Skylar woke up with a headache, again.
He hated that feeling. It always felt like something was trying to get in. It did not make him happy to feel that again. It had stopped when his sister stopped cultivating around him. Now, however, he felt it in full force.
He got up to go tell his sister to stop when he froze mid-motion.
The past week came crashing back to him.
Now he felt even worse. The fact that his sister had joined a sect, his parents were gone, and he was going to die.
Going to die?
In one swift motion, he finished standing up and looked around. Around was what looked like a small and decent camp. Looking down he was surprised to see a bedroll.
No way people going to kill him would let him have bedding of any form, other than the ground.
“Ah, you woke. You all calmed down now, boy?”
Skylar froze immediately and turned slowly to see the old man he saw before he passed out. He couldn’t believe it. He thought he imagined what happened to the thugs. There was no way it COULD be possible.
“Could you see what I did to those, what to call them, degenerates? Judging by your facial expression I am inclined to believe you could and can still.”
The old man, nodding to himself as confirming a great fact. Skylar just sat there with an expression of bewilderment and fear. He had been told to never interact with peer experts and what he saw with the thugs indicated that this was the case.
“Is there something you need senior? I am thankful for the help you gave me with the thugs. However, is there something I can do for you senior? I am not aware of what would draw a person of your stature to help me.”
Skylar decided to take the jump and ask the big question to get it out of the way. He hoped it was not a deviant one who would use him in some nefarious way. Though with him being all alone everything just ending would be nice.
“Calm yourself boy, I was just passing by and decided to help. I am no evil cultivator. If I was one then the entire world would be doomed. Before you think I am being too haughty would like to point out I have been alive for over three thousand years. Most cultivators only live for a few centuries at best. Now come to the fire I will heat up the soup so you can eat.”
The old man, no ancestor if his words were true, spoke so confidently yet with a trace of humility. It was a foreign concept.
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The only cultivator he had interacted with was the boss of the gang. He had managed some insight into what he called the Dao of Embers. That alone was enough to overshadow even the strongest people in the village. As one could imagine, the boss of the gang held little to no respect to non-cultivators.
Skylar walked towards the fire pit located near the edge of the camp. However, there was no fire. It would take awhile to heat the soup he saw hanging over the fire. Then something unexpected happened.
It was similar to the time he saw the gang get cut down. The world to stop and reality seemed to rework itself as suddenly a fire was formed instantly. It was not a small fire one would expect from just starting it. No, it was a roaring fire that looked like it had been burning for hours. Suddenly, in a similar fashion, the soup floated out of the pot into a bowl that the ancestor had taken out.
Passing the bowl to him, another bowl appeared in the ancestor's hands and more soup flowed to the bowl before he sat next to him.
Now Skylar had a look of curiosity and confusion on his face. Laughing, the ancestor motioned him to eat before doing so himself.
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The sun was climbing high in the sky once more when Skylar was finished eating. He had not been expecting much out of the soup. It looked like a simple water-based one, however, the taste was better than anything he had ever eaten. Every time he finished the bowl, more would flow into it.
Nearby the ancestor would just watch with a small smile on his face. He seemed content to just let him eat. The only reason he had stopped eating was because the pot was empty.
Skylar made a small bow towards the ancestor when he finished. The ancestor's smile grew a little bigger when he saw that.
“Now that food is out of the way, I would like to talk with you. When I helped you out I never intended to even appear in front of you, but you can obviously see my technique. Those who can are incredibly rare. To start I will introduce myself. My name is Ernoldus, my title among cultivators who know me is The Phantom. I belong to the Heaven Serving Lineage as the current master.”
He did not understand what all that meant truthfully, but he decided to shelve any questions and introduce himself. There was no reason to get on his bad side.
“My name is Skylar. You can call me Sky if you desire. I was born and raised in a small village called Cirrane near the Skysplitting Mountain Range. I have one sister who is now part of the Dao Sect and I have no other living family.”
Sadness oozed out of his voice as he went further with his introduction. Everything had happened to suddenly for it to fully settle in. Now that he had time to sit and eat a good meal and had slept comfortably it all came crashing down.
Last time he seriously cried, he was probably 8. Now he cried like a toddler despite being 17.
Everything he had grown up with, his parents, his friends were gone. He was never likely to see his sister again, and just felt so alone.
Out of nowhere, Ernoldus hugged the boy. Soothingly and comforting he held the boy as he continued to cry into the night when he finally cried himself to sleep.
Gently picking up the boy, with a strength that betrayed his age, the old man carried him to the bedroll he had woken up in. Carefully he tucked the boy in.
Looking up into the night sky 13 constellations could be seen. They all seemed to shine brightly for a brief moment. Nodding in affirmation Ernoldus looked back down, before walking to a stump nearby, where he sat to meditate.
He had waited so long already. Another few hours to start would not hurt.