Sounds of fists colliding and bones cracking filled Oscar's inner world. Oscar fought against Demon in their usual spars. Their bodies moved around the endless void, shining from each bout and exchange. Oscar sensed he would be waking up soon, and his astral body pulsed as parts of him started to fade.
"It's finally time," Demon said.
"Fifteen long years…I didn't expect to spend four years to reach the limit even with the Nydil Seeds." Oscar watched his hands start to disappear and sighed. "But now, it will all be over soon."
"Make sure to stay alive for both our sakes. Though, if your mind is broken, then I'll take over without issue in your place." Demon sat down beside the deer anima and closed his eyes.
Oscar chuckled. For better or for worse, he had gotten used to his strange double after fifteen years of being stranded here. He hated to admit it, but Gol-4 and Erden wouldn't have been enough for him to survive. Part of his survival and lack of loneliness was owed to Demon.
"If you take over, promise me you won't hurt my friends and family. Do what you can against your cold inclination to do the right thing." Oscar waved goodbye as his astral form flickered.
"I won't make any promises. I'll try, but I'll always think of us first." Demon said blandly.
"That's good enough." Oscar smiled and laughed. His vision changed from the inner world to the ceiling of the workshop. Getting up, Oscar shivered from the cold sweat over his back, contrary to the hot, arid air of the foundry district. He couldn't help it because today was the day he'd rise or fall.
"Wake up properly, lad. We need to get our preparations in order." Gol-4 noticed Oscar's awakening and hurried over, nearly hurtling himself into the wall. The anxiousness of their undertaking today had infected him as well.
Oscar held Gol-4 to stop him from bouncing around, his anxiousness climbing from the golem's erratic display. A demeanor like this should have been beyond a great Primaere, and Oscar couldn't help but be affected. Gol-4 took some time before his trembling and excitement died down, becoming calm and unmoving in Oscar's hands.
"Calmed down?" Oscar flicked Gol-4 on the forehead.
"Today is the day of your death or greatest achievement. How can I be calm? We've been together for many years. I'd be sad to see you go." The bodiless head squirmed from Oscar's hand and came close, nearing touching noses. His glass blue eyes shone strongly.
"What are my chances?" Oscar didn't waver before Gol-4's fierce gaze. For a long time now, since the very start of their long exile, Oscar had been prepared for the worst. But Gol-4 always kept the details of how he would ingest the Divine Essence, only directing him to step by step.
Now was the time for the full story, everything to be revealed.
"I would say around ten percent. You can't eat a part of the Divine Essence petal. It's unlike the figs and others and has to be all or nothing. Even with all the preparations I have in mind, it's ten percent." Gol-4 said, his voice low and words solemn.
"Ten percent…." Oscar expected the chances to be low and was not disappointed. Rather, he was pleasantly surprised at how high it was compared to his worst estimates. Ten percent was good enough. His life, full of risks and dangers, was one of the low chances and near-death experiences, so ten percent was acceptable for a gamble.
Oscar hopped out of bed and stretched his body before heading outside with Erden and Gol-4. The trio walked over to the main square of Tectusen, away from the heat of the foundry. Gol-4 wanted nothing to distract or impede Oscar, not even the irritating hot air.
Settling into the main square near the exit of Tectusen, Oscar patted Erden affectionately, scratching his fingers across Erden's fur coat. Erden groaned and laid down from the comfortable itching. Oscar laughed and placed Gol-4 beside Erden, the two companions he adored.
"If I don't make it. Take care of each other. Gol-4, if you survive the next time Ashen Grove opens, try contacting the Pavilion if they're still around. Erden, live freely now without fear of the Grovekeepers." Oscar hugged them, feeling Erden rub his wide head against his cheek.
"If I could cry, I probably would. Forget it. Are you ready?" Gol-4 quelled the mechanical trembling in his voice.
"It's your plan. What do we need to do?" Oscar took out his space pocket with everything Gol-4 requested to bring.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"First, we're going to create a formation. It's quite fortunate you have some of the lotus orbs with a calming effect. For the more violent ingredients in alchemy and forging, they provide a means to lower the resistance. Place the fifteen in a circle around you."
Oscar did as instructed. The lotus orbs he collected with Serena had a deep white color and swept him in a refreshing feeling, like lying down in the sea with gentle waves swaying him around. Oscar placed the lotus orbs in a circle several feet away from him.
"Now, take out some of the Grovekeeper cores. They haven't been refined, but they are still a good Ein source for the formation's crux. Use Greater Elite Exalt cores and lay them out in lines extending out and inward from each lotus orb."
The formation resembled the steering wheel Oscar had seen numerous times on airships, with spikes and spokes protruding in and out. Oscar placed himself at the center and sat down, surrounded by many glittering orbs and cores.
