The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

"Fred!" Oscar sprinted to Frederick's battered body. "Is that really you?"

"Hey, Os. I'm sorry." Frederick wheezed and gasped through his words; he could not move at all. Kan's overuse of his body had rendered him powerless to move. His green eyes trembled and released tears. "I am a horrible friend. I'm sorry."

"Don't say that." Oscar popped open the last vial of Heal Elixir and brought it to Frederick's mouth. He thanked his past self for not using this earlier.

Frederick's torn body patched itself together slightly. His wounds were not completely healed, but his complexion improved; Frederick's breathing calmed down. He was not in immediate danger of dying but still needed help.

"Frederick." Emily knelt by Frederick's side and held his hand. "Thank goodness."

"K-Kan. Kan is still here." Frederick coughed. "He's powerful; we need to get out of here."

"FREDERICK!" Kan shouted, but his voice was different. It was a mix of all kinds of voices, from male to female, young to old, and low to high. Dark air swirled around in the Elire Manor and collected together.

Oscar stared up; his blood ran cold as his lips paled. Kan was a swirling mass of many faces of different ages that cried, laughed, screamed, and whispered. They were all clumped up and connected by a black viscous substance dripping onto the floor.

"YOU BROKE OUR DEAL!" All the faces spoke at once. The combined voices of all the different people were unnerving and sent shivers down all their spines.

"Don't worry, Fred." Oscar snapped out of his stupor. Kan's form was horrifying, but there was nothing to fear. "This battle is already settled."

"Settled?" Frederick asked.

"Abe! Elder Albert! Are you ready!" Oscar yelled.

"We are!" Albert and Abe's voices resounded through the manor. They appeared in front of Oscar and the others in their full forms, staring at Kan's form with a frown and hands clenched.

"After a thousand years, I never thought I would see our clan again…." Albert was in soul form, but small drips of light like stars fell from his eyes as tears. "Our beloved clansmen, Abe, let us free them from their agony."

Abe stared with longing at the many twisted faces, the poor echoes of their clan that Kan had devoured, and nodded. "Let's end this once and for all."

"Who are they?" Frederick was confused.

"We'll let you know later. But lay down and rest for now. These two may only be souls but were once Marshal Exalts." Emily forced Frederick back to the floor to lie down. "We can leave it to them."

Oscar smiled at this scene and slumped to the floor, rubbing his cracked buckler. Their plan worked out in the end, or Abe's plan.

The crucial part was to force Kan out of Frederick's body, and once he was exorcised, Albert and Abe would use all of their power to destroy the exposed Wraith.

"Kan's Wraith. It's time for your curse to end." Abe's soul seemed to be on fire from the raging Ein surging from within. Beside him, Albert was displaying the same behavior. "As your brother, I cannot allow your existence any longer."

"ABE!" Kan's Wraith screamed and poured out a tidal wave of black goo to swallow them. "What can two weakened souls do against me?!"

Albert stepped forward and released a cleansing fire that burned the black goo to nothingness, leaving the manor untouched. The fire spread and concentrated on Kan, who howled in burning pain. "We may be weak, but we were still Marshal Exalts which was why you sealed us to feed over time. Have you forgotten you were only a Knight Exalt? Abe!"

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Abe enflamed his soul more and sent forth a second inferno combined with Albert's. These two flames merged into a calamity to destroy Kan's existence.

But Kan was not beaten yet; he struggled and released all the black goo to stop the burning. The flames flickered and withdrew for a moment.

Seeing this, Albert spread his arms open and gave Abe one final look with a smile. His soul started to be consumed by the flames, starting from the legs and moving up to his face. He closed his eyes with a peaceful face that relaxed his many wrinkles.

The bright flames shone brighter when Albert gave up all of his soul to it. This soulfire instantly disintegrated the black goo and burned away at Kan's Wraith.

Abe controlled the flames and struck them like lances into Kan's Wraith, piercing through all the faces and burning them up. Drops of bright tears dripped down his cheeks.

"ABE!!!!" Kan shouted in pain.

Abe looked at the last remnants of his older brother's hatred that howled and cried out to survive. He remembered a fond memory he had with his brother from a time long before this grudge began. The times when he and his brother played 'Floor is Lava' together with smiles, and their grandfather scolded them.

