In retrospect, we really should have started suspecting something when a few dozen Knights suddenly went missing during the Blood Games. But, alas, the nature of being part of the claimed hells is watching your Circle fight against all the others and never communicating properly—just how the Harbinger wants it. We're too busy fighting each other, hurting for their favor, rather than uniting to take their throne.

Funny thing, life is. Did you know I’m one of the few reasons why the Realmbreaker passed through the Trial of Despair? Ah. It isn’t a story he’ll tell you much—mainly because it takes away from him. Heh. Little shit.

Hells, it wouldn't surprise me if the boy got the System solely because Mepheleon’s plans. Only the antediluvians might know what conniving schemes that old bastard is concocting.

-”The Old Man,” Duke of Pride

66

Recruitment Drive

"No, wait, please!" the Knight of Greed begged. Blood welled between the elf's pearly white teeth as he reached down into his cloak and pulled out a fistful of coins. "I can give you anything you want. I have treasures." Such were his last words, as in the following instant, Agnesia’s bone blade fell and severed his neck clean from his head.

As the Knight died, a skeletal hand emerged from the ground below, grasping the remains of his essence and pulling him across the boundary. But it was no matter. His Constitution would be permanently crippled. Wei saw to that; he also ensured that the Knight's hobbling was a subtle one. He struck at the Knight using his Form of the Harvester, hamstringing him with blades of wind as he tried to duel Agnesia.

The Knight wasn't a bad fighter, per se. He seemed to have an endless repertoire of items that granted him unbound versatility. Comparatively, Agnesia was proving to be ever more the juggernaut, always coming forward, constantly attacking. The way she swung her blade like a massive club made Wei wince. But that was something they could rectify in time. Power was a more pressing currency.

Such was why the young master was forced to use such underhanded methods. He needed his sect strong. And so, as they fought their respective knights, he simply tipped the scales ever so slightly in their favor. A bolt of random lightning here, a slash of wind there, a sudden tide of water swelling from a pond without reason. Rafael hid his presence well and used his Invisible Field to the utmost capacity.

Through these means, they claimed seven Knights in total on top of Severean. Two were captured, and five were utterly slain. Destroyed by Wei’s System. And through it all, the class levels of his fellows continued to climb.

But as Wei emerged from Rafael's field of invisibility, he looked upon Agnesia with a frown as she smirked at him with feral glee. "What's wrong with you?" she quipped, projecting a handful of black fire. She evaporated the blood from her blade, watched it rise as trails of smoke. "You look like we just lost that fight."

"You look like you won that fight on your own," Wei replied. "Meanwhile, as I'm tipping the scales in your favor, my System sees to punish me for it." And punish him it did. He hadn't gained any Aspect advancements in over three days. Aside from his Enlightenment, of course; that just came with reading and research. It seemed that the prey here were growing ever weaker and weren't enough to grant him the necessary strain for progression. His Class’s levels, too, had slowed. Ever since he killed the False Hydra, he'd only gained another level, leaving him at level 28.

Enlightenment Advanced > 20

[9/10] Aspect Advancements to Core Ascension

The benefits his class conferred were substantial indeed, but still, compared to his meteoric ascent during his first day, his present progress left much to be desired. That, and increased Knight activity was why he intended to cross through the Hearted Realm soon. There was no point in overstaying his advantage. He didn’t need anyone relaying the reality of his System into the Claimed Hells before he could arrive.

Through all these days of preparation, through gathering new disciples and interrogating the knights, he gained a clear vision of what he was about to face. The skies above crackled as showers of heavy gold fell like unrelenting hail. The present Moongrave was one associated with the Circle of Greed, and so, if one wanted treasures or miraculous items, such was the place to be.

