The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Emily and Orden knocked each other away. She held her two staffs with quivering fingers, staring at Orden solemnly.

"That's some otherworldly physical power. No wonder he managed to match you with your Reis." Emily said as Susan's healing water cleaned her.

"I was about to use everything I had and hoped for the best. Your arrival is truly a godsend." Oscar spat out some blood, remnants of his internal injuries.

"If only Frederick hadn't gotten ahead of himself like that…I could have helped from the start." Emily frowned but soon smiled. "But it was a sweet gesture. I can't blame him. I was about to do the same."

"What a nice relationship the two of you have." Oscar dodged Orden's flying hammer. He no longer felt as pressured as he had earlier. Together with Emily, he held the hope of victory.

"If you could tear down your self-imposed boundaries, you would have been like us." Emily rushed in against Orden, snapping her linked staves. They whistled as they pounded on Orden, and her ragged breathing grew heavier with each whip.

Oscar wanted to take a moment to meditate and recover, but Orden became a rampaging beast, knocking away Emily and his deer anima to interrupt him.

"I won't fall! I am Orden Aesn, you bastards!" Orden's face turned red as a growl escaped his mouth. Earth Spikes erupted everywhere as he panted for air.

"Emily, how tired are you? I thought we had a good chance, two-on-one." Oscar grimaced, avoiding Orden's brutality.

"Truth be told, the outlook of this battle isn't looking good. I fought through several others, exhausting myself to reach you all with Susan. I'm nearly drained out. Susan's healing only kept me going physically," Emily chuckled, coughing out blood.

"How bad is it?" Oscar asked.

"We're losing people left and right. The enemies aren't faring any better, but I noticed our forces are falling faster than the others. I hate to say it. We might be the first to tap out." Emily put up several stone walls to deter Orden. One by one, the walls were demolished by his hammer.

Oscar peered over the edge of the stone platform, eyeing the heart of the battle where the Greater Elite Exalts were fighting. The mess of spells and Ein made it impossible for anyone to slip by and take the Divine Essence. If someone did take the Divine Essence, they could make a swift retreat and make it to the teleport pad.

The surefire way to cease the battle and focus everyone's efforts on the singular goal was to take it. But how? Oscar dodged Orden's strike, recovering as much as he could with Ein Awaken. Every so often, he glanced back at the Divine Essence and was struck by a dangerous thought.

A single face came to mind, Elder Saul.

…….

"Hey, Elder Saul." Oscar slurped down his bowl of soup.

"What is it?" Elder Saul munched on a biscuit. His wrinkled face twisted with each chew.

"Why are we eating in the alleyway?" Oscar glanced around. Even within the gilded Azure City, some dark alleyways existed, hidden from the glamor and majesty of the common streets.

"I don't like to be around people. An old man like me enjoys isolation. How're your eyes?" Elder Saul sipped some tea.

"Getting better….Though, it's odd. Why am I training my Prinstyct in this way? If I want to see and understand the multiple possibilities of a crowd, why do I have to focus on you?" Oscar said, rubbing his eyes, which still felt like they were burning.

"A battlefield is not so simple. All manners of Ein and spells will flood the area from Exalts of varying strengths. Some would be stronger than you, and your Prinstyct will hurt from gazing at them." Elder Saul tossed Oscar a biscuit for him to finish off his soup.

"But aren't you too high of a threshold? I can barely keep myself sane while staring at you, much less focus on everyone else to avoid running into them." Oscar chewed on the soup-drenched biscuit.

"Start from the very top and make your way down. Having seen me in your Prinstyct, a war of Elite Exalts should be child's play for you to move through. Even if their Prinstycts might surpass yours, they won't be able to see the entire picture as you do." Elder Saul laughed and smacked his lips. "Let's resume."

"Hopefully, I won't have to weave through a harsh battle like you described." Oscar put away his bowl and followed Elder Saul back onto the main streets of Azure City.

…….

"No other way…." Oscar murmured, a downcast pair of eyes staring down at the Divine Essence and the fierce battles raging around it. The glow of the Prinstyct flared within his obsidian pupils, and he saw everything.

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The Divine Essence was a burning sun that seared and burned his vision. With shaky eyes, Oscar held on. The Divine Essence's presence in the distorted world of Prinstyct was lacking compared to Elder Saul's headache and nausea-inducing aura. All around, he viewed the many Greater Elite Exalts and the storms of Ein, barely able to discern their movements.

Yet, he took it all in, wondering if anyone else could see the same view he did. Beautiful colors and stars were all in flux, and he had to comprehend a path forward.

"Emily, can you handle Orden for a few moments?" Oscar asked as his eyes reddened from the strain.

"That's a harsh request…I can handle him for a short moment. Go on!" Emily said, stepping toward Orden, who still raged with his hammer. She unleashed every bit of her Ein and formed a strange field around her. Orden's knees trembled as an invisible force tried to put him down.

"I'll be back shortly! Get ready to make a run for it." Oscar shouted, leaping down the stone platform and diving down below.