When did it all go awry?

"Kan. I cannot say that you deserve to rest in peace. But I hope you can atone and be a better person if there is a next life."

The small bits of Kan's Wraith finally burned away. The fires disappeared, and Abe's soul was more transparent than before. It was only a matter of time before he would walk through the passage of death.

"My fellow clansmen of the Elire. May you rest in peace." Abe bowed and turned to Oscar, Frederick, and Emily. "I must thank you all for helping us."

"Abe. Thank you. We would never have saved Fred without you." Oscar walked up and extended his hand. "Are you leaving now?"

"Yes, I could only be here because of being sealed for so long, but Marshal Exalts cannot exist for a thousand years." Abe looked at his own soul; it was fading fast. "However, I have one final job to do. I want to give you all a reward."

Abe's soul shined, glowing up the entire manor and illuminating the nearby forest, forcing away the deep darkness. He smiled at Oscar and said, "This is my last gift to you, Mister."

He split into three motes of light that hummed and pulsed with ripples that washed over the manor. These motes sprang into action and embedded themselves into the three.

"I have given you a seed, created from the essence of my soul and the powers lingering in this manor. I can sense you all are close to becoming Elite Exalts, so this will be a great boon for you when trying to advance to the Knight Exalt realm." Abe's voice echoed.

However, for Oscar, he felt something else squirm its way into his third eye, the source of the Prinstyct.

Abe's voice whispered into his mind, "There is a secret technique of our clan that evolves our Prinstyct to allow us to see through illusions. I could not use it to free myself from Kan's illusion in my weakened state, but I will pass it on to you. Use it wisely, for it cannot break illusions that far surpass your power."

"Goodbye…." Abe's voice flew away with the wind from the windows. After a thousand years, Elire's tragedy had ended.

Oscar stared at the flickering remnants of Abe's soul that faded into nothingness. He bowed down and said, "Rest well, Abe."

"Frederick!" Emily hugged Frederick. "You're ok!"

Oscar turned and saw that Frederick's wounds had healed. The torn muscles and broken bones were all put back together, and color returned to his face; Abe had also flooded his body with a rejuvenating Ein. Emily was hugging him with a bright smile.

Oscar blinked at this scene and smiled. "The two of you got together?"

Frederick's face flushed red, and he tried to pull away from Emily, but her strength was unbelievable, and her arms tightened. "Emily! Os is right there!"

"So? Oscar is our best friend. There's nothing to be embarrassed about hugging." Emily scolded.

"Don't worry. I'm happy for you. I thought things were strange between the two of you sometimes." Oscar stepped forward and grinned at Frederick's red face. "Emily, can you step aside?"

"Fine." Emily let go and allowed the boys to have their reunion.

Oscar thanked Emily and slammed a big punch on Frederick's stomach, forcing him to his knees and coughing. Emily's mouth was wide open, and her face froze.

"That makes it even. Never pull shit like that again, Fred." Oscar rubbed his knuckles and then extended his hand out. "Now, will you accept my hand?"

Fred coughed before settling down. He looked at Oscar and at his outstretched hand with a chuckle. He grasped Oscar's hand and was pulled up. "Thank you for never quitting on me."

"Are you alright?" Emily came over, her eyes tearing up at the sight of both boys. She had longed to see this for over a year. They were finally back together.

Frederick pulled Emily and Oscar together in one big hug. "I feel the best I've ever been."

……

After a while, they were resting and tidying up the manor. It was the last respect they could pay to the Elire clan by cleaning their manor.

Frederick looked at Emily while she was cleaning the table; it reminded him of something. She noticed his gaze and tilted her head in confusion. "What is it?"

"Nothing. I was thinking about the illusion world. You were really cute in the maid uniform." Frederick scratched his cheek and nervously laughed.

Emily's face flushed red like a tomato down to her neck. "Oh, is that so? I remember something as well. I remember vowing to discipline you for all the attitude your younger self gave me."

"W-wait!"

Oscar came into the room and stared blankly at the scene. Emily was cleaning the table while Frederick was rubbing his cheek. He sighed and thought, "Well, I didn't miss this."

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