Of course, as usual, there was a catch, for though they stood on hills of roiling and tumbling gold, massive serpents lurked beneath mountains of coins, burrowing from place to place whenever they sensed a shift in vibration. His Omniscience counted plenty of dead sinners left abandoned, far beneath the soil. He and the others came too late to save those, but then again, they were probably already too weak to survive the coming ordeal. Rather, it was the ones who remained that he was interested in. They could still be fashioned into some use, but that was to be determined. Wei still needed to examine his new stock.

As he ventured away from the site of battle, Wei felt a shift in the treasure serpents below and simply stomped down once. The earth deep under ruptured, and stone shot through the layers of coinage, piercing through several serpents. Twelve of the foolish demons died in an instant. The rest got the message and kept their distance. With this done, he and Agnesia proceeded towards a small stone fort, standing in contrast to the opulence around. It occupied a small expanse of a hundred meters and the stone fortifications looked ravaged and besieged; veined with cracks and stained with blood.

This was a fortress created by a sinner. That was without doubt. Wei sensed 10 people within the walls, with fifteen dead, and only two manning the walls.

As Agnesia, Rafael, and Wei approached, the young master focused his Omniscience upon them and found himself surprised. He knew these men. Well, not well, but he knew them. Wei barked out a surprised laugh.

"Ser Angeleos," he said under his breath, "still alive." Deep within the center of the fort, the old man flared his wings. They now resembled blocks of concrete, rather than feathers of diaphanous light. The armor he wore was also battered and dented, held together by strings and scraps. Around him, his soldiers skittered about. He only had one archer left, but their bow was twice the size as it used to be. It seemed a massive, enshadowed instrument, and his arrows were things that he could bring forth from thin air.

His greatswordsman was also twice the size as he was before and seemed encased within a shell of black and bronze. The rest were an assortment of bandits ascended to new classes. They all had something like Light Fighter, or Heavy Brawler. Wei looked over their specializations, and few of them were even above Level Six. It was quite the pitiful sight, but then again, every sect needed their outer court disciples, able to send into the jaws of death before anyone of value was risked.

"Sir Angelos!" Agnesia looked at Wei with surprise. She gripped her blade tighter, and the flames around her rose to a new level of arousal. “Ignium. I'm surprised that old bastard's still alive. Expected the demons to take him."

"This is far better," Wei frowned at the girl. "More outer court disciples for you to lord over. You stay here for now," Wei said, looking to Agnesia. "We wouldn't want you to burn them down at the first insult."

"I will not," the girl said, sounding offended.

“Just like how you wouldn't murder that Knight of Envy when he called you a whore?”

"He infringed upon my honor. I was defending myself."

Wei snorted. "Well then, young mistress, let me leave to your preemptive defense so that no one else may be burned." She was about to say something, but a squeak came from her throat. She quickly looked away. Wei narrowed his eyes at this girl. There was something wrong with her. Fierce as a lion one moment, and then like a mouse in the next—was every outworlder so mentally estranged from themselves? Truly, there were so few people sound of mind like him.

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"Rafael," Wei said simply.

"I will keep the field up," the lich said, "and I will be ready to befuddle their minds if they do anything untoward."

"Very good." The young master still didn't trust the lich. But as Rafael's level grew, so did his utility. His ability to bend minds and protect them was quickly becoming the group's greatest asset. That, along with his knowledge; he was willing to scheme and plot and play the snake. It was useful having a fox defend against other foxes, as the saying goes.

With each step, the coins beneath Wei's feet jingled, and chalices of silver and diamond bounced off him without inflicting any harm. Walking through a downpour of riches, Wei summoned his broken crescent again with a splash of erupting lightning. Bolts expanded up in the air, and a crackle sounded, echoing for kilometers. At once, he saw the archer manifest on the walls in a puff of shadows. This one was battered, beaten down, but still not done. There was still fight in them, and Wei could use that for the coming push through the Hearted Realm.

A shot was loosed, an arrow formed from purest darkness, but far too slow. Wei could have dodged it even without the warning of his Dilation Echo. And with a simple movement to the side, he let it sail past him before he made his declaration. "I am surprised to still see you alive!" He leapt. The winds beneath his feet erupted, and a wheel of turning gales carried him across the air and set him down upon the edge of the makeshift battlements.

