The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Inside a naturally formed cavern, multiple bright flames flickered and swayed, their light fluttering along the grooves of the old stone walls, intertwining with the formless shadows stretching from everyone's figures. A pot rested above one of the small flames, the lid clattering a ruckus as steams and whistles blew out of the gaps. Oscar held the pot by the handle and poured some tea to drink, closing his eyes to smell the calming tea, soothing warmth and aroma welling up his senses. Carefully sipping, he swirled the warm tea around, moistened his mouth, and exhaled a hot breath of steam.

Well rested, Oscar observed the rest of his Black Aegis Order, glad to watch them enjoying the same tea and some rations leftover from yesterday, a stark difference from previous nights when all they could do was slump and lean on the walls after fighting and canvasing the area for almost the entire days. Indeed, he had been running everyone around without much rest for the past month since they started their search. It was his failure as a captain to disregard the state of his people, a lesson he had forgotten.

But he still needed to finish the job and secure the north. Every step closer to ending the war meant fewer years of deaths and a step closer to heading back out to Avril. Although the promise was to meet in Convecia City after ten years, he wanted to go out and find her himself. She would most certainly do the same if she finished first. He felt sorry for his order, having rushed them for a mostly selfish reason. Gathering his thoughts, Oscar turned to Emily, who was teasing Susan with Esther laughing in the background and coughed to get their attention.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and focused on Oscar, and he sipped from his cup before speaking, "To all who have gathered here, we're not here simply to enjoy this small break. Emily told us she found out the enemy's schemes and the origins of the snow." No one said anything, and all turned to Emily.

Put on the spot, Emily scowled but started to explain. "I can't say for certain that it is concrete, but I discovered something weird. We've been searching for an entire month, climbed nearly every mountain in the Bellariach Mountains, and found nothing. That's because everyone else is an idiot and didn't think hard enough."

She laughed as the others grunted and clicked their tongues. Oscar smiled. He could always rely on Emily to have high spirits in bleak times. Emily took out various pouches from her space pocket, nearly hundreds of them, all labeled and marked with numbers and coordinates. "In all past attempts, we and others only tried to feel any Ein or people. But no one–" she juggled a pouch in her hand, soft thuds coming from her palm "-thought to check the dirt. Maybe some did, but none closely examined them."

"The dirt?" Oscar accidentally interrupted, curious about the significance of dirt. He and Fred met gazes for a second, and Fred shook his head, just as confused as he was.

"I thought a former farmer like Oscar would have known. Here, take a look!" Emily poured out the contents of one pouch and another. Pebbles and clumps of wet dirt poured out, and it continued until all but one pouch remained unopened. Picking up some in her hand, Emily showed it to everyone. "Look at the dark grayish color and numerous gray pebbles. These are the typical soils of a wintery mountain. Native to this area."

"Then what about that pouch?" Fred pointed to the unopened one. Emily smirked and poured out its contents, revealing the strangely brownish color of the soil. Realization dawned on Oscar as his eyes slowly widened, and it seemed everyone else also understood what she was talking about.

"These mountains share the same dirt. All except for one. This brownish soil is not native to the mountain range." Emily poked her finger in the mound and fished out a pebble, the clear difference in color and material against the others. "With all the fighting blasting the soil everywhere, I dug deeper to get an accurate sample of each. So, why would there be a mountain with a completely different soil?"

"That is highly unusual, but what if that mountain was formed much later?" Alec questioned her, an act Emily seemed to despise as she glared coldly, raising a fist.

Oscar swept in between and calmed her down. He pulled out a map and laid it on the ground for all to see. "I am also skeptical, but it's our only lead. Which mountain is it, Emily?"

According to Emily's coordinates, Oscar pinpointed the location to one of the mountains further up north, closer to the enemy's side of the region. It was already noted on the map, meaning it existed long before their time, so there was no way the soil would have been different. His sense of alert heightened, and he wondered…Did the enemy somehow replace the entire mountain? It seemed impossible to do so under the noses of the Empire and Pavillion, but he couldn't disregard the possibility.

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"Giles and Aidan, the two of you return to Frostveil City and inform the princess about Emily's findings. If we're correct, then that mountain shouldn't be unprotected." The two bowed and hurried out of the cavern, disappearing into the night. Oscar also rose from his seat and packed up his belongings, ordering everyone else to prepare for the journey north. The flames were killed, and only the faint moonlight peeped into the cavern, extending only to the short area around the entrance.

