Alidor walked up to the tower, stopping at a 3-meter safe distance. Turning back, he spoke to basilisks. “It will only get more dangerous from here.”
Although Alidor didn’t say much, what he was really thinking was that he had no idea. He didn’t know whether this was another game, whether it was a trial, or even if he really was meant to come here. Was this a suicide mission? Was he really meant to conform and follow the path everyone else did?
Alidor’s disguise disappeared along with everyone else’s. He had only used them as an extra measure, because as he said, he hadn’t been preparing for such a weak enemy.
Maybe if anyone heard how Alidor thought of the first son, they’d be shocked. After all, Alidor was still in the meridian formation stage, and yet, he had easily dealt with the best genius a king god clan had to offer at that stage.
But, with the versatility an innate aurora gave you, especially when it came to your 6th sense and intelligence, people at the same cultivation level hardly stood a chance. Although an aurora 6th sense couldn’t see through techniques like the Uidah clan’s buddah’s eye or the Mathilde family’s Asura Imperial eye, it heightened your senses. You could see better, hear better, and technically, even feel, smell and taste better.
It was an overall boost so great that often, those with innate aurora were limited by their bodies as opposed to their senses. A prime example of this was when Dyon was stabbed through the heart by Oliver, Madeleine’s elder brother.
At the time, Dyon saw Oliver’s attack and had even perfectly placed an array to intercept it, but, he knew his body wouldn’t react in time. The 6th sense literally gave innate aurora wielders the ability to think and sense at a speed no one could match!
Suddenly, a small voice snapped Alidor out of his thoughts. “Big Brother?…”
“Yes?”
“Can you tell me the story again?”
Alidor’s brow furrowed, “Why do you insist on listening to something you know will make you sad?”
Kaeara remained quiet for a long time before she gave her brother the answer she always gave. “You’re always taking care of me. I don’t even know how much you suffer everyday just so you can. I want to balance it out with this story.”
Alidor’s heart panged with a sprout of something he rarely felt. Kaeara always answered like this, but he always reacted this way. It was ridiculous, and he hated how irrational it was. But, the purity behind his little sister’s thought process was something he could hardly bury.
“You don’t need to do this. It’s my job.”
“And this is my job.” Kaeara pouted.
Alidor’s eyes flashed with gold as he began diligently studying the Epistemic Tower, beginning to slowly walk around it large base.
“Our family was once a part of the Uidah clan. We shared much of their techniques, wills and philosophies.
However, our family structure was odd amongst those of the amrtial world. As two equal halves of our collective clan, The Uidah and the Gautama chose the leaders of them both based on talent.
The problem with this method stemmed from our method of measuring talent and how that biased many of our results.
We follow the path of the Buddah, and although there are ten powers in perfect balance, our families only managed to stumble upon one: the Buddah’s eye.
Because of this, our leaders were chosen by who could master Buddah’s eye to the highest level. However, there was something about our Gautama faction that gave us an advantage so large that generations would go by at a time before a member of the Uidah family would rule. And that, of course, was our soul talent.
The Gautama family, for one reason or another, had manifested probably the most innate aurora wielders in history. That being said, that didn’t mean there were a lot of us. In our long history, I am but the 12th.”
Alidor stopped, seemingly studying something before he continued. “However, despite the number still being small, it was still much more than clans even like the Ragnor, Sapientia and Pakal clans. And, even when an innate aurora wasn’t produced, our ability to soul cultivate and our innate souls were so far above average that we still maintained an advantage.
Finally, the Uidah clan had had enough. They were tired of losing power for millennia at a time and teamed up with a clan to eliminate us… I’m not sure what clan that was, or what purpose they had in helping the Uidah, but all that matters is that they helped.
In the end, all but the two of us were wiped out. Mom and Dad sent us into the gate to hide, hoping my innate aurora would keep the two of us safe while we grew. The end.”
“Big brother, you cut so much out! I’m not happy.” Kaeara frowned. How was she supposed to share her brother’s pain if Alidor kept cutting out the most heartbreaking parts?
Alidor only sighed, ignoring his younger sister. She didn’t need to know about the details. She didn’t need to have thoughts of her mother being defiled. She didn’t need thoughts of her father being tortured. She didn’t need thoughts of her elder brother cowering in a dark basement, holding the bundle that became her in his small arms as he watched it all happen through a crack in the ceiling.
Those were memories Alidor held onto for himself. Thoughts he would use to fuel him as he forged ahead. And this? This was step two.
Alidor’s lips almost twitched into a smile as he finished making his way around the tower. ‘Alright, I was right. Good.’
Reaching his hand forward, Alidor drew an intricate array. And, almost magically, his hand didn’t become mutilated like Kaeghan. Instead, a foggy door manifested itself 3-meters in front of the Epistemic Tower.
“Let’s go.”
Watching silently as the Basilisks entered, Alidor took one more look behind him before he continued. His brows furrowed, but, he couldn’t find evidence of anything out of the ordinary, so, he simply continued, the foggy door disappearing behind him.
Soon, there was absolute silence. The tower loomed and the random spatial fluctuations continued to crackle in the air…. When suddenly, a flash of gold appeared in the air, a handsome young man stepping out of it.
“I think letting you use my face is enough payment for me to use you. Don’t you think?”
Dyon smiled to himself, standing in front of the tower before walking forward confidently..
This content is taken from 𝘪𝘦.𝘤𝑜