Chapter 2: Blind Direction

“Lieutenant General”, a young woman wearing a glowing armor and skinny black pants with golden strings entered the office and saluted to the man with the long combed red hair and big blue eyes.

Ever since news about the Event in Demirva Ridge were spread, Supreme Ruler of Kingdom Earth and Lieutenant General of the Blessed Army, Ariel Dauch, was summoned back to the army’s First Base, in case a confrontation with the other five powers would arose.

“What is it, Shiva?”

The young woman, Shiva, was exactly one of the Curators who guarded the pathway to New Earth at the time of Zax arrival to Ercas Mir.

As she stepped into the room, a consoling expression was plastered on her face, which caused Lieutenant General Ariel to knit your brows.

“Lieutenant General...” Shiva’s tone was hesitant. What she was about to relay to him was a subject of utmost care and importance to the Lieutenant General. “The youth you accompanied from New Earth, the Curator’s Mark I left in him perished”.

“Perished? Can you confirm the manner it happened?” Lieutenant General Ariel felt his heart sinking. Zax was a talented junior that in Ercas Mir was not different than a kin, moreover, one that he himself convinced to go to this dangerous world above ground. If something truly accrued to him that it was only natural for grief to set in.

“My apologies, Lieutenant General, I can only validate the coordinates and time where the mark perished. It happened in Demirva Ridge, not long after the black sky”.

“Leave”. Lieutenant General Ariel ordered that instant Shiva clarified the situation.

If she had least rephrased her words differently ... using “vanished”, “disappeared”, “destroyed” instead of “perished”, all but the last one represented a small chance for him to believe that Zax might be still alive. Alas, she stuck to her choice of words; hence, there was nothing more he needed to hear from her.

“Yes, Lieutenant General”. Shiva saluted again and left, closing the door to the office behind her.

TAK!

TAK!

TAK!

Lieutenant General Ariel’s finger knocked irritably on his desk as his head, with heavy heart, bent back and his clear eyes penetrated the ceiling of the office, or maybe it was his Sublime Soul Sense with which he viewed the gorgeous blue sky... ?

“Forgive this senior, junior Zax”. He whispered. “Those waiting for you at home, senior will ensure their health and happiness, I pledge”.

It took the short and grumpy man four days of rest before waking up in the cave Zax found. At first he was confused and behaved disorderly. While his body fully healed, his soul still recovered from the trauma inflicted on it by Helev Hetra.

In the sixth day, Fengar showed hints of clarity and was willing to communicate with Zax, though only for a short while before resuming meditation.

Finally in the eighth day, today, Fengar was in optimal condition in both mind and body, thus finishing hearing Zax’s account of all that happened since he lost consciousness.

Suffice to say that the shock he felt when he learnt about Zax’s miraculous feat, the consumption of the unrefined dark attribute’s essence, was too overwhelming to respond with words.

Before listening to the lad, he had no idea that the dark attribute’s essence requires refinement as a prerequisite to being used. As such, he just secretly gloated when Zax told him how he cheated the scumbags from the five powers of the perfect dark attribute’s essence they pursued him for. But then, Zax got to the part where he felt an unbearable pain, describing it as a torture worse than being torn to pieces. Although his description was insufficient to emphasize the severity of pain, Fengar was not stupid. His age was worth more than a handful of complete non cultivator’s life times to understand the consequence of certain actions, more so when benefits are involve.

As the saying goes ... nothing comes easy, unless you do it right.

As the telling of the extermination of the five powers’ members followed, the solicitous and profusely perspiring Fengar slowly dissipated, replaced by relief, then incredulity, then, as Zax extracted a bit soul and dark attribute pressure to prove his radical strength, utter astonishment!

“Take it”. Fengar shoved the dark attribute’s essence to Zax’s hand. “Don’t misunderstand; I want it, probably feel miserable for this decision, and for a long time, at that. However, I have no means to refine who know to whom to turn. If I’ll try to look then I have no doubt that eventually someone from the five powers will find me. I had hopes in the beginning that it would be like any other dark attribute’s essence, but this darn thing is far more complicated than I dare risk bargain for. The staggering amount of Splinters and pills ... they, I can find someone reliable to examine and determined their medicinal effect. So keep the dark attribute’s essence”.

Fengar insisted on giving a full speech. The enticement for the dark attribute’s essence was something he could not hide, so to ensure Zax of his resolve he explained all of his reasons before the former could refuse him.

Not knowing how to refute him, Zax yielded and placed the dark attribute’s essence in his spatial ring. “Do you still desire to proceed with the trials?” He asked since for him passing the trials and returning to Xinia was of no significant use.

It was important to remember that while the five powers may think that the person known as “Zax Zel” of New Earth died, at least one of the five powers is aware of the extinct of the feral mercenary that came back from the dead, in addition to several untrustworthy mercenaries. Entering cities or clans before obtaining prior knowledge of his contemporary identity’s status would be too reckless regardless of how strong he became.

“Crossing the ridge with you repelling the wraiths sounds quite tempting, it would turn these rotten trials from the worst into the easiest I had ever taken”. Fengar sighed, evidently negating the idea. “It’s better that for the next couple of decades I will lower my profile. My face had become too recognizable ... if others see me at the end destination of the trials, people’s minds will run wild; speculating that to survive that ordeal I probably stumbled on some good fortune. I rather avoid this situation. If Vouvik and Shouva will be okay with it, we’ll take the trials again in the distant future, it’s not like we have lack of Splinters, anyhow”. He cracked opened a self mocking smile, in his heart laughing at the greedy bastard that he was, who ignored years of experience for an extremely costly dream.