Savekio paused in silent contemplation, “If Dekadimus was intended to be my disciple before you, it doesn’t really matter. I chose you.”
“Dekadimus has honorable traits, and incredible talent. He could easily surpass me under your tutelage. He was already far ahead of me too.”
“Are you saying you feel inadequate?”
“I’m saying it still does not make sense to me. Why go this far for me? Why put yourself at odds with the emperor when we should all be fighting the Malaki?”
“He is destined for greatness, that much is true. The heir to the Xirxus clan, Amaro, is similarly destined for greatness. There are those in the Tibur who Shiira has told me about who are equally destined for greatness. In fact, the Tibur will see a curse blossom into a blessing soon enough. They are each destined for incredible things. And yet, you are not. You are a Noxa, and the child of a peasant. Sure, your mother is strong, but she is lowborn and never intended you to live the life of a warrior as many mothers do.”
Dreiki perked up at the mention of a curse being turned to a blessing. Did he know about Kaara? “What are you saying?”
“That which is destined or given is not as valuable as what is created for oneself or gifted. You have no destiny, and therefore you determine what your destiny is. Dekadimus was born and raised to be a sword. Either as a display of his father’s good blood, or as a tool of war. Amaro is the same. I have no interest in sharpening swords anymore, nor do I care for those who are destined for greatness. As my final disciple, you will choose your destiny, and carve your own path forward just as your mother did before you. Your success is not guaranteed, so you must work in defiance of fate itself. It is because of that I believe you deserve to be my disciple, among other reasons. Is that sufficient?”
Dreiki’s head was swimming, but he felt like he got the message, “I understand.”
“Good. Any other questions?”
He thought for a moment, “Since it may not be the last time I face them, I want you to tell me how I can kill an Oskuutor properly. How does it work?”
Savekio nodded, turning to the rest of the gray cloaked warriors, “I will tell you, but we must disperse for now. You all have bore witness to my disciple, and my reasons for having them. It is time to part ways.”
“Will you be visiting the blacksmith?” one of them said.
“That is my intention, yes. The blacksmith and his new son.”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Then we will carry that news to the rest. Be safe, Savekio.”
The old xio nodded, “You all as well.” He gestured for Dreiki and the others to follow them deeper into the caves.
Looking amongst themselves, they followed. Dreiki lit a fire in his palm, only to feel it fizzle out, “Antimagic?”
Savekio sparked up a torch, and handed it to him, “Indeed. Now, you had a question about how to kill the Oskuutor right? What did you figure out on your own?”
Dreiki nodded, “When I rang my pendant, the chime would be clearer and last longer if I wasn’t as angry, or if I shut out thoughts about killing the Malaki.”
“Good. That’s an aspect which most don’t figure out on their own. How did you come to that conclusion?”
“I only wanted to stop them or slow them down, I guess. I figured if we managed to kill one of them, even by accident, the Oskuutor would stop toying with us and kill us instead.”
“So as you were ringing your pendant, you had more concern for your fellow allies, than you did hatred for your enemies. As a result, you seem to have rescued quite a few of them from certain death.”
Dreiki nodded, “But how do I kill them?”
“You are on the right track. The point of ringing the bell is to resonate that compassion for those that still live, and have the resolution- not to kill- but to set the souls they’ve captured free. Destroying Malaki with a vengeful spirit is a good way of becoming one when they inevitably kill you. You had one part of killing them, which is to think of protecting others over killing enemies.”
“And the second part is to think of saving those they’ve already killed?”
Savekio nodded, “The Oskuutors have an orb which they will shift around inside their bodies. Normally it is not on the material plane, but ringing metal with that technique will make it a physical object. If you focus on the souls which need to be rescued, those souls will guide your blade and help you to cut it from their bodies. It requires you connect yourself to the souls through empathy and compassion. If you give the souls a light at the end of the dark abyss, they will fight the Oskuutor’s influence and gravitate towards it.”
“I suppose I didn’t have that empathy since no one I knew died to them, so I wasn’t affected.”
“That is why it is important to understand that every death affects us, for better or for worse. None of us stand alone in life, so therefore in death we are also united. When the toll of a funeral bell chimes, it chimes for everyone. That is the meaning of the Silver Reaper.”
“So you know of the story then?”
“Of course. It is fundamental for killing more than just Oskuutors. Silver represents compassion and empathy, and bronze represents strength and resolution. Hunters require both in order to kill Malaki. We can have compassion for others, but if we are weak, we cannot change anything about the suffering they inflict. We can have the strength to change the world, but without compassion we will only get corrupted and change it for the worse. A hunter of the Tibur must have both.”
“So a silver reaper is someone who kills with compassion? And a bronze bell represents their strength to kill?”
Savekio nodded, “You can think of it that way, yes.”
“So why did the gray order interfere with the ritual?”
Savekio stopped, raising his torch to reveal a crucified corpse hanging above them, “Because this ritual had already been interfered with.”