The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Within the Blue Ocean Pavilion's base in the middle region, Oscar slept soundly in a tent. His soft snores came out like clockwork in rhythms, and his eyes remained shut, unable to be roused by the loud clamors and noise from outside until…a twitch. His left eye twitched, and Oscar furrowed his brow even in a deep sleep.

He opened his eyes, not to the tent's white tarp or did he feel the softness of the mattress. A cold black floor sent shivers down his spine, and an endless void greeted him, darker than the night, yet his hands and feet were clear as day. Unsure of where he was, Oscar walked around the void, searching for something until a blue light arose.

"A sun?" Oscar staggered and rubbed his eyes. The blue light came from an orb Oscar misunderstood as a sun. He peered with narrow eyes and realized his mistake. "My Exolsia core. Am I in my inner world?"

A blue deer strode out of the core with a weak groan and wobbly legs; it limped toward Oscar with its hazy and dull body, having lost its metallic luster and blue shine. Oscar petted its nudging head and walked by its side toward his core. With each footstep, the blue light receded until he came a foot away from it.

"It's empty, completely drained….the Demon Deer Eirin Mantle takes everything. What a horrifying technique." Oscar sat down and rested, using his deer anima's body as a pillow. With a deep exhale, his mind wandered, and he tried to free himself from the inner world. To his disappointment, the same void remained with him and his deer anima as the sole residents.

Tap!

Oscar turned his head with widened eyes. The sudden sound resembled a footstep, and Oscar stared into the void in disbelief. Only he and his deer anima should be in his inner world, nothing else.

Tap!

Another footstep echoed in the deep void, and Oscar stood up and willed his deer anima to be ready. He turned to his deer anima to see it was still lying down and exerted his will again. It failed, and his deer anima did not listen.

"What's going on?!" Oscar was stunned, startled; all manners of shock and surprise from his wide eyes to his quivering fingers were blatant on his astral body. The anima was his soul and an ever-loyal companion. This inaction was impossible according to all logical sense.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

The clear footsteps grew louder, and Oscar stared agape at the void. The stranger finally stepped into view as he slowly peeled away from the darkness. He had obsidian hair and dull black eyes matching the void around him, and his expression was indifferent.

"You?! How is this possible?" Oscar recognized the stranger as the copy he fought in the Test of the Elements and the state he entered when fighting against Orden in Tectusen—the state of power where he unknowingly touched upon Eirin. "You can't be real. After all, you're only my unconscious self."

"Real or not. I am here." Demon Oscar spoke for the first time, a detached tone with no emotion like Gol-4. With calm strides, he passed by the shaken Oscar and petted the deer anima on its head. His face remained indifferent and cold as ever, even though his hands were gentle. "When you woke up in this space, I also woke up."

"This has to be some kind of dream….it's impossible for another me to be inside this place or even exist." Oscar felt a large headache like knives cutting into his brain. If he could throw up, he would have from the wild turn of events. He rubbed his head and sat down near Demon Oscar.

The two Oscars locked gazes. Realizing that his impossible copy did not intend to speak first, Oscar frowned and asked, "What do I call you?"

"Years ago, when you would sometimes lose consciousness, and I came out, Master called me the demon state."

"Demon state? Your expression and brutal style of fighting sure match the term demon. That means Master knew about you all along and never told me….that cursed master of mine." Oscar grumbled. "Do I just call you Demon from now on?"

"Your choice." Demon remained stoic.

"Where did you come from? Who are you? I can't believe that I suddenly have a double or that I have two souls." Oscar still said with shaky eyes of anxiety. He did not believe Demon had come from himself and was sure it somehow wormed its way into his inner world.

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"Hazy. I first started to think and woke up today. But I have vague memories, almost like dreams." Demon's eyes lowered for the first time. "I think the earliest was after the battle against the Rainbow Didus when Nicholas died."

"That was about four to five years ago. Are you saying you've been with me for that long?" The memories of the mutated Rainbow Didus and the gory death of Nicholas made Oscar clench his hands with a pale face. He rubbed his forehead again with a tired look. "I still don't believe you. How is it that you suddenly woke up now instead of before?"

Demon stared at Oscar with a chilling gaze. "You tell me. I do not know. But…"

His hand gripped Oscar's shoulder, and their eyes were but an inch away. "I am you. You are me. We are the same. You can feel it from me as much as I can feel it from you. We are Oscar."