He felt the environment change as he descended below. It was like jumping into the mouth of a beast willingly, straight into a calamity. Oscar saw the many spells and Ein raging around him closer than ever. Sweat drenched his back, knowing a single landing could spell his doom.

Simply descending without helping others wouldn't do. Oscar formed small Silver Stars without Eirin, shooting them at nearby enemies to give a slight opening for his allies. He wished he could offer more aid, but all he could offer was an inconvenience with his tired body.

The stronger possibility was he would become a liability and cause trouble for others. Oscar's eyes darted everywhere, forming a mental image of everyone and everything around him. Carefully, he weaved past the bombardments of all elements and weapons.

Riddled with wounds, Oscar fought through the pain, groaning with each step. Distortions flooded his Prinstyct vision. It was like entering the dark clouds of a stormy night. Gratitude to Elder Saul filled his thoughts as he navigated through the ceaseless storm.

Stars glimmered brightly within the distorted storms coming from the people fighting. Shapes of Gilbert, Celestina, Charles, and the rest outlined these stars. Oscar could barely make out their movements. The worst offender was still the Divine Essence.

A single moment. Oscar viewed the main battles on the platforms nearest the Divine Essence. One option remained open. One final technique he avoided.

"You can't be serious, lad," Gol-4 whispered from the side.

"It's fine. I need only a moment." Oscar descended to the furthest depth of the stone garden.

"Oscar?!" Celestina shouted, confused at Oscar's sudden appearance. Her enemy tried to take advantage of the opening to no avail. Celestina regained her composure, countering with endless blades of light and dragon's breath.

Radiant lights scattered everywhere like fireflies in the night. Celestina leaned on her dragon anima, and her expression grew colder against her foe wielding a two-pointed wide spear. Growls resounded from the beast anima with a lion's face, scorpion's tail, and bat wings, a Chimera.

"Get ready to make a move," Oscar said, passing by Celestina. The Divine Essence's holy presence permeated like an invisible mist. Oscar breathed in, relishing the holy air of the Divine Essence. Everyone from foes to allies noticed him, and the full pressure of every Greater Elite Exalt weighed down on him.

'Good.' Oscar winced but smiled. His one moment was fast approaching. Everyone started to ignore him, only sending offshoots of spells against him. His powers as a Middle Elite Exalt had put him under their attention.

Oscar viewed everything from his Prinstyct, seeing the pathways to take. Some were prudent enough to deter his path forward if he managed to get further ahead. He charged up every hint of Reis and Ein he could muster; blue antlers of spherical Eirin protruded from his forehead, and his body became wrapped in the same.

Everyone's Prinstycts must have shown Oscar's possible paths forward; however, they misjudged his strength. The Demon Deer Eirin Mantle gave Oscar the strength to overcome their predictions for an instant. Oscar sidestepped, ducked, and weaved, unafraid of the overwhelming Ein which would kill him from a single hit.

The impact of the powerful spells blew Oscar forward, and he reached the Divine Essence. He reached his hand and snatched the Divine Essence from the ground, pulling it up by the roots. Once it was fully grown, its roots would take hold and never be upended, but right now, Oscar could take it.

"What?!" Everyone shouted.

'Three minutes…' Oscar counted down his time limit of Demon Deer Eirin Mantle. He jumped off his deer anima's antlers, heading toward Celestina. Her lips trembled until they formed a bright smile, and she moved to him.

"Lad…take that small petal on the side. It's an excess that has great uses and can be extracted. The main petals are impossible to tear off." Gol-4 whispered from below.

Oscar noticed a small yellow petal under the bright seven rainbow petals of the Divine Essence. He didn't know what Gol-4 wanted but grew interested in what the golem had to say. Tearing off the small petal and storing it in his space pocket, Oscar reached Celestina, pushing the Divine Essence to her.

"Get behind me!" Celestina put up several layers of Hexagon Mirrors, deflecting all the attacks. She stored the Divine Essence away and shouted with a mouthful of blood, "Blue Ocean Pavilion! Retreat! Secure the path out!"

"That'll be hard…." Oscar gasped and pulled Celestina up by the hand to escape with him. "It's coming…."

"You mean?" Celestina's face also paled. Fear flashed across her eyes for the first time since Oscar met her.

"It didn't bother to enter the battle, wanting to feast on all the blood afterward. However, Oscar's sudden movements stumped even it. But now it's furious. Get out." Gol-4 said shakily.

"RUN!" Oscar rushed up.

The entire crater trembled. The Blue Ocean Pavilion's Greater Elite Exalts clumped around the princess, working their way back up. All the enemy factions were following them, shouting for the Divine Essence and wildly flailing their spells.

Then a bright red root burst from the side of the crater, lashing out against an unsuspecting Exalt. The Exalt screamed in agony from the root impaling her. Her body noticeably shrank into a mummy before evaporating into dust.

"A Knight Exalt?!" Someone from the Earth Core Academy shouted.

"So the princess was right…." Gilbert frowned.

More red roots burst from the ground. They all had countless small maws of razor-sharp teeth covering the length of the roots from their tips to the bases.

"I said…to RUN!" Oscar threw Celestina up before a red root could impale her. "This crater is now a death trap."

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