The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

To be truthful, he didn't have any confidence in his Integration. After decades of trying in Talos and Fallen Heaven, his Anima, the shape of his soul in the form of a deer, still failed to merge and permeate his flesh, bones, and blood. Oscar sensed the unwillingness of his Anima, the helpless groans echoing in his ears, but he no longer cared for the consequences. Several veins tensed and writhed visibly underneath his skin, many popping and spurting blood. The ground caved in as the violent surge of his Eirin spiked to the utmost, losing all semblance of proper control and burning freely.

'It's incomplete. I don't have much time.' Warning Demon and Erden, Oscar breathed out embers and buckled his knees, the weight of the sheer power rattling his bones. An incomplete sapphire helmet, the shattered remains of what seemed to be a part of a whole rested across his eyes like a visor. The sapphire armor covered half his chest, extended to a pauldron on his right shoulder, and ended in a thick gauntlet clenched hard into a steely fist. The rest of his body was untransformed, but a rampant Eirin twisted and wriggled, seemingly tearing itself apart in repeated cycles of turning into shreds and regathering. He took one step and shook the room, the remaining statues collapsing.

Oscar raised his fist to his eyes and rotated, studying the sharp gleams of rainbow flames on his knuckles. A bluish glow emerged from his dark pupils, and he expanded his Prinstyct, catching glimpses of Lelith's movements, the echoes of her future self now clear as day. She dashed in as foretold. In a smooth motion, his armored fist reached out and clanged on Lelith's scythe, sending her flying and slamming her on the wall, rubble raining down on her shoulders. Her neck creaked upward in an unsettling sound akin to a puppet's, bringing her face to stare forward, her lips squirming as green blood dripped from the corner.

But there was no time to celebrate. Oscar glanced at his left hand in confusion. It hung down limp and swayed, the muscles, bones, and fingers unresponsive to his call. His incomplete Integration seemed to come with other downsides. Demon reacted and stepped to Oscar's left, taking the role of the rebellious left arm. Erden roared in rising confidence and landed a heavy fist on Lelith, her wing slashing to deter him. The section of the wall caved in as cracks spread and parted more rubble off the once grandeur hall.

Lelith separated herself from the heavy rubble and wiped the green blood, observing it on her palm. Her Ancestral Mark blinked, becoming more transparent, catching Oscar's attention. While it was an incredible boost, the mark wasn't a permanent power. If anyone could tire the user until the reservoir of Ein that supplemented it ran out, then the Mark would vanish. The enemy would return to a normal Exalt's capabilities. Oscar clicked his tongue and found it quite laughable that even if the mark vanished, Lelith would still be a Grade Nine, far surpassing the norm.

'Tiring her out is not an option. I'm not going to outlast her even if we share our Eins.' Oscar noticed a crack in his armor and held in a groan, tasting blood in his mouth. The violent power of forcibly containing his Anima inside his body wracked havoc in his insides. He couldn't bear any longer in this form and nodded to Serit, signaling him to make haste with his preparations. Avila floated above and rained down a squall of piercing bolts on Lelith. Pitifully, the streaks of light pitter-pattered on Lelith's wings as if she were walking through a refreshing shower.

He could see her movements now and relayed the information to Demon and Erden through shared senses. As she closed in, Demon and Erden circled to her back. Oscar shifted his stance and twisted his hip, putting Eirin and momentum behind his punch in a concentrated Shattering Wave, the scythe screeching as it was forced back. Blown back, Lelith twisted her wings and soared up, retreating for the first time in their battle. Demon was faster and had his sword raised in a firm stance, two hands gripping hard. His white sword, wreathed in rainbow flames, painted a beautiful arc in its path.

Erden stomped his feet and rushed from below while his arms formed a tight guard. His head nocked back and rammed upward, bashing the antlers, bending Lelith's wing. Oscar was in front of her again and swung hard, hitting right on her chest, or so he thought. Somehow, she reacted and blocked with the shaft of her scythe, but the force of his blow sent her into another wall. Avila prepared an array of light-forged javelins and fired them all, focusing on the single spot where Lelith was buried. Oscar held his hand and stopped Serit.

A faint glint streaked across his sight, and Oscar grabbed Serit, leaping up. The wall behind him was cut, a smooth line splitting it. The echoes of future Ein lined similar streaks in many places. Oscar rushed to Avila and dragged her along, dodging the invisible attacks that flashed past him and formed deep lines in the hall. The sharpness was unreal; he realized he had been too optimistic, underestimating the powers of a Grade Nine. Dropping Avila and Serit, Oscar kicked off and set off for Lelith. Erden and Demon followed through and merged their attacks together with his.

Lelith slashed once with her scythe, twice with her two razor-sharp wings, and then pulled out another scythe, shocking Oscar. With a final swing of her second scythe, she negated their combined blow and fought them to a standstill, her scythes rattling and clinking against Demon's sword, his fist, and Erden's helmet. A sigh escaped her lips, and she kept her cold, emotionless stare. "I never expected this." She retreated one step and sped up. The patterns of her attacks doubled, no, tripled. Demon pushed Oscar and Erden out before one of her slashes swiped down and severed Demon's left arm, flakes of Ein dissipating on the fresh wound.

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'I'd ask if you're alright, but I remember I don't care about you and that you are in a Duality body.' Erden grunted. Oscar could understand his friend's intentions, always trying to joke to break the shock of the overwhelming situation.

'The thanks from a beast means little.' Demon replied, clenching his wound. He shook his head and rejected Oscar's suggestion to heal it. The preservation of his limited Ein was of the utmost importance.

