《Through the Divide - Chains of the Freed, Book 1》 Chapter 1 - Gifts When that which was once bound to the earth takes to the sky, And that which was bound to the sky takes to the earth, The giant amongst giants shall open his heart, The serpent¡¯s gaze will turn to ancestors long forgotten, The sins of men long past must be paid in blood, A trial taken, A warning given, A gift rejected, The wronged descend, Excerpt from ¡°The Dreams of Grundvald the Mad¡± Chapter 1 Gifts ¡°Alright students, that about wraps it up for your last week of classes. Remember, you may have graduated high school, but this is nowhere near the end of the road. You must strive to better yourself. I hope to hear great things about you all later on when you guys move unto your careers after University. I am proud to have had the opportunity to teach you all.¡± Mr. Gomez said to the class as the last bell of the day rang. ¡®Class is finally over! Summer Vacation here I come.¡¯ Ray thought to himself with no small amount of eagerness as the rest of the class replied with several variations of ¡°Thank you sir¡± and ¡°We won¡¯t let you down teach¡±. Ray himself was amongst them, after all, Mr. Gomez was an alright homeroom teacher and had been for all 4 years of the time he spent at school. A tall, Hispanic man with broad shoulders, an athlete¡¯s physique with a head of black hair always neatly combed back, it was little wonder the man was extraordinarily popular amongst the female alumni. However, it was the man¡¯s relentless devotion to his students that ultimately won the admiration of all the students under his care. Ray could not fathom himself having graduated without his teacher¡¯s unyielding support throughout the years. Ray loved his father, but a formal education did not seem to be something that his father had in the past, although this was all just a hypothesis as the topic was something that was always sidestepped and never fully broached. As the students filed out of the classroom in their own separate cliques, Ray made his way over to Gomez¡¯s desk, staying just out of the way to let the girls finish hugging their teacher goodbye. As he watched the surprisingly organized line diminish, he could not help but feel some melancholy clench his heart. Ray had never been an outcast per say, but his friends Ezekiel, Hannah and Roberto had left school just after exams were done, due to having received scholarships and needing to make arrangements for their leave. He had already said his goodbyes of course, but it would be the first summer vacation in his near memory that he had spent without them. Heck, not just the first summer vacation, but his first birthday without them. His friends were dear to him since they had been the first to not mind that he was a Mestizo boy with an adoptive Asian father. All the other neighborhood kids had been ruthless in their teasing about it. But not them, no, they were fascinated because his father represented stories outside of the usual folklore they would hear at their parent¡¯s laps. He still remembered how Han would hem and haw whenever they would bug him for a story, Ray pretending to be the dutiful son by halfheartedly trying to convince his friends to do something else. When Han inevitably conceded, he¡¯d act like he might as well make the most of it and settled in with them to listen. He took a quick glance at the mirror in the classroom, examining himself as he had been doing quite often as of late. He was of average height, being somewhere around 5¡¯8¡±. Although his father would regularly train him in some self-defense techniques, he remained remarkable plain in the body type department. Not necessarily too thin yet not fat in any measure either, the best way to describe him would be well fed. His caramel skin a feature of being Mestizo, he was a good example of his ethnicity. His friends weren¡¯t the only ones that had made plans to move. Han had told him that there was family in China that could get him into some good colleges through connections and the news had left him more worried about how he¡¯d fit in than anything else. He was sure it couldn¡¯t have been easy for his father whenever he had first moved to Belize. ¡°¡­..Ray? Earth to Ray. Do you copy?¡± Ray was suddenly jolted out of his thoughts as he realized that Mr. Gomez had already finished his farewells with his other students while he was lost in thought.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Dear boy, you sure have a knack for getting lost in thought if no one¡¯s there to stop you¡± he said with clear mirth in his voice,¡± Here to say goodbye I take it?¡± ¡°Yes sir, after everything you¡¯ve done for me I wouldn¡¯t feel it right to just up and leave without telling you goodbye¡± Ray said,¡± father¡¯s finally taking me to China to meet the rest of my relatives.¡± ¡°Ah yes, Han always did keep his past close to his chest. I¡¯ve always fancied myself a people person, but getting to know your father has really broadened my horizons¡± Gomez chuckled and slapped Ray on the back and asked ¡°Still, I¡¯m sorry to see you leave boy. Just know that where ever you go, you can always depend on me.¡± ¡°Thank you sir, I¡¯ll miss you too. I couldn¡¯t have made it far without you. Are you still coming with me and father for my birthday ¡®rite¡¯?¡± ¡°Come now, you would not have made it top of the class if you were not smart. You just need a little nudge in the right direction. As for your birthday, you know I wouldn¡¯t miss it for the world. Actually, there was something that I wanted to give you for your birthday, but I couldn¡¯t help but notice you¡¯ve been under the weather ever since your friends left so I decided to give it to you today.¡± Gomez reached down into his desk, opened a drawer and took out a wooden box. What drew Ray¡¯s attention wasn¡¯t the bow made of strange looking leaves on top but the intricate carvings on the box itself. All around the perimeter of the box were depictions of animals. Not just any animals but predators like lions, wolves, tigers, jaguars and there was even a bear on the left side. ¡°What¡­is this?¡± Ray said in amazement, as he took the box carefully into his hands and ran his hands over the carvings as delicately as he could imagine. At first the carvings looked like just that, carvings, but the more he looked at it, the more the depictions started looking more lifelike. The wood slowly began to lose its wooden texture and it almost felt like there were small fiber like protrusions around it, eerily similar to the way fur would feel. It was almost as if he could hear the roars¡ª ¡°Whoa there boy, don¡¯t get lost on me again. Be careful with this. Don¡¯t go opening the box itself until after your birthday rite¡± Gomez once again had to shake Ray out of his daydreams. ¡°Please promise me this. Believe me it¡¯ll be worth the wait. Otherwise it would be a waste.¡± The look of sudden seriousness on his teacher¡¯s face stunned Ray, but nevertheless he sheepishly took the box and put it in his bag without seeing what was inside as requested. ¡°I will do so then, thank you for the gift. But, um, can I ask why you don¡¯t want me to open this before then?¡± ¡°I had picked this up a long time ago when I used to travel the world. It was given to me by a man in Switzerland after I had saved him from drowning. He said it had been in his family for generations but he had never had the opportunity to marry and have children so he gave it to me and told me to open it or give it to my own children if I were to have any. I never did get his name no matter how many times I asked, and he insisted that I take it as he did not wish for his family¡¯s keepsake to be lost with him. He said that when the time comes for me to give this to whoever I chose to give it to, that they must only do so after they become a man. I understand that this ¡®rite¡¯ your father has you doing is some sort of tradition to step into manhood his family has been doing for generations so it fits. Otherwise I would have given it to you for your 18 birthday. I¡¯m getting on in my years and since I¡¯m not married nor do I have children I felt you would make better use of it.¡± Gomez took Ray and gave him a hug, then held him at arm¡¯s length,¡± Regardless of what you do with your life after you leave this compound, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be terrific at it. I¡¯ve watched you grow these 4 years and I am proud of the man you¡¯ve become. At this point I consider you family. You can call me uncle from now on.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t¡­.. I don¡¯t know what to say sir¡±, Ray¡¯s voice cracked with emotion as he looked at one of the only 2 adult figures in his life. Being an orphan and the last of his name, he had never had someone outside of father and his now uncle to look out after him. ¡°Now get out of here, I¡¯m sure Han must be annoyed at having to wait for you for so long¡± Gomez said and after ruffling his hair pushed Ray toward the door. ¡°I¡¯ll see you later then Mr. Go¡­.. I mean Uncle.¡± ¡°That you will boy that you will¡±. Ray left the classroom with bittersweet emotions roiling in his heart. ***** As he watched Ray leave the room, Mr. Gomez¡¯s smile shriveled up and was replaced with a look of concern. ¡°I trust you know what you¡¯re doing Han, but if anything happens to that boy due to your carelessness you¡¯ll have me to deal with¡± he said to himself as he set about closing up the classroom for the final time. He had some preparations to make. **** Somewhere in the Maya Mountains, a massive paper crane faded into view. 4 people alighted from its back. Their landing spot overlooked a valley, through which a river flowed. One of the people in robes took out a black stone from somewhere in their clothes. He touched his forefinger to a flat indentation that had been carved into the stone. Immediately the stone began to glow a soft white. He pointed it in several directions, the light of the stone fluctuating when he pointed it in certain directions. A smile cracked on his face, and he turned to his companions, who all, save the one woman in the group, mirrored his grin. ¡°We were right, it¡¯s definitely in the area.¡± One of the other men in the group made a jump for joy. ¡°Someone, please cuff him. Let¡¯s try to be serious here.¡± This was followed by the sound of a smack and a disgruntled ¡°Hey!¡± The figure turned back to the vista before him, holding out the stone in the direction that caused it to show the brightest. He too wanted to jump for joy, but he had the reputation of his family to consider. Even if it was just him, another heir, a Custodian and a mercenary, he must carry himself with decorum at all times. Especially for such a momentous expedition. He would not mar his entry into the family archives with such an unseemly action. Looking out into the vista that stretched out before him, he allowed himself a subtle fist pump downward. So much work would finally pay off. The fate of so many depended on the plan succeeding. ¡°For the vampyrs, for the humans, for the glory of the Progenitor¡± he whispered into the air. ¡°May he forgive us all.¡± Chapter 2 - Misgivings Chapter 2 Misgivings Sacred Heart High school was the only high school in San Ignacio. The school itself was a decent sized facility, sitting at the base of the one of the hills the town was known for, sporting several two story buildings that were 5 rooms long. There were also a few single story buildings facing the edge of the football field behind where the staff parking area was. There was an auditorium/basketball court next to a drain that cut in between halfway through the compound, using a couple of bridges to bridge the gap. The public parking lot started next to the bridge closest to the auditorium, with a dirt road leading to the front of the compound. After leaving his Uncle¡¯s classroom, Ray made his way through the school¡¯s compound, dodging the last few students meandering around. At the gate, he hailed a cab, direct it to take him home, which was located in the Santiago Juan area. As the cab pulled away from the gate and drove up the hill, he looked out the windows, committing to memory as much as he could of his hometown, the twin towns, at least this half of it. The reason it was called the twin towns was because there were actually two entirely separate towns nestled right next to each other. The only thing separating them was the Macal river cutting through in between down from the Maya Mountains. Truth be told however despite the name saying otherwise, they were treated as one, with one Mayor and one council running the show for both. The geographical location itself could be likened to that of a valley, as both sides of the towns were largely composed of hills, with residents taking up accommodations both on the summit and at the base of these hills as well as alongside the river side. San Ignacio itself was split up into several locales, including the downtown area, Kontiki, San Juan layout while the twin town¡¯s other half, Santa Elena was split into the Hillview areas and the downtown area. He took in the sights of the people walking the roads, the houses ablaze in their shades of yellows, reds and blues. The cab took a right at the crossroads halfway up the hill from school, and drove down Bullet Tree road. Santiago Juan layout was an area that was developed shortly after the town established and was situated not too far from the community hospital. The cab dropped him off in front of a tiny fenced yard with a house made of wood inside. The house was nothing extravagant, having 4 bedrooms (1 for him, 1 for his father and 2 for any guests). Waiting on the porch for him was his dad, in his usual chair. He was an Asian man, and could at best be described as unassuming. Reed thin and looking not a day over 30, the only remarkable thing about him other than his long black hair that was always kept tied back in a ponytail, were his eyes. Dark eyes that always focused on you always checking everything out in the room for danger. Ray had asked him about this once and he was told that not being aware of your surroundings is a mistake that you should only ever make once if you survive to correct it. It was statements like this that lent the man an air of mystery and Ray sometimes spent his childhood days after moving in with him fantasizing just what encounters must he have had to say things like this. One of the many mysteries surrounding his father was that although he never witnessed him work, they never lacked for anything. He always ate his fill, he was clothed, and the power and gas were always paid for and kept topped up. Heck he as one of the first, if not the first in his community to enjoy the service of internet. Yet whenever his curiosity got the better of him, his dad would always dodge the subject, saying something along the lines of ¡°I had a big inheritance¡± or ¡°I found some gold once¡±. Eventually Ray learned to just stop being surprised at things his father pulled out of the blue. ¡°Good afternoon baba, did I make you wait long for me?¡± Ray asked as he walked up to the porch after paying the taxi driver. One of the few things that his dad insisted on was to be referred to by the chinese equivalent of father. ¡°No, I had just finished my meditation. Besides, even if you had, I would not mind. I could just read a book¡± Han said. He then got up and walked inside. Always a man of few words and to the point. Ray chuckled to himself as his father would never outright admit that he got anxious if he arrived too late. Something about the circumstances surrounding his parent¡¯s death led to him being incredibly cautious with Ray and as such the boy in question tried his best to now give him too much reason to be concerned. Walking into the living room, he gave it a look around as he had been doing these past few weeks, trying to commit it as well to memory, as he could very well never see it again after he left following his birthday celebration.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Did you talk to Berto?¡±Han asked from the kitchen area, the sounds of kitchenware drifting through the space between them. ¡°Yes I did, he says he¡¯ll be coming with us for the sky diving over the Sleeping Giant Mountain with us.¡± ¡°Good, it would be good for him to share the experience with us.¡± ¡°You know, today he told me that he considers me part of his family. Told me to call him Uncle from now on and even gave me his gift early.¡± ¡°That is good. Taking in someone as family, is not something to be done lightly. Be grateful and remember to give him a thank you gift in the future. It is only right. Can I see what he gave you?¡± Han asked from the kitchen, the sound of food being plated echoing through the hall. Ray took out the box that his uncle had given him and placed it on the dinner table, once again admiring the engravings on the box as he spoke, ¡°I had to promise him not to open it until after we came back from out trip this Sunday. Weird right? I¡¯m dying to know what¡¯s-¡° *CRASH* The sound of plates breaking on the floor sounded and with a yelp Ray quickly looked over to the doorway leading to the kitchen where he say his father staring at the box on the table, a look of astonishment and¡­.trepidation on his face. ¡°You said he gave it to you to open after your rite?¡± Han asked, his voice a whisper yet resonating throughout the room. ¡°Yes¡­.? Why do you look so surprised? Do you know what this is?¡± ¡°I have an inkling but I shall not spoil the surprise. Don¡¯t worry it is not a bad thing. But please keep your promise of not opening it until after your rite has been completed. Now come, put that away and let us eat. I made your favorite, sky treading rabbit haunches and salad made with thousand year old ingredients¡± Han said, quickly recuperating his cool and acting as if nothing had happened. Sweeping up the food and debris on the floor, he left and reappeared with another set of plates. ¡°Come on baba, you don¡¯t have to give the food silly names like that anymore you know? I¡¯m going to be 16 in a few days, and after we do that rite you talk of, I¡¯ll be an adult, you won¡¯t have to coddle me like that anymore¡± Ray said with faked exasperation, shaking his head and holding up his arms in a shrug. ¡°Nonsense, I may be strict and serious, but a good warrior must always flex his creativity. Giving these ingredients names are as much an exercise for me as it is to make you laugh.¡± Han said while puffing his chest out and holding out a rabbit haunch by the bone like a sword. Ray couldn¡¯t help but snort and acquiesce that yes, a warrior needed to be creative. They then spent the next hour talking about nothing in particular, ending with Ray picking up the plates and going about cleaning the dishes and what not. Han excused himself saying that he wanted to finish his book and retired for the night. At this point, it was already time for himself to go to sleep, so after locking up he retired to his own room and laid in bed. Although it was already close to midnight, his mind was far from tired and it kept on focusing on that box that his uncle had given him. His attempts to wrangle his mind away from these thoughts led him instead to memories of when his uncle and father had first met. It was back when he was 11 and his uncle had come over to help tutor him for the first time. Han had invited him to stay for dinner, to which his uncle had un-hesitantly agreed. However, that was when it seemed to have gone for the worst. When Han brought out the roasted ¡°Iron beaked blood Turkey¡± and the soup of ¡°assorted spirit herbs¡±, his uncle had almost gone catatonic in shock. Han was asked to a private conversation and both men then stepped into one of the guest rooms. What followed was almost two hours of shouting and arguing. The doors did an amazing job to muffle the contents of the argument to the point that he could simply not understand what they were fighting about, but he knew that his uncle was angry about something and that something seemed to be the food. Ray had no idea what was so bad about it, as he found the food to be delicious and since having been adopted by Han 3 years before, he had never had any sort of health issue related to food. Afterwards, the two men seemed to have come to some sort of agreement because upon leaving the room, they returned to the table and continued on in companionable silence. It was so strange and yet he had never really given it any thought up until now. Seeing the look of shock and borderline irritation on his dad¡¯s face was something he had only ever seen back then. Not to say that his father was not eccentric. When he was first adopted, Han had seemed rather cold and stern to him. He still remembered how on the day he was first picked up at the orphanage, Han had simply walked in, told him he was his now his father, to pack his things and they left. It took quite a bit to get to the point they were now. Even then, it only seemed to be after he had learned some martial arts from him that he truly started to mellow out. He loved his father, but there were two things that now popped up in all these memories that were now circling in his head. One was the distinct lack of memories wherein Han specifically called him his son. Sure, Han referred to himself as Ray¡¯s father, but never directly said Ray was his son. Another was that, he did not know his father¡¯s full name. He just said to call him ¡°Han¡± whenever someone asked. Ray would have liked to take up his father¡¯s last name as well, but he was always told that his last name was ¡°good enough¡±. He was Raymundo Gonzalez, but he would also like to include the last name of the man who gave him a home in that sentence as well. Rubbing his face with frustration, Ray rolled over unto his side, his back facing the box on top of the nightstand and drifted into a frustrated sleep. Regardless of all these observations that kept nagging at him, Han and his uncle had put in a log of work to make this trip happen, and he would make the most of it. Chapter 3 - Into the Maw of Giants Chapter 3 Into the Maw of Giants The Sleeping Giant got its name from the simple fact that when viewed from a far enough distance, it resembled just that, a giant humanoid laying face up, whose face was captured in a perpetual snore. To get there, a visitor would have to travel along the Western Highway if leaving from the twin towns, or they would have to travel southward from Belize City until they reached the capital of the country of Belize, Belmopan. From there they were to switch gears and travel down southward towards along the hummingbird highway. Since the goal was to sky dive however, Ray and his family stopped in the capital. Since the plan was to camp in the area after the dive, they ran one final check to make sure they had everything. ¡°Did you bring the box I gave you?¡± asked Ray¡¯s uncle as they were checking that everything was in its place. ¡°Yes, I did. I still don¡¯t understand how we¡¯ll stay for 2 nights with just a few changes of clothing and some survival tools. I also don¡¯t understand how we¡¯ll be the only ones diving in. Don¡¯t we need a professional to go down alongside us? I only see parachutes but no professional.¡± Ray asked with some skepticism. As the even that he¡¯d been waiting for weeks was literally right at his doorsteps so to speak, a healthy amount of paranoia was beginning to worm its way into his psyche. ¡°Relax boy, I would not be doing this if I did not have the qualifications for such a thing. My family has been doing such things for generations. When we did not have planes and parachutes, we used cliffs next to the ocean. Now that everything¡¯s been modernized, having a license to perform jumps like this are a requirement¡± Han said from the side as he did his own checks. Ray couldn¡¯t help but notice that Han made subtle glances towards both the box that was currently in plain view as well his Uncle. ¡°Okay, baba, I¡¯ll believe you. In, any case, I¡¯m ready whenever you guys are. Let¡¯s go Uncle¡±. ¡°You know you can start calling me by my first name right? You¡¯ll be a man after today, so just call me George.¡± George said with a laugh ¡°I know I said you can consider me your uncle, but no need to be so strict on yourself about it.¡± ¡°Okay¡­George¡± Ray said with a barely restrained smile. ¡°Alright you two, I¡¯m done, let¡¯s get this show on the road.¡± Han hefted his bags and led Ray and George towards the plane that had been waiting on standby for them while they were running their checks. ¡°I just need to verify one last time that at least one of you is a trained professional before we fly out of here¡± the pilot flatly stated as they boarded the plane. With a flourish, Han took out a card out of seemingly nowhere and presented it to the pilot. After a thorough investigation, the pilot handed it back seemingly satisfied. ¡°Okay gentlemen, please hold on tight while we ascend.¡± Ray eagerly looked out the window as the plane ascended. Below them, he could see the verdant canopy of the nearby forest stretch out into the far distance, the trees gradually blending into a lush carpet of emerald. ******* ¡°Okay Ray, come over here, this is important.¡± Ray pulled his gaze away from the window and looked over to Han who was sitting opposite him. He switched seats so that he was now sitting next to him. ¡°This is important. Today¡­¡­ today is a day that you must make choices. I¡¯ve already explained why to George, but I chose not to tell you as you need to learn to make decisive split second decisions and learn to stick through them.¡± Han said as he began to lay out the different parachute packs in front of them. ¡°The first decision that you need to make is whether or not you will jump out of here being strapped to me or will you jump on your own? Of course while you won¡¯t be strapped to me for the latter, I will jump at the same time you do and will be beside you every step of the way. What¡¯s important is whether or not you choose to go on your own or with aid.¡± Ray¡¯s eyes widened with disbelief. Jump down on his own? How on earth could he do that?! He would have jumped up with surprise had he not already strapped himself down to the chair. ¡°Why must I jump down on my own?! What does that have to do with this rite??¡± ¡°Son, this is important. This rite is ancient and it tests on the virtues of a man. Whether he has courage, whether he can display wisdom. Can he make last minute decisions? All of these things and more are what this rite will be testing while we¡¯re here. Know that I have taken every single possible precaution to make sure that you will be safe while going down, all you have to do is pull that string while you¡¯re facing down, then just relax your body as you gently go down. But you need to be the one willing to take that leap. So I ask you again, what will it be?¡± ¡°You¡­. you just called me son for the first time ever¡­.