The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Inside the cave, Avril shook and shifted in her sleep. Slowly, her eye fluttered and batted its eyelashes; a haze of exhaustion reflected on its pupils. Drawing strength from a deep breath, she forced herself up, noticing her hands gripping something soft, a warm comfort on her back, a fur blanket.

Avril smiled and felt warm all over her body as she wrapped the blanket closer around her. For so long, she had never felt such luxury, having slept on cold or uncomfortable floors with nothing to hold on to for comfort until now. She enjoyed the softness so much that she swayed and curled to envelop herself in it. Simply heavenly and divine.

On the piled stacks of metal bars, used as a table, were the pieces of paper filled with her scribbles of the alphabet. She picked the cleanest paper out of the wrinkled mess, the one Oscar had written, and mumbled each letter to herself. Oscar's handwriting was clean, elegant, and pretty compared to hers.

"Ah, I can't wait to write just as well. Did he have a chance to look at them?" Avril looked around the cave to ask. Oscar was missing. Only the strange talking deer, Erden, was here, sleeping blissfully, curled up in the corner of the cave. Everything else was here, but where was Oscar?

"Did he go out without us? Annoyed, she thought of what words to scold him with. She felt he wasn't taking the idea of an adventure with companions seriously." Avril broke out into her narration. In a rush, she got up and ran outside the cave, careful not to make too much noise. Erden needed his sleep after carrying both of them for so long.

Outside, the winds were cold, loud, and fierce. Avril tugged the fur blanket tightly to avoid losing it to the strong winds. Her side hair and bangs pricked around, tickling her nose, ears, and eye. Unable to contain it, she sneezed loudly and sniffed. She heard the winds could be uncontrollable in large flat lands but not to this extent. Using her Ein, roots sprouted from under and wrapped around her legs securely.

Wracked by a fear colder than the winds, a chill shaking her spine, she reached behind to the knot of the cloth covering her other eye. It held on against this wind, and Avril recalled Oscar had done it himself after it nearly came undone. She rubbed her covered side and wondered. Did Oscar see it? Did he see her wounds?

Moving her hand down, she stopped to stare at her gloved hands in a daze, knowing what disgusting things were under them. Suddenly, she remembered what she was doing out here. She had to find Oscar, who selfishly went by himself. Dropping everything from her mind, she focused outside. Her eye widened and locked in wonder at the starry night sky.

"Ah, control yourself. I have to find Oscar, not go sightseeing." Avril pinched her cheek.

"Ah!!!" Avril turned to her right and saw a dark figure walking steadily toward her. "Hey, Osc–" her words cut off as Oscar approached. Avril looked at his face and wondered if she had the right person. No one else was here except for her and this stranger who resembled Oscar.

"Are you Oscar's twin?" Avril asked. The person looked exactly like her new friend, but he was not Oscar. Everything about the person was the opposite of Oscar except for appearance. She stepped closer to get a better look. "You look like him and are wearing the same clothes as him. She stares intently, confused and frustrated. If Oscar had a twin following them the entire time, he should have told her."

"Twin, huh…you're not wrong in a way." The stranger was flat and cold, not a hint of Oscar's usual gentleness or firmness.

"How wonderful!" Avril said. Her heart thumped faster, and she trembled, unable to contain her excitement.

"Wonderful?" The stranger said.

"Wonderful. Now we have Erden, Oscar, me, and you! Our group of three is now four. What's your name?" Avril asked.

The stranger shrugged his shoulders, an elegant motion that paired well with his clothing style. His eyes were indecipherable; nothing existed except for the cold void of the black pupils. Suddenly, he grabbed her left wrist, a powerful, inescapable grip.

"I'm Demon. That's what Oscar calls me." Demon answered.

"Demon. That's a freaky name. Nice to meet you. But…" Avril pulled herself closer to him. In a swift motion, she kicked Demon on the knee, knocking him slightly off balance. Clenching her other hand into a fist, Avril punched Demon dead on his cheek and narrated her thoughts. "Even though she was happy to find a new companion, she had to teach him manners first. He dares to grab her wrist without permission?"

"I see," Demon turned slowly, a deadpan face of a devil staring right at her and filling her up with caution. He still refused to let go of her wrist. "I turned off my Prinstyct to see what you would do. You aimed perfectly at the angle to imbalance my stance and didn't hesitate to punch me. You are a walking block of contradiction. One moment you're cheerful and dumb. Another, you're smart and stern. Then, you're scared and frozen."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"What?" Avril's head hurt.

"A person can be all of these, but that depends on the moment, and it is more of a gradual shift. You, on the other hand, flip around to any mood without warning. I wondered if you were like us, but it's different."

Avril tried to free her wrist, but Demon's grip tightened. She hated it, the restriction, the binding. Her lungs grew heavier in her chest, barely allowing her to breathe. She gripped her shaky knee to stop herself from falling.

"So, who are you? Why are you here? What are you running from? What do you want? Demon asked several questions.

