Half of the Grand Camp was already over–and I was nowhere close to completing my classes. As far as my information network reached, some had already gathered the credits needed to graduate–a handful even with honors. In the meantime, I barely completed the Basic Group Combat class and the Outsider Language class. That, too, only because Ruler Kazriel made me study the tongue of the Caldera–the language Pyra.

And now, well, now I stood near a smoldering pit of lava alongside Ruler Kazriel, Daniel, and a few more cadets. That included Wesley and some other faces I’d never seen before. The other Rulers and their Scions were not yet present, but I considered that a boon. One Ruler was already more than I could handle.

“You shouldn’t have done that. Why did you antagonize a Ruler for my sake?!” Daniel hissed, gripping my shoulder. He looked sternly at me, but I could only think back to the Ruler’s death stare.

“I… I wouldn’t call it ‘antagonizing,’” I grimaced. “All I did was ask for something in return for my work.”

That had not been my best decision, and I knew that now. Ruler Kazriel would get rid of me if I failed him. That just meant I had to impress him, which would greatly benefit both Daniel and me. As long as I performed well enough, I had nothing to worry about. But maybe, just maybe, that was the issue.

You are strong. We are strong!

Aureus thundered in my mind.

Kill! Death! Victory!

A high-pitched voice, filled with murder, rang in my head–stammering and not quite as coherent as the Earthheart. It was Nox, and I understood him perfectly fine.

We will be fine. Not necessarily through murder, hopefully not, but everything will be alright.

“If you fail, you will–”

“I won’t fail.” I stared back at Daniel, loosening the restrictions on Nox’s bond for a moment. Bloodlust reached my eyes, which only caused Daniel to sigh deeply.

“You want to fight them. I get that, I really do. Damn this whole Spirit-touched nonsense, I want to fight them too!” He grumbled, eyes swiveling left and right to see if the Caldera heard him.

“Just make sure to take care of yourself. Don’t risk your life for the World Aspect or whatever. The Caldera’s acknowledgment is great, but it is useless if you’re dead or crippled.”

Part of me agreed with Daniel. Death was not on my priority list. Acquiring a World Aspect for my friend, however, was. But it was not my highest priority in the Katrak, even though it should have been. It was far from the only priority on my mind. I wanted this–to fight in the Katrak, to defeat their prodigies, whether they were blessed by a Primal Spirit or the Spirit of Volca.

Being recognized for my hard work and achievements was exhilarating in its own way. I was not weak anymore, but my strength still paled in comparison to Blessed from influential households and those with low restraints on their massive Worlds.

The Scions were humanity’s best. They were the cornerstone of mankind’s youngest generation, and I was nowhere close to reaching them. Yet, as great as the gap of strength was, the Caldera valued me as much as them. I was as respectable as the Scions in their eyes!

“Welcome to our humble abode.” A hoarse voice rang out from the left, and we turned to an old Caldera. His red skin was wrinkled and almost greyed out, and the crimson orbs representing his eyes were dim. He was not even that tall, yet a group of a dozen young and muscular Caldera followed his every step.

Scanning their body language only confirmed the first impression I got from them: the young ones respected the old Caldera. I even went as far as to consider they revered the old man.

“I am the Spiritcaller, but you may as well consider me the eyes of Volca.” He lifted his left hand and pressed several fingers against his forehead. Though he barely lowered his head, I was fairly sure that was already a sign of enormous respect–the Caldera behind him gasped. They murmured something in Pyra, which I did not quite catch, and were silenced as the Spiritcaller turned to look at them.

“We are honored to stay in the Elemental Spires for the days to come,” Ruler Kazriel responded in Pyra, weaving his words much better than I could.

Translating Pyra was a little difficult. The sentences made sense, yet the connotation of certain terms and the word-for-word translation made little sense at times. Learning other languages was a mess, even more so when you had only a few months in which you had to squeeze as much knowledge as possible into your brain. My brain, for one, was brimming with knowledge I had yet to digest.

I was happy enough to understand most of the things that were said. Ruler Kazriel repeated the Spiritcaller’s greeting and bowed his head subtly as well. A handful of Caldera took offense to that, especially since the Ruler did not lower his head as much as the Spiritcaller, but a glimpse of their leader made sure they remained silent.

I stepped forward with a warm smile. “Honored Spiritcaller, I am grateful for the invitation. I am eager to demonstrate my gains to you.”

