Inside a dark room, decorated with pieces of artifacts and weapons all over, a large circular pool filled with clear water about knee-deep was placed in the middle. Floating in its center was Will, robed in white ceremonial clothes and nothing else.
The water rippled with every beat of his heart, creating a sinusoidal wave that spread to the edge of the pool and back.
*BOOM!*
A loud drum beat, sending the calm waves of the water into turmoil. The beat was slow at first but gained intensity and speed as time went on. Along with its increasing rate, the stagnant energy in the space started fluttering all over the place.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
The beating stopped abruptly; however, the energy around it remained in its excited state. If someone could see them, then they would realize that the energy was flowing along a path, circulating around the room.
A door opened with a squeak, and from it, Ember, Fang, and Igni came out wearing ceremonial robes similar to what Will wore. They kept solemn faces as they chanted words or syllables of unknown meanings.
They went forward, heading into the water where Will was floating. The three spread around equally, with Ember near Will’s head, Fang to his right, and Igni to his left.
After they finished the chanting, they closed their lips and joined their palms in front of their chests. They slowly knelt down, sitting in what was known as a seiza, while the water moved and soaked their robes.
Between the three of them, a golden light started leaking. As soon as it appeared, the drum beats resumed. With each whomp, the energy around the three became larger and wilder.
Their energies merged in the middle, where Will was, and slowly seeped into his body.
Suddenly, a bright pillar of light pierced the dark space, with Will in its middle. A large bronze bell manifested in the air above him, decorated by unknown inscriptions and letters.
When it appeared, the atmosphere became heavier. Groans could be heard coming from the areas beyond the cover of darkness. Despite all that, the three girls remained unperturbed. Hands joined in prayer with their eyes closed.
The golden light that was leaking from the three was suddenly sucked in by the bronze bell, making it grow in size. From its initial size of about a meter, it became large enough to cover the entire pool, which spanned a few dozen meters.
It would’ve punctured the roof if it were a tangible object, but it was just an illusion created by the process of recreating a life vessel for Will. Although it was the first time that such a large object appeared as the manifestation of a life vessel, the priestess and the other priests resumed the ritual without a word of complaint.
Unintelligible chants echoed as the bronze bell stopped growing. Ember’s face was full of sweat as she felt lethargic; however, she resumed her kneeling position without so much as a shiver.
Igni and Fang, who were stronger than Ember in terms of physical prowess, retained their calm despite the wave of powerlessness that they felt. In exchange for that, they could feel that Will’s presence was getting stronger and stronger.
*Duuuuuwoooooooooon*
The bronze bell rang; its sound made the walls reverberate and made the priests cover their ears in pain. Another ring, followed by another. The weaker priests’ ears were already bleeding.
The sound was so powerful, despite being the result of an illusion. The priestess squinted her eyes as she stared at the large bronze bell, wondering what it really was. 𝙚𝙙𝙣𝒐𝙫𝙚𝙡.𝙤𝙧𝒈
After the ninth ring, Will’s body started releasing a golden glow.
The large bell dissolved into small particles of light as they got absorbed by Will, who breathed them in through his nostrils.
*Thump!*
A loud heartbeat was heard. Each beat was able to shake everyone listening to it to their cores.
The golden light then faded, along with the disappearance of the loud heartbeat.
Will shifted a little before opening his eyes.
—
“What’s this sound?”
A man wearing a red haori, which was a stark contrast to his tea-colored hair, muttered in surprise.
The loud sound of the bell was heard all the way to the main household, making not only him but many others stare toward its source.
The source of the sound was a large bell, whose backside was peeking out of the roof of the ceremonial building. Its size was something else, but the majesty it released made those who stared at it want to bend their knees and pray.
“It seems like Priestess Harumi was performing the Ritual of the Fiery Phoenix to restore someone’s life vessel.”
A voice echoed from within the shadows.
The man in red went “hmmm” before smiling.
“I can feel a familiar aura coming from there. They may be someone I know.”
He then walked faster, going down the long hallway of the main building. Behind him, a large Power Kong was following his steps carefully.
However, before he could move further, a loud heartbeat was heard. The man in red stopped in place, his face twisted in pain as he held his own chest.
“W-What’s this…”
He muttered in absolute confusion. He could feel that his blood was resonating with the loud sound of a heart beating. However, he had only experienced such an event once in his life.
“This… is the ancestor’s bloodline?!”
His eyes quivered in excitement. As soon as his own heartbeat calmed down, he quickly shouted to his subordinates.
“Sasuke, Chiyome, go to the ceremonial building and confirm the identity of the person being healed.”
He frowned as he thought of words to add.
“If possible, lead them to me. Protect them from any interference from other branch families.”
“”As the young master wishes…””
Two voices, one male and one female, echoed from somewhere. Then, an instant later, silence resumed.
“The last true successor…”
The man in red muttered as he sighed deeply. Soon, he turned around and walked back the way he came. There’s no time to waste. He needed to pull some strings quickly before more interference ensued.