¡± Ray gasped as his mind properly processed everything that had just been said to him. ¡°We¡¯re running out of time gentlemen, if you¡¯re going to do this, the time is now¡± came the pilot¡¯s voice from up front. Han just held out both hands, one empty, ready to take his hand and the other holding the bag. Ray was keenly aware of how, once again, Han had sidestepped a subject. Scrutinizing his face yielded nothing so he turned his attention to the hands and their contents or lack thereof. Honestly, Han had always been dodgy about certain things, but ultimately he did not know the man in front of him to do something without reason. He had always given Ray trust. Whenever Ray said that he could do something, Han would simply nod and let him do it. If it turned out too much for him, Han would always be there to catch him. Like the time Ray had been adamant that he could climb a coconut tree to the top for the very first time. He had only made it half way up before he slipped. The fall would have heavily injured him by rights, yet Han had been there at the right moment, even though just a few seconds before he had looked back and seen him several feet away on the porch sitting and watching with his usual indifference. Yes, the man in front of him had many secrets and could act shifty now and then, but he was still the man who raised him when he had no one else, and had always been on the receiving end of his trust. This rite was important to Han, he knew this, so he steeled himself and gave Han what he rightfully deserved for everything he had been given. In exchange for a home, in exchange for a guardian, in exchange for a father¡­ he would give his trust in its entirety. He would do this rite as he felt he should, because he had a feeling that if he did so, it would mean more than he could imagine to Han. Without saying another word, he simply bowed his head to Han, as he had seen him do before in the past to other Chinese Elderly in his community, and took the parachute that was being offered and began to put it on. When he was done, he looked up at Han, ¡°So what do I do no-¡°. Ray stopped midsentence because once again, for the first time since he met Han, he saw something on his face that he had no seen before, pride, joy and also¡­sadness? ¡°Are you okay Han?¡± ¡°Yes, I am. Hurry now, put on these goggles and swallow this pill. It will help you deal with the air pressure as you make your way down.¡± Han offered Ray a strap on goggles alongside a ceramic bottle. Opening said bottle and turning it upside down on his hand rewarded Ray with a single, mostly red pill, with streaks of blue, yellow and green marking the circumference. ¡°That was not what we talked about Han!¡± George suddenly admonished from the side. Up until now he had been sitting quietly, watching this touching moment between father and son. Yet the appearance of the pill shattered the rose tinted glasses he had been wearing. ¡°The bo¡­.I mean, my son, is choosing his path George. You do not have any right to interfere. I only invited you to come here to witness this as you are family to him now.¡± Han said with a scoff. ¡°Choosing his path is one thing, but he needs to do it completely on his own Han! If he takes that pill, you might as well just catapult him over the divide ourselves!¡± ¡°I will not hear of this, I raised him, so I know him best, he will make the choice anyways. I have faith in that. So I will be damned if I do not give him the best start that my resources can provide¡± Han said with finality in his tone. George looked like he was gearing up for another argument before the pilot sounded over the intercoms.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Last change gentlemen, otherwise you¡¯ll miss your window.¡± Ray looked at both men who were staring daggers at each other. He did not know what was going on, and he knew he did not have the time to look for the pieces of the puzzle that were missing from this picture. Taking a deep breath, he chose to proceed with his initial plan. Trust his father. ¡°Uncle, I don¡¯t know why you and my baba are fighting, but I trust my papa. From your arguing I realize that this pill may not be what he says it is, but from the looks of it, it is still something that is meant to help me. So I¡¯ll take. I hope you can respect my decision uncle¡± Ray said, mimicking Han¡¯s tone of voice. George looked back and forth between both men in the room, and with a defeated sigh he placed his hands up in a placating gesture. Strapping on his own parachute, he gestured in a gentlemanly manner toward the door on the side of the plane. ¡°Just¡­ just be careful Ray¡± he said and stood behind them as Han opened up the door and stood shoulder to shoulder with Ray. ¡°Take the pill now and jump on my count of 3 okay?¡± ¡°Yes papa, I¡¯ll do so¡± and with that Ray took a mouthful of water after popping the pill in his mouth. ¡°That¡¯s the first time you¡¯ve ever used the Spanish version to call me¡± ¡°Well, since you¡¯ve finally called me son for the first time, I thought reciprocating would make the occasion more special yes?¡± Han let out a deep laugh,¡± That it does son. I promise, that when this is over, we¡¯ll talk and I¡¯ll explain a few things. Believe me, there were good reasons. No matter what happens, I¡¯m proud that you¡¯re my son¡± Ray¡¯s eyes teared up upon hearing this. So many firsts, he always knew that Han felt this way towards him, but he was infuriatingly miserly with his words, so he had never expressed it out loud. Just this alone made this entire trip worth it and a better birthday than any he could have hoped for. ¡°For what it¡¯s worth, thank you for picking me up when you did at the orphanage.¡± Ray said¡± now are we doing this or are we gonna go back and miss the window?¡± ¡°Of course we are doing this. On 3. 1. 2. 3!¡± And they jumped. **** As George watched the father-son duo jump out of the plane, his thoughts were in turmoil. This was not how the rite was supposed to go! Anyone going through the World¡¯s tests need to do so without influence. Sure they can have people guide them, but not aid them. That was the whole point of offering the choices. Had Ray chosen to go down aided by Han, it would have been just a regular jump. They¡¯d have made it down, camped for the 2 nights they were supposed to stay and leave. But Ray chose to take the test, and he did not know that he was doing so. That in itself was fine, so long as he had the courage to go down all the way, he¡¯d be deemed worthy and take the other tests to join both men on the other side. But by giving Ray that Celestial Heaven and Earth pill, the world would make the test harder for him. Sure the potential rewards for surviving such a thing would be immense, but there was a very real possibility that the boy could die. Even Scions from the great cultivator houses would forgo such an opportunity for the safer method, and that¡¯s with them having knowledge and preparation since they were young. With a grunt, George reached through the boundary and pulled out a double handed bone axe. The length of the haft carved with lifelike depictions of creatures of prey, and leather of a dire-wolf wrapped around the middle area. The head of the axe was hewn from the pelvis of a Saber Tooth Lion and the pike was from the fang. Unlike the haft, the blade was remarkably simple in design, with barely discernible spots of red being the only signs that it was ever used for battle. A trophy he had claimed from his time in the Northern European Mountains amongst the Vikings. Checking to make sure that no one was looking, he gave a practice swing to inform his muscles that it was time to work. Telling the pilot that he was leaving now and wishing a safe trip back. He leapt after them as well. ¡°Sorry Ray, but I can¡¯t let you risk your life like this.¡± George said to himself. Almost as if on cue, two roars tore through the barrier of sound that was the winds buffeting the airplane. George cursed to himself, it seemed the troubles were already here. **** There is something to be said about the experience of throwing oneself from a high altitude toward the ground. The feeling of liberation, of being above it all. As you rapidly make your descent toward the earth beneath, you cannot help but be keenly aware of the specter of death hanging close by. That knowledge would normally make you quake with fear, but then your hand goes to the strap on your shoulder. A single tug and your descent will slow from fatally fast to Sunday morning walk in the park. And in that realization comes the ability to truly feel free. All of your troubles in the past, all of your worries of the future, melt away in the presence of the sheer majesty of the moment. Here and now, you are in charge of your own fate, and that fate is to defy the forces of nature and not only survive such a descent, but enjoy the entirety of the journey. It was exactly this feeling that Ray was being subjected to as he was falling alongside his father. Obviously, he had been instructed by Han how to move in the air, and he had always been excellent at putting theory to practice, so while he could not do fancy screw drivers or back flips, he could slow or speed up his descent with the appropriate movements. He gleefully spun himself in a 360 degree rotation, taking in the land and sky that stretched out all around him. It was beautiful. He had never truly appreciated how beautiful Belize was, not until this moment at least. All beneath him stretched the faint outline of the Sleeping Giant. From what he could tell, they were right above the head, the half lidded ¡°eyes¡± and wide parted ¡°lips¡± the only features that were easily spotted. Trees and mountains glazed the land as far as the eye could see. Here and there, streams could be spotted slashing the tapestry, giving the impression of veins flowing down from the mountains. He turned around and looked at his father, and noticed that his attention was drawn to something below them, off to the right. Following his gaze, Ray could only see the canopies of what he figured to be Mahogany trees, if their height relative to their neighbors were any sort of indication. However, as he tried his best to focus on that spot, he saw a black dot, slowly getting bigger. Was¡­. was something coming up to meet them? ¡°WHAT IS THAT?¡± Ray shouted, but his voice was torn asunder by the surging winds around them. He wildly gestured to Han trying to get his attention, but Han¡¯s gaze was fixed on it. A sinking feeling began to rise from his gut as he noticed that Han¡¯s face was scrunching up into a look of agitation. Turning back to the spot, he saw that it got bigger and was getting bigger the more he looked at it. In fact, he was beginning to be able to make out what it was. It looked like a¡­..WAS THAT A JAGUAR?! It was true. As they came closer to it and it came closer to them, it was definitely a black jaguar running up to meet them. And it was fast, fast enough to outpace the rate at which they were going down. They were not even at the halfway point of their descent and already the cat was past that and then some. ¡°Ray, listen to me that watch that you¡¯re wearing, the one I gave you for your 13th birthday, I need you to pay attention to it as you go down. When it lights up, you need to pull the cord on your pack. It is important that you do not move from where you land. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to guide you down. I¡¯ll look for you when I get down.¡± Han¡¯s hushed voice came to him. It shocked Ray as he shouldn¡¯t be able to hear any sort of verbal communication. ¡°HOW CAN YOU TALK WHILE WE¡¯RE GOING DOWN?!¡±Ray shouted, but it was of little use, the winds were merciless in their fury. ¡°Listen, we don¡¯t have enough time. Just do as I say. I¡¯ll explain later.¡± Han then glided over to Ray, took him by the shoulder and shoved him in the opposite direction of the Jaguar, sending him tumbling. Just as he had barely managed to right himself, he heard two sets of roars slice through the air. He looked in the direction of the Jaguar, who had come close enough to be seen in more detail. It was a massive thing, easily 4 times what a normal Jaguar should be. As if that wasn¡¯t strange enough, other than the fact that the cat was running on air to meet them in the sky, it had what could only be described as clouds draped around its body. The clouds seemed to be thickest around its legs. However that was all he could make out as the gap between the two grew. As he made to turn back around and get away as Han told him to do, the last thing he saw was his father spear dive toward the cat, and to his immense shock, flames of all things blasted out from the man¡¯s body. It was almost too much for him to handle. He wanted to turn back to look what was happening, but his rationale won out, and he clung to the fact that Han promised him an explanation to all this when they reunited on the ground, and Han was nothing if not a man of his word. So he focused on gliding away, as behind him roars kept slamming the air around him. It was then he realized, he had heard two roars earlier, but he only saw the one Jaguar. If so, where was the source of the other roar coming from? His curiosity getting the better of him, he furtively glanced around, and finally looked up, where he could barely make out what looked like a bird of some sort struggling against a man wielding an axe in both hands. Was that George? And how were they fighting like that without falling? So many questions were jumping around in his mind as he fell away from the above scene, becoming vaguer as he fell. He felt a buzz on his arm he looked down to see his watch lighting up. He made to pull the string on his pack, and that was when several things happened at once. As he tugged at the cord, it opened, releasing the parachute. Then, almost immediately, he felt an immense amount of pain surge through his body. It quickly subsided and was replaced with a warm and cold sensation spreading through his body. The parachute thankfully held, and began its job of slowing his descent. Ray made sure to maintain a careful balance so that he would not go too far away from their original destination while he tried his best to figure out what was going on with these feeling surging through his body. Before he could make heads or tails of it, a tremor from below shook him out of his introspection. He looked at the mountains below, wondering how he felt at tremor from all the way up here. It was then he noticed that the giant was no longer sleeping. There was a pulsating glow emanating from the eyes and mouth. No longer slightly open and gaping, they stretched wide and seemed to focus on Ray. The light stretched out in the form of pillar, encasing Ray for a brief second before subsiding back down. Ray was confused as to what the light was, that is, until he began to rapidly descend again. He looked up and saw that his parachute was gone. Practically vaporized out of existence, nothing but the back pack remained. As he fell, a scream tore through his throat. The light pulsated once again and he began to fall faster. The ground rushed up to embrace him, but before he could get there the mouth of the giant rose up to meet him and the last thing he remembered was being swallowed by it. After, there was just darkness. Chapter 4 - Forgotten Citadel Chapter 4 Forgotten Citadel How could everything have gone so wrong? Han wondered as he stood over the beaten body of the Cloud Treading Black Jaguar, as he faced off against the surprising guest before him. The creature mewled pitifully as it tried to crawl towards its master once more, but a tap with his sword put a stop to that. ¡°I truly am sorry Dewei, I did not know that anyone was conducting a rite of passage in the area. Let alone the legendary Liu Dewei Han. Everyone¡¯s been looking for you, you know? To think this is where you¡¯d been hiding. Had I known I would have pleaded to the young masters to visit the range another day. No need to endanger their lives by bringing them close to you after all.¡± The Vampyr said, a sneer seemingly perpetually plastered on his face. Han grit his teeth, what the hell were Vampyrs doing in Belize, let alone somewhere this far out in the wilderness. What made things worse was that these were not just any vampyrs, but members of one of the 8 Custodian households. Specifically house Susurro if the black robes bordered with coffee brown lines flowing throughout it forming the sigil for ¡°Dominate¡± and the skull of some great predatory beast marking his left breast and the shoulders of his flowing sleeves. Known for their ability to tame creatures, whether they be alive or spirits, house Susurro tended to travel throughout the Divide looking for creatures to add to their ranks and to wean their progeny. Like most vampyrs, the man before him was pale as snow with nigh a single strand of hair visible. Some sort of rule to differentiate the servants from the masters in the great houses. He had an air of self-importance that all vampyrs seem to be born with, as if the knowledge that they were better than humans was ingrained in their very being as a species. Truly an arrogance to match dragons. ¡°Dewei greets Custodian of Chaos, this humble one asks that you pardon our transgression. Had he known that venerable Custodian would¡¯ve seen fit to bring his charges out for a walk today, he would have arranged to come out another day¡± Han hastily announced as he did a perfect 90 degree bow from the waste. Regardless of how he felt about the man before him, he could not afford to offend a vampyr, not now, not again. ¡°No need to be so stiff, Dewei. Can I call you Dewei? I¡¯ll just call you Dewei. You and your companion held off our beasts just fine while your little welp did his ritual. Speaking of, here he is now, not a second too soon.¡± At that moment a massive bird slammed into the ground a few feet away from them, and a few seconds after George followed suit. ¡°Are you not going to check if your friend¡¯s okay? It¡¯s good to see that time has had little effect on that cold demeanor of yours.¡± The vampyr held a hand to his mouth in exaggerated shock, yet his efforts to conceal the mockery in his voice were paltry at best. Han scoffed¡± If that was enough to kill George, he would¡¯ve died by my hand a long time ago. He¡¯ll be up on his feet in a few seconds. By the by, I did not get your honorable name the first time you mentioned it¡±. Sheathing his blade, Han got off the jaguar, allowing it to crawl back to its master. It¡¯s attempts to hide behind him however, were comically poor. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s because I did not say it. A custodian shall only give his name to those he considers equals or betters. Such a shame it is that I see neither in sight. But oh what a shame. I suppose that since today has been such a good day and the young masters have been oh so kind to me as of late, I could be magnanimous and grace you with my most glorious name. You are standing in the magnificence of he who goes by Lucius.¡± Lucius puffed his chest out and held his head high, and waited. And waited. And waited some more. When he realized that whatever it was he was waiting for was not forthcoming, his eyebrow hitched as he glared at Han and then over at George who was just starting to get up on his feet. Seeing that neither his announcement nor his display of ire was having any effect on the men, he grumpily started straightening his robes and fussing over non-existent wrinkles. ¡°Okay¡­Lucius. It was nice meeting you, but we must really be going now. We have to find our charge. Isn¡¯t that right Han?¡± George said as he dusted himself off, the fall from thousands of feet not having done a thing except for getting him dirty. Hefting his axe, he stored it back into his personal dimensional space and walked over to join Han in his face off. ¡°That is correct George. If your Excellency would pardon us, we need to go find my son. This one wishes you and your charges well on their expedition.¡± Bowing once again, Han tried to be upset at George for his blatant disrespect to Lucius, but could not find it in him, rather he found himself engaged in a losing battle holding in a smile when he saw Lucius¡¯ red face of fury. ¡°I must apologize gentlemen, but I cannot let you go. Not when you are in my charge¡¯s way.¡± With a flourish, Lucius took out a gem of some sort and crushed it to dust in his fists. Behind him the air rippled and a humanoid creature began fading into view. It had two hooved feet, fur covered legs the size of tree trunks and the body of a man, a very, very muscular man. It had a bulls head to complete the image. ¡°Woah, there. What are you talking about buddy? Our Ray should be just over that ridge over there as we instructed him to. We just want to complete our rite of passage into the Divide and get out of here. No need to take out a Minotaur to chase us off.¡± George dropped down into a ready stance, taking out his axe once more, the enchantments carved into the handle blazing to life. ¡°You mean you truly don¡¯t know?¡± Lucius asked incredulously as he alternated his gaze between the men before him. ¡°Know what? What games are you playing Lucius?¡± Han himself drew forth his sword as well, the black and red blade glistening in the sunlight. The smell of blood filled the air, and an incredibly humid heat began to radiate out from him. ¡°Hmm, it seems that I was mistaken and may have over extended myself. Chaos works in mysterious ways it seems. I regret to inform you that you won¡¯t find your charge over yonder ridge as you think you would. He¡¯s been taken.¡± ¡°TAKEN?!¡± Both Han and George exclaimed at once. They exchanged glances with one another, an understanding passing between them as they locked eyes. ¡°Now, now, before you go getting any funny ideas, I¡¯ll have you know that it wasn¡¯t our doing. Some important graves have their methods of choosing successors. That¡¯s all.¡± Lucius said with a shrug, a nasty grin forming on his lips. ¡°What do you mean grave? Who¡¯s grave?¡± Han asked, a sinking feeling at the bottom of his stomach as an inkling of an answer began tugging at the edge of his consciousness. ¡®No, it can¡¯t be. We should have found them all already.¡¯ ¡°Come now Han, you¡¯re intelligent. I sure you¡¯ve already figured it out just based off of what I¡¯ve already said.¡± Lucius cackled. ¡°Han, what is he talking about? Whose grave is this? Is Ray in danger?¡± George asked from the side, worry evident in his voice. ¡°I think I¡¯ve made a mistake George. I should have done the rite here.¡± Han said, his hands gripping the sword tighter, barely being able to keep the shaking down. ¡°Speak clearer Han. What is this place? Where did Ray go?!¡± George shouted. ¡°This place¡­..this place is a Heritage site George. But I don¡¯t know who grave this is. Ray¡¯s likely trapped with the young vampyrs, taking the tests of worth. I¡­ I don¡¯t know whose grave this is.¡± Han responded, anguish creeping into his voice. He¡¯d seen just how cruel and terrifying some Heritages could be. He offered a silent prayer to the Progenitor that whatever the trials Ray would face, he¡¯d come back to him alive. ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t know? Well I¡¯d expect as much since this particular God was one of the first to fade into obscurity, even before the Mayan glory diminished.¡± Lucius¡¯ smile widened, as George¡¯s and Han¡¯s faces grew serious. Silence descended over the surroundings as Ray¡¯s guardians digested the bombshell that was just dropped. All the worries over dangerous heritages were wiped away from both men¡¯s minds. Heritages left behind by the gods of old were not innately dangerous. No, what worried both men now was what type of Heritage was left behind, as a god¡¯s legacy could not be rejected and the recipient could not divert from the powers that were provided. ¡°Which god?¡± Han¡¯s voice was barely a whisper, but to all parties hearing it, the sound was deafening. Lucius¡¯ smile faded and was replaced by a stern expression as he realized where Han¡¯s thought process had taken him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we don¡¯t think it¡¯s anything like Ixtab. Truth be told, our investigation has led us to believe that this grave belongs to none other than¡­.¡± ***** Sunlight pierced through the canopy of leaves overhead, lancing past the protection offered by Ray¡¯s closed eyelids. With a groan, Ray lifted his arms and did his best to shield his smarting irises from the bright light. ¡®Just a few more minutes of sleep¡¯ he thought to himself as he tossed and turned on the ground. It was only until he felt something crawling up his leg that he jolted up with a start and began to furiously pat himself down, trying to shake off whatever it was that was climbing on his leg. Once he had shaken himself to his satisfaction. He looked around and realized he wasn¡¯t in his room. It was then he remembered what happened before he woke up. ¡°Han! George! Are any of you out there?¡± Ray shouted. But no matter how much he called out nor for how long, no one answered him. He scanned his surroundings and noticed that he was in a glade of sorts, with dense brush enclosing on him from all sides save for the singular path way leading off into the distance. Seeing that he had no real other option, he cautiously began to follow the path. He wasn¡¯t sure for how long he walked, but the entire time he couldn¡¯t help but feel as if something was wrong. It felt like hours before he was slammed with the realization that what was bothering him was the noise, or rather, the lack of it. When in a forest, you¡¯d hear the sounds of life all around, but here it was so silent, if he paid attention, he could hear his heart beat. Sufficiently unnerved, Ray quickened his pace as he followed the path. Han had assured him that he¡¯d find him where ever he was, but at this point he was convinced that he was nowhere near where they were supposed to rendezvous. He did not know how long he was out, and checking his watch was useless as it had stopped working when it had marked 11:59 pm, but it couldn¡¯t have been too long as it was still day. However, he wasn¡¯t sure how long he had left as he could not see the sun, and he would rather find a safe place to hunker down for the night close to a source of water if he could help it. After what seemed like hours, he finally reached the edge of the dense foliage, the path leading upwards towards a hill. Filled with exultation at finding some high ground to take stock of his surroundings, he quickened his pace to reach the hill as fast as possible without wasting too much energy. As he crested over the hill, he was greeted by the sight of what could only be called an abandoned Mayan city. While he had only ever seen complete cities in paintings and read descriptions of them, the scene below him matched almost perfectly to what historians had said.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. The outer regions were lined with several straw huts, grouped together in 4s or 8s, forming a square, the entrances that he could see facing the inside of the square. They were evenly spaced from one another so a courtyard of sorts was formed in between all the squares. As he surveyed further, he saw massive pyramids in the distance, in various states of disrepair. The largest being a 4 tiered monstrosity, with the steep stairs common amongst such structures reaching only up to the half way point. From there, he could see a massive entrance, its gaping maw black with shadows. That was where the similarities to the descriptions he had seen ended, because there was a massive¡­¡­ tentacle? Strewn across the temples and buildings he could see from his position. Black as midnight with vivid streaks of red, blue and yellow adorning its body, it was draped over a pyramid relatively close to him, disappearing over the other side away from him while the other end seemed stuck through the top of the super structure that stood above its peers. It was twisted in on itself halfway between both temples it was resting against. He decided to leave well enough alone and just camp on the opposite side of the hill, out of sight from the city, maybe try to push through the foliage to look for water in there. Whatever it was that had happened here, he was not going to go get himself killed by messing with forces beyond his ken. He was already having a hard enough time not freaking out over what he had seen and heard in the skies above the mountain before he found himself here. As if to admonish him for his caution, a loud booming voice rang out over valley, ¡°Step forward child. I do not have much longer.