B5 Chapter 31

Arriving at the Temple early in the morning had been odd, to say the least. I was the first to arrive and was asked to wait until the remaining ‘cadets’ arrived. Cadets reminded me of my days in the Grand Camp, which left me conflicted. Happy, but also with a sour note. I waited so long for the other spirit cadets to arrive that I finished my high-intensity workout and refined my World.

That was when I saw the Fire Caldera. Several Fire Calderas, Orieath included, had been invited to the training program. It was a pleasant coincidence to meet them again, especially after I’d been busy with so many other things in the last few weeks. The Spiritcaller was also present, which was how Aureus and my other Soulkins ended up emerging from the World. To spend some time with the Spiritcaller rather than help me fight.

Orieath stood no chance. The blessed Fire Caldera whirled around, fire blooming around his fists and creating a magnificent scene as he punched out. His leg came up toward my face with surprising speed, but I was no longer there when it should have impacted.

I teleported to the other side while an earthen spike jutted from the ground, piercing Orieath’s calf. He let out a hiss and went up in flames that coated him like a long-lost friend.

Watching the Fire Caldera with Predator active, I conjured an illusion of myself and triggered Mirage to make it much harder to sense and see the real me.

Orieath was fast. His physique was at the level of a Master, and so was his control of fire and ether. It wasn’t bad at all for someone as young as him, yet he failed to distinguish the real me from the illusion standing beside me. He punched through the illusion, his eyes growing wide like saucers. Taking advantage of the opening, armor made of highly compressed earth manifested around my clenched fist. Then I punched him as the gravity weighing on me increased drastically.

The impact sent Orieath flying. He crashed into the stone, which remained unblemished even as the fights across the Spirit Guard Temple continued.

I could have defeated Orieath long before he could even think about scrambling back to his feet, but this was not a life-and-death battle. It wasn’t even a proper spar, if I had to be honest. The Spirit Guards wanted the spirit cadets to test each other. That was about it.

I fight!

Nox hissed, and I glanced over to see the Ferronox Mantis fighting a Terat. His scythes were coated in Nullblade as he carved through the Terat’s bark armor and twisted roots underneath. They healed rapidly, which was expected from a Master Terat, but I wasn’t sure who I would have to rescue later. Either the Terat would grow annoyed with Nox and snap his neck, or the Terat was not all that combat-oriented. The latter appeared unlikely, yet I couldn’t sense any annoyance from the Terat either. If anything, Lifesight showed that he was happy combating an opponent with blades sharp enough to carve through his body easily enough.

Anyway, Orieath got to his feet and the fight resumed. He let out a roar and erupted in more potent flames than before. Kicking off the ground, he closed the gap between us rapidly. He was much faster and stronger than a moment ago, yet he hadn’t learned from his past mistakes.

Paralyze activated at full power. Orieath didn’t freeze, but he slowed enough for me to conjure a field of increased gravity. With the Gravity Aspect at my behest, I created a field where gravity was more than ten times stronger. Slowed and affected by the mental assault, Orieath failed to do anything against the Gravity Aspect. He dragged his feet across the field, but as soon as he gathered his strength and unleashed it, I altered gravity once more.

Orieath went from barely being able to move to flying through the air in a moment. His eyes grew wider and he looked down, but I was already above him near the combat hall’s ceiling. After blinking to the ceiling and pushing off it, the gravity weighing on me increased to its limit.

I struck the Fire Caldera in the back as I rocketed toward the ground, and we crashed into the stone floor together. The floor remained flawless, but the same couldn’t be said about Orieath. His blazing armor dispersed, revealing a disheveled Caldera.

He doesn’t look too good.

Sapsie called out from further back. She was coiled around Aureus’ tail and uncoiled one of her roots. The condensed plant structure expanded and elongated as she reached out toward Orieath. I turned him onto his back while a droplet of nectar oozed from the root’s tip. It dripped into Orieath’s mouth and worked its wondrous magic.

The root retracted and shrank once more, earning her the Spiritcaller’s attention.

“She is much larger than she appears to be. That root…” he called out with sparkling eyes.

“Sapsie is a little shy. And she likes looking cute.” I chuckled after hurling Orieath over my shoulder and dragging him back to the Spiritcaller and my other Soulkins.

“Your Soulkins are curious.”

The Spiritcaller did not mind Orieath’s condition in the slightest. And if he did, he hid it masterfully, because it looked as though my Soulkins interested him far more than the unconscious Fire Caldera.

He looked at my Soulkins for the umpteenth time and bowed deeply toward Sapsie and Aureus each time his gaze drifted back to them.

“My family is very curious. Whenever I think I know all about them, I learn something new.” I mused, a smile tugging at my lips.

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“I can only say the same thing about you.” The Spiritcaller faced me, his eyes as warm and kind as I remembered them to be. “You are powerful, so much stronger than a Spirit-touched at your age should be. You are but a Youngling, yet you wield the power of our oldest. Not even the blessed older than you stand a chance.”

“I worked hard,” was all I could say. Sure, I hadn’t been able to grow all that much ever since the fight with Raffael Torch, but I had always given my best. Even now, I was working hard to make up for the loss of Volix, no matter how hard that was.

