The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Oscar carefully stepped into the manor, stopping to look around every second. As soon as he and Emily entered inside, the doors shut tight like the gates. There truly was no turning back now.

Emily had traces of nervousness across her face that she was unable to conceal fully. She was inclined to fights and spoke to the point, not this air of mystery and unpredictability this manor maintained. If there were something she could hammer to the floor, that would be great.

The manor looked worn down and aged from the outside, but the interior was the opposite. The big chandelier on top must have been crafted by a master artisan who adorned it with crystal birds and stars. The ground was marbled with the finest stone, which would have shone if sunlight could seep in.

There were many doors and stairs in all directions. Each was outlined with dark lustrous metals that formed the handles, bars, and knobs. But there were so many of them. Too many, and so awkwardly placed.

Some doors were placed by the middle of the ascending stairways; others were flat and vertical on the ground or ceiling. Oscar took in this strange maze with a dark expression because he hoped they could search the place a step at a time, but this proved to make that more difficult.

There was no knowing where each door led and if they might loop around each other, turning any unfortunate souls into headless chickens walking in their pens. Oscar and Emily were those unfortunate souls now.

"Emily." Oscar turned to Emily, who was glancing around at all the doors when one of them suddenly opened!

Oscar was caught off guard as Emily's body flew through the air at breakneck speeds. He tried to stop her, but something was pulling her through the door fast. "EMILY!"

Emily could not utter a single shout or word before being thrown into a room. The door closed shut and locked, to Oscar's dismay.

He ran to the door and pounded on it with all his might, but the door did not budge. Then he heard a click and hastily flung the door open. But he scanned the room inside; there were no other doors, just an empty cobblestone room but no Emily.

"Calm down. Calm down." Oscar realized he was out of breath from hyperventilating. Although he came in with the resolve to save Frederick, seeing Emily flung away like that and being separated shook him to the heart. "Emily has to be safe. She has to be safe."

He repeated the comforting words, whether they were lies or truth, to get a hold of himself. After a short moment, he heard a little moan echo through the empty halls.

He turned his head right behind him, almost like an owl. Right behind him was a child with a skinny frame, as if he was starved to death. The child was pale with a bed of black hair similar to Oscar's but not as clean or lustrous.

Who is this child? How can he be in this house?

Oscar took up a stance and brandished his buckler, staring warily at the child. The child looked so weak and pitiful that anyone would feel a sense of pity for him and try to console him. But Oscar refused to lower his guard.

"Mister!" The child looked happy; his sunken cheeks uplifted with a smile. "Do you want to play a game with me?"

"No!" Oscar refused without hesitation and backed away from the child. He had no time for games because he had to find Emily and Frederick. Only an idiot would readily agree to the request of this unknown child in this haunted manor.

"Please, mister?" The child looked pitiful, with tears welling up in his eyes. His tiny shoulders trembled. "I haven't played with anyone since forever."

"Sorry, boy. I need to look for my friends." Oscar didn't relax his guard and backed away further. But the boy's face changed to fear as he was stammering and pointing behind Oscar.

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"Mister! Run!" The boy scampered away out of view.

Oscar turned around to see a large shadow on the wall, moving around in the hallway on the right. The large shadow grew closer until a hand grabbed around the corner.

This hand was ghastly in appearance, with black rotten skin that revealed pus-filled flesh and aged bones. Oscar's pupils dilated; his eyes widened as the monstrosity turned the corner, revealing itself.

"What in the hell are you?" Oscar murmured.

The creature had rotten black skin, barely clinging to its body. Its entrails trailed behind it between the legs, swaying from the rotten flesh that could no longer hold the organs in. But its head was the vilest as the lower part up to its upper lip was a bloody skeleton while the top was rotten flesh with no eyes, nose, or ears.

"KREEEEEEEEEE!"

The shrills and shrieks of the creature sounded like a woman in agony. Oscar unconsciously took a step back from the unexpected noise but quickly stood firm. His buckler shone with the Ein burning on it, ready to defend.

The creature sniffed from its nonexistent nose and locked onto Oscar. It charged at Oscar, flailing its pus and rotten flakes of flesh around.

Oscar nearly gagged from the smell but went forward to meet this terrifying creature head-on.

'Prinstyct'

Oscar was calm enough to open his third astral eye. So long as he could foresee a fragment of this creature's movement, he could evade it unless it could defeat his foresight. But he stared absentmindedly at the creature.

There was not a single thing to be seen.

He had never experienced this with his Prinstyct. Under the strange world that his Prinstyct could see, the motions of the ones he focused on should appear as ripples telling of their intent and motions. But there were no ripples here.

The creature moved like a stagnant rock in this constantly flowing world. How could it be that there was nothing to see?

The exception would be someone vastly more powerful than him. If Robert were serious, Oscar would not be able to see anything with his Prinstyct.

But this creature shouldn't be able to achieve that.

With his Prinstyct unable to see, Oscar opted to attack normally. His buckler met the rotten, pus-filled hand of the creature with his 'Shattering Wave' coursing through. Then his deer anima appeared and crashed into the party.

Impossible!

Oscar trembled in disbelief. His 'Shattering Wave' and antlers did absolutely no damage to the creature, but he was flung away and knocked onto the walls, floor, and ceiling like a ball.

"What the hell?" Oscar spat out some blood. He managed to mitigate the damage with 'Steel Scales', but the creature's force was so strong that it blasted apart some of his steel.

Oscar heaved and gasped for air, pondering what had occurred. This creature was unseeable in the Prinstyct and possessed incredible physical power that overwhelmed Oscar. He suspected trying to divert the Reis from that attack with 'Flowing Mountain' would end in his body being torn apart.

"Strange…." Oscar looked deeply at the creature that was licking its hands now. "I can't sense a hint of Ein from it."

Oscar thought a creature couldn't live in this wretched state and be incredibly powerful without Ein. The Ein would have to sustain this rotten state so it would not fall apart. But this anomaly was right in front of Oscar.

"KREEEEEEEEE!"

The creature lurched forward, its bare spine slightly protruding from its grotesque flesh. Oscar struggled but managed to get up; his bones were still ringing from the creature's strike.

A door opened to the side. The child from before was clutching the door knob and beckoned Oscar to come in. "Mister! Over here! That thing can't break the doors!"

Oscar hesitated for a moment; he still did not trust this child. But as the creature stomped closer, Oscar ran into the open room. He didn't know this child or his motives, but following him was better than facing that deadly monster.

The creature screeched and flailed to catch Oscar, but the child closed the door shut and locked it. There were repeated sounds of banging, knocking, and scratching, but the door refused to budge.

Eventually, the creature whimpered, gave up on the door, and walked away.

Oscar listened for a while as the creature's steps went farther away. After hearing nothing, he sighed and snapped his dislocated shoulder into place with a groan.

"Thank you." Oscar said to the boy.

The boy looked happy, jumping with joy. "He said thanks! He said thanks! I'm a good boy!"

Oscar looked around the room. It was a bedroom with a large bed with an oak frame; a table with a fine tea set that looked as if it was freshly cleaned was placed by the wall.

"A window!" Oscar saw the closed curtains and opened them, but the window was boarded up, blocking the sight of the outside. He tried to break it open, but like the wall, it was sturdy and withstood his strength.

"There's no escape." The boy looked sad and depressed. "I tried so many times. The only way out is at the back entrance, but the keeper is always roaming."

"Leave…." Oscar said. "Where is the back entrance?"

The boy looked up at Oscar with a weak smile. "Want to play a game?"

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