The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

"You dare come to see me and bring along an Oscar look-alike to fool me?" Emily asked coldly, swinging her fist.

Before Emily's fist could land squarely on Fred's face, Oscar swept across the room and grabbed her fist, careful not to accidentally crush her knuckles. Her physical power was as impressive as ever, being the more physically gifted out of their group. He let go of her fist and raised his hands, waving for peace. Emily rejected his call for peace and whipped her leg around, throwing a hook kick at his shoulder. Oscar lifted his hand to block, then the kick swerved past his guard and hit his exposed side.

"What?" Emily pounced back and crouched, clutching her shaky leg. She had suffered a rebound from using a kick without any Ein or spells onto his Edureisclad. He didn't want to use it, but when it came to Emily, actions and fighting held more impact. His techniques would no doubt spark her memory.

"Edureisclad. If you remember, it's the Reis defensive technique." Oscar smiled and summoned his blue deer anima, to which she widened her eyes, the usual reaction to the truth. "It's been over twenty years, Emily. Fred's caught me up on what happened. It seems you've been well over the years. Your feistiness hasn't diminished in the slightest."

"Os-Oscar!" Emily lunged in and hugged him, stammering with tears spilling uncontrollably from her face onto his chest, her arms coiling around him like thick steel bands as if she never wanted to let go. Oscar didn't move and let her vent and shout all she wanted. Emily finally calmed down and let him go, her face and bangs soaked in tears. "How are you alive? How is it possible?"

"That's the fifth or sixth time now," Oscar sighed, gesturing to the table. "It's a long story. Let's sit down, and I'll answer your questions." Everyone made their way to their seats. Fred, in particular, sat away from Emily, who stared daggers into him, indescribable emotions behind her gaze. While he wanted to help patch up their relationship, he had to focus on the mission.

After another long retelling of his long journey in Ashen Grove and through the many lands he had visited, Oscar turned to Emily and said, "That's what happened. Now we need to infiltrate the Rurin Gaols and free my master. I need a trustworthy small team to go in with me, and you're the closest one."

"And you're taking this dolt with you?" Emily jabbed a finger in Fred's direction, and his best friend flinched, looking away, avoiding Emily. Her face turning red, she slammed the table and shouted, "You damned piece of shit." Her teeth grinding against each other sounded like the scraping of metal, uncomfortable and grating on the ears. She pulled her hands back and exhaled, calm returning to her recovering complexion.

She smiled and said, "Congratulations on getting married, Oscar. I'm happy for you." She gave Fred sidelong glances before her smile fell. Her next words came out in low whispers. "At least someone wasn't afraid."

"Thank you," Oscar felt awkward, seeing the strange interactions between Emily and Fred as the former kept glancing toward and the other kept looking away. He cleared his throat, intent on keeping the conversation focused. He extended his hand out toward Emily. "Will you come with us? I need all the help we can get."

His old friend smirked and clasped her hand over his, gripping it tightly for some reason. "Leaping right into danger after coming back. It's you, alright. What crazy scheme have you cooked up?"

Facing Margaret Ward, Oscar began to speak, "Grand Commander Ward, can we–"

The Grand Commander interrupted him, "Aunt Ward."

"Excuse me?" Oscar asked confusedly.

"If you regard that idiot, Rosett, as an aunt, then you should do the same for me." Margaret Ward declared without a hint of a joke or hesitation in her tone.

"A-Aunt Ward. Can we take Emily with us?" Oscar asked, scratching his head from embarrassment. Regarding her as an aunt was very odd to him, especially since she was Phillip's Grandaunt. Did that mean he was somewhat of an uncle to Phillip now? He disregarded the idle thoughts and rose from his seat.

Margaret nodded and took out a scroll, tossing it to Emily. "Here is your release form. You are hereby relieved of your duty here and placed under Oscar's command. You are a great soldier. Make me proud."

"Yes, ma'am!" Emily saluted.

"And Oscar." Margaret glared at Oscar before her gaze softened. "Get that fool out of prison, but don't overdo it. If you can't get him out, then follow the escape plan yourself."

"No problem, Aunt Ward. Just be ready when the time comes." Oscar bid farewell to Aunt Ward and departed from Morkan City with Fred and Emily. It was an awkward journey back, and Oscar could not improve it, no matter what he tried. Emily conversed long and well with him, asking questions without pause about Avril, the Ancients, and the battles he had fought. Whenever Fred tried to speak up, she shut her mouth and detached herself from the conversation, busying her time playing with Erden.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Emily, Fred says he's sorry for everything he had done, but you can't blame him. I was dead."

"Fred, keep trying. I'm sure she'll forgive you one day."

He tried to be the mediator between the wayward couple, speaking on Fred's behalf to appease Emily's anger and encouraging Fred to keep his head up despite Emily's long silent treatment. What would it take for these two to reconcile? Oscar wracked his brain for an answer and found none. Their feud showed no signs of ending, an endless back-and-forth of insults, silence, and apologies.

