Freslia P.O.V.
I was looking up unto the ceiling of the grandmaster training circle, I was waiting. Ikrei was lying next to me, sleeping and Mikros on the other side of him, sleeping as well.
The pills had taken the desired effect. They were ready and so was I. I didn’t need the pill; I was doing this willingly while Ikrei was going to be connected to Mikros. Just long enough for the formation activation to complete.
‘Mikros wanted to come along, ever since Krigsain played that song for us!’
“A soul grandmaster spider, a lesser god spirit sealed within him and now, he has access to part of his former powers. His mental, soul resistance is higher than most. It should prove interesting.”
“We are about to find out if Lord Akathos is right about him.”
I knew both of those voices, they were at the edges of the formation getting ready. Lady Eisvogel, the woman above all women in the order and Draken, my fellow Claimere in full ritual attire.
“Everything ready in the other training circle? The others are ready? The interconnection is working, correct?”
“Yes, to all questions, Lord Sarkan.” Answered Lukia, she was on main assistant duties for the day.
“You will resolve your problems this time, Icirl. We cannot be having an influenceable Claimere around in these times.”
My master’s voice was heard as his beard appeared in my immediate periphery, Stormbraker Burin. He was giving me a warning.
‘That nickname never gets old, coming from master.’
“I will master, I need to grow stronger and we need my brother back.”
“I will be the one controlling the Soul Orb. Everyone, please check your gloves and artifacts one last time. Remember the sigil sequence, it is complicated.”
Lord Sarkan spoke, he was the leader of this ritual, magic convergence. The Archsage would not trust this type of thing to none sages. Just like the Patriarch would not trust anyone, outside of the great elders, for his crucial matters.
A massive undertaking, eight members of the Eldership and the Claimere working together to help us.
If I tell you the truth, a tear almost slipped out of the corner of my eye.
‘I love you, my brothers and sisters. Forever soaring, AELZIR!’
“Close your eyes, my Icirl.” Once more my master spoke.
If you must know, it was his way of calming me down, ice and girl, icirl.
Master hates the Ice Jasmine name due to certain cultivator fans dropping by unannounced.
“Lukia we are starting at the count of thirty breaths. Go over to the other circle, inform and check everything.” Lord Sarkan’s final order.
The silent countdown began. The Soul Orb in his hand began to glow.
One breath.
Five breaths.
Twenty breaths.
Thirty breaths.
“ANAM KALIM DES GLAOH!”
“ARVEN AELZIR SAREN DES GLAOH!”
I heard blood dripping. I knew it was a wrist cut. The entire formation under the three of us would be filled with the blood of our powerful brethren. Two formations, I wasn’t sure exactly how many were on the other one.
Burin, Eisvogel, Draken and Sarkan. As Ikrei puts it so often.
‘Monsters I tell you, monsters!’
“ANAM KALIM DES GLAOH!”
“ARVEN AELZIR SAREN DES GLAOH!”
‘This time it will be different.’
The Soul Orb, the Sagecraft artifact emitted a pure white light. I felt the power engulf the room. Activation.
Two fully powered grandmaster training circles with sigils and a unique soul seal exclusively designed by the Archsage with enough energy for ten million Ucra worth of orgon crystals and resources pulsated. The blood of the Andurian elite and their souls and their cores.
A magical spatial wonder, only replicated and surpassed by the dark magi of the empire.
‘Note to self-22: Don’t go to war with Bichmeyrul!’
“ANAM KALIM DES GLAOH!”
“ARVEN AELZIR SAREN DES GLAOH!”
‘Time to reminisce brother. Sort of.’
I laughed, I laughed wildly like Eriel used to do inside my mind.
Ten breaths. A very special four-way soul connection.
“ANAM KALIM DES GLAOH!”
“ARVEN AELZIR SAREN DES GLAOH!”
The Archsage’s seventh wonder, Mirror World.
Ikrei’s final training began.
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Ikrei P.O.V.
“There’s chirping outside.”
My head was moving everywhere quickly, checking my location. A room, a typical andurian room like the ones in Malaktaraf. This one had a wide window where the sunlight was coming in.
I touched myself all over to double and triple check.
‘What the hell?’
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Hey Eriel! We got to go! Did you oversleep again?!?” A girl’s voice.
“What?!” Many thoughts and jumbled up feelings.
Ten minutes of just thinking and staring at the window trying to feel Yun Hee.
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No dice.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“The elders will spit you out if you are late again!”
I warily decided to open the door. Not before taking a peek at myself with the small mirror on the wall.
