Genki sat there in a cave next to the gigantic dragon. The dragon had already fallen asleep, which Genki found rather annoying. Still, she looked at the Elder Dragon fondly with a bright smile. It came and rescued her. Got her out from the lands of the dead and took her to the Elder Mountain to retrieve her other prizes. Truth be told, it surprised her that Kentaro and Kenji’s pieces of the wand were still there, tucked away in her hidden room.
She sat crossed legged on the ground in the dragon’s home, looking them over with a broad smile. These were what she considered some of the hardest pieces to get. Minako’s would be next for her. Minako’s realm was a hard place, however, the realm of desperation and sadness. Genki shivered, thinking about it. Minako didn’t go there very much, from what she knew. She spent most of her time with Misumi.
Genki thought for a moment. Perhaps they kept them locked away together? Genki had a sneaking suspension. Misumi might just give her their piece if they thought they could make it all go away. Then maybe Genki would just follow suit? Misumi just wanted Minako to be happy, or at peace. With Kenji, Kentaro and Lilith fighting so hard against Genki, maybe they’d just fold? Well, Genki could hope it’d only be so easy.
She lifted the three pieces she had and moved to a section of the cave, away from the dragon’s awful snoring. She would need to recoup her power as well. Putting the pieces in a small sack she had, she sat on the ground and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes.
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The four made good time to Elder Mountain, moving quickly with new vigor from Silas’s arrival and the fact he finally had a plan that might sound decent. When they reached the Mountain, they found the cave entrance rather quickly. It was a large cave, but it was dark inside.
“We can’t go in there.” Magnus was the one to speak when they were standing outside of it.
Silas looked at him and cocked a brow curiously. “Why not? It’s just a cave in a mountain.”
“Aye yeah, it is, but The Elder told us we shouldn’t even come to this mountain. Let alone go inside of it.” William answered and stressed the word The in The Elder’s title.
Silas frowned and looked at the pair of them.
“Look, we’re just coming to find your phoenix anyway, right? He wouldn’t be inside, would he?” Daiki spoke up, adding some reasoning.
Silas was staring inside the cave entrance now. Trying to see as deeply as he could. He even triggered his Shadow Vision to try to look in the cave. It was all closed off, and he couldn’t see a thing. There were more powerful beings than him keeping people out of the cave.
“Right, and I can’t feel any Spirit creatures around, let alone one with Kenji’s power.” Magnus answered Daiki as he and William looked around the side of the mountain they were on.
“No, he wouldn’t be inside.” Silas frowned. “He had orders to watch for someone going inside and then leave and tell Kenji if someone came. Maybe whoever Kenji was expecting came and left.” Silas finally looked away from the cave entrance and looked around the mountain now as well. It was such a weird place for a lone mountain right in the middle of flat land otherwise.
It made it easier for the group to run around the mountain and look around for the phoenix. Once they were sure Shu was indeed gone, they gathered back up and Silas smirked, looking at William. “Well, looks like we are going back to the Wastelands. Think they’ll remember us?”
William just laughed, and they began their trek. There weren't any rivers or lakes or modes of transportation through the continent beside them on foot. Silas supposed they could have brought horses, but the four of them could run longer and faster than any horse could. Reinforcing their legs with their spirit, they ran until nightfall. Silas couldn’t even guess how many leagues they ran.
They took breaks sparingly, only if they passed a town or village to stop for a drink and a bit of food. Daiki always seemed ready and wanting to try the local cuisine. One time Silas scolded him a little and Daiki simply grinned with a mouthful of noodles. He sputtered, giving the excuse they needed to keep their strength up for the long run and when it was time to finally fight. It brought a bit of a laugh to the group when the chubby Sacred Artist tried to speak with his mouth full and spit a bit of daikon.
Every village they stopped in, they offered the Sacred Artists free food and a room in the local inn. The inn hosting four powerful cultivators would bring them some fame with outsiders, and they looked disappointed when the group generously denied. They explained they were on a mission to help all of mankind. They’d always leave some kind of token in appreciation, either simple coin or cultivation pills Daiki still had from Kunlun. It’d be wrong for them to take free food from the regular people who needed to survive.
At night, when the sun was fully set, they finally stopped and made camp. Then the group sat around a fire. William had built a fire, and they were roasting a couple of rabbits over it they had caught during the day. Now that Silas was fully in control of his powers, they gave him no problems when he hunted them.
