The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Isabella frowned for the first time. Oscar finally saw a strong reaction from her regarding anything ever since he ran into her. She was shaken by the presence of the Cleaner, and rightfully so. The information on the central palace detailed all of the happenings in the past and encounters.

Oscar also frowned. The Cleaner lived in the inner sanctum, patrolling the halls to kill any invaders. Its attacks contained the full force of Greater Elite Exalts, but its defense went far beyond anyone's power to handle. Early records showed how fruitless and bloody the battles went against a Cleaner.

Recommendations instructed to avoid Cleaners and to run at all costs if spotted. Oscar went as far away from the sound of the large footsteps, clanging against the floor with his Silver Burst, letting the winds rush through his hair. Next to him, Isabella kept up fire bursting from her feet, enveloping her lower legs in flames. Sweat beaded down his face from the intense heat emanating from Isabella.

The Inner Sanctum shook again. One could tell how close the Cleaner was from how each subsequent step grew louder and heavier, sending tremors up Oscar's legs. Depictions of Cleaners showed a being with six arms, holding a spear in each hand. Clad in thick armor, they wore metallic hoods which never came undone, hiding their faces in darkness and showing only two gleaming yellow orbs as eyes.

They were golems created by the Divine Stone Clan or the Forest Heart Clan. Oscar thought about using Gol-4 to somehow link into it but shook off the idea. The bronze ape from the Desert Realm completely blocked Gol-4's efforts to connect to its functions. It stood to reason these Cleaners were the same.

Tap. Tap.

"Hmm?" Oscar peeked down. Gol-4 tapped his waist on purpose. Its blue eyes twirled around in its sockets, trying to send a message without alarming Isabella, who was too focused on running away.

'He doesn't want me to throw my life away, so it can't be to see the cleaner unless he lost his memories of the last time he tried communicating with a golem. Then what?' Oscar kept running while taking glances at Gol-4. Its eyes pointed toward a certain direction. Following its gaze, Oscar noticed a small door. Gol-4 wanted him to enter it, and whatever was there made it flustered.

Isabella also sped toward the direction of the door. The Inner Sanctum had many open areas with only a few rooms like meditation rooms and others, leaving large stretches of open halls for one to traverse. Cursing inwardly, Oscar had no choice and entered the door with Isabella.

Oscar stepped in last. Quickly, he slammed the door shut before the Cleaner could see them. The chase and retreating into rooms reminded him of the time in Eliren Manor with the Keeper and the illusions. He couldn't help but chuckle upon remembering little Abe and the game they played.

"Is this funny to you?" Isabella said. "We're trapped in here now until the Cleaner leaves. We should have split up at the start."

Oscar showed no reaction. Every time she talked, she only infuriated him more. With his moment of reminiscence ruined, Oscar sat down in front of the entrance, locking gazes with her.

"I wonder how you'll be a great Exalt as you've always wished if you're so petty," Oscar said.

"Hoh?" Isabella's tone dropped to a frightening chill, and her Ein flickered with hostility, yet Oscar felt nothing. Compared to the maddened words of his master, Draven, her threatening tone resembled pieces of dirt.

Loud footsteps rumbled outside the door, quaking their room until stopping a few paces away. The Cleaner was probably standing in the halls, idle until it could sense another person.

Great…Now Isabella had to stay here longer than expected. Oscar wanted to know what Gol-4 was riled up about. He glanced around the room. It was a circular room with a stone floor, unlike the rest of the Inner Sanctum.

"Are you silent after a single hint of my power? What a farce." Isabella said.

"Wow, you are so full of yourself and delusional. I have nothing to feel, whether it's fear or anything else toward someone like you." Oscar said. "I'm simply pointing out how even with an important mission and objective, you behave so unruly and let personal attachments bother you. I'm also guilty of that, but at least I can still force myself to work with you."

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"Really?" Isabella scoffed. "If I were in trouble and you were the only one there to help me, I'm sure you would find the chance to run away. Not that I'll find myself in that sort of trouble."

"Yes, I would help you," Oscar said without hesitation. Isabella's eyes widened slightly. "Don't misunderstand. I couldn't care less about you, but right now, we are members of the Blue Ocean Pavilion, which means we're allies for this mission. Or is the high and mighty Ms. Thorn a scum who does not help her allies?"

