The hall of ascendants was, to say the least, a magnificent building. Taking up one of the larger islands in the Seventh Eden, the hall stood tall and proud embodying the ideal of the ascendants.

Though its size was much less than that of the grandmaster’s residence, it made up for its lack of size with the overpowering feeling that visitors got whenever they neared the grounds. It was not just the looks of the hall that gave people the feeling of overwhelming power, but the essence that floated in the air.

Even with the naked eye, one would be able to spot a faint haze that lingered in the air. This was not the wet mist that people were used to in the mortal world, but rather one that was entirely made out of essence. Although the haze was almost completely transparent, it nonetheless lent the place a mystical look due to the many colours that the elemental essence carried. Naturally, given the location that they were in, the most saturated essence was that of light, giving the hall of light a well-lit atmosphere.

On most ordinary days, one would find this place well-travelled by countless ascendants every hour. Perhaps, with the only exception being the training fields, this place was the most visited location in the entirety of the Seventh Eden. The bustle and liveliness that was synonymous with the hall were almost always guaranteed.

Yet, today, for just a moment, everything had calmed down. Let alone talking, no one even dared to move in this silence. All eyes were directed towards one place. Specifically, they were directed at four figures approaching the hall. Three humans and one gigantic white three-tailed fox.

Eventually, some whispers began to leak out from the crowd that had inadvertently gathered before the hall.

“My god, is my eyes deceiving me?”

A captain could not help but wipe his eyes in disbelief.

“Goodness, it is actually Elder Adriel and his tamed beast in the flesh…”

“It has been years since the Elder last showed himself, why is he here now?”

“Could it be that he has made a considerable advancement in his ascendancy?”

Many more whispers joined the first and people soon began to gossip and form conspiracies.

“Elder Adriel?” A young squire could not help but scratch his head and question the crusader that he followed. “Who is this elder? Is he important?”

“Important? You bet your ass he is important. That man is perhaps the most known celebrity from our order. He was the third Grandmaster to take the mantle after the orders arrival on Gliese Prime. It is through his actions, and his actions alone, that we can comfortably call the order a mid-sized faction. Among all the grandmasters that this order has had in its hundred years of existence, he is the one that has contributed the most. Hell, even if the other grandmasters pooled their contributions together, it would be uncertain who would come out ahead.”

The crusader, an elderly captain, who spoke stared at Adriel with a feverish gaze as he spoke. He was one of the few people, who remained in the order, that actually remembered his exploits. Although age had long since taken its toll, he nonetheless thought back to the legend of Adriel with the same excitement that he had felt many years past.

“He is that amazing?” The squire still felt incredulous. “Why have I never heard of him, then?”

“Sadly, Elder Adriel has not participated in the management of the order in the last sixty or so years. To my knowledge, he still participates in the mandated expedition, but always by his lonesome. Some say that the reason for his lack of recent exploits is because sickness, but such conspiracies are best left unsaid.”

Many such conversations were taking place around the perimeter of the Hall of Ascendants. Those who were in the know explained the situation to those who were considered newcomers to the order.

Meanwhile, Adriel, who was the target of the countless conversations, was not bothered a single bit. Whether it was because he simply could not be bothered with such things or because of his weakened spiritual body, no one could say.

Sett and Adina, on the other hand, felt incredibly out of place with so many inquisitive gazes being directed their way. Each of them had their own reason for feeling this way.

Sett was this way because of a sudden feeling of imposter syndrome. He felt that he did not belong in the group. That he was too far beneath them to be following in their footsteps. Although he had long since made peace with the fact that Adriel and Ivis did not care about social status, he could not completely do away with the thoughts. In his mind, Adina, who was walking beside him, was a much better fit to be following in the footsteps of the former grandmaster.

Adina, however, did not at all share Sett’s thoughts. Her thoughts were instead directed at all the different things that could go wrong with her walking alongside one of the most influential grandmasters of the order. The fear of conspiracy was deeply ingrained in her, leading her to believe that everyone who surrounded her had evil intentions in mind. Thus, her mind was rapidly cascading into more and more nervous thoughts the more she listened to the words of the people around the Hall of Ascendants.

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Thankfully for the two youngsters, they soon entered the Hall of Ascendancy proper, giving them some reprieve from the constant onslaught of thoughtless comments. The huge doors that almost always stood open, allowed them to view the insides of the hall in all its magnificence.

The interior of the hall was much like the Tamer’s Guild that Sett had seen through Ivis’s memories, only much, much smaller. It was a wide-open lobby, with many stations, that worked to service the countless ascendants that arrived daily, on the far end of it.

Sett could not help but find this scene strange. All throughout the Seventh Eden, the order had a far more open approach to everything, yet this place seemed far more bureaucratic and systemic than anything he had seen in it. He could not help but feel that it was a one-eighty from the usual sight of the crusader order.

