Chapter 6: The Darkness surrounding the stars.
A figure suddenly walks slowly out of the shadow and stand next to Ignis, who has a wide smile as he sleeps.
The figure sighs as they shook their head and said, “silly child, if you need help then ask. You won’t get far in life without having companions.”The figure then let out a wry smile, eventually placing a blanket over Ignis and Solace.
Moving at an absurd speed, the shadow left Ignis’s courtyard. If Ignis was awake, then he wouldn’t know what to think because he wouldn’t even be able to see the person.
Soon, he left the Crimson’s clan and arrived at a seemingly normal house that was near the eastern exit of the Twin Fire and Ice city.
Suddenly, the door open without any warning, revealing the inside of the house. However, it was pitch black, blocking the moonlight from penetrating into the house. Thus, creating a completely dark room that didn’t have any source of light.
Without a second thought, the figure entered the house and swiftly, he moves across the room and hidden gears starts moving. Out of nowhere, the floor tiles start to split apart, exposing a hidden staircase that led to the underground.
The figure then walks down on the staircase and appears in a room where there were other figures. Four other figures were sitting around a table, one of them were sleeping as his feet were on the table with his eyes closed.
“Hmph, is there a need for a room like this. A cultivator at around our level can easily detect this hidden room,” the first figure scoff as he took a sit on one of the remaining empty seat.
Unlike the room above, the room below ground had candle showing the faces of all the figures.
“Now, now. Aurelius, you know the temperament of Shade he has a hobby creating traps and hidden room.” A figure talked to the first shadow who turned out to be Aurelius.
“Hmph, Lydia why are you defending him.” Aurelius once again snorted.
“Because he is my husband, why else?” The figure turned out to be a woman that appeared to be around her 60s. She also wore a robe similar to Aurelius however hers was blue and there were flower patterns on them.
Another figure shakes his head as he spoke, “Bah. Aurelius, you are bad mouthing me again. Sigh, when you were young, you worshiped the hidden art, Proclaiming to everyone that you would follow my footstep and now you tell others that it’s useless.” It turned out this figure is Shade, the owner of the house and the husband of Lydia.
Shade was wearing matching clothes with Lydia, he also had a blue robe however his was darker and with an ocean pattern on the robe.
“Hmph, why are you bringing that up? You are just 10 years older so stop acting like you are an elder.” Aurelius rebuked the Shade’s nostalgic statement however he seemed to be less angry than before.
“Haha, Aurelius why you bickering with Shade. Reigs wake up, Aurelius has decided arrive.” The man that spoke was holding a hand fan on his right arm and was wearing an earthy brown coloured robe. As he laughed he tap the shoulder of the sleeping person next to him with his fan.
Reigs let out a yawn, “Hmph, Gias why did you interrupt my meditation”. Reigs was still wearing the exact same clothing when Ignis visited him.
In the dimly light room were 5 people; Aurelius, Lydia, Shade, Reigs and Gias. They are sitting around a table.
Gias opens his fan, “Aurelius, isn’t it time you tell us why you gathered five elders of Crimson Clan here today.” Goas has a scholarly air around him, a slight mysterious aura, as if no one could read what he is thinking.
“The meeting this time is about Ignis.” Aurelius said nonchalantly.
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“Oh, Zephyrus’s and Elena’s son. He turned 6, a few days ago, correct?” Shade ask. Similar to everyone else in the room, he also exhibits an aura. However, unlike Gias, who appears to be a scholar and an intelligent man, he is different from Reigs, who exhibits an aloof air around him. Shade’s aura was wicked and shrewd as if anyone were to trust him would not have an easy time.
Reigs interrupted before Aurelius could respond, saying, “Yes. I tested him and it turned out that he possesses an affinity for both Fire and Darkness. Helios and Ragnar was there also, since they are protecting the library.” Aurelius’s eyes twitches slightly as he was interrupted by Reigs.
Both Lydia, Shade and Gias, all of them lifts their eyebrows up in surprise.
Shade was the first to speak, “oh, so what cultivation method did he choose? Haha, it wouldn’t happen to be Solar Eclipse, right?” Shade laughs as he joke. His jokes however was met by both the dead silence of both Aurelius and Reigs.
