


    Dez thought to himself. ¡° Blah, l really need to tell my father I don¡¯t like this new strawberry flavor.¡±


    This candy was something special Emperor Kaihen had invented. As long as you have one of these candies in your mouth all your injuries will be constantly healed until the candy is completely dissolved in your mouth or your body is completely healed.


    Sitting up Dez looks straight at Ethan in the eyes.


    ¡°Ethan¡­¡±


    He was furious this time he really did underestimate His friends and he paid for it.


    ¡°What did you like that¡±


    Said Ethan laughing.


    Standing up Dusting off his clothes, he smiled back.


    ¡°Yes, my dear friend, I loved it.¡±


    He doesn¡¯t even have his weapons anymore, he took out a black hammer with silver engravings.


    ¡°Ethan.¡±


    After Ethan saw him taking that black hammer out, his face also got serious. That''s  not normal weapons.


    ¡°What do you want? You talk too much. Just come at me.¡±


    ¡°I just want to say Sorry, buddy.¡±


    Smiled Dez.


    (^ - ^)


    ¡°I just want to let you know I am going to break every single bone in that body of yours.¡±

 Chapter 8: You are cheating!

    Chapter 8: You are cheating!


    Deep inside the forest.


    Dez was feeling pissed.


    Things went downhill and he wasn¡¯t fond of that.


    This was the first time Ethan and Suki had teamed up against him and in the beginning, he didn¡¯t even care he always won and he believed this time won¡¯t be different.


    But some unexpected things happened.


    Some damn bombs nearly blew off his legs. Then he got poisoned, then he nearly got roasted alive.


    Someone who had always looked down on Sneaking like a shameless underhanded tactic actually sneaked upon him. And the beating he got was very, very unpleasant.


    And to top it off that damn strawberry flavor tasted like old medicine.


    But now it will end. He decided to end this game once and for all.


    ¡°You guys like playing with toys hmm?¡­ so do I.¡±


    Holding his black hammer he took out a small knife, then he slashed his palms with his knife making his palms bleed, after that he pressed the hammers on his palm while holding the hammer in both hands.


    The silver engravings on the hammer started to shine after the hammer came into contact with Dez¡¯s blood. The silver engravings started to turn red. After that, the hammer melted and fused with Dez¡¯s arms.


    Dez¡¯s arms turned completely blood-red and his nails grew like claws.


    The red went up to his elbows and there it started to turn into wavy black ends. From his shoulder came a small little white crystal with golden outlines. He also had engraving patterns going all the way around his neck.


    From those engravings around his neck came some black lines that came up and made a tattoo around his eyes.


    the white sclera in his eye turned completely black, his pupil and his iris disappeared. In their place came a single White ring. In front of his red palms also appeared a white ring. And one last ring appeared near the ground around his foot.


    Astral battle form. The full power of his bloodline.


    Looking at Dez¡¯s transformation Ethan was taken aback he couldn¡¯t believe his eyes.


    First when Ethan saw the hammers his face fell but he was still confident. But now he was worried. Like what the fuck was he seeing wasn¡¯t that the powers of some 1 who had awakened?


    ¡°Hey Dez, wait a minute ¡­"


    "That¡¯s not fair ¡­."


    "Bro you''re cheating.¡±


    ¡°You call this cheating. I call the bomb that nearly blew off my ass cheating. There is no going back, Ethan.¡±


    In only 1 step Dez was already in front of Ethan. Astral shift.


    ¡°Is that even my fault?¡± Ethan felt wronged.


    Ethan threw a punch at Dez¡¯s face but it went right through him before he could retract his hand back Dez hit Ethan¡¯s arm with an open palm. The ring came in contact with his skin and he felt energy tearing his muscles apart and hitting his bone. He felt tremendous pain in his arm but his bone wasn¡¯t broken. You could see the result of the attack manifesting on his skin.


    Dez didn¡¯t stop there he went all around Ethan¡¯s body Slamming Ethan''s body with his open palm and hitting him with the energy ring.


    In the beginning, Ethan, crunching his teeth, tried to fight back but Dez was just too fast, every kick or fist he threw went right through Dez¡¯s body like he was a phantom. And to make things worse Suki¡¯s hidden weapons also went through Dez. Luckily they didn¡¯t hit Ethan adding to his injuries.


    Dez hit every open body part he could find on Ethan¡¯s body. But mostly focusing on his arms and legs. Seen Ethen not willing to give up he started to push the energy deeper, hitting and cracking some of his bones but mostly causing mussels damage and a lot of pain. After some time Ethan couldn¡¯t endure it anymore and fell to his knees.


    "Just give up buddy. This form is not something you can fight."


    Ethan hadn¡¯t given up.


    With his teeth clenched, and protruding veins on his neck, and some fiercely firm eyes he tried to stand up but couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°You¡­"


    "Are¡­"


    "Cheating¡­¡±


    Dez gave Ethan his last palm on his chin, sending him unconscious.


    ¡°I like your will. Now rest buddy, you deserve it. Enjoy your medicine!¡±


    After that, he took a bottle out of his ring and put 3 red gummies in Ethan¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry they will melt on their own and you will be as good as new.¡± Dez thought.


    Ethan¡¯s body started to recover at a visible rate. All the black and blue Spots and all swelling start to disappear.


    The Painful looks on his unconscious face were also gone. He laid there like a sleeping baby.


    Dez held his hands in front of him and slammed both rings together. An invisible energy ripple spread from his position to his surroundings.


    After doing that he easily found Suki.


    And Suki saw him coming too. She took a sleeping gas ball in her hand and was ready to use it.


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    ¡°Even if I can¡¯t defeat you in a straightforward fight. I can still put you to sleep and win.¡±  Suki was also very surprised with what she saw but still held onto one last hope of winning this match.


    At the same time, Dez was counting his time. ¡°I need to finish her off in 3 minutes before I¡¯m too exhausted and lose my transformation.¡±


    Going straight for Suki Dez close in on her. He was moving extremely fast.


    Before he could jump and reach her standing on a branch Suki smiled and tossed her gas ball at Dez.


    Seeing the ball coming at him Dez had enough. What type of bomb it was or if it had anything in it he didn¡¯t care. He was tired of it all.


    Focusing all his energy in one attack he just wanted to blow that thing to pieces.


    ¡°I¡¯m tired of this game, Suki. Now it¡¯s enough.¡±


    With all his might he punched the ball. A big and strong shockwave was pushed out. The ring in front of his fist expanded, amplifying his power.


    The ball instantly exploded and the sleeping gas was released.


    The punch was so strong it generated a huge pressure that blew all the gas away from Dez


    ¡­


    Straight back at Suki.


    ¡°Ugh, I messed up, what a bummer.¡± was the last thing she thought, Suki instantly started to lose consciousness and fell.


    Dez, in surprise by the outcome of his attack, ran and caught the falling Suki in his arms.


    Looking at the sleeping beauty up close Dez once again was mesmerized.


    ¡°You look so beautiful when you sleep.¡± murmur Dez at this moment he was truly captivated.


    Not long after his transformation was released and the black hammer appeared around his hand and fell down.


    Fatigue filled his body and he sat down still holding Suki in his arms.


    Dez sat there exhausted looking at one of the most beautiful girls he has ever seen in his 12 years of life.


    Not long after Suki woke up. seeing Dez so close looking at her she Immediately blushed.


    Covering her face she asks.


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m looking at my beautiful wife.¡±


    She blushed so much her whole face was red like a tomato.


    ¡°Sorry to break this lovely atmosphere but I¡¯m not here to see you guys share your love passionately. So excuse me but can you two stop that romance for now.¡±


    Walking closer Ethan had something he couldn¡¯t wait to ask.


    ¡°Dez that weapon?¡±


    ¡°Did you like it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, can I test it for a bit or something?¡±


    ¡°not this one, but sure I have more here take these¡­ You can keep them too.¡±


    ¡°Just let it soak a little in your blood. You need an open wound for it to enter your body. I''d rather cut my palms.¡±


    Dez throws some Bronze Axes with golden engravings to Ethan.


    ¡°What are these weapons?¡±


    ¡°They came from a distant world. I don''t really know what they are but gramps told me they are safe to use. I have  5 which are the second-best in blood power stimulation. My grandfather has The very best ones, he¡¯s studying it to see if he can recreate it, the rest was sold to the other families in Leven city.¡±Dez didn''t feel the need to hide this information from his friends.


    ¡°They are a fairly new weapon type. The material is unknown to us though.¡±


    ¡°Test it and you will know I didn¡¯t cheat, there is no soul power in those weapons. But I¡¯m not going to deny that they are quite unique. They can stimulate your blood power. Only descendants of chosens can use them."


    Ethan''s family came from the South, he never even heard of a chosen one in his family so he didn''t know if he could use them but Ethan also cut his palms and held the weapons while Suki and Dez stood up.


    The moment they came in contact with Ethan¡¯s blood they shone brightly then they melted into his palm.


    Ethan¡¯s skin color changed into a metallic brown resembling copper.


    Instantly his body grew a few inches taller. His arm had red fiery lines like veins all the way to his fingertips.


    Ethan felt power. immense power, he wasn¡¯t happy, he was ecstatic. He wasn¡¯t able to tab into his bloodline no matter what he did. Forget him, not a single member of his family ever did. But now he, for the first time, felt what power meant.


    Sadly for Him, it didn¡¯t last long, only 5 sec. And his head started to spin. He lost his balance and fell on his butt.


    Then the ax came back out of his palm and fell down.


    It was a lot dimmer and didn¡¯t shine at all.


    Sitting there in a daze he couldn¡¯t believe it. The feeling left him so fast.


    ¡°You''re big but it seems you don¡¯t last very long do you, my friend?¡±


    ¡°What¡­ Did you say? Do you want me to tell you how long I can last?¡± Ethan felt ashamed


    ¡°Guys I don¡¯t care to listen to ¡®that¡¯ type of conversation.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha relax mate I was just joking, it seems your bloodline is a little harder to activate. But the more you use it the better it gets. Sadly you can only use it once a day. That¡¯s why I had more than one.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care. I was never able to use or even feel my bloodline power.¡±


    They are very useful to me, thank you.¡± Ethan was genuinely grateful.


    ¡°Look at that softie.¡± Suki¡¯s tongue would have never let this opportunity go.


    ¡°Shut up you weird E¡­¡± before he finished flashes of the battle came to Ethan''s mind and he restrained himself. He just saw how crazy this girl can be.


    ¡°I mean¡­¡­ It is not your BUSINESS.¡±


    Ethan still yelled it at the end to free his tension and emotions.


    ¡°I got my eye on you Ethan, be careful¡­¡± said Suki pointing 2 fingers from her eyes then on Ethan.


    ¡°Suki leave him alone, no more fighting. Men can also show emotions. What''s the big deal. he was being grateful, and I accepted it. There is no need for mockery.¡± Dez came to his friend and gave him a hand to stand up.


    ¡°Ok ok, Ethan, I''m sorry. Didn''t mean it. You can never be soft. Okay ?¡± Said Suki, patting his shoulder while smiling.¡±


    Dez facepalmed. ¡°What type of sorry is that¡±


    ¡°Ethan, I hope next year when we fight you can show me that bloodline of yours.


    Be careful with them, those hammers suck a lot of energy. I only use 2 a day.¡±


    ¡ª (Dez and Suki) ¡ª


    Hey Dez and what about me¡­


    Come on Suki You don¡¯t need them.


    Who said I don¡¯t.


    Those bombs you tossed said so.


    Don¡¯t be petty now Dez.


    Who said I am petty.


    That stupid look you had when you ran away from MY bombs.


    Now you¡¯re being petty Suki


    Girls are always petty. You should know that.


    Ok, I¡¯ll get you some too ¡­


    I don¡¯t need them anymore.


    Didn¡¯t you just say¡­


    I don¡¯t care what I just said Dez, I don¡¯t need them anymore. If I want them I¡¯ll buy them myself. I don¡¯t need anyone''s favor.


    A¡­ whatever makes you happy then.


    Ugh¡­


    ¡ª        ¡ª        ¡ª


    ¡°Can you 2 stop arguing? you guys aren¡¯t even married yet. Unbelievable"

 Chapter 9: Shadows.

    Chapter 9: Shadows.


    About 2 kilometers away at the same spot Dez and his friends met a moment ago stood 3 ladies.


    3 very uniquely beautiful ladies. These 3 ladies were from 3 different families. They were there sharing the same route and the same purpose. They have already met before. They had no relationship with each other but nevertheless, walked together.


    They were the Guardian''s every family assigned to protect their young inheritor.


    Each of them had been specially trained for years. Drilled to the very limit physically and mentally.


    They have no kin. No partner. No nation and sometimes even no names, no registration, and no identity. Only a single master. They were not from the Tybalt continent either, not born on this land no one knows where they came from. Maybe not even they know, their past is just a distant memory. Nevertheless what every single one of them has in common is that they were all sold. Scattered across the human continents they started alone, they fought alone, and they prevailed alone to the very end. They fought for everything they accomplished.


    Some people called them the living shadows.


    People who live in the shadows, murder in the shadows, and wither in the shadows.


    They all live in a world of their own and fight a dangerous battle of their own.


    They started by being sold to different cities. They were children of war, they are war captives.


    Not every continent has a peaceful alliance. Some siege brutal and deadly wars against each other. Those who are, and also those who aren''t from the union of governance. The holy empire will not interfere unless it''s a meaningless slaughter.


    Some organizations profit from those wars by buying war captives. And selling them on another continent. They even have their hands in other races'' wars, selling ¡®exotic goods¡¯ to those who pay astronomical fortunes for them. The second most expensive ones are the soul awakened fighters who lost the war. Followed by useful adults, and the cheapest ones are the human children. These Children when bought will have to undergo brutal shadow training and only the best survive. They Are taught to obey orders at all costs. that only the success of their mission matters. no morals, no shame, no mental barriers, no honor, no hesitation, no emotional attachment, and no dignity, only obedience, and success.


    How can you teach them to be so detached from everyone and everything like that? Well, I can only say it¡¯s a dark and painful process. Some adapt and others break. These lessons were taught at a very young age, and kids can easily be shaped to do, think, and behave in a specific way.


    Some even had to kill those they once called friends. Those they share a room with, a bath with, The once they had shared a thing hardly called meal, maybe even those that you told the last bit of memories you still held of your past. Those you shared new memories, new emotions with, and a new happiness. those that couldn''t... Well, they are no longer part of this world. Forgotten memories and a vivid lesson of what to expect for those who held onto ideas or anything that can be called weakness. They were brainwashed then reformed to only believe and follow their masters. Their layers were broken when they had to live naked for years then shaped to hold no embarrassment or shame of anything, they had no bottom line, they fed on anything, drank anything just to stay alive, and were taught nothing is undoable or unacceptable. Their humanity was taken down and molded into human machines. If you weren''t good enough you are a liability, a flawed product, and simply disposed of. It was abusive and it was dark.


    Empires that are proclaimed to be friends may be fighting a brutal battle in the shadows. To be a ¡®shadow¡¯, especially a ¡®shadow blade¡¯ it¡¯s a dark path to walk. Traps, schemes, assassinations you name it, They did it. They work breaking your empire from the inside. There is nothing they can''t do or won''t do. The only way is to have your shadows defend yourself from the attack of others.


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    These 3 lady¡¯s had the mission to protect their young master even if they had to give up their lives for it.


    Receiving that mission they were no longer considered shadows but guardians. To be promoted as a guardian was considered a huge honor. Only the best, the most talented, and the most trusted shadow were promoted to be guardians.


    When you''re considered part of the family you were bestowed the last name of that particular family too.


    Guardians are able to live a more ¡°normal¡± lifestyle than they were able to live before as shadows.


    You went from the darkness to the light they say. But did you really?


    A guardian needed to be a protector but also a sister or a brother to entertain the young lord. a nanny to take care of all his needs, a teacher to help him in his education, a combat master because the heir will need to represent the family in front of others and no way he can be incompetent at fighting, a sparring partner a beautiful way to call you a punching bag to release his frustration when his temperament flared up, and in some cases even lovers. A tool to release stress. They had to be everything the heir desired or needed.


    So did you really come to the light? to glory?


    A guardian¡¯s life wasn¡¯t more colorful, true. But it mostly depends on who you serve and have as a master. but your life still wasn¡¯t yours. and your body wasn''t still yours you went from a killing tool who can die at any time to a slave that had to babysit your master''s child. Some may even become wives or husbands, but that rarely happens because they are broken, humans. but no matter what you are promised you will rarely ever be free.


    Leven city has also trained its shadows for thousands of years. Every prominent family is forced to train them. The selklors, they had enemies all around them. They fought internally, against corruption and betrayal. Cities under the Selklor empire were attacked on a regular basis. Their Intelligence networks were being taken out. Their people were manipulated to revolt. Important people died each day the empire suffered. Trades were sabotaged, war tactics were exposed, allies left one after another. Food reserves were destroyed, beast hordes attacked the weaker city''s on a daily basis. The selklor empire was being dismantled from within. The Selklor family was a nice piece of meat ready for devouring.


    But power can determine everything. And powerful people can change the downfall of a whole empire. Kaihen was that powerful person.


    He took care of those in the dark and set up his own network. He went against all the enemies of the Selklor empire and wiped them all out one by one in a matter of days. Rumor has it Emperor Kaihen used a single magical being on his side and in a single day he already knew who the enemies were who betrayed the Selklors and what they were planning.


    He cleaned out all the traitors and mole in every aspect of the whole empire even members of the Selklor family weren''t spared. He killed them all.


    He ruthlessly and decisively cut into the Selklor Empire and established a force that made others fear him.


    The next night after the night of cleansing people started to have weird dreams of glory and prosperity under the rule of the new emperor.


    The shadows of the Selklor¡¯s were no longer needed. Blyana¡¯s group was the very last one. Kaihen made his own artificial lifeforms work that job. And left one of his soul companions in charge of it. There is nothing that can do a better espionage than mature itself.


    Most of the former shadows went to the army. And most of them are married and have families.


    The Leven city still buys children of war to this day, but not to become shadows instead to become humans of the population of Leven city. With his wealth, Emperor Kaihan has been buying hundreds of thousands every year. Paying the highest price, sucking the whole market of war children. He buys them to be integrated into society and live a meaningful life. He designated a big chunk of west farmlands and expanded the city and made it an exclusive area for them. I nearly resemble a new city. Where everything is covered until they turn 15 and can join an Academy or the military in which you will have to leave that area. close to 80 % of them regardless of gender join the army. The only price they need to pay is to be loyal to this empire if ever needed, to defend it, and to love this land. All of them always ''Dream'' to serve the emperor and savior of their life.


    Why waste all that money and resources you ask.


    It¡¯s simple, Leven city needs population. The Selklor empire needs soldiers.


    Because the empire will soon go to war. Not a war against humans but a war against whatever lies in the inner lands of the Tybalt Continent. a war where humans will conquer this continent. And Leven city does not need slaves he needs capable men and women to push and stand for this empire.

 Chapter 10: Guardians.

    Chapter 10: Guardians.


    "Do you think the masters are going to fight again?¡± spoked a 17-year-old girl.


    She had a brown skin tone. With long curly red hair cascading over her shoulder. She had a very beautiful white tight-fit dress with open shoulders going all the way down to her hips.