“It’s too bad we didn’t come across any spirit beasts. Their meat is so much tastier.” Daiki spoke, tearing into his rabbit.
“Oi, you think any spirit beasts are going to come after the likes of us? We’re four Sacred Artists well along in our paths. A pack of wolves maybe, but even then.” William laughed a bit.
They fell into silence though shortly after and finished their dinner. They had a hard day, and the only time anyone spoke was when Magnus asked about how much longer it’d be until they reached the offshoot of the dragon cult.
William shrugged a little, looking at Magnus. “By tomorrow night, I’d imagine if we get an early start and keep the same sort of pace as we did today. Maybe sooner if we find fewer places for Daiki to stop us and eat at.”
Daiki frowned and looked at William, but eventually he conceded the point, nodding his head. “Sorry, I know we shouldn’t be stopping so much. We need to get Maisy.”
They all simply sighed and nodded. “We need to keep our strength up though. Stopping lets us regenerate some madra and get some food in our bellies. It’s fine.” Magnus consoled him.
When they were finished eating, they all pulled sleeping rolls from their storage rings and slept near the fire. They were in the desert, so they kept close because it would get cold at night. Also, strength in numbers just in case they wandered onto a non-friendly spirit animal's lands. Silas stayed up a bit later than the others, looking up into the stars in the sky. He focused on where they said the Rat constellation was.
It was mixed in with the stars with the other star signs, which was partially why people said it wasn’t a proper constellation. He supposed it kind of made sense, though. The Beggars didn’t operate like the normal sects did. They operated within the sects and the schools behind the scenes. They tried to bring the knowledge of the Kami and the other powers where they could.
“We’ll avenge you, Kio. We’ll find the man who murdered you.” This he knew he would do. Silas was less certain when he looked at the formation of the Ox. “And you, my love.” He was speaking to his wife now, Himari. Silas was less certain though, he had to fight a literal god in order to avenge her. He fell asleep and slept fitfully through the night with his uneasiness.
In the morning, once the sun broke, and they all woke and had some of the leftover rabbit they sat together and cultivated. They drew in the surrounding aura of each of their respective elements. Cycling their madra or mana through their system, growing it and reinforcing it, adding it to their cores. Sleeping, of course, naturally refilled them a little, but sitting and actually cultivating was the best thing for them. Helping them strengthen their spirit so they could advance.
This was when the trouble came. It just so happened there was a pack of coyotes that claimed this plot of land the group was in. There was just one or two short of a dozen in this pack, and their alpha had reached spirit cultivation and was on the Onyx level. It was old, and powerful and sentient. They were spreading out around the group before they made their move.
Silas was the first to finally feel them. Through the shadows, he opened his eyes and looked around. It only took the others a moment longer. Soon, all four of them were on their feet with their various weapons drawn. Each of them scanned a section until the coyotes came over their respective ridges so they were into sight.
“Well, you said you wanted a pack.” Magnus said, pretending to bring some humor into the situation, but he was frowning.
“There’s ten of them, plus the leader who’s…” Silas paused and reached out with his spirit. “.. onyx I think.”
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Daiki, as the lowest of the group, still on the Onyx level, he groaned a little. The rest of them were at least on the Jade level and Silas had a sneaking suspicion William was actually Opal, but he was never sure. Silas himself had broken through to Opal and advanced well into that stage when he was training with Kenji. This was how he was finally considered a Master in his art of shadow, not just an Adept anymore.
They were in the wide open area of the desert surrounded by coyotes who were all at some level in the body cultivation realm. Their alpha, who was as strong as their weakest member. The animals were moving in, howling and calling to each other. The Sacred Artists weren’t really worried about the coyotes who hadn’t reached spirit cultivation yet. The fact they outnumbered them meant they’d have to make sure they were on their game.
Silas manipulated his shadow, raising it to give them another fighter. The skinny shadow copy of himself rose from the ground like a man getting up from bed in the morning. It took a readied stance and looked around at the pack moving in. Finally, the alpha made his appearance. It stayed towards the rear behind two others that approached from the same side. They were closest to Silas, and he and his shadow looked at the group of three with narrowed eyes.
They lept, all of them all at once, towards the four of them. The battle was on. The only one who stayed back was their alpha. Silas went into the Shadow Walk, pushing himself into the shadows. His shadow itself ran at the pair that jumped towards Silas and itself. It didn’t have the hammer like Silas had, but it had proven multiple times that it was an excellent hand to hand fighter.