Four fingers pressed against my forehead, and I bowed deeply. My bow was probably a lot deeper than necessary, but it felt right.

“The Infant has grown. Your spirit is firmer than Youngling Zegrath mentioned. Time has done well on you, Infant. Or would you rather I consider you a Youngling, since you’ll be one with them in a few days?” the Spiritcaller asked, his voice softening into a gentle, almost parental cadence. It was filled with kindness–a better kind than Ruler Kazriel’s.

While Ruler Kazriel was nice and all, his kindness was suffocating. It felt genuine, but there was so much of it that it was hard to consider it such. The Spiritcaller was different. He sounded genuine, and I did not have an issue trusting him. Even though the pressure weighing on me was great, the tension evaporated as the Spiritcaller’s dim crimson orbs lingered on me.

I felt welcome, almost like I had just returned home, which was strange considering I came here to beat those living in this place.

“Is it possible to call me Adam, Your… Excellency?” I was unsure about the last bit and added a quick bow at the end. The Spiritcaller chuckled lightly while those behind him laughed more openly.

“I am the Spiritcaller. I do not need to be called Lord, Ruler, or Your Excellency. Spiritcaller is my calling, so you can call me just that, Youngling Adam.”

Although that was not perfect, Youngling was more acceptable than Infant.

“Infant Adam,” Daniel snickered behind me. He stiffened when several pairs of crimson orbs turned to him, and he hurriedly introduced himself.

In the meantime, I stared into the pond of lava. Dense ether seeped into the surroundings as the bubbles in the molten liquid burst. Droplets of lava splattered in all directions, some reaching as far as our group, yet I did not feel any danger. A small mass of lava landed mere centimeters before my feet, but I did not move. My eyes remained on the pond instead; the inner World stirring. It rippled in anticipation and urged me to do something.

What exactly was I to do? I had no idea. Maybe my World was tired of me and hoped I’d jump into the pond of lava to die prematurely.

Odd.

Odd indeed. This place was not unlike the Sanctuary.

Aureus commented eloquently. He was not as chatty as Daniel had been before we reached the Grand Camp, but after advancing to the Evolved Rank, the Earthheart spoke more. He said a lot more, more often than not making sure I understood that he was the more intelligent of the two of us.

Stab!

Nox hissed in my head, flooding me with images of him stabbing and slashing at the lava.

Aureus disagreed with the Ferronox Mantis’ methods and voiced his concerns. Nox didn’t care and showed images that displayed the superiority of killing intent and the permanence of death. I wasn’t quite sure what was going on between my Soulkins, but a heated argument ensued in my head, which was less pleasant than it sounded.

Calling them took a while, and I noticed that I’d missed most of the rest of the introduction. Wesley finished introducing himself as the last of the cadets, his eyes hollow, his confident nature nowhere to be seen. Something about him was off, incredibly so, but I had no idea what was going on.

Scott tried talking to him a few times, but there was no helping it; Wesley didn’t want any help.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Thinking about Scott, I wondered where he was. Ruler Kazriel had mentioned something about meeting up with the others, but he hadn’t been with Wesley and the other cadets. Did that mean–

The space several meters to our left distorted, eyes and crimson orbs flicked to the distortion as it expanded into a portal. The Caldera tensed, and guards I hadn’t noticed before emerged from the walls, ceiling, and ground, carrying themselves with grace and the radiance of power.

“We will not harm our visitors.” The Spiritcaller’s voice rang calmly through the entrance hall to the volcano as a disheveled head emerged from the portal.

He waved dismissively, and the guards dispersed again, spreading through the Elemental Spires.

“Looks like the coordinates are correct.” The mess of hair swiveled around, eyes locked onto the lava pond. “Phew. Good thing we brought you with us, Scott.”

There was no weight to the voice, but I tensed anyway. A neck emerged from the portal, followed by the rest of the human’s body. He stepped out of the portal with otherworldly calmness and wiped the dust from his robe with surprising carelessness. The Spiritcaller and Ruler Kazriel looked at the unbothered man, one whispering curses loud enough for everyone to hear, the other with intrigue.

The man looked up to see Ruler Kazriel and smiled brightly, his sickly pale face brightening. “Hey Kaz, what’s popping?”

26.2

Ruler Kazriel grumbled something I didn’t quite catch and waved toward Scott as he emerged from the portal as well. “Scott, get over here before this idiot corrupts your mind.”

