The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

'The Ancestral Mark.' Wary, Oscar backed away several feet, still contained within the shifting confines of the cubes as they zipped by, their previously distinct cubic form now streaks of blurs, near vanishing in the air. The speed appeared to have doubled or tripled past its norm, beyond his expectations, mere trails of powdery snow reminding him the cubes existed. Several shrieks of twisted metal forced him to act. He slid on the snow and spun in the air as threads whistled past, one near his earlobe, almost cutting into his flesh.

To his shock, the threads shifted angles and slashed toward him at all angles as if he were a fish caught in a net. Rousing the blue flames, Oscar and Demon cleaved at the threads with sword and drill. Their toughness attracted his attention. The blue flames that once easily parted the threads in a split second took a fraction longer, momentarily struggling to cut down the spell. Back to back with his alter ego, Oscar watched the threads retract and rush back at a faster pace, the lag between the retraction and propulsion shorter as well.

From the corner of his eye, Oscar focused on the shining mark of a crown on Cel's forehead, radiating a vast, ancient power and pressure that would silence many Exalts. The Ancestral Mark was truly a cheat. He grumbled and fired dozens of scarlet-platinum blades, all easily broken and shattered by Cel's spear. The dense Ein concentrated on the spear tip went beyond the normal limits Oscar had seen from other Grade Eights. The loud thumping in his ears bothered him, his heart racing in response to the heavy pressure brought on by the Ancestral Mark. But Oscar slammed his palm onto his chest and quelled the incessant beating.

Clearheaded, Oscar observed Cel. The Ancestral Mark was a special power that could only appear on descendants of active Primaeres. Still, even so, the chances of awakening the mark were very low, low enough for many Primaere bloodlines to end without a single person with a mark. According to Carcoatl's information, there were only a handful of people with Ancestral Marks, five in the Marshal Exalt realm, the purpose of the Primanomachy being to uncover the identities of the marked. In a way, Gol-4 had some sense in having twenty wives and countless children; an Ancestral Mark might have been the difference in the war. Pity he never had a descendant awaken one.

Oscar dodged several more platinum spears, relying on the double vision with Demon to catch the sight of them shooting from afar. He predicted their courses and shifted his stance to deflect the few he couldn't avoid. The Ancestral Mark elevated the control and quality of Ein, increasing the toughness, speed, sharpness, and casting of spells. It also acted as a second reservoir of Ein, a backup stored prior to battle. What a damned cheat. Oscar gritted his teeth and tugged on his shield, several threads intertwining and binding around the thick buckler. Cunningly, Cel layered them to withstand Oscar and Demon's onslaught for a little longer.

Long spears and more threads launched themselves at him. The delay brought by the binding threads was enough for them to close in faster to pierce into his body. Oscar stamped his foot and clenched his fist, his arm reddening from the blood rushing into his hardened muscles. They dared believe they could hold back a master of Reis. Oscar smirked and snapped his arm forward, bringing the threads and cubes hurtling toward the incoming onslaught. The bindings on the threads slackened as the spears impaled the cubes. Oscar escaped and rushed out of the opening, bolting straight for Cel.

Demon arrived first, encasing Cel and them in a fiery barrier, enough to buy time for a decisive blow. His alter ego transformed the tundra into a smoldering, charred plain, waters bubbling into steam. As Oscar rushed in behind, he heard a shriek and widened his eyes as Demon rolled over, and sunlight sharpened the glinting edge of an unknown incoming attack. Quickly, his head tilted to the side, escaping the deadly blow that could have impaled his forehead. His eyes wandered and saw the shaft of Cel's dark spear near resting on his shoulder. It pulled back faster than his attempt to grip it, disappearing inside Cel's cloak.

'He's hiding it well. It must be his Meld.' He thought, exhaling deeply. Oscar suspected Cel's powers as the flame barriers collapsed and the cubes and spears resumed their continuous assault. Cel backed away, keeping a distance. The surroundings showed no intruders, but Oscar couldn't hold the optimism for long. Their battle surely already attracted the attention of others who may be on their way. A solution surfaced in his mind, and he smiled, relaying it to Demon.

'Are you sure? That's quite a gamble.' Demon shrugged, clearly onboard anyway, but always insistent on commenting on his choices.

'This is a great time to gather information. Carcoatl didn't have this man in the files. He's a newly marked Exalt. It'd be an easier fight with Erden later.' Besides, Oscar had enough of dealing with the annoying cubes and spears buzzing around his ears like an irritating gnat or mosquito. As more threads descended, turning the area into a strange wire art gallery, Oscar weaved past them and waited for the spears. They bolted toward him with the sound of thunder at their backs, and Oscar huddled beneath his shield, formed layers of platinum walls like a turtle, and received the full brunt of dozens of spears. It was perfect. The Reis generated by the spear's speed and force entered Oscar's body.

He flipped in the air, avoiding the sweeping threads that burst from the ground. Gathering all of the Reis and mixing in his Eirin, Oscar grunted and clenched his teeth, eyes bloodshot. In a single motion, as Oscar's body stretched out to the fullest, an immense Eirin Omnireus fused with primordial flames, flashing a dense blue as it engulfed the entire area. In the crater formed from his power, not a speck of Cel's spells remained, consumed by flames and Eirin.

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'There!' Demon swerved to Cel's back, the cloak unable to hide what was beneath. Cel held a small stick? No, it was dark and smooth, similar to the shaft of Cel's spear, but the metal twisted inwardly inside where the spearhead should be as if something had squeezed the spear shorter. Cel chuckled and stanced toward Demon, the same shriek resounding as the spear stretched out to its normal length and beyond with tremendous speed, the air howling as if it had been torn asunder by the terrifying piercing blow. Trying to gleam more information, Demon slashed forward, a Shattering Wave in a Line responding to the shrieking of Cel's spear.

