The Dawn of the New World

An overwhelming sense of awe and adoration overtook both Han Rong and Zou Huan.

But where Han Rong bowed from the waist while still restraining his emotions to a great degree, Zou Huan was the exact opposite as he fell to his knees immediately with a lowered head far too ashamed to even look directly at it.

"I bow to the Venerable Spirit, please forgive my impertinence. I am far too inexperienced and did not recognize your esteemed self."

As disciples of Mount Cae they were well aware of all the otherworldly existences that would either help them or stand in their way.

And the World Spirit of any planet was their greatest ally because their only goal was to get rid of all demonic creatures from the world which were like parasites to the World Spirit.

Not to mention that the world spirit was one of the extremely rare existences that were born naturally within the domain of heaven and earth. Just the fact that she chose to reveal herself and communicate with them was an honor only a handful of individuals could have said to have achieved.

The watery figure's lips moved and it looked like she was saying something but neither of them could hear it. But Sokol on the other hand was a different story.

"Un," he nodded innocently for the nth time, "She says it is your duty. This is why you are here. You must save him."

Han Rong and Zou Huan both were more than a little taken aback to discover that the unseeable entity Sokol had been talking to all this time was the world spirit but it wasn't unheard off.

Many a time the world spirit would choose a seemingly ordinary being from among its populace to act as its agent in times of need. Some cultures called them shamans because they could listen to the spirits and interpret their words.

Exchanging a look of understanding with Zou Huan Han Rong cleared his throat before speaking up with the same respectful tone of voice.

"Venerable spirit, my brother and I are here to hunt down the demons that plague your world. I am afraid our powers are far too lacking to be able to intervene in somet-"

Sokol's body went taut and his eyes glazed over as he began speaking in several voices.

"I know...who you are. I know...why you are here. You are the pupils of the 'Master of the Void' and I have been waiting for you for a long time."

Han Rong was shaken to the very core of his being upon hearing the title of 'Master of the Void', as was Zou Huan.

This was one of the oldest titles of the mysterious first master of Mount Cae, the one who started it all. Almost no one outside the inner circle of scholars was aware of that but unfortunately for them, that wasn't where the surprises ended.

"It should have been he that came to fulfill the old promises but I see now that is no longer possible. As his pupils you must abide by the sacred words and do what needs to be done," he finished by pointing towards the pit.

"Use the 'Seal of the void'. I will do what is left. That...is your purpose. That...is why you are here. Only when 'he' is unleashed upon the cosmos will your duty end."

A gust of wind blew in from the north and the watery figure was washed away with it. Sokol blinked and his eyes returned to normal.

"She says you have to hurry and finish before the one you are looking for finds you."

So much had happened, so much had just been said that it would take them days just to come to terms with it all but right now one thing was for certain, there was more happening than either of them had a right to know.

They had come to this world by complete chance but according to the World Spirit that was not the case. She mentioned the first master of Mount Cae, some promise he had made that was now to be fulfilled.

If it were any other entity they would never believe it but because it was said by the world spirit, the one entity that was inherently incapable of lying, they had no other choice no matter how implausible it seemed.

Not only was the first master someone that even the Mount Cae inner disciples knew very little about but just the fact that he was alive in the last era was millions of years ago and was still expected to hold true to his words was something that boggled the mind.

Not to mention the things she had mentioned. The "Seal of the void" was one of the most closely guarded secrets of Mount Cae. It was a secret sealing technique created by the First Master himself that was said to be able to seal the abyss itself.

Only a rare few were disciples were capable of learning it even within the inner circle because it required perfect spiritual harmony between two people which was extremely hard to retain.

Of the thousands of inner disciples less than two hundred could utilize it properly. And as 'luck' would have it Zou Huan and Han Rong were both just such individuals.

😉