Scott moved slowly and sluggishly. He staggered for a moment but regained his composure when an emerald green light enveloped him.

“Careful, my young friend. I would rather not fetch you like a fish.” A sonorous voice resounded as a voluptuous woman carrying a wooden staff emerged behind Scott. “That pond may be a little bit too hot for you to handle, honey.”

The verdant gemstone crowning her staff shimmered like captured springlight; however, it was her stunning presence that captivated me. Her dress, shimmering in a variant of hundreds of green tones, clung to her body like a second skin, sculpting each curve as if the fabric itself worshipped her. She was flawless, radiant even.

Her features muddled my mind. Her lips looked as soft as they were captivating, but her eyes were worse–vivid emeralds that pulsed with warmth and love. Her hair, grassblade-green and silky, flowed down her back and shimmered beneath the grace of the moonlight that shouldn’t even reach the entrance hall.

She wasn’t just beautiful. She was divine. Even Daniel’s sister paled beside her. And that… that was hard.

“Stare too long at her and she will devour you. In a good way,” Ruler Kazriel said without an ounce of emotion. “Until you drop dead to the ground.”

Somehow, I did not doubt his words for a second. The woman looked beautiful–too beautiful. Something about her was odd, and I was definitely not going to find out what it was.

This woman was too dangerous for my taste, and with how fast Scott scurried toward Ruler Kazriel, she was too dangerous for his liking too.

“Ruler Sera,” Ruler Kazriel greeted the voluptuous woman with a faint smile, yet there was no sign of his aura. He reined his kindness in her presence. That, for one, affirmed it was best to stay cautious of the woman.

“Maximilian,” the Ruler turned to the lanky, pale-faced man who’d emerged from the portal first. “I should have known. There’s no way you’d miss meeting the Caldera,” Kazriel said, shaking his head. “I would have loved to see you never again, though.”

As harsh as his words sounded, I couldn’t sense any animosity in Ruler Kazriel’s voice.

They’re both Rulers, I realized, my eyes narrowing at the voluptuous woman. I could have sworn I’d seen her somewhere. She–

“In the Rulers’ Names!” I gasped, hurriedly covering my mouth. How could I have forgotten about Ruler Sera? She governed the third Bastion and might, or might not, have been the star of dozens of graphic comics.

Of course, I had never seen one of those. Definitely not! They were rated, after all.

But Ruler Sera was not the only familiar face. Maximilian was none other than the Ruler of Space. He appeared little in the ethernet, but he was in full charge of the ninth Bastion. His mastery of the Spatial Aspect, which was hard to control in and of itself, was tremendous. It was so great, he easily found us in the Elemental Spires, which had been a challenge even for Ruler Kazriel.

My memories of the journey through the Giant Forest and parts of the Elemental Spires were fragmented. One moment, I was with Daniel and the others, and, in the next, we levitated above the outskirts of the Giant Forest bordering the Elemental Spires. We saw so many powerful beasts, yet none of them attacked as we floated several hundred meters above the ground. Ruler Kazriel disappeared several times, only for the surrounding land to blur. One moment, we were high up in the air, and, in the next, we stood beside a pond of lava.

I discarded the memories with a shudder and turned to the remaining four people as they emerged.

At first glance, they all appeared young. Even the oldest appeared only a few years older than the other cadets, yet he radiated a kind of maturity I’d never seen in someone our age.

“Ruler Xandrak!” Daniel gasped.

He shuddered and his eyes glimmered with excitement when I glanced at him.

Daniel shuddered in utter joy and skidded over to me. I was sure I’d be able to hear his racing heart if my hearing had been a little better. It took a lot out of me to stay composed, though a grin slipped out.

“He broke the record of being the youngest Ruler by a few decades a few years back!” he whispered excitedly. “Ruler Xandrak is like ten or fifteen years younger than my parents. Do you know what that means?!”

I thought it was impressive. It definitely was impressive to reach the Ruler Rank in your 30s or mid 40s. Considering the extended lifespan Blessed received by breaking through the Ranks, it meant Ruler Xandrak would look like he was in his early 20s for a century or two. Maybe longer depending on how much stronger he grew in those centuries.

“It can mean a lot, but I’m not quite sure if I understand what you’re trying to say, Daniel,” I conceded, seeing how giddy my friend was.