¡± This was accompanied by a feeling of being drawn toward the temple. Ray sighed, just what was this place? ***** It took him another couple hours of walking before he reached the base of the first pyramid. All the huts that he had encountered along the way had been empty of life. The only signs of them having been inhabited at all being things like pots, pans and plates being left mid use. Some plates still had bones on them, picked clean by some animal or other, the only signs of any life at all being present in this city he was now wandering through. Now, as he stood before the temple over which the tentacle was first draped over, he could see that it was covered with several plate like constructs, overlapping each other in beautiful patterns. The red, blue and yellow streaks that he had seen from afar turned out to actually be a tapestry of sorts when seen up close. Depictions of sunrises and sunsets dotted the surface of the tentacle that he could see, images of warriors locked in combat, what looked like mages and priests engaged in a battle of words, whatever they were debating about of utmost importance. There were farmers, tanners, hunters, and all other manner of common folk. Always ruling over them were the kings and queens. The warriors were crowned with helmets adorned with plumage, beautiful yet not overbearing so as to not get in the way of their duty. Hefting shields made of wood and jaguar skin, they raised their wooden swords of obsidian, eager to test their might in battle against the foes of their people, a loin cloth being the only thing guarding their modesty. Bracelets and jade awarded to the warriors who stood out amongst their comrades in arms and tattoos and scars on their body spoke of their careers. The wizards and priests traded sword and shield for robes dyed the colors of the birds of the jungle. Where the priests chose to remain unarmed, the wizards chose to wield staffs, carved of wood and studded with jade and obsidian. The headdresses they wore were even more opulent than their warrior counterparts. There were several depictions of the peasantry, going about their daily lives, not rich in any manner of speaking, but they were happy. The children running around the fields and just being children. The kings and queens always wore garb similar to both warrior and mage castes. A symbol to show that they were of both, all powerful. He tentatively reached out to feel the surface and was surprised when it felt smooth to the touch, there was no evidence that the scene before him had any edges where the constructs met each other. Seeing as to how following the tentacle would lead him to the centermost temple anyways, he decided to follow it, just to see as much of the tapestry as possible. He wasn¡¯t sure when it began, but gradually the scenes of peace that were intermingled with the scenes of war and bloodshed began to recede, leaving behind nothing but a monument to some great tragedy. Stopping with a frown, he turned and looked back the way he came. Would he see only images of peace and prosperity if he went back far enough? Although he was sorely tempted return and see if he was right, he quickly shot down the idea. Whatever it was that had called him forward did not seem to be someone who had any sort of patience, and he would rather not test their patience. Shaking his head he pushed onward, doing his best to commit the new depictions to memory. Where there were images of peace before, there were now human sacrifices of all ages. Mass murders and just all around genocide was the recurring theme. He wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about the fact that despite the only colors present being red, blue and yellow, they were cleverly used to contrast one another to bring about other colors like green, orange, purple and so on. If he didn¡¯t know any better, he¡¯d almost say it was magical in its application. The pictures seemed to almost pop out at him the more he moved forward. He took a break, looking ahead to see just how much farther he had to go before he got to his destination. To his immense relief, he saw that he was coming up to the half way point where the tentacle, or root as he was starting to suspect it was, was coiled upon itself. Taking a contemplative look back to the pictures of slaughter and bloodshed, he decided to just skip the rest of the sightseeing tour after passing the coil and just head straight to the temple. He was beginning to see a pattern and he was never fond of gore and bloodshed. His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he had missed at least 1 meal already. Rubbing his stomach to try and appease it , he promised to feed it later and made his way over to the knot that was now not too far from him. Walking up to it, he noticed that on the ground not far from him, was an incision in the root. Seeing the brilliant gold hue of the thick substance coming out of the gash further affirmed his believe that this was not a tentacle but a root of some giant tree. Stabbed into the opening was a beautiful staff, reminding him of the staves he saw the mages use on the root wield. He was no historian, but he was sure that the Mayans having mages was not something the rest of the world knew yet. Priests yes, but wizards no. If so, he needed to take this back with him and remember the way to this place when he got out. He¡¯d be famous. His hunger forgotten, he rushed over, eager to get his hands on this artifact. Sure the Belizean government would likely confiscate it when he left from here, but he until then, he¡¯d be the proud owner of a genuine ancient Mayan mage staff. Grasping the butt of the weapon and angling his foot against the side of the root, he pulled with all his might. At first he thought it was no good, but ever so slowly he felt the root relinquish its hold, the staff sliding out and finally with a pop breaking free from the root¡¯s hold. ¡°YES!¡± he cried, holding the staff aloft. He danced a little jig in happiness before his stomach decided that was enough and made its presence known. A bit embarrassed that he just did that, he looked around to make sure the abandoned city was still abandoned, then turned his attention back to the staff in his hands. The base of the staff was carved out of wood, wide enough to comfortably be gripped, yet thin enough to not be encumbering when carried. What looked like Mayan glyphs were carved into the wood from the midpoint down, liquid gold having been melted and poured into the hollow space left behind by the carvings. From the midpoint upward, jade and obsidian in equal measure were intertwined into the staff itself, the jade forming a feathered dragon gripping the wood of the staff while the obsidian was carved in the form of a draconic snake, its coils hugging the wood tightly so as to not fall off. At the tip of the staff both creatures appeared to be locked in an eternal struggle, both of their mouths clamping on a crystal, fangs digging into the surface of the rock, forever frozen in an epic tug of war. Ray felt his breath hitch in his throat as he stared at the masterpiece in his hands. He felt an immense sorrow at the thought of having to part with this staff after having taken a better look at it. His minds voice screamed at him to guard it and never let it go. Maybe he could convince his father and uncle to help him sneak it out with him when he left for China. That way he¡¯d never part with it. Yes, that would work. No one but them knew this existed, and surely there was someone they could bribe to look the other way? All it would take would be a- ¡°No.¡± Ray admonished himself. How could he rob his country of this undoubtedly important artifact? If they let him keep it, fine, but if they demanded he hand it over, then he would so. Such was the law, and such was the necessity of things. There was so much they did not know about the Mayan civilization, and him robbing his people the opportunity to learn about the mage caste that the Mayans apparently had might as well be high treason. With a sigh, he tore his gaze away from the staff and looked around to see if there was anything else he could take with him. Other than the staff, there didn¡¯t seem to be much, that is, until he saw handle sticking out of some rubble a few feet away from him. Scrunching his brow, he walked over, leaned the staff off to the side and repeated his earlier actions. With a groan, the debris holding the handle is place slid over, letting Ray come free with a Mayan sword in hand. Much like the staff, it was carved out of wood, with sharpened obsidian pieces lining the edges to form a blade. Jade was embedded along the flat of the blade, surrounding more Mayan glyphs carved and filled with gold much like the staff. Despite the garishly ornate appearance of the sword, a few practice swings showed that it was deadly, as the surrounding air screamed as it was slashed repeatedly. Looking back into the hole that the hole had occupied, he saw another thing that got his fancy. Just what was it with these people using such fancy weapons on a tree root? Reaching in, he tugged once more and came up with a shield much like the depictions on the root showed. Although there was a noticeable lack of jade compared to the staff and sword, the edges of the wooden frame had small chunks of obsidian embedded along the side, deep enough that if one were to run their hand along the wood, they would not be cut. The Mayan glyphs this time ran all alongside the inner most frame and even on the back of the Jaguar skin, having apparently taken advantage of the taught skin to carve them. Thankfully, the shield came with a strap of leather of sorts on both ends, that way he could tie it to his back while carrying the staff and shield in hand. Further investigation proved fruitless as the items in hand seemed to be the only thing of value. Sure he found other swords and shields, but they were nowhere near as eye catching as the ones he had. Deciding to himself that he should not get too greedy and leave some discoveries for future archeologists, he once more headed for the temple. This time, he ignored the root and instead made a beeline for the stairs. On his way, his mind kept going back to that gash in the root. Why did he find these wondrous items near there? Why was there so much debris and other weapons, both broken and whole? But the most important question that kept bothering him most of all, why hasn¡¯t my family found me yet? Overhead, the temple loomed closer and closer, until he was at the base of the structure. Taking on last look behind him in the direction he¡¯d come, he took a deep breath and began the long ascent. The feeling that was beckoning him ever forward came back in force. When before he had been able to push it to the back of his mind and largely ignore it, now it howled at him, demanding he answer the call. Each step began getting more arduous than the last, his breath coming out more and more ragged as he trudged upward. At first he was convinced that it was simply his hunger and fatigue hindering him assisted by the steep stairs so common place amongst Mayan temples, but soon felt there was more to it when the desire to move forward slammed once more into his consciousness the first time he wanted to take a break. Something was at work here. He wasn¡¯t sure how he could¡¯ve not realized it from the moment he had first saw that jaguar assault them in the middle of the sky. He had chosen to ignore it, to trust his father. Answers would come, but as he neared the entrance of the temple up above, the soul crushing fatigue assaulting him forced him to confront all of these thoughts in order to not succumb to both the call and the weariness. ¡®What was happening here? What happened earlier? Who are my father and uncle? I just want answers. My birthday was not supposed to go like this. I just wanted to spend time with those close to me. I just want to go home. Someone¡­ please, answer m-¡®Ray had to catch himself as he lifted his foot to climb stairs that were no longer there. He had made it to the top. He took a shuddering breath and to his surprise and immense relief, the earlier fatigue and the relentless calling had both faded away into nothingness. He stared into the darkness of the doorway before him, then turned around and surveyed the city from his current vantage point. Nothing had changed. He wasn¡¯t sure what he had expected, but he guessed it was just his attempt at putting off the inevitable. Sure he could choose to go back down and back the way he came, but he would not back down after having made it this far. Steadying himself once more, he tightened his grip on the sword and staff in hand and plunged into the entrance. For the second time that day, the darkness rose up to claim him. Chapter 5 - The Hero Chapter 5 The Hero For the umpteenth time since entering this Progenitor-forsaken realm, Ragnor cleaved the stone warriors that approached his party. It was supposed to be a simple mission. Go in, grab the heritage of whatever god lied here and get the hell out. Instead here he was trapped with two vampyrs and the inheritor candidate they had chosen. Thankfully the vampyrs were credits to their family names, holding their own against the stone warriors that were assaulting them on their fronts. He could not say the same for the inheritor candidate however. Although he could not blame the man for his uselessness, an inheritor had to have no affiliations after all, it grated on Ragnor that he had to do the work of two. The pay simply wasn¡¯t enough to make it work it, but the favor of a vampyr was a rare thing to get, so he grit his teeth and bared with it. Using a surge of lightning to empower his glaive, he tore through the upper halves of the warrior¡¯s torsos, effectively dispatching them. Once he confirmed that there were no more such constructs approaching them for the time being, he turned back to his other party members. The Susurro was still in the process of commanding his contracted beasts to destroy his stone warriors. The Incantator however, had just wrapped up her fight, the sigils carved into her skin fading away and losing their luster. ¡°Well this is definitely not what we were expecting¡± Celeste sighed, taking out her robe to cover her bare arms. ¡°You¡¯re telling me, I was led to believe that I¡¯d have my hands on the inheritance by now¡± Charles remarked, taking out a handkerchief and wiping his brow. Seeing his companions who did all the work glare at him, he quickly added ¡°Because I feel bad not contributing you see. I¡¯m grateful, but I hate seeing people worked up on my behalf¡±. ¡°Be patient little man, the masters here have put a lot of work in preparing you for this. Now, while we need your body to be hale and healthy, I didn¡¯t hear anything about keeping your mouth in working order¡± Ragnor said with a vicious grin, brandishing his glaive in front of Charles¡¯ mouth. Charles visibly paled and clamped his hands over his mouth and moved to stand behind Celeste. Ragnor chuckled and laid the shaft of his glaive against his shoulder. It seemed that the Susurro was still toying with his foes, so he took this chance to assess the state of his to companions. The Incantator Celeste had long blue hair cascading around her pale shoulders, her eyes bore the same telltale glow present in any one who practiced the Incantator¡¯s special branch of enchantment magic. Her face, as with all vampyrs, was beautiful, slightly angled in a perpetual frown. Celeste used her enchanting skills to enchant herself to deal devastating blows with her body. As a result she was well built, her body having a sinuous quality that only martial artists tend to have. Although she was just 17, her clan already considered her one of their top warriors. In contrast, Charles was well built in a more barbarian sense. His hair was cut short and he was of average height. Despite his musculature, there was little he could do to the caliber of foes they were currently facing. It was very disconcerting to see someone with Charles¡¯ build act cowardly, but he supposed having spent so much time under the thumb of the vampyrs, not many people would think to show any bravado with them present. ¡°I never expected god trials to be this tedious. What¡¯s even the point with these continuous assaults?¡± Interrupting Ragnor¡¯s musings, Aarok finally came back with his spirit beasts in tow, a lamia still in its serpent form and a saber tooth tiger. Aarok was the Susurro in the group, and while still in his teens, the boy could already maintain control over two beasts, spirit beasts no less. The lack of speed in taking care of the stone warriors was just him taking the opportunity to train his beasts on how to handle such foes. Aarok himself was tall and slender, his pointed ears keeping his long white hair behind his face. He wore black robes embroidered with gold seams in contrast to the brown the servant class wore. ¡°This place is clearly a sub-dimension, but there¡¯s no clear way out. It¡¯s almost like we¡¯re just being stalled here.¡± Aarok looked around the white world around them. If it wasn¡¯t for their experience in traversing such spaces, they¡¯d feel as if they¡¯d fall at any moment into the abyss. ¡°It¡¯s strange, I keep sending out tendrils of mana to pry the structural integrity of this place, but even with the bonuses offered by my Class, the strands just dissipate.¡± Celeste said with a frown. The construction of this space was far complex from anything they¡¯d ever seen, even going off of god Heritage standards. ¡°I agree. I guess our Intel was correct that the god that left this place behind was a mage type, and a powerful one at that. No warrior god would be this good at setting up a space like this.¡± Aarok concluded as he too sent out tendrils of mana to confirm Celeste¡¯s discoveries. Ragnor let the vampyrs do their thing while he took stock of his internal reserves. The stone warriors had cost him roughly 15% of his mana and about 20% of his qi. If it wasn¡¯t for Thor¡¯s blessing, he¡¯d be worse off. The vampyr girl mentioned something about a Class and he couldn¡¯t help but be a bit envious. There were many advancements in coming into power over the past years, and the Class system was one of them. He was too old to be bothered with how they worked, much less switch over to it. All he knew was that getting a class offered benefits along a given path when using Genesis. He took back what he said earlier, maybe Aarok wasn¡¯t extremely talented, maybe he had a ¡°Class¡± or whatever other methods they used now a days. Looking at the 3 youths before him, Ragnor couldn¡¯t help but keenly feel his age. Although he still looked 30ish, his hair still bright blonde, the body of a Viking, tall and imposing and not a wrinkle to be seen on his face and piercing blue eyes, this was only because of a reward his god had given him for merits accomplished in battle long ago. In truth he was already reaching 120 years old, and he wasn¡¯t sure how much longer he¡¯d have. Although it was whimsical folly, perhaps he¡¯d settle down after this. With youths like the ones before him, including Charles should he prove to be competent once he gets his powers, the Divide would make strides to the Final Goal. ¡°Perhaps you could try to overload the space with your raw mana? Simply flooding the space or use your manipulation skills to form the mana into crude shapes to try and tear it apart?¡± Charles suggested after seeing Aarok¡¯s look of frustration as he too failed to sense anything about the space they found themselves in. The 3 of his companions just looked at him in blank amazement. ¡°Good thinking Charles, all that time drilling you in theory is paying off. Come Celeste, let¡¯s skip taking turns trying it alone and just skip straight to the working together part.¡± Aarok beckoned to Celeste, gesturing to a spot a short distance away from Ragnor and Charles. Discharging that much mana into the environment and haphazardly moving it like Charles had suggested was harmful to the non-initiated and Charles was too much of a heavy investment to risk like that. ¡°Well I¡¯ll be damned, seems you weren¡¯t completely useless after all. Who would¡¯ve thought that you¡¯d have some good ideas in that noggin of yours¡± Ragnor laughed while slapping Charles back. Charles had to do his best to stop himself from falling to the floor from the strength of the blows. ¡°I take back some of the things I¡¯ve been thinking about you. Keep this up and maybe I¡¯ll consider you an actual warrior when all this is over. I know some people back home and we can visit a tavern. I know this one where the wenches are great at customer service if you know what I mean¡± Ragnor shot Charles a knowing grin. ¡°Surely you jest, I was raised to be a vessel since I was young. Being able to come up with this much should only be expected¡± Charles blushed, rubbing his shoulders and pulled away from Ragnor, his eyes making a quick movement towards Celeste when she was conveniently looking away. ¡®By Thor, he fancies her? Seems this one has more balls than I¡¯ve been giving him credit for if he¡¯s got the courage to even think about being with a vampyr. And an heiress no less.¡¯ Ragnor grinned at Charles when the boy returned his gaze back to him. Realizing that he¡¯d been caught, Charles once again paled, and this time becoming so white that anyone who didn¡¯t know the boy had caramel skin would have thought he was a vampyr himself. The only thing needed to complete the image were the pointed ears.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Walking over and putting his arms around the boys shoulder, Ragnor drew him into a sideways hug, whispering in his ear ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your secret¡¯s safe with me, assuming the lass doesn¡¯t already suspect or know.¡± Charles gulped and nodded his appreciation. Satisfied, Ragnor let him go. If the boy had plans on the girl, regardless of their success, he could not let him go without some help. Maybe he¡¯d gone soft due to old age, but seeing a young man in such a situation brought out the old romantic in him. Something he thought he¡¯d lost decades ago. ¡°If this Heritage turns out to be a warrior type, I¡¯ll teach you a few things.¡± Ragnor promised, receiving a blustering thanks in reply. A follower of a different pantheon, no matter the circumstance, passing on techniques to an outsider was not done lightly. As such Charles couldn¡¯t help but feel gratitude. Ragnor had no relation to them other than a hired sword, or glaive as it were, so Ragnor going this far meant that he had taken a liking to him. Suddenly a tremor shook the room they were in, and cracks started appearing all around them. A screeching not unlike the sound chalkboard made when scratched filled the surroundings, getting more intense as more and more cracks began forming spider webs all around them. It seemed Charles¡¯ suggestion had been on the money. **** Charles had to cover his ears and hunch over to try and keep the noise out, but it was little use, the sound too great for his normal body to handle. He suddenly felt a big pair of hands cup his ears closed, and the screeching faded into something somewhat bearable. He looked up and saw Ragnor standing before over him, looking utterly undisturbed by the dysfunctional orchestra playing out around them. After a few minutes, panels of the white around them began falling and fading away. In the gaps left behind by them, several hues of green appeared. As more of the segmented panels fell away, the greens proved to belong to leaves on trees, as the windows began rapidly growing in size as more and more panels yielded to their mortality. After what seemed like a few more minutes, the panels finally fell away in full, welcoming them to a glade of trees with one last shrill crescendo that pierced even the protection offered by Ragnor¡¯s hands. Once Ragnor was sure the last of the noise was gone, he removed his hands from Charles¡¯ face. Charles heaved a sigh of relief, not even the Sonic Bats the vampyrs used to train his will were as bad as what he just experienced. A shuffling to the side had him turning in that direction. Both Aarok and Celeste rejoined the duo, the two spirit beasts obediently following close behind. The vampyrs showed not a hint of exertion from their recent feat, once again after so many times he¡¯d lost count, further solidifying the respect he had for them. He used the opportunity to commit to memory Celeste¡¯s appearance. The grace with which she walked, her modest chest being outlined by her fight suit, her beautiful face in its usual thoughtful expression, giving the impression that she was thinking about some great puzzle that she not solved yet but was on the cusp of succeeding. Her ocean blue hair framing the entire image in something that Charles refused to believe that there existed an artist that would not give up their passion in shame of not being able to replicate it with their unworthy skills. Charles was no fool, he knew why Ragnor had taken a sudden liking to him after he was caught. He knew perfectly well that if there was to be any chance at all that he would succeed in making Celeste his, he¡¯d need all the help he could get. The great families were hardly known for their coupling with humans, and even then, of the few times it had been sanctioned, it was never with an orphan with no history. That was who Charles was, being picked up in some orphanage in Mexico by the vampyrs when he was 6. Of course, he had not been the only one singled out from orphanages across the Mayan world, but he proved to be the most promising candidate. He had Celeste to thank for all that. He still remembered when Celeste walked in, only just 8 but being assigned tasks to begin conditioning her to leadership and matters of the family. Truth be told, someone else had almost received the honor, the adult vampyrs that came to handle the actual selection explaining to Celeste their reasoning in choosing the other child. Celeste had heard their reasoning, and glanced around the orphanage in an attempt to try and immolate the grownups and be helpful. The moment she had laid eyes on him, she turned and beseeched her Custodians to choose him instead. The Custodians had applauded her and followed her suggestion, informing the Nun of their decision. Despite his memory of the event being incredibly lucid, the actual contents of the conversation between the Custodians and Celeste remained a mystery to him, the result of a spell that people of the Divide used to keep mortals from listening in on mystical matters. All Celeste told him when he had asked, was that they were looking for a worthy person to become a hero like in the stories he so liked to read whenever he could. While he only knew that he was raised with the express purpose of getting his hands on a Mayan god Heritage and becoming a hero, he never wished to know more, the time he had spent with a Celeste made it all worth it. Celeste had been ordered by her father to teach Charles everything that she learned in her magical theory classes as it was her decision to choose him above the choice of the Custodians, and he would be tested regularly to make sure that Celeste did her job well. He still remembered the first time he had failed a test. The subject matter had been too confusing and he was too ashamed of his incompetence to admit as much to Celeste. She had come back the following day bruised and battered, her martial instructor having ¡°taught¡± her a lesson. Celeste had never blamed him, had never admonished him for not asking questions. She simply resumed teaching him as normal. He was filled with so much shame that then and there he swore to himself to always do the best he could in everything and grow up to become a man that could be her Hero to her and the human race and someday marry her. Back at the orphanage, whenever one of the boys got rowdy with the girls and they ended up getting hurt, the nuns would read story books of knights in armor saving and protecting the fairer sex. ¡°A proper man must be the heroes that protect girls. When you all grow older, you¡¯ll meet a woman that above all others you would want to be a hero to protect her the most¡± the kindly nun would remind the boys every time someone got too rowdy with the girls. Back then, at that moment, he knew he wanted to protect Celeste, and that he wanted to protect her above anyone else, so it had made complete sense to the 8 year old him to make such a declaration. It was the first time Celeste had graced him with her laughter, and he had seen her blush for the first and only time. ¡°If you become the best at our selection, maybe my father would let you¡± Celeste had remarked with startling casualty, immediately moving forward with the lesson. The phrase had been an innocent comment on Celeste¡¯s part, simply stating a fact, but it had thoroughly impacted Charles, awakening a drive to succeed he never realized he was capable of. As one would imagine, this ultimately led to Charles zealously internalizing all the knowledge thrown at him. He succeeded in not only becoming one of the candidates moving forward into the physical preparation round, but he had done so in first place, his scores leaving far behind his competition. The physical round was much of the same, his tenacity and will power giving him the edge needed to never fall, always holding his ground and never backing down from the different scenarios thrown at them, even when it was in the 1 to many fights. He having succeeded in fighting and winning a 1-10 fight guaranteeing his selection. He had been 12 at the time, Celeste having just celebrated her 14th birthday. Although she had on her signature thoughtful expression, she had gifted him with one of her rare smiles, thanking him for having made for investment worthwhile. His victory had been such a landslide that when Celeste had been lauding him for his success, the Patriarch of the family of all people came to him for the first time since his daughter had brought him home. ¡°Congratulations¡­.Charles is it? I expect great things of you when you get a Heritage.