    In the opening she had 3 platinum chains holding the dress together. But it was impossible to keep all of her voluptuous breasts in, revealing a portion of the side of her breast.


    She had very beautiful white high heels adorned with Precious stones. With white stocking going up To her thigh. Standing around 1.8 meters tall she¡¯s called Veronica.


    A very fiery girl and Ethan''s guardian.


    ¡°They always do ¡­ every time they see each other after a year they always test each other. And my master always wins. And this time won¡¯t be different.¡± The girl that spoke full of confidence was Blyana. A Blond girl with gorgeous blue eyes.


    She had a blue, black, and white uniform with golden borders and golden Patterns.


    She had blue and gold boots on with a beautiful white and gold cape on her back.


    Her Uniform was close completely all the way to her neck that had precious tiny stones as buttons. She also had a nice and firm body but absolutely nothing like Veronica.


    Blyana also wasn¡¯t very old, she was approaching 20 years old.


    ¡°There is no way Ethan would ever lose again. The type of people with shallow minds like you can never imagine how much my master Ethan improved this year.¡± Veronica looked at Blyana with a fire burning from her eyes.


    Looking back at Veronica with scornful eyes Blyana asked.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we make a bet? If you¡¯re so confident about his victory. You should honor your belief and bet with me.¡±


    To defend the honor of Ethan she would never back down. Veronica and Ethan had a bond much different than others. Ethan always treated her with care and affection, she became someone important to him, and he was everything for her.


    Dez on the other hand treated Blyana like a teacher or a mentor.


    ¡°There is nothing that can shake my belief in my young master,¡± Veronica spoke with conviction. She knew how strong Ethan was, she had trained him herself and felt proud of his accomplishments.


    ¡°Great.¡±


    Blyana cheered.


    In her mind, she thought: This delusional girl, I¡¯m going to sweep you cleaner than a whistle.


    She didn¡¯t train Dez at all. The one who did was the head of the Selklor family, her Majesty herself.


    She turned and looked at the youngest of the 3.


    Night.


    No one really knew her age but she sure was around 15 or so cuz she was already awakened. She was walking in the back. She had a very petite and small build.


    She had black bowl-cut hair that reached her cheeks. And a braided tail hair going all the way to her booty. Which sway left and right with every step she takes.


    And at the end of her braided tail, she had a pink ribbon. This pink ribbon was tied there by Suki. Suki really treated her well and held her as a sister. The only person Night had ever shown a sliver of emotion was Suki, which was a smile that lasted less than a second and disappeared like it never happened.


    She was wearing a black full-body tight suit


    Insinuating all that she ¡®didn¡¯t¡¯ have. Compared to the other 2 girls she was clearly very lacking in that department.


    The suit she was wearing went all the way to her nose leaving only her dark deep black eyes exposed. The suit covers her entire body including fingers and toes. The suit also had a golden dragon design starting below her neck going down all the way to her naval turning right around her hips with a dragon claw crossing part of her booty and the dragon tail going all the way around her legs and spinning around it all the way down to her feet.


    This suit was one of the most expensive and one of the most modern fabrics and was extremely thin and very elastic and you could even say it was like a second skin.


    She was the youngest and the shortest but also the most powerful and deadliest.


    At her young age, she was already at the rank of soul princess. One rank below soul queen.


    She also had a title. the shadows empress. Rumors say she is the best shadow that the Loong family had ever produced. And also awakened as a chosen one and got her own ability as a mistress of darkness.


    And is also rumored to have located and assassinated more than 300 Enemy targets the Loong family had. And had never failed in her mission till she became a guardian. In the circle of shadow, there is an even more terrifying rumor about her that she had infiltrated an evil underground city (city of lawless criminals) and somehow managed to kill the dark king the king of that city and his subordinates and rescued a member of the Loong family alone and came out unscathed.


    Turning her head, Blyana took a look at night.


    Dark eyes that seem to be able to swallow your soul looked back at her.


    Blyana had been at the top of the shadows of her generation in Leven city. She knows no fear and has no value for life other than Dez¡¯s, not even her own. But when she looked at night, all she saw was a small little girl that didn''t look a day past 11. That innocent and fragile look was a total disguise. By just taking a short glance at her all her senses screamed danger.


    There was no attack, no manifestation of energy or killing intent. Actually, Night didn''t even react to her. But she had that feeling, that feeling she has developed during all her years of struggling for her life during the shadow training. A nagging feeling that tells her that any wrong move will mean her death. That Night was ready to kill.


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    After returning her gaze back to look in front, Blyana thought to herself: I better not mess with her. All those of the Loong Family seem to have some screws loose.


    ¡°I¡¯m betting on a soul companion core of an epic quality.¡±


    Veronica opened her eyes wide.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you rich betting a soul companion core, and even of a rare quality, while most people can¡¯t wait to fuse them with their Inner world?¡± Veronica was feeling quite jealous at that moment.


    ¡°Don¡¯t sweat the small stuff, are you betting or not? It has to be of equal value.¡± Blyana also was taking a risk, because the core wasn''t even hers. But she believed so much that Dez would win that she went all out.


    ¡°Hmmm, I¡¯m definitely in.¡±


    Veronica knew something Blyana didn''t. Suki was already planning with Ethan how to team up and fight Dez together.


    The 3 girls all saw the fight. From the very first attack to the unexpected ending.


    Veronica especially was on a rollercoaster of emotion. She was very enthusiastic at the beginning, then she went silent when Dez was slashing Ethan up as much as he wanted to.


    When Ethan took out his shield she was ecstatic. She felt that this was his time to shine and was overwhelmingly happy.


    When the bomb exploded she was surprised but more so worried.


    When Ethan put his shield away she was ashamed. especially when a specific annoying someone was laughing her heart out beside her.


    When Ethan got destroyed she was enraged. But didn''t act. Because a dangerous vibe was locked on her the moment she felt anger boiling inside.


    Any thoughts of acting at that moment would have been stupid at the end of the day the kids were just having fun. She just hated to see Ethan so beat up and hurt.


    When Dez won she felt worried because she knew what was coming.


    ¡° Hey, Ginger, it¡¯s time to pay up.¡±


    ¡°No way your master just cheated.¡±


    ¡°How dare you. Trying to insinuate that my master needs underhanded actions to win. Are you blind? He only brought the fight to an Equal level. That hammers are beneath the awakened level. They are amplification weapons. and can mostly amplify the power you already possess. Once you awaken they are useless. They are just training tools. ¡°You delusional girl I told you my master will always win. Now, no excuse, pay up.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ I¡­ don¡¯t have an epic soul core .¡±


    ¡°I know that. what I mean is give me your ring and let me choose something.¡±


    ¡°What ¡­ no way.¡±


    ¡°What are you afraid of? I won¡¯t abuse, come on let me see.¡±


    ¡°I have my private stuff in there.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ok we are both girls and you made a promise in honor of your young master Ethan. Are you not going to fulfill it.¡±


    Feeling pressured Veronica conceded.


    ¡°¡­Ok. Don¡¯t look at my private items.¡±


    ¡°And just this once.¡±


    After taking the ring Blyana looked inside and her eyes shone. ¡°Wow, this.¡±


    ¡°This is very¡­¡­ Very nice.¡±


    ¡°Good heavens, this is so much better than a soul core.¡±


    Veronica blushed instantly. She blushed so much that even with her brown skin tone even her ears turned red.


    ¡°C¡­C... ca¡­ can I have my ring back.¡±


    ¡° Please.¡±


    Pleaded Veronica while stuttering meekly and shyly.


    ¡°No girl. You have a lot to explain.¡± Said Fiona taking out a body pillow as high as Veronica.


    Imprinted on the pillow was the full body of Ethan in his underwear. showing his tone and defining muscles while taking a pose.


    And on the other side of the body pillow¡­..


    She had her and Ethan passionately embracing each other.


    Seeing the pillow Veronica let out a high screech and tried to take it back.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Please put it back.¡±


    ¡°I beg you please don¡¯t show that around please.¡± Veronica felt extremely embarrassed and panicky.


    Looking at how Veronica was behaving, Blyana was having the time of her life.


    ¡°I want this pillow.¡±


    ¡°What¡­


    No¡­


    why...¡±


    Veronica was instantly alarmed.


    ¡°To show it to Ethan¡¯s mother¡­..¡± smiled Blyana mischievously.


    ¡°You ¡­.You evil!¡± Veronica nearly lost her mind.


    ¡°You know that guardians aren''t allowed to develop feelings for their masters unless he so wishes right.¡±


    ¡°And if you ever did or manipulated your master into falling in love with you it will mean your death. you have to keep it unnoticed at all costs. But look here, look at all the evidence you''re exposing.¡±


    ¡°And how did you make this?¡± Blyana was genuinely curious.


    "It''s one of my abilities. It''s just an illusion fuse into the pillow. I just need to touch it and it will disappear."


    Veronica was still trying to get her pillow back but Blyana was clearly faster than her.


    ¡° so¡­ You can make things like this.¡±


    ¡°You are so good. That explains a lot.¡± Said Blyana, having a moment of realization.


    ¡°A lot of what.¡±


    "O¡­ you know! ¡­"


    ¡°You''re not only delusional, but you''re also Obsessed too. Even if they are Illusionary works you are very stupid. Are you sure you''re not manipulating Ethan with your illusions?¡± Blyana nodded her head like she discovered a big secret.


    With an angry red face, Veronica yelled back.


    ¡°I would never do that. You will never understand true love. You old bitch. You¡¯re already 20 and no one likes you. You will forever be alone. But I and Ethan are only a few years apart, we are meant to be. He even told me he likes me.¡± Spoke Veronica drunk in love.


    ¡°YOU .. LITTLE¡­.BITCH, All I know is there isn''t anything a shadow won''t do and you¡­.¡±


    Before she could finish came a soft and angelic voice


    ¡°Stop... Playing¡­ Around...¡±


    ¡°Focus on Mission.¡±


    That was all Night spoke but the girls turned quiet instantly.


    Blyana placed the pillow back in the ring and tossed it back to Veronica.


    It wasn''t much but they knew it was a warning. That ominous chilling vibe they felt. Clearly, she was much stronger than them.


    ¡°Failures¡­¡±


    Night saw how a comfortable life changed them, but not her.


    For Night they lost their ways. their vigilance. She saw everyone as a potential danger, If it was another place she would have killed them already.


    But these are dangerous lands even for her. She could faintly feel something dangerous. The moment she stepped inside this seemingly normal forest she felt like an ant walking on the palm of a giant.


    She felt watched and astonishing to her was no matter how she looked for it she wasn''t able to find it.


    ¡­

 Chapter 11 entering the dream forest.

    Chapter 11 entering the dream forest.


    ¡°Dez is this it?¡±


    Ethan looked around cluelessly like he was searching for something he couldn''t find no matter what.


    ¡°Yep...¡± Said Dez proudly.


    ¡°Well, bro either I''m blind or your stupid but all I see here is an empty space. So... where is it?¡±


    ¡°Wait not yet, I need to call the entrance first.¡± Dez actually did it on purpose because he knew Ethan would react like that. But Dez couldn''t help it. Sometimes he likes to be a little mischievous.


    ¡°Call the entrance?¡± Ethan was wondering if he misheard him. Did he say, call it?


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Dez took the winged leaf pendant from around his neck and set it on the ground.


    At that moment the leaf started to flap its wings once again. Flying to the center of the clearing the winged leaf released something like golden dust from its wings that fell on the ground. In the middle of that dust appears what looks like a sapling. This sapling rapidly grows into a multicolored tree right in front of their eyes. Its trunk had a normal brownish color to it but its leaves had a multitude of different colors making it look quite pretty. After the tree grew about 20 meters in height it stopped.


    ¡°Wow.¡± Suki was enjoying it already, ¡°that was beautiful.¡±


    ¡°It''s not done yet.¡± Nobody except Dez expected it but the trunk of the tree begins to suddenly move. They were subtle movements at first until the whole tree started to wiggle and split apart at the center of the trunk. And from that opening, they were able to see a whole different world inside.


    ¡°Now, this is the entrance.¡± Ethan and Suki were both amazed.


    ¡°Is that a pocket space?¡± The first thing Suki thought was that this has to be a pocket space or even a pocket world.


    ¡°No, it''s this exact same forest but in a different space. It''s not a different place in this space, it''s the same place in a different space¡­ I don''t really know, that''s my father''s exact words." Dez knew that his father had space abilities and sometimes he''s able to do some weird things that he wasn''t able to understand at all but they were all real.


    ¡°What, you totally lost me there ?¡± Ethan was absolutely clueless.


    ¡°Men just forget it let''s go in, I don''t want to explain all the details, are we here to attend a class of special abilities? or are we here to have fun?¡±


    Stepping through the portal they felt like they went to a different world.


    It looks so much different at first glance.


    Why?


    because everything looked gigantic.


    You couldn''t see the ground at all; it was completely covered by grass. Thick soft grass that went all the way to your knee. Swaying in unison to the Rhythm of the wind.


    It looked like a green ocean wave.


    The forest had trees with trunks so thick they looked like buildings, like skyscrapers. They had a height that for sure surpassed 100 meters. branches going far and wide, they were so thick that 3 or 4 humans could have stood easily on them. They stood above the other trees like stand-alone beauties of nature. When light shines true its branches brightening up the whole forest it gives your eye a marvelous holy sight to behold.


    There were also yellow and green little specks of light falling from the sky. Suki and Ethan stood rooted to the ground not far away from the entrance.


    taking in the environment with their eyes, they couldn¡¯t believe it. If you could use one word to describe it. It would be ¡®heavenly¡¯.


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    The forest didn¡¯t only have those trees but all types of trees and of different sizes. You could also see some trees growing together joining from 2 different trunks combining them to form a new tree with different color leaves and fruits.


    There were all types of bushes, medicinal plants that were considered rare were everywhere to be seen. Vines of different colors and sizes hanging on the trees were numerous. There was also a lot of wildlife, especially on the mother trees. They were so gigantic that they became home to a larch variety of birds, small and medium-size animals.


    There was no dead or decaying tree to be seen


    Dez ran and dived in the grass rolling around on the grass.


    ¡°Ah, This is so comfortable. Come guys join me, let''s lay here for a second." The grass was so abundant it felt like he was laying on a cushion.


    Suki walked closer to Dez and sat down. It was indeed like sitting on a pillow and the grass was very soft to the touch; it didn''t even feel like grass at all. Her mind couldn''t comprehend how grass can be this soft.


    ¡°You need to lay down if you want to enjoy this. Lay down like me. Like this.¡± Said Dez, putting his hand behind his head and spreading his legs.


    "Yes."


    No matter how much she tried to suppress it, Suki felt a little shy.


    After laying down and looking up she saw leaves that looked like jewels shining when the rays of lights hit them. Some leaves were glittering while slowly falling and turning into specs of light. Like stars falling from the sky.


    A soft breeze was caressing them. And Suki at that moment felt relaxed. Her mind calmed down and her emotions that were surging from being so close sleeping next to Dez also calmed down.


    This was a magical place.


    Ethan also joined them and lay down. In his heart, he felt like the third wheel on this lover¡¯s bike. But soon he let go of that thought and just enjoyed the moment.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think this place is great?¡± Asked Dez.


    ¡°Yeah, it is. I didn¡¯t believe it but it truly surprised me. Now I can understand why you like it so much.¡±


    For Ethan who had lived his whole life in rocky volcanic areas that had very little forest. This 15-meter thick and 100+ meters tall tree was something he had never seen before.


    The forest had a serene vibe to it.


    ¡°Well, my friend, I have to tell you that this is just the beginning. Wait until we reach the part where the creatures of nature live. You will enjoy it.¡±


    ¡°Creature of nature?¡± Suki''s curiosity peaked.


    ¡°Yes, and also the mother of dreams.¡±


    ¡ª At the Dream forest entrance. ¡ª


    ¡°Shall we go in?¡± Ask Veronica.


    Blyana looked at night after thinking a little about it, ¡°I recommend we wait outside, Emperor Kaihen does not like it when other people trespass in his dream forest without his permission.¡±


    Night looked at the entrance. Then she went and found a nice little place not too far and sat down.


    Even the shadow empress Night didn¡¯t want to provoke Emperor Kaihen. She clearly remembers the warning the head of the Loong family gave her.


    ¡°Night. you want to know why I''m willing to let Suki marry out into the Selklor family? ¡°asked the father of Suki.


    ¡°Selklor? ¡°answered Night. ¡°Hahaha¡­.. If it was the founder of the Selklors he would have had my respect, but the rest of them? I could have snatched their empire long ago if I really wanted to."


    ¡°No Night they are just little kids in front of this old man."


    Night raised one open palm and hit it with the other hand close into a fist.


    "Him¡­ Even that old man barely qualifies to be in my presence. He has a very destructive power but nothing I have to worry about. And he''s still just a soul king fighter.  As long as he doesn''t rank up to become a soul emperor he''s just a waste of my time. Even when others crazily tried to get their hands on the Selklor Empire, for me they had nothing that interested me.¡± Suki''s father stood up and walked right in front of Night.


    ¡°But Kaihen! That man is someone we can NOT take lightly. He is a very dangerous man, Night. Even to me and even more so to you, a chosen."


    Suki''s father put one hand on her shoulder and looked at her staring into her eyes.


    ¡°Be careful around him and be respectful. Don¡¯t overstep and don¡¯t anger him. When you''re in Leven DO. NOT. KILL. not a single person. If something ever happens let me know immediately. Even for me being the Dragon Emperor I watch myself around him. I have heard of the horrors of that monster. Secrets that only those of the Emperor stage fighters can know, but you should know that if the holy emperor is portrayed as the benevolent and a savior for humans, he is the other face of that coin. A terror and nightmare for all the human race''s enemies. What happened and why that man chose to settle down, and on this continent of all places I will never know."


    Keep in mind If you provoke him, not even I can save your life, hack I may even lose mine. How can we live like this Night, how?¡±


    ¡­


    Seeing that night took place and sat down quietly, the other girls also sat down and waited.


    Night silently thought¡­ ¡°Kaihen hmm¡­.What is it that can make the family head so afraid of you?¡±


    I''m so curious.¡±

 Chapter 12 Creatures of nature.

    Chapter 12 Creatures of nature.


    "Let¡¯s continue, come follow me. I want to show you guys a great place and a few friends." While walking Dez and his friend found a gigantic flower bed of a big variety of flowers. It was a marvelous sight to see, even more so with a group of butterflies dancing between the flowers. the way they move it truly resembles a dance or a ritual, or a simple happy time together, no one knows. "Dez your crest, it''s shining again!"


    Not long after Suki spoke those words, they saw an 8 feet tall deer walking in their direction. The deer was white from below its abdomen all the way to its face. The rest of his body was green. 3 different shades of green beautifully intermingling with each other. Its antlers were gigantic. Flowers bloom and adorn the deer antlers.  This deer also had a tail that was quite thick and long, reaching all the way to the ground which was also full of flowers. On the back of the deer sat a girl that looked like a 3-year-old child, with butterfly wings 3 to 4 times her size. All the butterflies in the area came to her and we''re dancing in unison around her.


    When they came in front of Dez and his friends the little girl spoke:Ningning greets the young master. Did the young master come to visit Ningning today?


