The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

'You fought well. But I still have much left in store while you're nearly done.' Ruvin's shoulders shook as light laughter escaped his closed beak. Short pauses of grunts showed the hints of exhaustion eating away at him.

'I have to admit. You got me.' Erden faced down to the Pools of Ascension, seeing his blood drip down to the colorful waters, lifted his head to stare at Ruvin, and sighed helplessly. Mountains weighed down on his back, his legs buckling despite floating in the air. He hacked and coughed out mouthfuls of blood, the air burning through his injured lungs.

'With this. It's over. Goodbye, Erden.' Ruvin widened his pale eyes, red veins writhing around to make them bloodshot with fierceness. He cawed and kicked off his talons, snapping his beak at Erden, building up speed as he zipped around Erden. Such winds would require a lot of buildup without Ruvin's wings, but with his current condition, he couldn't stop Ruvin at all.

'Erden!' Oscar shouted in his mind. 'Think of a plan. There must be something you can do.'

Erden heard his friend's cries and let out hoarse laughter. 'It's alright, Oscar. Whether I win or lose…it doesn't matter.'

'Erden!' Oscar called out.

'Right…from the beginning, since the time I met you…we always strove for something. Getting out of Ashen Grove, running through Shattirma to find your way home, and helping each other.' The rush of wind pounded on Erden's weak body. He was so frail that any of these winds could knock him over. Ignoring the raging winds, he wished to continue speaking to Oscar.

His body refused to listen, and he couldn't think straight. The world became a harsher place, reminding him of the deadly nights from when he was a young deer. He shuddered from the fear of the unknown, the fear of death—however, a burning ambition burned from his heart. Something refused to die down inside of him,

'But where was my hunger? Where was my ambition? What was it that Tort and the others said I had lost? Finally, I see. There is no plan. There is no scheme. There's only me and him, the two of us fighting with our all. I think he is what I needed all along. To give me this feeling of isolation, to remind me of what it meant to be a beast.' Erden darted his eyes around the dark mists reforming.

His face twisted and contorted sharply, his eye narrowing and returning bloodshot while the injured eye splurted out blood before tightening from the muscles clenching the veins. Opening his mouth to let out hot steam, Erden poured his strength into his broken legs and raced antlers-first into the storm, disappearing into the obscure winds.

Other than the black covering half of his vision, blood red hazed over the remainder of his world. For a moment, he found himself back in the deep forests of Ashen Grove, under the darkness of the trees with little respite from the thin pale moonlights that broke through the leaves. Those times when he had no guarantee of tomorrow, those moments of pure instinct and beastly rage all came back to him.

He roared a mighty bestial cry, A piercing voice that broke through the whistling winds, silencing them for a time. Erden crashed right into a black blur, grunting and growling at Ruvin. One of his antlers was sliced off by the sharp wing, but the other caught it between its branches. Erden lunged deeper in and pulled in an awkward angle, breaking the wing.

Ruvin's shout of pain reached him, and Erden pressed on. He slammed his hooves, punching one into Ruvin's chest. With his mightly roars following through, his onslaught began. His opponent rushed in with his talons as if the pain of the broken wings meant nothing to him. They traded talons for hooves, beak against antler. The two fought in pure savagery, wrestling each other through the air. Erden bit and gnawed his bloody teeth into Ruvin, and the crow stabbed his beak into his shoulder.

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Erden stopped thinking. His ragged body was forced by nothing but the drive fueling his blood, raising his savagery. Each time Ruvin slashed his talons against him, he shoved a hoof into his enemy. They exchanged tens of blows, standing on nothing but the grit of their resolve and the footing of their savagery, refusing to give a single inch to each other. However, the difference became clear soon enough as Erden was knocked back.

His Ein had finally run out.

Before Erden could fall, a talon grabbed and clenched on his head. His body could no longer be moved by the force of his will, evident by his wounds which had long since run out of blood to drop. Looking from within Ruvin's grasp, Erden gasped and let down his hooves.

'I mistreated you earlier. It would have been a different battle if I had gone seriously from the start. But you were incredible nonetheless.' Ruvin turned Erden's head from side to side, his pale eyes looking over every detail.

'So were you. Surprise attacks and endurance tests were all I could do to keep up with you. It's a shame. I wonder how much stronger I could have become if I had entered the pool.' Erden chuckled. Contrary to the salty blood on his gums, a bitter taste filled his mouth. His heart felt heavy from the weight of defeat, and he closed his eyes, apologizing to Oscar.

'Yes. I wonder that as well.' Ruvin laughed. 'Come. You may take your place in the Pools of Ascension.'

Erden jerked his head, staring at Ruvin between the fingers of his claws. What did he say? Erden couldn't believe what he had heard. Ruvin had won. Ruvin's mission to impede him from entering the pools had been accomplished with his defeat. Even if he were to gain access, it would only be in shallower depths, not optimal for his evolution since his bloodline was so detached from the origin. Erden cleared his throat and asked, 'Are you serious?'

'They said you were barely a beast. Someone unfit to enter these pools. But I see you are worthy. Take your place amongst us. Dive into the deeper levels and arise. When you do, I will want a rematch.' Ruvin said.

'Ruvin!' Ness's shrill voice cried out over the pools. She raised into the air, her wings beating with thunderous sounds. 'You dare to go against the flock. He lies with the humans.'

'Forgive me. Great Mother. More than the flock, we are all beasts, and he has proven himself as one of us. My loyalty to you is undying, but I wish to see just how far he can go.' Ruvin let go of Erden and cried out, 'If anyone disagrees, then come. I will show you why I am the foremost of the flock.' He stared dead at the other crows who cowered from his glare.

Erden watched all of this from below as he fell into the pool. The waters curled and squeezed around his many injuries, healing them rapidly. Being inside felt like being back in his mother's womb, warm and comfortable with a nostalgic feeling. It was as if this place was always his home.

Ruvin's shadow grew larger and dove into the pool, nodding at Erden and pulling him along to the depths of where a Middle Knight Exalt could extend down to. Ruvin placed him on a mound of sand and said to wait here for the procession. He departed into another area of the pools.

Other beasts were in the pools, some at the same level as him, others starting filing in the upper waters, the losers who could only gather the special Ein from a less fortunate location. None of them came to take his spot, flickering their eyes at Ruvin, who was nearby, clearly fearful of the great crow.

'Erden…you did well.' Oscar spoke in his mind.

His voice warmed his cold body, and Erden laughed. 'I guess I got lucky. Ruvin is an amazing beast. To go against his family like that…I wonder if there's anything I could do for him.'

'It sounds like he wants another fight after you go through this.' Oscar laughed and cheered within his mind.

'I guess we'll have to do that.' Erden closed his eyes and waited. The waters began to change. A fearsome power flowed and weaved within the waves. Tendrils of red, blue, and yellow tickled his fur at first, but then they all forced themselves like needles through every pore. Erden grunted in pain and rolled his eyes back into their sockets.

His heart thumped louder and faster. His eyes, nose, and ears felt as if they would tear and drop off. His core glowed so bright it could be seen under his skin with the naked eye.

His time was now. The evolution process had begun.

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