¡± That was all the Patriarch told him. With a pat on the shoulder, the man left the room, leaving Charles and Celeste alone in the lounge again. ¡°Maybe you can be my hero after all¡± Celeste said, and with after a rather awkward hug, walked away. Just that sentence said in passing sent Charles over the moon. He did not slowdown in his training and dedicated himself as much as possible. To have one of their leads confirmed just when Charles had reached the ideal age for entry into the Mayan Mystical Arts Restoration Academy. It would be the best place to have Charles start carving a corner into the political landscape for him and his benefactors because he¡¯d be mingling amongst future leaders of the Divide. He had been so eager that he hardly slept the night before they left the manor. Ragnor had implied him to a useless coward earlier, but it was not that he was coward. It was more accurate to say that he would not endanger himself before he could his hands on the power that was rightfully his. He had faith that Celeste was strong enough to protect them both until he could get their goal here. So until then he¡¯d swallow his pride and let them do all the fighting, once he got his treasure, he¡¯d make sure Celeste never had to fight again. Now, here he was with the love of his life Celeste, a new friend in Ragnor and the Susurro Aarok in a glade in a different dimension, surrounded on all sides save one by ancient trees. Before him stretched a pathway down a hill, leading up to a massive Mayan temple, the steep steps leading up to a doorway, the hill they were standing on too far to see anything other than darkness from their vantage point. The temple had a massive hole at the very top, through which he could see a clear indication that that was where they needed to go. Was this not like the stories he had been read back at the orphanage and at the manor when he was in the library? Him and trusty companions and the Susurro finally reaching the end of a journey to claim the treasure? Just you wait Heritage, you won¡¯t be here all alone for much longer. The Hero was coming. Chapter 6 - Histoire of Magic, Man, Creation and Exile Chapter 6 Histoire of Magic, Man, Creation and Exile As Ray stepped into the dark space before him, torches that were lining the walls began lighting up one after another, illuminating the temple interior, revealing a massive space. The walls were plain, the glyphs that were usually present in the interior of temples being noticeably absent. On the floor was scattered more debris, clay pots shattered and swords and shields lay broken. The light from the torches only illuminated his half of the room, revealing a staircase leading upward, and further in on the other side, he could see the outline of another entrance, the light coming from outside not being enough to do more than announce the existence of said door. With no other direction to go but up, as he could see the door way opposite him led to the other side of the temple, he began to climb the stairs. As he ascended the stairs, the glyphs that had been so conspicuously absent in the room below, finally made their presence known. Stone carvings of a god, wielding the items eerily similar to the ones in his possession, rising to meet a giant snake in battle. The god, wreathed in a regalia of feathers on his head and shoulders, the biggest of which stretching from the top of his head all the way to where his back met his legs. A battle skirt around his legs, depicted to be made of jaguar skin, and jewelry on his arms and ears. The depictions were different variations of the same scene. One showed the god with only staff in hand and the snake rearing back like a cobra, in another the god had his foot against the head of the snake, pressing it down into the ground, his sword poised above his head, ready to strike. It was not all depictions of victory for the god however, as there were plenty where the snake got the better of him. In some, the snake had the god in between its mighty jaws, in others, the snake coiled around him, constricting the god with its massive body. Ray couldn¡¯t help but notice that there was an equal number of victories for the god as there was for the snake. It seemed that the two were supposed to be evenly matched. He soon reached the top of the stairs, and there he found what must have been the last carving. It showed both the god and the snake, holding each other¡¯s heads, their final battle a monument to the concept of mutual destruction. Ray stopped at the stop of the stairs and just stared at the carving for a few minutes. The carving renewed his enthusiasm to lead others here, he had never heard of such a carving being found before. But then he remembered that he had to go to China after this was done, what good would his fame be then? With a start, he tore his gaze away from the carving in front of him. Something had been bothering him since he had picked up the staff. Whenever he tried to get excited over something when he was here, his attention quickly got drawn elsewhere. The same sort of slide of attention that happened whenever someone would walk into a room to get something, but forgot what they were doing there in the first place once they were there. The first time it had happened was when he had first seen the murals of wizards on the tentacle-root thing outside. He had seen the mages, and a part of him couldn¡¯t remember there ever being mentioned Mayans having any mages in any of his classes. Yet the excitement one would expect to find at gaining such knowledge was not there. Instead he had moved on in favor of the rest of the mural. While this could be excused as just the overall mural being worthy of his attention rather than its minute details, the same thing happened to the staff. He had fully intended to hand over the items in his hands at first, such was the law in Belize, but his mind was overcome with greed uncharacteristic of him. He had shaken it off and resolved to do his civic duty, but once again his excitement at having the items in hand had quickly dissipated and his attention had focused on everything else but the things in hand and what they meant. And now here he was, his mind grappling with some realization but frustratingly unable to do the big reveal. It wasn¡¯t like he could say his mind had more important matters to worry about. He did not feel in any real danger, his father and uncle had always made him feel safe and he had absolute trust that they would find him, so it was only a matter of surviving until they did, something he had been taught by Han to do. Sure he had skipped the first step to find water, but to be fair, a city as massive as this would be bound to have a source of water nearby and last he checked it was still day time outside, so unless something happened to him in here, he should be fine. Getting back to the point, Ray was getting a bit apprehensive by now, the realization that there was something he should have figured out gnawing at his guts. Shaking his head free of these thoughts, he turned it left and right, to see where he could go from here, and saw that there was a door way on either side, looking to curve in, leading whoever walked through to some space behind the wall of carvings in front of him. Turning the corner, he walked into a smaller room than the one below, but rather than being empty like its lower counterpart, it sported massive pillars around the perimeter of the room. 8 of them by his count, there were human remains here and there, some still holding unto their weapons and shields, others hugging said pillars, still holding on for dear life, as if they had yet to realize life was no longer something they could cling to. But what truly drew Ray¡¯s attention, was the throne in the middle facing him. A ray of sunshine from above, stabbing through the hole in the roof, illuminated the chair, cladding it in a fabric of incandescence. On the throne itself, sat the body of an old man, surprisingly whole despite its obvious age. The last remains of grey hair plastered against his scalp, his head tilted to the side against his left shoulder and chair. He must¡¯ve been a warrior, for his body was painted with tattoos similar to the ones he had seen warriors sport in the depictions on the root below. His sun kissed skin was radiant, the soft glow defying the light of the sun above. His hands lay resting on the arms of the chair, his legs firmly planted on the ground. The overall impression the man gave was the very definition of the word timeless. The only odd thing about the old man was the gaping wound in his stomach. It had long stopped bleeding but there were black veins spreading from the edges for a few centimeters. He began to approach the throne, hoping that there might be other artifacts he could take with him. It was then he noticed the shadow. Of course, how could he have forgotten? The tentacle-root had one end stuck into this very temple had it not? His eyes made their way up as he walked closer to the throne, but he found himself slowing down, his back rapidly building up a cold sweat. Soon, he simply stopped walking, his eyes transfixed to what was above him. His body began to shake as the truth of what he was now looking at kept slamming into his psyche, the experience made worse by his consciousness¡¯ feeble attempts at trying to deny it. For up above, looming over both him and the throne with the dead old man, was the lifeless head of massive black snake, its jaws having unhinged in its final moments of life, the lifeless jewels that were once its eyes perpetually fixed on the throne and its occupant. He began to step back, regretting his every decision since climbing down from the hill leading into the city. How could he have not realized it? When he had placed his hand against the snake, he had clearly felt the scales, so why had he told himself it was smooth? A splitting head ache began to build, as the beast above him destroyed so much of what he had once thought was true about the world. Maybe it was a dinosaur, somehow preserved like the old man on the throne. Yes, that made sense, it all makes sense now. ¡°Be calm child, Hapikern¡­. He is alive no more. You may be at peace here.¡± There it was again, the voice from before. The same voice that had called him forward and filled him with the longing to answer it. But where was its source? Ray looked around the room before his attention once again focused on the old man before him. It can¡¯t be ¡­¡­. ¡°Yes, it very much can.¡± The voice resounded throughout the room. The old man lifted his head, and his eyes opened. Ray had thought that the glow of the old man¡¯s skin already had the effect of out glowing the sunlight, but he was wrong. The old man¡¯s eyes were completely white at first before irises the color of jade floated up to the surface, the blacks of his eyes occasionally sparkling with tiny pricks of light, similar to distant stars in the night sky. Ray stared at them, wondering whether or not he¡¯d finally lost his mind. ¡°Who, or what, are you?¡± Ray finally asked. If he was going crazy, he might as well get answers. ¡°I have abandoned my name long ago. The people of this land, they gave me the name¡­.. Nohochacyum.¡± The old man looked at Ray, his gaze seemingly piercing through the very fabric of who Ray was as an individual. A frown creased his face. ¡°I apologize, I did not realize that you were still under the effect of the World Glamour¡±. With that, the old man stood up and took the few steps between him and Ray. He slowly lifted his right arm and placed it on Ray¡¯s forehead. Ray, who was now frozen in abject terror of the creature above him and in front of him, could only close his eyes and pray that his death was a quick one. The old man¡¯s hand was cool to the touch and he felt something come out of it and bury itself into his own skull, but that was it. His head didn¡¯t explode into a million pieces, there wasn¡¯t even any pain. Cracking open an eye to see what the old man was doing, he saw that the throne had been reclaimed and Nohochacyum was now favoring him with a smile. ¡°There now, all better?¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Ray fully opened both eyes and rubbed his temples. The splitting head ache was gone. It felt as if some mental block had been lifted. He had not realized how muddled his mind had truly been. All of his thoughts regarding the murals on the snake, or rather, the patterns on the snake¡¯s scales no longer seemed to dissipate as soon as he thought about them. The excitement he had initially felt for getting his hands on the items in his possession filled him once more. He noticed that even the old man¡¯s voice was no longer thunderous as it had once been. ¡°What did you do to me?¡± Ray asked, ¡°And I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯ve never heard of the name Nohochacyum. I know you probably expected me to recognize it but I¡¯m drawing nothing but blanks.¡± ¡°I owe you an apology child. I interrupted your rite of passage into the Divide, and as such you still remained under partial influence of the World Glamour. As for knowing who I was, there is no need to worry. The records of who I was to your people have been largely erased by my own command. All you would have been able to find out about my name is that I was one of the gods that aided your people in becoming who they were. My grudge with Hapikern did not give me much opportunity to ingratiate myself to the Mayan people after the initial settlements.¡± Nohochacyum explained, his head resting on one of his hands as he gave Ray an assessing look. ¡°I can tell from your reactions to everything that you really have no idea what¡¯s going on here. And yet your body and mind has such a solid foundation in place, which was why I chose you in the first place.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Chose me? For what?¡± Ray asked, but before he could fire out another barrage of questions, the old man flashed from his chair to stand before him in the time it took him to blink. ¡°It would be far easier and less time consuming if I just transferred the knowledge I can share with you directly. We don¡¯t have time to do otherwise.¡± And with that he reached out with both hands and clasped either side of Ray¡¯s head. Once again Ray felt something leave Nohochacyum¡¯s hands and enter his skull. The headache that had assaulted him just a few minutes before came back in full force and his vision went white. ***** Eons ago, there was nothing but chaos. Pure chaos with no direction was simply nothingness. But then, the Progenitor decided that this chaos needed to be channeled, otherwise it would be quite a waste. Chaos was the purest form of possibility you see. Every decision ever made, every action taken was but chaos given direction. The Progenitor saw this, and in his infinite wisdom, bent Chaos to his will to perform the 7 Great Acts. Through these Great Acts, the Progenitor sculpted the universe as we know it. For his first Act, he saw that there was only darkness, so he created the stars to provide light and created balance. The Progenitor enjoyed the light with its ability to illuminate and was enthralled by the potential mysteries that the darkness could hide, but saw that there was nothing for the light and dark to reveal and hide respectively. Thus for his second Act, he drew forth the elements from the fabric of Chaos in the first act of Magic and formed many worlds. He used the properties of Chaos to influence the possibilities, and thus fantastic planets dotted the tapestry of the universe. But these planets were bare and were missing something that would make each one a true work of art as the Progenitor intended. So for his third Act, he forged himself a mighty hammer and forged the planets with mighty blows to allow them to sustain life. Then he channeled Chaos to create the liquids necessary to support the life he intended to create. To complete his third Act, took chunks of Chaos and molded them into seeds, sowing them into the worlds he had painstakingly prepared. Taking a step back, the Progenitor noticed his worlds were stagnant, for his fourth Act, he rearranged the worlds and created the first Laws, weaving Gravity, Time, Space, Life, Death, Destruction and Creation, and by once again letting the powers of possibility that Chaos provided, created the rules of existence. Such was his great work that the worlds now had moons and were close to the stars, allowing the life he had already sown to flourish. But what use is all that he had created if the plants were all that he made. Thus the Progenitor used his mastery of the laws he had created and created the beasts that roamed his worlds. He expressed his boundless creativity and ingenuity by making them in all shapes and forms. Yet, the mighty Progenitor was still not satisfied. For when he had made all the countless beasts, he had diluted the sheer power of possibilities and created what we now know as potential. He had weaved this concept into his creations, allowing them to change their nature as they see necessary. But the creatures he made were nothing but instinct. Yet he enjoyed them far too much to simply wipe them away and start anew. So, he decided to make something new, something far more intelligent and he used himself as an example. He created the races and gave them all gifts alongside the power of potential he had extracted from Chaos. He made the Elves, the Dwarves, the Orcs, the Gnomes, the Tieflings, and finally he made Humanity. Having been made in his image, he saw fit to let us wield a shadow of his great power, and the races dubbed this gift Magic and called the unfiltered source of power Genesis. It is from this source of power that all other sub-types originate. At this point, the Progenitor was incredibly happy and satisfied with all that he had accomplished. Watching his creations live their lives, he decided to give them all, once final gift. For his final Great Act, the Progenitor in all his kindness, gave his creations free will. He took a step back and let them live their lives, and only interfered when asked. He was content to watch us live, laugh, love, cry, and although it hurt him whenever we hated, killed, envied, he still loved us. Humanity lived in relative harmony with the 6 other races. Until the great Sin. You see, at some point after the Progenitor had created the universe, the races cumulatively prayed for some way to traverse through the other worlds. Magic was yet in its infancy and the branch of Translocation was not even a concept yet. The Progenitor was intrigued by this request, and in a fashion that only the Progenitor could have done, he once again bent Chaos to his will, and sculpted the World Tree, it¡¯s branches and roots all connecting to the many worlds he created. Just as the Universe he had created was ever expanding because of the power of Chaos, so was this tree, always growing, always connecting to whatever new worlds would pop up as a result of the Progenitor¡¯s great work. The exact nature of the Sin cannot be known to you at this time, but know this, the Progenitor was torn, for the Sin had placed the other 6 races against Humanity, and they demanded that Humanity be wiped out from existence as punishment. The Progenitor could not bring himself to slaughter his children so wantonly, especially as the future generations would have not been at fault for the sins of the ancestors. So instead, Humanity was exiled to an obscure region in the Universe, and was allowed to live under the stipulation that no more than 10% of the total population was allowed to wield the Gift of Genesis at any given time until an indeterminate amount of time had passed. Only then would they be given the chance to rejoin the cosmos at large. ******* Ray¡¯s vision returned to normal, his body hunched over, taking deep gasping breaths. ¡°Why am I not panicking about all of this? Why do I feel like this is something I¡¯ve known my entire life?¡± Ray asked. And it was true, the hysteria that such knowledge would¡¯ve normally caused a person was nowhere to be found. ¡°Because your very being has always known this. It is something that all of his creations know inherently. The gods of old purposefully gave everyone different versions of the truth, as our previous attempt at keeping to the rules destroyed the planet we had originally inhabited. But these are truths for another time.¡± Nohochacyum said as he walked back and sat on the throne once more. ¡°I took the liberty of checking some of your memories to see what the outside world is like and I must say that you mortals have done quite well for yourselves to have gotten so many technological advancements through Artifice alone. I also now know how it is your body and mind have such strong foundations. That father of yours has probably been preparing you to take on his legacy. I know it is a lot of information to take in, but I simply do not have the time to answer any questions.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, it is too much information to take in, but my father promised me answers when this was all over, and as such I¡¯ll just have to have faith that at the very least the answers he gives me will help me find the answers to the dozens of questions you¡¯ve raised.¡± Ray could only sigh in defeat. He was far beyond getting surprised at this point and after having put aside so many shocks to the back of his mind all day, really, what¡¯s a few more? If anything, this would all be a dream or illusion he was experiencing after fainting from a botched landing. ¡°Good. The reason we are running out of time is because the corpse of the snake above me. His name was Hapikern. My grudges with it are my own, and something I¡¯ve long settled. In our final fight, I burned up all of my magical progress to temporarily increase my power enough to defeat and kill him. What I didn¡¯t know, was that he had been infected with a shard of Chaos. I took out his core and integrated it into myself, but not before a sliver of his power was taken by the shard. All this time I¡¯ve sat here, doing my best to suppress it, but at the end of the day, despite me having been given the title god, I am still but a man. My ability to suppress the shard weakens as we speak. I¡­. I did not want to do as the other gods did and pass on my progress to someone else. But the flows of Chaos are moving forward, and I feel that my power will be needed in the trials to come.¡± ¡°Are you saying what I think you¡¯re saying?¡± Ray asked incredulously. He was wrong, there were definitely some things that could shatter his attempts at compartmentalizing. ¡°An astute one you are. Yes, I am offering you my power Raymundo. I am offering you the potential of a god.¡± Chapter 7 - Answers Chapter 7 Answers ¡°How can you not know where this cockatrice came from Lucius? Wasn¡¯t it one of your summons?¡± George asked. The three men were currently standing over the unconscious body of the cockatrice that had attempted to assault them midair. They had relocated to the ¡°face¡± area of the mountain range where Lucius assured them the entrance to the Heritage lay. It was incredibly worrying to George because cockatrices should be flightless. The bloody bird had no business being as high up as they were in the first place. Sure, the poor thing was probably as confused as they were when George had intercepted it as it was nosediving, or more accurately, falling towards Ray. ¡°I told you, the Susurro family would never let their elites use such unseemly beasts. The cockatrice¡¯s stone vision is strong, sure, but it¡¯s just a giant flightless bird with a snake¡¯s tail at the end of the day. At best they¡¯d be given to cadets, but only if there weren¡¯t better options.¡± Lucius said with disdain. How laughable, to think that a C-class beast would be used by their illustrious family. ¡°Maybe it was just a Chaos fluctuation? I¡¯ve heard of worst things happening when Chaos concentrates too much in one area.¡± While both men were having this conversation, Han remained silent. His mind was working furiously, he refused to believe that a cockatrice appearing midair while Ray was attempting his rite of passage was a simple coincidence. He began thinking of possible reasons for such a thing occurring, Chaos be damned. Cockatrices were one of the few creatures that weren¡¯t locked to a specific region. Unlike creatures like the Kitsune from Japan and the Totem Spirits the Navajo up north venerated, the Cockatrices simply needed certain conditions to be met. This ranged from a chicken incubating a snake egg, to a snake choking on a chicken egg and having the chick hatch inside and eat its way out. But none of them could possible explain how a cockatrice just appeared in midair near their location. Lucius was right, Chaos tended to gather too much in one place from time to time and strange occurrences would result. If such was the case he hoped the Chaos had already spent itself, as too much had already interfered into an otherwise straightforward weekend. But such was the way of life he supposed, man proposes and heaven disposes. Still, he had faith his son would walk away with the Heritage today. He knew how these things worked and Ray¡¯s disappearance meant that he had been chosen, whereas whatever hopeful the vampyrs had prepared had to be escorted in by brute force. Even if the Heritage was a bad one, he¡¯d do his best to make sure Ray could turn it around in his favor. ¡°Do you think Ray would like the bird as a familiar Han?¡± Snapping out of his thoughts, he turned to regard his friend. He was in agreement with Lucius on this one. A cockatrice was hardly an intimidating familiar, and if Ray came out with a god¡¯s Heritage, then he¡¯d need a familiar with more potential. He told George as much. ¡°Ha, where would we find such a familiar? But very well, I¡¯ll keep the bugger for now.