    Suki and Ethan, we''re shocked. A humanoid form butterfly, capable of holding a conversation in their language. This was clearly a very powerful and high-rank being.


    If others knew they would have killed to make her a soul companion.


    "Yes Ningning, I came with my friends today for a short visit. This is Suki and this is Ethan." Said Dez introducing his friends.


    "Ningning is very happy to see the young master." After saying that she flew to Dez without even the need to flap her wings. It looked like a gentle wind was carrying her. Getting closer to Dez''s face, Ningning kissed him on his forehead.


    "May my blessing and luck be forever with you young master Dez."  glittery lights fell from her wings and flew to the place she just kissed and disappeared.


    A blessing.


    Ningning also flew to Suki and Ethan but the words she used this time were different.  "May my blessing help you in your time of need."She didn''t give them a kiss but glittery lights also flew to them but were visibly quite less. But who would question the actions of a being so powerful giving out free blessings?


    "Thank you Ningning. All the kids express their gratitude."


    "Can I touch it?"Suki was looking at the majestic deer. And couldn''t help but ask. She has never seen a beast like this. But she knew it couldn''t be any ordinary beast. It had to be at least a legendary-grade beast.


    "Don''t be afraid, go ahead. Ehsan is my friend." After hearing Suki''s request Ningning gave her permission.


    After spending some time with Ningning and Ehsan they said their fair wells and continued on their journey.


    After walking for some time they came to a gigantic field of roots.


    "Do you guys wanna play trunkbull?"


    "What is trunkbull? I have never heard of that."


    "See those trunks over there on the left that seem to be holding water? Well, they can run, and very fast too. The game is simple: you select a trunk and run over the field of roots; the one to finish first wins the race. The rules are that there are no rules."


    "Won''t we drown in that?"


    "No, you can breathe perfectly inside it, that is not water don''t worry. It''s for protection, trunkbull can be very rough sometimes. you need to touch the trunks then you will know what abilities they have. When you get inside it you will understand how to control it. I''ll let you guys practice a little."


    "let''s trunkbull!"


    Ethan, Suki, and Dez were floating inside their trunkbulls standing on the starting line.


    "We need to reach the other side of this roodfield."


    The root in front of them was quite big and intricate.


    "Ok, all start this, take your marks¡­. GO."


    They started running into the field of roots. Dez has a lot of experience trunkbulling took the front easily with swift maneuvers. but his friends quickly adapted and were close behind him with Suki following him and Ethan having some trouble in the last place.


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    "Let''s see if this works as it says." Ethan activated his trunkbull ability. Ethan''s trunkbull jump making a big leap and fell in the gap in front of Suki. "Hahaha, this is amazing." Ethan didn''t expect such a big and powerful jump.


    "I''ll just keep jumping like that, I''ll surely win. Let''s go, do that again." Ethan went for its 2nd jump to take the lead but this time when he was flying over Dez''s trunkbull 2 tick vines came and grabbed Ethan''s trunkbull and smashed it down.


    Bang!!!


    "Sorry, buddy this is a no-flying zone. See you later hahaha."


    Ethan trunkbull struggled to get up and was easily overtaken by suki.


    They ran and raced, having a lot of fun.  Dez had selected the vine trunkbull. Utilizing his trunkbull vine ability he always hindered and stopped them from overtaking him.


    The roots were like a gigantic maze functioning as obstacles but also shortcuts. Suki, using her quick thinking, was able to reach Dez and was competing head to head with him. Ethan wasn''t too far behind after leaping a few times. But Ethan could never take the lead so far.


    Reaching the finish line Dez shot out his vines to grep a root to pull himself over to push for the victory. But at that time for the first time during this race, Suki trunkbull used his ability and farted.


    It farted a yellow gas that stunned all other trunkbulls near her for a few sec.


    "Bye Dezzie." she rammed her trunkbull into his smashed Dez away.


    Ethan, taking advantage of the situation, also leaped over Dez and came in second place.


    Coming last was Dez. "Men that sucks. I never expected you to choose the farting trunkbull."


    "Why not? its ability is so powerful."


    Well, you''re a girl. And the trunkbull farts. What did you expect me to think?"


    "All means are good as long as I can win."


    Said Suki crossing her arms with a smile on her face.


    "Are we racing again?" Ethan clearly didn''t have enough with a single race and was eager to test the other trunkbulls and try to win.


    "Yeah sure that was fun."


    Like that they trunkbulled for about 2 hours.


    Later Dez invited them to a new place. So they left the root fields and started to walk back into the forest. Not long after they came to a large clearing where they saw a large lake with a section of the mountain extending into a cliff over the lake turning into a waterfall.


    behind the waterfall, they saw something like a cave going into the mountain.


    ¡°I was thinking we can swim here for a while and meet some friends I have in the water, what do you guys say?" proposed Dez.


    ¡°Yeah"


    "Sure.¡±


    ¡°Ok, I¡¯m going to change my clothes. I''ll be right back.¡±After saying that Dez ran behind a tree and started to take off his clothes to change into his swimwear.


    Ethan follows up too.


    ¡°See you in a bit, Suki, I¡¯ll be right back too.¡±


    Standing there alone Suki couldn¡¯t Help It, she took a look in the direction Dez was changing.


    Dez in his enthusiasm didn¡¯t hide well completely and she got a glimpse of him.


    Smoking red she turned her face and ran away.


    She went to look for a place to change into her swimsuit.


    Dez was the first to return. He had an orange short on.


    Not too long later he saw Suki walking back.


    And Suki had a one-piece swimsuit with a black and white design crossing from left to right.


    And had an opening from her rib going on to her hips on both sides.


    For some reason when she saw Dez her face turned extremely red.


    ¡°Hey what happened to you, why are you so red, are you sick or something. If you don¡¯t feel well just let me know I have a large variety of medicine in my ring.¡± Dez showed his care by offering to share some medicine with her.


    Before she could respond she heard a loud yell.


    ¡°ARE YOU GUYS READY TO PARTY?¡±


    Ethan came last wearing a metallic color ultra geek men swimsuit. Some Pink sunglasses and a big inflatable yellow duck.


    If Veronica was here she would have had a nose bleed.


    ¡°Ethan, can you change ¡®that¡¯ for shorts,¡± asked Suki. For Ethan, this was something he always wears when he has any type of aquatic activities and the girls around him back in his city always loved it.


    ¡°NO. This feels so so so comfortable.¡±


    Out of his ring, he took a small sphere-shaped item. After touching and clicking a few times on it. The sphere shined and started jamming a song and Ethan started to dance.


    Suki took her Silver essence energy gun and pointed it at Ethan¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Shorts, now!¡± Demanded Suki.


    ¡°Ok, relax I was just joking. GUSH SUCH A BUMMER. BROTHER, I PITY YOU.¡±


    (click-clack)


    ¡°Hey, relax. don¡¯t kill me I didn¡¯t mean It. I¡¯m still too young. Just don¡¯t shoot, ok I''ll change it.¡± said Ethan while running away leaving a furious Suki behind.

 Chapter 13: fun at the lake.

    Chapter 13: fun at the lake.


    Dez today was enjoying himself. He only saw his friends for a small period once every year. The 3 Empires had a meeting every year and every time they changed city. This year it was the turn for Leven city to hold the meeting. And today was the last day they had together. Every time they come together he¡¯s really happy and has a lot of fun. All these moments with Suki and Ethan are things he will never forget.


    Not long after Ethan ran off he came back wearing black shorts with flaming design on them on top of his ultra geek metallic super-tight swimsuit.


    Ethan¡¯s music sphere was still floating in midair and playing. Ethan, Dez, and Suki had a goofy moment and were dancing and having fun at the lakeside.


    After Dez and his friends sat down to rest for a moment they saw a 7 meter long black fish jump out of the water, performing a perfect arch midair and falling back into the lake making a big splash.


    ¡°Amazing."


    "What was that?¡± Ethan''s eyes were sparkling.


    "That was Gugu, Gugu is one of the biggest fishes we have in the lake."


    "What type of fish is that? She is a very beautiful fish?" Ask Suki out of curiosity.


    ¡°She is a koi fish. More specifically, Gugu is a long-fin dragon koi. We have 3 of them living in the lake.¡± Answered Dez


    ¡°Can we eat them? I''m sure they taste good too?¡± two intense gazes turned and looked at Ethan with a lot of displeasure.


    "Haha ha. Relax guys I was just joking around, nothing serious really." Ethan was feeling really awkward. Ethan considered himself an epicure. A food connoisseur. A food lover at the highest level. Most of the time the first thing he thinks about is eating and couldn''t help it.


    ¡°The other fishes in the lake are for sure edible but we just won''t do that. And especially we would never do that to the longfin dragon koi''s, we don''t eat the fishes in this lake. My father says they are good luck charms, and because they are very friendly I came to consider them as my friends.¡± now Ethan was feeling really bad for asking such a stupid question.


    ¡°They are really fun to hang out with, If they like you they can take you on a ride. And besides, they are the only koi¡¯s we have, and they are all female and have not reproduced yet.¡±


    Oceanic lifeforms are normally of epic proportion.


    Those who can absorb essence and develop themselves can become behemoths of the ocean. But all other normal marine life like fishes are between 1 to 3 meters long.


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me we will be swimming with those big fishes." Suki has never seen a normal fish of that size before.


    ¡°Gugu is not the biggest one. The largest one is over 10 meters long and has lived for more than 200 years. I don¡¯t know where my father found them but they seem to not have turned into beasts yet, but still survive for so long. That is why he calls them a lucky charm. Because only luck could have kept them alive for so long.¡±


    Standing up Dez walked into the lake. The water was crystal clear. You had such a good view of all the life in it too.


    After swimming a few meters they saw Dez getting pulled underwater. Seeing Dez abruptly disappear got his friends a little worried.


    Soon after they saw Gugu jumping out of the water making another arch midair but this time she had Dez riding on her.


    She was mostly black with golden markings mixed with emerald green on her top and had long black fins with a green coloration. And had a pair of long red whiskers near her mouth. She was shining like a piece of living jewel.


    When they fell into the water. Dez was laughing out loud in a joyful manner.


    Then he spoke to his friends.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there, come in.¡±


    They swam for about an hour in the lake playing with Gugu and she was doing all sorts of tricks and things. Then she seemed to have gotten tired and swam away.


    While Ethan was swimming to the shore to get his yellow duck Suki spoke to Dez.


    ¡° She is so smart. Who taught her all that?¡±


    ¡°My mother isn¡¯t much of a playful person so only my father and I.¡±


    I trained Gugu myself most of the time my father trained Gigi and Gena. They are very smart. And can follow instructions very well.


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    ¡°And what do they eat?¡±


    ¡°Mostly plants and algae that are at the bottom of the lake, they are a bottom feeder. They eat anything they find there you could say. Sometimes my father gives them some special things he makes.¡±


    Dez brought up the real reason he brought his friends to the lake.


    ¡°Do you guys want to jump from that waterfall? ¡± Dez found the waterfall the most thrilling part of this lake.


    ¡°Men it will be a hassle climbing that.¡± Ethan didn¡¯t appear too eager on doing that right now he was floating on top of his inflatable duck and was having a relaxing time.


    ¡°Count me out, I''m relaxing here.¡± Said Ethan sipping on some lemonade juice.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s you¡¯re lost. What about you Suki.¡±


    Ahh¡­.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I guess if I¡¯m going with you I can try. I¡¯m not so good at climbing. And that seems like a very steep climb.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have to climb. Do you have an inflatable too?¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t bring one. Do you have one for me?¡±


    ¡°Well I have only one with me but it¡¯s quite spacious, you can sit with me we can ride it together.¡± Said Dez taking out an inflatable bed.


    ¡°Come get on I¡¯ll take you to a very fun ride¡±


    Together they paddled in the direction of the waterfall and to Suki''s surprise, there was a cave behind the waterfall.


    Getting there they saw 2 caves going down


    ¡°Are you ready for this?¡± Suki''s emotions were all over the place so she only nodded her head


    They paddled in the direction of the cave after paddling for a while Suki started to realize the bed was moving on its own in the direction of the cave.


    It started slow but soon got faster and faster.


    After that, they went fast down into a dark tunnel.


    Not knowing what was going on she Screamed and hugged Dez.


    Later the tunnel started to bright up, the ceiling was full of glowing moss. Very beautiful green glowing moss giving a soft yet cozy light. You could see moss embellish the caves.


    the water that was flowing down at this moment magically started to flow upward. It felt like a water slide but instead of going downwards, it went up the mountain.


    ¡±You don¡¯t have to feel embarrassed the first time I tried this I also got scared." Said Dez, while hugging her too.


    It didn¡¯t take long for them to reach a big opening and at top speed, seeing the open view Suki had a bad feeling. And true to her feelings, they have shot out the tunnel falling over the cliff.


    dropping with the waterfall they went splashing onto the lake.


    Going down Suki screamed her heart out grabbing tightly onto Dez. While he was just Enjoying the rush, the adrenaline, and laughing happily.


    Seeing the whole thing Ethan couldn¡¯t help himself, he really wanted to join them now.


    ¡°Men, I want to try that too. how did you guys get up there so fast?¡±


    ¡°Sure we will do it again anyway just follow us.¡± Said Dez not taking to heart Ethan¡¯s previous refusal, but Suki was a different person. ¡°What happens to your relaxation and your lemonade?¡± Ask Suki with sarcasm.


    ¡°I can relax and have fun at the same time. Sometimes I doubt you¡¯re smart.¡± In Ethan¡¯s mind, there is nothing the great Ethan can''t do. (Except winning against Dez ¡­ for now.) Suki had to be dumb if she couldn¡¯t see that fact.


    ¡°Ha, you''re questioning My intelligence. When you''re screaming like an ugly pig, I¡¯ll just see how relaxed you¡¯ll be. I¡¯ll make sure to take some pictures for our memories.¡±


    ¡°You can take all the pictures you like, for handsome men like me, the more you take the better.¡±


    Ethan was a very prideful person and the thing he had the most pride in was his physique. His manliness and his strong build and muscular body shape. In Ethan''s mind, Suki was flattering him.


    The result...


    Ethan screamed like a dying pig to the slaughterhouse. Ethan had a big heart but was still only 12. And Suki enjoyed every moment of it. Especially when he fell face-first into the water. and Suki took some embarrassing pictures that she will utilize to tease Ethan for years to come even after he had grown up into a respected and honored ruler of his Empire.


    The 3 of them enjoyed the ride and loved the adrenaline it gave them. Enjoying it they went up and fell from the waterfall for hours Until the moment Ethan got hungry and wanted to look for something to eat.


    "I can take you guys to my dad¡¯s companions'' palace. I can take you there and have Raisel get something done for us. She cooks so well even my mother praised her cooking.¡± The palace was the next stop Dez had planned for the trip he had with his friend today.


    "Who is Raisel?" Suki was curious; she had never heard of her in the Selklor family.


    "Raisel is one of my father¡¯s soul companions, he used to tell me stories of his adventures and she was one of his first soul companions. My father didn¡¯t like cooking and needed someone to take care of the cooking. So he taught her all he knew about cooking. Later when my father realized she had great talent to be a chef he looked for an expert to give her a cooking class. She is a Spirit Chef on a master level now, she can cook anything into delicacies. everywhere my father went she went too.¡± The adventure his father went before marrying away sparked a flame in Dez¡¯s heart. And now talking about Raisel made Dez all fired up again.


    The palace was above the mountain. Instead of going left in the cave to go down, they went right and came to a stony shore inside the cave. Stepping out of and putting the inflatables away they start to walk into a tunnel.


    This tunnel was also very luminous. filled with glowing moss and going much slower this time by walking at a relaxed rhythm they had a better chance to see the caves. It gave a warming feeling to it. The cave ceiling was quite high. with some quite large stalactites hanging from the ceiling. The cave was also very humid.


    Seeing the caves brightening up Dez spoke up.


    ¡°I present to you my father¡¯s palace.¡± Said Dez full of excitement.


    ¡°Welcome to the Sakura palace.¡±

 Chapter 14: ancestral world bead.

    Chapter 14: ancestral world bead.


    Reaching the palace entrance Dez and his friends saw a beautiful lady standing there.


    ¡°I have been expecting your visit, young master.¡±


    While saying that she bowed to Dez and his friends. She showed great respect and grace.


    ¡°I see you brought your friends this time with you. Would you like to introduce me to your friends?¡±


    ¡°Sure Raisel, this is Ethan and Suki. Guys this is Raisel, one of my father''s soul companions and the guardian of the dream forest. She is a nature nymph.¡±


    ¡°Welcome. It''s a pleasure for me to meet the friends of my young master. How has your trip been so far? Did you guys like the forest?¡± Walking and following Raisel they had a small conversation.


    Raisel had a beautiful dress of leaves and flowers. Her hair was a combination of different green colors. It was no normal hair but vines so thin no one could tell the difference. They were vines she could manipulate at will. Above her head, she was wearing a shining green and brown crown. And behind her, she had particles of light that resemble wings.


    Entering the dining hall Dez, Ethan and Suki Stood rooted in amazement. ¡°Come in, don''t just stand there, I have prepared a great banquet. I hope it will please you, master Dez.¡± The sheer variety of food was astonishing. Some foods were clearly special. Others even have a faint glow around them.


    ¡°Anything you cook will be pleasing to me no matter what.¡±Dez answered.


    Following her, they entered the dining hall. There was a long table for at least 20 people to sit around, completely adorned with food of any variety and style. A large variety of vegetables, soups, meat, fruits, and drinks.


    Looking at the table Ethan was extremely happy. In reality, he felt like he was in heaven. He felt like the happiest person at that moment.


    Taking the lead, Raisel proceeds to sit at the head of the table.


    Following her Dez and his friends also sat down. Dez may have been her young master but in this world, power is respected more than social positions. And Raisel was at the same level as Dez''s father, the soul emperor ranking. No matter what, an emperor needs to be respected so he would never take a seat first or sit at the head of the table.


    ¡°You guys can choose any food you like. My servants, they will bring it for you.¡±


    With one thought of her, a row of servants walks in. Some went to the table, and some approached the children. They were all tree folks. Tree folks are one of the races living inside the dream forest. All tree folk''s lives are under the power and command of Raisel. They are all her ¡® offspring¡¯, they used to be normal trees in the past but were given life by Raisel and transformed into treefolks.  It was a sight to see so many of them together. They were quite pleasing to the eye too, not too bulky but more resembling a human-shaped sculpture. They were quite refined and rare.


    "Wow, Raisel, are all these treefolks made by you?" Dez normally only saw Raisel when he came here with his father. It seems she is putting on a show today.


    "Yes, young master Dez. Thanks to the bond between your father and me, I can share parts of his powers as a chosen one. And it makes me able to give them life. A better life than just being immovable trees. but don''t let your friends wait any longer, let''s enjoy this banquet."


    Dez, Ethan, and Suki had an enjoyable time eating.


    The food was of the best quality they have ever tasted. Nothing has ever come even close to what they have tasted today.


    Ethan even cried tears of joy while he was enjoying his meal.


    ¡°Dez, did you decide what you will use as your first core when you awaken?¡±


    Ethan was so satisfied and feeling comfortable he started a conversation. It was what all children of their age were always talking about.


    ¡°I don''t know yet, I had the ¡®talk¡¯ with my parents but I''m not sure. And you?¡±


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The first integration was the most important.