‘So that’s how it works, huh? Well, I look better than you, Eriel! You haven’t taken over yet or some crap like that, I think!’
I grabbed the cloak that was in a chair nearby. The heptagram cloak, the true cloth of the kotari.
“I would have been proud to wear this just a couple of weeks ago.” I sighed.
I opened the door.
“What’s keeping you? The elders are not going to be happy.”
An extremely young Freslia was pulling my wrist, guiding me somewhere in a snap.
‘Fast, powerful and beautiful. No matter where or when. Still treacherous.’
We kept going through the building and heading outside, a vast flowery garden was visible from the distance.
“What a monster illusion!”
“You said something?” Young Freslia inquired while still pulling.
‘Is she playing dumb or something?’
“No, nothing.”
I was unable to free myself. I estimated an entire realm difference. I was a solid first core, all blessings active, so to speak.
Twenty breaths. We reached the garden.
A very soft and gentle woo echoed twice in the air. A black hybrid bird made his descent towards our position, a crow-raven. He landed on Freslia’s shoulder. Glittering black feathers and dark green crystalline eyes.
‘Wow, one of those types of beasts that are extremely rare. The magic type with strange abilities.’
“Zaraki! Good boy, good boy!” She playfully caressed the bird.
“This is definitely some sort of memory crystal thing. One that can be experienced.’
I decided to probe a little since Freslia was playing master fool.
“What year is it, Freslia?” I wasn’t sure of anything but it was worth a shot.
“Why are you asking such a thing? You hit your head too hard, somehow?”
Her expressions were the typical girly motions that Yun Hee shows when she is happy. Nothing like the mad eye.
“Just humor me.”
‘Let’s see what you have to say, trickster!’
“Is this because I am holding Zaraki? Woo, woo…you must be with your soul master Zaraki, not me. He gets jealous.”
The bird flew unto my right shoulder and wooed again.
“Official calendar year, 9002, year of the Raven. You are acting weird, like really weird.”
‘A thousand years into the past!?!’
“That face isn’t a nice one, Eriel.” Two people arrived as well.
“Stop the teasing. Our tester will be here any minute now.” A young Mikros, no blue hair just brown.
“Hello Basgram, good morning.” Worded Freslia.
“Hello my lady, always a pleasure.”
‘Is taskmaster giggling like an idiot? What is going on here?!’
Steps were heard throughout the garden, with aplomb. I turned to see.
‘Darin! No beard, though.’
“I—”
“Master.” I mumbled interrupting illusory Darin’s speech accidentally.
“Oh! We have an eager one. I’ll start with you then. It’s a selection process, Elder Akathos is not your master yet, kotari Eriel.” His warm smile was the same.
“Woo.” Zaraki the crow-raven expressed his happiness.
‘This entire thing is giving me weird vibes. I can feel this bird’s feelings? Words? Inside a memory?’
“We will return in an hour, the rest of you are to self-train and prepare for your turn.”
Freslia gave an extremely energetic thumbs up and a waved goodbye.
Unsettling.
I followed fake illusion Darin into a nearby cave. The cave had underground passages, it was cut and readapted by humans, indubitably. It was more like a natural training circle with orgon crystals in the walls, two floors down.
‘I see why the Andurin like caves. Pricks Krigs is the same.’
Darin placed himself in the accustomed manner for sparring inside the circle.
“I’ll fight at your realm. Show me what you’ve got brother.”
“Woo.”
Zaraki started flying, gliding inside the circle slowly. Darin did nothing.
‘What do I do? Keep playing along?’
After one minute of furious brainstorming, I realized I had no blades, swords or anything of the sort in my temporal ring. Only potions, orgon crystals, a strange book with formations, another one in summoning and finally a parchment style book with a one-word title in the common tongue, Void.
“He he, can I borrow a couple of mastercaftsman blades from you, brother?” I said scratching my right cheek,
“Sister Freslia is right. You are acting weird.” He handed me a couple of blades for me to use.
The slightly moon shaped metal felt just right.
“You heard that?” I was a little puzzled.
“Some have extremely enhanced senses, others high sensitivity to mana, kinetic energy. I have both.”
“You shouldn’t share your abilities so easily, brother Darin.”
“This much is nothing. Others have even stranger sensory abilities. Need time for a spell? A summoning? Show me your best!”
I wasn’t sure how to play the situation but the fondness from seeing Darin wouldn’t fade.
‘He got chewed up by those spiders too. Poor guy.’
“Give me six breaths, brother.”
Darin just accented. I prepared my blades.
