Final edge sect, a sect below the frozen landscape known as Antarctica. Isolated from the rest of the world not just by land and air but by the very seas themselves its inhabitants have adapted what others may deem to be extreme lifestyle's.

From the many varieties of penguin's that cover the land hatching their young in endless daylight, to the seals and orca's seeking for their daily meals among the frozen tides, to the many sea birds enjoying their freedom to traverse wherever they please. Each of these separate species have adapted to the extreme cold in one form or another, from dense feathers, to thick hides and blubber covering them that allow for them to exist in the cold, they have become extremophiles.

The surrounding ocean separated from the rest of the worlds oceans by warm down currents and cold up currents creating a natrual wall of circulating water that isolates and shelteres all life below the waters of the antarctic's southern ocean. This wall of cold & hot water although invisible is perceivable and has allowed for the southern ocean to become an alien world all of its own.

The warm waters entering the southern ocean bring an abundance of nutrients to feed the many thousands of different lifeforms that swim unseen below the ocean, from giant clams and starfish, to the smallest of jelly-like fish.

Within this environment man had no natural place, it would be considered a miracle to survive in such a place let alone thrive.

For thousands of years this has been true, So other beings much like man yet not truly man took root in this inhospitable land. At first it was a singular giant being not unlike man in form that traversed this barren land, becoming it's first wise being.

This giant sat alone in both light and darkness for only a short hundred years, it did not mind the cold, it did not mind the surrounding emptiness, but it could not stand the loneliness.

"For what do I live? Heaven does not accept us, hell cannot contain us, earth cannot sustain us... What remains..." The giant had contemplated this question for several centuries, unable to find the answer.

As the giant sat in contemplation a being much like man walked to him carrying a child.

"You? What does one such as yourself want with one abandoned by all? Does the lord above all wish for my end just like my brethren?"

The being did not answer, it simply smiled.

"No, you are not one of them. Who- what are you?" The giant being felt a chill quickly standing to defend itself.

Dropping the child it carried, the being simply kep smiling without concern.

"!?"

The being opened its mouth letting out a single breath that melted the surrounding ice a sixty thousand miles across .

The giant retreated unable to stand before this breath, it's arms burnt, its legs sizzled, its eyes closed nearly melting his eyelids shut.

With a roar the giant cried out thinking the end had arrived, soon just like his brethren it would turn into just another wandering spirit. Or so it thought.

The surroundings had turned into a hellscape, the ice had all but retreated leaving nothing but molten slag and stone as fires replaced the surroundings with waves of hot air and smoke in all directions.

Cracking the stone below the giant feel to its knees in anguish as it stared at the being before it.

"Why? What is it that you want of me?"

The being did not answer him, with a smile still on its face it turned around and left. At the feet of the giant a small sleeping child faced the sky.

The gaint looked at the child in disbelief, how can it remain unharmed? As a new line of contemplation entered the giants mind the winds picked up thundering the arrival of a massive blizzard to come.

Over four millennia later...

Chamber of rest, a dimly lit underground chamber below the grand hall of the final edge sect was the final resting place of all past sects leaders within the final edge sect whom failed to achieve longevity.

It was also the place where the current grand elders resided, laying in sarcophagus's like the pharaohs of old as they clung to the last vestiges of their life, that is but one man.

He was currently the only being left in the world that could claim to be a god living among men, having successfully entered the stage of deity ascension he could be considered the most powerful being in mortal exsistance. He was Hleniem, the current and longest lived grand elder of the final edge sect.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"Grand master, this one asks for your guidance" sect master Eduardo Moreno bowed ouside the gates of the chamber of rest.

Hleniem knew what the current sect master wanted but he couldn't provide an answer.

"Grand master... Elder, please help us solve this riddle that plagues us!" The sect master asked again.

"I do not know the answers to this - child, what is a golden star? I've lived since the second dawn of man began, looking at the golden sun longer then I can remember, yet these golden stars you seek are an enigma even to me. We have attempted to reach the golden stars beyond our skies once before and failed turning to ash. I also do not know why only we remain"

The sect master remained bowing at the doorway not entering deeper into its chamber. This refusal to leave pained the grand elder, he might be powerful enough to be considered a god but he wasn't omniscient.

Sighing internally the grand elder concentrated feeling the energy inside the final edge sect searching for anything that may distract him, he hadn't given up on fiding an answer he simply needed more time.