    It played a great part in your battle prowess and growth potential.


    ¡°I already decided. I¡¯ll be integrating a soul weapon core as my first soul integration.¡±


    ¡°That is the direction most of your family members take, right? Let me guess it''s a shield soul weapon?¡±It wasn''t hard to guess the Edmond family is a family of shield warriors.


    ¡°Well absolutely! It will be an honor to my family, my soul weapon has already been selected. It has cost my family a fortune, but my father said it''s the best he has ever seen."


    Dez was really feeling happy for his friend. The Esmonds weren''t as wealthy as other empires. But an empire of warriors that were great fighters who lived their lives in one of the most challenging lands of this continent.


    ¡°After seeing what you did today with your Shield I think a shield soul weapon will be great for you no doubt.


    And you Suki, what will your first soul integration be?¡±


    ¡°My first will be my Dragon. I wish to integrate it into my soul world. My dragon I raised since I was very little. I¡¯ll be making an equal contract with her.¡±


    Dez and Ethan were surprised. Equal contracts are early done because the risks are too high.


    Isn''t that dangerous? Ask Dez.


    Maybe you do not know this but all the members of my family who can awaken the Eye of the mighty Dragon can get a dragon egg from the valley of dragons. On the condition, we honor a bond of equals with our dragon companions."


    ¡°I imagined that you would choose your dragon. The Loong family has good relationships with dragons right? It should be very nice to live with dragons.¡± Dez has seen them before; the dragons of the Loong family are quite different and outstanding.


    ¡°Yeah we do, we have a bond from a very young age. Every member of the Loong family will make a soul contract with a dragon for his first companion. We all have our own dragons. but the quality depends on our eyes. All eggs look basically the same. Only following what our eyes can see can we select the dragon that complements us the best."


    ¡°Sigh, I wish my decision could be that simple.¡±


    ¡°Isn''t it simple?¡± Ask Ethan


    "Well no it''s not. Our family doesn''t have a specific type we contract with. That gives me a lot of options but that is exactly why I don''t know what I want.


    "Isn''t your father the best artificial life creator?"


    "Why don''t you contract one of his creations?"


    "My father has a lot of options for me, that is true, but I want something unique."


    Everything in this world works under a grading system, even humans.


    Different humanoid races including humans categorize their people as normal, talented, special, unique ones and geniuses.


    They might be on an equal level but differ greatly in power and capability.


    ¡°Sorry to interrupt you master Dez I believe you know of the project and the purpose of the dream forest, if you ask lord Kaihen there won¡¯t be a problem in getting anything that you fancy.  even Dream herself, she is still I contracted.¡± Dream is a very unique being of the dreamscape that lives inside this forest. She is of the very powerful oneiric race. Small in number and extremely elusive. Those of the oneiric race are born from the dream world itself and later leave the dreamscape and grow to own a physical body.


    ¡°I know Raisel, but Dreams is too precious to my father, I would not wish to take her away from my dad. Dad values Her a lot and her military value is simply too high. ain''t that why you''re here keeping her safe?"


    "Master dez Dreams need no safekeeping, if she ever wishes she can enter the Dreamworld and she would never be found again. I''m just her friend keeping her company because Master Kaihen has been too busy lately.


    Yeah, father has been really busy lately¡­


    Hey dez, why don''t you hunt for a beast companion or buy one?


    Wait Ethan I don''t think wild beasts are good choices. They do not have great potential.


    Well isn''t your dragon a beast?


    You dare compare my highly intellectual dragon to a mare wild beast? You know your words are highly offensive right? If my father heard what you just said he would blow your empire to pieces.


    Yeah... Well, let him come. The Esmonds fear no one.


    Ok, ok guys calm yourself down. Those were just misinterpreted words. No one will go to war for a few words spoken by us. We are just kids. I never saw you guys fight as much as today. Relax a little guys. I still remember the promise we made. I hope you all still do.


    Anyway, the reason I''m indecisive is because of my mother.


    Mother wants me to use the ancestral world bead.¡±


    The room became completely silent.


    There is another option in this world other than beast or contracts. It''s to use items. Some use spiritual weapons but there is actually no limit to the options. The only problem is that most items are of inferior quality and will give mediocre results.


    But not world beads. They are items of extreme value.


    ¡°Wait. A world bead or did you just say ¡®the¡¯ ancestral world bead¡­?¡± Ask Ethan in amazement.


    ¡°My Selklor family''s ancestral world bead.¡±

 Chapter 15: future plans.

    Chapter 15: future plans.


    Everyone around the table was shocked.


    "The ancestral world beads!!! Your family must have great expectations for you then.¡±


    Suki was happy.


    Not only does it mean Dez is the future of the Selklor family, but that his first integration will be extremely powerful.


    There are 2 ways to get those world beads. One is killing another human emperor. Which is extremely hard. Winning and killing are 2 totally different concepts.


    After killing the Soul Emperor inside his body you will find a bead. Those are called world beads.


    The other way is when you know your time is coming. Most if not all the Emperors will find it extremely hard to progress any further to their next rank.


    As a powerful Emperor, you can personally condense your soul world into a soul bead. Those are more valuable and are called ancestral world beads.


    If you want to kill an emperor most of the time you will be killing his companions first to get to him. Which means a big loss in skills, arts, and essence.


    But by condensing the world bead yourself you will pass down all your power to the next generation. Hoping that what you left behind can give birth to a being of origin, an unmatched, unstoppable Existence in this world. Not only is it valuable but you can nurture it into a soul armament or a soul companion either humanoid, beast, or plant.


    Basically, whatever you wish, the power is yours.


    ¡°Yes, the whole family seems to want me to use it and all the elders agreed. My mom is nagging all day about it."


    "I¡¯m not sure if it''s because of my talent or because of my father but even so, they all believe I will become ''The'' emperor of the Selklor family one day.¡± said Dez in a tone that seems to mock himself a little.


    ¡°And why are you not happy with that?¡± Ethan was confused, wasn¡¯t that a good thing?


    World beads are very important heirlooms for a family. The more companions inside the better. During its creation, the ancestor''s world bead will integrate all the beings into one unstoppable companion.


    It''s the best possible material to make your first integration with having a 100% chance to get a legendary grade with a very good chance of getting an eternal grade.


    even the highest grade, the origin grade is a possibility. These beads are extremely important and you will never be able to buy them. They all have powerful skills and abilities passed from generation to generation.


    ¡°It''s because the ancestral world bead will bind me with this city, to this land, and this continent. I don¡¯t want that."


    "I do not want to take care of this city my whole life, I don¡¯t want to live all my life here."


    "It may sound selfish, I probably am."


    At this point, Dez felt a little emotional.


    "That is how I feel."


    "this Leven city, it¡¯s great and beautiful and all. I will have the power of my family. I can have everything I want here, but that is not the life I want to live¡­"


    Dez felt his heart pour out.


    "I want freedom."


    "I want to be like my father used to be, exploring different continents, going places, and meeting new people of new races."


    "Those are my dreams."


    This was the first time Dez felt free to speak about his dreams.


    "I don¡¯t want to refuse the bead and the responsibility and be seen as ungrateful. Or accept it and disappoint my family.¡± Dez felt really conflicted inside.


    Only those who are considered the pillars of a family, who will carry the family to glory for years to come can use the ancestral world beads.


    He felt he wasn''t that person.


    An ancestral world bead is a guaranteed ticket to the Emperor ranking. But all those who use one must leave one.


    Both of his friends were surprised. But also felt powerless in their ability to help him.


    ¡°But isn¡¯t this a problem because you are your family heir? Can''t there be another heir? Maybe your sister?¡± Asked Ethan.


    "The reason I am the heir is that my sister isn''t suitable for the position. You know my sister is younger but also way stronger than I am. She could knock the shit out of us 3 combined in mere seconds. But she is just not suitable."


    "Dez do you really want to leave everything we have behind?"


    "Just to leave like that? to places, no one knows where?"


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    "To get yourself killed out there."


    "What are you thinking?"


    Suki felt Dez was making a very bad decision here.


    "When you leave don''t you lose all your family has built for you? its support and all you can gain from the Empire are all gone!" Suki has never even thought of leaving everything behind. And having her family propose marriage, Dez''s decision also influenced her own life."


    "I was thinking I don''t have to take the position right away. right?"


    "I mean my mother is fairly young still she is only 60 years old and she hasn''t even reached 100. And she can govern this empire for at least 600 more years."


    "And with dad here, why do I have to worry?"


    "I can come back after a few hundred years. Right ?¡±


    ¡°That''s not what¡¯s important here Dez. Don¡¯t you need the power to stay alive out there?"


    Suki felt that Dez was clearly missing the point.


    "Don¡¯t you know how dangerous the world is? Here we have our family to protect us at this moment. But even then no city is safe forever. Don¡¯t you value your life?¡±


    In Suki''s mind, this was still an impetuous decision.


    ¡°I do, and I do think about it every day."


    "Every time."


    "Do you believe me to be ignorant? Or reckless?"


    "I have thought about it and to survive out there. I''m counting on either becoming a chosen one or integrating at least an Eternal grade inside my soul world.¡±


    "And what if neither of those things happens?"


    ¡­


    ¡°I do think what if things go wrong, but that isn''t me. I can''t live my life thinking that it will go wrong and turtle my life away in a small corner of the world. You need to understand that this empire is nothing Suki, our empires are just small. My father told me stories you would never believe. Places so magical they seem unreal. Beings that own and rule over 10 whole continents like ours. And he told me he didn''t even come close to exploring 1/3 of this world. I want to see that.¡±


    "The ancestral world bead will be the solution to all my surviving problems. But will I be able to leave if I use it?"


    ¡°And I never said I''ll go alone. I want to build my crew. I hope that after we awaken we could make a crew together."


    "What do you guys say?¡±


    This was the moment Dez was anticipating the whole day.


    ¡°Brother from my heart, if I could I would have done it¡­ such a manly dream."


    Ethan too was captivated by Dez''s dreams.


    "But I don''t have the freedom you have to choose my own path. It has already been established for me, my whole future is set in stone."


    "It will be fun to escape with you buddy but that would bring trouble and misunderstanding between our families.¡±


    ¡°I know and I will never judge you buddy. I know how imperial families work. But everything is negotiable."


    "The only thing I want to know is do you want to join me? Trust me if you wish to join me I will make it happen.¡±


    ¡°I promise if you can make it happen I''ll be there, count me in.¡± Dez felt very happy with Ethan''s promise.


    "Hahaha, I''m happy to hear that."


    With high expectations, he looked at Suki.


    "And you, Suki?"


    "I¡­"


    ¡­


    Seeing the joy and expectation in Dez''s eyes,  she just couldn''t look Dez directly anymore.


    "It''s ok you don''t need to say it I understand. I know I''m asking too much right now but you don¡¯t have to say it right now. Later when we awaken we can talk again and see if you can join my crew." Dez knew Suki was harder to convince but he believed that after he awakened she would follow him.


    "Sorry Dez, my father wants to send me to the holy Academy on the holy continent. The union of governance seems to be interested in our Loong family and approached our family wanting us to join them.  Last week my father told me that I will have to go to the holy academy for 5 years after awakening. Going there is very important for our family. I hope you can understand that, It¡¯s just 5 years.¡± Suki was feeling guilty for disappointing him but it was her father''s plan.


    The Holy Academy¡­


    Dez knew of the holy Academy, it was the same Academy his father went to. And also the same he told him he won''t let him attend either.


    Why?


    Dez didn''t know he didn''t ask because at that time he honestly didn''t care. He never planned to join any Academy, to begin with.


    But at this moment he wished he knew more of the Holy academy.


    At that moment the table became silent again. Everyone had their own thoughts.


    Dez was having a complex feeling. First, he wanted his friends to accompany him on his journey. But he also knows how imperial families work. And that his particular case is actually a rarity.


    He had peace.


    He lived a calm life.


    No betrayal and no conflict of siblings scheming against each other for the throne. No uncles or cousins trying to take the throne.


    The Selklor family has been ruthlessly cleansed by Emperor Kaihen before Dez was even born.


    The whole family was investigated to the last root and every rotten member was taken care of. Some were killed and some were punished.


    It was not easy to accept at first and there are sure some members that deep down hide their pain. but they will have to hide them for a very long time because they know they have absolutely no chance. Not a single person who saw what Emperor Kaihen did back then will ever even consider in their dream about challenging his authority and power.


    But other empires?


    Other families?


    Well, the bigger the family, the bigger the empire''s internal Struggles. And they had their own ¡°game¡± to play. Dez was not sure his father could influence the decision of another Emperor if the negotiations ran that deep.


    ¡°Well, it''s ok guys why don''t we leave this for after we awaken like you said? And have this conversation then? Even if we can''t be together. that doesn¡¯t mean we won''t ever be.¡±


    Ethan, seeing how bad the mood got, tried to say something.


    ¡°Indeed as long as I have the opportunity I''ll absolutely join you Dez,¡± said Suki.


    Dez just kept silent¡­


    No one knew what he was thinking.


    What he was feeling.


    ¡­.


    Suki had her own plans for her life. After the awakening ceremony at age 15, she will go study and come back at the age of 20. In her mind, Suki will be perfectly on time for marriage and be together forever with Dez as his wife.  Maybe unite the empires, have beautiful kids. Live a good life. That was her plan but it seems Dez had his own spin and ideas on his life.

 Chapter 16: Soul transformation.

    Chapter 16: Soul transformation.


    ¡°Ok guys, can you excuse us for a minute? I have some tasks I have to accomplish on this trip and I wish to get them done right away.¡±


    Dez wanted to clear his mind. He pushed back his chair and stood up.


    He pointed at the tree folk servants.


    " You guys can ask them to show you around the palace and have fun here for a minute and relax. I''ll be back shortly."


    After Dez spoke Raisel also stood up. Walked closer to Dez and offered her hand. "Shall I take you there master Dez?"


    Dez didn''t think twice about it and grabbed her hand. "I was counting on your help from the very beginning, Raisel." Said Dez with a smile.


    Seeing Dez''s easy-going Demeanor, to Raisel it seems that the situation that just happened between Dez and his friends didn''t seem to affect him too much. "It will be my pleasure young master"


    At that moment, a green glow enveloped them and Dez and Raisel disappeared from the Sakura palace.


    Suki who was sitting there watching them leave felt a bit uneasy.


    Dez seems to have brushed it off, but she felt something wasn''t quite right about him. Call it girls'' intuition.


    "Ethan, do you think he''s angry with me?"


    "Ethan¡­"


    "Hey, Ethan¡­"


    Suki was getting inpatient.


    "Yeah, I can hear you."


    Ethan was looking at the desserts like he was looking at the love of his life. He was wondering Which one he should eat next when he heard Suki''s impatient calling.


    "I do not believe that is the case, I think Dez can understand the position you are in. He may have been more sad than angry in my opinion."


    Those words were comforting at first.


    But people who had a great ability to think also had a bad habit of speculating, Suki''s mind couldn''t stand still, which later made her even more anxious.


    "What if he is disappointed in me and doesn''t want to see me anymore?"


    Ethan who was still having an internal struggle with his dessert options started to get annoyed with all this interruption.


    "Girl!"


    "It seems you lost your ability to listen, and somehow became dumber."


    "I said, sad. not because you didn''t agree but sad because you couldn''t and he knows he can''t do much about it."


    "Calm down, we know."


    Unable to resist it anymore, with the number of choices he had there was only one choice a connoisseur like him could accept.


    He would have to sacrifice himself for the greater good and choose to eat them all.


    And happy with his internal decision he continued


    "We can understand your situation, we are not stupid, just give it some time."


    In the meantime, Dez was moving to the deeper part of the dream forest. His face wasn''t smiling anymore but had a serious look on his face.


    He was thinking. Pondering on the words Suki just spoke to him.


    Indeed only those who held tremendous power can walk the vast lands of this world.


    But Dez knew of a way to get tremendous power. A way available to all but still only those who are desperate would take.


    It was to go to a forbidden zone.


    Forbidden zones can be found in various parts of the world. People say they are left by human ancestors who were unmatched powerhouses who left their legacy for those who are worthy.


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    Others say it''s the will of this world, the manifestation of Hetrea itself. Blessing those who are willing to sacrifice themselves to change their destiny.


    Others think that those forbidden zones are just lands of death, land of evil. That others are just stupid to believe opportunities lie in them.


    But Dez knew the truth. Or at least part of the true story.


    That opportunity does indeed lay in them. And that each forbidden zone is different and has different laws and rules. But forbidden zones are land of sacrifice.


    All who enter shall leave something behind.


    Dez had his eyes on one particular forbidden zone. One that only those who have not awakened are willing to enter. And face the undying trial. A trial said to break the most strong-willed and unyielding of them all. Leaving 90% of those who ender crazy and Demented.


    But this was exactly the same trial that the first ancestors of the Selklor family took. And came to a meteoric rise in power.


    "Raisel I do not want to dedicate too much time on this just find me the closest beast you could find and let''s get this over with."


    Raisel didn''t even waste a second and immediately executed her new orders.


    Changing direction they came in front of a sleeping young wolf.


    This wolf had leaves covering his whole body like they were its fur.


    Dez looked at the sleeping wolf In front of him and remembered his studies.


    This beast In front of him was a leaf wolf. They are docile in nature and are pact-oriented beasts. This beast thrives in numbers. A pact may consist of a few hundred to a few thousand. you will rarely find a leaf wolf alone. They are very good at camouflaging. In the forest, the leaves around their body can blend easily and perfectly between other leaves. They prefer to ambush their prey instead of having a confrontation or a race chasing their prey down. In the forest, they are very fast and tricky enemies to deal with. The leaves around their bodies are used as means to camouflage, defense, and attack.


    Dez walked closer to the leaf wolf. He had nothing to fear with Raisel there. He took out the potion his father gave him, poured it into a bowl, and left it on the ground.


    The leaf wolf was already keeping his eyes on Dez the moment he appeared But didn¡¯t run away. The moment he took the potion out of his ring the wolf felt a tremendous desire for the content of that potion. An internal thirst that clouded his mind. The moment Dez left the bowl on the ground the wolf dashed and consumed the content with a lot of fervor.


    After drinking the potion the wolf felt satisfied. The leaf wolf turned around and was ready to walk away but strange things started to happen. The leaf wolf started to twitch and whimper. It started slowly and soft. But it soon turned into violent spasms and his whimpers became outright painful cries. Blood started to flow from his orifices and even the leaves that cover his body started to be soaked in blood. Seeing the horrific transformation Raisel took action and decided to send a mental message to Emperor Kaihen.


    Not 2 seconds later a portal opens before them. Emperor Kaihen appears before them.


    He first took a look at his son seeing the calm demeanor he nodded and then he looked at Raisel and later the bloody mess on the ground.


    Walking closer he extended his hand and green vines stretched out of his palm into the body of this leaf wolf.


    At that moment the leaf wolf seems to be even more in pain. Now you can even see a lot of vines wiggling their way under his skin now that his leaves have all fallen from its body.


    ¡°interesting¡±


    ¡°Very interesting, it seems this beast is too weak for this potion and it has come to this result. Guess I need to give him a helping hand.¡±


    After saying that Emperor Kaihen retracted his vines, a white glow surrounded the beast and poured a large amount of life essence into the leaf wolf¡¯s body.


