Hey RoyalRoader, my favorite penguin army, Its me again, Wow Its been a whole 2 weeks and I'm finally back, this chapter should raise  many more questions than it answers, hopefully in a good way. If you'd like to read updates for this novel as quickly as possible then please come view my website at Youkoadvent.wordpress.com

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“From one zone of darkness to another,” I sigh. After my, less than pleasant, meeting with god my soul began dashing thousands of miles in no direction. On and on I drift until finally I reach a sort of Thick area in the void, like a membrane made to keep intruders out. It’s a place thats both empty and dazzling, similar to the feeling of peering into the Grand Canyon. An atmosphere that confuses both time and space, up and down don’t exist, just boundless hereness. After reaching the zone I finally stop moving.

The entire world shifts, what was once a dry, barren darkness becomes clear, defined, as if wiping away the mist over one’s glasses, an entire universe unfolds before me. Then it happens...

My soul falls, dropping at an insane speed. Past clouds and trees, deep into the mountain range of a continent passing too quickly to see. Its almost how odd it is that with all this flying I’m neither confused nor surprised, probably because I’ve had time to get used to being pulled around the same way a toddler’s stuffed bear would, not to mention even calling it flying doesn’t quite seem to be right, its more of a drifting feeling, with this whole weightless, pressureless gig.

My conscious starts to fade. I feel cold, an odd feeling considering that just a short while ago I was completely cut off from all sensations. I was just born, that is the obvious call, it explains why I can barely open my eyes, and how my body feels so heavy and difficult to move.

Opening my eyes is difficult, having a sense of weight after so long is almost mind boggling. I can tell that someone has picked me up, but I can’t see them.

I feel overwhelmed, the image of a solitary white plain completely overlays onto my own memory, it was there for an instant then gone, replaced with only the faint sensation of frigid air filling my lungs, a phantom recollection of something I’ve never experienced. The longer I feel the warm grasp of someone holding me the more clear the image becomes, what was once an empty snow-stained plain became an entire village. Houses were built in a myriad of styles with each being more posh than the last, some were made in a style similar to European manors, others were made mimicking  traditional chinese architecture, and a few of them sprinkled around the village were an interesting mix of the two with Japanese Villa esque atmosphere and a Victorian mansion look. The scenery was so vivid as if I’d known it all my life.

Then it went away. My weight is shifting, it looks like I’m being handed off to someone, I can hear faint whispers of a language I’ve never heard of, it sounds like a mix of Romanian, German, and English. From hands bursting with rugged warmth, to a pair so frighteningly delicate they almost felt as if they are made of ice, except a natural warmness was there, a mother’s touch, even in those crystalline hands I could feel a motherly warmth. I can feel her cold hands leading me into a loving cradle. As I’m nestled snugly into her bosom I can feel the warmth of familial love, a sensation I’d long forgotten.

The rhythmic thumping of her heartbeat signalled the coming of that overwhelming sensation. A familiar thought, a recognizable theme, a beautiful young woman cradling a newborn baby in her arms, “I’m sorry,” she whispered to it, teardrops ran from her eyes, as they fell from her cheeks, pale as a ghost, they began to freeze in an instant and become sapphire gems. My body is lifted and brought closer to my mother’s face. Beautiful, though an excellent word to describe her, lacked the impact of her visage, and isn’t enough to describe her. She’s a woman of grace, this can be seen from her neatly combed silver hair that reaches down to the small of her back, the fact that even while sad her posture is a picture of perfection, like an ice sculpture, and her clothes while seemingly simple look like they’re woven from something similar to silk. She was the purest image of an invincible beauty, the kind of woman that men would happily risk their lives for, but she wasn’t human. It was obvious just by looking at the eight fox tails that unfurled restlessly behind her.

The woman in the image lifts her child up to her head, I unconsciously raise my arm, foregoing the oncoming discomfort, and wipe away a tear from her eye. A moment later the infant in her arms did the sa…

Is that me? My attention moves from the woman to her child, whenever I move he does too, its pretty obvious. What gets me though is how it is that I’m able to see myself from the outside, but I know that I shouldn’t worry about things that I don’t understand.

“Milady,” a voice comes from the other side of the room but I’m unable to tell who its from my view above my mother and myself. In my ears the words sound foreign and impossible to understand, but like this I can recognize them clearly. “It is time for him to be tested,” in her voice I  hear a tinge of resignation, but I’m more worried about what the “test” is.

Solemnly my mother stands up and start to walk in the direction of the voice. As we moved out of the room the vision began fading out. We walked down the coffee brown halls, each of our steps letting loose a hollow thump with every stride.

From off to the side I can hear the sounds of people talking, the distilled murmurs of the average joe as a celebrity walks a brisk stroll past them, “So her child was born today eh?” One voice chided causing a domino effect of people talking, within their own circles, all together it seems that only about a hundred people were actually in the area. 

“If its her child then he’ll definitely perform well.” “That mutt’s probably contaminated the Priestess’ pure blood.” “I don’t see that mutt anywhere.” The examinees and their families whisper to each other at a volume obviously loud enough for us to here, aside from a momentary sharp grimace whenever the word “mutt” appears she doesn’t pay them any heed.

Finally, we reach a large door made of finely etched gold, If I had to guess this would be where the “test” takes place. My mother looked at me with her eyes the color of a starless night, suddenly a golden stream of light covered my body, completely covering me in its radiance.

“Can you understand me?” My mother asked, a hint of grief still stuck in her tone even though her voice was steady. I nodded.

