The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

"A mistake?" Oscar saw the Elder, the picture of health for a middle-aged man, sit down, forlorn and visibly weary and older than before.

"It was my foolish hope that led to all of this," Sevon's voice grew weaker into a mumble, still audible but lacking vigor. "Long ago, when I was a young boy, I was brought in by a prominent family that favored the rather strong and sturdy physique I was born with. They were a clan of Reis users who sought to find ways to surpass the limitations and consequences of such power."

Sevon paused for a moment. A flicker of a smile appeared before quickly disappearing behind the sadness enveloping him. "One of the ways they found was to find good candidates who could wield Reis and marry them into the clan—an attempt to create a purebred of a purebred. Nearly everyone in the clan had the potential to endure Reis as a Marshal Exalt, as did I. They believed that one day, by crossing enough good talents and potentials, a Reis user who could endure the King Exalt realm would appear. Imagine that sort of power, a King Exalt with Reis."

"So, they brought me in and found my potential great. They regarded me as one of their own and even engaged me to one of their daughters, a genius of Reis." Sevon chuckled once and sighed.

"My master told me before that Reis users were rare because no one dared to take the risk. And most Reis users die out." Oscar said.

"A truth that everyone knows. The clan's long history began when fellow Reis users realized the fragility of their existence and wanted their techniques and research to endure through the ages. Ironically, the idea of spreading Reis to the world to try to have a bigger pool to draw from was shut down instantly. The Primal Council will never allow many potential Exalts to kill themselves out of recklessness. Thus, the clan only conducted their businesses privately, adopting people like myself and continuing through the generations."

"My grade was not the best, but my talent in Reis was greater. I trained for many years in the clan's teachings and proved myself to the clan members. I was an orphan beforehand, digging for scraps and trying to survive daily. The clan gave me a family, a wife, and a great friend." Sevon twitched when he mentioned his friend. His eagle eyes gleamed dangerously, and Oscar nearly retreated from the sudden chill surrounding Sevon.

Sevon spoke in a growl, "My friend….my friend!" The floor underneath Sevon cracked from the violent Ein spilling from him. Then, it suddenly vanished, leaving only an eerie silence in the room, and Sevon bled from his mouth. "The main method of the clan was to bear the Reis user who could endure in the King Exalt realm, but they attempted all other methods. Some clan members resembled what you mentioned about your master, going insane until they were subdued. I recall a few who tried to form a Blood Transmutation with a beast."

Oscar shifted his body to listen closer.

"They all failed. Forming a Soulbond is hard enough, as is attempting a Blood Transmutation. One who did manage to get his beast to agree to it failed, and they fused into a wild beast. I never imagined meeting someone like you here. Everything my clan worked towards, standing here, if only the master were alive to see this." Sevon wiped the blood from his hands. "Though I was to marry into the clan, I still acted as a butler to serve the master. The master's son, Kais Volten, was my brother, my best friend…."

Sevon spoke in a low, hushed voice. "Kais always did his best to catch up to me, but he had a lower grade and even lower talent in Reis. But still, we formed a strong bond as brothers. He had a quick mind and would often delve into theories and ideas of utilizing Reis in other ways. He carved his place in the clan as the prime researcher and theorist, developing several other ideas to produce the true Reis user."

"Our master, his father, me, and everyone grew to trust him, but we never saw the depravity and darkness within him. He hid it well." Sevon clenched his fists. "Sometime later, we discovered our clan members were slowly disappearing. It started with the Apprentice Exalts and then to Elite Exalts from the branch families. The alarms rang when a Marshal Exalt expert, dispatched to investigate the incidents, disappeared. I noticed around this time that Kais would recluse himself further. He was coming and going from some other place, the clan crypts. I followed him inside and discovered the horrible truth. In the catacombs were the missing clan members, strung up like hooked fish, missing parts of their bodies. Their blood collected, distilled in vials."

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"He was experimenting on them?" Oscar was horrified.

"Yes," Sevon nodded his head. "He used his own clan members, dissecting them and using them as ingredients in his horrific experiments. I…I didn't want to believe what I was seeing. But when I saw him take a scalpel and carve out the heart of the Marshal Exalt, who disappeared, I knew it was reality. Quickly, I went to the master to tell him, and he assaulted the catacombs. Kais could not have defeated a Marshal Exalt. Someone else must have done it."

"And that is the enemy we are fighting," Adam said, redfaced from rage.

