by Daman
A shadow fell across Balis’ face, and a hint of profound sadness could be seen in his eyes as he spoke to Calron.
I think someone is following you, kid.
A familiar voice abruptly echoed in Calron’s mind, instantly alerting him of the danger.
Teacher!
Calron inwardly cried out with jubilant excitement at the presence of Ezkael, but he quickly glanced around his environment to see who was secretly observing him.
His irises soon morphed into a mysterious grey color, as the Divine Perception was immediately activated.
However, the moment Calron’s world turned white and grey, a sharp stinging pain suddenly drilled into his skull, eliciting a painful roar of agony.
“BIG BROTHER!”
Calron heard Roran bellowing frantically and rushing towards him.
CALRON!
He heard Ezkael’s cry in his mind, and his Teacher’s soul was desperately trying to pull Calron out from whatever that was trying to consume him.
“Teache-“
Calron tried to talk, but his eyes were beginning to slowly shut themselves as he felt his consciousness fading away.
He saw blurry faces of both Roran and Balis looking down at him, and Calron wasn’t sure if he saw correctly, but he also saw two figures in black-gold robes dropping down from the sky under flashes of lightning.
Another burst of sharp pain penetrated his mind, causing him to finally lose consciousness.
In the darkness of Calron’s mind, a mysterious white symbol glowed brightly.
Chapter 40 – Mark Of A Race
Goddammit! I’ve been losing my consciousness a lot lately…
Calron cursed, looking around to figure out where he was, but he could only see the darkness that enveloped him.
I need to calm my mind and analyze the current situation.
Calron composed himself and tried to think carefully about how he came here.
He remembered being at the slave auction and just winning the bid on Avor. After that, things became a bit hazy and his memory was in fragments. However, he recalled his Teacher warning about someone trailing him and his activation of the Divine Perception.
And then, the mental pain hit him.
*shaaah*
The sound of a gentle breeze echoed in Calron’s ears. What was strange was that Calron could only hear the sound of wind but not feel it.
“Who’s there!?”
He yelled into the darkness, not sure if his eyes were even open or closed.
“How did you enter this realm?”
A woman’s chilling voice sounded out next to Calron, startling him.
“Show yourself.”
Calron exclaimed, realizing that he still couldn’t see anyone around him.
“Kek, so you can’t see me. I’m still curious as to how you were able to break into this realm.”
Calron felt a cold and sharp finger tracing along his jawline, and felt a warm breath on his neck.
Starting to feel angry at his helplessness, Calron tried to use his Divine Perception once again.
“RAAAAGHHHH!”
The mind-shattering pain returned, causing Calron to desperately gasp for breath. However, in that brief instant, he saw the image of a tall and dark-skinned woman with snow-white hair.
Her slender cheekbones and full red lips were printed on Calron’s mind, a lingering memory of her unworldly beauty.
“How is this possible!?”
Calron heard a frantic cry and soon felt a soft and warm hand on his forehead.
“You bear the mark of our race… yet, you are not one of us.”
The dark-skinned woman’s voice sounded out in front of Calron, but he could sense the change in her tone. It was no longer as cold.
“You have used too much of our power and now, your body is unable to handle the stress. Hold still.”
The woman spoke, as she placed another hand on top of the one that was on Calron’s forehead and started to chant in an elusive and hypnotic language.
This feeling…
Calron felt like his mind was much lighter and even his body seemed to feel much more refreshed.
“Open your eyes.”
A soft voice drifted to Calron’s ears.
His eyes were open, but he still couldn’t see anything. Just as Calron was about to question, the woman’s voice sounded again with a trace of amusement.
“Your other eyes.”
Finally understanding what the woman was trying to convey, Calron hesitantly tried to activate the Divine Perception. A part of him was still afraid of going through that mental torture again.
However, the pain never came and instead he was greeted with the sight of the woman who had been talking to him. He was surrounded by an empty plain of blue and black rocks and even the sky above was as dark as a shadow. If not for the faint glow coming from the rocks, Calron would have found it extremely difficult to even see the woman in front of him.
“You should leave soon, as this place is not meant for you.”
The woman nodded after seeing that Calron was fine, and turned around to walk away.
“What did you do to me? And where is this place?”
Calron interjected in panic when he saw the woman leaving.
“This is a realm created by the Gods to imprison our race, the Dark Psylocks. Usually, no one should be capable of entering this place, but due to the mark on your forehead, your spirit was able to bypass into here.”
The woman turned back around and faced Calron.