¡± George took out his axe and tapped the butt end of the axe on the creatures head. The weapon glowed a fierce red for a few seconds before subsiding, a carving of a bird appearing on one of the axe¡¯s blades. ¡°I know we¡¯re waiting for children to come back, but this is incredibly boring. Any one of you want to spar or something?¡± It was at that moment that the ridge forming the ¡°lips¡± of the giant split open, forming an ¡°O¡± shape. Instead of dirt or the entrance to a cavern, a pool of light was present instead. From this pool gushed out a spray of dark energy, sending shivers down the spine of all men present. ¡°Ray!¡± ¡°Young masters!¡± They called out in shock. This wasn¡¯t just Chaos, this was Chaos tinged with negativity. They didn¡¯t know what had happened inside there, but knew it couldn¡¯t have been good. ¡°We have to go in there!¡± George yelled, gripping his axe and positioning himself for a full blown charge. ¡°Wait George. Running in head first isn¡¯t going to do the kids any favors. I want to rush in just as badly as you do, but we have to make sure we go in with a cool head.¡± Han said. Turning to Lucius he asked, ¡°As you know, I¡¯ve been out of the Divide for years, so I don¡¯t have any way to call reinforcements. Would you have any means to do so?¡± Lucius nodded in the affirmative, taking out a bird made of jade. Holding it in between both hands, he injected a sliver of his mana into it and then crushed it. A spectral sparrow emerged from the dust and flew away in a certain direction. Han could not help notice it was flying away towards Belmopan. ¡®So, he¡¯s calling in reinforcements from the academy? Good, we might need all the help we could get.¡¯ ¡°There, I¡¯ve asked for help. Now let¡¯s get in there. This much chaos is dangerous and as well trained as my young masters are, they do not have the strength to survive something this strong for long.¡± Lucius then reached into his robes and took out 2 gems and crushed both in the same movement. The Minotaur reformed once again and the other beast he called for coalesced into the form of a Medusi lion. The Medusi lion was a lion that was easily the size of an SUV. The lion got its name sake from the serpents that acted in the pace of its mane. Lacking the stone gaze that was characteristic to a Medusa, the lion used the snakes on its head to inject deadly poisons into the bodies of its prey. This resulted in it not only subjugating its prey and gaining a source of food, but by repeatedly consuming its own poisons, it built up its immunity to poisons. That way whenever the lions fought for territories and mates, they could last longer against their opponents when it came to poison resistance. The Jaguar, having been heavily injured by Han, dispersed into a puff of orange energies and fused into an opal gem. ¡°I¡¯ll see you on the other side gentlemen.¡± And with that, Lucius and his familiars jumped into the portal. ¡°Tyr, watch over he who you have blessed. Lend your strength to my blows and your wisdom to my mind.¡± George said, invoking the blessing he had received from the vessel of Tyr. His body gained a coppery luster, his muscles bulging and pressing against his mountaineering clothes. His eyes gained a silvery glow and his face took on a calm expression. Clutching his axe, he channeled mana into the enchantments, awakening the spirits of the animals he had slain. His body bulged further, hair growing on his arms and chest. Having taken on the additional strength of a Giant Bear, he then called forth the speed of Dire wolf and the stamina of an earth elemental he had slain long ago. With one final nod to Han, he too followed Lucius into the portal. Han watched his longtime friend jump, marveling for the umpteenth time at how many ways to use magic there was. Shaking his head to clear it from distracting thoughts, he took out his Celestial Blood sword and pricked his left arm with it. The blade was typically a dull silver when dormant, but when blooded it would take on the appearance of brimstone, the blade turning black with veins of red streaking with flames. He had not cultivated since just before adopting Ray and as such was still at the Sky tier of cultivation, but the sword in his hands let him bridge the gap between this level and the next, stealing the strength of his enemies to fuel and empower its wielder. Taking a deep breath, he activated his Heaven¡¯s Eyes technique, elevating his reaction and processing speeds to new heights. It had been a long time since he last pushed his body to its limit, and although he had wished to never have to fight again, for Ray, he¡¯d do so as many times as needed. Taking one last look in the direction of the Academy, he offered a silent prayer to the Progenitor, hoping that whatever was in there did not require more power than everyone in their current party could bring to bear. Turning his attention back to the portal in front of him. The Asura of Blood would go to battle once more. ***** 15 Minutes Earlier ¡°Let me back you up a bit there. I am not accepting anything from an old man I randomly met in an abandoned city. Yes, you claim to be a god and your appearance and the thing above us does support your claims to a degree, I humbly request that you explain to me at least what I¡¯m getting myself into.¡± Ray demanded, doing his best to give the old man before him a defiant stare. Nohochacyum sighed. He truly wished the boy before him had been someone who knew what he was getting into. His ability to suppress to Chaos seed above him was rapidly declining by the minute. As much as he would like to force the issue, he needed the boy to willingly accept the potential of not one, but two gods. The Progenitor¡¯s laws were absolute and he had already skirted one too many loopholes today. If he pushed any more, this entire space he set up would collapse and the power he so carefully prepared over the eons would go to someone random. He could not let such a thing happen. In truth, Ray was not the only one currently in his heart space that could receive his endowment, but the other candidate had a darkness about him that worried him. He was not all knowing, he never centered his manipulation of Genesis on the abilities of the mind and heart, so he only had his experience to rely on, and it told him that the other boy¡¯s demeanor and two of his companions were raising warning bells. The aura of the two in question were familiar, but he had been here a long time, and he had forgotten much. He had used some of the last bits of his remaining power to keep him and his companions in a fake dimension, but they all proved to be incredibly talented and he ended up buying himself a few hours at most. Even now as he was talking to Ray, they were already making their way to the temple, slowly and cautiously yes, but they would be here soon enough. The problem was that they had technically entered the space before Ray, and as such had a better claim. In contrast, the boy before him looked exceptionally plain, but it looked like someone had made sure that the boy not waste any of his potential in anything, and instead fed him and trained him just enough for him to be able to rapidly adapt to the initial changes opening himself up to Genesis would bring. This would lead to the boy being able to pursue any path of power to higher heights than the norm. When he had sent some of his mana into the boy¡¯s mind to pass on a truth of the universe, he had taken a quick glance at who Ray was and was pleased that he was of sound character and lacked that disconcerting quality the other possessed.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he decided to invest a few more minutes to explain a few things, lest his subterfuge be for naught. ¡°What do you know about magic?¡± he asked, staring straight into Ray¡¯s eyes. Ray spluttered for a second, caught completely off guard by the sudden question. ¡°You mean that hocus pocus thing where you wave a wand and pull a bunny out of a hat or something? Or more like waving a wand, throwing around fireballs and lightning?¡± Hearing this, Nohochacyum found himself unable to stifle his laughter. ¡°Pull what out of a hat? I assume this ¡®bunny¡¯ is some kind of rodent for it to fit in a hat. The things you mortals have come up with. No boy, I¡¯m referring to the second one. The ability to wield Genesis, extracting mana or qi from it and using these energies to enforce your will around you.¡± Ray raised an eyebrow, a look of disbelief clear on his face. First gods, now magic. He had been expecting a jump up in hierarchy, not down. ¡°I understand your skepticism. If you recall, the Progenitor let us use powers on a much lower scale to himself, as he made us in his image. This too is a truth that I have reminded you of. I will give you a vastly summarized version on why you did not know magic was real and why we are running out of time here. As part of our punishment as a species, we were deemed unworthy of utilizing this gift from the Progenitor after the Great Sin, yet, as we will be allowed to join the larger cosmos after our exile was over, it was decided that in order to preserve the knowledge on how to use Genesis, a small portion of our civilization was allowed to remain with the knowledge. The exact number was somewhere around 1/10th of the species, give or take and such a rule was carved into the very nature of our beings with the punishment for rule breaking being death. Naturally, such an unbalance of power led to caste societies, with wielders of Genesis claiming the top positions for themselves. Apart from that, the secrets of magic never remained secret for long, and we came several times to going beyond our quota. After the Great War, it was decided amongst those of us that remained that in order for us to comfortably remain within the limit, we would separate the magical world from the mortal world. Through the use of dimensional magic, a separate dimension localized to this planet alone was created, draped over the original where the mortals were kept. As a part of this, powerful illusionary and mental magics were weaved into the spell, making it so that should anyone from the mortal world stumble into anything remotely related to magic, they would be disoriented about the whole experience and would forget, disassociate or be misdirected as appropriate. That is the World Glamour.¡± Ray was reeling from the new information. But before he could begin asking more questions, Nohochacyum moved forward with the exposition. ¡°If most of the gods you know were humans, why we are called gods? The answer to that is that we were individuals who had all reached what would be considered the apex of what could be achieved on the usage of Genesis and magic. Warriors and mage alike, this title was only given to those who had made full use of their gift from the Progenitor¡¯s gift and were considered to have gotten closer to him as a result. A downside of our punishment as a whole was that a lot of ancient techniques were lost when the first of us died. Humanity was still small in number then and our arrogance led a lot of us to believe that we could live long enough to be the bulwark that defended humanity when our exile came to an end. As such, we were slow on adding numbers to the Divide. Yet as the years passed and we died, even despite our abilities extending our life spans, we began to see the wisdom in adding people to our ranks. Unfortunately, the best teachers had already passed and those of us who remained could only pass on broken information. It was not until one of the gods over in the land of endless sands, one of the last true scholars, devised an ingenuous way to pass on our knowledge and progress to future people. Our Genesis would be used to set up areas much like the one you¡¯re in now, and we would pass on a hollow shell of who we once were to our inheritors.¡± ¡°What do you mean shells?¡± Ray asked, his mind finally having settled down with blank acceptance, having reached a point where he just couldn¡¯t summon disbelief. If turned out to be true, then it¡¯d be true. If not oh well, he¡¯d just go get a therapist after this. He might as well grab what answers he can. ¡°Consider it like us giving our inheritors an empty house. They can fill it up with whatever they like, add in new additions in the form of new techniques or beliefs. They could even add in extensions in the form of different forms of magics. But so long as they follow the general direction we followed in our life they will eventually be able to gain a level of power equal to what ours was. Unfortunately another stipulation of the exile left you all cripple and you would only be able to fill it out a certain amount of our potential. This would only lift till after the exile is completed, but as an upside, inheritors can grant ¡°blessings¡± to people, granting them abilities in line with the path they are taking.¡± ¡°So I would be able to use the same magics that you used in the past?¡± Ray held up the staff and sword in hand. ¡°I¡¯ll take a wild guess here and say that these were probably something you made or used?¡± Ray at this point was getting visibly excited. If what he had seen Han and George do outside in midair was magic, he was all in. Nohochacyum smiled sadly and shook his head in the negative. ¡°I am sorry, but no. In order to subdue and ultimately kill Hapikern, I had to burn out all of the progress I had made. Before our final confrontation, Hapikern had somehow gotten a hold of a shard of concentrated chaos. Chaos represents possibilities, and many a time it would coalesce into crystals. With the proper direction, it could be used to channel Chaos in small amounts, giving way to powerful abilities. But one must be careful, as possibilities include negative and harmful ones as well. That was what happened to Hapikern. He took a shard into himself and it twisted him into a former shadow of himself. He was once an ally, but the shard broke his mind, turning him into what you see outside. By doing what I did, it was able to temporarily surpass his strength, tearing both the shard and his core out of him.¡± ¡°Core? You mean the snake was not just a human turned snake? How can a snake become a god?¡± ¡°Beasts that used their potential adequately could increase their intelligence and or assume a humanoid form. They became the 7th race, the beast men. Some of the beast men sided with us in the conflict, hence the divine beasts in the pantheons. Beasts get stronger differently than us humans. They compress their magical prowess into a core, the more experienced ones eventually transform their core into something much the same as our shells, a house to suit a purpose. A lot of them had joined our ranks for one reason or the other before the exile. Which leads me to why we are running out of time. When I ripped out Hapikern¡¯s core, in order to prevent him from reviving, I had to take the core into myself, essentially creating a shell within a shell. If you accept my offer, you will not walk out of here today with a fully structured path like others, but instead leave with the foundations of not one, but two gods. You will be free to direct your magic in any direction you wish. The only thing you¡¯ll have to be mindful of, is that my foundation was a foundation meant for creation and destruction while Hapikern¡¯s was one for Growth. They are all vague enough concepts that I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to use in any way you want.¡± Nohochacyum said, raising his hands out, the radiant luster that was coating his body all this time shifting and walking away from him and towards Ray until it reached halfway between them. The luster formed an opaque silhouette, the white giving way to all colors of the rainbow on random parts of its form in a pattern with no discernible reason. In the center, just in between where the lungs would be, a verdant orb floated, streaks of browns, reds, blues and blacks randomly appearing on its surface. The silhouette turned around, its back now facing Ray. Next, with a flick of his wrists, the giant body of the snake began to shrink in size, coiling in on itself until it formed an obsidian band, studded with jade. The only thing that was left was a shard, awash in the colors of the rainbow, a silver barrier surrounding it. ¡°Shards of Chaos are dangerous because if left unattended they can warp the reality around them, with unforeseen results. The shard that I am currently suppressing had reached the levels of a god, and it takes all of the power I currently possess to have subdued it to be as weak as it is now. Therefore I ask you this Raymundo, loan me your body, so I can use it to once and for all destroy this shard, and you will get to keep my foundation afterwards along with my armaments. If you wish, I could bring in your companions from outside to assist in this endeavor. ¡±Nohochacyum said, his complexion rapidly turning pale. It looked like having separated himself from his power, his age was wasting no time in claiming him. Ray looked at the silhouette in front of him and mulled over the conditions of the offer. Nohochacyum would use him to destroy this shard of chaos, and he would get what was practically the best start in this new world his father had been planning to get him into in the first place. By Nohochacyum¡¯s own admittance, his body had been prepared for something like this, and while he was sure that his father had not been planning on him receiving a god¡¯s power, and he did not know if his father had any further plans for him at all beyond getting him into the Divide. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. He was no fool, by reading in between the lines, taking up this power would come with its fair share of responsibilities. Yes the gods were probably numerous amongst the pantheons, but 1/10th of the total population was a lot, and kept growing daily. He was sure that the ability to provide blessings alone would be an in demand thing and to take things further, it sounded like to be able to start from scratch and be guaranteed to reach the levels of a god no matter which way he chose to build his ¡®house¡¯ as Nohochacyum put it was something rare. As a kid, he had always wanted magic to be real. The stories of warriors who destroyed mountains and stopped armies that Han had told him and his friends always bringing a smile to his face and no little amount of fantasies. Here was the chance to make those fantasies real. He straightened his back and steeled his will. ¡°I accept your offer.¡± Ray said with finality. He began to walk into the silhouette. ¡°NOOOOOOOOO!¡± someone from behind him yelled, and at the same time he felt himself being tackled into the silhouette before him. There was a flash of light and the sound of something being thrown across the room. He landed on his face with a thud, the pain not enough to mask the feeling of energies swirling around inside him. He felt something settle in his chest while something else enveloped his insides before going further, settling into a space that he would later learn to be his soul. At the same time, something he had not realized was there was being consumed. He had expected it to be painful, yet the process was incredibly smooth. Getting up, he turned around to look at what had run into him. There, at the side tunnels he had come from stood 3 individuals. A boy that looked to be about his age with a calculating look, arguably the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on bar none with a passive expression on her face and a heavily muscled man with a glaive in one hand and clad in what looked like bone armor, the skulls of some sort of predator adorning his chest and shoulders. To the side of them, just getting up from the ground was another boy, this one muscular where the other boy was lean. This boy was looking at him with unrestrained hatred, his eyes ablaze with fire. ¡°YOU TOOK WHAT¡¯S MINE!¡± he shouted, his voice dripping with venom. Chapter 8 - Serpentine Chaos Chapter 8 Serpentine Chaos ¡°Come now Charles, that¡¯s hardly civil. It¡¯s clear that he got here ahead of us and was deemed worthy before us. As per the laws of the world, we can no longer interfere. We¡¯ll find you another one.¡± Aarok said, an exasperated sigh escaping his lips. They had sunk a lot of resources into finding this Heritage, and to have it snapped up from under their noses like that stung quite a bit. But such was the flows of Chaos, he would just have to have faith that the boy before them was selected for a reason and continue on their search for a suitable Heritage for Charles. ¡°Well I suppose we might as well introduce ourselves to the new Inheritor, my name is Aarok Susurro, heir to house Susurro and my beautiful friend here is Celeste Incantator, heiress to house Incantator. The body guard¡¯s Ragnor and our friend over there is Charles.¡± He greeted both Nohochacyum and Ray. Turning his attention to Nohochacyum specifically he asked ¡°I thought we arrived first?¡± Nohochacyum weakly rolled his eyes as a faint rumbling rippled through the area. ¡°Yes you were first, but the chosen passed by but a second later, and since you had not completed the challenge I set out before he entered, he still got a chance, which he succeeded by getting here before you. His was easier of course since he did not have a group of people guarding him.¡± A look of irritation flashed across Aarok¡¯s face, but it was quickly replaced by his poker face. ¡°I see, well there¡¯s nothing I can do about it now. But I¡¯d at the very least like some kind of consolation prize. It¡¯d be a shame if a fuss about this was kicked up.¡± Nohochacyum and Aarok stared off. The meaning here was clear. As a vampyr, Aarok had the clout to make life difficult after he got out. It was blackmail, plain and simple, but they did come in beforehand Ray. You see the way Heritages work is that an imprint of the soul of the god is left behind to administer trials for the first time the Heritage was discovered. This imprint would passively scan the surroundings within a set range for potential candidates. However, should someone find their way inside through either own skill or sheer luck, they also earned the right to participate. The trials themselves were considered famously easy, as the whole point of these Heritages were to be available to mankind for their own research and defense. So a relative balance was installed, the trials would still test the candidate in some way while giving them a decent chance of inheriting. After the Heritage was won, it would move from person to person, either by choosing it themselves or by passing manually passing it down to the next in line. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on who you ask, the passage of the Heritage could not be something as simple as keeping it in the family. It instead went to whoever matches the personal domain of the god in question. Most gods, with a few exceptions, also added a clause in the magic that limited the inheritance to people native of a certain land as well as the base requirements. Should the Heritage not be passed on successfully before the holder died, then there would be a 50/50 chance of it choosing on its own via the soul imprint, or it would return to where the original trial was located. This brought out the problem that since the nature of Heritages themselves was anchored to fabric of Chaos itself on Earth, the rules were enforced by the world itself. Simply put, there was a glitch in the system, and that was that the god had found a suitable candidate in Ray but Charles and his party had entered first. The world would recognize Ray as the inheritor, but Ray would be handicapped in some way. He¡¯d be lucky if his ability to draw in Genesis from the flow of Chaos would be all that was impeded. Aarok knew this, and such he was offering to be given compensation for coming all this way for nothing, and the World Glamour would recognize that Ray had truly inherited his power and had also resolved his conflicts with those he technically cheated. ¡°I have nothing to offer any more. All of the important items have already been given to Ray here.¡± Nohochacyum said flatly, ¡°It is up to him if he wishes to give this compensation you speak of.¡± ¡°Oh really? Man, I feel bad now. I imagine Charles was the one who was planning on claiming this Heritage I just got?¡± Ray asked. He truly felt bad. After all, he had come in here by a stroke of luck, but it sounded like the group before him had worked to be where they are now. ¡°Yes, he was to be the benefiter of our trip. He had been looking forward to it as we have been planning for a long time.¡± Aarok said, confirming Ray¡¯s suspicions. ¡°Oh well, how about one of these weapons I got? Um, actually, would you mind if kept the staff and you pick from the sword and shield?¡± Ray asked, holding the staff between his armpits as he slung the shield from his back and held it out towards Aarok along with the sword. ¡°You would so easily give me a Divine tier item just like that? Because you felt bad?¡± Aarok ask, his shock blasting through his previous stony indifference. This guy must be absolutely insane to offer a divine item, especially one that came from his Heritage. Those were usually especially suited to the god¡¯s class it came from. ¡°Is that what it is? I know it probably is really powerful, but truth be told I only have two hands, and when Nohochacyum over here said that magic was real, I figured I¡¯d go the wizard route you know? Whatever is left would just be secondary.¡± Ray stated. The excitement that magic was actually real and that he had the potential to become a wizard had his mind rushing forward with possibilities since the moment he saw the silhouette appear from Nohochacyum. Magic was real and by the Progenitor he¡¯ll learn to bend Genesis to his will. As such, the moment he had accepted that magic was real, in his mind, the sword and shield were degraded by several notches. ¡°Truly? Ha, you are most interesting. What is your name friend, anyone who would willingly hand over a divine treasure like that because he has a sense of justice is alright with House Susurro.¡± Aarok laughed. Maybe this trip hadn¡¯t been entirely worthless. ¡°Oh sorry, that was rude of me. My name is Raymundo Gonzalez. My friends call me Ray. A pleasure¡± Ray said, as gentlemanly as he could. He¡¯d kept his attention off of Celeste this entire time through sheer effort of will, but that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t try to impress in subtler ways. ¡°I shall remember it. Well, I shall not hold back Ray. Charles here has the disposition of a warrior, so I¡¯ll leave it to him to choose.¡± Aarok gestured to Charles, who had made his way over to the group by now. His eyes still burned with anger, but had been somewhat doused when Ray had offered to share one of his treasures. ¡°I still despise you for having taken this Heritage, but if Aarok won¡¯t hold it against you then there¡¯s nothing I can do.¡± Charles examined the treasures that were presented to him. He took up the shield, moved it around, and took poses with them, checking to see if it was comfortable for him. He then handed it over back to Ray and picked up the sword. He began to perform stances, swinging it around a bit and then finally ran his thumb over the obsidian. Obviously, it blooded him, but he did not seem to mind. ¡°What do these treasures do?¡± Charles asked. ¡°Well if Ray¡¯s really going to hand these over, then I might as well tell you their functions. The Shield is capable of forming a panel of mana, regardless of the attribute, in any shape as a shield. The Shield also has the ability to disperse the mana and qi of attacks. Enchanted for durability, it can withstand the blows of anything weaker than it. You called these a Divine tier item?