“You don’t?” He clicked his tongue and went on, reclaiming his top spot as chatterbox in my books. “Ruler Xandrak became a Ruler when he was thirty-nine years old. He was the first to get even close to matching the Ruler of Fire’s record-breaking rise through the Ranks two centuries ago. Do you get it now? Ruler Xandrak is the first to break the Ruler of Fire’s records–by a few decades at that. If he keeps rising this quickly, he might as well be the first to reach the next Rank.”

I’d heard enough about the Ruler of Fire to be impressed. The Ruler of Fire belonged to the third generations of humanity trying to regain their footing on Razarn. History books claimed the first three generations of Blessed had it the worst. They also made clear that the fourth and subsequent generations only survived thanks to the appearance of the first Rulers. One Ruler from the first generation, a handful from the second, and the strongest of all–the only one still alive after all this time–the Ruler of Fire changed mankind’s fate.

Those who’d once fought desperately to survive were finally given a chance at a more peaceful life. Danger was still prevalent, but life was no longer solely about survival.

It took three generations to rescue humanity from the brink of extinction, and humans thrived once again.

In that sense, the Ruler of Fire was an enigma. He was the heart of the Council, the strongest human, and an idol for many. Myself included.

“You think he’s stronger than the Ruler of Fire?” I scowled, turning back to the young man whose eyes were darker than the night. He had short dark hair, a thin physique, and the dark rings beneath his eyelids looked nowhere near as impressive as the images I’d seen of the Ruler of Fire. If anything, Ruler Xandrak looked the least impressive of the Rulers I’d seen, be it in graphic novels, in videos, or face-to-face.

Even Ruler Maximilian appeared more impressive. Xandrak was too…ordinary.

The same could not be said about the Scions. There were three of them, and they all held their heads high. Each of them was clad in equipment of the best quality, which only amplified the arrogance I sensed from the trio. They pushed their chests out and did not even bother reining their presence as it spread through the entrance hall.

Golden particles revolved around a young woman, distorting space as she walked toward Ruler Maximilian with a lithe gait. Her golden hair dangled down her back, emitting star-like shimmers as it adjusted to her movements. It was like her hair was alive, as if it were imbued with the essence of space, and I wasn’t even sure if that was possible.

She appeared kind enough, but so did Ruler Kazriel. I’d learned my lesson and discarded all thoughts of approaching her to socialize with the Scions. Seeing how they looked at the other cadets, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to be near them.

A young man followed Ruler Sera, emitting an odd aura that represented both death and life. It radiated from the tall, athletic Blessed, whose looks were almost too good to be true. Even compared to peak Wesley, the Scion wouldn’t lose. Current Wesley was nowhere close to competing with Ruler Sera’s Scion.

The Scion standing by Ruler Xandrak’s side was quite interesting too. She did not look impressive and was not as handsome or beautiful as the other two. However, she had a touch of death that lingered around her. It was like death was part of the Scion, and it seeped into the surroundings, latching onto me and the others. I backtracked instinctively and shuddered.

Ruler Xandrak said something to his Scion, and the sense of impending death vanished into thin air.

“They’re all Masters,” Scott said with a grimace. His eyes shimmered milky-white for several seconds, and two viscous droplets of blood trickled from the corners of his eyes. “And, for the record, this Katrak is going to be a mess. A big one.”

I glanced to see Scott had joined us. Although I couldn’t recall when he appeared beside Daniel, that was beside the point.

“Do you have any more details you want to share with the class?” I asked half-jokingly, secretly hoping for a lot more information.

“Nope. I don’t know much, and I am fairly sure the Katrak is going to turn out differently than I thought– Telling you guys about the mess changed things.”

At this point, I knew he could see into the future. Daniel must have connected the dots as well, as his excitement turned to a more serious nuance.

Scott could see the future. However, he did not know everything. In combat, he could only see a second ahead, maybe only a quarter of a second to know what his opponent was going to do. It was more like foresight or combat-based precognition. However, there were also times when Scott saw a lot more. It drained a lot of ether and hurt him. His eyes would bleed, but that was worth the reward; information. As inaccurate as they might be at times, they were crucial.

“So you don’t know what exactly is going to happen?” Daniel asked, but Scott ignored him pointedly.

I doubted he knew the details, which was almost worse. Then again, the presence of four Rulers was bound to stir trouble, yet the Caldera regarded us with calmness and composure. They were almost too calm as they welcomed us into their home.