It was at this moment that Calron noticed, that the dark-skinned woman was completely naked.
“If you value your life, then I would suggest that you do not use any of the Dark Psylocker’s abilities until you transcend into the dominion of the Saints. Both your soul and mind are incapable of containing our power. I have absorbed the pent up dark energy within your soul, so you should be safe to return back to where you came from.”
The woman explained, her dark and stoic eyes boring into Calron.
So that stinging pain originated from me using too much of the Divine Perception’s powers… I guess I have utilized it for extended periods of time while creating the God Tiles. I need to know more about the Dark Psylockers.
Calron brooded inwardly.
“You seem to know what this mark on my forehead is, so where does it come from?”
Calron gingerly touched the top of his head and gazed at the woman before him. If this was his real physical body, then he was sure that he would be blushing furiously at the sight of the naked woman in front of him.
“That is the mark that contains the power of darkness and it is also the symbol of our race. I do not know how you were able to inherit it, as all of the Dark Psylockers have been imprisoned in this realm.”
The woman answered, as she tilted her head and curiously inspected Calron.
“So, this is the power of darkness… is that why your race was imprisoned here?”
Calron inquired.
“You ask too many questions. Your time is running out as I can see your spirit beginning to fade away. Our race was imprisoned because the Gods could not have anyone challenging their authority and the power of our leader had reached the point where he could gaze into the mind of even the mightiest of Gods.”
The woman gazed up at the dark sky, recalling the events of their race’s demise.
“Why is the mark white if it is the power of darkness?”
Calron muttered to himself, worried that he had been using a dark power all this time.
“Darkness is not evil, and neither is light the path of righteousness. Remember this, light cannot exist without darkness and darkness cannot exist without light. Only in true darkness, does light shine the brightest.”
The woman gave a slight smile at Calron’s question and turned around to leave.
“Why did you help me?”
Calron asked a final question, sensing that his consciousness was already starting to drif
t away.
“Because… you are one of us.”
Her voice echoed behind as Calron’s spirit finally left the dark realm.
I forgot to ask her name.
Calron thought, just as he returned back to his body and heard familiar voices around him.
He began to slowly open his eyes.
……………………………
“Why did you not kill him?”
A deep masculine voice resounded in the darkness, once Calron’s spirit had left the realm.
“He might be the key that we are looking for to escape this vile prison.”
The woman responded with a sigh, while looking at the spot that Calron was at before.
“He has a weaker mind than even our newborns, how will he be useful?”
The deep voice countered.
“Enough. Let’s return.”
The woman stated indifferently, her face an emotionless mask.
“Understood, Ancient of Darkness.”
The masculine voice answered with reverence, as his shadow followed behind the woman.
Chapter 41 – Preparations
“Big brother! What happened to you?”
As Calron awoke with great difficulty, Roran’s worried voice immediately filled the room
“Just a headache from exhaustion, Roran. Let’s get out of here.”
Calron replied while glancing at the surrounding onlookers around them.
It seemed that his initial of cry of pain had alerted the nearby crowd.
“I hope everything is fine, lad. We better go now if you are done with the auction.”
Balis spoke from the side as he looked with concern at the youth and indicated with his glaring eyes for the crowd to leave them alone. He could sense that something had happened with Calron and that the boy did not want to talk about it for the moment.
“Yeah, let’s go, big brother.”
Roran helped Calron get back onto his feet, and the latter swept off any dirt sticking to his clothes.
Well, this was embarrassing.
Calron reflected, noticing the crowd dispersing back into the direction of the auction.
“We need to visit the auction hall to pay for the slave bid.”
Calron gritted through his teeth as he began walking towards the main auditorium.
“Big brother, we can do that later. You should sit down and rest for a bit.”
Roran cut in front of Calron, the memory of the previous incident still fresh in his mind. He had never seen his brother abruptly faint like that, so it made him feel apprehensive about his health.
“I am fine, Roran. By the way, how long was I unconscious for?”
Calron smiled at Roran, gratified by his little brother’s unconditional affection for him, but trying to glean some information pertaining to the time that he was unconscious for.
“Eh… you fainted only for a few seconds or so. Otherwise, I would have picked you up and brought you to a healer.”
Roran answered, as he followed Calron to the hall. Meanwhile, Balis silently trailed behind the two youngsters and wordlessly tuned in on what they were conversing about.
“Hmm, were there any gold-black robed people near us when I fainted?”
Calron furrowed his eyebrows, frowning.