¡± Nohochacyum explained, direction his question to Aarok. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve made many advancements in our systems of power. One of them includes a rating system of items, beasts and humans. A divine tier item is the highest and is typically given to equipment used by the gods.¡± Aarok explained back. ¡°Interesting. Most interesting. I am glad to hear that humans have not given up in their pursuit of knowledge and developing the Progenitor¡¯s gift. To get back on track, the shield should be able to withstand the blows of anything below this ¡®Divine tier¡¯ of yours without a scratch if the power is consistent with what I remember. It can heal itself if provided enough Genesis and finally, it can extend a ring of obsidian blades, for a quick melee weapon in combat. As for the sword, it can use Genesis energies to extend itself for as long you wish, should you prove sufficient in its manipulation. Or, an energy field can be generated along the edge, giving a massive boost to cutting power. Using attribute infused Genesis provides different effects appropriate to the energy used. Durability and repair of course, and it has a berserker effect. It draws in Genesis passively in battle, providing a steadily increasing increase in strength as the battle progresses. The con of these abilities are that the effectiveness is limited by the skill of the wielder. When these were made, there was not enough power left to enchant assistance into the items. So you best practice well.¡± Nohochacyum finished. Turning to Ray, he continued ¡°As for your staff, durability, repair, it empowers spells cast through it, and can even be tinge them with positive or negative attributes, potentially changing their effects. The gem on the tip can act as a spell catcher, and can store up to 5 spells for quick cast. The most important function, however, is the ability to record spells cast within a radius. Stored as an illusion, you can play it for yourself in your mind or in real life. You can store 10 recordings like this and can delete at will.¡± Ray marveled at the staff in his hands. Such a powerful thing, if he learned how to wield it fast enough, he¡¯d be over powered. Nohochacyum¡¯s pale face broke into a smile. The boy would realize how difficult to use these abilities are. To use it in more modern words, it was the equivalent of someone getting excited about flying a fighter jet without knowing a thing about flying in general. Sure, they could get into the cockpit, and might actually be able to figure out how to take off, but they would not be able to push the fighter jet to its limit as they were then. Charles regarded both items, the shield in Ray¡¯s hands and the sword in his own. Oh well, he was never much of a defensive fighter. ¡°I choose the sword. I¡¯m doing you a favor, since a mage using a sword and staff would just be unwieldy.¡± With a final glare he returned to stand next to Celeste, still somewhat sulking that he had not gotten the inheritance yet also excited about having gotten a hold of such a powerful Divine sword. ¡°The transaction is done, Ray you are now the inheritor without question. Now, as promised, I will be guiding you in fighting and destroying the shard of Chaos.¡± Nohochacyum said.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. That was when the bubble holding the shard of Chaos cracked. Nohochacyum coughed up a mouthful of blood. ¡°No¡­¡­ it is too early, we should have had more time.¡± Yet the truth was there for everyone in the room to see. The crack that split down the middle of the sphere was growing, forming spider webs all over. The shard inside began to secrete a dark liquid, filling up the sphere before folding in on itself over and over until it began to look like a noodle. Said noodle sprouted a mouth on the end closest to the shard and swallowed it whole. ¡°Get out of here children. I¡¯ll open the portal out so your guardians can come in and get you, but for now please run. Ray, I¡¯ll go with you to courtyard outside. There we will face our foe until your family can get here.¡± The group rushed outside, Nohochacyum included since his control over the sphere had long since dissipated. The only thing holding it together were the energies that had been present already. As they left the room, the snake in the sphere began to grow in size, slamming itself into the sphere. The sphere tried to grow bigger and maintain its structural integrity at the same time, but it was a losing battle. Chaos was here. ***** The group had barely made it to the bottom of the steps before the temple exploded behind them. The blast took them all off their feet, even Ragnor. Everyone reflexively rolled over to look behind them. They were just in time to witness a deluge of black mist blast outwards with all the force of fire hydrant. It streaked in all directions up above them, the force of the blast keeping the mist away from them at the moment. ¡°Go now, this is not your fight. I and Ray shall handle this.¡± Nohochacyum bellowed. Despite the massive wound in his gut, he drew forth a roar that would make a Nimean lion proud. Celeste, Charles and Ragnor all looked to Aarok for guidance as he was the one who had set up and guided the group so far. Aarok took a glance at the sword Charles was holding in both hands, and then looked at Rays back as he strode forward, wondering how the heck Nohochacyum would use him to fight the thing forming above them. Aarok held a calculating look on his face as he watched Ray strap the shield to his left arm and hold the staff in his right. Once it been fully given over to Ray as their master, both shield and staff adjusted themselves to match Ray¡¯s height. The staff was now as tall as him and the shield had grown to the size of kite shield. Aarok knew he could run, but to do so when someone he had declared friend would be a shame on the Susurro name. Resolving himself, he made the decision to stay and fight. It was not every day that one could fight a true Chaos beast. ¡°I¡¯ll stay and fight alongside Ray, you two can take Charles and escort him away from here. With the portal open, Lucius should have felt the chaos and will be coming here any second now.¡± Aarok hastily said, his hand slipping into his robes to take out the gems for his Lamia and recently acquired Howler Moon-key. This was the perfect opportunity to test its capabilities. ¡°We will stay with you, Charles can take care of himself so he just needs to not get in the way¡± Celeste said with no room for argument in her voice. Charles nodded in the affirmative, but Aarok could still see the anger he held for Ray in them. He probably wanted to leave him to face the enemy alone, but would stay if Celeste did. Not that he had any real choice in the matter. On the other hand, Ragnor was hired muscle and fighting a Chaos beast had not been part of his contract. In actuality, the contract had expired the moment the Heritage had been claimed by Ray. If anyone here had the right to back off it would be him. ¡°I will be staying too. There aren¡¯t many chances to fight such a creature. Just consider it as owing me a favor.¡± Ragnor grinned. Today was turning out to be a good day. Getting a favor from a vampyr and fighting a mighty foe. Aarok rolled his eyes. ¡°Fine, I, Aarok of House Susurro, owe you a favor.¡± Celeste did not say anything, but she took of her robe, revealing her combat suit underneath. Made of a dark leather with tiny scales made of platinum covering her body and legs and her fore arms without compromising mobility. Her the rest of her arms were bare, revealing the runes that were tattooed there, the runes reminding him of the Henna style. The same went for her upper back, the tattoos there forming wings. The Incantator¡¯s magic involved surging forth one¡¯s mana and then forcing it to conform to special shapes that would settle into the object ¨C or person ¨C in question. Celeste used her family¡¯s magic to vastly increase her physical prowess, up to the point that Aarok once saw her run straight up a wall, the balls of her feet leaving small holes where she dug in to launch herself upwards along the way. In contrast, the Susurro¡¯s magic revolved around embedding magical constructs into the minds of their beasts. This gave a myriad of benefits apart from granting control to the practitioner. A sufficiently skilled Susurro could borrow strength from their beasts as well as mimic certain abilities. The strength he could borrow however, was nothing compared to what Celeste could bring forth, so he would have to resolve himself to using spells. Celeste completed her preparations, her mana visibly cloaking her, forming vortices around her legs and taking the shape of armor on her upper body and arms. What made Celeste a genius of her family was the fact that she displayed remarkable ability at using both qi and mana. Her Incantator skills utilized mana, but she had supplemented it with a warrior¡¯s training and had built part of her Class to allow her to have a qi pool. He could clearly see her legs and arms slightly bulging, silvery veins running all alongside them. ¡°I am with you, Aarok.¡± She finally said, hopping lightly on her feet, getting into her tempo. ¡°I¡¯ll keep Charles alive while you and Ragnor help Ray defeat the beast. Lucius should have sensed that wave of Chaos when Nohochacyum opened the portal and should already be on his way here.¡± Ray heard the entire conversation and was relieved that he would have help in this. He had never gotten into a fight once in his life, and he was beginning to have second doubts about this as he wasn¡¯t sure how Nohochacyum would control him to fight whatever was coming at them. They all looked capable and experienced in fights. Suddenly, the upper half of the temple imploded into itself. Rising from the rubble was the shard, glowing so bright it looked like a miniature sun. An immense wave of energy surged outward again, but this time the debris from all over the city was pulled towards the shard. Ray looked on in growing horror as the stones, clay, thatch and broken weapons began to build up around the shard, slowly forming a serpentine shape. The transformation was not complete, but Ray would bet his remaining two treasures that he would be facing a giant rock snake monster thing. ¡°It has begun.¡± Nohochacyum said from beside him. He had aged once again, his skin almost as pale as the people behind him, what remained of his hair plastered against his skull. Where he had been imposing and regal when Ray had first met him, he now had a slouch to his form, his bearing giving the impression of a bone deep wariness. ¡°I will now complete your part of the deal. You will feel a disassociating feeling, but still feel, hear and see everything that¡¯s going on. I advise you to pay attention carefully as you may benefit from my actions here today.¡± Nohochacyum did not give Ray time to reply, his form rapidly turning into mist, not unlike the silhouette that Ray had walked into to claim the Heritage earlier. The mist enveloped Ray, sinking through his skin like water being soaked into a sponge. Suddenly, Ray felt his vision shift and he lost control of his body. He felt himself begin to fall before something tugged on his limbs. He had only ever lucid dreamed a few times that he could remember and that was the feeling he was currently experiencing. Like he was a passenger in his car while someone else was driving. ¡®I will now begin, I apologize in advance for the pain¡¯ he heard Nohochacyum whisper all around him. Ray mentally panicked, ¡®what pain?!¡¯ he shouted into the abyss before mentally slapping himself. It was a fight, of course there was going to be pain. He hardened his resolve, he had already taken what was offered. All he could do now was pay attention like Nohochacyum recommended and hope he got through this alive. He felt two people come to stand on either side of him. Nohochacyum turned Ray¡¯s head to either side and bowed his head to Celeste and Ragnor, but they paid him no heed, their attention firmly fixed on the scene above them. Celeste settled herself into a fighter¡¯s stance, taking a squatting position, her right leg behind her while her leg led the front. Her right hand held firmly, fist clenched with the knuckles facing downward, against her right thigh and her left fist raised and stretched out slightly in front of her in a guard position. On Nohochacyum¡¯s right stood Ragnor, his glaive pointing downward, electricity crackling along the blade. His overall posture was a standing one, but Nohochacyum could clearly see all of his muscles coiled to strike forward in explosive movement. Nohochacyum himself slung the shield unto Ray¡¯s left arm in a guarded position, his right arm holding the staff aloft, pointing towards the shard. He began to channel mana from his body through his right arm, up along the staff, passing it through both dragons before condensing it in the gem held there. Slowly he began to filter it out of the gem, forming a needle of concentrated power and holding it there. He would only be able to strike like this once before the battle erupted. He had to make it count. The beast above had already grown to a massive size, easily half of Hapikern¡¯s true length. An invisible force had crushed a majority of the material used to make the body, leaving most of it smooth with large spikes sticking out along the monster¡¯s back. Ray had been on the money, its form already having taken on the form of a snake. Someone looking at this scene from outside would wonder why all parties involved hadn¡¯t simply smashed the shard instead of letting it build strength. The simple answer to that was that you wouldn¡¯t try to smash a grenade whose pin had already been pulled to stop it. Instead you¡¯d let it explode to sort itself out. The same concept applied to shards of Chaos. Once activated, the best thing to do would to let it play itself out, as interference would end up doing more harm than good. Chaos was possibilities, and interfering with the playing out of these possibilities would end up affecting everyone who tried. Thus, Nohochacyum, Celeste, Ragnor and Aarok had no choice but to wait for the shard to play out its purpose. The only advantage was that the opening move was theirs. Time seemed to move at a slower pace. Although it had only been a few minutes since Nohochacyum began to prepare his magic, the snake above was still forming. Thankfully, the wait seemed to be over. Coiled around the massive temple, the stone snake raised its massive head, the sides of it expanding outwards to form a hood like a king cobra. It had the color of stone, but this quickly changed as black mist began to pour out of the tips of the spikes on its back. The mist clung to the body of the snake, adhering to it like tar. Rearing its head back, its eyes opened, a blood red light harshly glowing within. It opened its mouth to bare its fangs at them, the spears and swords that had been used in its construction taking the place of teeth. The mouth too was a blood red, and a deep hiss rumbled out of its throat, sounding more akin to a roar. ¡°It is done! Strike!¡± Nohochacyum roared back in defiance, his prepared magic tearing through the air between them, an even loader screech challenging them both. Space itself seemed to be torn asunder as a grey spear smashed into the snake¡¯s head, an explosion following right after. At the same time Celeste dug her right foot into the ground, the power so great that the surrounding ground cracked with spider webs. That simple motion send her forward like a rocket, and she repeated the motion, alternating between left and right feet. Her speed was not the equal of the spectral spear Nohochacyum used, but it hardly mattered, for she more than made up for it with the earth shaking punch she delivered to the part of the snake¡¯s body closest to the ground. Ragnor too followed suit, but instead chose to cleave his glaive in an upward arc, sending a crescent shaped wave of electric destruction towards the snake¡¯s midriff. The exchange took less than a second, but already the temple the snake clung too was falling apart, dust clinging to the air obscuring their vision. The entire time, Ray felt nothing but elation. The feeling of channeling all that mana and launching that spear had been the most profound experience he had experienced in his life so far. This was magic. This was power!! Chapter 9 - Guillotine Chapter 9 Guillotine As the dust settled, the construct came into view. There was a massive hole where its neck would be, and the places where Ragnor and Celeste had landed their blows had deep indents. The snake rapidly reconstructed itself before their very eyes, black drops of blood dripping from its wounds unto the ground. Before any could get on Celeste, she backpedaled, launching herself backwards in very much the same way she had done earlier. Where the black drops of blood landed, steam began to rise and a sizzling could be heard. Everything it touched began to melt into a goop, and to their surprise, the goop began to form miniature snakes, practically identical to the main construct. They were fast, and immediately upon being formed they beset Aarok, Celeste and Ragnor from all sides. Nohochacyum struck out his shield, a thin film of energy spreading all over the surface. The energy began to segment itself into hexagonal shapes, the center of the hexagons stretching out to form spikes. Nohochacyum then pointed these spikes towards any snakes that approached him and fired them off of the shield towards the snakes. Successfully impaling the snakes, he began to focus more power through the staff, this time forming the energy into a crescent shape. He did not hold it for nearly as long as before, as he had to concentrate on moving around to keep the smaller snakes in line with his shield spikes while making sure the snake above was at a comfortable distance away from them. It was a strange experience for him, fighting without the use of his old powers. He was limiting himself to using nothing but raw power. He could use some of his old spells, but he felt that they were too seeped in his past resentments and grudges. He did not wish to taint Ray¡¯s future path with his past mistakes. Suddenly, the massive snake lunged forward like a javelin straight at Nohochacyum. He focused mana into his legs, letting it come out like a geyser through the soles of his feat in a mimicry of Celeste¡¯s own technique to launch himself to the side. With a resounding crash, the snake¡¯s head embedded itself into the ground, before pulling itself out. With a throaty hiss, it slid off the building, skirting around the group until it had them surrounded on all sides with its massive body. Nohochacyum slammed the butt end of the staff into the ground, forcing the mana in the area to channel into the ground, all the way to where the snake¡¯s tail was about to meet its upper body to complete the circle. A giant spike of earth jettisoned out of the ground, directing the tail upwards giving the group a brief way out. Celeste, Ragnor, Nohochacyum, Aarok and Charles ran through, with Nohochacyum forming a barrier around them to hold off the snake¡¯s fearsome bites as they did so. Once they were on the other side, Celeste unfurled her phantasmal wings, then rocketed upwards towards the snake¡¯s head. Maneuvering her body so that the snake¡¯s repeated lunges just barely missed her body, she flew behind it and delivered a fearsome double kick that snapped the snake¡¯s neck backward, driving it part of the way down. Ragnor did not miss the opportunity, jumping as high as he could by using a spark of electricity to stimulate his muscles to their breaking point. He managed to get just high enough to see the point where Celeste had hit, and he brought up his feet behind him so that he could once again kick outward, pushing himself through the air through sheer force. He was like a meteor, his glaive held out in front of him sparking with electric currents. He landed glaive first, further deepening the gouge that Celeste had dug out earlier, the blow being sufficient to push the snake¡¯s the final distance to the ground. Unfortunately, the blows caused the snake to bleed more, meaning more small snakes would form from the ground only this time with greater numbers. Aarok commanded his Lamia and the Howler Moon-key to assist in destroying the new guests. The Lamia was a snake like being, with the upper half being a human¡¯s body while the lower half was that of a snake. However, his was a juvenile and as such had not sprouted the human half yet so it still looked like a snake with the upper half being bloated. Lamia¡¯s were creatures that excelled at utilizing weapons and magic in equal measure, making them a much sought after familiar. The Howler Moon-key in turn was a Howler monkey the size of a gorilla and had silvery hair instead of the jet black its mortal world counterparts had. Howler Monkeys got their name from their propensity to make loud howling noises to both communicate with one another and to ward off would be predators. The Howler Moon-key took this trait and put it on magical steroids, its howls having the force of a literal cannon. Nature in the Divide was a dangerous place, and a lot of the animals that the mortal world have exist there, but not without having to weaponize or gain magical traits to survive. The Howler Moon-key was one such creature. Apart from their vocal abilities, the monkeys had adapted to bending rays of light to use minor illusions. In the wild they were limited simply cloaking themselves at night to avoid predators, but when given proper training, they could made for terrifying illusionists. Sadly, Aarok had recently acquired the Howler Moon-key and as such it was limited to its blasts of noise and the formidable strength its stature afforded it, but it was enough. The ground and air shook as the howls passed through like a train, the force shredding any of the snakes it came in contact with. The Lamia used its tail like mace, bludgeoning any snakes within range. Aarok himself fired off concussive bolts of force, with a few bolts of flame and ice intermingled in between. As for Charles, he kept his sword close and swatted anything that came close with it, but since these snakes were still far stronger than him, he did his best to draw any that approached him into the line of fire of Aarok or one of his familiars. ***** Ray was currently lost somewhere in between euphoria whenever Nohochacyum would lash out with magic and deep concentration on how Nohochacyum was lashing out with said magic. From what he could figure out, Nohochacyum would draw something from his chest and push it along the length of his arm. It was strange, because he could still feel that something when it went from his arm into the staff and into the tip. He supposed this was what it meant when people would say ¡°become one with your weapon¡± and ¡°it is an extension of yourself¡±. It had only been a few minutes since the battle had begun in full and the entire experience was incredibly surreal, almost akin to watching a movie. He cried out in shock and dismay when Celeste got hit by the Giga Snake (what Ray had begun to call it in his mind) and got sent flying into one of the larger stone buildings, breathing out with relief when he saw her stumble back out with a slight limp and a few scratches here and there being the majority of the damage from what he could see. He was dazzled by Ragnor¡¯s ability to slip in and out of the Giga Snake¡¯s range, landing devastating blow after blow, rending large gashes across the stone surface. He wasn¡¯t sure how they were supposed to take down this thing as it proved itself to be in possession of some sort of healing ability and he did not want to break Nohochacyum¡¯s concentration with questions. He was sure he had a plan so he¡¯d just wait and see and hope for the best. All he knew was that he was giddy with excitement at the thought of being able to even a fraction of what he was seeing and experiencing right now. ***** Nohochacyum did not have a plan and he was honestly a bit worried. Based on his past experiences in dealing with such shards, he knew that shards that resulted from sentient life tended to try form such constructs in an attempt to ¡°reform¡± a body using materials available close by. There were only mundane stones and such that the Mayans had used to construct their buildings so he had not expected something too great. As such he had been confident that he could use the limited power he could exert through Ray before he¡¯d fade away from existence. Unfortunately the ability to regenerate and create minions had not been in his calculations. A shard of that size should not have been able to create such advanced abilities. Now here he was reaching the limit of what he could do via Ray, and he truly did not wish to corrupt this opportunity he had carefully cultivated. The boy did not truly know just what it was that he had been given, and if the events to come were to be survived, he¡¯d have to think of a way to stall until the children¡¯s guardians could arrive. Already the girl was heavily injured. She did her best to hide it but an old soul like him would not be so easily fooled. From what he could tell, he knew she was suffering from massive internal injuries, which would have been fatal had she not excelled at fortifying her constitution. He cursed his past self to construct the path leading here in such a way that would increase the perspective length and time the stronger one was. Just a few more minutes and they should be here. It was then that he felt Ray pinch at his internal reserves, and Nohochacyum marveled as Ray managed to exert some sort mana manipulation. It was a clumsy attempt at best, but he was learning fast, copying some of what Nohochacyum was doing. But he was not extending the stream of mana through the staff. Rather, Nohochacyum felt him begin to extend some mana upwards and began to form a construct of sorts¡­was that a blade? What was he doing forming a blade all the way up there? ***** Ray was startled when Nohochacyum had scanned Celeste and the results showed that she had received internal injury. He wished he could do something, if only to help the girl. He would never forgive himself if he just sat by and let her continue on like this, especially when she had fought for his sake. But what could he do when someone else was controlling his body? No, he would not let that be his excuse. How many times had people in movies he¡¯d seen manage to exert some measure of influence on their body when they were controlled? It was foolish to try and compare movies to real life, but he had only a day ago believed with resolution that magic was not real so he might as well try to prove another myth correct.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Ray focused and tried to reach out to ward the center of his chest, doing his best to mimic the feeling that came whenever Nohochacyum did it. At first, it felt like trying to wrangle a wet frog that was trying to escape from his hands, but every time Nohochacyum would reach in to take out more, Ray would do his best to form his mind in what he imagined was vice and pulled. He kept on telling himself that this power was his now, and by right it would listen to him. On the fourth time that Nohochacyum reached inside, Ray felt something give, and a trickle of what he figured was mana began to split off. It was entirely separate from the comparative stream that the god in his body was using, but it would have to do. While he was pretty sure healing magic would be a thing he¡¯d find out about in the future, he wasn¡¯t so overconfident in his intelligence that he¡¯d try to do such a thing and waste his success. He was not sure if he¡¯d be able to pull it off a second time before something worse happened to any of the people fighting, so he¡¯d rather not risk it. Quickly stamping down the rush of pride and excitement that surged through his psyche due to his success, he held the trickle in place as best as he could, trying to think of what he should do with it. He did not think he¡¯d make it this far, so he had honestly not been prepared to do something. Nohochacyum had said that his family should be on their way here, so perhaps he¡¯d be able to do something to slow down the Giga Snake? When Nohochacyum¡¯s point of view swept over the snake again after a combat roll to dodge a vicious bite, Ray noticed that the Ragnor had tried to capitulate on the opportunity by striking at the GS¡¯s neck. This prompted a quick lash from a spiked stone tail, and Ragnor tanked the blow as best as he could, leaving gouges in the ground as he was sent sliding back. