The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

"What is this necklace?" Oscar held the seven-pointed necklace. Though the cord was thin and the crystal star seemed as delicate and fragile as glass, the necklace drew Oscar's interest. He grew interested in the material, the metal. He felt his power would not be enough to break it apart.

"That is her gift to me. From long ago…when she disappeared, she left behind this necklace and said if the day ever comes and I find my way, it will lead me to her." Gol-4 said, his voice growing more somber and low as he spoke. "I explored wherever I could, but nothing ever happened, and I never saw her again."

"Why not pass it to your descendants when they escape? Perhaps they could have found her with this." Oscar asked.

"I trusted my descendants with other instructions for the clan. This was my personal matter. Besides, do you know where we are? She and I spent time together in this small cave when we fought and nearly died against a horrific monster. It was small and quite uncomfortable but full of memories. I hoped perhaps if she were still alive or one of her descendants came looking, they would know of this place."

"It's been thousands of years. There's no way she's still alive."

"That depends…I always thought she was special, far beyond what I could perceive of her. Maybe she went beyond the Primaere."

"What?!" Oscar trembled. "What…what is beyond the Primaere?" Primaeres ruled over the entire world. Again, Oscar was reminded of how small he and others truly were in the light of these unfathomable personages.

"Hehehe. Sorry, lad. I can't let you get too big-headed about it. If you learn about all this now, your head will explode. Take your time, grow, and see the world. You'll find out when you are ready and mature enough to handle the vastness of what is to be revealed."

"That's not fair!" Oscar raised his voice in a pleading tone. But Gol-4 was adamant and refused to answer.

"Fine! Fine!" Oscar waved his hand with a frown. "Keep your secrets. Then, what about this necklace? Do you want to keep it here?"

"No," Gol-4 shook his head. "I am just a memory of Isaac. However, I know what he wants. Take it and carry it with you. If you ever find her or her clan, tell her you are my student and dear friend, and show her the necklace and drawing. Even after the downfall of my clan and the thousands of years that passed…nothing."

"I will do as you ask. I might have one clue related to her." Oscar rubbed his furrowed brow and sighed with a helpless smile. Only for Gol-4 and his friends would he go to Gilbert for help.

Next, Oscar picked up the black cube and turned it over to glance at each side. It was light and hard. Oscar felt a familiar feeling from it, something similar to space orbs. He held it out to Gol-4 and asked, "What is this cube?"

"Ah! That is my personal dimensional cube! You have the lesser space orbs like the ones you have now, the greater space orbs, typically for Marshal and King Exalts, and finally, this! You can store three castle's worth of goods in it."

"Seriously?!" Oscar exclaimed; his breathing grew rushed and uneasy as his eyes went bloodshot.

"Like a child in a candy store. Ahahaha! Take it. I forgot what I put in it."

"Are you sure I can keep this?"

"What did I say? I said to take it. Though, you want to be very careful when taking this one out. Don't ever show it to others, not even your friends or family or anyone else, unless you can protect yourself and them from King Exalts. No matter how you trust them. It's no longer a secret if one other person knows. Swear it!" Gol-4 stared at Oscar sternly.

"I swear. I won't tell anyone, no matter what. But where is a good place to hide it?" Oscar thought.

"I can handle it," Erden yawned. "I can swallow it and spit it out when needed."

"Before you allow Erden to do such a horrific act, look in the dimensional cube," Gol-4 snapped and banged his head against Erden's antlers.

Oscar poured out everything from the dimensional cube. He expected something incredible and glittering, but the reality was disappointing. There were some clothes, books, and a dull round stone. "That's it?"

"I gave everything, including my armament, to the clan. Here are some spare clothing, my notes and research, which you can use later, and–ohoho!" Gol-4 laughed. "This round stone is a sealed Primaere Exalt Beast core! I forgot I found one! Why didn't I give it to my family? Odd, it should have been used for something."

"A Primaere Exalt Beast?" Oscar put down the round stone and backed away, afraid of the will inside the core.

"Don't worry. It's been sealed up all nice and tuck. And it should be quite docile after thousands of years. If it wasn't sealed, I suspect you and Erden would go crazy from the intoxicating taste of it." Gol-4 said. "Put it away in the dimensional cube along with the drawing and necklace."

"I wonder what such a core would taste like. How did you even come by it?" Erden drooled.

"A long journey and a stroke of luck. I found the remains of a long-forgotten Primaere Exalt Beast. I saved the core for later, but I can't remember why."

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Oscar changed clothes as Gol-4 was lost in thought. Tossing aside his fur clothing, Oscar put on long black pants, a white dress shirt, a tie, and a brown vest. Everything fits so well, and he thought the clothes had somehow changed to fit him.

"Those clothes were a good fit. I had a similar build to you, so it makes sense." Gol-4 nodded.

"Here, Erden." Oscar put away the necklace, drawing, and Primaere Exalt Beast Core in the dimensional cube. "Hide it in your stomach and only get it out when we need it. I can still fit everything in my other space orbs."

"A beast eating the dimensional cube…how frustrating but necessary." Gol-4 looked away as Erden swallowed the cube.

"Oh, right." Oscar lifted a finger. "You wanted to know how my Meld worked? Simply put, Erden becomes a being of pure metal and can mold and shape himself like before. As for transferring my Eirin, I think that's a perk of having the Soulbond and Blood Transmutation with the added connection of a Meld. We share our Ein into a singular pool, meaning Eirin can go along in transition."

"Bah?" Gol-4 was speechless. "That's ridiculous! Holy hell, I shudder to think what you might have been with a higher grade."