Furthermore, there were many strange emblems plastered alongside the insignia of the crusader order the walls of the hall that Sett could not immediately place.

“Adina?” Unable to curb his curiosity, Sett gained the attention of his superior. “What is this place, really? Why does it feel so disconnected from the order?”

“The Hall of Ascendants? Disconnected?” Sett could almost see relief coursing through Adina’s body as a distraction from her intrusive thoughts appeared. “It is not strange for you to think so. The Hall of Ascendants is a completely separate organisation from our crusader order. It is a planetwide system set up by the council to fairly categorise the strength of ascendants. You can think of it as a service provided by the central government.”

“Concise words, miss Adina.” Ivis, having heard the conversation of the two youngsters, budded in. “Usually, branches of the Hall of Ascendants can only be found in the ascendant enclaves that the council has recognized. It took the order many years of convincing before the council agreed that we were considered strong enough to warrant such an expense.”

The more Sett listened to the explanation by the others, the more it sounded like a replica of the system from the Tamer’s Guild, with the only difference being that this hall catered to humans instead of beasts.

“I will go get us a reservation.”

Adriel shook his head as he gazed upon the many people that lined up before the stations. If he had not come with them, they would surely be unable to get a time slot never mind how much they tried.

“How does the hall gauge one’s strength?”

While they waited, Sett continued to question the others.

“It is a rather simple test, all things considered.” Ivis was more than happy to provide more details. “The test is made out of three parts, all of which is weighed equally. The first is of brute strength. It determines the maximum output of the ascendant in question. Both physical strength and essence are permitted in this test. The second is one of precision. It tests your ability to control the essence in your body. The third is fighting. In your case, it will be against puppets, but when testing for higher tiers of ascendancy, one is forced to fight real beasts.”

“Though fighting puppets might seem simple on the surface, it is the thing that has decimated the most squire’s scores on their tests. You should not look down on it simply because the first enemy seems simple at first. Some of our own squires have even been wounded during the test because they did not prepare properly for the fights.”

Hearing Adina warn him of the dangers, Sett nodded his head seriously. As a sergeant, who was indirectly in charge of many squires, she was surely much more knowledgeable than Ivis, who had likely not attempted a test in many years, on the matter.

“Steward, what do you mean that there is no available time in the Elder’s test chamber for the rest of the day? Who could possibly reserve this much time? Even the test for the fifth tier does not take more than three hours at most. Surely, you have not booked more than five elders in a single day?”

Though Adriel’s voice was as placid as it always was, Sett could easily feel the annoyance that radiated through it. Clearly, the steward he had spoken to for at most a couple of minutes had said something unacceptable.

Hearing Adriel’s words, the trio decided against speaking more on the matter of the Hall of Ascendants and instead listened to the commotion that seemed to be brewing.

“Please, Elder Adriel, hear me out.” The steward in charge of the hall’s lobby quickly waved his hands in front of him and attempted to diffuse the situation. “It is Elder Ironskin who has reserved the Elder’s test chamber from now until the end of the day.”

“Only one elder? Elder Ironskin? For the rest of the day?” Adriel’s voice was vaguely trembling with anger, something which Sett had not thought the elder capable of feeling. “A newcomer elder dares flounder the rules like this? Tell me, why did this Elder Ironskin reserve the Elder’s test chamber for so long?”

“This…” The steward seemed uncertain in answering the question, only after gulping for some time did, he gather the courage to answer. “It seems that he reserved the time in order to appease the envoy of the Newson dynasty.”

“The Newson dynasty?”

This time Adriel’s anger shone through. His anger was uninhibited, and his power gushed out from him, making all those who stood near him feel faint of heart. Through the amplification of his voice through the essence that left him, all those who were present in the hall heard his words.

Feeling the frightful power, many people fell back in fear while others outright left the building.

“He would dare disregard not only the rules of our order but also those of the Hall of Ascendants, for a mere outsider? Good… It seems things have gotten too lenient under my absence. You.” Adriel addressed the steward with a cold voice. “Send word to your head steward and have them meet us here. Also, have messengers sent to the Grandmaster and this Elder Ironskin. We will resolve this blatant disrespect for the order, immediately.”

Sett finally understood why some people in the crowd had spoken of Adriel as the executioner. He was merciless in his pursuit of righteousness. He did not give the honour or dignity of the other parties a single thought as he mercilessly proclaimed their sins to the entire world.

“There is no need to send for me, I am already here.”

A voice that did not give a single speck of respect for the other party spoke out from the entrance of the hall.

“It is them.”

Adina’s voice shook as she recognized the approaching figures. It was Elder Ironskin and Envoy Caspian.

A showdown between elders was brewing.