As he landed, he looked at the assortment of battered and broken warriors and greeted them with a smile. The dead lay piled in mound nearby while few were uninjured of the living, holding a last desperate defense behind a wall of pikes. The archer stumbled back, surprised at the young master's speed. The shadows composing his bow shifted, turning it into a blade, but his eyes widened again as he realized who he was looking upon. "Oh, come the fuck on," he muttered to himself, recognizing Wei. Down among the beaten and bloodied, Ser Angeleouslooked up with an expression of pure scorn.

"So you're still alive," the old man spat.

Wei gave a barking laugh. "That was my line, old man. How are you still here? Can't be by strength alone, considering how much of that you lacked the last we met."

Angelus, Heart of the Bastion: Lv. 8

"Level eight," Wei said, proclaiming out loud. "Remarkable, truly. That's eight higher than I expected of you. Tell me, what is your plan for continuing onwards?"

Angeleoussaid nothing, which was a mistake. For Wei saw the haggard expressions on his men. "Did you have a plan?" Wei continued. "No? Was it just to hope that the Knight of Greed would turn away? Was that your plan?" The silence continued, and the Master merely snorted. "What a pitiful group, truly."

With a contemptuous movement, he brought his spear down, and the soil beneath each of the battlements erupted. The walls Sir Angeleousso painstakingly raised came apart in a sundering crash of erupting stone. They shattered outwards, spraying shrapnel in all directions. The sheer volume of the deafening explosion sent several men to the ground, clutching their ears. The archer themselves was flung downward with a casual flick of the spear. The wind carried them off the walls, and they didn't have any time to react at all.

As they huddled together, like a pen full of animals, Wei cocked his head at them as the last bits of their protection fell inwards. Dust rose, but a crackle of lightning and force continued to illuminate the young master's form, even through the haze. "This took nothing for me to do. A simple tap of my spear, and now you are without protection. You are babes in the dark, hiding from wolves in a hovel. You will not survive this way, not for long."

"Enough of this!" Sir Angeleoussaid, his own exhaustion finally seeping through. "What do you want from us? Our lives? Then take it! Take it! You've already shown your superiority. What else do you want?"

"I want," Wei began, "your continued survival."

A look of stunned surprise spread across Sir Angeleos's face as his consternation proved to be infectious. The others in the group also looked to each other, murmurs rising.

"As you said," Wei continued, "if I wished for you to be dead, you would be. But today is a fortuitous day for both of us. I'm seeking to rebuild my sect, and you are seeking survival. I think we can help each other here." And slowly, Sir Angeleous lowered his head as a glower formed in his eyes.

"So you want supplication? Enslavement?"

"No," Wei said, "I want your commitment to strength, the power to the Drowned Skies Sect." And with that, Wei summoned a bolt of lightning and cleaved the sky in half. Treasures stopped raining down, and in their place fell droplets of molten gold, searing the world around them. Several men cried out, and with a sweep of his eidolon, Wei cast the rain aside. Internally, he winced. He intended for that to be a moment of awe. Melting the coins and letting them sear the skin of those he wished to recruit was not in his intended plan. But he could probably still turn this to his favor.

"You can reject me, of course. I am a magnanimous young master. If you ask, I will grant your lives and be on my way. But know this: if I abandon you, then your fates are sealed. For you see how weak you are now." He pointed his spear at Ser Angelos. "Your master cannot protect you. He can barely protect himself. But that is well. We are all weak in the beginning. This is a thing that can be cured. And so, if you wish to abandon this weakness, to grow beyond who you were, then come with me."

Slowly, a chatter rose among the rabble, and they all looked to each other, wide-eyed and half-afraid. Ser Angeleous gazed upon his men, and his shoulders sagged. In that moment, he looked older than he'd ever been, and something almost akin to pity welled up inside Wei. But he quickly crushed it. He remembered what the man intended to do with Helena. He remembered his weakness.

