The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Oscar stepped back, slowly increasing the distance between him and Sirsi. From the past week, he didn't have much of an impression of Sirsi. When she was designated to attend to him in the mornings, she performed her duties well. Other than that, nothing stuck out about her. She didn't have the same cheerfulness and passion as Arlen, nor did she exhibit the elegance and nobility of Eris. She was simple and plain. However, the way she behaved now tossed all of that aside.

"Who are you?" Oscar glanced left then right, seeing no one else waiting. Erden's senses enveloped the area, and nothing seemed alarming except the maid before him. Sirsi smiled widely, an unsettling grin compared to the usual slight ones she greeted him during the past week.

"This place is not ideal for us to talk. Let's change locations." Sirsi vanished. Not even the Prinstyct picked up a whiff of her movements, indicating one truth: she was using Reis. He caught the coattails of her movements, merely faint blurs here and there. Somehow, she avoided even the dual sight he shared with Erden. Her footsteps stomped around everywhere, riddling the floor with cracks and bursting winds in the air.

Tightening his stance, Oscar stopped trying to follow her lightning-fast movements and waited for the moment to counter her. Closing his eyes, he heard each distinct step, clicking and clanking, stomping and pushing. In the darkness of his world, flickers of light rippled from the source, the patterns of Sirsi's movements becoming clearer. He snapped wide open. After the long winding twists and turns around his blindspots, Sirsi rushed from the front, a strange action.

Before he could move, she threw something, a strange black diamond. It shattered into pieces like a piece of glass, and a dark vortex expanded outward in all directions. Oscar wanted to dodge, but the void touched him. Losing control, he found he was dragged backward into the center of the vortex like a helpless leaf in the wind. He reached out to grab at Erden, but his vision shifted. The street before his estate vanished, replaced by a stretch of plain ground, a bedrock of slate.

"What is this place?" Oscar peered around. The sky was clouded by a strange distortion, a strange fluttering curtain keeping the sunlight dim and blurry. The ground stretched on for what appeared to be an eternity, nothing but flat land. He switched visions with Erden and found he had disappeared completely from the estate, a deep, smooth crater standing in his previous location. He told Erden to hurry back to the Imperial Palace and inform the Pavilion Master of the situation.

"Worried? I wouldn't be." Sirsi stood behind him, twenty feet away. She untied her brown hair, letting the slight curls drape freely down her back and shoulders, and removed her headdress, dropping it lazily to the ground. In her confident voice, standing with a confident, straight figure, she said, "We need to talk."

"Are you from the New Dawn? I never expected you to be able to infiltrate past the Pavilion Master's eyes. Is the real Sirsi dead?" Oscar asked.

"New Dawn…so, you know about them. In a way, I suppose you can say I am, but not really. As for Sirsi, I am Sirsi. Allow me to introduce myself." Sirsi's body trembled, her limbs stretching out to the cracking of bones. Her slightly long and slightly curled hair changed colors to a golden blonde and grew further down to her waist, and her ordinary brown eyes gleamed powerfully into a violet hue. Her shirt sleeves no longer fit her wrists, only up to her forearms. The long skirt could not reach her ankles, showing parts of her calves, and her top buttons came undone, revealing her white collarbone and cleavage.

Even Oscar had to admit she was a devastating beauty on par with Isabella and Celestina. Sirsi's bewitching eyes sharpened on her narrow face as her red lips parted into a captivating smile. She tossed her hair behind her shoulders and cracked her joints, emphasizing her figure. "I am Sirsi Volten. Nice to meet you. Are you entranced by what you see?"

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"A Volten…what difference is there between you and the New Dawn?" Oscar ignored her last question. He stomped forward, exploding his Ein outward and wrapping his arms in Pseudoguise. "You all perform the same vile experiments."

Sirsi seemed uncomfortable and pulled on her sleeves, ripping them off to the base of the shoulders. "Don't compare the Voltens to the New Dawn. We're merely allies working for a similar goal. They do far more than experimenting on Reis. Our purpose has always been to create the perfect Reis user. Then that led us to you. We've been watching you ever since you returned to the Farsky Continent."

