The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Oscar took a harsh step forward, intent on reaching Avril before the dark tower truly opened. But it was futile. A glint of light shone on the tower's black walls, small yet distinct to the naked eye. Following that, several more flashes of light glinted, and more and more, until the entire dark tower shimmered, replicating the stars in the night. Oscar clutched his ears, as did everyone else. A great high-pitched noise rang in across the entire eleventh land. He tried to shout but couldn't hear his own words, lost in the overwhelmed air. Staggering, he stumbled and fell on a shoddy wall of stones, easily broken by his heavy body.

Lying in a bed of rubble, Oscar strained to resist the ache that grew in his head, his veins pushing out and writhing in pain. Suddenly, a beam of light reached one of his men, connected directly to one of the starry glints on the dark tower. The man turned to Oscar and nodded, clasping his hands and bowing as his visage stretched. He was pulled away by the light and carried to the dark tower. More beams, or rather, tunnels of light, spilled over, landing precisely on everyone. Oscar crawled and felt his heart rattling against his ribcage, but the noise and the immense weight of the Ein shackled him to the ground.

Light showered on him, forcing him to squint. Oscar gave up and faced the dark tower, his stomach squeezing, a familiar sensation of entering a teleportation formation or a portal. The grassy plains underneath blurred into a green ocean, the light whirred in rhythm, and a tiny speck of black emerged in the center. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. Oscar felt as if his entire body had been stretched to fine thinness to squeeze into that tiny speck. Gasping, Oscar, his eyes closed, palmed his chest and breathed deeply, in and out. Regaining his calm, he opened his eyes and beheld what he believed to be the height of arrogance.

He stood on the floor, diamonds shining in the crevices between each crystalline tile that seemed to swirl with a lively light, and he looked up. The ceiling, so far up, was a mountain's height away, and the floor spanned the base of two mountains. Standing, more of the Caerulumen's statues, carved in their own supposed divine image, lined the walls and reached the ceiling. Blue robes of the finest silk covered their figures; the amount of cloth and silk required staggering Oscar. One was enough cloth to supply an entire city, yet here, there were hundreds of statues garbed in such robes that stretched a mountain's length. The room was so clear and clean that he saw from one end to the other, not a single spot on the walls missing a statue.

'There is no sky without them. They are the sky.' Oscar interpreted it as such. The statues held up their hands and supported the ceiling that depicted the two suns in a beautiful array of gold, red, and orange colors and a blue sky comprised entirely of what appeared to be sapphires. The statues looked down on the floor with faint smiles, which, to Oscar, seemed more like smirks, the arrogance radiating from their divine visages. A violent howl pierced the silence, and Oscar pulled out Volten's sword that shook in his grip.

"I know you're angry. But we're not here for that." Oscar fastened Volten's sword to his back and checked his dimensional cube. Other than the treasures he gifted to his loyal followers and friends, the rest of the contents were secure. His brow raised in confusion at one item that should not have been there. Oscar pulled out a necklace of a seven-pointed star that once belonged to Evelyn, Issac's first wife and a Caerulumen. "You….Were you hiding?" He was certain the necklace had not been in his dimensional cube after Fallen Heaven marooned him in the wasteland ten years ago. Now, of all times, it decided to reveal itself.

"I don't know what you're here for. But if you have Evelyn's will, and if she truly loved Issac, then you won't stand in my way." Oscar received no response from the necklace, the star dangling without purpose on its thin laces. He didn't trust it, so he put it back inside his dimensional cube and stepped forward. A liberating sensation, akin to a low tide, washed over him, his body relaxing in celebration as his skin tingled to the fresh freedom. Oscar kicked off the ground and soared high, staying afloat. Apparently, flying was allowed here. Good, he licked his lips and sped across the long hall, searching for a way downward.

'You feel it, boy? I do. That lump of metal is beneath us.' Ignyres spoke in short words, bursts of flames erupting each time the Ancient opened his nonexistent mouth. Ignyres was clearly excited.

'Yes.' Oscar peered downward and entered a set of spiral stairs, the walls maintaining their arrogant height. Long ago, in the Lands of Zeret, he delved deep into a pit and entered a chamber at the bottom where he first met Metures. Everyone else's goal was surely to climb up to the peak, but he needed to descend. Oscar clenched his hands and gritted his teeth, increasing his speed. Finally, after decades, he would meet Metures and confront him. The Ancient of Metal had so much to answer for, and he sought an explanation.

"Wah!" Auren shouted to the top of his lungs and leaned on the smooth, cold wall, allowing the soothing chill to calm his heart. He flopped on the floor, choking on the air before his throat opened and freed his lungs. The sensation of passing through that speck was anything but pleasant. However, he lost his breath again at the incredible sight of the tall ceiling with giant statues propping it up while garbed in the finest clothing he had ever seen. Whistling, Auren clapped and laughed, pleased by the echo, and whistled several more times.