"Who knows? Maybe I would never have been in this situation with a higher grade." Oscar smiled and leaned back, stretching. "Elder Saul once told me all that matters is how the plant grows, not whether they're purebred or not. Enough talk, though. Let's go to the control room."

"It's right down below us," Gol-4 stared outside and dropped himself off the edge.

"This head!" Oscar flew down and grabbed Gol-4. He drifted along the large chasms until he spotted a large gateway. Thanks to Gol-4's access, the gates swung open. The room was the largest he had ever seen.

"That circular structure in the middle is another portal. The same one that my clan took to escape from here. It's off right now, but we can also activate it." Gol-4 floated around to explore and landed on a large metallic block that pulsed with patterns and lines. "This is the control panel. With this, I should be able to activate the portals."

The control panel brightened up and hummed as Gol-4 linked to it. After a short moment, Gol-4 exclaimed and flew off the panel. Oscar reacted and caught Gol-4 before he was thrown to the wall.

"What happened?"

"...." Gol-4 struggled with his words before letting it all out in a large sigh. "So it became like this after all…" He faced Oscar and Erden. "This is where we part, Oscar. I'm sorry, but there's no other way."

"What do you mean?" Oscar's voice trembled. His grip on Gol-4 grew stronger. "What are you talking about? We said we would all make it out. You said you wanted to see the world. Why?"

"I can feel your sadness, Oscar. But Gol-4 must have a reason. It's related to our escape, isn't it?" Erden nudged Oscar to calm him down. Oscar clenched his teeth and relaxed his grip.

"Erden is right," Gol-4 sighed again. "The portal system is reliant on the Ein accumulating over time. Without the Forest Heart Clan's control, it can only do it autonomously. There is not enough Ein in the system to power up all portals. Even if I could power one of them, it would only open for ten seconds. Can you fly to the portals up above the palace in time? I can bring them down, but can you get outside in ten seconds?"

"Then what about that one?" Oscar pointed at the last portal in the middle of the room.

"That's why I said we must part. When my clan left, they tampered with this portal and messed up its configuration so the Forest Heart Clan would never know where they ran off to. It's a wildcard." Gol-4 fell silent for a second before speaking, "I can control it and redirect everything to stabilize the tunnel to an extent and ensure you return to Talos. As for where you will teleport….I don't know. The connection will be muddled."

"...Is it the best chance we have? Do I have to leave you here all alone? You've been alone for thousands of years, and now you'll be alone again." Oscar knelt before the control panel, dropping his head.

"Bah, who cares. Look at me!" Gol-4 shouted, bringing Oscar to stare at him. "I am just a relic. You have all of my teachings in your head. So long as you have them and you live, I will survive. My memories and everything I am, are already passed onto you. I am satisfied with that."

Oscar palmed his face, red-eyed, and brought in Gol-4 for a hug. Erden also wrapped his large body around the two in an embrace. They had been together through thick and thin for fifteen years, and now they had to split off. Oscar bumped his forehead against Gol-4 and said, "You damned…"

"Blasted head. I know." Gol-4 chuckled. "Now be on your way. I will ensure you end up on Talos and increase your chances of not dying there. Spatial storms on unstable teleportation can hurt and kill."

"Farewell, Gol-4. If I ever find a way back, I'll come for you." Oscar lowered his eyes and turned to Gol-4. Quickly he wiped the moist tears about to fall off, not wanting his parting to be filled with tears.

"Goodbye, my dear lad, my disciple, Oscar. I pray for your good fortune, and hey! Have a long and fulfilling life. Hopefully, your love life will be less complicated. As I said, a harem is the best way!" With the final quip, Gol-4 lodged himself into the control panel, and crackling Ein burst around his head. He stuttered as the electricity coursed through him, speaking in incoherent words. His voice grew more mechanical, returning to the Gol-4 of old.

"Initiating…portal activated…destination unknown…connection volatile."

The large gateway trembled as beams of Ein coursed from one end and linked to the opposite side. So many of them formed to the point they became a single swirling pool of Ein, the portal to exit this place. After so long, after fifteen years, his way out was opened, though barely due to the lack of Ein. The Ein was chaotic and flickered in and out.

There was no time to delay.

Oscar flew with Erden as slight tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. He couldn't hold control after all. At the last moment, before entering the portal, Oscar turned to see his friend one last time. The golem opened his mouth wide as if to emulate a smile, and Oscar widened his tear-ridden eyes at the strange sight. He could see a visage, another person overlaid on Gol-4, smiling at him with radiant white hair and blue eyes, a handsome and confident man who wore the same clothes as him.

"Isaac?" Oscar murmured. He couldn't see anymore as he passed through the portal and entered the turbulent space between realms.

"Haaaaaa. He's gone." Gol-4 stared at the portal. The lights faded, and the Ein stopped flowing, causing the portal to collapse into thin air. Hums sounded from the gateway and also came from Gol-4, who hummed a nice, soft farewell tune.

"Farewell. Farewell. My friend. Farewell. Farewell. May we meet again." Gol-4's blue eyes started to dim. He had to power down and rest to stay alive for as long as possible. He wondered if he would ever wake up again.

Gol-4 turned off as the last crackles of electricity burned out in his core. His artificial core went through the images and memories of the past fifteen years, teaching Oscar, hunting with Erden, talking around the campfire, and laughing together as friends. For all of Isaac's life as a person, this life as a golem turned out to be one of the best times he had had in a long while.

"May the world and the universe bless that lad…." Gol-4 whispered to the unknown, and his blue eyes lost their light. The future was an ocean at night, but he held faith in Oscar that the lad would make it to the dawn.

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