    This process went on for about 10 minutes. During that time the ¡° cocoon¡± seems to grow from about 1.5 meters to about 3 meters.


    When the energy disappeared the leaf wolf wasn¡¯t there anymore. Instead, there lay a humanoid beast with a dark brown pelt covering his body and on his back greenish tattoos in the shape of leaves adorning his back all the way to the end of his tail.


    It didn¡¯t take long for this 3-meter tall beast to wake up.


    Looking around him the beast set his eyes on Emperor Kaihen.


    His eyes had wisdom in them and seemed to be thinking.


    What was the beast thinking no one knows.


    But the beast stood up. Then he lowered himself to the ground prostrating himself, wiggling his tail.


    ¡° Sorry, but you do not qualify to follow me. don¡¯t worry I will not harm you, I''ll send you to a good place where you can live but you can''t stay here for too long.¡±


    "Go have some fun, I''ll take you away later."


    After hearing those words the beast that looked like a werewolf with a leaf tattoo stood up and ran away when green glowing leaves appeared around him and he Disappeared like the wind.


    "Father, what beast is that?" Dez looked at the beast disappearing in astonishment. That was a completely different beast. He was wondering what just happened.


    "Son, that''s a leaf storm werewolf. A Lineage much higher than just a leaf wolf. I guess it was his luck that you chose him and that this was for the test and I came to help him today to see the result of the potion. The potion was far too strong for it and was destroying himself trying to absorb it but not having the capability to cope with its boosting effects. and I had to help him or he would have died.


    Wow, dad, that''s amazing. Did your potion really transform that beast?


    ¡°Well, son, yes and no. I believe that potion tapped into his potential and his bloodline reacted but that was not the main point of the potion, that''s just a side effect. That potion''s goal is to boost the soul capacity by refining and augmenting one''s soul essence.


    It seems that storm-leaf werewolves got a very high boost in wisdom. Regardless, I have already promised I won''t interfere and use him for study. The thing that intrigues me is how much wiser he is. Raisel I wish you would keep an eye on that leaf storm werewolf for me until I''ll take him away.¡±


    ¡°Yes, master.¡±

 Chapter 17: Conversation between Father and Son.

    Chapter 17: Conversation between Father and Son.


    "Father did you just say refining soul essence or did you mean soul energy."


    Soul essence is what humans use in their awakening process to build their soul world. Which later will produce soul energy. Your soul can''t be influenced before awakening. It can only grow on its own as you mature and reach its peak at the age of 15.


    "No son, not soul energy. I did say it correctly, refining the very essence of one''s soul."


    "But dad isn''t that innate?"


    "Everyone says it is impossible to increase let alone refine"


    Come Dez walk with me for a moment.


    "Son, nothing in this world is impossible."


    "We humans have been defying the course of nature for a very long time."


    "Son, do you know the 3 big eras?"


    "I do, father."


    "Human race started with those who cultivate the body with Qi, the cultivators."


    "Then came the 2nd era, master of the arcane who wielded the elements by cultivating the mind with mana, the mages."


    "Now this new Era is the era in which we get our power from our souls. We are soul wielders."


    "That is a simple way to say it but yeah. Through many years we learned, we adapted, and we improved. Nothing is impossible."


    "All that took place throughout millions of years."


    "But father, why did it change?"


    "Hahaha son, change? There was no change, they were just different. They came from different places and practiced different powers and then they disliked each other  and they had a need to be superior."


    "Not one style could destroy the other. So they competed at first, than it came to war until one day someone did something that was deemed impossible."


    "Qi cultivators had to depend on their meridians. Circulate qi and sitting hours meditating but dependent solely on their body. They were indeed strong. cultivating  arts, battle skill, and a lot of time was used in learning."


    "Later came the mages, the destructive power they had was immense. but they had to chant long incantations and had weak bodies but they could stand far away and blast you to death before you could even reach them. They also spend their entire life learning spells and incantations."


    "It was a path very few could walk."


    "They came from different worlds to Hetrea, in their world their power was supreme."


    "They fought each other for many many years. Until the Day of the million rifts."


    "That day gigantic portals opened all over the world. It was like someone ripped apart space. "


    The world they imagined they controlled came crumbling down.


    Very powerful races came to this world. Their world integrated into ours and the land changed. The world expanded. And the power also changed."


    Stopping for a moment, Kaihen looked his son in the eye.


    "Do you think that there are no more cultivators in our era?"


    "Do you think that there are no more mages in our era?"


    "Isn''t that the case father?"


    "Ow really, and where do you think soul armament came from?"


    Eyes wide open, dez came to a realization."


    "I always tried to find who or what exactly changed, but I couldn''t. It seems to be lost in time. But someone did something that changed our whole concept of power."


    "The cultivators, They evolved and came to build a soul world different from ours. A soul world that channels its power into their body making them physically extremely strong. they have developed a way to create soul armament to integrate inside their soul."


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    "We came from the side of the arcanener. But now we have evolved and now we take our skills from the beasts and other races of this world. Our skills are instant. And our power is greater.


    We only need to absorb the essence around us, we only need to focus on   fighting and killing and we can easily grow. The higher the grade of our integration the more powerful we become."


    "Wow father, I never heard of this." said Dez in amazement.


    "This is protected knowledge. Only a few know of this history."


    "The only thing that limits us humans is our soul essence. the building blocks for our soul world."


    "Son, you can see our soul world like a bowl. That bowl will absorb the essence of the world and fill it up. When you reach the maximum your soul world will evolve and transform into a bigger stronger bowl.


    But what will happen if the bowl is full and you didn''t reach the requirements to evolve it?"


    "Your soul world will get saturated and will stop absorbing the essence."


    "That is your potential. Son."


    "The reason comes from when you build your soul world for the first time the bowl was built too small. in the beginning, It''s ok but later it''s A huge problem."


    "And ''this'' will fix that. Will fix that potential.


    And raise it to new heights."


    "Nothing is impossible son."


    "And the first one to show the world the majesty of this potion will be you!"


    "But that is not here or there I want to know about you. How has your day been so far?"


    "I had a good time. I really enjoyed myself today."


    "Now that we are talking about this, father, can I visit Dream with my friends?"


    "Dream hmm. I guess I can allow you to have your first visit.  Dream is a very special being whose powers work in mysterious ways. You should try to be friends with her."


    "But isn''t it lame to call her Dream?"


    "Well, she has her name but she can only let her real master know her name."


    "Not even I know her real name. Taking your friend there is a good opportunity for them too. You like them a lot. Don''t you?"


    "Yeah, I do. I even wish for them to follow me. After we awaken."


    "Did you intend to make them your crewmates?"


    "Yes. I did. "


    "Did you tell them already?"


    "Yes, just a moment ago."


    "And, what did they say about it?"


    "Ethan seems willing but seems to be tight with his family. Maybe you can give me a hand with that?"


    Ethan''s father¡­ I guess I''ll have to visit the Esmond empire.


    "Sure son no problem. I¡¯ll be speaking with his father on your behalf. And what about your little girl?"


    "Well, that¡¯s a little complicated. She will be going to the holy empire and studying at the holy Academy."


    "Hmm¡­?"


    Do they have dealings with the holy empire? Strange how I did not know of this? I guess I need to look into it!


    "Yeah Dad, I guess it just happened recently. she told me it was a decision her Father just took."


    "Son, I¡¯m just telling you now, for your own good. Nothing good will come dealing with the holy empire."


    "Does that mean Suki and the Loong family are in danger?"


    "Son, come on, think. It seems they are trying to look for a  powerful backing. to one that can stand above our empire. Why do you think we didn¡¯t accept that Marriage proposal? Suki''s father is a very ambitious man.


    But no one knows the holy empire better than me."


    "I design the system of the union. They will suck every talent possible to the holy empire. They would never be able to leave."


    "Don''t they say the Loong family''s eyes can see the true nature of others and guide them to prosperity? Why are they siding with the Holy Empire?"


    "It''s not that he can''t see it."


    "It''s because he can see it that he fears it. He fears me! Fear can make a fool of a man."


    "Son, A man can fight a thousand battles and win but if he loses his heart to his enemy it will be his end. Women throughout history have always been the easiest way to a man''s heart, the best way to control powerful people and manipulate them. Beauty and pleasure has been the downfall of many Empires."


    "Be Vigilant."


    "Sorry son but when you''re in a position of power things like this tend to happen. I just don''t trust your girl anymore.


    "I hope I¡¯m just speculating."


    "I hope so too, father I like her."


    "Don¡¯t think too much about it, let me play this game. You just enjoy your time. If she really has love for you I won''t get involved. But just so you know dealings with the holy empire will always end in trouble."


    "It''s easy to know, I''ll let Dreams check her heart."


    "Dad, won''t that be bad for her?"


    "Son, you''re underestimating Dream.


    How do you think I control this empire?


    How do you think I know who to trust and who to get rid of? It''s all because of Dreams. She can see your whole life through your dreams. Your true inner desires that even you are unaware of, she can uncover them all and a lot more."


    "This is not mind reading and won''t damage her mind. She won''t even notice. Dreams will only look if they are scheming something. But I honestly believe if the dragon emperor is planning something he would never tell his own daughter."


    "What with that face don''t you trust your father?"


    "Yes, I do trust you father."


    "Ok, it''s time for me to leave. I have to document my discoveries."


    "Raisel, take the kids to see Dream and then let them come back."


    After Des left Kaihan clenched his fist.


    Those damn bastards seem like they won''t stop until I kill them all. One day That bastard will pay for his death.


    All of them will!

 Chapter 18: Meeting Dreams.

    Chapter 18: Meeting Dreams.


    Dez Ethan and Suki stood in front of a silver-white door.


    The door had hundreds if not thousands of seals on it.


    "Raisel, is Dream sealed in there?"


    "She is in there alright, but those runes are not for sealing her but for protecting us."


    "For... Us?"


    "Dream''s presence alone creates a phenomenon that causes strong drowsiness in everyone around the area. "


    "If not for those runes, everything that comes close to this area will fall into a deep sleep until they die. Only those who are stronger than her can resist her sleep-inducing aura."


    "She also likes to play and create with her ability, once you get inside you will see."


    "And how are we going to interact with her if that is the case?"


    "Do not worry master Dez, The master''s crest will help with that."


    Turning around and looking at his friends Dez asked. "Are we ready to go inside?"


    "Yes!"


    "Sure!"


    Said Suki and Ethan in unison.


    Entering inside Dez, Ethan, and Suki stood at the foot of a mountain so big it seemed it was holding up the heavens. Coiling around the mountain were rings of nebula clouds.


    Up above and far away in the sky were all types and forms of colorful worlds hanging above.


    They look far away but at the same time just a reach away.


    They stood on a crystalline clear floor like a mirror. When they looked down, they saw Galaxies on their feed.


    Looking down into the galaxies the kids saw something moving. The thing that was moving was as big as the galaxies themselves.


    It looked like a ram.


    It had silver and gold horns with a metallic face. The center of its body seems to be made of blue and purple cosmic energy. With metallic, silver, and gold legs.  In the center of this galactic ram''s body, Dez saw a white hole. And between these majestic rams horns, he saw a black hole.


    This ram surpasses Dez''s knowledge he never saw or even heard of a being like this before. This ram just passed beneath his feet and went on his way like a shooting star.


    Like that they saw more than one galactic beast moving in space. Everything they saw was so amazing, so memorizing, it was so mind-blowing!


    It didn''t take long before a presence came and everything in front of them changed.


    Starlights swirl around them. Everything started to turn into light particles.


    Those lights came together and formed a beautiful face. The face of a female. A face made of light particles so large it covers their whole view.


    No matter how you look at it, this face was uniquely gorgeous. A face that seems to be sleeping like an angelic baby. It looks so real you wish you could touch it.


    The surrounding of this face looked like it was out of this world. They could see stars and beautiful nebula formations moving about.


    Looking at the humanoid face Raisel spoke.


    ¡°This is Dream.¡±


    ¡°She is always sleeping but can interact with others while she is in this state.¡±


    After everything they saw Dez, Ethan and Suki felt more than amazed.


    Why?


    "because everything around them felt so real. Like they were indeed in outer space, spacewalking on Galaxies. They could even interact with what was around them like it was totally real.


    ¡°This is a dreamscape domain Dream created.¡±


    Dez stretched his hand and took what looked like a flaming red hot ball in his hand. But it did not burn him at all. He felt a gentle warm energy surrounding his hand.


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    "What you experience here is totally real.


    If something let''s say cut you in here when you leave you will still have that cut.


    But if you take something out of this place it will fade away onto nothing. "


    Ethan and Suki were not stupid they clearly knew they were in front of a very powerful being. At first, they thought of it as a very strong illusion. But Raisel just said everything was real.


    Raisel what is this place? Asked Dez


    " This place is an imaginary reality.¡±


    ¡°This space changes depending on her mood. So every time you come here you may see something different.¡±


    Raisel looked at the floating female face with love and care. She has been with Dream for a very long time. And has built a good relationship with her even though Dream was not a soul companion of Emperor Kaihen.


    ¡°Dream, master wants you to look after these kids. I hope you could share some beneficial experiences that will benefit their future development.¡±


    And mentally spoke.


    ¡°Look into that girl¡¯s heart for us, look if she has any evil intention approaching the young master. Or the empire.¡±


    A childish voice of a little girl echoed in the whole world.


    ¡°When will the master come and visit me again?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that Dream, why don¡¯t you visit the master in his Dreams?¡±


    Dreams have the ability to leave a mark on someone and she could find them whenever she wishes to visit them in their dreams.


    Other than that she walks the Dream-world and visits others'' dreams. And sometimes she even takes a shape she likes to interact with others.


    Still, she feels lonely sometimes. Children who she used to play with became adults and do not play with her anymore. Friends she made no longer dream the same dreams. And for most, after they started to grow in power they would rarely ever need sleep.


    ¡°But master never sleeps these days.¡± Dream did try on numerous times but Kaihen barely closed his eyes these days.


    ¡°I guess he will come as soon as he has some free time.¡± This is also part of Emperor Kaihen''s character. When he focuses on his experiment he sometimes forgets about time. And even about others.


    ¡°But the master sent you his son.


    He wishes you would come to like him, and become friends if you wish.¡±


    ¡° The Young Master?¡± that young angelic face actually moved at that moment and ¡°looked¡± in the direction of Dez.


    ¡°Yes. The young master. Master''s son.¡±


    "Is he really master son?"


    "Well yes, he is."


    Light particles came and around Dez moving all around his body like they were hugging him.


    "Dream feels that the master son is very Very VERY weak."


    "Does not feel like a master at all."


    Dez''s heart and pride broke into a million pieces.


    Every word she spoke stabbed him like a flaming sword into his ice-cold pride.


    "Everybody has a different feeling, he''s just a youngling but he is the master''s son. He has not stepped on the path of power yet."


    "I''m sure one day he will be as strong or even stronger than master."


    Surprise and shock appeared on Dream''s face when she heard those words.


    Using her soul energy she silently spoke to Dez.


    "Are you still not tempted to select Deam for your first  integration master Dez?"


    Dez indeed was really tempted now but he did not speak a word.


    At this moment the world changed into beautiful splendid colors. Without realizing it everybody was riding a cloud that later descended to a valley full of roses.


    Suki at this moment felt a sense of awe but even more fear.


    First, she met Ningning. Clearly, a high-Class high-rank support could even be a special type of humanoid shaped beast.


    Suki was sure she was an insect-type beast of the wind and light elements. Specializing in buffs, protection, and blessings, maybe even healing she was not sure of that last part but what she knew was that just her presence alone could start a war.


    Then Suki met Raisel.


    The first thing she thought was that Raisel gave the same type of powerful energy as her father and uncles.


    An Emperor rank.


    She was stupefied when she saw all her supposed ''servants'' being extremely well-refined forest guardians.


    It''s rare that soul beasts or soul companions have command over underlings and have their own followers. It was rare but not impossible. But the quality of her underlings astonished her.


    She also remembered she felt very familiar with that fish inside the lake. It felt familiar but also distant at that time.


    later she came to realize that that feeling was the dragon bloodline. But it was a completely different lineage from her dragons.


    And now this mysterious Dream, her power was clearly freakish.


    Suki felt fear.


    Fear that her father may take a step in the wrong direction.


    A step that would move this powerful empire against them.


    After all she experienced today she felt the urge to warn her father. To at least take into consideration what she saw today.


    Putting aside her thoughts Suki took in her surroundings.


    Those that were present could feel the wind blowing on their bodies. smell the fragrance of nature, of blooming roses, and feel the ground under them like it was just a simple swap of reality. The face that used to be made of light particles changed and now grew from the roses in the valley. It was made of rose stems and leaves. And a rain of rose petals made up her hair.


    The voice of a young girl reverberates in this world. ¡°You and your friends can lay down and close your eyes.¡±


    Dez had yet to speak all this time but still, he was not in a hurry to befriend Dreams silently he lay down and closed his eyes. Seeing Dez''s actions Suki and Ethan follow him. They also lay there and closed their eyes.


    From the face of Dream 3 reddish-pink light fell and landed on the head of each of them.


    From the light on their heads Dream energy seeps into their body going deep into their minds. And each of them had a Dream of their own.

 Chapter 19 ancestors dreams part one.

    Chapter 19 ancestor''s dreams part one.


    Ethan Dreamed of a man walking barefooted on the land of the burning fire. A land of magma and chaos. This is a land uninhabitable by humans. No normal men would survive a single day on this continent. The sky was covered in ashes. The air felt thick and stuffy. Every time He breathes in he felt his lungs burning.


    But he liked it.


    The man Ethan was embodying was feeling joy at this moment.


    He felt like he was having the best natural cigar in the world. Smoking the fire and ashes of a volcano. That was life.


    Yes, Ethan''s body was breeding in blazing smoke and ash.


    After embodying this man for a few hours Ethan realized that this man never changed directions. His gaze never shifted and his steps never drifted.


    Ethan couldn''t even feel a single thought from this man. His mind was calm and his heart was tranquil.


    Like that Ethan moved for a very long time in The direction of a gigantic volcanic mountain in the distance. He didn¡¯t know how many days had passed. It may have been days or weeks, it may have even been years he didn¡¯t know.


    He didn''t stop for a single moment.


    not to eat, drink or sleep, but he singled-mindedly walked in the same direction.


    Not a single obstacle he came across in his path made him change direction.


    There were all types of fire and lava beasts attacking him. But not a single beast stood a chance in his way. his feet never stopped moving or took a step back.


    He fought numerous times already but his hand went like vicious pincers grabbing and crushing everything that came in front of him. He walked unhindered to a destination Ethan didn''t know but seemed to be a massive volcano.


    After men know how long. Ethan in the body of this man finally came to the foot of this gigantic volcano.


    This was the first time the emotions of this man changed.


    He felt a feeling of excitement. Of eagerness.


    A desire burning deep within.


    Stepping on the volcano the body of this man started to change. He was close to three meters, to begin with. Had arms as thick as pillars, his body as wide as a table with brown spiky wild hair.


    With each step, his body grew bigger.


    The first step he grew to  5m.


    With the second step, he grew to 10m.


    After the third step, he grew again to 20m.


    Consequently to 40m and then 80m, with each step his body was releasing power and doubling in size.


    Until he was a thousand-meter high titan he stopped growing.


    This titan had brownish-red skin that had a copper luster to it.