"Don't lecture me! This isn't Moniht village where you can talk to me as you wish! You dare to call me a scum! I am a Grade Eight and have a great chance to enter the Legacy Hall. Who are you to look down on me?" Isabella's face finally broke into a scowl. The redness of her Ein filling the room matched her reddened face.

"You can say more frivolous words as you wish. Your actions show who you are. I only wish I had known back long ago when we were kids. Perhaps if my parents and your father knew earlier, we could have helped you not to become this sickening person you are now."

"What makes you so confident I won't kill you right now?" Isabella's Ein formed into flames. Fire wrapped around her body, raising the temperature. Her red eyes gleamed from within the inferno. "No one will suspect the death of a Middle Elite Exalt with a lower grade."

'Let me take over. While I agree with your words, you don't have the means to back it up.' Demon whispered from within.

'Shut up. I don't need you. Not now and not ever.' Oscar forced Demon away from the edges of his mind and let out a dry breath.

"Do it," Oscar stated. Gol-4 tapped his waist again as if screaming in confusion.

"You think I won't?!" Isabella shouted. Her foot stomped on the stone floor, releasing a wave of flames that didn't reach Oscar.

"By all means, go ahead. If you kill me, you'll only prove me right. Sure, Exalts fight and kill each other all the time, but we still have a sense of camaraderie, excluding a few petty and dishonorable individuals." Oscar laughed. "Funny, I ran into quite some interesting people. Though they were enemies and tried to kill me, they all had something which guided their principles."

Although Maia hated him, he saw how she burned with a vengeance for her fallen peers and loyalty to her Undying Flame Sect. Orden may have conflicted against his allies, but only to uphold an agreement already made, and Oscar suspected Orden wouldn't kill his own people.

"So kill me. I want to see how a person who gets so angered by words from a mere grade four who she abandoned will become a Great Exalt."

"...." Isabella fell silent. Her flames still burned wildly.

Isabella's pride was great and dangerous. No one would willingly poke and taunt a dangerous beast unless one had a death wish. However, Oscar knew it was different for him. Her pride cut off her bonds to her past, and now her pride was the only thing holding her back from killing him.

Initially, Oscar was fearful she would lose control and kill him. But after some more talks, he knew she would never do it. Her idea of a Great Exalt was one who stood above others, not stooping down to what a lower person like him thought of as scum.

"If you're truly a Great Exalt, no one, not even me, will dare to say anything against you because there will be no need to say those words." Oscar pictured Celestina and how everyone looked up to her as an amazing Exalt, not only because of her royal blood but also due to her actions and power. "So will you silence me and have my words forever bother you for the rest of your life? Or rise above and make me eat my own words?"

'I still think she's a threat. Why are you helping this witch? She could continue to self-destruct on her own.' Demon whispered

'I don't know…maybe this is a final bid to see whether or not she could change. It's none of my business what she does anyway.' In this way, Oscar feared nothing. If she decided to kill him, her mind would forever be agitated by this and affect her future as an Exalt, and he was right by the entrance to escape quickly. If not, then perhaps, Isabella could start anew and see the wrongness of her actions.

Searing flames flickered and faded back into Isabella—the first of a good sign. The second came when the large footsteps of the Cleaner resumed, going away. They were safe now.

"Move," Isabella ordered. "I don't want anything else to do with you. Don't follow me. You're on your own." Her red eyes narrowed.

"Fine. If that's what you want." Oscar stepped outside first, not trusting her to backpedal on her words. Isabella refused to glance at him and ran off into the distance.

"That was dangerous, lad!" Gol-4 shouted.

Oscar returned to the room and leaned on the wall, wiping the sweat from his brow. "She chose to stick to her pride and spared me to cling to her warped ideal. How ridiculous. I thought maybe she'd reflect."

"Ignore her. How many people have I seen over the years? How many geniuses and prodigies have passed through the great thresholds only to waste away with nothing? She is just one of many." Gol-4 rambled on.

"Stop. I don't want to talk about it anymore. You wanted me to come to this room. Now that she's gone tell me." Oscar unstrapped Gol-4, allowing him to levitate around the room.

Gol-4 hovered over to the center of the circular room. Its blue eyes gleamed brighter as an unusual Ein surrounded it. The room shook as a stone slab appeared out of nowhere.

"This is one of the keystones. With this, I can remember." Gol-4 landed on the stone. Ein pulsed around the two objects.

Reaching his hand out, Oscar felt a strong repulsion forcing him back. Oscar frowned and lifted his bulwark. Was Gol-4 an enemy or an ally?

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