The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

The smell of fire and ash swarmed his nostrils, and Oscar woke up from the choking of the dirty air. Having no sense of where he was, Oscar tried to regain his sight to no avail. Through the blurriness of his sight, Oscar recognized the familiar redness glow of magma. For some reason, he couldn't feel anything, not even the heat of the magma.

"Huh?" His body wouldn't move. His strength faded the moment he tried to gather it. The muscles in his body could not muster their power. Something impeded him from moving. Unable to free himself, Oscar closed his eyes and steadied himself. He grunted and groaned, every part of his body trembling in their struggle against the strange bindings.

'What happened to Avril?' Deep regret was a bitter medicine to swallow. Oscar couldn't even move his head to lower it in shame. He should have done his best to run away with her, but he didn't. He wished he could hit himself in the head for his idiocy. Since returning from Ashen Grove, he's had trouble controlling himself, losing himself to his recklessness and emotions.

'Erden…can you hear me? I feel you nearby.' Oscar called out mentally to Erden. A faint signal of life flickered in his mind through his connection to Erden. He shouted desperately through the link. Yet, Erden never responded, still unconscious. 'Demon?' Oscar entered his inner world. Inside there, Demon sat with his eyes closed, an identical resemblance to Oscar without those cold eyes staring out.

"He also got you?" Confused at Demon's state, Oscar shook the astral form of Demon. After a furious amount of shaking, his counterpart refused to awaken. To his side, chains wrapped around his core, similar to the bindings at the Abyss Prison. His deer anima whimpered while bound in chains.

"Are you awake?" A voice echoed in his inner world.

Oscar opened his eyes, still blurry, barely making out a figure before him. The grating voice of the enemy was an offense to his ears. Veins wriggled along his neck. Oscar reigned in his anger, knowing it was pointless to do anything. "Where is Avril? Who are you?"

"Hmm? Oh, right. You can't see clearly with this in his body." The man's blurry figure drew closer. Oh, how Oscar wished to bite his neck off and escape.

Finally, he felt something near the nape of his neck, a small prick as something was removed. The blurriness faded from his sight, allowing the world to be clear. Oscar saw the man again, clenching his teeth. "I never thought I would meet another user of Reis. How unlucky am I to run into you on this burning rock?"

"Really? Whereas for me, I expected someone or multiple persons. So, I supposed instructions are in order." The man threw away a needle, took a chair, and sat down, adjusting his bowtie and maintaining his hair. "My name is Adam. Adam Rothsworth. Nice to meet you. What's your name, and where do you come from?"

"Let me guess. If I don't answer, you'll kill me and my friends. Can I see them first?" Oscar coughed.

"Sure, why not?" Adam scratched his chin and removed some more needles from Oscar's head. "You can turn to your left and right to see them. They're all right next to you."

Oscar turned left and saw his beast companion, Erden, covered in bandages. He sighed in relief to see Erden taken care of. However, he frowned to his right, where Avril lay on the ground. Her eyes were closed shut in a deep sleep, not a peaceful one. Her current state seemed closer to a coma than regular sleep. "What did you do?"

"Shouldn't you be thanking me? I bandaged you and the beast up to keep you alive. As for the girl, I put her in an induced coma. She had a seizure when I came close, so I had no choice. She's better off in that state, I promise you. Now, can you answer my questions?" Adam leaned in, lifting Oscar's head by the hair. "Who are you?"

"Oscar Terr. My name is Oscar Terr." Oscar replied, unable to turn his head away from Adam. The gray eyes gazed straight into his eyes.

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"Ok, Oscar. Where are you from?" Adam asked, his voice growing ever more serious. "Don't tell a lie. It's pretty simple to tell when someone's lying."

"I am from the Farsky Continent. Why do you want to know?" Oscar asked.

"Brat, there's nothing to do other than answer my questions. The Farsky Continent….You're a long way from home, aren't you? Running from Vallen to Shattirma. That must have been quite the journey. Not one someone would make on a whim or just for sightseeing. So why are you here?" Adam let go of Oscar's head and sat back down. He wiped his hands with a handkerchief, grimacing at the smudges on it.

