The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

"Not me, and not the Voltens. This horde has nothing to do with Reis. My hands are clean of it." Sirsi shrugged. "The New Dawn has other areas of interest besides Reis for the sake of creating stronger and better humans."

"Fusing elements into people?" Oscar recalled the young Quinn from the Burning Valley, an elemental human created from ash and dirt.

"Oh? You know about it?" Sirsi eyed him. "Elements is one route that is researched. The cause of all of the mayhem yesterday is the beastification experiment."

"Are they turning people into beasts?" Oscar growled. "I can only imagine the foul experiments you people must be doing."

"I said before, don't lump me in their lot. Even if you are in my good graces, it won't save you from a beating." Sirsi frowned, finding a place to sit among the rubble. "The Soulbond between human and beast is a unique connection between the cores, placing their lives on the same scales. But who wants that weakness and wishes to risk the absurdly low chance of forming the Blood Transmutation like you?"

Falling silent, Sirsi brightened with a smile and patted the seat beside her, seemingly inviting him to sit beside her, but Oscar remained still. Pouting, she crossed her legs and swayed her body softly to the breeze. "There is a laboratory under Orbis where the beastification experiments were conducted. The Guire Wildlands provide an ample amount of beasts and lost Exalts. The large insect that destroyed everyone is a released experiment, part of the deal made to the Undying Flame Sect."

"A deal? They wanted to slaughter their fleet?" Oscar couldn't believe they would sacrifice thousands if not hundreds of thousands.

"Not exactly. The deal was to destroy Orbis, not safeguard their soldiers and fleet. Technically, the New Dawn held up their end of the promise." Sirsi scoffed, mumbling about how idiotic the other side was. She leaped off her seat and floated closer, her short skirt fluttering, tempting glimpses of more enticing views, barely hidden.

Oscar didn't trust her. He raised his shield as a wall before her and dug his feet into the rubble, clenching his toes to explode with the fiercest Reis. Erden lowered his antlers, pointing the sharp ends directly at her, and slowly scrapped his hooves on the ground, prepared to buck forward. Sirsi sighed and stopped a few inches away from his shield, her gaze devoid of fear, shining with great clarity and will.

Sirsi cleared her throat and crossed her right hand over her heart, bowing slightly. "I offer you my help."

"Help…why should I trust you? How do I know this isn't a trap?" Oscar accused.

"Geez, why are you stubborn? I hope our child can be more open-minded." Sirsi said, descending to reach his eye level. She leaned forward, almost snarling. "I said nothing but the truth when we fought five years ago. Do you believe you can find your friends and soldiers in this heaping mess? All while the beasts hound you at every corner? Follow me, and you can stop it, then your search can go uninterrupted."

She sounded very convincing, each of her words stoking the images of his friends to flare up in his mind. He bit his tongue, drawing small hints of blood that tasted foul. He could reject her now and search on his own. But what would that achieve? Oscar felt his stomach churn at the decision he had reached. It was the only way to save as many as possible. Lowering his shield, he backed off several steps and silently nodded.

Sirsi made a silent cheer, lifting her arms high with a giddy smile. An enemy's joy hardly appealed to him. Losing patience, he rushed his sentence out, hot breaths of anger between each forceful word, "What. Is. Your. Plan?"

"We have to travel to the center of Orbis. The tunnelway down exists in one of the rooms. I have confidence it is still there." Sirsi pointed toward the center, a small group of towers still standing tall. "The New Dawn evacuated before the hordes arrived, but they left behind the control for the insect. By the way, its name is Velfen. If we can get to the control, I can shut down Velfen, and the hordes will either go away or eat each other."

"I assume there are other factors?" Oscar mounted Erden and ignored Sirsi's outstretched hand, her intention clear in wanting to join him on Erden's back.

Sirsi retracted her hand, clicking her tongue. She floated higher to keep speaking at eye level. "There are the beasts in your way. However, I'm afraid the situation is worse inside the laboratory. The other experiments might be roaming inside its walls. Don't underestimate them, they're powerful hybrids." She twirled to Oscar's front, avoiding Erden's antlers, smirking with an amused stare. "I'll help you fight through the obstacles and shut down Velfen. In exchange, I get to deepen our relationship. Isn't this a win-win for both of us?"

"Lead the way," Oscar avoided eye contact and talking any more than needed. Short words and lack of attention would cut down any attempts for her to engage in conversation. He turned and found she had gone missing, disappeared right before him, a horrifying action. Somehow, she escaped his and Erden's joined area of vision and senses without making a noise and right in front of him. He had seen many slippery Exalts, mainly assassins, but none came close to her.

"Don't run off. I'm here." Behind a wall, Sirsi leaped over, joining his side. During the short time she went missing, she had changed her clothes, no longer as skimpy as before. Long black pants replaced the short black skirt, and the shoulderless shirt switched out for a black formal coat, the long coattails stretching to her boots. She met his gaze and showed off her clothes, twiddling her fingers on the coattail. "Do you prefer this look? If you ever feel like you want it, then let me know."

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"Lead the way," He said again, more annoyed than before at her foolish antics.

Oscar kept a certain distance away, and Sirsi obliged, leading from the front, which was an odd move, exposing her back to him as her calm and steady pace in the air showed no signs of anxiety. Did she hold a great deal of confidence in her strength? Or did she believe he would not attack her at this crucial moment? Oscar considered attacking her right now, but one look above held him back, the sea of beasts in the sky halting his fist. While Sirsi was a terrifying enemy and a potential danger to Avril with that obsession, he could not cut down the only option to clear away this hell.