"When we entered the catacombs to arrest Kais, the enemy was already there. He purposely led me to the catacombs, let me leave to warn the master, and waited for the master to arrive with his most trusted elders and warriors. After all, we were suspicious one of our own was assisting Kais." Sevon coughed. "He had been conspiring with a strange organization. The fighting spread as the master tangled with this unknown foe. I arrived with others and joined in the battle. For a moment, I had the chance to kill Kais, he was beneath my foot, and I raised my weapon high."

Sevon choked and cried a single tear. "But I hesitated. I stopped my hand briefly as I stared at the man I once considered a brother. That moment was enough for someone to help him and force me back. I had him! I had him in my grasp! And I foolishly let him live, free to continue his vile experiments….The master fought against a King Exalt and unleashed all the powers of his Reis, destroying his own body to deal a blow to the chest. With that moment, he flung me away to escape."

"What happened? To the rest of the clan?" Oscar asked.

"Dead. Except for the ones who followed Kais, everyone else was dead. I hid around and saw Kais and others collecting the bodies to use. I escaped, leaving behind my wife, family, and friends. I am the last survivor of the Voltens." Sevon looked dejected.

"Why? What use are the bodies?" Oscar recalled the two men from earlier who used Reis. "What were those two men?"

"The reason is this," Adam held out a blood-red orb around the size of an eye. Staring at it, Oscar shivered. Whatever this orb was, it immediately disgusted and terrified him.

"From what I gathered, Kais was researching how to create a core for Reis to take on the strain of Reis rather than the heart and to be a storage of Reis. He concluded that a core created from the blood and bodies of Reis users would be the ideal start. Thus, all of us are materials. Reis users hunted down by Kais and the organization behind him." Sevon grunted and started to smoke his pipe. "The men you fought were not Reis users. They simply implanted the Reis core within them and utilized its power. But, it's incomplete, and the side effects were strong, evident in their deteriorating state while fighting. Still, if people use it sparingly, they will be more powerful than before."

"The Lord of Brightburn was working with them. He provided people in exchange for more resources. Shattirma is perfect for them to conduct their experiments more widely. They train people in Reis like cattle to the slaughterhouse." Adam said.

"What about my master?" Oscar wondered.

"Your master, from what you told me, probably picked up a manual from a fallen Volten member. But the organization and Kais may already have their sights on him. A Marshal Exalt with Reis is a prize to them. Be careful when you return home. They may already be in your country." Sevon warned.

"The organization bears the mark of an eye with two pupils. They call themselves the New Dawn." Adam stood up and stretched. "Elder, I believe that's enough for now. Let little brother take his time to reflect on what he learned and rest. It was a long day."

"Rightly so," Sevon got up and walked toward the door.

"Wait!" Oscar waited for them to turn to him. "Why tell me this now? Why did you keep it hidden?"

"Would you have believed me earlier?" Sevon smiled weakly. "To let you experience them yourself is the best proof I have. Now, take your rest, and you can tell this to Avril when she wakes up. Good job, Oscar."

They left the room, leaving Oscar and Erden with the sleeping Avril.

Oscar brooded over everything that had happened and the shocking truth of the New Dawn and Kais. The cool air in the palace, a respite from the heated wasteland of the Burning Valleys, didn't help lift his mood. All in one day, he dealt with war, losing his forces, fighting with his life on the line, calming Avril's outburst, and learning the sickening revelation of the true enemy.

The thought of the casualties lingered in his mind. The smell of blood stuck in his nose, the sight of Avril on the bed hurt his eyes, and the sounds of the cheering mixed with weeping outside made him sick.

Oscar chuckled and broke out into uncontrollable laughter. "I had to survive for fifteen years in Ashen Grove! I will be hunted now, meaning everyone around me is also a target! My home might be in the midst of war while I'm fighting a war here! I have no idea of how my friends are doing!"

"Why…can't I ever find a moment of peace?!" Oscar shouted.

Erden and Demon stayed silent, and Oscar pounded his foot on the ground. "Tell me! What more do I have to do?! Why are you all silent?!"

"Oscar?" Avril's soft voice called out to him. Oscar found her sitting up in her bed and sighed.

"Ah, you're up. Thank goodness." Oscar slumped in his chair and lost the will to stay up. He blacked out and hoped to wake up in his bed on the old farm with his family in Moniht Village. "Wouldn't it be great if all of this just be one long nightmare?"

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