“Inhale, exhale. Release.” I charged my internal energy to the best that I could muster.
‘Just let your feelings flow and feel the negative energy. Not that hard, Pricks Krigs! Taskmaster bitch, drilled me. Let’s try this brute force style of hers.’
“Here I come, brother Darin!”
Power dash, dark energy, chaos or whatever that dammed eye patch called it.
SWISH! CLANG! SWISH! CLANG! SWISH! CLANG!
I tried a few variations of Yun Hee’s sword play but it didn’t work.
“The control of your core energy is feeble, brother. It’s fluctuating wildly.”
Another round and more perfect blocking. Normal fighters cannot do this, their blades would brake plus reflexes and many more things. The awakened, another world, another life.
“First time trying this blade thing with my energy, brother.” I wasn’t lying.
SWISH! CLANG! SWISH! CLANG! SWISH! CLANG!
“Show me more!” He was smiling.
‘I better not use the seed of Malgrun. Play it safe. Hey, Zaraki do something!’
“Woo!” Like a flash, Zaraki charged.
‘Beastmaster style tag team, go team Ikrei!
SWISH! WOO! CLANG! SWISH! WOO! CLANG! CLANG! SWISH! WOO! CLANG!
Zaraki was feinting with his beak and hitting with his blunted fan tail. Hybrids are precious and this one even more so. Pure dark energy, mine and his interconnected.
A couple of more exchanges in similar fashion and I was starting to feel the need to kill Darin.
‘The magic bird has many tricks, Zaraki’s flow of energy isn’t normal.’
“Good brother, let me see a fully powered energy slash.” Darin gave the order.
‘Good impression, great impression? What to do?’
In the end, I decided to try something new. I slashed downward with all my energy reserves depleting inside my core. I imitated the first form of Yun Hee’s blade. It was far from the real thing but I felt like doing it.
‘Dark energy, dark feelings plus a legendary soul connection to a crazy succubus. Recklessness aplenty!’
SWIIIISH!!!
The cave shook just a little tiny bit.
The energy blast left a small dent on the training circle, just a scratch, half a palm in size.
“That’s enough brother, rest here and recuperate. I’ll see to your brothers and sisters; someone will come for you.” He smiled and left.
I sat in lotus position and took out orgon crystals, potions and meditated.
Zaraki sat on my right shoulder again.
“That was cool, little bird.” A joke, he was twice the size of a normal raven.
A non-awakened would have trouble bearing the weight.
‘Controlling the energy is easy but more and more dark thoughts invade you. One definitively can turn evil.’
I took out a Thruskan bottle from the ring. I drank and played with Zaraki.
“How does Yun Hee do it? Training under the great consorts surely must have helped. This Tohuwabohu stuff is dangerous.”
“Woo.”
‘What the hell is this place? An illusion, really?’
Zaraki played dead an opened his right eye. A signal for a sip of Thruskan.
“♪One shot before dawn and one more for the crow. ♪” That sounds about right.
A human and a magical beast laughed together. A weird sound, to be honest.
Zaraki drank like a human from the bottle, lifting it up with his powerful beak, he left nothing for me.
‘Unbelievable.’
I meditated and thought about how to control the consequences of using the energy and what possible shenanigans Freslia was planning.
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“Hope you didn’t have to wait long.”
I opened my eyes from my meditation, stabilizing the flow of dark energy without succumbing was hard. Even more so with all the negative emotions placed upon me by all these Andurian puppet masters.
“Lord Akathos!” My puppet stringing master was sitting across me.
He was slightly younger than when I meet him in the castle, twenty sevenish. And a clearer voice, I didn’t recognize it.
“Lord? One day, we will see.” He kindly smiled.
He took out his acupuncture set, the one he used on me when I first meet him.
Zaraki flew away somewhere into the wilderness for a hunt. Our connection is special; I can see what he sees with just a thought.
“Please take your cloak and top garments off, I want to check something.”
‘He is doing the energy checkup he did before. Am I in trouble? How does this illusion work?’
I was a little rattled but there was no way to fight an elder and I had already tried using meditation to leave this place. I did as he asked.
The needles felt cold this time, my energy was stable unlike the previous time when everything was all over the place.
Akathos went through the motions exactly as I remembered them.
Twenty breaths. My current, future master’s energy lengthened covering the cave.
I was unable to move, barely capable of breathing. I was gasping and drooling. A second later, his eyes were barely away from me.
“You better have a very good story to tell.”
“Augh! Augh!”
‘He is pissed or something.’
“Who are you?!?”