He ventured outside and was pelted by a shower of icy snow before his Ein Shroud flared, melting all snowflakes before they could reach him. Worried about an imminent battle, Oscar removed his wedding ring and stowed it carefully into a handkerchief before storing it in his space pocket. Any harm to the ring would be a slight on his marriage. After the rest of his Black Aegis Order exited the cavern, he nodded and mounted Erden, flying straight north.

The next morning, Oscar descended to avoid prying eyes, the morning being the most conspicuous time for a flying Mythical Beast. He led the others and stopped when he noticed four other figures approaching his order. One smiled and waved his hand, a golden pair of sun-like eyes along with flowing silver hair eye-catching to anyone anywhere, Charles. The other frowned deeply in contrast to Charles, his shaggy beard unmoving against the winds, and his eyes were as sharp as blades, Robert Raeven. Behind them, Giles and Aidan followed respectfully with their heads bowed.

"Hey, Oscar. I haven't seen you since you moved down south. It's been a while." Charles smiled cheerfully, pounding his hand on Oscar's shoulder. "The name of your Black Aegis Order strikes fear into the enemy. If only there were more of you to go around."

"Rather than relying on others, you should focus on yourself, dear prince. Help is good, but you must be reliable as well." Robert lectured.

"I know, you old man. How did you endure training under him for a month, Oscar?" Charles sighed deeply, crossing his arms and shaking his head.

"Good to see you two in high spirits. I won't have to worry much with the two of you backing us up." Oscar laughed.

"Shall we head to the mountain?" Robert spoke deeply, almost like a growl.

Enlivened by the addition of two Marshal Exalts, Oscar and the others followed them until the mountain Emily pointed out came into view. The mountain appeared identical to the others around it, covered in snow and similar in height; all in all, nothing out of the ordinary.

"This is the mountain," Emily nodded, holding a map.

"Our previous records indicate nothing found on this particular one. Then again, why should the enemy reveal themselves if we're passing by?" Charles flipped through a book, scrunching his brow. Closing the book with a loud clap, he smiled and gestured to Robert, "I don't believe stealth is the key here. We tried exploring in silence, only to find nothing. The time has come to be explosive. May I ask dear old Raeven to do what he does best?"

"Impertinent little prince. Fine." Robert bolted upward and unsheathed the large claymore from his back, violent flames concentrating along its edges, glowing bright orange and red. The old Raeven raised his claymore high, blazing winds swirling down from the sharp tip, and slashed down in the beautiful form of an elegant swordsman. A volcanic slash rushed across and sliced into the mountain, the snow turning into hot steam instantly, so powerful Oscar felt the heat reach him a good distance away.

The snow peeled away from the mountain, and the rock and dirt melted into lava, flowing down to create a moat of red underneath. The wildest sights showed themselves as the mountain melted and crumbled away, a series of black archways layered on top, from small to large, and rotated along the ground. A low buzzing beam of light extended from the top to the bottom, reaching a small portal.

"Is that…a portal?" Charles looked around. "What are these arches? It withstood Robert's sword."

"The Teragine. How the hell did they get their hands on this?" Oscar murmured.

"You know about this strange device?" Robert raised his voice. Everyone glanced at him, their eyes begging for the answer.

Oscar frowned and recalled one of Gol-4's designs. The Teragine was a unique and powerful tool created to convert areas into the environment of choice. Built atop a portal to another realm, it siphoned the laws, Ein, and environment to replicate the properties of the realm to the area around the Teragine, along with a healthy dose of outside Ein. Oscar explained further, "The point was to make areas in other unhabitable realms hospitable for people to live on. Ordinarily, the Teragine would be built to replicate Talos's properties in the realm. However, they're reversing the process here. The realm's properties inside that portal impose on our world."

"Can we break it?" Charles asked.

"No. As far as I know, only King Exalts can create these. These archways are beyond us to destroy." Oscar slowly cursed Gol-4 under his breath. Some of the genius designs remained for others to use. He grumbled for a while before sighing. His friend wasn't at fault. The Teragine was created to create homes for people, not to destroy entire places. A surge of anger flamed in his heart at whoever used one of Gol-4's more peaceful designs as a weapon.

"Then do we have no choice but to evacuate?" Charles frowned.

"No. The shutdown mechanism should be inside that portal. All they've done is mix poisonous Ein into the already freezing snow inside that realm. It's certainly similar to the Tundra Realm in our Pavilion." Oscar burned his Ein Shroud more, peering at the portal. "I can shut it off."

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