    But he still felt very small compared to this massive volcano.


    Each step he took shook that gigantic volcano stamping his mark on it.


    For the first time on this journey, the men spoke.


    "I Boldrock, command the strongest Ashe titan to face me."


    "Come face me and become my power."


    Not long after the volcano erupted in anger spewing a tower of magma in frustration.


    From the Depths of this volcano, a behemoth much bigger than him emerged from the erupting magma. Seeing each other a devastating battle followed. And Ethan was living it in body and soul.


    This was power!


    Every attack, every punch even every time he got hit he felt the raging, boiling power inside of him.


    Every time he got hit he felt like he got stronger, Wilder, and even more ferocious.


    The more damage his body receives the more Powerful he becomes.


    Ethan was feeling the deep thirst for battle, a madness brewing deeply inside his heart. The more powerful he became the crazier his fighting style became and that feeling was intoxicating.


    Ethan was feeling extremely addicted to this power. But every time he felt he was going to lose Himself and lose control, he or better said this man was able to keep it under control.


    it was madness, but a controlled madness.


    It was a boiling rage like a bomb about to explode but he never lost control.


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    No matter what he did or how strong he got he was always in control of himself. Ethan was with him in every move he used every skill he did and with each hit he received, he felt it like it was his own body.


    Ethan felt them all like he was the one battling this ash titan.


    The bloodthirsty feeling like a Ferocious beast.


    He felt it!


    He was hunting, hunting this titan for the pure pleasure of battle.


    He was in fact at that moment, In soul and body that ancestor.


    His very own ancestor who has carved his name in history.


    This a man who lived for battles and battles only. And was feared by others for his sheer force and brutality. Ethan was living and learning from this very ancestor the way of the raging titan.


    The way that pushes you to face and battle the strongest of most ancient titans of this world.


    Falling into a never-ending cycle of battle until you die or until you are the supreme Titan.


    It wasn¡¯t only Ethan but Dez and Suki had their own ancestral embodiment.


    Suki wasn¡¯t in the body of a human but in the body of a dragon. An ancient paragon Dragon.


    A dragon so massive it was leaning its Ancient body against a mountain. And was still taller than it.


    This was the same central Mountain that towers over the mountain range in the Loong¡¯s territory.


    Suki could feel the tremendous power hiding deep inside her body, a power that apparently she was gathering for some reason.


    Even so, the power was slowly but surely seeping away. Like a leak in a tank that was slowly dripping away.


    Rising its body slowly but surely Suki stood up. Around her, millions if not billions of dragons of all types and sizes flew around her anxiously. all of them were her children¡¯s all her kin. She could see and feel the emotions.


    they were all like part of her very being.


    Raising her head she looked at what seemed to be a gigantic sun burning above her head.


    An arrogant female voice sounded in her ears. ¡°I came to collect your body, you old Reptile.¡± Calling a dragon a reptile was considered a big offense.


    All the dragons felt humiliated and we were burning with rage.


    ¡°You''ve already reached your limits old fool, why don¡¯t you just die already and spare me the trouble."


    "It''s time for you to give me that old dragon heart of yours don''t you think?"


    "Maybe if you surrender I may spare your little snakes and lizards around you. Even if they are ugly as hell I''ll make sure to keep some of them alive as my personal servant, what do you say? old sweetheart."


    "I''m a very benevolent person. Shouldn''t your descendants forever be beneath my feet cleaning the floor this mighty Phoenix walk?" spoke Volmira with mockery in her tone.


    Rage!


    Unstoppable rage burned in Suki''s dragon chest.


    With a roar that shook the skies, Suki''s dragon body rose into the sky.


    ¡°You have truly fallen, Volmira. It wouldn''t matter even if you could ever defeat me, you will never step on a Dragon¡¯s Pride. No dragon here will ever surrender!"


    "Especially the likes of you.¡±


    "EVER!"


    Every dragon raised their head and roared in an exploding wave of anger.


    "Didn''t they say you''re the wise dragon of the truth? Didn''t they say your eyes can see it all?"


    "Did you see your death today, Iskra? "


    Volmira taunted and mocked the old dragon.


    "What I saw was a stupid bird playing with corrupted power that one day will be her own destruction."


    Looking at the star Suki''s eyes seem like they could pass anything in front of her and look directly at Volmira. She saw a beautiful, humanoid, voluptuous woman with purple-black hair fall all the way over her shoulders. She was sitting on a throne inside a palace surrounded by flames.


    Different types of flames bent at her will but the flames themselves seem to be afraid of something. It was a dark greenish flame that danced above her presence inside the palace which was extremely large.


    That flame gave out a chilling aura.


    Standing up, walking outside this magical palace that was built from what appeared to be solidified fire that turned into a type of Fiery crystal, Volmira transformed into a black Phoenix with purple wings and a dark green flame surrounding her body.


    That was the beginning of a terrifying war.


    A war that happened billions of years ago on this continent where Dez Suki and Ethan were born.


    This war happened before the very first human laid a step on this land.


    Millions of dragons took to the sky. But millions of phoenixes descend like a rain of fire forming a  burning sky.


    The dragons were extremely powerful wielding a multitude of elements, they also had powerful body''s that could resist a multitude of attacks.


    Most of them were winning in the beginning but the Phoenixes kept coming. The dead ones rose again and killed more and more dragons as the time went on.


    Most of the Dragons started to lose in this battle, even the most powerful one.


    Sadly the winner of this battle wasn¡¯t Suki''s side and she lived it in presence and body.


    She felt each kin''s pain. Each kin lost. experienced the suffering, the pain, and death of all the dragons all her kids.


    With a big bang she came crashing from the sky. All around her lay corpses of dead dragons.


    Dragons blood flowed like actual rivers.


    Deep sadness envelops her heart.


    For the first time, the dragon cried. She cried in grief and blood.


    The pain was molding and forming something deep inside Suki.


    Suki could feel the pain and death felt by them all and especially the death of herself when a sharp claw of an equally gigantic Phoenix bore into her chest and ripped off her heart.


    She felt everything, every inch of her being and every part of her body, the body of an ancestral paragon dragon felt pain and powerlessness. The pain and sorrow of her kin. The will of Her Descendants, their desire to take revenge.


    ¡°Your day has finally come. every time you kill me in the past I came back and this will be the last time, it seems that after billions of years even you will succumb to time. But don¡¯t worry because this time I will surpass you.¡± said Volmira and ate the dragon heart with a lot of eagerness and desire for power.


    ¡°There is nothing anyone can do to stop the rise of the phoenix clan.¡±


    How she was related to this race of dragons Suki didn¡¯t come to know but she already felt she was one of its closest kins unlike before. Especially her heart. At that moment her heart changed.


    Figuratively and literally.

 Chapter 20 ancestors dream part 2

    Chapter 20 ancestor''s dream part two


    Dez was also having his personal experience. But in his case, he was standing with his back to a group of people.


    ¡°Father, why do you have to do this? You''re walking to your death. It''s absolutely foolish.¡±


    ¡°Why not? The family is strong, prosperous and you all have grown up and built a family."


    "We already have another soul Emperor in our family capable of ruling this Empire, my presence is not needed here anymore.¡±


    ¡°No, father, you''re the only Emperor. The ruler of this city, you have built this from the ground up, why leave it now, why take this burden on yourself.¡±


    ¡°Melikai you don¡¯t understand it''s not a burden but a promise. They killed my sworn brother. There is no way I can accept it like this."


    Some of the people present had sad faces, others cried intensely. It all seems that the person in front of them was already sentenced to death.


    ¡°Nothing will change my mind or shake my will even if I perish in the process. I just wish you guys can live a good life, and don¡¯t let your actions shame me when I''m gone."


    "Don¡¯t shame the name Selklor."


    "I hope this name can be carved in the lines of history. That is my will and only request. and I hope you guys can hold onto my last wishes.¡±


    After saying those words this man did not look back. Not to his daughter or his sons, not to his 4 wives that were crying and being held back by others.


    Holding his resolution firm he took to the skies.


    White rings appeared around his body.


    He sat there in the sky when the starlight rings appeared and disappeared frequently. It happens faster and faster until his body begins to dematerialize and he vanishes from the view of others.


    Cosmic shift.


    Dez saw the surrounding change. He suddenly appeared at a place that had a very disturbing smell. A land that had gray skies and red moons with bloody rivers. A land of corruption. Below him, he saw skeletons and zombies walking mindlessly.


    In the sky instead of birds or flying beasts, ghosts and phantoms were wailing in sadness and grief.


    This was the land of the dead.


    Dez''s body began to shine with a bright starlight color. light came out of his body in rings and shot out in a 360 degree around him expanding to the far distance. Power ring after power ring went out eliminating the lesser undead.


    The rings swept the land, destruction, and disintegration of all undead followed. The starlight power was clearly very effective against this type of monster and was killing everything in his way.


    From the far distance, he felt tremendous power rising. The legion was coming.


    A raging mad roar came from far away but Dez could clearly hear it.


    ¡°Disgusting vermin, you dare enter the death continent to hunt my underlings. You seem Tired of living. Death shall cleanse the world.¡±


    ¡° You garbage, you think only you have the power to cross to invade others. You come to my land spreading destruction, why can''t I cross over to murder your filthy sorry ass.¡±


    ¡°Today I will seal you for good and for eternity.¡± Behind Dez¡¯s ancestor, 7 portals opened, and out of them walked 7 Soul companions.


    The first to come was an astral tiger. This beast looks majestic like no other.


    His body looked like it was made entirely of astral energy but still, he had armor covering part of his body.


    The second was the astral lord. The astral lord''s body was white like paper and white hair falling all the way to the ground. He had a Crescent Moon in front of his face covering his eyes.


    From the rest of his body, you were only able to see his white hands. The rest was covered in darkness with bright blue stars. It looked like he had ripped the starry night sky and used it to cover himself.


    An astral chain came our third. This chain moves like a living snake that goes and wraps itself around Dez''s arms.


    And last came four different elemental lords. One of fire, Light, ice, and lightning.


    They all descended around him. Dez saw how amazing the soul companion looked and was really wishing he could awaken already to have his own.


    The chain attacked first and sent chains of astral power shot out like hungry ravaging snakes ready to devour all the undead.


    The astral tiger called a rain of astral blast. All the elemental rained down attacks of fire, lighting, light, and ice on the undead. It was a terrifying massacre.


    The astral lord had a sword in his hand and was moving at an extremely fast speed, he was the boldest of them all diving into hordes of undead and fighting multiple enemies at the same time.


    Mortifying wails of evil spirit, ghost, and undead all sounded from all places and rushed in a single direction. The Phantom Emperor was coming with his legion.


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    Dez fought and fought. It was a never-ending battle, the ancestor was happy he was a chosen one and that his soul world does not only have a higher level of energy production than others but also that his ability was astral energy manipulation. Which was very effective against the undead.


    Dez was learning a lot during this battle. The way to actually use his ability. He rains down skill after skill like his energy never ended. He didn''t know how many different skills or how many abilities he used. In all this battling he had lost track of time.


    His summons went up against the subordinates of the Ghosts, Poltergeists, Specters, Shadows, and Wraiths; all of them were Incorporeal Undead. This was the vanguard legion of the undead army.


    But at the end, Dez stood there, with a sole undead in front of him bound by chains and rings of astral power. Suppressing and containing all his evil powers. But Dez''s ancestor had also suffered some losses: his ice and fire elementals couldn¡¯t be found; only his light and lightning elementals were left but they were badly damaged. They were still alive purely based on their elemental advantage.


    His astral tiger had parts of his body missing, his armor old and rusted, his astral lord was the strongest and was heavenly targeted by the generals, but was the key to this battle having killed more than 4 undead generals and helping him fight the undead phantom emperor, but the astral lord is in a very bad state, his life force is diminishing every passing second.


    Dez''s right hand had a black and decaying look to it. You could see the flash start to fall apart and decompose. Ugly screaming faces crept up his arm which he had to use his astral power to push back and suppress but still wasn¡¯t able to cleanse this evil curse. part of his astral chain also completely chained that hand sealing the evil power within.


    He came here ready to die, how he was still alive was all thanks to his astral chain.


    This undead type had been the hardest he had ever faced. they have a few really nasty abilities tacked on.


    "You foolish human do you believe this will change anything? "Death is my only reward. The undead shall rise and the death shell comes to all who live.


    No life can stand in our way. All life will join the never-ending marching legion of the dead for eternity.


    This is just the beginning. I¡¯m just the scouting platoon. You soon shall know sorrow your soul will forever suffer.


    GWA GWA GWA you all will perish¡­ PERISH IN AGONY !!!!


    Shut up!


    You annoying cringey bag of bones. Who said I''ll kill you. Do you think I don¡¯t know that after killing you, you will resurrect in the death continents, you will become the power of my future generation and your abilities will all be my Selklor family abilities that shall be your punishment.


    Waving his hand Dez sent out a ring and sealed the skeletal head completely in an astral band.


    Moving back Dez Appeared back in the human continent. His home. After appearing his eyes landed on a huge and mighty city in all its glory.


    "I wonder how much time has passed?"


    Then the ancestor spoke again.


    "It''s time for me to retire. Don''t you think so too Dez?"


    "My boy, I will leave behind great power for you, use it well."


    Dez was shocked!


    Did he mishear or did his ancestor really speak to him?


    About one hour after the 3 kids laid down they all woke up one after another.


    They all seem to have a different aura around them.


    It seems they all had changed in some way or form.


    All of them had lived through their own experience. And had grown tremendously.


    Memories that lay deeply dormant inside their blood. Inside their genes.


    Memories so profound that only Dream could dig them out. Not only did they understand how to use the bloodline powers in a more efficient way they even lived it and felt it.


    Not only were they blessed with knowledge and a deeper understanding of their bloodline but each took something with them. Some sort of power.


    Ethan when he woke up clearly remembered that feeling of pressure inside his body. Unknowingly he pushed on that feeling and pushed it like his ancestor did all around his body.


    Power flowed through his body. A deep desire for battle rose in his heart.


    He grew taller and his color changed into copper-like skin. But this time it wasn''t 3 sec but a lot more. His chest kept popping power all over his body and he felt amazing.


    The power of the mad raging Titan.


    An ancient power.


    Turning off his bloodline power he was extremely happy.


    Suki''s feelings still didn''t calm down.


    Suki also felt that she benefited tremendously. But she felt very emotional. She just experienced her first death.


    She felt that despite the bad experience she gained a bond with the dragons she never felt before. She also felt her body had changed somehow, she somehow had a lot more energy. And also she could clearly hear her own heart beating.


    While Suki was exploring herself Dez also woke up. He had a lot on his mind. Especially that ancestor''s world bead.


    ¡°Raisel, could you take us all outside the Dream forest? I think we all desire to¡­. ¡±


    Before Dez could finish his sentence he heard a scream of terror.


    It was suki.


    She was horrifyingly looking at Raisel.


    With her butt on the ground, she was hastily pushing backward with her legs. Her eyes were like snake''s eyes while she kept shaking her head in terror.


    The next second raisel appeared in front of her and gently tapped her forehead.


    Suki''s eyes then revert to her normal pupils.


    Then the others realize that suki did not have 2 different colors of eyes anymore.


    Her eyes have fully awakened.


    "Little girl, you should know that not everything is good for you to see. And at such a young and tender age.


    If you look too deep you will find things you never wished to see.


    A chill went down Suki''s back after hearing those words. "Come stand up, don''t embarrass yourself in front of your friend."


    Suki then realized the state she was in.


    "Ok kids now that we are done here we should prepare to return back to the city."


    "Raisel what happened with Suki?" Dez has never seen her lose her composure like that. Something clearly just happened to her.


    It was a backlash of her ability master Dez.


    "Maybe she didn''t know, But she just looked at a soul emperor. She has to be happy, she is still sane."


    Looking at the kids Raisel happily nodded.


    All the kids expressed their gratitude to Dreams and were ready to leave.


    But before she left Raisel still had a task to complete.


    "Found something?"


    ¡­


    Asked Raisel telepathically with Dream.


    ¡­

 Chapter 21: I made up my mind.

    Chapter 21: I made up my mind.


    Dez woke up early in the morning.


    When he looked at his watch it showed it was only 5:50 am. It was quite early in the morning.  The sun was not even out yet.


    Des stood up from his bed, walked to the doors of his balcony, and went out.


    Standing there it was still dark and he could barely see what was out there.


    In this manor, Dez''s living room had a great view of the garden, the stables, and the kennels.


    They called it a kennel but it was an artificial lion''s den.


    It was built to keep his sister''s pets.


    It was a pride of royal winged lions.


    Normally beasts like these won''t be this close to the manor but his sister had the ability to communicate with the royal winged lions.   She has total command over them, it was pretty safe.


    Those royal winged Lions are one of the high-grade beasts.


    Humans have developed a grading system to better understand the power of the beasts of this world.


    For example, you have bronze, silver, and gold levels.


    Those levels are divided into low, medium, and high. A newly born dragon baby starts sometimes at a high bronze level, some with great potential are born in the silver ranking.


    Those who will later be overlords are born in low-level gold beats which are at the top of the species.


    Beasts like those would only need to sleep and eat and they would grow into higher level beasts without any training or effort.  Solely relying on their racial prowess. Those are all categorized as high-grade beasts.


    Those royal winged lions are playful but also brave and bold and sometimes they misbehave. But nothing bad has happened so far. Looking at the royal family Dez would be the only one who would actually be in danger if something went wrong.


    Even most of the servants had the ability to flee or defend themselves.


    Dez stood there peering into the darkness.


    He remembered how crazy yesterday was.


    And to his surprise when he came home it got even crazier.


    -Yesterday inside the dining hall.-


    Dez was sitting together with his mother, father, and little sister at the dining table.


    Everyone had already finished eating.


    "Dez have you made up your mind already?"


    Ask Alicia Dez''s mother.


    "About what mom?" Dez was not sure what she was pointing at but he had a suspicion.


    "Well about your first soul integration."Dez still had about 3 years before his awakening but his mother was always worried about his soul integration.


    Soul integration is different from soul contracts, one can only have a soul integration every 4 stages.


    Soul awakened --- first soul integration.


    Soul fighter ¡ª first soul contract


    Soul expert ¡ª second soul contract


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    Soul leader ¡ª third soul contract


    Soul master --- second soul integration.


    Soul prince ¡ª forth soul contract


    Soul lord ¡ª fifth soul contract


    Soul king ¡ª sixth soul contract


    Soul emperor. ----   3th soul integration.


    A soul-contracted beast can die in battle, but a soul-integrated beast can''t die unless his master dies first.


    Also, a soul contract can be released or exchanged with others. But a soul-integrated beast can''t be changed once it''s integrated.


    That is why soul integration needs to be carefully decided because once chosen it will be permanent for life. It also is extremely important because there is where the abilities you will get will come from.


    "I''m sure during your visit to the Dreamforest you interacted with quite a few of your father''s best beasts and creations. Didn''t you think of making them your first integration? Your first companion." Asked Dez''s mother again.


    "No mother I didn''t, I wasn''t even thinking about it at that time mom. We didn''t go that deep in either. The only wild beast I saw was a leaf wolf." Dez felt it could not be bothered with a leaf wolf even if it did evolve into a storm leaf wolf.