"So then, what are you offering?" A deep voice rumbled from within the armor, and Wei turned to face the sole remaining greatswordsman under Ser Angelos's employ. He looked up at the figure and saw a desperation in their eyes, barely enshadowed by the slits of their new armor.

"I will not have you sign away your lives. Worry not about that," Wei began. "But I will have you fight alongside me. I will have you trained. I will have you strong. And I will have you face your current circumstance. If you wish to pass through the hearted realm, you are not sufficient. You are not enough. Understand that what you face here, this was your training ground. This was supposed to be your easiest moment. These knights, they were here to coerce you, to force you into their orders, and serve as willing peons. And if you accept, they would render you aid, allowing you to pass through the Hearted Realms."

"What are the Hearted Realms?" one of Sir Angelos' men coughed.

"The hearted realms are places of desolation within the Archdevils and the place you must pass to complete the Trial of Despair," Wei said. Trespassers' compendium enunciated on them. And what they provided wasn't detail, but descriptions of hellish torment. "They are not something you can easily prepare for. Understand that you venture into the very cores of the archdevils, and the worlds enclosed within will feed on your every weakness. It is said that no sinner survives without aid, without supplicating themselves to a higher order. I seek to be the difference. The Drowned Sky Sect will pass through a whole order unto ourselves. We will live under no other's heel, and we will prevail by strength taken rather than power granted."

"And what makes you any different from the demons?" Sir Angeleous asked. He regarded Wei with a look of suspicion.

"The difference is that I see your strength as a reflection of mine. They see your strength as a thing they can possess and use." Wei took a few steps forward, and the men protecting Angeleous parted around him. Only the Shadow Archer drew back a new arrow, but Sir Angeleousheld up a hand, preventing them from loosing their lives.

"A wise choice," Wei said, regarding Sir Angeleos. "You just saved his life."

Sir Angeleous nodded. "I will not consign myself to slavery. I will not condemn myself to be your servant. My faith only—"

"I don't care about your faith," Wei cut him off. "You can praise whoever you wish, so long as you know that in truth, by power, I am patriarch, and you will serve the sect. Keep your faith within your heart, and I will keep you within my well regards."

Another bead of silence passed between them, and Sir Angeleos's lips thinned. "Very well," he finally forced out. "I will capitulate to your desires. I will give myself unto you as a willing participant in your cause. We are aligned in this regard."

That was as close to a surrender as Wei was probably going to get from the proud old man, but that was good enough as well. In truth, Wei didn't expect the old fool to grovel so easily, nor was that his desire. Ever since his betrayal by Rafael, the young master had been thinking about how to prevent future betrayals and power plays within his sect. This was his mother's greatest weakness. She hadn't seen her murder coming, after all.

For all her prowess, for all her wisdom, love was her undoing. Love and trust. Wei would not be the same. Wei would be better. Wei would make her proud.

Yes. So what does a cultivator do when they cannot stop something? They use it. They use it against itself. Ser Angeleous would be recruited for the sole expectation that he would betray the sect. Wei would have Rafael watching him, and Wei would be watching Rafael. This would keep the lich in his good graces, and he would be able to use the snakes against each other, should they step out of bounds. Such was the way Wei intended to play his sect against itself. It was what the Harbinger was doing as well.

All coveted more power, but power struggles were relative, and if those beneath him spent more time facing each other, worrying about each other, and so long as he stayed strong above all others, his place as patriarch would be everlastingly secured.

As Ser Angelos' ragged band began to stand, Wei looked towards a distant rift and motioned for them to follow. They all looked to each other. "Where, where are we going?" the large armored form of the greatswordsman said.

"We are leaving," Wei said. "We go to our sanctuary for you to meet the others."

"The others?" Ser Angeleous asked.

Wei grinned.