The words continued burning in the sky. What the people looked on didn’t know, was that they wouldn’t disappear for a long while…
**
Dyon smiled to himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t know what was happening, but more so that it appeared like a dream to him. He had no idea his soul manifestation had resulted in such a phenomenon.
Although to everyone else this had been a simple process, to Dyon, he was constantly monitoring the communication between his aurora and soul. The amount of times he felt the connection nearly break was too many to count. In fact, it was rare to succeed on soul manifestation the first time. Often, the more powerful the manifestation was, the later in life it would be manifested. However, this didn’t apply to Dyon because his aurora was fully awakened. For instance, had he been aware of the unique type technique when he was 5 years old, he could have done it then as well as long as he had a proper understanding of certain aspects of cultivation.
Slowly, Dyon’s duo soul manifestation shrunk to a size more comparable to his true soul cultivation level. During soul manifestation, the manifestation would display power far beyond itself as it was heralded into the world. But, after the process was over, its sole power source would be the soul of its owner.
In the end, the sword in the hand of Dyon’s manifestation disappeared into the blood red and black pagoda. The figure loomed at 5 meters tall while the pagoda shimmered in the air domineeringly at 20 meters tall.
They slowly faded out of existence as Dyon opened his eyes to find the purple-blue eyed beauty watching him intently. His sweat drenched body rippled as he felt his muscles flex as though they were getting used to a new-found power.
Dyon smiled a warm smile, “hello.”
The beauty smiled, looking down.
Dyon tilted his head in confusion until he noticed a distinct breeze. He chuckled, “you’re quite bold silver fairy. I’m quite happy to be here for your viewing pleasure.”
The girl’s light laugh filled the library’s roof top as the last light of Dyon’s aurora faded out of existence.
“Are you even aware of the commotion you just caused?” Her voice was light and inviting, still carrying a hint of amusement.
Dyon stood, causing the girl’s curious eyes to scan him once again as he slid on a new pair of sweats, lamenting the fact he had lost a pair until he realized he could just make new ones with his 5th stage aurora.
Dyon chuckled to himself, ‘using array alchemy to make sweat pants? Who would have thought?”
“What commotion was that?” Dyon asked, curious as to what she meant.
The silver haired beauty didn’t seem to be paying attention as she studied Dyon’s handsome face. Suddenly she started as she noticed his ears were distinctly human.
“you’re human… It’s rare to see someone as handsome as you even in our kingdom, I didn’t expect that,” she said with a smile that seemed to outshine everything else.
Dyon could still feel endless heat coming off of himself, so he forewent the shirt and instead sat on another array, facing the beauty.
“Elves really are a beautiful race,” he said softly. Dyon was imperceptibly radiating a domineering will. Usually the silver-haired girl wouldn’t be so bold, but Dyon’s demonic will was affecting her emotions without her realizing.
The girl shook her head gently as Dyon thought about how beautiful Madeleine would be when she reached her age. He shivered in excitement.
“You’re looking at me but thinking of someone else?” the girl’s lips pouted slightly. She was quite adorable.
Dyon chuckled, “a woman’s intuition is truly something else… or does it have to do with your cultivation?”
The girl smiled mysteriously, “why don’t you tell me about her?”
Dyon smiled, thinking back to the elegant young lady. Her brunette hair in a bun and her crystal framed glasses accenting her shimmering gold eyes, “I’m quite conflicted. My mother always taught me to never speak of other women in front of one. But, she also taught me to never disappoint a lady. What do you think I should do?”
“Your mother sounds like a woman that managed to be your father’s only wife. I would have liked to meet her,” she said with sympathy in her eyes.
Dyon smiled, becoming even more intrigued by this woman. How could she read him so well?
“You would be quite a scary wife to have. How would anyone keep anything from you?” an interesting glint flashed in Dyon’s eyes.
“It would depend on whether that person made me love them enough to not worry about their flaws, no?” she said with a light smile.
‘looks like I won’t win a war of words with her…’ Dyon thought with a small smile.
“speaking of worrying, what exactly did I do while I was meditating?” Dyon looked up into the sky, but, the night sky had already calmed. Unbeknownst to him, it had been hours since his soul manifestation stopped distorting the inner world. So, the elders had long since fixed the breech.
The girl pointed to a book that Dyon had somehow missed on the ground, “try moving it. I already tried while you were still meditating, but, it wouldn’t move an inch.”
Dyon started, looking at the ancient tome. It was embedded firmly into the ground. It was an indistinct brown color and had a normal belt latching it closed.
Dyon absentmindedly picked the book up. The girl’s eyes flashed as she realized moving the tome was nothing to Dyon, ‘as I thought, it’s here for him. Is it what I think it is?… there’ll be a huge commotion…’
Dyon’s mind shuddered as he immediately felt a connection with the tome. However, something told him that he wouldn’t be able to open it. Much like the levels of the sage’s tower, he could only wait patiently for the right day to come. But, the book itself seemed to increase aspects of his soul just by being in contact with it. His perception stretched out further, and he faintly felt that his soul defenses had increased to the peak of the 5th stage although his level was still at the lower 5th stage.