“I don’t know how much you can understand since most children are  given months to years before they're made to take the test since it only takes place once every thirty years, you just happened to be born on the very day of the examination, I'm sorry but you'll have to take it. You’re going to take a few tests to gauge your future prospects… to determine how talented you are. The test has four sections, the first reveals how many tails you have, this includes the ones stuck in your ‘Astral Haven’ which is the boundary between the physical realm and the spiritual one; the second displays your level of Senki, which is your ability to use the energy from inside your body to take in and affect the world; third is a test for your natural affinity, which just reveals the element or elements  that  you'll find easiest  to become one with; the final portion is a overall reading of your innate natural energy signature, which is different depending on your race, in our case, it’s Divyne energy because we’re from a special lineage of foxes bestowed divine status by the god Kasha, lower species of foxes have what's known as spirit energy, and humans have what’s known as Chi.”

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Judging solely from her appearance, I would never guess that she could be so long-winded, looking at face though, I notice that its visibly grown a shade redder or three, I guess she really isn’t a talker.

Beyond the golden doors is a room illuminated purely by fire, two row of braziers set up to form what looks like square brackets. There are two openings between the brackets, one on the side closest to the door we just opened, the other opening lie directly opposite leading to a single, empty velvet cushion that gave off a strange feeling, even though no one was there it definitely had a presence, I try to focus my attention on that spot but all I can’t manage to see anything.  In the very middle of the brackets is a hexagon radiating a strange, cold aura,not cold in the sense of a lack of heat, but cold in the same sense that a soldier back from a war seems cold, a kind of grim understanding of the world’s underlying principles cruelly displayed to them.

“Place the examinee in the circle,” the words hung in the air for a moment, they containing no emotion, simply instructing, like the automatic voice on a public transit vehicle. We began walking at a slow pace, tension hung in the air, saturating it with electric pulse of excitement that sparks in my soul. After eighteen years of suffering, discrimination, and being treated like trash I’ll be able to start over now.

My mother placed me in the circle’s center, stepping back from it after a moment, from all corners of the room the fire previously held in the braziers leapt forth, spewing heat licking every corner of the room, embers lashed out, spreading and changing colors, what was once a tranquil orange is now an acidic green that smells like pine trees and tungsten.

The room freezes, my blood rolls, seeking out heat from the flames, they didn’t comply. The intense cold was numbing my heart, refusing to let it become erratic in fear.

“WHO AM I?” A voice calls from inside the flame.

“Say my name!" It hisses like a serpent coiled and prepared to sink its fangs into its prey.

My chilled bones began creaking in fear, the hardwood floor beneath me started to sink, the chilled air called out to me from inside my own lungs, spreading out it crystallized splendor, “All one need do is call out to me, make the covenant with thy body, with thy blood, with thou given name.

Beneath me the ground seems to lose its firmness, becoming like clay in its malleability, pulling at my infant body and trying to drown it beneath the earth. “Call me, lend me your words and I shall be your sword,” A voice with the deepness of a mountain gorge said to me in a voice so low that it caused the room to vibrate.

A heart rending silence rings out, wild flames are contained, the chilling cold is relegated, the earth attracting me to its depths loses its hold, the elements gave face to the noble that appears tearing through space. “Holder of the contract, speak your wish, grant me thy name and bestow upon me its kind,” with each word the tremendous creature spoke an unknown energy slithered from its maw, a warm light that was as wispy as air, as hot as magma, as unrestrainable as water. A dragon. Scales as black as a starless night, eyes as inescapable as death’s icy grip, a monstrous being. I want to speak. My voice doesn’t work. “My name is *****!” I scream out in my head but the words don’t exist, I’m unable to form the most crucial word.

The world is in chaos, fire rampages  thrashing and crashing around the room singing the world, Ice becomes a casket for my body, freezing my insides as the earth accepts me. The grand being watches as I’m consumed.

“Examination 1 complete!” “Examination 2 complete!” “Examination 3 complete!” In a snap the flames immediately flickered out,  the frost broke and my pulse normalized, the earth regained its toughness, and the dragon was nowhere to be found.

“What just happened!” My mind shouted out a question destined to be left unanswered.

“Results of Examination 1, Current Number of Tails : Zero, Level of Cultivation: None.” My mother’s face darkened by a color, her expression gave off the idea that she knew this might happen. I can’t imagine what the problem with having no tails is, doesn’t that just make me seem more human-like?

“Results of Examination 2, Senki level: Zero, Absolutely no affinity for natural energy.”

“Result of Examination 3, Affinity for Fire, Water, Earth, and Destruction, all Superior levels; Affinity for Metal and Creation, Above average; Affinity for Wood, below average!” Finally good news, I want to jump for joy, but currently I’m barely able to slightly turn in frustration, being an infant sucks.

Three of the tests are down the drain, the last shouldn’t take that long either, honestly, what kind of toddler is forced to see this, I’m sure most would have long since passed out or began crying for their mommies.

The magic circle began glowing. The runes around its edges began shifting and sorting themselves, moving at a pace that human eyes would never be able to process, and even now, my infant eyes aren’t up to snuff either. I feel a sudden tug in my gut, but aside from that, everything remains peaceful.

Its been four hours now and nothing has happened, I’m starting to grow a little tired but aside from that i can’t say that I feel any discomfort. Another hour passed; then two, four hours fly by. I’m barely managing to stay awake as I stave off the boredom.

“Examination Four is Complete!”

“Results for Examination Four: Race confirmed. Half-Foxkin: Moonlit God Chaser subspecies. Divyne Energy confirmed as unreadable.