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Ragnor resumed his slinging of lightning slashes. Ray made mental note to praise the warrior for how cool he found his lightning abilities later, and maybe ask him for a few pointers on doing the same before focusing on where Ragnor¡¯s blow would have landed had the GS not interfered. Wait, wasn¡¯t that where Nohochacyum blasted at the beginning of the fight? Ray watched the view shift as once again Nohochacyum had to dodge out of the way when the GS slammed the ground with its tale, black drops of blood now oozing out of the tips of the spikes, refreshing the minions that the fighters had exterminated a few seconds ago. He saw Nohochacyum raise the staff and once again blast it the GS in the face with a bolt of force, sending its face careening backwards from the collision. Ray focused once again and saw that yes, it was where the magic had landed earlier. It was healed now, but he clearly remembered it looking darker and smoother when it had first formed. Quickly scanning the field of vision before him, he saw that everywhere that had been hit, there was a slight change in texture, implying that the regeneration had some sort of limitation. That was when Ray was struck with a realization. Maybe the warriors hadn¡¯t noticed because of the frenzy of the battle, but not once had the GS allowed them to hit the same place twice. Sure they landed blows, but the startling speed the GS exhibited alongside its relentless attacks made them paltry at best. Ray began to think, he was certain by now that if he really focused he could make a shape in the same way Nohochacyum had made a shape on the surface of the shield earlier to block attacks. The real question now was, what shape would he make? But before he tried that, he¡¯d first see if he could extend the mana out of his body without interfering with Nohochacyum. Concentrating, he extended the trickle had had until now maintained in a mental grip upwards to escape via his head. He met a large amount of resistance when he reached what felt like the border between his skull and his brain. So mana could not enter his brain directly or at least it couldn¡¯t the way he was doing it? Interesting, but not what he needed, so he began to explore and soon found a way out by skirting alongside the edge of his skull until he felt the string of mana leave by his ear and head upwards. A few seconds was all it took for it reach high enough to overlook the battle field, at least by his estimate. As he began to think, he watched helplessly as Aarok and Charles had to be pulled out of the way by Celeste before a vicious bite swallowed the spot they had just been standing on. However, that was when a delicious idea began to form in his mind. Gathering all of his will, he began to focus on the end of the strand above him, trying his best to mimic the shape of a crescent that he¡¯d seen Ragnor produce using the same feeling he¡¯d gotten when Nohochacyum formed the hexagons earlier. From his current estimate, all something like this needed was his concentration as well as an understanding of the shape he was trying to produce. What he was trying to do was make a guillotine of sorts. He knew he could not do anything fancy, but if he could make this work, he¡¯d be able to decapitate the snake. With Nohochacyum being such an old existence and having been locked away here in self-imposed exile for so long, maybe he hadn¡¯t seen the device he was trying to make. It took another 2 precious minutes before he finally managed to get the side facing the GS into what he hoped was a sharp edge. All that was left was waiting for both the right timing and figuring out how to send it down with enough momentum to matter. By now he was mentally exhausted, he had never imagined doing this would¡¯ve been so tiring, but in hindsight it made sense. He was altering the state of the world around him to some degree and such a thing could not be easy. Shaking his head clear from distracting thoughts, he thought back to what else he¡¯d felt Nohochacyum do, his mind turning towards the bolts of force. He still wasn¡¯t sure how Nohochacyum did that, but if he were to make an educated guess, then he¡¯d say it involved compression mana in the opposite direction of where he wanted the projectile to go. He would¡¯ve taken more time to think it over, but suddenly he saw Ragnor fly across his field of vision, followed shortly by Nohochacyum throwing himself to the ground. He heard a thud behind them, followed by the ground shaking. He didn¡¯t know what just happened but he was out of time. He slowly began to layer the strand of mana along the upper edge of the blade, squeezing them as tight as possible together and willing them to unravel upwards so that the blade could descend downwards with force. Before he focused his attention back to the field around him however, he felt Nohochacyum focus his attention on the blade that he had made. ¡®What are you doing child?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m made a guillotine. If I can have this land on the Giga Snake¡¯s neck when it strikes, I can hopefully lop off its head.¡¯ ¡®Giga Snake?¡¯ ¡®Yes, that¡¯s what I¡¯m calling the big snake thing. I know it sounds stupid, but I feel it¡¯s still better than just calling it big snake or just snake.¡¯ Ray heard Nohochacyum¡¯s chuckle all around him. It was an unnerving thing. ¡®I see. I admire your efforts but I regret to inform you that your ¡°Guillotine¡± would not do anything to the Giga Snake as you call it. It¡¯d unravel long before it gets the chance to. Still, it¡¯s a curious device, so I say it¡¯s worth a shot.¡¯ ¡®Really? I¡¯m glad I could help. But we¡¯ll have to time the descent just right. I was hoping to target the same area where you hit it at the beginning of the brawl. I¡¯m not sure if you all noticed but wherever you guys hit it, there are small and hardly noticeable differences. I think, and hope, that striking the same spots repeatedly would whittle it down.¡¯ ¡®Yes child, I have indeed noticed that, but I have not been able to figure out how to solve this problem without using my old magics. Having given you my Heritage and potential, there is only so much power I can use without it burning your body from the inside out. This Guillotine may be able to solve that problem.¡¯ ¡®If I may ask one more thing of you, could you use the opportunity when it strikes me instead of the others. I don¡¯t wish for them to risk themselves any further.¡¯ ¡®I understand. You do understand that there¡¯s a very large chance of your body getting gravely injured should I do so? My abilities to dodge so far are solely because I could predict it coming, your body is nowhere near capable enough to move at the speeds necessary to do so otherwise. I¡¯ll need to bait it and wait till the last possible moment to ensure it doesn¡¯t pull back for this to work.¡¯ ¡®I understand, but I can¡¯t have them be the only ones putting themselves on the line. Do what you must.¡¯ ¡®You are brave and selfless. I did not know your personality when I chose you, only that you had the ability to inherit two Heritages, but know this, I am proud that someone such as you take up my mantle. This will be my last strike on the beast. After this, I will no longer be able to maintain my grip on the plane of the living.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯ll die?!¡¯ ¡®Yes, but such is the way of the living. I only held out as long as I did because I did not wish for my Heritage to be corrupted by the shard of Chaos. I had intended to simply destroy them both, but I changed my mind after much self-reflection. Use my Heritage well, and pay attention to how I use your spell. It needs but a few tweaks for it to be a spell with power, so make sure you use this last strike to learn how to improve it moving forward¡¯ And so, Ray felt Nohochacyum recede from their shared mind space. He had not realized it as he was too busy focusing on his construct, but when Nohochacyum had begun to talk to him, time around him seemed to slow down. He¡¯d read about this before, how speeding up someone¡¯s perception of time would allow them to experience everything around them slower as a result. It was too bad he would not be able to learn this from Nohochacyum. As everything sped back up to their normal pace, he felt himself move to stand in front of the Giga Snake. Nohochacyum quickly moved the construct to be above a spot a few feet in front of them, where he calculated the place they¡¯d need to hit would be. The Giga Snake reared its massive head back, fanning out its crown around it. Ray was in awe as he felt a rush of mana surge through the staff and integrate the trickle of mana he had sent upwards, infusing the blade he had formed, giving it a sense of sturdiness that he had not noticed was lacking in his own attempt. The blade was sharpened and the strands of mana that he had compressed along the back were uncompressed, replaced with several ¡°bulbs¡± of mana that held balls of mana inside of them. These balls he could feel were compressed even tighter than the strands he made earlier, and he watched in amazement as functional magical rocket boosters were made before his very mind. The bulbs would direct the force from the decompressing mana, sending the blade surging downward with all the force of a train. The latter was only a guess on his part, but he could feel the power packed into each one, totaling 4 such bulbs so he felt his expectations were reasonable. ¡°Come and face me you oversized worm. Show me how strong your bite really is!¡± Nohochacyum yelled, bracing himself with his shield in front and his legs positioned to absorb as much shock as possible. The Giga Snake did not even need to be asked once, lunging forward like a massive whip towards Ray/Nohochacyum. Ray was wracked with pain as he was sent flying back, shortly after Nohochacyum let fall the guillotine. When he landed, he saw the Giga Snake¡¯s body coil around itself and stretch upwards, noticeably missing a head. The head lay on the ground, gnashing its fangs at everything and nothing. Ray tried to stand up but the pain was too much, his attempt at pushing himself up with his arms ending with a shuddering gasp as he lay himself back down. His spell had worked, but was it enough? Chapter 10 - Welcome to the Divide Chapter 10 Welcome to the Divide ¡°Watch out!¡± a feminine voice said from somewhere to his right. Ray looked up and saw that the Giga Snake¡¯s body had writhed itself closer to him and had swung its tail in his direction. Ray cursed internally. He honestly had very little idea about magic, but he had expected for that attack to at least put the snake out of commission. But instead it had just slightly inconvenienced it and pissed it off. Now it was swinging its tail at him to return the favor. Try as he might though, Ray could not move. He then felt himself being lifted gently, and a gust of breeze blew past his face as he felt himself being moved, a thud sounding off not too far from where he was. When he was turned around so he could face upward, he saw that it was Celeste who had moved him out of the way. He had tried his best earlier not to stare at her when they first met, but now that she was this close to him, he couldn¡¯t take his eyes away from her. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Celeste asked him, briefly locking eyes with him. ¡°I wish I was, but I think I broke something. I couldn¡¯t get up back there.¡± He responded, suddenly keenly aware of where his arm was squeezing against. ¡°I um¡­ I¡­.. Thanks.¡± ¡°Why is your face red? Did you pop a vein in your head?¡± Came the reply as Celeste noticed Ray was blushing. Ray became even redder after realizing why she was asking. In truth, while his high school life had given him his fair share of crushes and sweet hearts, none of them were as beautiful as Celeste, and he knew it was a shallow thing to focus on only that, but he was only human. Today he had learned and done so many things, with his fair share of risks if is earlier actions were any indication so what was one more? Steeling himself for what he hoped would be the last time today, he did something that he probably shouldn¡¯t be doing on a battle field. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t pop a vein¡­ I think. I¡¯m just blushing because you¡¯re so beautiful.¡± Ray said honestly. ¡°This may be presumptuous of me but after this would you like to go get some pizza or something.¡± Celeste¡¯s face, which had been impassive up to this point, slowly got tinged a light pink. ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± She asked. ¡°Um, other than Celeste Incantator and the most beautiful girl I¡¯ve ever met, no. Which was kinda why I asked if you wanted to get pizza. To get to know you better. Sorry, I guess it was inappropriate to ask now of all times.¡± Celeste studied Ray¡¯s face for a second, the sound of metal upon stone ringing a few feet away from them as Ragnor kept the headless snake busy. The corner of one of her lips moved slightly upward. ¡°Okay¡± was all she said, gently placing him down on the ground, leaning his back against a chunk of stone before running off to help Ragnor keep the snake¡¯s body away from the head. Ray couldn¡¯t help but smile like a fool, magic and a date in one day. Best Birthday ever he thought to himself before Nohochacyum interrupted his thoughts. ¡°I did not wish to interrupt your flirting so I held off on saying my farewells. Any longer and I¡¯d have simply disappeared with you realizing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I got a bit carried away there.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to apologize for. You¡¯re young, it¡¯s only natural for you to be distracted form important matters for such things. I wanted to tell you a few things before I fade away. First, your family and one other just cleared the pathway here. They¡¯ll be here any second. Second, I said I did not wish for old grudges to affect your path and that still remains true. However I have left you a little gift should you ever need it in the future. Finally, I offer you a piece of advice. Seeking revenge and holding grudges sound nice in theory, but they take so much more than what you gain. Please remember that.¡± ¡°I will remember. I don¡¯t know what to say. Everything you¡¯ve given me are things that many would kill for. Thank you.¡± ¡°Think nothing of it. If anything I can only apologize to you in return for getting you involved in someone else¡¯s mess. Take care of yourself Raymundo Gonzalez, may the flows of Chaos favor you.¡± And with that, Ray felt something fade away from his body. A connection that he had gotten used to despite only having it for a few minutes was cut loose. In that moment, he felt a surge of relief, longing and trepidation. The sort of trepidation one would feel when you were about to meet someone again after a long time. A single tear escaped his eyes as these emotions ran rampant in him. Nohochacyum had not told him anything about himself, but Ray felt that he got very huge clues in that brief sharing of emotions. Looking up, he saw Ragnor and Celeste suddenly pull back from the Giga Snake¡¯s head and body. Taking the opportunity, the two became one and the Snake reared its head back, letting out a hiss of victory. It lasted for all of a second before a figure wielding a massive axe crashed into it, landing from the sky on its body before cleaving it in half. The Snake barely had a chance to register the new challenger before another figure slammed on its head and a third aimed for its tail, a blazing black and red sword slicing it into cubes. A golden blur ran in from the side, aiming for the neck. Once it sank its jaws, Ray could see that it was a massive lion with snakes for a mane. Ray blinked, that was certainly new, but he guessed he¡¯d burnt out his ability to be surprised for this week so he did not find it in himself to even be a little excited. As the dust cleared, the Giga Snake was revealed to have been completely shattered into dust, one of the figures having taken out a tiny white bottle and placing something inside. The figures turned out to be a Minotaur, his uncle George and his father, Han. He had not noticed it when they landed, but he felt a massive amount of some sort of energy being emitted from both George and Han. It was similar to mana in a way but yet different fundamentally. He couldn¡¯t quiet place his finger on it. When Han saw the state Ray was in, he ran over, kneeling down next to his son. ¡°Are you alright Ray?¡± Han asked with worry in his voice. Ray was not bleeding, but his body was rapidly turning purple due to it having been bruised all over. He did not know what all had happened other than there having been a fight, but he could clearly sense his son now had access to Genesis. Good, he had claimed the Heritage. Reaching down to do a quick check to life threatening injuries, he saw that it was just the heavy bruising. He injected a sliver of his Qi into Ray and saw that other than a few muscle lacerations from where he had exerted himself and a low tank of mana, he was fine. Han took the chance to see what kind of Heritage he had gotten, so he let the sliver of Qi sink deeper, brushing against Ray¡¯s true soul. What he saw there rattled him to his core. ¡°Yes I¡¯m fine papa. Just really tired, and hurting.¡± Ray chuckled weakly, breaking Han away from his inspection. Han smiled warmly and ruffled Ray¡¯s head gently. ¡°It¡¯s okay son. You go to sleep. We¡¯re here now so it¡¯s safe.¡± That sounded like an excellent idea to Ray, his weary mind and battered body increasing the total vote to three. As his eyelids began to slowly shut, the last thing he saw was Charles staring at him with a baleful glare, the flames of hatred having been renewed and growing stronger. Ray wanted to say something about it, but having already surrendered himself to sleep, he could not stop it and the last thing he remembered was him thinking to himself ¡®What¡¯s up with me passing out so much today.¡¯ ***** Quite frankly, Aarok was shocked. And a little ashamed if he was being honest with himself. The battle had started in their favor with the opening salvo courtesy of Ray turned Nohochacyum, Celeste and Ragnor. He had unknowingly been of the same opinion as the old god when he believed that the shard of Chaos Nohochacyum was suppressing shouldn¡¯t have amounted to much. The difference between Aarok and Nohochacyum¡¯s confidence lied in the fact that the Divide had invested a significant amount of energy to research Chaos Shards. The currently available information had pointed towards a shard equal to the one they had encountered shouldn¡¯t have had much potential for anything as threatening as that giant Snake. Sure it had come from a god beast, but it should¡¯ve remained the same. He would have to inform his family mages and scientists about this as it was crucial information. But that wasn¡¯t what had Aarok so shocked. Chaos was always an unknown and nothing was certain. It was an easy thing to digest that research done on Chaos shards was likely wrong because of the fact it was Chaos. What had truly scared Aarok was the caliber of warriors that had come to Ray¡¯s rescue. Liu Dewei Han and George Gomez, two legendary figures that had reportedly left the Divide years ago. He had never met them face to face as they were before his time, but the few powers he had seen them display were highly unique and difficult to replicate. No one knew the exact time when, but it was at least 2 decades ago, give or take a few years. There were very little people at the time that these two power houses were active that did not know who they were. The Asura of Blood and the Beast Conqueror, the names alone made Aarok quake with terror. The current people of the Divide may have already let these names fade into the pages of history, but the Vampyr have not, and would not. The Vampyr, as keepers of humanity, made it a point to keep an eye on humans that set themselves apart from the rest. Especially the Beast Conqueror, as his abilities stepped into the domain of House Susurro. Aarok would never admit this out loud, but he was a fan of the Beast Conqueror. Where the Susurro bent their chosen familiars to their will, the man was able to convince beast spirits to willingly share their power with him if the rumors are to be believed. Then there was the Asura of Blood, the only human to ever defy a Vampyr order. While he did not know the exact details of the incident, he did know that the Templar family had hunted the man for years following his disappearance. Before that, the man was a known to be a notorious killer in the Imperial Chinese army. He made a mental note to make discreet inquiries when he got back home to see if he could learn more about him.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. They had not spoken to him much, other than thanking him for having helped Ray. It was Celeste who had told them what had occurred, as far as she knew, starting from when they met up in the temple. She had then taken out a piece of paper, scribbled something on it and gave it to Han to give to Ray. George had taken Ray¡¯s staff and shield, while Han held Ray in his arms and they left, both men having promised to meet up with Lucius later. The shame he now felt was because he had helped so little during the battle that he did not feel he was worthy of talking to his childhood hero. ***** Charles punched his fist into the training hall wall again. He had been close by when he heard Ray ask out Celeste, and her agreement had felt more painful than any injury he had ever received in this very hall. He wanted to scream and hit something, so impotent with rage that his eyesight had gone red. However, he remembered his training and began to do the breathing exercises he had been taught to manage his emotions in battle. It took him a great deal of effort, but he eventually managed to calm down enough to think rationally. He could not do anything to Ray at the moment, he was a vessel now and would undoubtedly be fiercely protected by the Koo¡¯chil Dios should he try anything. Not that he could do anything as he would. But that would soon change, he¡¯d make sure of that. After taking a shower to clean off the sweat and dirt from his time in the training hall, he retreated into his private room, the place Spartan, with only a small bed, a table, a closet and a table and chair inside. That is, save for the one picture he had of the day he was chosen as a god candidate. It was the only picture he had ever taken with Celeste, and was considered his most prized possession. Picking up the frame, he passed his hand over Celeste¡¯s image, once again committing her to memory. She normally dressed in her family robes and some variation of her fighting garb, one of her personal beliefs being that it was better to dress combat ready as much as possible. That day was one of the few exceptions, having chosen to wear a dark blue dress that accentuated the glow of her eyes. He knew she had done it because of a House Incantator rule that dictated all the main family members had to dress formally for special occasions, but just the thought that Celeste had considered that day important enough to warrant such attire filled him with happiness. Clenching his fist, he had to go through the exercises again as he was filled with agitation again. That blasted Raymundo! Because of that upstart he had failed Celeste once again. This insult will not stand. Reaching into his pants pocket, he pulled out a crystal the size of his thumb. He palmed it, lovingly gazing at it. When those two monsters and Lucius had torn the snake apart, a piece of stone had landed on his head, landing on his feet and breaking down into dust. In the dust he had found this crystal. ¡®Do you wish for the girl?¡¯ asked a voice inside his head when he touched it. He had tried to let go, but the crystal had stuck unto his skin like glue. ¡®I can offer you a chance to make the girl yours¡¯ it had offered. Charles knew that he shouldn¡¯t have considered it, but his desire had eventually won out. After having answered in the affirmative, it simple said ¡®Then hide me. We will talk soon¡¯ before letting go of his skin. Charles had pocketed it and no one was the wiser, having been too busy focusing on the men that came with Ray. ¡®Good, you managed to sneak me away¡¯ came the voice in his head once again. Charles brought the stone to eye level. ¡°I did what you asked. Now talk, how can you help make Celeste mine?¡± he asked. ¡®All in due time. Before that, we have to introduce ourselves to one another, partner¡¯ ***** Ray woke up with a start, limbs flailing about, knocking his sheets and pillow off of his bed. ¡°Wait, bed?¡± Ray exclaimed, quickly getting up to survey his room. ¡®Was it all a dream?¡¯ he asked himself as he stood up. Taking a look around, he almost breathed a sigh of relief when he concluded that this was decidedly not his room. For one it was easily 3 times bigger than his room back in Kontiki, and it was much nicer. The bed too was bigger, he had only gotten up as fast as he did because he was sleeping close to the edge. On the opposite side from where he got up, neatly propped up against the night stand, were the staff and shield he had been given by Nohochacyum. Ray wasn¡¯t sure if he should feel relieved that everything he had gone through was not a dream. On one side, there was magic, on the other, there were monsters and danger that he wouldn¡¯t have experienced had he not accepted the Heritage from Nohochacyum. Whatever regrets and uncertainty that was surfacing in his mind now, it was far too late so he decided that he would just take it all in as it comes along. He walked around the bed to pick up his treasures. So much for giving these artifacts to the Belizean government. He felt a deep connection to these items, and when he used his limited magical senses to inspect them, he only got the impression that no one would be able to take it away from him. Setting them back down, he noticed a couple pieces of paper folded next to a cup filled with a milky white substance. Picking up the top most note, he unfolded it and read it. I have a few things to take care of, so I stepped out for a bit. George should be somewhere in the city, so he won¡¯t be too long. Drink the milk in the cup, it¡¯ll help your recovery. I know you don¡¯t feel anything wrong now, but trust me, you still need a few more days of recovery. Also that Incantator vampyr girl send you a note. Please do be careful around the vampyr, son of mine. ¨C Han As direct as always. Sometimes he wondered whether Han was strict or goofy. His personality tended to go all over the place, to the point that Ray suspected that Han was probably bipolar or something along those lines. It had never come between them however, so Ray had not seen the need to point it out to the man yet. Setting aside the note, he chugged down the milk, wincing as there was a strong after taste of herbs. Riding out the last of the shivers, he picked up the note left behind by Celeste, his heard racing. Make it to the Inter Academy Competition, then we¡¯ll talk ¨C Celeste What was this about an Inter Academy competition? Ray chuckled to himself, of course getting a date with such a bombshell wouldn¡¯t be that easy. He¡¯d just have to find out what this competition was and get in it. He was smart and a quick study, he was confident he¡¯d make it. ¡°Ah, young love. It takes me back to my youth.