The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Oscar woke up and coughed into his hand, splotches of blood pooling on his palm. The taste of blood couldn't mask the foul bitterness he tasted. Another night and another nightmarish hell in his dreams, the horrid visions haunting him in every sleeping moment. Lying down was more uncomfortable. After fidgeting for a few moments, he decided to get out for some fresh air. Rustling out of the fur bed, Oscar stepped on the ice and immediately felt weak, his legs shaking as they fell to his knees.

Cracks spread along the ice, and Oscar clutched his legs as his breath ran short, rushed, and frantic. He glanced at his right leg, then his left, both refusing to heed his orders. Oscar knew from the start that Volten's measures were only temporary. The old warrior had warned him that he must overcome what he refused to face, but that was easier said than done. Those memories were too much to bear. Clenching hard, he pulled his right knee off the ice and stomped his foot, the shoe crunching on bits of ice. Strength welled up in them again. Calmly, he rose, inching his body higher and higher until he stood straight, shifting his feet slowly to ensure they worked.

Taking a long piece of fur, Oscar cloaked himself in it and headed outside, where Fenu was discussing some matters with the ten division captains. Oscar's heavy footsteps that bashed onto the ice and forced breathing raised their heads as they turned toward him. Met by the gleaming eyes of worship and awe, he considered leaving right now, but unfortunately, he needed them. He gritted his teeth, his worry and anxiety bubbling in his stomach and chest like an acid reflux. 'Fine.' He told himself. 'Only this once.'

"Young lord, you look…unwell." Fenu raised an eyebrow but quickly recovered to a respectful look. "We have been considering our next move. But our young lord should decide these matters."

Oscar found a boulder to sit on and regarded each of the division captains with a second glance. Each had done well to progress to their current realms and had ample experience in battles as well. He listened with his enhanced senses, picking up the echoing whistles of wind passing by the corridors of frost and ice, close to a beast's roar, enough to fool an idiot. There was nothing in the vicinity. So, Oscar relaxed and looked at Fenu, who waited for him in the foremost position.

"Describe your past year in Fallen Heaven." Oscar wondered how all eleven of them came to the same place. And the answer sorely disappointed him. Fenu explained how they arrived in the same location, expressing his deep relief at having them together from the start. But that irked Oscar. His anger rose as he hid his clenched fists under his sleeves. It was weird. He and Avril should have ended up together from all they had been through, owing to their fated meeting years ago in Shattirma. However, fate was particularly cruel as well. He knew better than anyone of that fact.

'What horrible future is fate planning? I need to find her beforehand.' As his mind rumbled with storms of worries, Oscar let out a cold, white air from his lungs and asked, "Have you heard any news of my wife?"

"Your wife? Oh! You mean the young lady!" Fenu clapped his hands, applauding Oscar. "We always thought the two of you should be together. Right, Desmond?"

"Aye! I sometimes wondered if they were ever going to pair up!" Desmond let out a boisterous laugh, smacking his knees in clear glee. "Was a real shock that Asher and I got together before them." Next to him, Asher patted his shoulder and smiled behind her sleeve, delight beaming from her curled eyes.

"I guess no one has seen her…." Oscar deflated, envious of Desmond and Asher, who found each other immediately. While he was glad for them, his heart itched in discomfort, like something caught in his throat, irritable and nauseating. What determined that he and Avril be separated? What determined that he meet the wanderer, Sirsi, and Volten? His thoughts trailed away as he watched the others laughing heartily. It grated on his nerves, which were unable to let go of the daunting feeling that everything had gone awry.

"Do not worry, young lord. If anyone knows the young lady, it's you. And we all know how she is." Fenu seemed to notice his darkening mood and quickly spoke up to placate Oscar.

"It's fine. I'll find her in the eleventh land." If fate was real, then it should not deny him from seeing his wife, and whatever cruelty it might hide or have planned for them afterward, he vowed to break it. Oscar steeled himself for what was surely to come. Glancing at Fenu again, he asked, "What plans have you come up with so far, my old advisor?"

"Let me show you something," Fenu urged.

Having no other option, Oscar went after Fenu, the others following swiftly from behind. They passed by several dazzling chambers naturally carved into the ice, probably formed by countless years of winds boring into the mountain. Thus far, there were no enemies or beasts lurking in the icy maze. After many twists and turns, up being down, and an endless trek through the frosted corridors, Fenu gestured ahead. Oscar entered the gap in the cavern wall and shivered as a chill brushed past his fur cloak.

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Surrounding himself in a shroud of Ein, Oscar lost his breath, sweeping his gaze beyond the small ledge he stood on, feet by the cliffside. Down below and stretching to fill the entire chamber were more elemental ores for water users, particularly those using ice. In the center of the chamber was a small lake of shimmering water, stars dancing on its calm surface, sparkling to brighten the room. Leaping down, he knelt by the lake's glacial shore and dipped his hand in. White frost wafted as a mist, turning his fingers pale and blue, ice forming on his pores, easily undone by flames. The finest quenching water for finishing grade-four armaments was before him.