"Curious how you've been accomplishing that…." Oscar frowned deeply.

"No need to be concerned. We pulled out a while ago." Sirsi laughed. He doubted the validity of her words and clenched his fists, readying himself for an attack. Sirsi rested her cheek on her palm, seemingly interested in his movements. "Even now, there's not a speck of pain on your face. Your heartbeat is as normal as it can possibly be. That caught our attention, and after some digging, we realized you were a perfect Reis user."

"So what now? I'm the ideal your clan has always pursued." Oscar asked.

"That's the problem!" Sirsi clapped her hands together. "The moment we discovered your true powers, a big argument ensued amongst the Voltens. Some said we needed to kill you and harvest your body for study. A few said you were too extreme of a case to study and to leave you alone. However, a tiny fraction wanted to invite you to join us."

"Never. I will never join you." Oscar refused. "And which side did you fall under?"

"Killing you is too much of a waste, and frankly, I don't see much progress in experimenting on you. I can't leave you alone, either. But, you can't be a Volten; even the orphans we used to pick up in the past had to undergo a process from a young age to be inducted into our clan." Sirsi smiled charmingly, the kind Oscar felt was asking for a request. "There is one way I can help you if you can help me."

"Give and take? What are you offering?" Oscar never let his guard down.

"I offer you freedom. The New Dawn will never hurt you, and I will personally ensure a peaceful life for you." Sirsi offered an enticing reward, but he feared what she wanted. She stepped closer, nearing halfway in a single step, leaning forward seductively. "Give me a child."

"A child?" Oscar was startled, shaken for a second.

Sirsi patted her flat stomach like a mother and chuckled, "What's so surprising? For many years, the Voltens have mixed talented bloodlines together, all to bring about the perfect Reis user. And they must come from a Volten, no matter what. I am from the purest lines, and together with your bloodline, we can bring forth the true Volten savior."

Crazy. Absolutely crazy. From the look in Sirsi's violet eyes, Oscar could tell she had no emotional feelings of love or attachment, only the zeal and passion to have a child all for her clan. Stepping backward, he felt the danger emanating from her and brandished his shield early. Serena's attempts to seduce him and attract his attention paled in comparison to the intensity of Sirsi.

"What do you think?" Sirsi emphasized her lust-inducing figure, a slight flush on her shoulders and cheeks. "It's a win-win for you. The New Dawn and Voltens will ignore you, and you'll bed the finest woman of the Voltens."

Unaffected by her seduction, Oscar scoffed and fired a Golden Burst, but Sirsi deflected it with a swipe of her hand so nonchalantly it heightened the danger Oscar sensed from her. She was certainly a horrifying opponent. But there were some lines he would never cross. "Sorry, I have standards. And only my wife meets them."

"Really? How unfortunate. I tried so hard to attract your attention. Purposely tripping to have you hold me, putting on the timid act since you seemed more favorable to that, and admiring every little action you make." Sirsi listed. Everything before had been an act. "I even tried to imprint on you in your dreams, but for some reason, you kept resisting."

"That shadowy woman was you?" Oscar accused her.

"Shadowy? Is that how you saw me? That spell is supposed to work well to fill in one's heart, but to be unable to see my face clearly…I'm interested in what sort of woman invokes such devotion in you." Sirsi sighed and put on a pair of gauntlets that went up to her elbows. Her playful and seductive demeanor changed as a battle-hardened expression overtook her, eyes sharpened and staring straight ahead. "Negotiations have broken down. But I still have one last thing to confirm. How's your Reis?"

Her Ein escalated, flapping her loose clothes and hair around. The display of power revealed her Exolsia to be Grade Eight. A Grade Eight Exolsia and a Reis user…Oscar never faced such an overwhelming foe except for one, Adam. But now, this woman was here for more than a simple training spar. Oscar readied himself and rushed forward.

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