With Silas gone and moving through the shadows, the two coyotes jumped at the shadow. It met them in midair with its fists raised. It punched one right on the snout and when the other went to wrap its jaws on the shadows arm the shadow had disappeared itself into the shadows as well. Only for a moment. When it reappeared, all three of them were on the ground. The shadow fighting the pair of coyotes who jumped and swiped at it. It responded mostly with kicks when the coyotes let their snouts too close.
The other fights went about the same way. William, who was probably the best suited to fight multiple enemies with his dual blades, had killed one of the coyotes in their initial attack. William let the animals come to him instead of jumping at them like Silas’s shadow. He waited for the coyotes to land near him and instantly swiped one and ran one of the coyotes through. He was also the only one who initially had to fight three, so he was currently fighting two.
The fights with Daiki and Magnus went the same. They launched attacks at the coyotes, who dodged and then counterattacked. They’d knock the attack away with their staff like weapons. Magnus killed one coyote with his guandao in their initial attack. Once he could kill the other one, he’d help William since he had three.
The alpha coyote who was watching over the battle. It was also scanning the area, watching for where Silas had disappeared to. Silas could feel the beast's spirit reaching out, looking for him. Silas jumped from the shadows with his hammer pulled above and over his head. He was trying to end the creature in one swift strike.
The beast turned and could just run out of the way, Silas’s hammer landing in the dirt. It was just a few feet away now from Silas, head lowered, ready to attack. Its red eyes glowing at Silas. Silas smirked and held the hammer in both hands, letting his power slip out, unveiling his spirit. The shadows pushed in on the coyote, and Silas crouched down. He was now in his own readied position of attack.
The coyote’s eyes went wide, and it gave a howl. It looked like it was thinking if it was worth it to press the attack. It gave a look back down to its pack. Magnus had moved on and there were only two of the animals left fighting William and Magnus. Then there was only one left fighting Daiki as well. The Shadow still had two, but watching for a moment, the alpha could tell it was toying with the two coyotes. The way it dipped in and out of the shadows, the way it did.
The alpha looked back at Silas and bared its fangs. It had lost too many of its pack. It decided to go out in a fight rather than run. Silas nodded his head after it gave a brief howl. It would not run, and Silas saw that in the creature's face. Silas could feel the quickening of the animal's madra. Then it pounced at Silas, growling.
Silas sighed. He understood why the beast didn’t cut its losses and run, he could respect it. He dipped into the shadows. The coyote had pounced on nothing. After landing, it looked around. The alpha was met with Silas coming from the shadows once more and swinging his hammer at the animal's skull. The weight of the hammer crushed into the ground. It let out no cry and died instantly with the blow.
Silas looked over at the rest of the little fights going on and Magnus was thrusting the elongated blade of the guandao. It was the last of the animals and it was running at William. Magnus reached out with his pole-arm and sliced into the animal's belly, gutting it. The shadow went back to the ground underneath Silas.
No one even waited to say anything. They all cleaned the animals and cut out their spirit stones. Silas smirked, Sacred Artists will be Sacred Artists. He pulled his dagger from his storage ring and set about doing the same thing from the alpha of the group. They didn’t waste time to completely clean all the animals. Each of them took the spirit stones and some meat, which they wrapped and stowed away.
They all grouped up and smirked. “Well, now that we’ve had our morning stretching.” William spoke and grinned.
The rest of them nodded, and they took off at their fast-paced jog. They jogged the entire day, only stopping around midday to cook up some of the meat they got from the coyotes. They ate in silence and quickly, before they cleaned up their little camp and took off once more. Silas did not know how far they had gone from when they started the other day. This far in the desert, there were no more towns or villages for them to stop and waste time in.
Daiki never said a word about stopping, either. Silas thought he was probably properly chastised for causing them to stop so much the day before. He wasn’t even the one who suggested they stop when they had. It was Silas himself who figured they could all use a bite to eat.
The spirit meat they ate helped them refill their cores and spirit quicker than if they had just eaten regular meat. Or even if they had even sat and cultivated. Eating the flesh of a spirit animal helped a person recoup their spirit.
Not only that, but the spirit meat tasted much better. Something about it just elevated the flavor and Silas lamented he hadn’t run into more spirit animals on his voyages as of late. When he was weak, he would have thought he would have been easy pickings for the animals.
