The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

'Why?' Oscar asked himself as he gnashed his teeth. 'Why the hell is this happening?' Staring at the unwanted Sirsi, he recalled the wanderers' words on fate and the intertwining of destinies in Fallen Heaven. From the wanderer, then to the stragglers of Shattirma who attacked him, and to this horrid woman–they were all concerns, enemies, and absolute fanatics out to get him. Fate seemed desperate, pushing him onward a path he had abandoned, a path of war and conflict. Oscar grimaced, veins writhing, near popping out from the skin of his neck as his anger erupted.

He had come here for only one thing: to find Avril. Any more was distraction and obstacles to cross.

Demon acted as if answering his anger and swiped his sword from the side, driving a blue fire into Sirsi, who put up her gauntlets in defense. The massive water barrier, softened into a jelly-like substance by her Meld, distorted, and she lifted a brow in clear shock. Demon's burning sword cut through, the bubbles screeching in a hiss as the sword plunged deeper. Several scarlet blades, covered in blue flames, impaled her barrier. They couldn't reach deep enough to pierce through before the waters extinguished their flames and shattered their forms.

"I knew it. Geez, I can only imagine Aiden's face. So that's where the rest of the Heart of Flame went." Sirsi bounced off a bubble, dodging Demon's relentless chase, not a sweat broken on her cheerful face yet. Her figure danced in the air as her blonde hair fluttered freely. From her right gauntlet, several blue swords, condensed into a sapphire sheen, presumably from the Line, shot down, matching Demon's scarlet blades in number. Oddly, despite the boost from the sharp blue flames, Demon's swords could not overcome hers.

'Demon.' Oscar relayed it. Sirsi's right hand increased the sharpness of her water. Her Meld was quite tricky. The left represented defense, and the right represented offense.

'I know.' Demon retreated as the consuming flames met the torrential waters. The opposing elements devoured each other into a cloud of steam, easily dispersed by the ensuing shockwave of Ein. More cracks spread and checkered along the dry wastes. Then, a drizzle fell overhead, raining on the remains of their battle. Demon slashed once to release a powerful heat, which evaporated all hints of water and dampness, preventing her from creating her ideal environment. In a cold voice, he asserted, 'You have to join in to fight her. That or switch and let me hold the main body to fight at full.'

"Now we have a moment to talk. Can we talk?" Sirsi smiled and let out a satisfied sigh, brushing her hair as if leaving a relaxing shower. "It's no loss, right? Geez. There are limits to fighting all the time. I just dealt with an annoying bastard from Shattirma." She drew in a deep breath and bowed, shocking Oscar with her next words. "Sorry for targeting your wife. If possible, relay my apologies to her."

"More deceit?" Oscar asked.

"No! No! I admit that at that moment, I behaved harshly. But I really needed to have you. Geez, I wasn't going to kill her or anything." Sirsi grumbled, snapping her violet eyes below. She punched in a familiar stance and unleashed a devastating Shattering Wave, rapid tides riding the ripping force. Demon had attempted a surprise attack by shooting flames from below, but she caught on fast. The ground under her erupted into a geyser of hot steam, and she leaped forward, drawing closer. "I still have my Prinstyct activated. Anyway, back to the main topic. Fifty years ago, I hoped to have a child fast and prepare them to go to Fallen Heaven. Who better to come here than the Volten Savior?"

"More ravings from a mad woman. You hurt my wife. You threaten my children. Make no mistake. If there is any fate between us, it is me killing you." Oscar grew more frustrated as Sirsi smiled widely from his threats. A magnetic pulse washed over the area like a tide onto a shore, a low hum resounding under the earth.

"See! That's why it has to be you!" As the earth quaked, Sirsi clapped in earnest applause. Mockery to his ears, considering it came from a lunatic. She seductively licked her red lips and threw aside her cloak, revealing a provocative shirt that revealed more than it hid, even exposing her stomach, and a skirt that swayed just above her knees. "Even if it can't be during Fallen Heaven, our child can be the hero during the aftermath of the Great Scouring. If we have one now, they'll be ten by the end."