Oscar frowned deeply, staring at the two scythes wailing in Lelith's grips. 'Two grade-four armaments at once. That should be impossible, but somehow, she's handling it. Is it because she's a shard of Metures?'

'No. Now that she's pulled them out, I can see the three are of the same fire, embers born of one flame.' Ignyres noted. 'Those two scythes are a part of her, forged or perhaps separated from her being. Sorry, I am no use in this fight.'

'Just keep giving me primordial flames. I'll figure it out.' Oscar exhaled and marched in, swallowed by innumerable slashes. Amid the unending pounding of her dual-wielding, no, quad-wielding with her wings, he gritted his teeth, meeting every blow with his knuckles. With Demon and Erden, their tri-force combined with Serit and Avila, they entered a stalemate, a single mistake resulting in death and defeat. As her scythe brushed against his cheek, Oscar nearly glanced off her face with his fist. Grimacing, he pondered, 'How can we break this stalemate? My time is almost up.'

…….

She no longer wept, having cried the last of her tears many years ago. Bound by chains and hung on the wall, Avril dangled with her arms spread, a heavy dripping noise interrupting any possible peace of silence or retreat in her thoughts. Drop by drop, her blood trickled out of the many scars adorning her face and limbs. 'Drip. Drip. Drip.' It burst her ears numb. All she had known was this place, the rest of her memories a blank void.

The door creaked open, and a shadowy figure entered. Tap after tap, the steps drew closer, making Avril shudder and whimper. The shadow swayed a large scythe in a taunt and lowered the blade. Avril no longer reacted and struggled as the tip of the sharp blade cut a fresh wound on her face. She had been through it for perhaps hundreds of years. It was all she had known. The shadow snapped its fingers, and the chains lowered, allowing her a respite of resting on her knees.

Closing her eyes, Avril knew what came next and didn't move as a firm grip pulled on her hair and dragged away. Tossed, she bounced and rolled on an icy floor, her blood sticking to the frozen metal. The shadow seemed bored of her lack of movement and lifted her harshly. Splotches of skin and blood, torn from the parts of her body that touched the floor, were distinct from the icy white sheet. Avril touched her face, feeling the groove of missing flesh, part of it already hardened from the cold.

'How much longer? What am I doing here?' Avril rested in the corner of the white room, shivering. Her face went pale and numb. The dripping blood stopped, but the endless clattering of her teeth now occupied her thoughts. 'Why do I have to suffer? I only wanted to live in peace with…with…who?' She frowned and felt a strange heat welling in her chest. 'Who?'

Cycle after cycle, she endured the lashing of the shadow's gleeful strikes and slept in the cold, white room. But now, a question accompanied her, one she couldn't let go of despite the pain and noise that always cleared her thoughts. 'Who? Who did I forget?' Something itched in a nonexistent part of her body, a phantom that couldn't be satisfied. 'WHO? WHO? WHO? WHY AM I SO ANGRY?' Avril stood for the first and punched the wall, tearing her fist off, the skin of the knuckles frozen stuck to the ice. She punched and punched until the bones underneath were exposed.

'WHAT DID I FORGET?' Avril shouted. Flashes of a faint memory surfaced, lingering in the once-blank void that obscured them. A dark forest where she foraged and munched on inedible nuts for a while, all alone. Then, a strange visitor came nearby where she was foraging, accompanied by a beast.

'Excuse me! I am Oscar Terr. Can you tell me where I am?'

'Wah!' She recalled running away and chuckled.

'Os…car. Right. I met him once. Once?' The memories spilled forth. From the Burning Valley, where she trained under Sevon and led a group with Oscar, to the Lands of Zeret, where she survived Okeanes, fought with her life to defend Oscar, and witnessed a miracle in the Pools of Ascension, to Convecia City, where they…married. 'My husband. Right, I had a husband.' She rubbed her ruined face. 'He didn't mind my wounds.'

'Renn…Gloria…Maia…Avila…Master Remulus.' Avril slowly remembered. She couldn't stop the overwhelming memories that flooded as if a dam had broken in her mind. Gnashing her teeth, Avril gripped her forehead and screamed, cracks forming in the white room. At last, she remembered it all. 'What am I doing? WHAT AM I DOING HERE? My children, my friend, my sister, my husband…WHY AM I SO USELESS? THEY'RE ALL FIGHTING. WHY AM I HERE?'

The room of ice shattered and turned to dust, the chains rusted and fell apart, and the scars healed. She couldn't describe this feeling. She had felt it several times before, but Oscar usually stopped her in those times. 'Oscar, where are you? Are you fighting her?' She palmed over her heart and could feel that a battle was underway outside. Her golden eyes narrowed with a cold gleam. 'I am done running. No longer will I be your prisoner. I am Avril Terr, not your slave!' She screamed to the shadowy figure that stared at her. It dissipated from her shout. 'I will kill you.'

Avril blinked several times, hearing the clear sounds of metals clashing in the throes of battle. After a few blinks, her vision regained clarity, and she found herself resting on her big sister's back, which was drenched in cold sweat, the heart thumping faster than she could mentally count. Avril looked down and saw her beloved fighting against her former master, matching the monster of her nightmares blow for blow, an amazing feat. Who else but her husband could fight so earnestly at the risk of his own life for her sake?

'Why am I here when everyone's fighting?! 'She bit her lip and leaped off Avila's back, clenching her staff. Her sister yelped and chased, but Avril screamed her heart out, releasing the pent-up rage. She couldn't tolerate it anymore, to be so helpless while others fought and sacrificed. 'Enough.' Avril summoned her Scroll Anima and forced it into her body. "Integration."

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