¡± Came a voice from behind him. With a start, Ray whirled around, picking up the staff in the same motion and held it out in front of him toward the direction the voice came from. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Ray demanded. He had surveyed the room earlier, he was sure he had been all alone. ¡°My apologies, I had wanted to see how you would react upon waking up. I find it highly amusing to watch new comers digest the fact that they were now in a brand new world. However, it looks like you¡¯re handling it better than most¡± said a man on the farthest corner of the room. One moment it had been empty, the next there he was, casually leaning against the wall. He looked to be in his early 30s, a black head of hair neatly combed back. He wore a well-tailored black suit that clung unto his slim body, a tie decorated with flames being the only inconspicuous thing about the way he looked. He had sharp brown eyes, a round nose and an angular face. He was clearly of Mayan descent from what Ray could tell, but honestly, he looked incredibly plain, nothing really setting him apart from his surroundings. ¡°Who are you?¡± Ray asked again, threateningly waving his staff in the direction of the intruder. ¡°There¡¯s no need for violence friend. You¡¯re safe here. As for my identity, you can just call me Kinich Ahau, a pleasure to meet you Nohochacyum, or should I call you Hapikern instead?¡± Kinich Ahau answered, moving away from the wall and walking towards the wall opposite. ¡°I wanted to be the first to welcome you to our quaint little city.¡± When he reached the opposite wall, he took hold of the handles and began to tug open the paneled door. Ray frowned, what was happening here? He was sure that had been a solid wall just now. Was this his magic? Some sort of illusion? Honestly, anything seemed like game at this point. But then his frown deepened, did he just say he was Kinich Ahau, the Mayan sun god? ¡°Are you the Heritage successor for Kinich Ahau?¡± Ray asked, his grip relaxing its hold on the staff. Kinich Ahau simply looked over his shoulder with a smirk, before parting the paneled door so that Ray could see what lay beyond. Kinich Ahau walked out unto the balcony and leaned against railing. All of Ray¡¯s question dissipated into the wind, his mind enthralled by the beauty before him. Walking out unto the balcony, a landscape the likes which he had never seen stretched out before him. Stretching out below him was a city that looked like someone had taken a Mayan archeological site, painted it so it looked good as new and then chucked in some modern buildings as well as a decent helping of forest vegetation. That was the only way his mind could explain it to him. Massive pyramids and temples reached upwards, with houses that would not be out of place in a town like San Ignacio piercing through the verdant carpet of pine trees, mahoganies, rose woods and cieba trees lining the streets that carved its way in between buildings and vegetation alike. It was incredibly disorientating, as he could also see street lights and what looked like cars and bikes making their way along the roads. Yet, as he took a better look, he was startled to see that this entire place was a hill, with a cluster of what looked like temples and strange buildings crowning the very top of the hill. What truly took his breath away however, was the fact that as he looked upwards, he could see that this entire space, as far as he could see at least, was in an underground cavern, the walls forming a natural stadium, with the very center of the stone dome being open to the sky above, the sunlight descending from the world above ground to warm this pocket of natural modernity. What looked like birds from this distance flitting around, jumping in and out of the shaft of sunlight descending, playfully chasing each other around. All long the inner walls of this cavern, he could see buildings of various degrees of luxury built into the walls themselves. Stairs and pathways carved into the rock connected these buildings with each other and the center hill. As his mind acclimated to the work of art before him, he realized that he could hear waterfalls here, and looking to his left and right, he saw that they were in one of these buildings built into the walls. Not too far away a waterfall was pouring out of the wall itself, descending into a canal that he could now see circling all along the outer edge of the hill as he peered over the railing to take a better look, bordering where the wall buildings met the edge of the hill. Bridges of stone and steel linked both stratums, a steady stream of people crossing all of the bridges within range of his eyesight. Taking a better look, he could see that there were several such waterfalls all along the wall, noting that some of the most luxurious buildings were built closer to them. Suddenly, he heard a squawk up ahead. Tearing away his gaze from the scene below him, he looked up and finally got a good look at the creatures he had earlier spotted flying around. He could see Quetzals and Scarlet Macaws, Toucans and Parrots flitting about. Flitting in between them were¡­..winged snakes? Yes, winged snakes, Ray confirmed in amazement. Beside him, Kinich Ahau chuckled and brought his fingers up to his lips, blowing through them and emitting a sharp whistle. A single Scarlet Macaw broke off from the rest of the group with a gleeful squawk and made its way over to Kinich Ahau. Landing on Kinich Ahau¡¯s outstretched left arm, the large fiery red parrot nudged the man, likely asking for a treat of some sort. Ray couldn¡¯t help but feel a tinge of disappointed that the Macaw looked absolutely normal and exactly like its counterparts he had seen at the Belize zoo. Kinich Ahau glanced at Ray, and with an even bigger grin, brought up his hands in front of the Macaw. He then snapped his fingers, a bright orange flame coming to life at the end of his index finger. The Macaw squawked with joy and consumed the fire that Kinich Ahau had held in front of it. Ray stared with mouth agape, the blasted parrot ate fire! Alternating his incredulous gaze from Kinich Ahau to the Scarlet Macaw, he eventually found his ability to speak. ¡°What is this place?¡± he asked weakly, an excitement rapidly growing in his chest and spreading to his body. Just when it seemed Kinich Ahau¡¯s grin couldn¡¯t get any bigger, it evolved into the biggest shit eating grin he had ever seen. He swept his right arm out towards the city below them, a gout of flame rushing outward and following the arc of his gesture, with a flourish. ¡°Welcome to the Divide.¡± Chapter 11 - Powers of the World Chapter 11 Powers of the World Somewhere on the outskirts of a certain desert, there exists a shack. The shack is unremarkable by most measures, even when the fact that it is in the middle of nowhere in the sands is taken into consideration. Nestled against the bosom of two sand nudes, it was constructed out of the standard clay bricks inherent to the local architecture designs, it had no windows and a single decrepit door. Inside, there was but a single piece of furniture, a hammock slung from the single beam running across the roof of the shack. In this hammock lay a tall man, long black locks running down his head, which was framed by a bushy beard and mustache. He wore a white robe, meticulously stitched hieroglyphs playing tag with one another on the silk. His eyes closed in peaceful meditation, he seemed unperturbed by the pitch darkness he was currently resting in, the door blocking the sunlight from coming in despite its broken appearance. Lazily swinging himself back and forth with his foot, the mysterious wind that was circulating inside the shack gently brushed his hair and opened up his robe slightly to hint at a chiseled body that could only have come from incredibly hard work at the gym. There was a sudden knock on the door, a specific sequence of taps that only the man in the room and a few choice others knew the meaning of. The man grunted, and on cue, the door opened slightly, just enough for a paper falcon to come fluttering before closing itself once again. The falcon soundlessly flittered over to the man, who in turn lazily stuck out his hand, shaping his fingers in such a way that the owl could comfortably perch itself on. The man, who had at this point not bothered to open his eyes yet, frowned at the implications the hawk represented. Something big had happened. He did not like it when something big happens. He grumbled out an unintelligible phrase, one the falcon understood regardless. The falcon slowly started burning from flames not of the man¡¯s doing, barely illuminating the surroundings despite the brilliant conflagration the bird was currently the center of. As the bird became ash, the ash glowed a resplendissant gold, coming together to form strings that in turn twisted and curled itself into hieroglyphs, spelling out its message in its encoded cypher. The man who had yet to open his eyes, let out a sigh, the message this time was not as bad as he had assumed. At least he could justify staying here a few more hours before heading back to the council. His mood back to its peaceful state, he swiped his hand over the letters, meaning to scatter them. To his immense shock, the message reformed into a continuation of the previous missive. He started going over the new page of information, its contents barely able to catch his attention. That was, until he got the end of it. Sitting up in shock , he read over the information once again. ¡®This was not good, most certainly not good¡¯ he chanted in his mind as he mulled over the news. He got out of the hammock and put on his boots, grumbling as he did so. The downside of his position was that he was rarely free to do much in the way of taking time off, and when he did get some, some sort of political drama was sure to follow. Sliding his hand across the hieroglyphs hanging midair to ensure that there was no more, he did one last quick scan of the message to ensure it was real, third time being the charm and all that. Fixing the robes of his office and donning his cloak, he stepped outside into the sand, his eyes finally opening to do a sweep of the area. He hated that what was going to happen would happen to that child. But a free god, by the Progenitor. Free! The word alone send shivers down his spine. The last time such a thing had surfaced was centuries ago, long before his time, and he was not knowledgeable of the implications. But if it meant what he thought it meant, in so far as the child potentially providing the answer to break free from the limitations placed on the old gods, then he would just have to beg for forgiveness and make sure the child lived in comfort after they were done. The flash of sympathy that crossed his face gave way to stern determination, the blazing suns that took up the place where irises were supposed to be making the air before him fluctuate from heat. Wings of flame sprouted from his back, he crouched down and compacted the muscles in his legs as taut as possible, before launching himself upward like a rocket, the wings of flame surging through the air with mighty flaps. He soared east, to where the central power of the Pantheon lay. There were meetings to be held and a war to be planned. *** Snow fell gently from the sky, swaying back and forth as it went about its way to the earth below. A soft breeze was coming from the mountains to the east, letting the snowflakes play in the air, performing dazzling feats of acrobatics as they swirled to and fro where ever the wind went. The flakes that were not in the path of the wind only looked on in envy as their journey came ever close to ending. They cared not for the sound of metal on metal clashing, nor for the grunts and screams that came from below. As gentle as the snow was however, the scene they bore witness to below was anything but. The snow carpeting the ground had splotches of red littering its surface, with slushy pools of the substance forming beneath some of the bodies that lay around here and there, there final postures stark reminders of the finality of a blade to the heart or throat. The shabby leather armor that they wore when they were alive lay in neatly cut strips around them, as if someone had taken the time to cut if off of them after they perished. In life they had been an up and coming group of bandits that had established themselves in the mountains of Sweden. A group of 50 was now 1. Said 1 was actually the leader and the strongest of them all, not that that counted for much in the face of their demise. They had thought that they would last long enough to become a powerful force in the region, to be respected and feared. That belief lasted all of 2 months before she paid them a visit. She had convinced them to follow her into this clearing at the base of the mountain, where it met the forest. Even now, Adrian was not sure how they had managed to get the attention of one of them, but here he was, being stalked like prey. Whereas before he did not believe in the myths surrounding that group, he was now a firm believer, not that it mattered anymore. He was slated to die and all he could do right now was make sure he made them work for it. He had his back to a tree, his senses stretched to their limits as he tried to track his adversary. Every time his scan brought him to where his once companions lay, the flames of his anger were stoked further, but he forced himself to remain calm and rational, giving himself to the anger could bring about his death sooner than necessary. Taking a deep breath and letting it out, he brought up his sword, holding it at the ready in a ready stance. He started to channel his qi into his legs and arms, boosting his explosive strength in order to both react and strike fast and hard enough to hopefully overwhelm the girl. His defenses on a whole would slightly weaken but he was banking on his own skill to help see him through. That would be his final mistake. He felt a slight prick on his chest, akin to a mosquito bite. He didn¡¯t even pay it any mind and kept up his vigilance. ¡®Strange¡¯ he thought to himself, ¡®why is the floor rushing up to me?¡¯ He never realized that he was dead as his head landed face first on the ground, his body crumpling where it stood, a perfectly carved hole where his heart once was. *** A soft clapping noise filled the quiet area, the sound bouncing off of the mountain and trees in an eerie symphony. In the middle of the bloody battlefield, a person faded into existence. She was short of stature, 4¡¯5¡± at best, with pixie cut hair as white as the snow falling from the skies. She wore the Aesir¡¯s special brand of scale mail, the scales having been fashioned from dwarves¡¯ forges. Leather strips formed an ¡°x¡± on frontal area of the armor, done so in order to hold the several pouches that now hung from them. In her hand she held a wicked looking dagger, made of three blades twisted and intertwined into one another, forming a triangular twister, each blade having a particular color. Red, blue and purple for the elements of fire, ice and lightning respectively, the blade was also enchanted with an intricate glamour, meant to conceal the dagger¡¯s existence from the less perceptive. The young girl, for that was how old she truly was, just having turned 14 last winter, directed her gaze toward the forest line. Emerging from behind a sapling, barely 3 inches wide, was her chosen god, Loki. This generation had gone to a 14 year old girl from one of the fortresses in Denmark 2 years ago and her story was her own. Nearing the 3rd year of her inheriting the gift, she was of average height, 5¡¯4¡±, and had platinum blonde hair cascading down her shoulders, sun gold locks framed her round face and chubby cheeks, trimmed eye brows made her look like she was constantly judging you and her green eyes gave her the appearance of a Fae creature. One of the relatively sane ones at least. She was clad in a long flowing cloak made of bear hide, two bear heads on her shoulders acting the part of pauldrons. Underneath the robes, she wore scale mail not unlike Sofia¡¯s, the only different being that the enchantments woven in them were far more comprehensive than those in Sofia¡¯s. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Sofia was the assassin¡¯s name, and her mistress was Freja. The Divide was not the most forgiving of places and unlike the mortal side, there were significantly less safe avenues when it came to getting an education in magic. And in the Divide, magic was everything. So she had done her parents had done their best to get her an opportunity to become an Exalted. Those who could weave Genesis from Chaos. A few fortuitous encounters later and here she was, working alongside Loki of the Aesir. ¡°You did good work here So, they were very clean kills¡± Freja muttered more than said to Sofia as she inspected the corpses on the ground. Adrian was right, normally the Aesir would not bother with small time groups like there¡¯s, but Freja needed to test Sofia against suitable targets and these men were the first who came up when she was looking for options. Sofia got her practice and the common people had one less threat to worry about, win-win. ¡°It¡¯s not worth mentioning, they were hardly worth the effort¡± Sofia stated, carefully cleaning her blade before slipping it back into its cylindrical sheath. ¡°We needed to test the effects of these so called Classes the WMA has been praising so much lately. Tell me, did you feel any different?¡± Freja asked, having made her way across the field to stand next to Sofia. ¡°To be honest, I can¡¯t really say yet. It definitely felt like I was much stronger than I had initially estimated myself to be, but it could very well just be all that training that I normally do¡± Sofia said, her arms crossed over her chest in such a manner that she could hold up her chin and caress it with her fingers as she mentally analyzed the prior battle. Freja frowned. It had taken her a lot of money to get a hold of a sample of the so called ¡°Classes¡± that the Belizeans had been researching on. Currently it was only available to specially curated people, and she would not have been able to get one at all had it not been for her paying off the Aesir that was lined up to get one an obscene amount of money. She had chosen Sofia to use the thing because she had proven herself to be very talented and astute when it came to awareness of body. True it was the 1st trial since they had set out, but for even Sofia to not be sure was definitely a tad bit concerning. ¡°It¡¯s just the first trial, don¡¯t worry about it. If anything, this just proves that we must be careful with it. The instructions did say that they provided structure, so we just have to figure out how they do that. Let¡¯s see if these guys had anything good before we le-¡° Suddenly a bracelet that Loki had on her wrist vibrated violently. With confusion on her face, she lifted up the bracelet to eye level and spoke the command word to accept the transmission. A beam of light emitted from the bracelet and went into her forehead, implanting the contents into her mind. She closed her eyes and sorted through the new memories. Her frown grew deeper and deeper as she went over the contents, before finally letting out a sigh of resignation. ¡°Change of plans Sofia, we¡¯re going back to the Halls. I¡¯ll explain on the way¡± Freja stated, before turning around with a snap kick, her cloak high fiving the air behind her. Sofia joined in lockstep and the two walked towards the forest before a gust of snow encircled them briefly before fluttering away, taking the two friends with it. The only markings of their passage were the stripped down bodies of the horrors committed hear that day. But that was eventually buried in the snow, fated to be forgotten. *** In a certain palace nestled in the Dragon¡¯s Spine Mountains, a servant was hastily clambering up the 5000 green steps that led to the Eternal Palace. Clutched tightly in his arms was an urgent missive that had just arrived via the Jade Oracle. His Radiance would most certainly be pleased by its contents, and the servant for the hundredth time had to stop a grin from crossing his face. His Radiance was very generous to those that pleased him, and by delivering the message he would most certainly count. He had to control himself however, else he loose face in front of His Radiance by coming across as someone who seeks opportunities. It would not do as the Emperor had very little patience for such things. It was fine to do so of course, one just had to do it behind a veneer of innocence. As the servant reached the apex of the climb, he allowed himself the opportunity to reverently enjoy the sheer craftsmanship that was the Eternal Palace. The legends claim it was built by the ancient gods at the peak of the highest mountains in China. At the time there was no such mountain, so the gods made their own mountains, and they then set about carving the palace from the rock itself. Using ancient magics, the ancient Sorcerers transmuted the rock itself into the precious materials that now covered the palace. Although the building was referred to as a palace, it was closer to a gazebo more than anything else. A very, very expensive gazebo. The compound sported a massive terrace area just after one reached the top of the stairs. The terrace floor was inlaid with different colors of tiles so that they formed intricate patterns, meaning nothing yet showing everything. Pillars of Heavenly Jade hold up the roof of the structure, the lack of walls allowing his Radiance to have a 360 degree view of the mountains around him. This was important so that the royal family could always keep an eye on their domain. Dragons carved from the purest gold and enchanted for durability and defensive measures were inlaid all over the place, lending the building a lofty appearance. In the center of it all, measured by the great mathematicians of old, was the throne, smack dab in the middle of the Dynasty. It mattered not that the palace was held so high above that there was a cushion of cloud ? of the way up the mountain, for the Royal techniques allowed near transcendent levels of divination, or so goes the sayings. While the Gazebo was where his Radiance spent his days watching over the kingdom, the 6 other mountains that made up the Dragon¡¯s Spine were carved from the inside out to house the royal servants, the royal family and any guests they might entertain. It was little wonder that the less civilized countries of the world had dubbed his Radiance¡¯s humble abode a wonder of the world. More than just a palace, the reason this place was a national treasure and a wonder of the world as because of its ability to boost cultivation that was famed far and wide. Rigorous testing throughout the years had proven that one could break into the 5th Shell in record time should they have access to the Palace¡¯s effects. As such, his Radiance in all his magnanimity had decreed that those blessed future warriors and wizards of the Dynasty would be allowed a chance to cultivate here once a year. Of course there were competitions to decide such a thing but that was another matter. Despite the near miraculous level boost the Palace grants to cultivation, it is seldom ever offered as a place to cultivate through any other means besides the aforementioned competitions. Under regular circumstances the protocol was that if you are of a high enough level to not need the boost provided, then you were worthy of talking to the Emperor. Otherwise one would have to submit correspondence to the Emperor via those who meet said requirements. As such, his Radiance was attended by 7 warriors and mages, all whom have broken into the 7th Shell. Snapping himself out of his reverie, the servant once more made sure the message was safe before entering the Palace, the stone faced guards giving him no more than a passive side eye before their eyes snapped forward. Directly ahead sat the Emperor, clad in his long flowing silver robes, depictions of mythical beasts cavorting all over its surface. Bi Fang, Zhulong, Jingwei, and the Fenghuang where what could be seen from the angle he was currently at. The Emperor was but 17 years old, just having inherited the throne after his father¡¯s untimely death. The seed was strong, as evidenced by the long fiery red hair that he had tied back in a ponytail, the bushy eyebrows that were shaped just so to give him a contemplating look whenever he was not expressing any emotion. He had his father¡¯s round face, and sharp eyes that held the famous yellow eyes of the Teng family. Once he got far enough as his station allowed, the servant kowtowed 7 times before offering the message towards the Emperor while still in the kowtow. Out of seemingly nowhere, one of the Radiant 7 appeared next to him and plucked the message out of his hands before handing it over to the Emperor. The sudden appearance caused him to break out in a cold sweat. The servant was no slouch, having long broke through to the 6th Circle of the 5th Shell, but the fact that this warrior had escaped his detection while maintaining the necessary distance to strike should the need arise further hammered the point home that the Emperor was protected by the best the Dynasty had to offer. The Emperor said not a word as he accepted the message from his guard. Unfurling the scroll, he read through the contents. After, he rolled the scroll back up and handed it back to his guard along with a purse of Jade that he took out of his robes. Wordlessly, the guard placed the bag of Jade in the hands of the servants and disappeared once more. The servant kowtowed 7 more times before backing out of the Palace, his arms all the while holding out the Jade as a sign of gratitude and deference. As soon as he reached outside, he turned around and headed back the way he came. He did not need to check the contents of the purse, as he knew already how the Emperor rewarded his subjects. Just by the weight alone he knew that his family would be fed for many seasons to come. Back in the Throne room, the Emperor watched his Servant leave with mild amusement. How easy it was to appease the lesser folk. Thankfully the exchange required nothing in the way of conversation, just the way he liked it. Zhu Teng was not fond of tedious conversations and it proved to his benefit today as the contents of the message had been enough to light the flames of his fury. Reminding himself of that incident once again, Zhu stood up and walked down from the platform where his throne resided. On the ground, he circled around to the back of the throne and walked to the edge of the platform that over looked the skies below, the white puffs lazily flowing to some unfathomable location that only the Progenitor would most likely ever know. He tried taking a deep breath to calm the raging storm in his heart, but it somehow only made it worse, his hair billowing all around him as the winds at his command responded to his temperament. Clutching his fists tightly, he bellowed out into the blue expanse, a massive gale punctuating the act. ¡°Liu Han Dewei, Asura of Blood. I have found you at last and it is high time that you pay for your crimes. We can start with that boy of yours¡± Zhu silently declared to the wind after his outburst. The winds flittered about and caressed the young Emperor¡¯s face, carrying with it the tears that had escaped the Emperor¡¯s control.