The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Frederick laughed and patted Oscar's shoulders with fierce slaps. He wiped the slight tear from his eye. As they wandered through the halls, Frederick explained what had happened.

"At first, I was all alone and tried my best to find anyone or a token. Strangely, I couldn't find anyone until yesterday, and by luck, it was Emily." Frederick sent his hawk anima ahead to scout the area. "Just earlier, we found a token and weren't alone. We killed some members of the Earth Core Academy and reached it."

"Did you trick Emily?" Oscar looked agape at his friend, who never wanted to piss off his lover.

With a loud sigh, Frederick cracked his shoulder, relieving the tension. "I took it before she could speak and teleported to those bees. I know the Pavilion needs everyone, but…I didn't want her to continue. If anything, she could live on well."

Seeing the drained smile on his friend's face, Oscar smacked his back, imprinting a handprint through the uniform. Frederick's yelp tore through the silence of the halls. Celestina chuckled from the side, turning her face aside.

"That's from Emily. You are one hell of an idiot." Oscar shook his head.

"I can't leave my best friend alone without me to watch over him," Frederick said.

"I'm always glad to see the two of you like this," Celestina said. "But don't forget me."

The new trio shared the recounts of their journeys so far until reaching this point. Frederick had much to tell about everywhere since he had been to many places in the Outer Halls. Oscar explained everything that had happened to him as well.

"Seems we've been through very bad situations." Oscar sighed in relief Frederick was able to survive.

"I'm worried about the red root you mentioned before. Gol-4, is it truly something in the Knight Exalt realm?" Celestina focused on the unassuming head hanging down from Oscar's waist.

"Oscar felt the Ein emanating from the root, and I have eyes to discern its unnaturalness. The fight for the Divine Essence may incur the wrath of this unknown enemy. I suggest you advance with prudence." Gol-4 warned.

"I spoke with some of our Greater Elite Exalts who were on the threshold of Knight Exalt. They couldn't grasp the opening to advance no matter how much Ein they absorbed. It was the same in the past. Most people underwent the advancement to the Knight Exalt when they came out." Celestina looked to be deep in thought. No doubt she was considering the new danger looming over them.

"And we can't have some of our own advancing to the Knight Exalt near the Divine Essence. Who will allow us the time to do so?" Frederick said, his face turned stern and with a focused gaze.

Oscar and the others stewed over the problem of the unknown entity living near the Divine Essence. They found no one else and retreated to their rooms, only to move to the new rooms found by the advance party. Oscar wondered where the rest of his friends were.

Frederick's words accounted for Emily. As for the rest…the protocol was to group up and hide in rooms, go out on expeditions, and wait for the garden's opening. He believed the remaining Blue Ocean Pavilion students who made it here were waiting.

Hours went away as they slept on the fifth day. Oscar and Frederick stowed themselves in the corner of the room, surrounded by Esther and Simon, who he had met earlier. Somehow, Esther reunited with the other girl, Susan, the water element healer. Oscar still felt sick when he saw their faces and removed himself from the group to meditate peacefully.

"Excuse me?" Susan called out to him, fidgeting with a timid face.

"What is it?" Oscar opened his eyes. "We're midway into the sixth day. You should be preparing for the battle."

"I-I know. I was just wondering if you saw Kelvin anywhere…." Susan lowered her head meekly.

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"The guy from before? I'm sorry, I haven't seen him. Did he advance to the Middle Elite Exalt?" Oscar felt uncomfortable with someone behaving in such a manner.

"No. We're not that talented to advance so fast. We barely reached Elite Exalt when we had to leave for Ashen Grove." Susan sighed and hugged her knees. "Can we even help in this battle? I know the princess said we all matter but compared to everyone here…."

Oscar nodded his head, understanding her struggles. She was only eighteen years old, two years younger than him, and hadn't been through the same crazed experiences as he had. He patted her head with a chuckle. Although he killed an innocent person with these hands, he felt this was right.

"One crazy, sadistic person told me every moment counts. From the beginning to the end, never stop thinking about how you might win or act." Oscar said. "You're an Exalt with the talent for healing, never sell yourself short. A single moment of healing may be the difference we need."