Oscar slapped away Demon's hand and frowned. The evidence pointed to Demon being Oscar himself, for no one else could be in the inner world. Oscar also felt an inexplicable connection to Demon, like he had known him his whole life.

Frustrated, Oscar shook his head and took a closer look at Demon. Demon had already closed his eyes and sat down with his back straightened like a board. Looking at Demon's indifferent face, Oscar compared his features and found everything to be an exact match.

"I can't deny the connection I feel toward you. I'll have to ask someone about this. Though, would they believe me?" Oscar scoffed. His words sounded of lunacy even to himself. To have a second mind inside him seemed outlandish even for Exalts.

"Huh?" A shudder ran through Oscar's astral body, and blue flakes started to tear off his body like embers from a dying flame. He realized he was about to wake up outside and turned to Demon. "We'll discuss this later."

"I'll be here waiting." Demon opened his eyes and then closed them. Oscar's deer anima grunted and rested by Demon's side.

"Traitorous deer," Oscar grumbled. He didn't expect his anima to be so welcoming to this intruder. It only aggravated him more and cemented that Demon truly was himself. "I'll figure out what you are. Just stay put and don't do anything without my permission."

Demon scoffed. "As I said. I'll be waiting here." His cold voice started to echo and repeat itself as a final parting as the last of Oscar's astral state faded into obscurity.

…….

A bright light assaulted Oscar's eyes from a burning fire. He opened them and sat up from the soft mattress. He groaned as he felt the heaviness under his eyelids, the dryness in his throat, and the all-too-familiar headache.

"I feel horrible," Oscar coughed and started to choke. His severe dry throat refused to allow a simple cough to escape and contracted.

"You're up! Drink this, quickly." Someone passed him a cup of water, and Oscar swiped it from their hands and drank it all. He ruminated the precious water in his mouth, and down it went, rejuvenating his parched throat.

"Thanks. I never thought water could taste so good."

"After everything you did and being in a desert for a few days, that seems nothing out of the ordinary."

Oscar finally realized who he was talking to. He glanced up and saw his best friend, Frederick, smiling at him with radiant green eyes. Frederick had recovered from all the injuries from the previous battle and looked healthier than usual, almost glowing.

"How long was I out?" He turned around and got on his feet. His body was light and refreshed, as though he had slept for a long time, which was odd. Considering his use of the Demon Deer Eirin Mantle and recalling his own experience with Eirin, the consequences should have been severe, far worse than normal.

"You were out for an entire day. We're nearing the end of the second week."

"One whole day?!"

"Surprised? I was surprised too. You trounced Regis despite him being stronger than you, and then you fainted after saying you couldn't move. No matter what we did, you wouldn't wake up. At least you still drank the healing elixir in your ruined state; the wounds on your body were bad."

Oscar patted his chest, arms, and legs to find he was bandaged up with a strange salve applied. Reddish marks spread and colored the area around his afflicted wounds. "Was I frozen?"

"Almost. You got hit by a cold blast at the end after your strange transformation ended. Your wounds nearly froze, and so we had to improvise." Frederick lit some large braziers in the tent. He pursed his lips while his right hand fidgeted around. "Speaking of, what was that strange transformation? I've never seen that before."

"It's a strange story. I–" Oscar explained everything to Frederick about what he had done in the Test of the Elements, the fusion of Reis and Ein, and fighting himself. However, he left out the details about the strange Demon living in his inner world. He didn't wish to worry Frederick when he barely had a handle on it. All the while, Frederick went through so many different expressions that Oscar nearly stopped to laugh.

"You are one strange person, Os. But hey, that's what makes it all so interesting." Frederick laughed and tossed another healing elixir to Oscar. "But you should be more careful. Meet me outside in an hour. We have work to do."

"Work?"

"We only have a little over a week before the central temple and the inner region opens up for everyone. We can't laze around forever, certainly not Emily and me, after seeing how much stronger you've gotten." Frederick smiled and pointed to the table. "Food's there. I'll see you soon, Os."

After Frederick left, Oscar got up and ate his meal. His stomach gurgled in response, and his muscles quivered from the fresh nutrients. Then after a satisfying meal, Oscar breathed in and tensed up.

He placed his hand over his ear, to the inhibitor that Elder Saul created for him, and pulled it out. The tent was quiet except for the crackling braziers, and Oscar opened his eyes, confused.

"It doesn't hurt?" Oscar held the inhibitor in his hand and patted his ear with the other. Not a single hint of pain. What was happening?

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