“We gotta be close, no?” Magnus was the first to speak since they had stopped for lunch.
The four of them slowed to a stop and looked around. Silas shrugged. “I’m not sure. I haven’t ever been through here. He smirked and said, "I just knew the direction to go." and closed his eyes, breathing deeply and reaching out with his spirit.
It was William who nodded, putting his hands on his hips. He looked around and then finally pointed over a mountain range to the east. “Gentleman, we’re about where we wanna be, I think. That mountain range separates the Wastelands from the Desolation. Dunno why it’s called two separate things. Anyway, we should spend the night in the mountains, get an early start in the morning and then hopefully we find the crew we’re looking for. Then we can get some answers, and maybe a decent fight. Better than those coyotes, anyway.”
Silas didn’t wait for anymore talk, he took off running once more. He didn’t want to stop until they got to the mountain and could find a decent spot to make camp for the night. Knowing they were finally so close drove him on. Finally, on the track to getting some kind of justice for everything that had happened. He was so close he could taste it. It took the rest of them a few minutes, but eventually they caught up to Silas and ran along with him.
“Tis a shame you don’t have that bear skin cloak anymore. It’s gonna be cold up in the mountains tonight.” William looked at Silas and laughed a little.
Silas smirked and looked to the ground as they jogged, finally giving a nod. “Yeah.” He remembered that fight with the bear and how it almost took off his arm. He was surprised when he broke it down. It wasn’t a spirit beast, even a low level one. The thing was huge and freakishly strong.
Then he thought of Maisy, and that’s how he first met her. Passing out from the blood loss right as he got to the Brothel she worked in. Or well, she was hiding out in for the winter. Then he got upset again. They had taken another person he came to care about from him at the hands of these dragon cults. They at least presumed Maisy to still be alive. The cult had just kidnapped her. He lowered his head and pushed on, running harder.
The other three pushed themselves when they saw him picking up speed and could keep pace until they got to the top of the mountain. They came to a stop on the ridge and looked over the valley.
William pointed down to the valley and smirked. “Look familiar?” He then pointed up to the other side of the valley where the cults had attacked from when they were in the caravan.
Silas laughed a little and nodded his head. “It seems fitting.”
“Aye it do.” William responded by folding his arms and looking over. “I suppose this is as good a place as any to camp. We’re close, and the sun is almost down now. We can get some rest and strike their camps in the middle of the night. It’s still caravan season, so I’m sure they’re still there.”
Daiki and Magnus were there now, Daiki panting loudly from running so hard the last little ways. Silas looked at them and frowned. He hadn’t even considered they might not still be there. This was the only lead he had. Other than using Kenji and tracking Genki down himself and going right to the source. He doubted that would be an excellent idea, anyway. He may have gotten more powerful than he had ever been, but he wasn’t ready to take on one of the Kami, not yet. Probably never without the help of Kenji.
“They’ll be there.” Magnus spoke up and gave the group a reassuring nod. “They’ll be there and we’ll fight them and make them tell us where the main cult is and how to find them.”
Silas nodded his head, and they turned away and went a little back down from the ridge. They didn’t want to be caught already and lose the element of surprise. The group pulled out the little meat they had left from the coyotes but didn’t want to risk starting a fire to cook it for the same reason. They all lamented not having the foresight to cook the meat earlier when they had a fire going.
William took what meat they had left and used his madra to just spit fire at it the meat in slow quick bursts. It wouldn’t cook the meat all the way. It would give it char on the outside a little and wouldn’t result in the same kind of smoke as a full fire. Everyone took a knee and helped and ate, even though it didn't thrill the group. They devoured the spirit meat, letting the energy flow through their channels and invigorate them.
“It’s almost a shame we’re just eating this to go to sleep.” Daiki laughed, looking at them with a mouth full of raw meat.
Silas had already sat and started his evening cultivation. Calming his mind and reaching out with his spirit, he brought the aura in rejuvenating him further. Eventually, the rest of them sat next to him and did the same. They cultivated for a while until they felt content and then rolled out their bedrolls and went to sleep.
Like William had said on their way up the mountain, it was cold, but thanks to their madra and mana, they could keep mostly warm. They had also slept even closer together than they had the night before to help conserve body heat. The plan was for them to only sleep for a few hours and then make the trek across the valley and look for the cult.