The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Astrid sunk to the ground, knees dipping into the cold snow as it nearly covered up to her waist. Oscar looked at her and closed his eyes, feeling pity for the estranged last member of Demon's wayward group. He learned all about her as his memories swept through the past interactions and the records kept by the New Dawn on her history and experimentation. Indeed, anyone would have been lost and resentful in her position, especially in her position. She was the odd one out.

When it came to Marcus and the others, Demons saved them and led them to attack and rescue the next, all the way up to Auren. That forged a strong bond between them, the rescuers and the saved. But for her, Demon saved her alone, with no one else to whom she could feel gratitude or even an iota of good emotions. She barely had time to fight as a group, stuck fighting by herself or training in seclusion, having no chance to build any bonds. It didn't help that she was kidnapped at a young age, far too young for her to mature properly.

'Should have brought the others to save her. That way, she might have turned out different.' Oscar blamed Demon inside him. 'She might have been good friends with them rather than fixated on you.'

'It wasn't efficient.' Demon spoke as if it wasn't his fault.

Sighing, Oscar rose, gripping his knees tightly as they trembled slightly. He trod across the blanket of snow, eyes forward on Astrid, who lowered her head as her face darkened. The winds seemed to die down, and the snow stopped for a moment, allowing this brief moment of silence for him to contemplate. Oscar chewed over his thoughts, trying to say the right words, but what? No words of consolation or apology had the merit to uplift her from the abandonment she certainly felt. The silence grew uncomfortable.

"What do you want?" Oscar crouched to match her eye level.

"Does that matter?" Astrid scoffed. "Every damned one of you don't care anymore."

"I guess not," Oscar grunted, eyeing her sorrowful figure. The key difference between her and the others was that Marcus, Santen, Kragg, Restel, Eve, and Auren had found an alternative other than a life of revenge. He said softly as if talking to a grieving child, "But you are free. Free to do what you want. Follow me or not, that is your choice. Claim revenge or not, that is your decision. But never believe that we don't care for you. You are one of us. Find another meaning in your life as I did."

"I trained, I fought, I killed, all for the one in you, for the promise of revenge. What other meaning is there?" Astrid bit her lip and looked up.

"Go find it. If and when you stumble and need a place to rest, we're here for you, always with open arms. My wife would scold me otherwise." Oscar chuckled and stood up again, passing by her. He had no more to say. The Azure Sea Company and the wolves followed suit, avoiding her like a boulder in the river. Whether or not she decided differently, he didn't care as long as it didn't bring trouble to his doorstep. On foot, they continued their long trek toward the discovered structure.

Time was difficult to determine in Fallen Heaven. The ten spheres of light didn't rise or set like the two suns and moon; instead, they flickered from day and night instantly, a sudden high noon turning into midnight in a split second. Suddenly, after an hour of walking, the ten spheres dimmed. From suns to moons, they now shone lowly in the starry night. Oscar tensed up and raised his hand, signaling the others to stop. Gnar growled, hinting at several unknown scents lingering nearby. The descent of night and the cover of the roaring snowstorms offered little visibility, and Oscar huddled with the others, backs covered.

He considered using a widespread flame, a small burst enough to clear the area for a moment. But a sharp cry screamed from inside the veil of winter, followed by a low gasp of the same voice, faintly wheezing until it fell silent. A sound not unlike a spear severing through the air, a clear hum of a sharp edge, reached his ears, and more screams joined the howling winds before they, too, succumbed and fell silent. Whoever was there was now dead. Oscar turned and saw Astrid walking slowly toward them, unbothered by the fierce snow blowing past her.

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"Did you decide?" Oscar asked. Fenu still kept a guard up, but Oscar waved him down.

"No. Other than me, you ought to desire revenge the most. I want to see what changed your mind." Astrid ran her hand down from the top of her head to her chin, the snow and water vapor freezing as they formed a white helmet. "For now, I'll follow you and learn, unlike a certain voracious brute." She seemed to have recovered somewhat, already insulting Kragg like her usual self.