Something moved in the shadows, the slight sounds of stones cracking reaching his ears. Oscar jolted from the surprise and raised his shield, Erden's antler wings extending to cover his back. The faint clattering of rubble ceased. He didn't let his guard down and turned to the front, shocked again to find Sirsi gone. Once again, he lost track of her, the slippery woman confounding his senses again. Then, he felt her presence return, flaring from the left, so he retreated right, wary of her ambushes.

"There were some beasts in our surroundings. I took care of them. No need to thank me." Sirsi's hands were bloodied, fiddling with some blood-covered orbs in her palm. She wiped her hands clean and scrubbed the ores, removing the blood to reveal bright cores. Sirsi tossed the cores to Oscar, and he gazed at them intently, unsure of any insidious elements, and stored them away for later testing. A slight disgruntled sigh escaped Sirsi's lips as she passed him to lead the way from the front.

They walked the shattered paths, onto the streets of ruins, and past the fallen bridges. Underneath the shadows, they wandered far yet at a slow pace, still a great distance away from the center of Orbis's remains. Sirsi studied the sky and slowed to a stop, wandering her gaze around sideways and settling in a direction. She entered a broken chunk of a former building, a corner of the roof with a window that acted as the entrance. Confused, Oscar followed her inside, then was stunned at the spread of dead bodies dressed in ordinary clothing, civilians.

"It's getting late. We should rest and enter the laboratory tomorrow." Sirsi had no problems gathering the bodies into a pile in a corner, layering them on top of each other. Afterward, she rested her back flat on the floor and yawned deeply. "If you ever change your mind, I'm right here. I welcome your embrace at any moment."

Oscar grunted in response and rested in another corner, sitting beside Erden with his arms wrapped around his knees, the shield in his hand ready and waiting. Sirsi turned over to lay on her side, resting her head on her palm as her violet eyes locked onto him, an inviting and suggestive pose. He grew tired of her stare, and the silence was discomforting. He felt like a mouse trapped in a corner by a cat who only stared at him hungrily without acting.

Perhaps talking might help. The discomfort of Sirsi's silent stare was too unsettling, so he thought of something to bring up. There was one mystery he had wondered about ever since learning about the Voltens from Sevon, and this self-proclaimed jewel of the Voltens might know. He whispered, "Why are you so obsessed with the perfect Reis user?"

"Why?" Sirsi rose from the floor, dusted off her back and side, and sat down, facing him directly, her gaze no longer provoking but serious and straightforward. She pursed her lips and crossed her arms, tilting her head while closing her eyes, clearly struggling with something. She grumbled, "You are an outsider…" She seemed conflicted, but she shrugged and laughed, "Geez, since you're the future father of my child, you have a right to know."

While her reasoning was flawed, Oscar didn't retort like usual, wanting to keep her talking. "I find it odd. After thousands of years, after the countless deaths and lack of progress, your clan still keeps trying. With so many dead ends, why do you all persist?"

Sirsi was silent for a minute, then began speaking, "You say thousands of years, but in reality, we don't know how long the legacy goes back. Our blood goes back to even the savage ancient times before the Primal Council. There is a story passed down in the main line."

Her voice went soft like the breeze and came out as a hum. "From the blood of Talos, the one arose, upon his shoulders was placed the hopes of all. But calamity fell, and Talos broke; the one's resolve shattered and turned to dust. Time flowed, and ages moved on, but we endured, ready to bring out the one. With its coming, salvation will arrive, driving away the calamities of old, and Talos will sing once more."

"A prophecy? That is what binds you all to pursue this path?" Oscar asked.

"If you believe it to be foolhardy, that is your right. It is the dream of the Voltens. We are the descendants of the one, and we shall bring forth his second coming." Sirsi smiled. "So why not try to have a child with me? I'm certain they will have the perfect Reis body. If the prophecy is true, the child will be the savior of Talos. If not, you'll have a child of your own."

"Ridiculous. If you believe in the prophecy, then why do all this?" Oscar chided. "Why experiment, mutilate, deceive, and murder? If your so-called prophecy is true, it will happen when it should, not forced by your actions."

"How can a prophecy be realized if people do not work wholeheartedly for it?" Sirsi argued back, glaring at him. "Prophecy is progress. Idleness is stagnation."

They argued back and forth but found no consensus. Oscar tucked in and went asleep after hours of talking, Demon staying ready to take over at any time. Once morning struck, he exited the shelter and followed Sirsi, who was frowning, still angered by yesterday's arguments. After a few hours, they stopped, surrounded by a few intact towers, the rest being toppled over on their sides, barely retaining their shape. There was no sign of life in these ruins. Oscar hoped there would be people in these standing towers, yet only corpses welcomed him inside.

"Here it is. Pull this hatch open." Inside one of the towers, Sirsi went down to the cellar, removing the brick floor. A metal hatch became clear under the removed bricks, and Oscar pulled hard, the hinges groaning until the lid was opened. Sirsi took the lead and delved down the hole, floating until she landed on hard ground. She stepped aside, and Oscar landed with Erden, greeted by a dimly lit corridor lined by dozens of doors.

"Beastification Research Laboratory. Designation Orbis." Sirsi said. A loud howl shook the corridor, dust flying from the gaps between the bricks. Oscar clenched his shield as Sirsi wore her gauntlets. Water, fire, and gold came to their aid, and in the dimmed halls, several large figures stomped slowly toward them, faint sounds of dripping drool echoing, their eyes burning bright red with ravenous hunger.

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