'His Meld allows him to retract his spear and shoot it forward like an arrow. All the tension is built as the spear is retracted and unleashed in a single blow.' Demon relayed to Oscar as he deflected the spear and retreated.

'Is that all?' Oscar grew concerned. Cel's demeanor worried him. Every moment during the battle, it seemed like Cel was probing him, trying to assess him just as Oscar was assessing back. Oscar filled the sky with a hundred scarlet-platinum blades for another probing blow, his breathing dragging on his lungs in faint gasps. They fired in groups of ten, waves of swords zipping across. Cel's spear shattered one, retracted faster than the blink of an eye, and shattered more. The speed was incredible, presumably hastened by the Ancestral Mark. Oscar squinted as his gaze lingered on Cel's spear, not missing a moment and memorizing the rhythm of Cel's attacks.

'Probably a trap. But let's see.' Oscar gripped his toes into the dirt and sprinted in a frontal charge, fusing two scarlet-platinum drills into one, the air rippling from the building Shattering Wave. Demon maneuvered to Cel's back, his white sword emanating a bluish hue on its edge, owing to the amount of flames condensed within. Oscar waited for Cel's response, and the spearman of the Divine Enforcers smiled, a haunting smile that unnerved him.

It wasn't a single shriek—no, it was several in quick succession. Oscar's eyes darted to Cel's ankle, the flesh unnaturally twisting, followed by the hip, the shoulders, the elbows, the wrists, and finally, the spear. One by one, they unfurled, starting from the ankle, the ground shuddering as the flesh shrieked. Then, the rest of the spots on Cel's body relaxed to normal, the pressure rising from each one settling, and the spear protruded in a piercing wail, splitting the clouds in the distance. Cel swung wide, the spear swiping in a wide arc from the front to the back and the front again.

Oscar felt his bones rattling in his arms, almost loosening out of their joints. Clenching and hardening in Edureisclad and platinum armor, Oscar was flung back a large distance, crashing into a snowy hill, the ice shattering on his back, forcing the air from his lungs. The tingling sensations still lingered on his fingers, the rest of his arms numb. Oscar breathed in and let out a short exhale, his heart surprisingly calm. Demon darted to his side and entered a defensive stance.

"Quite alarming. Even after seeing my capabilities, you still maintain a certain calm." Cel said, not a beat missing in his sharp voice, ever so calm and collected.

"That was your Integration. How frightening." Oscar had to delay. He slowly collected Ein into his core, recovering what he could. But his words weren't false. Cel's Integration was an alarming power to fight against. Little wonder they say a Divine Enforcer was beyond ordinary Exalts. All of them were holders of Ancestral Marks, for they only had the power and pedigrees to enforce the Primal Council's will.

"It used to be worse. But after studying the weaknesses of Reis users to counter you and how those unique warriors flowed the power, I came to an epiphany. I mimicked the principle of flowing power." Cel pointed his spear at Oscar. "In a way, studying to defeat you has granted me insight into greater heights. This is the first time I have tried it."

"Well, I'm glad to have helped. Would you mind not hunting me?" Oscar joked, easing his breathing. It was almost time.

"Orders are orders. It's a pity. I wish to see more of your fighting style. It's a marvel to study. But I must act. You are a troublesome enemy. I admire that." Cel raised his spear.

Oscar laughed, halting Cel for a moment as the spearman eyed him in confusion. Without warning, Oscar gathered an immense amount of Eirin and punched the ground, erupting ice, snow, and rock into the air, and all of them along with it. Oscar hid behind a rock and leaped in a dizzying pattern with Demon, crossing several times.

Cel clenched his spear and pierced every nearby chunk of ice and rock into snow and dust. He chased after Oscar and raised his spear, stabbing into his shoulder. But not really. Oscar, inside the Duality body, bashed his shield into Cel. He had switched armaments during the chaos. He expected Cel to chase after the one with the shield, smiling at his correct guess. Cel flung backward and snapped his head toward Demon, who was speeding away in Oscar's real body, becoming a distant dot amongst the white mountains.

"Well played. I'll need to readjust my assessment. But now, you've lost a shield." Cel remarked, his spear sinking into Oscar's neck, not piercing the skin yet.

"I can always make a new one. But thanks for showing me everything. If we meet next time, it'll be with my beast." Oscar closed his eyes as the spear plunged into his neck. His vision shifted and returned to his real body.

'Nicely done.' Demon complimented.

'It hurts to lose that shield, but I can forge a better one.' Oscar narrowed his eyes, flickering a gaze back where Cel certainly was staring at him, lost in the distance. 'With Erden, we may come out slightly on top. The problem is if he works with other Divine Enforcers.' The identities of the others were known to him, and the leader of the Divine Enforcers was Lelith, Avril's former mistress. 'I need to find her and hide right away.'

"Hmm?" Oscar spotted someone rushing toward him and clenched a fist, ready to pummel the man. But surprisingly, the man exclaimed and cheered, bowing deeply.

"It is good to see you, my young lord." The youthful adult lifted his head, snow slipping off his forehead.

"You are?" Oscar searched his memories and found no one similar to this young man in the myriad of faces he encountered.

The man laughed and patted his chest, standing up and bowing his head. "As expected, the youthful regeneration of entering the Marshal Exalt realm can turn one from a friend to a stranger. Fenu Ashwolf has returned to fulfill his obligations to the young lord."

"Fenu?" Oscar was flabbergasted. The young man before him was the old man of the Ashwolf clan back in the Burning Valley. Was it coincidence, or was it fate? But at last, he found an ally.

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