'The flowers are growing well this night, the temperature is warm as awlays, nothing wrong with the sunlight formations, the elders... They are trying their best, oh~ what's this? Newcomers? let's see what we have'

The grand elder focused his Qi surrounding a group of children sitting down, it appeared that the children were going through the disciple acceptance ceremony.

'Nothing great here, medicore, double root not bad, this one smells bad, that one is ok, this kid... Elemental sacrifice formation? Quite the vile one, not the wrost group. Wait what's this?' the elder focused his Qi onto two children a boy and girl that had been separated from the rest.

"Golden body constitutions! This! This is the answer!" The grand elder stood up pushing the gate doors aside.

"Gr-Grand master!?" The sect master caught off guard took a step back.

"Come, we must greet our salvation!" The grand elder stood three heads taller then the sect master seeming like a father leading his teenage child on a quest.

The sect master followed after the grand master whom had not left the chamber of rest for several hundred years now. What could have sparked the sudden movement?

Aakriti looked at all the surrounding children, one by one they were presented before the watching crowd as if they were being sold of into slavery.

Most children simply recived the gift promised by Aakriti while the spectators simply shook their heads allowing for the child to go back without worry.

Every now and then a kid might be ushered in another direction where one of the spectators seemed to ask them something, if the child agreed to whatever was asked then they would stay with the spectator, otherwise they would go back to the rest.

The children wanted to ask what this was about but since none had returned of those taken they could only be left with wonder.

"Man-shik come up" Aakriti called.

Man-shik had been waiting with apprehension, did he do well enough? Will he be picked aswell? He believes himself to be good enough, at least until a certain point. No he must be good enough!

"Little thing you did pretty well, 15 strands of Qi with over 90 grains of sand, not bad. Your elements are... Ok, I see. This bag here is the most suited for you" Aakriti viewed the contents of each bag in order to find the best fitting items matching Man-shik's elements.

She looked at the crowd of spectators to see if anyone among them had taken intrest to Man-shik. A few hushed discussions later three spectators sent Aakriti a messege, having three different offers was a good thing.

"Go over there, three of your elders wish to speak too you" Aakriti pointed at a small bench, Man-shik understood walking of stage toward that bench.

Kiara's worries intensified, the old lady that promised to come never showed up. Did something happen to her? Or did she simply forget?

Her turn had come and passed with none among the spectators calling for her, she had been passed on.

Kao on the other hand was bored, given the few children that remained yet uncalled his turn was coming up.

'How irritating having to wait this long, why make the most talented wait till the end? Wouldn't it be better to let us go first so that the rest can be worry free? Now they have to watch as the rest of us get cherry picked while they get left behind' From his perspective this was wrong, it was wrong in the order it should be done.

Those who succeed should be put on a pedestal for the others to look up too, instead what was happening here was the reverse. Those who succeeded were hidden away/taken away silently while the failures simply live in ignorance.

'It's wrong, why should we be hidden away like some endangered species?! Aren't we the good prospects that are meant to be looked up too?' Kao had always been in the spotlight in his past life, now he felt unseen.

Aakriti was about to call out the next person when she was interrupted.

"Young one, may this one take the stage for a moment?" The grand elder Hleniem landed besides her.

Aakriti didn't know who this was, she hadn't even seen the sect leader in person before let alone the grand elder. Well at least she had seen a painting of the current sect leader and meant several sect elders but she had no idea who this was.

"Uhm? I don-"

"It's fine, let him speak" the sect leader cut her off, this time Aakriti could recognize the person speaking.

"Sect master! Please, please take the stage senior!" She didn't know the grand elders identity still but if the sect master gave him permission personally then she had nothing to say.

"You two, come here" the grand elder pointed at the boy and girl he saw through his spiritual sense (Qi).

The boy white of hair red of eyes, the girl brown of hair with hazel eyes had been standing to the side awaiting their turn. Being the main prize's of this disciple acceptance ceremony they were to be the final one's presented before their future master, whomever that may be.

The spectators kept silent, the sect master had appeared... Worse of all he stood behind someone else respectfully, this could only mean one thing.

The man that stood without worry of anyone's reprisal was the grand of the final edge sect, everlasting Hleniem.

"Children, what are your names?"

The boy and girl stood still slightly fidgeting their fingers.

"I am Naanac" said the boy.

"I am hawwah" said the girl.