"Don't sit down yet. We need the Ein to connect each node. Unlike formations for alchemy and forging, we need conduits. The best way is your blood since we don't have other suitable conduits." Gol-4 requested a dreadful task.
"Hopefully, I don't bleed to death before starting," Oscar laughed. His poor attempt at a joke didn't help in the slightest. Gathering his bearings, Oscar cut his hand, dripping blood onto the floor, and started to start circles around the orbs and cores, connecting them with bloodied lines.
Gol-4 levitated over and glanced at the complete formation, nodding in approval. He dropped down by Erden and sighed. "It is time. Activate the formation by flowing your Ein through the blood. Then eat the Divine Essence." Gol-4 hesitated for a moment before his voice returned. "Give it your all, Oscar."
Erden let out a bellowing cry.
Oscar sat down in the center and took out the petal of the Divine Essence, overwhelmed by the pure Ein in it. His other hand palmed the floor and burned with his blue Ein. A bright light shone from the lines and circles of blood, working from the inside until the entire formation burst. The cores and lotus orbs floated in the air and spun, erecting a barrier of blue water around him.
The blue water was the calming and cooling area created by the formation. If not for this, eating the Divine Essence would have been a flat zero percent of survival. Oscar stared at the petal in his fingers, eyes bloodshot and mouth dry. Oscar ate it like medicine, closing his eyes, forcing it into his mouth and swallowing it instantly.
Oscar had never felt such Ein before. The elixirs, figs, and others he had in the past were nothing but droplets before the great ocean spilling from the Divine Essence. Words could not describe the power and Ein welling up from within; it seemed endless and without equal.
However, nothing prepared Oscar for the agony. Even with the soothing formation and his ataerstone working as fast as possible, the Ein burned through his veins, lungs, and stomach. Oscar roared and trembled to contain it; his skin burst and bled from several places where the Ein immediately burned his wounds shut.
'Hurry up!'
Oscar waited and waited in the endless suffering of his reckless plan. Finally, something loosened within him, shackles broke, and veils lifted. Within his inner world, the light started to flicker within his core, struggling with something. The Ein of the Divine Essence swept across the void, turning it into a vast rainbow ocean.
'It's here! It worked!'
Oscar watched delightfully as his core broke open and absorbed the rainbow ocean, one river at a time. It went against the laws of Ashen Grove and began its process to advance thanks to the power of the Divine Essence. Now, he had to withstand the vast amount of Ein within him and the pain of the advancement.
It was not an easy task.
The Divine Essence didn't want to leave its new home. It continually destroyed Oscar's body, cauterized the wounds, and flooded his core–a cycle of renewal and destruction. Not a hint of Ein could go to waste, sticking to every fiber of Oscar's body until it was used.
Oscar nearly blacked out several times, wanting this moment to end. His body hurt everywhere. He couldn't contain it and vomited out blood which hissed and turned to smoke on the floor. He checked his core and feared he couldn't keep up until it was over.
Suddenly, a faint mark floated up from his core and let out a low hum, a single note which traveled far and wide over the rainbow ocean of Ein.
'Abe?' Oscar recognized this feeling. It was Abe's presence. His eyes widened as he recalled a crucial detail he had forgotten long ago. Before Abe passed on, he left a mark on him, Frederick, and Emily, saying it would help his ascension to Knight Exalt.
Smiling and laughing maniacally, Oscar remembered the young Abe who wanted to play a game and the older Abe who fought alongside him, thanking him. Abe's mark permeated throughout his body, helping to lessen the pain. But it was not enough. Oscar still suffered greatly.
'What…do I do even if I advance? All of this Ein is going to kill me.' Oscar screamed in pain.
…….
"What is this?" Gol-4 watched from outside, unable to believe what had just happened. "Did someone leave a mark on him? That rascal! He didn't tell me he had received such a gift. I wonder who sacrificed pieces of their soul to give him this boon. But…."
Oscar's scream was unending. Gol-4 clenched his golem teeth at the sight of the young Exalt burning and dying in the center. He lied. He lied when he said Oscar had a ten percent chance. The real chance was only three percent.
"With the mark, you now have a five percent chance. I'm sorry for lying, Oscar. I thought maybe giving you a little fake boost might work. At this rate…you'll die." Gol-4 banged his head onto the floor several times, cursing his inability to help as a mere golem.
A hoof stomped on him, stopping him from hurting himself.
"Erden?" Gol-4 was confused.
Erden shook its head and moved over to the edge of the formation. Before Gol-4 could shout for it to return, Erden leaped inside.
"What are you doing?!" Gol-4 shouted.
…….
Oscar had shouted, his throat hoarse, unable to muster even a tiny whisper. His eyes began to dim as the familiar feeling of death crept over his body. Before death could take him, Oscar was awakened by a sharp pain in his shoulder. Glancing to his side, Oscar saw Erden had bitten him.
"Erden?" Oscar forced out his voice.