Dyon sighed, “looks like I can’t open it,” the book flashed and disappeared into Dyon’s ring, “does this have something to do with my soul manifestation?”
The girl’s eyes sparkled, “you nearly destroyed the inner world you know… that book came after your manifestation finally calmed down. You know, it isn’t polite to want a girl to kneel by force,” she said in a slightly seductive tone, still feeling the effects of Dyon’s demonic will.
Dyon’s blood rolled, raging to the soft words of the beauty in front of him, ‘kneel?’ The image of the silver fairy kneeling in front of him was something he almost didn’t want to wash away from his mind.
But, the beauty didn’t let him ponder too much about it. With a smile, she rose into the air, floating away, “I look forward to seeing your performance at the first-year ranking assessment although it doesn’t seem like there’ll be much suspense…”
Dyon raised an eyebrow, ‘first year ranking assessment?’ Dyon smiled, ‘I guess it’s about time I actually do school related things, hm? Maybe this time it won’t get thrown off the rails by people trying to kill me.’
Fate seemed to look down, chuckling at Dyon’s wishful thinking.
‘I’ll need to be careful of that beauty. My standards have to be higher than this.’
Dyon wanted nothing more than to only have Madeleine in his heart. But, at every turn, there was a new beauty forcing his essence blood to rage. It was getting annoying. That aside, he could only blame himself for his flirtatious personality. But, to Dyon, just flirting with a girl had nothing to do with having feelings for them.
He was determined to respect Madeleine above all. If a woman wasn’t at the very least willing to resign themselves to a life they abhorred in order to honor the life they thought he gave up for them, they weren’t worthy of standing with Madeleine as one of his wives.
With that thought, Dyon stood, floating down directly from the roof and towards his room under the night sky. It had been too long since he had truly slept.
**
The next day was meant to be the ranking assessment for the newly admitted students… however, Dyon didn’t show up. He was in a deep sleep he wouldn’t wake up from for days.
“Jade… Why did you drag to the first year assessment?” A girl stood near the silver-fairy, indignant at her long time friend.
Jade smiled a smile that contained a slight bit of disappointment, “Same reason the headmaster was here…” she said softly.
The girl who stood beside Jade was in no way inferior in terms of beauty. Her hair was a striking blond that matched her gold eyes, the telltale signs of a member of the Ingram family.
But now, her beautiful features went from a cute pout to a thoughtful expression. It was indeed odd for the headmaster to come to a first-year assessment. Did they enrol a genius recently? But, none of the first years had displayed talent warranting that kind of attention. Of course, there were some geniuses, but, no more than there would be in any other year, ‘she can’t possibly be here for Sebastian, right?’
Suddenly she flashed a bright smile, “did our resident beauty fall for a first year? A first year okay with standing up such a beauty? I must meet him,” her grin widened as she studied Jade’s reaction.
Jade pouted silently, giving her friend the side eye.
“Oh my, how scandalous. I wonder how the Eostre heads would feel about this,” the girl with golden eyes jogged away before her friend could hit her.
But, the hit she was expecting never came. She instead turned to find Jade with an evil grin on her face, “you’d better be careful, Celine. Or else you’ll fall too.”
Celine raised an eyebrow, but never lost her bright smile.
The crowds of first years looked on in awe at the upper year goddesses. They were the only upper years there, and everyone wondered why they would come to such an event. However, Headmaster Acacia looked down with a knowing smile, ‘it seems I’m not the only one who’s disappointed about the results today.’
He shifted his gaze away from the beauties to the sky, training his sharp gaze on Elder Flyleaf and Elder Erunonidan. The two of them could only smile bitterly at having been noticed.
Soon, the news spread about the appearance of Jade and Celine. However, what really stirred the upper years was the fact the headmaster had showed up too. But, what confused them all was that there was nothing different about this batch of first years as compared to previous years – the champion, Sebastian, wasn’t any better than the champion of previous years. So, the question on everyone’s mind was the same: who was intriguing enough to make the school’s top beauties and the headmaster move?
They all collectively decided that they’d witness the coming assessments as well, just in case there was a reason. However, when the second-year assessment came and went, there was still no significant news. However, the crowd continued to grow. Headmaster Acacia and the beauties continued to show up. In fact, the number of beauties had increased. Opal Conventine had joined Jade and Celine in observing their juniors, which left everyone intrigued.
Soon, it was the eve of the final assessment: the assessment of the academy’s utmost seniors – those who had studied for 4 years and were ready to continue on to their own campaigns.
However, Dyon was oblivious to all of this. His body was still radiating heat as his spatial ring glowed.
Within, the tome was floating gently, bobbing in the air. The connection between Dyon and it increased slowly.
BOOM!
The belt of the tome snapped open. The pages rapidly fluttered, but a trained eye would see that they were all blank.