Shade stops laughing and stands up abruptly from his chair in disbelief. “How-how could this be? Wasn’t that cultivation method lost?”
“Hmph, lost? Do you actually think those old fossils would let something precious as that disappear?” This time it was the amiable Gias who spoke however he knits his eyebrows and was looking quite annoyed and irritated.
“Sigh, even though we have the status of elders we are still kept in the dark by such an important secret.” Lydia nods as she agrees to Gias’s statement.
“Ha, what so special about being elders, in the clan hierarchy we aren’t high up enough to be included in these secrets,” Reigs said, letting out a bitter laugh.
“So, you do realise your position,” suddenly, out of nowhere, another figure appears in the room. Surprisingly the hidden staircase didn’t open and the man somehow arrives in the room without using the stairs. However, even though the man appeared out of the blue, no one seem to be surprised. Gias and Lydia slowly stood up as if they expecting the man to arrive.
“It’s a pleasure to see you today, Supreme Elder.” Both Gias and Lydia greets the mysterious elder while the rest were sitting on their chairs.
“Hmph, you see what I mean, Shade? If the other person has a higher cultivation level, what can’t he do to us. Appearing in this room and not even bothered by the arrays you have set up.” Aurelius said to Shade as he disregards the Supreme Elder’s presence.
“Haha, true to your nature, you hold a grudge against me don’t you.” The Supreme Elder let out a laughs.
“Hmph, if it weren’t you who gave Ignis the cultivation, then who did?” Aurelius rebuts as his eyes was still closed and arm crossed.
“Haha. Now, if I were to tell you it wasn’t me who gave it to him. What would you think?” The Supreme Elder once again let out another hearty laugh and put his hand on the table.
Even though the supreme elder said it as if it was nothing, it had a big effect on all 5 of the elders. Without an exception, all five stands up and have a surprise expression on their faces with their eyes wide open. If it weren’t for the Supreme Elder putting his hand on the table, it would have been flipped by the sudden upward forces of the five elders.
“Was-was it Holy Guardian? Or-or the Blood Vanguard? Or could it be?!” Aurelius’s body began to shakes with sweat forming on his forehead as he stutter. This is because he was convinced it was the Supreme Elder who gave the cultivation method to Ignis. However, now that his conviction was proven wrong he rattled by the news.
“It wasn’t either the Holy Guardian or the Blood Vanguard who made that decision. They were there when Ignis received it but the only one who has the power to give away the cultivation is the Ancestor.”
Aurelius went quite a for a long time before he then sat down one again. “So, it was a decision made by the Ancestor.” Once he calmed down, his mind started to progress once more as he tries to figure out what was going on.
“If that’s the case then it should be Ignis’s fortune however, for the Ancestor to let Ignis practice this cultivation method means that he thinks highly of Ignis’s talent.” Commented Gias.
“The ancestor sure is wise, sigh. Before I arrived here, I was at Ignis’s courtyard and I found that he has managed to sense and control the Qi in the environment,” Aurelius sighed as he said.
The other 4 elders were quite surprised of Aurelius’s report.
“Oh, he managed to sense and control the Qi in 3 days. That’s quite impressive” The Supreme Elder was very pleased with Ignis’s talent.
“No, it wasn’t 3 days, he managed to do all that within today.” Aurelius corrects the Supreme Elder’s misunderstanding.
Once again, the elders were shocked and the shock given to them was equal when it was revealed that the passing of the cultivation was by action of the Ancestor. However, this time even the Supreme Elder couldn’t hide his expression and they weren’t able to hide the excitement in their eyes.
“Haha, the Ancestor is wise indeed however I’m sure even he wouldn’t have expected such a result. For now, you should all go home however you must not let this news out. Aurelius, you have to warn Ignis and tell him to never let this secret out.” The Supreme Elder laughs before getting serious as he reminds Aurelius.
The four elder nodded in agreement with him while Aurelius snorted, “Hmph, I know what to do without you telling me.” They all begin to leave the hidden room through the staircase. After everyone leaving the house, silence once again returned.