With this, his worries about properly crafting armaments for everyone were solved. Oscar widened his eyes at the large crystal, thirty feet wide, long, and high, soaked in the lake's depths, glowing a white light. Every few seconds, crackles of Ein buzzed along its surface, arcing from one spot to another. What a find. It was a dense crystal of pure Ein, a nexus of flowing Ein. Already, his thoughts turned to Auren, the formation genius, who needed a power source of Ein for greater formations. The crystal could be the source required to create a defensive formation to hide away and weather the rest of Fallen Heaven.

'I'll have to find him too.' Oscar regarded Fenu with a questioning gaze. "Why haven't you gathered them up yet?"

"There's too much. Our space pockets aren't enough to hold all of them. We set out every so often to find others to hunt and take their space pockets, but we're still quite lacking." Fenu sighed and glanced at the vast land of treasure, clearly unwilling to let it go.

"Right. I had forgotten." Oscar took out his dimensional cube. Fenu and the others went wide-eyed and silent in awe. Oscar gathered all the ores, scooped up the lake with the bed of ice under it, and carefully separated the crystal from its depths, storing them all inside with space left to spare. Once finished, he coughed at the gawking captains, grabbing their attention. "Is there any more?"

"None, young lord. We stayed for this treasure, and frankly, we're tired of staying inside this maddening maze." Fenu smirked.

"Young lord, with your permission, may we set out east?" Fen, Fenu's granddaughter, quickly clarified, "It's not in the direction of the tower, but when I was out scouting, I heard news of a great structure being discovered. Many others have gone to gather."

Oscar grabbed his chin, stroking the small patch of beard that had grown. He weighed the options. Setting out to a place where many gathered could be a good way to find others or even possibly Avril, but he was being hunted, and probably everyone knew his face. It was strange. It bothered him. Did fate allow the people to bring the bounty papers with his face into Fallen Heaven? Quite insidious, the so-called fate. The Divine Enforcers, including Cel and Lelith, were out there, searching for him.

During the long silence, the others sat by him as he pondered. He didn't want to do many things, but Oscar had to find his wife. "We're leaving. Go the structure."

"As you command. The Azure Sea Company will fight for you as we had done many decades ago." Fenu let out a short shout, and the others joined in the war cry. Oscar hid his frown, forcing his lips flat. They set out on a long trek past the icy wonders of the underground and reached the exit.

Outside, a snowstorm approached, great white icy clouds rumbling and brewing in the distance that shortened by the second, gaining speed and trembling the tundra. Oscar lifted his left arm and stared blankly at the white sleeve. He had forgotten he sacrificed his shield to escape the battle against Cel. Fenu shouted as the others started to exit the caverns, and they all organized themselves around Oscar, brandishing their weapons and surging their Eins, the snow dispersing away underneath.

A howl reverberated across the land, rippling the snow in waves as the clouds cleared, revealing a pack of great wolves. Their white fur was eyecatching as it brushed by the falling snow, sunlight glancing on its ends to wreath them in a light, seemingly divine. The wolf at the front, the largest and strongest, pounced ahead, bursting through the sky and landing before Oscar's group. It landed so softly that its paws merely scrunched on the snow. It growled, eyeing everyone before landing a sharp gaze on Oscar, its pupils enlarging in clear interest.

'You are Oscar Terr. I smell the touch of the Primaere Solara on your body.' The white wolf spoke in beastly growls.

"Who are you?" Oscar asked. Beside him, Fenu looked confused but turned his attention to an encircling wolf.

'I am Gnar, the great fang hailing from the line of Fenrir, the first wolf.' Gnar howled, joined by the others of his small pack, their heads lifting as if kissing the sky. Desmond lifted his axe, ready to cleave one, but Oscar grabbed him and shook his head. They were friends. In a beastly growl, the wolf retracted his fangs and stared deeply into Oscar, great eyes akin to moons glowing a mellow light. 'The Lands of Zeret stands by your side. Ride on my back, human. Our packs are now one.'

"We are heading out to a structure discovered east. Take us on your backs. We have strength in numbers." Oscar ran his hand down the back of Gnar's ear, much like how he would pet a dog. Gnar growled lowly in clear delight and sunk to the ground, his belly touching the ground. Oscar got on Gnar's back, the white fur soft and warm despite all the snow falling on it earlier. He grabbed the longest parts of its fur and secured himself on its back. Seeing the others get on without an issue, Oscar called out, "Stay close and never stray for other reasons. We run if we have to. Stay alive."

His Azure Sea Company raised their weapons in a great cheer, accompanied by the wolves' howls. Man and beast, they leaped over the icy hills and rushed through the vast tundra, clouds trailing behind. Before long, they approached their target.

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