    "Dez maybe you want to see my other collection inside the beast sanctuary? Maybe the nature type is not to your liking?  Those other beasts are a little more fierce. Maybe you would like some." His father suggested.


    "Actually I have a list here¡­"


    "No father, I don''t think there is a need for that. I have come to a decision but I''m not sure it''s the right one." Said Dez, remembering his experience with Dream just a few hours ago.


    "Tell me, what is your decision?" Alicia was smiling.


    Dez''s mother was eager to know what his son would finely integrate with.


    "I would like to accept the ancestral soul bead. I wish to nurture it into my own companion and bring out its powers."


    Everyone at the table was surprised.


    Dez has refused the ancestral soul bead on more than one occasion.


    "That is a great decision son." For Emperor Kaihen even if his son wanted to integrate a dirt worm he would help him be the best dirt worm to have ever lived.


    "I''m happy you chose to follow your mother''s wish."


    "Dad, is it true that if the soul bead was created with the soul companions inside their abilities are likely to reappear?"


    "Yes, son, not only that. Soul beads are the condensation of pure power. Not only is there a chance that your companion would get the power of your ancestors'' beast but also the power of his awakening too."


    "Do you know what is special about these beads, son?"


    "It''s that they can become anything.


    Not only was your ancestor a strong emperor but also he was a chosen one."


    "Chosen''s have something that others don''t have. It''s called a source of power. An ability unique only to them."


    "This world will keep you on your toes. Even if life becomes better and things seem easier you can never sit or lay down Dez, or disaster will take you by surprise."


    "Throughout history, the world has seen very smart people who won impossible battles."


    "But in the end, they still lost the war."


    "If you don''t have enough power You can only outsmart yourself out of a disadvantageous situation so many times."


    "Those who won the wars, in the end, all had one thing in common."


    "Power.


    Power in numbers...


    Power in weapons...


    Power in resources...


    Power in individuals¡­"


    "They always had superior power in one aspect or the other."


    "This bead is quite special. You need to make sure Dez that your first integration is as powerful as possible. It will help you later in life.


    Remember that. Your first integration. As powerful as possible."


    "Yes, dad I understand." Dez listens attentively to his father''s words. And kept them deep in his heart.


    "What made you change your mind?" Dez''s mother was wishing for this moment for about a year. Now that finally, her son decided to follow her wish she was not sure how to feel. She was happy because she believed that was the best choice for her son.


    But why now after refusing her for nearly a year.


    "It was all thanks to Dream, but I wish to enter the heritage hall and confirm something too."


    Dez''s father and mother looked at each other in surprise, then they nodded.


    "Sure, but what do you want to confirm?"


    Dez''s mother was still curious. It seems there is something special going on.


    "During my dream, the ancestor spoke to me and told me to take the bead that is a power left behind for me."


    Alicia looks at Kaihen with a questioning look.


    Kaihen raised both his eyebrows in surprise and shook his head, indicating he had nothing to do with that.

 Chapter 22: family secrets.

    Chapter 22: family secrets.


    Here take this orb. Hold it in your hand, this will show you how much progress you have made."


    "My progression in what dad? "


    "Well, son, we are not called soul warriors for nothing. Our soul is the main focus of our strength.


    We focus on the soul and awaken the soul world. But before that, we need to measure your soul essence." Dez took the orb from his father and held it in his hand.


    "This orb will measure the quantity of your soul essence." This was the first time Dez heard of this.


    "Is this orb something new?"


    Dez was looking at the orb, it appeared to be made of some sort of glass. The inside was sky blue and the orb had a cold feeling to it.


    "No, the orb is an item very well known in the holy continent. Once you start training your will and determination. You will see your soul essence will also grow a little. This is used to keep track of that."


    "I have not done any training to temper my will yet, dad." Will training was hellish training to overcome all sorts of fear and mental obstacles. It''s always done at the age of 14 when your hormones are working high and you''re at your bravest.


    "I know that is exactly why we are doing it now, hold this orb and let us see where you stand."


    Holding the orb in his hand Dez saw: Soul essence 8.5


    "How is it, dad? Is 8.5 is that any good?"


    "Sure it is. Most children will be around 5 if it''s below 5 it''s not worth it to invest resources into but 8.5 is good. When I was your age my soul was at 12 and when I awakened my soul was at 42."


    "To become a chosen you will have to have a soul power at a minimum of 21."


    "On this continent, it''s hard to find chosens but on the Holy continent, you will find a lot of them."


    "They are not naturally gifted, but more like created chosen, who consume the wisp of the undead to increase soul essence. A very dangerous resource to get and consume."


    thanks to a lot of studies and research we discover that the minimum requirement to awaken a power is to reach a soul essence of 21."


    "Everyone needs 15 points of soul essence to awaken. 21 to be chosen.


    And then the higher your soul essence the stronger your soul world will be and stronger the ability when you awaken."


    "Like my ability, it''s quite powerful and unique.  I think that the record in soul essence has been 50 points 3 times throughout history. It seems no one has surpassed that yet."


    "Does that mean I''ll be chosen too?"


    Dez was happy to hear that. All that he is learning now are things he never knew were possible.


    "You still have a few years before 15. I''m sure you will get there."


    "Pass the orb to your sister." After hearing that Alicia, who was also smiling with happiness, stopped. Her face became serious and a little worried.


    Dez obediently gave the orb to his sister who was silently listening to the conversation.


    After holding the orb in her hand she spoke.


    "Soul essence: 19.3"


    Those words sounded and the whole hall became silent. A soul essence of 19.3 at the age of 10.


    "Nice sis, I guess when you awaken you will need to take care of me." Dez had a happy smile on his face. He was truly happy with how strong his sister was.


    "Son, don''t be lazy. You need to work hard too." Alicia was having none of that attitude.


    "Mom, I was just joking."


    "Dez I have something that will help you grow your soul essence, I want you to drink this." Said Emperor Kaihen bringing out a potion.


    " Dad, isn''t that¡­?


    "This is the soul essence enhancing potion."


    This was the potion Dez had given the leaf wolf earlier today.


    The potion looked like mist in a bottle, but the moment you open it it will become a transparent liquid like water.


    "Son, I want you to pay good attention to what I''m about to tell you."


    "Yes, father."


    "Son, this will be related to your future so listen carefully."


    For you to awaken you need to create a soul world. As your companions grow stronger, they will feedback into your soul and also into your body. Making you stronger."


    "You can imagine your soul world as a house full of rooms."


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    "If you become a chosen one you will get an innate ability.


    That will take up a room. Your integrated companion will take a room. Your other contract will take up more room. The stronger they grow, the bigger the room they will need to occupy to live inside your soul world."


    "The space in your soul world is limited. And that limit is determined by your soul essence when you build your soul world.


    The more essence you have the bigger your world will be when it is created."


    "Your soul companion feeds on your soul''s energy to grow. And then it feeds its power back into us and we grow."


    The stronger the companion the stronger the feedback. This will give us the capability to let our soul world rank up. That is our combat level."


    "So how do people stagnate then father?"


    "When the circle is broken."


    "It''s when the feedback is not enough for your soul world to level up and there is no room available for your beast to rank up."


    "So your companion can''t break through because your world won''t be able to hold its power. But the power you get is not enough for your world to rank up."


    "Do you want to know why that is?" Dez nodded his head wanting to know more.


    "It is because it starts too small.


    The soul essence at the beginning was good to awaken but not enough to build a good foundation."


    "That is why I worked for years to develop this."


    "I want to see you reach the limit of the human body and soul before awakening."


    "But won''t my sister be a better candidate for this test? She has a soul essence level way above mine."


    "Well, Son, that is the other thing I wanted to tell you today."


    "You see your sister is not completely your sister."


    "She is your half-sister."


    "Well, well¡­ well. What can I say dad? I came to realize that she is a little different from everyone in the family except you and me. She looks a lot more like you. Like I always wonder why sis had gold yellow eye colors. No one in the family had those, then she is also a lot stronger than any kid I knew so I did think that there was something suspicious about that. But dad I never thought you would get busy with other women. Do you have a secret mistress?"Dez felt like he needed to take the role of a detective now that the secrets are coming out.


    "But don''t worry about it, I love my sister for who she is. That doesn''t matter to me.


    I still think she will benefit a lot from this experiment."


    "Dez¡­ watch your words¡­ and let me finish." Emperor Kaihen''s face darkened, what was this boy imagining?


    "If you don''t let me explain you won''t understand." Dez sat quietly to hear the full story.


    "She is my daughter."


    "But¡­She is not born from a human."


    "FATHER!!!"


    Dez''s emotions were soaring with every word.


    "Dez shut up." Said Kaihen raising his voice for the first time.


    "Yes, father."


    "I created Zenayah"


    "I genetically created your sister.


    Before starting project soul. I was doing experiments on DNA."


    "She has the genes of a few of the most powerful beings in the world.


    I actually never thought I would fall in love.


    So before that, I had the idea to create my own child. So I collected the DNA of the most powerful beings I found during my adventures."


    "Then I met your mother. And she was the first and only woman I loved."


    "The stronger you are the harder it is to get pregnant so we didn''t expect you at all."


    "When your mother got pregnant with you I was already more than 10 years into my project. And I was succeeding."


    "I used my own DNA to build the foundation because she had to be a human, that is why she resembles me so much. But the binary helix of the human DNA was very unstable during my experiments so I had to develop a more sturdy helix which I came to create the Penta-stranded helix by exogenously applying oligonucleotide to a target duplex sequence.


    My awakening power is life essence manipulation. It played a gigantic part in preventing DNA breakdown."


    "Penta-forming oligonucleotides can bind to duplex DNA in a sequence-specific fashion with high affinity. That gave me the possibility to use direct DNA-modifying agents to select DNA sequences."


    "I was able to add other DNA of other beings like The winged race, monsters, ocean-borne mythical beasts, celestials, the battle born, the tusk race, the insect race, and many other lifeforms. I myself couldn''t predict the outcome of the DNA she has in her body."


    "Because her DNA  is inherently mutagenic and recombinogenic, such that the elements and structure of her DNA completely changed and evolved into something this world has never seen before."


    "The rest is a very long and complicated story. I think I''ll save that for another day."


    "In other words, your sister is a completely new human lifeform. She is human but her organs, bones, and muscle fibers are totally different from us."


    Dez looked around the table at everyone. First, he thought his father was joking. Or this must be some type of made-up story.


    But looking around it does not appear to be a joke at all.


    "On a cellular basis, she is still human. Most of her other traits are still dormant. I believe that is a survival mechanism of her body. Because even if she is so strong her body is still weak compared to any other life form used in her DNA."


    "That is why she can''t drink this potion. I don''t know what effect that will have.  Do you remember what happened to that leaf wolf?"


    Dez remembered the wolf''s evolution and was in shock.


    "Will that happen to sis?"


    "Her DNA is extremely stable and powerful but is rather slow and uses a lot of energy."


    "It took her 2 years, 6 months, 8 days, 4 hours and 20 min to be born. And that is while she was inside my liquified life essence. Like I said, I don''t know what will happen to her."


    "That is why she eats so much but still looks like an 8-year-old when she is already 10.


    She is also tanking some nourishing solution I made for her."


    "And that is why I don''t know if she can awaken like other humans."


    "Do you understand now, son?"


    "Did everyone know about this?"


    "Yes Dez we all knew." Spoke Zenayah after hearing her father telling her story to Dez.


    "I can remember the day I was born. I was able to walk the next day. And in 2 months I was already able to speak. It''s just that you were so small you don''t remember." At that moment Dez went to her sister and hugged her.


    "No matter what Zenayah, you will always be my beloved sister." That was a very emotional moment for the Selklor family.


    Lifting his head Dez looks at the rising sun brightening up the horizon far into the distance.


    Men yesterday was a crazy day.  I hope today will be a lot more normal.

 Chapter 23: Sister … you wouldnt …

    Chapter 22: Sister ¡­ you wouldn''t ¡­


    Dez standing on his balcony felt refreshed.


    There was something about watching the sunrise that always energized him. When he was about to turn and go back inside to take a shower and get ready for a new day, he was stopped by a loud whistle that was long and low followed by a short, sharp, and high one.


    That came from the room next to his. Which means it came from his sister.


    In the next instant, he saw the balcony door next to him open and his sister came out wearing one of his family military training outfits.


    Walking to her balcony she looked at him. "Good morning brother."


    "Hey good morning. "


    "Umm, why are you dressed like that?"


    "Oh, this it''s because I''m going out today."


    "And where are you going?"


    "I''m going out to war. "


    "To war? " Dez was dumbfounded, what war was his sister talking about? There was no war going on that he knew of!


    "Yes, I and my pride are going out to war against the mad spike warthogs. Nasty beasts I''m telling you, brother. They came from the grasslands from the West and are invading our farmers'' agricultural lands."


    After saying that she whistled again.


    "Does father know of this?"


    Yes, it''s uncle Matheus that has been in charge of this operation until now but I will replace him."


    "Why are you getting involved?"


    "Why wouldn''t I? I discovered them, I have been fighting them for 2 days already." That moment dez field a strong gust of wind.


    Looking up he saw in the sky more than 20 royal winged lions flying in the sky above them.


    From the sky, Dez saw a male royal winged lion descend onto his sister''s balcony.


    That beast really lived up to his name. Standing on his 4 paws it had a height of about 3 meters. He had a gemstone in the middle of his chest.


    With its bright blue glowing eyes, his body was completely white like snow, from his legs, all the way to his paws were scaled in gold. Even the lion claws were golden.


    It also had 3 black tails swaying in happiness. On each side of its head, he had 2 black ears. Above his head he had 2 horns grow outward and then come back to the center taking the shape of a golden crown. The royal winged lion had beautiful snow-white wings with top feathers being golden; all parts of his body portrayed royalty and majesty.


    It was truly a majestic beast. They are born in only 2 colors, blue eyes with a white body or golden eyes with a black body. By looks alone, it was in the top 3 best-looking beasts of Leven City.


    Not only did they have great looks they also had a very powerful fighting ability.


    This pride had 2 males and 18 females. The one that just descended was the leader of the pride. He is the only one who has the 2nd gemstone in the middle of his forehead.


    Jumping on the back of the royal winged lion Zenayah sat and held the lion''s mane. The mane was so flush and abundant you could barely see her.


    "Harkan let''s go."


    "Zenayah wait. I want to join you too."


    "Dez these are not docile beasts, these are ferocious beasts out there to kill and feast on your bones. Even in your bloodline ability form, I doubt you can keep up with 1 let alone the hundreds of thousands that you will see there."


    "You don''t have to tell me that, but don''t worry about me, I can defend myself. Come on, let''s go." Dez took his hoverboard out of his ring and prepared to fly alongside his sister.


    "Put that away. We will give you a ride."


    "Lorc¨¢n come, I want you to protect my brother." After Zenayah spoke those words Dez saw an equally big but black lion descend from the sky onto his balcony but this one wasn''t that gentle like Harkan.


    With a paw, the lion scooped Dez and threw him on his back.


    Seeing that Zenayah lectures her lion with a sincere tone.


    "Lorc¨¢n, be gentle, brother is weak!"


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    After hearing his sister''s words Dez really felt some type of way, but what can he say. Compared to this group he was really weak.


    Although his sister Zenayah hadn''t awakened yet and was younger than him she could kill a bronze rank beast with 1 punch and even have an equal fight against a silver rank beast.


    "Dez this is Lorc¨¢n, the little fierce one. Lorc¨¢n and Harkan are blood brothers."


    "Dez later on you should stay on Loc¨¢n''s back, use his mane to keep yourself on him, and make sure you don''t fall off during the fight later." With a face of who do you think you''re talking to, Dez graphs Lorc¨¢n''s mane and remembers the great stories of the ancient people who dominated the wild beasts and mounted them.


    "Let''s go Lorcan, take off." Said Dez proudly.


    Letting a dissatisfied roar Lorcan joined Harkan and Zenayah in the sky.


    Taking off they flew away in the direction of the grasslands.


    Normally the city was a no-fly zone for beasts but being the son and daughter of the emperor no one would oppose them.


    Dez was enjoying it, this was a different feeling.


    Dez looked at his sister and later at the whole pride flying in formation.


    "Sister, do you want to compete?" Dez''s heart was pumping, he wanted to go faster, speed was something he always enjoyed.


    "Me and Lorc¨¢n against you and Harkan, what do you say Lorc¨¢n, do you think you can win?" Lorc¨¢n also felt fired up and let out a loud roar.


    Not waiting for a response Lorc¨¢n sped up with another loud roar.


    Harkan who saw this also sped up chasing them with all his might.


    "Hahaha, go Lorc¨¢n go, faster go faster." Dez was like a little kid who got a new toy.


    Lorcan was also emotionally invested in this race. His brother Harkan was always better, stronger, and faster. Lorc¨¢n wanted to beat his brother in this small competition.


    Sadly for him, his brother Harkan was slowly gaining on him, when they finally reached the grasslands, Harkan had taken the front and was firmly in the first place.


    "Don''t worry buddy it''s ok I know how you feel." Lorc¨¢n looked at Dez who was in front of him and felt he just found his long-lost soul partner. One who was able to understand his pain.


    While Dez was consoling Lorc¨¢n Zenayah spoke to him. "Let''s go, brother, the operation is about to start."


    Walking onto a military camp built on the outside of the grassland everyone who was there stood up and saluted with respect " we greet the imperial Princess, we greet the Imperial Prince."


    Dez and Zenayah walk to the center of the camp where they could find their uncle.


    Reaching the door Zenayah just opened it and went inside.


    Dez was surprised by his sister because this was a military camp, even Dez had to follow some military protocols.


    "Uncle Marcus, I came to inform you that I will take total control of today''s operation, just dispatch a team to collect the rest of the corpses when I''m finished."


    Inside the building commander, Marcus was standing at a table and was speaking with a group of men.


    Marcus looked up and saw Dez standing at the door with an apologetic smile on his face and Zenayah walking in coming with a wave of confidence all the way in front of him.


    "And under which authority are you taking over this operation?"


    "The emperor!" Said Zenayah while taking out a document and giving it to his uncle.


    Marcus couldn''t believe it.


    This was a serious matter not a game for a couple of children to play. But he kept his thoughts to himself.


    Taking a deep breath he composed himself and asked." Princess Zenayah the warthog numbered in the thousands, I know you''re a very capable ''girl'' but this concerns the lives and food of our people. My troops will be assisting you during this battle!"


    "Isn''t it just killing a few pigs? No need. This time I came with my whole royal winged lion''s pride. We are about 20 and I have 2 gold rank lions with me today."


    Last time she fought against the mad spike warthogs it was only Her and Harkan against thousands. The army later came to help them and "save" them and they made it out the battle with the mad spike warthogs and basically ran away.


    "This time I''ll show those pigs, it will be totally different!"


    After saying that Zenayah did not let her uncle answer, turning around she just simply walked away and left the room.


    Walking and leaving the camp when they were reaching their Lions Dez felt something was odd, his sister just now was totally different from her usual self. "Sister¡­ you¡­."


    "I don''t like him." Well, Dez already assumed that by the way she treated him with no regard whatsoever.


    "But was that necessary? You just strip all command from him in front of all his men."


    Dez was actually feeling sorry for his uncle.


    At those words, Zenayah stopped walking and looked at Dez.