"The answer is I gave up. Simple as that." Oscar smirked and walked ahead.

"That is for me to determine," Astrid snorted, regaining her previous arrogance.

With the icy powers of Astrid assisting, they cleared a bloodstained path through the snowstorm, many from Shattirma and many more asking about Oscar's whereabouts and demanding he take off his helmet, greed for the bounty driving them. Grimly, Oscar looted the corpses, wondering where the so-called army of Haven Academy, the Defiants, and Carcoatl's people were. So far, other than the people he gathered by himself on the outside, he found none of the allies from higher powers.

A chill wind blew across the tundra, and the snowstorm swirled more violently, a bit of frost encroaching even through the shrouds of Ein. Luckily, Astrid was here. She expanded a domain of Ein from her body, turning the inside into a serene winter paradise while the outside grew more turbulent. As they made their way through the intensifying snow, Oscar looked at the others, his worries put to rest as they showed no signs of fatigue. Taking another step forward, he felt a strange sensation as if his leg had passed through a thin layer, like dipping his foot into a pool of water.

He pushed his body onward and saw the stars greeting him. They dotted infinitely across the black sheet of night, with no clouds to obscure them or snowfall to dim their radiance. The thin layer had to be a barrier, one strong enough to push out the indifference of nature itself. With renewed clarity and freedom from the storm, Oscar swept his gaze, eyeing three statues on three snowy peaks, each depicting handsome men with their hands reaching out and pointing at the middle.

'Those bastards….' Ignyres snarled, flames exploding loudly in Oscar's ears.

Wincing, Oscar gripped his ear and frowned. 'What's the matter with you?'

'They are Caerulumen. Just seeing these traitors makes me want to melt down those statues.' Ignyres seethed. 'Go forth! Destroy their arrogant idols and tear down their temples. A wasted gift. Ah, Esteres! Why?! Why?!'

'Calm down!' Oscar barked in his mind, focused on the statues, and lined his gaze where they pointed. In the middle of the three mountains, a broken palace was at the center of the large basin, and three bridges from the mountains stretched across the waters to provide pathways toward the entrance. Several scores of people were seen traveling on the bridges, many more waiting at the shores. Obviously, they intended to ambush those who came out, and the ones who went in had full confidence in themselves or were desperate. How crude. In a way, it didn't differ from his time in Ashen Grove, idiots guided by treasure only to endure death and loss.

'Boy, listen to me! Do. Not. Go. In. There.' Ignyres emphasized. 'Whatever they have roasting over in that damned palace can't be good. Selfish flames they always brought, not even a period of renewal from their destruction. Lend me your ear.'

'Serious?' Oscar worried the Ancient of Fire was losing his mind. No one else could hear them in the inner conversations.

'Climb the mountains and destroy the statues. Destroy all three of them. You don't need any more treasures, not since Volten gave you everything for you to start your fire in Fallen Heaven.' Ignyres whispered, again pointless, but Oscar went along with it.

'True.' Oscar scratched his head and steeled his will, having made a decision. He addressed the others, "We're not going in."

"Young lord! We can't return empty-handed." Fen rushed ahead and pleaded, clearly desperate for treasure. She stared, eyes round as Fenu tried to scold her away. She knelt, her black hair washing in the snow. "Please. We all need to get stronger."

"Fen!" Fenu shouted, tugging on her sleeve.

"Fen, here." Oscar tossed her his dimensional cube. She looked confused and darted her gaze from him to the cube, bouncing back and forth. She peered into the dimensional cube and dropped it, pupils shrinking as eyes widened, her mouth stammering incoherently. Oscar picked it up and smiled, "We don't anymore, understand?"

"Yes, young lord!" Fen apologized.

"Alright. Then let's destroy those statues." Oscar pointed at the arrogant Caerulumen statues.

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