"I didn't do it willingly. I ended up here by freak teleportation. If you know a way back to Vallen, back to my home, please tell me and let me go after I finish answering." Oscar coughed.

"That depends. Who knows if you're truly innocent or an ignorant pawn thrown into this place? We have to be very careful to avoid any mistakes." Adam got up from his seat and turned around, about to walk away.

"What makes you so afraid?" Oscar asked. Who did this strange Adam have his sights on? A strong Reis user like him had little to fear among his peers unless a higher power wanted him.

"In time. We'll speak again later. I will put the girl out of her coma. When she next awakens, she can give you this water and fruit, courtesy of your space pocket. Also, avoid taking out those needles, or you'll be in pure agony the entire time." Adam responded as he waved his hand without turning back. He disappeared down a ridge or sharp hill.

"Damned bastard. I hope you trip and fall." Oscar cursed out uselessly.

Hours later, in his prison of needles, Oscar felt Erden waking up. Delighted, Oscar coughed out in laughter. 'Erden, are you alright?'

'Barely awake, and I can't move. Where are we? What happened to you and Avril.' Erden responded.

'I don't know where we are. The lava and heat suggest we're still somewhere in the Burning Valley. I'm stuck like you. Avril is in a horrible condition. When she wakes up, will she recover?' Oscar groaned, trying to move his body.

'Curses. That man played around with us. Even if we fought from our prime condition, I believe we would have lost.' Erden also struggled to escape from the binding of needles. He gave up after a while.

'We should have let the woman be and run away alone. Again, your continued self-harming choice to throw yourself into the fray for others led us to this wretched state.' Demon interjected in the mental council with a cold tirade of ruthless words.

'I have no time to deal with you right now. To look on the bright side, we escaped Rockfell and met another Reis user other than Master. He seems reasonable to a degree. If I can convince him I'm not the threat he believes I am a part of, I can try gaining his trust.' Oscar's mind reviewed the battle against Adam and the conversation hours ago. The invisible attacks interested him. The only explanation was the involvement of Reis since those are invisible to the Prinstyct. If he could gain Adam's trust and learn the technique, he'd be more powerful to fight in the battles ahead.

"Mu….Where am I?" Avril's voice came from the side. "She wakes up, staring at the red sky, wondering where she is."

"Avril? Are you ok?" Oscar said. Relief washed over him. Thank the heavens she was alright now.

"Oscar? Oscar!" Avril's confused tone turned to shock. She entered his sight, her gold eye dripping with tears and indigo hair rough and unkempt. Her hands reached and palmed his face as she bowed her head with a tremble. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's all my fault."

"Avril. Avril." Oscar said her name multiple times until she finally calmed down slightly. "I don't blame you. It was just an unfortunate happening. Are you alright now?"

"I'm better…." Avril sniffed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Oscar asked.

"...." Avril stayed silent.

"If you don't want to, it's fine. But I'm also here to listen if you want to share." Oscar consoled her with a bright smile.

"Alright," Avril finally put on a small smile. "She becomes shocked when seeing Oscar's state for real. What are those needles? She needs to remove them to free Oscar."

"Don't!" Oscar shouted. "He said we shouldn't do anything or else."

"Who?" Avril stopped her hand right before her fingers could pinch a needle. Her eye dilated in anger. "Who dares do this to my partner?"

"That would be me. It looks like you're awake and alright now, girl." Adam walked back into view. Seeing Avril take a defensive position with her Ein bursting out, Adam sighed. "Are the two of you idiots or that driven? To face me for the sake of each other, I'm quite envious."

"Enough blabbering, Adam. You have a bad habit of talking too much." An old man appeared next to Adam. His presence alone pressured Avril to her knees.

Sweat beaded down Oscar's neck. The suffocating pressure made the needles dig further into him, inducing awful pain. He tried to contain it, but his mouth came loose, letting the agony escape into screams. The old man was undoubtedly a Marshal Exalt and not just any Marshal Exalt. The pressure reminded him of his Master and Aunt Rosett–a Greater Marshal Exalt!

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