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'Boy. Let me try to speak.' Ignyres manifested into the real world, stunning Sirsi, who stared blankly at the Ancient of Fire. She bowed and greeted Ignyres in a respectful tone he had never heard from her. Ignyres cackled and levitated over, circling her as his three orbs slowly rotated, indicating his scrutiny. "Ah, no wonder. Girl, your Volten blood is quite pure. If you and the boy have a child, the chances are high that the child will be the savior you want."

"Right! Geez, you understand it well, Lord Ignyres." Sirsi laughed and puffed her chest out proudly. "It is for the Ancients that we must create the Volten Savior. How else will Talos be saved from the clutches of the Caerulumen? Please convince Oscar."

'Why are you encouraging her?' Oscar lifted a finger, forming five dense platinum orbs with a reddish tinge, light turning red along their outlines no matter where he rotated them. They distorted the air around them, leaving their shapes malformed to the naked eye. For several decades, he attempted to combine the primordial flames that formed his flame spells into his metal spells. Every try resulted in horrible backlash and instability of the combined spell, often exploding before him. Demon had also failed in uniting normal flame and metal using the Line, but he was not his rough counterpart. After several decades, he figured out how to force the two elements into a single Line as he invoked the spells.

'Hold on! Let me try something!' Ignyres hissed through thoughts. The Ancient of Fire turned back to Sirsi and said, "True, the Volten Savior can channel all of our powers and become something greater, the true sword of Talos that destroys its enemies." Sirsi seemed uplifted as Oscar grimaced but held back, wondering what Ignyres had in mind. Ignyres said gravely, "That was then. This is now. The flames are ever-changing. I do not want the Volten Savior. Let the people of Talos rise to fight the battle we, in our idiocy, could not finish."

"What?" Sirsi tilted her head in confusion. Her eyes went round, paralyzed and unblinking.

"You can play a part, girl. But not in the way you believe. Burn passionately to fight your enemies, not to pass it off to your child. If your flames do have to pass on to the next, it would be for your sake, not for prophecy or sacred duty." Ignyres extended out his fiery hand.

Silence crept and settled in the wasteland. Sirsi slumped to her knees and stared widely at the Ancient of Fire's hand. Oscar felt that if anyone had seen this scene, they might have felt pity for her, who had her entire world broken by the words of one she considered a god. But pity? If anything, Oscar felt nothing for her other than the use she might have if Ignyres's words converted her to his side, a tool to be used and tossed aside. He narrowed his eyes and silently improved the aim of his glowing platinum orbs, intent on creating gaping holes through her body at a moment's notice.

"No…it's all lies. Your mind must be daft since countless millennia after the war, Lord Ignyres." From meek words to her former vibrancy, she rose to her feet and grasped Ignyre's burning neck as her voice gained strength. A dangerous, crazed glint brightened her dull eyes. "Geez, the war must have been so horrible to destroy your thinking. As I thought, the Volten Savior must come to be, or else more will suffer from what broke an Ancient."

'Nope! It's not working! Go for it! She's beyond saving!' Ignyres cried out in Oscar's mind. She had gone against one of her gods.

Oscar didn't waste a second, firing the glowing platinum orbs that fired in a straight trajectory from all angles, already having surrounded her prior. To his left, Demon swept in and clutched his sword back, bright blue light flaring on its tip. Sirsi let go of Ignyres, her gauntlets shining as her gauntlet anima expanded and overlapped on her body, the Integration. However, he timed it well and knew she placed no defenses. The time between her Integration and a counter was not enough to block his spells that reached near her head.

However, the ground roared and caved in, sinking everyone into a new chasm, the depths unfathomable and hidden from sight, resting in the dark. As the winds of his fall brushed roughly on his skin, Oscar held onto his wheelchair and reached out to Demon. But something gripped his leg, metals rattling in a clinking tune. Oscar stared down and saw chains binding his feet, his eyes widening, stunned by the sight of the chains extending deep down the chasm, its origins shrouded in darkness. What was below? What was dragging him down? Sirsi was also chained and dragged along with him.

'Ignyres!' Oscar shouted inwardly.

'I don't know! But hang on! I don't believe that darned buckethead will allow any harm to befall you until you meet him!' Ignyres retreated, reappearing in his inner space.

The further they fell, the more the light from the surface dimmed before darkness overwhelmed them. Oscar fell further and deeper into parts unknown. He could only hold on and await his so-called fate.

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