The book continued wildly flipping, until eventually, it settled on the very first page.
A blinding light erupted from the book, slowly shrinking to corresponding with words that were being imprinted onto it.
Soon, on the end of that third day, the eve of the final assessment, a godly technique was inscribed onto the first page of the manifestation tome.
The words slowly stopped shining bright, leaving an elegant script that read the words: Inner World: Sanctuary.
Despite it being a technique, there were no words describing it beneath the name. Instead, the most complex array Dyon would have ever seen was inscribed below it.
If you looked closely, the array itself had shifting parts, it wasn’t frozen like the arrays Dyon had drawn till now. Each shift in gear, or line, resulted in a qualitative shift of the entire array. Resulting in an incomparably complex system of movement.
However, this was the only explanation to be had. The tome closed itself arrogantly, clasping its belt. It radiated a conceit that only paled to Dyon’s manifestation, almost as if to say: ‘you think I don’t have the right to name you? Fine, let’s see if you have the right to be my master.’
Dyon smiled in his sleep, unworried by the tome’s challenge. A demonic will emitted from him, causing the book to shudder. It seemed like Dyon’s confidence couldn’t be shaken by something to trivial.
Rhythmic breathing filled the room once again, as Dyon’s body went back to a regular temperature. Allowing him to truly rest for the first time.
What he didn’t know was that the radiant and revitalizing lights of the tome, had caused the bodies within Dyon’s ring to shift, ever so slightly.
**
That night, Elder Cormyth was looking towards his disciple with a large smile. Although he was only his master in name, the elder still took great pride in it.
“your soul manifestation was so domineering – the words have still not disappeared. Anyone who tries to go near them is severely burnt,” Elder Cormyth’s boisterous laugh filled his office.
A quiet young man with grey skin and striking red eyes nodded slightly, his arrogance clear to all. His features had a devilish handsomeness to them that even matched Dyon, although his charisma was lacking. His hair was long and a striking black that reflected no light. His eyes seemed to pierce through the essence of everything as faint ripples of his soul shimmered around him.
Last night, he had manifested his soul after 16 years of trying. Finally, in his 18th year of life, he succeeded in manifesting his soul. The display was grand and unmatched.
This young man, Zaltarish Sigebryht of the Sigebryht major family, had all rights to be arrogant. He was an unmatched genius. Last year, being the year of his 18th birthday, had him just begin his path of energy cultivation, and yet, he was already at the middle tiers of meridian formation. His soul manifestation was so powerful that even with his talent, it took him 16 years to awaken.
Before the events of the past few days, no one had thought much of this. Although Zaltarish was without a doubt a genius. There had been many geniuses before him, and even geniuses currently that were doing the same things as him. However, although there were others who needed comparable amounts of time to awaken their manifestations, how many of them had destroyed the manifestation tome? Only he had.
To Zaltarish, this meant that his talent was so strong, that he took a manifestation that others would need dozens of years to awaken, and awakened it within 2 decades. He smiled to himself as he thought about how proud his emotionless father would be. He could finally help his father fulfill their ambitions. He’d marry the beautiful and seductive Mithrandir Norville, and the Sigebryht and Norville family would become the new royalty of the Elvin Kingdom.
The disgust the major families felt for the traditions of choosing monarchs had grown exponentially, especially with the disappearance of the king. To them, they worked hard as the backbone of the kingdom. It was they made sure the younger generation was trained. It was they made sure that other races and kingdoms didn’t dare attack them despite their relatively small population. It was they who sent their geniuses to lead campaigns at the Gates. For the kings of a kingdom they worked so hard for to have the chance to be from one of the 21 sub families, or even worse, a complete commoner, was a ridiculous concept to some of the major families.
Despite this, the tradition had continued on for millennia. Sometimes they would get lucky and birth a True Empath in their major families. But, as time passed, it was inevitable that a new king would have to be chosen. But, with the destruction of the Celestial Deer Sect, it was very much possible for that rule to be done away with. And now that Zaltarish had displayed his talents, the Sigebryht family would be first in line.
Elder Cormyth nodded in satisfaction at Zaltarish’s domineer. Despite his accomplishments, the light in his eyes hadn’t lost their fire a single bit.
“The selection for the campaigns will be done by individual schools. In fact, Acacia Academy should be using their upper year assessment to do so as well. I think it’s time we made a bit of a power move,” Elder Cormyth said with a smile.
“Ai,” Zaltarish’s intelligent eyes flashed, “Master, invite the geniuses of our academy as well as Florence’s. Since the campaigns are meant for the glory of our kingdom, why not hold all of our selections together? Open it to the public. What’s an invent without spectators?”
Elder Cormyth didn’t seem to mind being ordered around by his supposed disciple, he was instead more than happy to send a message to each headmaster. Although Headmaster Acacia wasn’t too pleased at first, the face of a handsome boy flashed in his memories, causing a playful smile to grace his lips. If Mathilde Academy wanted to play games, they’d be the first to lose.