    "Brother, when I was a little girl I accidentally heard uncle Marcus talking bad about our father to our mother, if he doesn''t like father then I also do not like him."


    Dez was confused and wasn''t sure what to say.


    "I don''t think uncle Marcus is a bad person, he always treated me with respect.


    Yeah, but I investigated it and I came to know that dad has imprisoned one of uncle''s wives in the past. And that is why he hates our father.


    How did I not know of this?


    Brother there are a lot of things that you don''t know." Said Zenayah pointing at herself.


    Dez realized that it was just yesterday that he came to know that his sister was a superhuman. Before that, he wasn''t even able to imagine that.


    "Time can change a person, maybe he''s not like that now." Dez tried to defend his uncle one last time.


    "Well, he should be thankful he''s mother''s brother or I would have ripped him and beat him, maybe even eat him."


    Said Zenayah while vividly showing with her hand how she would have done it.


    "You''re joking right?"


    Dez was a little surprised. He had never seen this side of his sweet and caring sister.


    Zenayah looks at Dez smiling for a few seconds.


    "Yes, I was just expressing my frustration."


    Dez for some reason wasn''t sure what to believe, he felt like she really did mean it.

 Chapter 24: The bestial ways.

    Chapter 23: The bestial ways.


    Dez and Zenayah were flying above the grasslands moving to the deeper areas when they saw a group of about 100 mad spike warthogs sleeping around and eating in that grassy area.


    "Harkan, kill them!"


    Harkan who heard Zenayah''s words let out a soft growl. In their own way, he was giving his instructions to his pride.


    Following that, 5 of the royal winged lionesses that were just following behind Harkan and Lorc¨¢n flew forward; they had a distance of about 20 meters between them and they flew in a well-trained manner.


    When The lionesses reached right above the mad spike warthogs group Dez saw that around them the wind started to rotate.


    At first, it wasn''t really notable but later it became strong and violent.


    Looking at their move Dez already was excited to see what would happen next.


    One after another the lionesses descended.


    It was like seeing 5 tornados descending from the sky.


    At the very tip of this tornado came the lionesses leading the descent.


    The group of mad spike warthogs didn''t even realize it when it happened.


    From the sky, they came with the force of the wind in their wake.


    They fell and hit directly on the biggest mad spike warthogs they found.


    Their impact was so strong that not only did they instantly kill their target but the power of the wind that followed ripped their enemies in the surrounding to pieces, blowing the warthogs apart.


    The wind explosion shot out wind blades and cut the surrounding spike mad warthog killing some and injuring most.


    The group of beasts was in absolute panic and went into their mad state.


    The younglings on the other hand tried to run away in fright. But the lionesses didn''t waste this chance, they attacked with great ferocity. Jumping and biting the nearest mad spike warthog they found.


    Their claws like blades ripped apart the skin and dug deep into their flesh.


    One of the royal winged lionesses was especially brutal. She was one that seemed to take the initiative and went for the biggest mad spike warthog that was left in the group.


    She moved fast like the wind, she jumped and went right for its throat, feeling his prey''s pain and desperation she bit her teeth deeper and yanked the throat ripping it apart.


    When she was done with that one she went for another.


    And like that they kill their way around the mad spike warthogs.


    The warthogs weren''t totally hopeless or defenseless.


    Some of them coated themself in armor of dirt and rocks and tried to charge the lionesses but sadly for them, the lionesses were very nimble and also could fly if needed.


    They had great strength in their legs and simply jumped away or took to the sky.


    The mad spike warthog created earth spikes and shot them at high velocity at the flying royal winged lionesses.


    But the royal winged lions are all born with high wind affinity.


    Seeing the spikes coming their way they defended themselves with windshields and later descended again from the sky down in tornados of wind that blasted the beasts apart.


    What Dez saw was not a fight, it was pure brutality.


    He saw the lioness attack mercilessly. They bit whatever they could, ripping it off; Neck, ears, legs didn''t matter. They use their wind abilities around their claws to cut through even the stoney armor and rip the flesh out of their enemies.


    Dez saw that not even the younglings were spared when they bit their necks and shook their heads violently, splattering them apart.


    "That was ¡­"


    "Excessively cruel¡­ "


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Dez could help but murmur those words in a daze.


    Dez''s sister was sitting on Harkan but still managed to hear his words. "Do you have sympathy for them?"


    Zenayah, who has come to hunt with her lions, has not only seen but also participated in hunts like this countless times.


    That tornado attack that ended in a wind explosion was even her idea. It was a brutal attack that could even hurt the user if done wrong.


    Her ways have been a great influence on the fighting style of her pets.


    She didn''t even know how many times they broke their legs and needed healing before they could master that move.


    "I''m baffled. I don''t know what I''m feeling right now but... that was really brutal."


    Dez was sure he didn''t have sympathy for his enemies. But there are different ways of doing things and he would have done things differently.


    "I can feel their pain and their cries all the way up here... And I''m not sure I like that, that''s all." Zenayah look silently at her brother and tapped twice on Harkan''s back telling him to descent.


    "It''s ok brother, later fights we will do it differently." Said Zenayah after thinking about it for a moment.


    "Don''t worry sis I never said that. You can always be your honest self around me." After hearing the story behind his sister he understood her personality a lot better.


    For she who has not been 100% human had to tame her own wild nature for years to fit in. That is why she never liked being around others other than her direct family.


    Dez could say he had a stronger bond with his sister even stronger than that of his father but he never tried to change her unless what she did was outright an evil atrocity.


    After giving dez a smile she nodded. "You guys can go and feast." After saying that all the lions present went to feast. There were meat and body parts thrown everywhere.


    When Harkan went to take a bite of a warthog that seemed quite intact, Zenayah slapped on his back.


    "That''s mine."


    After saying that she jumped off Harken''s back and went to the corpse.


    Then she saw that Harkan was still standing there and let out some pitiful sounds.


    "You want me to share it with you ?"


    Narrowing her eyes she looks at him with a dangerous aura around her.


    "I said this one is MINE, go get your own there are plenty to eat around."


    "Don''t look at me like that. Ok ok, when I''m done eating you can have the rest." Feeling sad, Harkan rolled his eyes like a human and went to eat his own.


    Even though Lorcan was happily eating Dez was still on his back. No matter what he told his sister Dez was still processing what just happened moments ago.


    It''s not that he didn''t kill before, it''s that he has never seen a fight like that before.


    Dez has been training and studying the anatomy of different organisms that also include the dissection of human and beast corpses. So he was accustomed to seeing and handling the dead.


    What shocked him was the pain and agony.


    "Dez, I brought you some meat, take this I''m sure you have not eaten yet."


    Dez looked down and saw his sister standing there with a piece of roasted meat. She had a whole 2-meter-long oven working and roasting meat nonstop for her.


    "Dez, don''t you want to go around the world? Don''t you want to explore the unknown? What you saw today isn''t too different from what any other beast out there could do to you." Said Zenayah out of the blue.


    "Here, eat this. Later when the warthog horde comes, we won''t have time to take a break so you better eat now. If it bothers you so much I can let them take you back home."


    Dez took the meat from his sister. "Relax sister you worry too much I''m fine, there is no way I''m going back why are you worrying so much."


    Before dez could finish his own piece the area around them was totally cleaned up. not even the bones could be seen, everything was devoured, even his sister ate a whole male adult mad spike warthog close to 4 meters in height.


    Dez only ate a single piece of meat but his sister ate meat after meat to no end.


    "Sister, how can you eat so much?" I''m always hungry, no matter how much I eat it never feels enough. Dez was surprised about that. Didn''t she get nutritious supplements from her father? And she is still hungry?


    "And the supplements?"


    "O¡­ those, that last very short nowadays. So I rather go out to hunt and eat." Dez and the group went to look for more warthogs.


    like they did before they easily killed 2 more groups. More than 300 mad spike warthogs were already killed that morning.


    "This is unusual." Hearing his sister Dez was curious.


    "What is so strange?"


    "Well, we are already in the core habitat of the mad spike warthogs. But we have yet to encounter the horde and his leader!"


    "There are supposed to be 3 gold rank male mad spike warthog and many silver ranks too but all we found was bronze rank and 1 or 2 silvers so far." Pointed out Zenayah


    "There are tens of thousands of them normally, and why are the mad spike warthogs spread out in small different groups like this. Don''t you think it''s strange?"Then Dez realized that indeed the leader did not show up yet even after all the warthogs that died and the number didn''t match up. There is no way he had not realized their presence yet.


    Zenayah continues to explain. "The mad spike warthogs are very territorial beasts too; they should have immediately come to attack us."


    "Maybe something happened out here in the grasslands and they are fighting somewhere?"dez shared his idea.


    "Maybe we should fly further in?" Asked Dez.


    "Maybe but not too deep, finding a beast above gold rank will be a danger to our lives. If we can''t find anything in 1 hour we will have to go back and report this." Dez had to agree with his sister, so they decided to look around a little, and if nothing they will return.


    After some time of searching.


    "Sis, look over there¡­"


    "Is that¡­ sand?"

 Chapter 4: A Brother’s Bond & The Foundations of Power.

    Just as the heavy silence settled in, the patter of small feet echoed down the hallway.


    ¡°Akul! Akul! Play with me!¡±


    A tiny force collided into my side, small arms wrapping around my waist as a little bundle of energy latched onto me.


    I looked down to find Lina, my five-year-old sister, grinning up at me with her usual mischievous smile. Her golden-brown hair was slightly messy, her bright amber eyes filled with excitement.


    Before I could react, she lifted her arms up high.


    ¡°Horsey ride!¡± she demanded.


    I sighed, a smirk forming on my lips. ¡°Again? I just awakened my grimoire, and you think now is the time to ride me like a beast?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± she said without hesitation, bouncing up and down.


    My mother groaned. ¡°Lina, not now. This is an important moment for your brother.¡±


    Lina pouted dramatically, her tiny hands grabbing at my sleeve. ¡°But he¡¯s always busy! It¡¯s my turn now!¡±


    I chuckled, reaching down to squeeze her chubby cheeks just to mess with her. ¡°So demanding. What am I, your personal mount?¡±


    She huffed, swatting at my hands. ¡°Yes! Now kneel, mighty steed!¡±


    I snorted. ¡°Mighty? More like unfortunate.¡±


    Mother let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°Akul, you don¡¯t have to¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Mom.¡± I hoisted Lina up onto my back, adjusting her so she wouldn¡¯t fall. ¡°She¡¯d just keep pestering me anyway.¡±


    Lina threw her hands in the air like a victorious conqueror. ¡°Onward, noble steed!¡±


    I sighed dramatically but smiled. ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±


    As I started trotting around the room, her giggles filled the air, pure and unrestrained.


    For a moment, the tension from before faded.


    While I carried Lina around the room, I caught my mother watching me, her expression softer, but still laced with something unspoken.


    Worry.


    I knew what she was thinking.


    The grimoire had sealed my trait, one of the most important aspects of an artifact. To her, it must have felt like I had been robbed of something vital.


    But strangely¡­ I didn¡¯t feel that way.


    I could still feel my trait.


    It wasn¡¯t gone. It wasn¡¯t missing.


    It felt¡­ guarded.


    Like something intentionally waiting for the right moment.


    I didn¡¯t fully understand it, but I knew one thing¡ªI didn¡¯t feel like I had lost anything.


    I wasn¡¯t afraid.


    So, for now, I would let my mother worry for the both of us.


    I¡¯d prove to her that I was fine.


    As I carried Lina through the house, I noticed something strange.


    My grimoire was floating.


    It hovered exactly one foot away from me, perfectly aligned with my movements.


    Even when I spun around with Lina on my back, it followed, drifting through the air like a silent guardian.


    Lina noticed it too. ¡°Ooooh, your book is flying, Akul! Is it magic?¡±


    I glanced at it, then grinned. ¡°Looks like it likes me.¡±


    She poked at it curiously but couldn¡¯t quite reach. ¡°Can it play too?¡±


    I laughed. ¡°I don¡¯t think it knows any games.¡±


    My father, watching from the side, nodded approvingly. ¡°It¡¯s bonded deeply to you already. That¡¯s a good sign.¡±


    Still, as cool as it looked, I didn¡¯t want my grimoire floating around me all the time like some kind of ghost.


    So, I tried something.


    I willed it to return to me¡ªto absorb back into my soul.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The moment I did, something unexpected happened.


    As soon as the grimoire entered my soul space, I felt it.


    A rush of pure energy.


    It wasn¡¯t overwhelming, nor painful¡ªit was like unlocking a door that had always been there.


    For just a moment, I sensed it.


    My trait.


    It was there. Waiting. Guarded. Unsealed¡­ but only within me.


    A powerful instinct told me that if I reached out, I could see what it was.


    I could know.


    ¡­But I didn¡¯t.


    Not yet.


    If my grimoire had sealed my trait outside but unlocked it inside, there had to be a reason.


    So, I let it be. For now."


    I focused back on Lina, laughing as she tugged my hair like horse reins.


    There would be time to figure everything out later.


    Later that evening, we sat together for dinner, eating in comfortable silence.


    Father had gone to contact his friend about the golden body monkeys, while Mother prepared a simple but warm meal.


    Lina sat beside me, humming happily as she swung her legs under the table. She had already forgotten about her earlier protests, too busy shoving food into her mouth like a little beast.


    Mother glanced at me, eyes searching, as if still trying to understand how I felt.


    I met her gaze and smiled reassuringly.


    She exhaled, then smiled back.


    For now, everything was fine.


    As night fell, the house grew quiet. The lingering warmth of dinner still filled the air, but the earlier laughter had faded into a comfortable stillness.


    I sat cross-legged on my bed, my grimoire resting on my lap. The black pages shimmered faintly under the lantern¡¯s glow, the golden inscriptions shifting slightly, like they were alive.


    My father stood by the door, arms crossed, watching me with an unreadable expression.


    After a long moment, he sighed, stepping inside.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe it,¡± he muttered, more to himself than to me.


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°What?¡±


    He pulled up a chair beside me, his gaze falling on my artifact. ¡°Your grimoire,¡± he said. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be this¡­complete.¡±


    I looked down at it, running a hand over the smooth, obsidian-like cover. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    He exhaled, shaking his head. ¡°When I first awakened my artifact, it was barely holding itself together. A fragile, translucent form, constantly flickering between existence and nothingness.¡±


    I turned to him, surprised. ¡°Really?¡±


    He smirked. ¡°I had to spend months¡ªmonths¡ªjust to make it feel solid. And yet here you are, with a grimoire that¡¯s already more stable than mine was after a year.¡±


    I blinked. That¡­ wasn¡¯t normal, was it?


    His fingers traced the edge of my grimoire, eyes narrowing slightly. ¡°You don¡¯t realize it yet, but this is special, Akul. What you¡¯ve created¡ªwhat you¡¯ve summoned¡ªit¡¯s already on a level beyond most first awakenings.¡±


    I swallowed. ¡°So¡­ what does that mean?¡±


    He met my gaze, and for the first time that night, his expression turned serious.


    ¡°It means you¡¯re destined for something greater.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know how to respond to that.


    A part of me wanted to deny it, to say he was exaggerating¡ªbut deep down, I felt it too.


    The sealed trait.


    The way the grimoire reacted to me.


    The way it felt like an extension of my soul.


    Something was different.


    And maybe¡­ just maybe, he was right.


    My father sighed, his expression softening. ¡°I won¡¯t put expectations on you, Akul. Your path is yours to choose. But whatever you decide, I want you to strive for greatness. You have the foundation for it.¡±


    I nodded slowly.


    Then he clapped his hands together, snapping me back out of my own thoughts. "Alright, enough talking. Time for your first cultivation session.''"


    ¡°Listen carefully,¡± my father said, his voice calm yet commanding. ¡°An artifact is not just a tool. It is alive.¡±


    I frowned slightly. ¡°Alive?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Not in the way beasts are. But an artifact is tied to your soul, your will, your growth. It will evolve with you, strengthen with you¡ªbut only if you cultivate it properly.¡±


    I watched as he lifted his own grimoire. The old book hummed in response, its pages glowing faintly with golden light.


    ¡°The way we cultivate artifacts is through visualization and internalization.¡± He placed a hand on his grimoire¡¯s cover. ¡°By focusing on its existence, strengthening its form with our will, we make it more real, more solid, more powerful.¡±


    I took a deep breath. ¡°And how do I do that?¡±


    ¡°Close your eyes,¡± he instructed.


    I obeyed.


    ¡°Feel the artifact. Don¡¯t just see it¡ªunderstand it. Every fiber, every rune, every connection it shares with your soul.¡±


    I focused.


    At first, there was nothing¡ªonly silence, only darkness.


    But then¡­


    I felt it.


    The weight of the grimoire.


    The energy pulsing beneath its pages.


    The way it seemed to exist within and outside of me at the same time.


    ¡°Now,¡± my father continued, ¡°breathe in. Slowly.¡±


    I inhaled.


    And the moment I did¡ª


    The world responded.


    A faint ripple, like the very air stirring to life. The energy of the world¡ªthe essence of mana itself¡ªbegan to gather.


    My grimoire trembled in my hands.


    ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± my father murmured. ¡°Now¡­ let it absorb.¡±


    I exhaled.


    The energy around us flowed toward the artifact, sinking into it, strengthening it. The pages glowed, the golden runes becoming sharper, more refined.


    I opened my eyes.


    The grimoire felt denser. Heavier.


    More real.


    My father smiled. ¡°Good. That was your first step.¡±


    I glanced down at my artifact, my chest rising and falling. ¡°¡­It felt like it was breathing.¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°In a way, it was.¡±


    ¡°Now that your grimoire has begun absorbing energy, there¡¯s one more thing we need to do,¡± my father said.


    He flipped open his own grimoire, revealing an intricately painted page. A vast forest, with towering trees and endless green.


    ¡°This,¡± he said, ¡°is my beast space.¡±


    I stared. ¡°You¡­ drew it?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Every summoner must create a space within their artifact to house their contracted beasts. And the best way to do that?¡±


    He tapped the page.


    ¡°The M¨ªr¡¯fael Sutra¡ªThe Thousand Strokes of Soul Painting.¡±


    I blinked. That sounded¡­ insanely cool.


    He smirked at my expression. ¡°Our family has always specialized in grimoire-type artifacts. Unlike others, we don¡¯t just summon¡ªwe paint. We create worlds within our pages.¡±


    I swallowed. ¡°So¡­ I need to paint my own space?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± His tone was patient. ¡°But it¡¯s more than just painting. You must visualize. Feel the land beneath your feet, the air, the sky. Everything in your beast space must come from your soul.¡±


    I nodded slowly, flipping open my own grimoire.


    The black page shimmered, waiting.


    I closed my eyes again.


    What kind of world did I want to create?


    The first image that came to mind was¡­ a vast plateau.


    Strong, solid land. Open space. A place for growth and strength.


    The moment I visualized it, the golden ink began to move on its own, tracing the outline of a rugged landscape.


    I opened my eyes.


    The first stroke had been made.


    As the night stretched on, we continued to cultivate.


    With each breath, my grimoire grew stronger.


    With each visualization, my beast space took form.


    And as I sat beside my father, watching him guide me through the process, I knew.


    Tomorrow, I would visit the golden body monkeys.


    Tomorrow, I would take my first step as a summoner.


    But tonight¡­


    Tonight, I was building the foundation for everything to come.