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"Wait! This isn't the time to play." Auren smacked his own face and rummaged in his space pocket, pulling out scrolls of paper and palm leaves. The plan had to begin the moment he stepped inside. Confirming the configuration he needed, Auren stowed the scrolls away and studied the great walls, murmuring as he tapped, spreading some Ein into the walls. The results of the feedback were satisfying, and he smirked, "Ok, Ok. This can do."

"What is it?" Someone called out.

"Woah!" Auren staggered and nearly fell before gripping the toe of a statue for support. Turning his head, he exclaimed at the woman with brown hair and blue eyes accompanied by the man with the same features. "Young miss! Young master! I am glad to see the two of you are safe." He bowed and hummed.

"Safe? We've just arrived. We can talk about safety once we're out of here." Renn already had his black sword at the ready, sweeping a scrutinizing gaze over the impossibly large halls. "I need to find Renee."

"Calm down, Renn." Gloria tapped her brother's shoulder and approached Auren. "So what are you doing?"

"The Lord, your father, has instructed me to create a vital formation inside the dark tower. I am looking for key points in its interior to plant my nodes. This entire building is amazing! A good city rests on a vein of Ein, but here, it's as if the entire building is the vein of Ein. This stone has Ein coursing through every part of it. Every little bit!" Auren tapped the wall again, reconfirming his observation. "I'll have a great easy time setting up my formation."

"Hmm. He did order everyone to stall the enemies and waste their strength. Is it for your formation?" Renn remarked.

"Precisely!" Auren sharpened Ein on his fingers and cut his palm, spilling blood on a certain spot he had picked out. "I was worried that I needed something more substantial, but with the Ein so free and flowing through every fiber of this place, a blood mark will be enough." He scurried to the opposite wall and took ten steps along its length, marking another spot in blood. Auren smiled as his blood seeped into the stone, hidden until needed.

"Young miss, young master. Can I ask you to accompany me?" Auren patted his chest. He required some degree of protection.

"Oh? Don't think I don't know your motive." The young miss jabbed a finger into his cheek. "You're already red from your impure thoughts."

"Huh?" Auren jolted as if shocked by lightning and scratched the back of his head, averting his eyes from the young miss's inquisitive stare. Truth be told, he hoped to see the lovely Miss Maia again, and the chances of that were high if he kept the young miss and young master close by. 'You're safe now.' His heart thumped as he recalled her figure, wreathed in flames, clutching his body from the watery prison with a smile and the final comforting words.

"Well, whatever. As if Aunt Maia would ever agree." The young miss changed her tune and smiled, "Then, let's go. We have to set up the formation, right?"

"Yes!" Auren laughed and rushed ahead, followed by the other two. They flew up and down, planting blood marks inside the key points he spotted. Turning the corner to ascend the spiraling stairs, Auren exclaimed and waved to Santen, who entered from another entrance, "Santen. I'm glad to see you."

"I'm the one who should be glad. To see Auren, the young miss, and the young master together safe and sound is a joyous occasion." Santen chortled in his strange clicking laughter, brushing his wide hand over his bushy green hair. Before Auren could say something, Santen's fish-like eyes snapped to the side, and he felt a long pair of arms wrap around him and carry him away. A sharp glint of a long edge flashed as the ringing of a blade tolled their presumed doom if they had stayed in that spot.

"Santen. We need to go." Auren tried to pull the Third, but Santen stood firm.

"No. Go ahead, Auren. There is no helping it, but I can only protect you this way. As my Lord decreed, I shall open the path for you to go forward." Santen strode forward and faced the woman who emerged from the entrance to the spiraling stairs. Her indifferent eyes were darker than the sky of the final night, her long black hair swayed to her ankles, and her large scythe seemed to split the air itself in a casual swing. Auren remarked at her beauty, but horror struck him as he realized her identity. She was Lelith Lilisa, the Grade Nine Exolsia of the Triheaven Elyisum and the leader of the Marshal Exalt Divine Enforcers.

"We meet again, strange man of long arms. Last time, you interrupted me. So now, I shall ensure you can't do so anymore." Lelith's voice was like a thousand needles piercing his ears. No human should ever have a voice so detached yet brimming with cold annihilation.

"Young miss, young master. Please take of yourselves and Auren. I shall hold back this person." Santen clapped his hands together and narrowed his fish-like eyes. Auren had never seen them in any state other than wide and round.

"S-Santen. Don't say it as if you're going to–" Die. Auren gulped the word back down.

"Leave!" Santen shouted.

Auren gritted his teeth, stuck on a decision. The young miss and young master decided for him and dragged him away. Auren bit his lips and stared at the back of the man they called the Third, the one who had taken care of him the most out of the group. "Santen! Don't die!" He pleaded, but Santen didn't turn back, his attention solely on Lelith. However, a simple thumbs up was all he had to see.

…….

"Lelith Lilisa," Santen sighed and smiled, chuckling in a series of clicks. "There is no way forward for you here."

'My Lord. Forgive me. I don't think I can keep my promise.' Santen couldn't look back since a single moment of opening could spell his death. 'However, I will ensure Auren has the time to escape. But before then…' He voiced his last thoughts, "I will show you that even you aren't invincible."

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