It was like standing before a judge. Avril refused to answer this rude and cold person. "What about you? What do you want?" She could barely string her words together and fell to her knees, failing to stay standing.

"Are you in a position to ask me? After fifteen years, Oscar is too excited and grateful for having someone else with him to think clearly. There are many concerns about you." Demon pulled her back up, and Avril hung from his hand like a puppet. His cold eyes were eye-to-eye with her. "So answer."

"You're…quite nice, aren't you?" Avril murmured, saying her thoughts out loud. Her mind strolled through her memories. Many shadowy figures of the past stared at her with icy eyes of malice and disgust. Just thinking about them made her tremble and pale. Demon's eyes were not like them. They were dull but didn't hold the same hatred and mockery others leered at her with.

"Hmm?" Demon said.

"You don't hate me. You're worrying about Oscar and nothing more. I'm used to being hated, but I don't feel that from you. With your strength, my hand is an easy trophy. However, you're not hurting me so much right now." Avril smiled. "I promise I'm not dangerous. I don't want to burden my friends. Speaking of, can we be friends too?" She reached her hand out for a handshake.

"You don't understand the situation. Or you simply don't care. Reality is not as carefree as one may wish it so. See–"

A surge of Ein burst from the cave, and Erden suddenly appeared from the side, kicking Demon with his hooves. Dead near the center of their Clash, Avril hurt from the explosion of Ein reverberating from their attacks. During this Ambush, Demon had to let her hand go, releasing her. Avril rubbed her wrist; it was sore and bruised.

In the center, Erden and Demon were pushing into each other. Demon held the great deer by the antlers and slowly pushed him back. Their power was beyond her ability to stop. But she had to try. Concerned for the two, Avril raised roots to wrap around them. Layers and layers of continuous binding impeded the two.

Her hopes of stopping them died with the sounds of her roots tearing apart. Avril could only watch as the two fought, turning the beautiful land around them into a wasteland. Irked, Avril made a last-ditch effort and summoned her scroll anima, opening it to all three sections, which emitted a bright glow. The Ein boost flowed into her wooden hand spell, and she slammed down and grabbed the two.

"Can you two calm down? There's no need to fight." Avril said softly.

Demon and Erden ripped apart their bindings, making her efforts seem pointless. Depressed at her weakness, Avril stayed as the bystander, seeing the two approach each other once more. Demon and Erden didn't fight, staring in silence until Demon walked away.

"What was that?" Avril limped over and fell, only to be caught by Erden, who lifted her onto his back.

"An unsavory fellow. I don't recommend going out at night." Erden returned to the cave and laid her on the bedding Oscar had set up for her. "Go to sleep. Oscar will be back in the morning."

"Huh…." Avril did feel tired. The soft bed lined with fur comforted her, and she fell asleep quickly.

The next morning, Oscar woke up and rubbed his aching head. Memories from Demon and Erden flooded in, replaying everything that happened last night. He got up in a cold sweat, short of breath and pale, gripping his fur sheets. Then two warm hands cupped his cheeks and shook his head.

"What are you doing?" Oscar peeled away from the hands.

"When one wakes up in a foul mood, shake their head to knock them out of it. I learned that when I was young." Avril laughed. Her laughter faded, and her one eye fixated on Oscar meaningfully. "I saw something odd yesterday."

"Demon…." Oscar sighed.

"Who is he? Do you have two faces?" Avril said. Oscar's wide eyes told her enough, and she chuckled. "Oh, that's interesting. I thought something like that only happened in stories."

"You said you couldn't read…." Oscar said. "What stories?"

"I can still hear," Avril pointed at her ears. "Some odd stories I heard a long time ago."

"So…." Oscar mumbled, falling silent. How could he salvage this?

"We're exploring the plains and mountains, aren't we? Hurry up. We only have so little time in a day." Avril pulled Oscar up cheerfully. He was confused at the sudden change in topic.

Oscar didn't resist her pulling. Outside, he witnessed the devastation of Demon's battle against Erden, a wide area of tossed dirt, rocks, and grass with deep smoldering craters. He cursed all manners of insults toward his ruthless self. No reply came, and Oscar furrowed his brow deeper. Then, a slight touch tapped on his forehead.

"Are we going? Standing around with those wrinkles won't do you any good. She wonders what is making Oscar so stressed. Is it because he missed breakfast? She's fine with the fruit, but maybe he needs something more." Avril held her chin in a questioning manner.

"No, I'm fine. There are lots of smoked jerky in my space pocket." Oscar rubbed his forehead; the wrinkles all loosened. "Are you scared or wary of me?"

"Not really. I was shocked at first, yes. No one would ever think of two people in one. Indeed, Demon was rough and rude but not scary compared to others…." Avril's golden eye deepened, and a sullen silence surrounded her. She turned around and peeked back with a weak smile. "So, are we going or not?"

"Alright. Let's see what wonders exist here." Oscar couldn't figure out what was behind Avril's forced smile. Nevertheless, she was not an enemy. He knew that for certain from her actions yesterday. Her past may have been horrifying, but he could help her enjoy the present as they journey together.

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