“I don’t think so…”
Roran muttered, his face scrunched up as he tried to recollect his memories.
Who were those two robed people I saw before I fainted? Was it just my imagination? Anyways, it looks like I cannot use the Divine Perception carelessly in the future until I learn more about the Dark Psylockers.
Calron pondered, but stopped his thoughts as he had finally reached the auction hall and was standing in front of the open-door room where one collected their slaves.
“May I please see your number plate?”
A slender and pretty young woman approached Calron when he neared the entrance of the room.
Calron handed her his number plate and waited for her confirmation.
“Thank you for your patience, customer. I will go and check to see if you have any successful bids.”
The woman smiled at Calron and gracefully walked inside.
After a short minute, she returned to Calron with an imposing slave walking behind her.
“Luckily, your bid was at exactly 100 gold, so we deducted that amount from your earlier deposit. However, we take 5 percent of the bid as commission, so after you pay the 5 gold, you can take the soul stamp of this slave.”
The young woman said in a pleasant voice.
“Here.”
Calron did not want to talk with the people from the auction house any more, so he gave her the 5 gold and received Avor’s soul stamp.
“Thank you for the business.”
Immediately after that, the young woman turned around and left.
Soon, an awkward and tense moment took place where Avor silently stared at Calron and the rest of his group.
Calron simply smiled and waited for Avor to speak, whereas Roran fidgeted under the strange awkwardness.
“How did you know my real name? Even the auction people did not know it.”
Avor’s dark-brown eyes bore into Calron.
“I will explain everything to you once we get back to our room. Tell me, Avor, what do you desire in your life?”
Calron returned Avor’s gaze and challenged him with a question of his own.
“Ha! Desire? I am a slave… my only desire is to break free from this bondage and live my own life. Don’t ask me of my desires when you cannot fulfil them.”
Avor retorted bitterly. There was a hint of worry on his face, as if he was afraid that Calron was offended by his attitude and would use the soul stamp to inflict him with some pain, if not more.
“You are wrong. I asked for your desires, precisely because I can fulfil them.”
Calron responded with a slight smile, his azure eyes shining brightly at the stunned expression on Avor’s face.
*kacha*
Calron then crushed the soul stamp within his hand.
Although the stamp still existed inside Avor’s mind, Calron was showing his resolve to Avor that he would not attempt to control the slave, by destroying the physical stamp given to him. Calron had done the same when Ellie was taken by him.
“In the future, I will remove the soul stamp within you as well. Follow me.”
Calron voiced with confidence and turned around to leave the auction place, Roran and Balis following in tow. Calron did not turn back to see if Avor was accompanying them or not.
However, Calron soon detected the blonde slave slowly trailing behind him.
No, he was not a slave anymore.
He was a free man.
This kid’s got some charisma.
Balis chuckled with wonder as he gazed at Calron’s calm and confident back.
………………………….
Back at the inn, inside Calron’s room.
*crackle*
Violent bursts of lightning darted all over Calron while he remained seated in a meditative pose on the floor.
After finding out that the Divine Perception was releasing small amounts of dark energy within his mind and soul, Calron decided to stop creating any more God Tiles until he understood this foreign power.
This was why he was currently pushing himself to break through into the ninth rank of the Vajra stage. According to the strange woman he met in the other dimension, once he reached the Saint stage, he would be able to better comprehend the powers of the Dark Psylockers.
Roran was currently at the Azure Pavilion with Ellie and was selling a bit of the God Tiles stock that Calron had prepared beforehand.
*Rumble*
The sound of thunder echoed throughout his room, the bolts of lightning dancing around Calron’s bare skin.
I think it’s time to visit the Raizel clan now.
Calron thought while closing his eyes, realizing that he needed to know more about his lightning in ord
er to break into the Saint stage.
This would be his first time entering one of the towers of the city.
Chapter 42 – Stranger Under The Three Suns
“Big brother, did you wake up yet?”
Roran called out, as he slowly opened the door to Calron’s room.
The sound of thunder abruptly rushed into Roran’s ears when the door opened, and he saw bolts of lightning wildly revolving around Calron like a cocoon.
How long has he been cultivating?
Roran inwardly thought, as he found a chair next to Calron’s bed and patiently waited for his brother to finish cultivating. It was already early morning so Calron must have been continuously cultivating since last night.
………………………..
Within Calron’s conscious, a discussion was currently taking place.
“Teacher, why have you been ignoring me all this time?”
Calron asked with slight trepidation.