Reaching the south, near the frontlines, Oscar stopped and signaled his friends, descending into the gorge. He carved out a cavern, a good spot to rest and avoid the prying eyes of the enemy's scouts. The plan had to be carried out with precision and timing, according to Elder Saul's intel, and he could not afford any mishaps. Oscar scanned his surroundings and sighed in relief, unfurling a small map before the three.

"A few miles down south, we'll be at the war front. Can't bring anything with us, so let Erden have them." Oscar rolled his space pocket, containing his armament, hammer, elixirs, and more, to Erden, who opened wide and gulped it down. Emily and Fred hesitated but then tossed their space pockets to Erden, the storage devices bulging out of his throat on their way down. After securing their belongings, Oscar took out a vial of elixir from his pocket, its contents glowing golden, glimmering like stars.

The Ein within the elixir was so vast and mysterious that his hands trembled from the sheer power he held. Oscar popped open the cork and was nearly intoxicated by the sickly, overwhelming Ein that wisped up from the vial.

"That's the Grade Five Elixir? Elder Saul really favors you the most. And we always bothered him together!" Emily closed her eyes and inhaled the golden clouds, smiling brightly while always complaining.

"If we split it three ways, it'll last us a month and a half unless we cancel it ourselves," Oscar warned sternly. "We have to be ready in a month before they arrive." He noticed Emily smiling strangely and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just…good to have you back. It's almost like we're back twenty years ago when we three went on missions." Emily chuckled.

"Does that mean you're somewhat–" Fred spoke, but Emily scoffed and turned away with a frown.

Oscar poured the vial into three cups and raised a cup to the other two. "Bottoms up." Without hesitation, he downed the entire cup, the taste of sweet honey spreading over his mouth, and his lips wriggled into a sloppy smile. Immense pleasure wracked his brain, and he stumbled down to the ground like a fool. Suddenly, his heart rattled in his rib cage, and Oscar clenched his teeth, straining his neck, pain washing over his body in furious tides. His muscles contorted, and veins writhed under the surface of his skin as if they had come alive. His joints cracked and twisted, and his screams changed tones, becoming strange and foreign to him.

Oscar withstood the pain and found himself in a pool of his own sweat. It was good that he didn't wear Gol-4's clothes and chose the standard Pavilion soldier clothes, similar to a student's, except for the deeper blue color and thicker fabric. Groaning and still reeling from the pain, Oscar stood up and grabbed the mirror Erden had set aside for him. After a few blinks, his eyes regained focus and witnessed the reflection in the mirror, and Oscar whistled in wonder, observing his face from left to right.

The face in the mirror wasn't his. Technically, it was him, but not his face. He hated to admit it, but the reflection was slightly more handsome than him, having a pair of sharp brown eyes that seemed to pierce ahead and wavy brown hair curling around his head. His cheekbones had sunken in, and his jaw had sharpened out. Oscar rubbed his new cheeks and smacked his thin lips, studying himself in the mirror.

"Amazing. It's this potent?" Oscar exclaimed. The vial he had drunk was the Grade Five Transfiguration Elixir that Elder Saul gifted him for this mission. Not even Marshal Exalts could glance through this disguise, and its use didn't fall in the area of a King Exalt directly acting. He would never be able to tell if he didn't know it was himself.

"He really treats me well…." Oscar held the empty vial and burned it into molten glass. No King Exalt would use a rare Grade Five elixir for a Knight Exalt other than Elder Saul. Endless gratitude to the old Exalt for everything, from the start of his life in the Pavilion to now, filled his heart. It seemed like he was there for him at every step of the journey.

"Os. We're ready." Fred said. His friend was now transformed into a man with ragged black hair and blue eyes, sporting a beard and a mustache. His shoulders were broader and larger, as were his arms. With a powerful build, he almost reminded Oscar of his overly large and muscular father.

"No one said you could speak for me. I'm ready." Emily tied her lengthened blond hair into a ponytail, her cheeks riddled with freckles, and stared around Oscar and Fred's figure, the blue eyes glinting as laughter escaped her lips. She pointed to Fred and pounded her foot on the ground, growing increasingly red in the face from uncontrollable laughter.

"Stop it," Oscar said. Emily complied and shut her mouth. He exhaled deeply and placed his hand out, wanting them to do the same. Fred reached out and stamped his hand on top of Oscar's, but Emily swung her hand under Oscar's, avoiding contact with Fred at any cost. Oscar grumbled and clicked his tongue, his plan to force some interaction becoming a failure. He put his other hand on top of Fred's. "It's been a long twenty years. I know this isn't how we wanted our reunion to go. But I want to thank you both. And I'm sorry for dragging you two into this, but I can't think of any other two I can trust more, other than Avril, who is somewhere else, and Erden, who has to remain behind."

"I owe a debt, and I will put my life on the line for your cause. That is what I have to do." Fred said solemnly, placing his other hand on top of the pile.

"Finally, you have some of your courage back." Emily slapped her hand on top, right on Fred's. "I still don't forgive you. Oscar is the only reason I'm going along." She ignored Fred and faced Oscar, waiting for him to continue.

"Thank you. Now let's go save my master." Oscar let out a forceful shout with his friends as they shouted together in agreement, clenching their hands together before letting go. He didn't know why, but he felt an inclination to tell a joke. "Time to get jailed."

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