My World was growing steadily, Aureus had grown stronger as well, and if I had more blood to spare for Sapsie, she’d grow even faster than she already was. Pushing to the Grandmaster Rank was only a matter of time and effort. Even reaching the Ruler Rank no longer sounded like a dream. It would happen no matter what.

“Zegrath is stronger,” Orieath mumbled, and I watched him stir awake.

“Zegrath?” I recalled the Caldera woman. She had been quite strong, though I also remembered defeating her years ago.

“Do not underestimate her, Pyaera,” the Spiritcaller offered a rare smile, his gaze drifting past me toward something in the back of the hall. “Zegrath was invited to the Spirit Guards a while ago. She is Vowed to the Fire Spirit and has become something much greater.”

Zegrath was a Spiritborne? That was curious. She’d already been strong as a regular Spirit-touched, but wielding a fragment of the Fire Spirit’s power must have pushed her strength to the next level. And while Orieath was more naturally connected to Volca, he was not a Spiritborne. Their bond was different.

“How strong exactly is she?” I asked, curious, my brows furrowed as I noticed the Spiritcaller’s eyes remained locked on something behind me. His eyes kept moving, and I turned to see the devil in disguise. Or...the person we had just spoken about.

Zegrath. The tall, red-skinned woman looked as tough as ever. The crimson orbs in her eye sockets flared to life as her eyes locked onto mine. Her skin shimmered momentarily as if to greet me, and faint gray smoke puffed out of her pores. The smoke swirled around her, following the flickers of light that traveled through her skin. Molten veins carved through her body like every Fire Caldera, yet Zegrath was more than that. Her veins were more vibrant, and the molten mass in her chest burned much brighter as well.

As for the crimson glaive resting in her hands, it appeared familiar yet all too distant.

Zegrath pressed the back of her hand against her forehead and hinted at a bow toward the Spiritcaller. She then turned to Sapsie with a cocked brow and offered the World Tree sapling the same respect as the other Caldera. Facing the Earthheart next, she smiled and went as far as to bend a knee.

“You have grown a lot,” she whispered.

Aureus lowered his head to Zegrath’s height. He pressed his snout against her and sent a trace of earthen ether toward her. Seeing the sacred beast nuzzle Zegrath felt odd. Emotions flowed out of my bond with Aureus, including joy, yet also the sensation of closeness that hadn’t been there before.

“He can probably sense the Spiritual Fragment within me,” Zegrath said when Aureus pulled away. She met my eyes again with a faint smile. “And so do you.”

My lips parted, but no word came out. How did she know that?

“Was I right?” Her smile grew wider. “The Knights said a bond to a sacred beast should be enough to sense spiritual power, but it was never confirmed. Sacred beasts do not bind themselves to others. Not like you did, anyway.”

I did read some tales about sacred beasts surrendering a portion of their power to create Champions. They wielded the sacred beast’s power and would garner more strength in some way. The details were unclear, and the rest of the records were missing, but I was fairly sure I wasn’t the first to form a bond with a sacred beast.

The first human.

Aureus said.

That was...more likely. To add to that, it was also likely that a World’s bond was much different from the connection mentioned in the tales. And in the history the Knights of the Spirit Guards shared.

“I can sense something within you, yes.” There was more to add, such as that it felt like I could absorb her power. My World was unmoving, but the Insignia etched across the core stirred. It tremored violently in excitement rather than fear, making me wonder what would happen if I tried something.

Maybe it’s because there are so many Spiritborne, or people with a Spirit’s natural blessing. I still didn’t know enough about my Insignia to say anything for sure. However, I did know that this place was right for me. The Spirit Guard Temple should have all I needed to learn more about the Insignia.

And grow stronger!

Nox hissed right before the Ferronox Mantis was hurled through the air. He slid across the floor and nearly crashed into Cosmo and Tessa, who were playing with each other.

Nox was fine, but so was the Terat, whose body knit itself together as he bowed toward me.

“Please thank your companion for his guidance. I learned a lot.” The Terat’s voice echoed in my head not unlike my Soulkins’. Nox heard the Terat and leaped to his feet, scythes at the ready.

Again!

He demanded happily.

The Terat recognized the challenge for what it was but shook his head and turned to face another potential spirit cadet.

“He is as impulsive as ever.” Zegrath smiled at the Ferronox Mantis. “I wonder how much stronger he’s grown.”

That caught Nox’s attention, and he yanked around to stare at the Caldera woman square in the eyes.

Challenge? Challenge!

Nox hissed, then faced me.

Together? She annoying!

That made me chuckle. It was not that Zegrath was annoying. If anything, it was the Ferronox Mantis sensing how strong Zegrath was. She was completely different from a few years ago. Even then she had been strong enough to fight Unblemished beasts head-on. Now, however, she was clearly at the level of a Grandmaster.

“Are you up for a spar?” I couldn’t help but ask.

Zegrath’s eyes sparkled. “You want to impress the Instructors? Sure, show me how much you’ve grown in the last few years!”

Would I regret challenging Zegrath? Maybe. Probably. Nonetheless, I was excited.

In any case, I’d impress the instructors no matter how our spar ended, and that was what mattered most.

No, it’s not. We win!

Nox hissed at me before returning to the World, preparing our Soulfusion.