"Yes!" Susan's face brightened up.

Oscar sighed. Was this how it felt to have a younger sister? He only knew the lessons taught to him by his master, Draven, Elder Saul, and Robert Raeven. He wondered how those three were doing.

"So, then relax or meditate. A strange old man gave me that advice. It's not useful to stress about the battle. We only need to step in and give it our all." Oscar retreated to his meditation. Susan nodded and meditated nearby.

Deep inside the inner world, Oscar approached Demon. Their gaze pierced through each other, one filled with clear resolution and the other with muddied savagery. Oscar sat down and petted his deer anima.

"You know why I'm here," Oscar's voice echoed in the deep darkness.

"Do you think I would agree when our life is at stake?" Demon narrowed his eyes. "Are you resigned to your weakness? To come bargaining with me?"

"This is a battle. Who knows what might happen? I only want to be prepared for the worst. If you ever take control, don't harm anyone on our side." Oscar faded away from the inner world without waiting for Demon's answer. Oddly, Demon never replied in his mind. Truly, Demon knew his thoughts well.

'I don't know if you'll agree, but I'll take your silence as a yes for now.' Oscar waited for the sixth day to pass, gathering his strength.

At nighttime, according to the clock, Celestina gathered everyone in the room at nighttime, including Gilbert and the others. Oscar glanced at Isabella briefly before they both turned away with indifferent faces. Frederick closed his eyes to avoid seeing Gilbert.

"The stone garden will open tomorrow. Once we get the Divine Essence, all forces are to retreat out and make their way to the teleport pads we discovered." Celestina pointed to the marks on the large map hung from the wall.

"Where did we get such a detailed map?" Aurora asked, her pink hair moving from her head to gaze upon the map. "This is amazing!"

"All thanks to our fellow peer, Oscar Terr. He found an old map while exploring the Outer Halls and relayed the information to us. Some parts may be incorrect due to how the Inner Sanctum has changed." Celestina seemed indifferent while praising Oscar, but Oscar shivered from the message she sent with her gaze.

'It's about time you earned some achievements and reputation.' Celestina's gaze said as much.

Oscar chuckled weakly and bowed before all the cheers and praises around him. Particularly, Frederick smacked him on the back of his head to ease the tension he felt from all the gazes. Esther, Susan, and Simon cheered the loudest while Phillip smiled from his corner.

He didn't spare a glance toward Isabella, not caring about her reaction. His eyes locked with Gilbert's blue eyes, feeling the confidence and majesty reflected in them. Oscar breathed out and turned his gaze away without being bothered. Maybe this time, Gilbert recognized him.

"In any case, there's more alarming news…." Celestina brought everyone's attention back to her and explained about the strange red roots and the creature which may dwell there. The news roused the crowd, who grew tenser, and some rejected the news out of fear.

"I have good faith in the reports. Everyone needs to be on their guard in case it emerges." Celestina shut down the conversations. "We will set out in the morning. Get your rest."

Oscar lay on his mattress, trying to get some sleep. Frederick had already fallen asleep, snoring without care. He couldn't even talk to Gol-4 in this place without raising some suspicions. Demon was certainly not an option either. So, Oscar only kept to himself.

The next morning, Oscar joined the others, exiting the room and awaiting Celestina's call to move out. At the forefront, her radiant figure nodded to the rest and ran ahead—one, two, three, and more. Everyone began to march.

A hexagonal tunnel awaited them, flooding them with a soft, bright light. Oscar entered with the others and beheld the stone garden, Isaac's private chamber and center of the Divine Stone Clan.

It was a large dome room, the size of the Pavilion's coliseum, with hexagonal tunnels filling the walls like honeycombs. The ground caved in as if a meteor had struck it with a massive impact. Large layers of stones protruded out like stairs descending toward a single point where a small flower with seven petals, each containing one of the rainbow colors, rested.

The Divine Essence.

All around the room, more and more people crowded into it. Uniforms of red, black, green, and blue filled the outer parts of the stone garden. Oscar gritted his teeth and clenched his bulwark. The final battle was finally happening.

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