FM Chapter 14

Remember this is an original novel written by Addis of ExR. This is not a translation.

Sorry about how long it has taken to write and release this chapter. I moved last weekend so I had so much to get done with that and then work got really hectic. Every time I sat down to write, I couldn’t think of anything and gave up before reading something else. XD

 

Chapter Fourteen

“Can you help me train?” Kai’s voice interrupted Cian and Sitross’ musings. He looked at the two men with a fire lit in his eyes, making them glow a bright color. His expression was determined, as if whether or not the two in front of him denied his request for help, he would still try to find a way to unlock his soul.

The dragons around him curled into his lap, one on each shoulder and another atop his head. The thirteen pair of eyes stared the two older men down, making a chill run down their spines.

Sitross looked at his disciple and smiled a fatherly smile, “Cian, you should take him on as a disciple.”

Still a little frustrated at the old man, Cian snapped, “I was trying to ask him if he wanted to follow me before you barged in.”

“Why are you two still bickering?” Kai sighed, now realizing that they were like oil and water.

Taking on a scholarly look, Sitross said  “Differences can create conflict, if you let them,” He then glanced at Cian with a fatherly type of love sparkling in his eyes, “or they can be complementary, and you can use them to compensate for each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s the law of the universe; the attraction of opposites. Yin and yang; dark and light.”

Kai’s eyebrow rose higher on his face as he gave Sitross an unexplainable look.

Coughing lightly into his closed fist, Cian muttered, “Stop talking Master.” The very tips of Cian’s ears were a light pink, the only indication of his embarrassment. Clearing his throat, Cian looked at Kai. “As I said before, I can help you train but I want you to become my disciple, which means you will follow me whenever I leave the academy. Otherwise, your strength will stagnate and you will not be able to reach the level you need to unlock your soul.”

Smiling, Kai said quietly, “It’s not like I know anyone here or have any friends, so I have no problems leaving with you.”

With a contemplative look on his face, Cian nodded his head. “Good, but from your test earlier, it felt as though your level has risen too rapidly.” Seeing the questioning look on Kai’s face, Cian explained, “If it is too rapid, a cultivator can find it harder to advance. So before we go anywhere I would like for you to stay within the academy and grow accustomed to your level.”

Thinking of all the students he saw when he first entered the academy, he began to think of how the academy was supposed to teach all the children of the nation. “Are there classes?”

For some reason, even though he had no memories, the thought of classes revolted Kai. He had a deep hatred running through him just even thinking about it. Kai wondered if this feeling was somehow associated with the memories he had lost.

Sitross finally spoke up from where he was standing, his old wizened face taking on the air of a true teacher. “Our academy only has classes for the younger students. For the older students who have reached a certain level, their education is determined by their teachers.”

As if mad Sitross was explaining it instead of him, Cian spouted, “Since I am your teacher, that gives me the right to choose what to do.”

Knowing that his student probably didn’t remember the going ons of the academy in his absence, Sitross sid, “We do have that event coming up though.”

A light lit up in CIan’s eyes before he muttered under his breath, “Ah, right, I forgot about that.”

Intrigued, Kai asked, “Event?”

“Next week we are holding an event for all students. It is mandatory and serves as a test to see where the student can further develop and what they are lacking.” Sitross thought of the best way to explain it to Kai. Since he had not officially been shown the academy, he did not know the layout of the school. “Behind the school is a forest filled with beasts that have been captured by the teachers. There are thousands of them in the area. The event is to see who can collect the most amount of beast cores by the end of two weeks. While the two weeks is going on, if someone wishes to drop out, the teachers will take them to a safe place.”

The one thing that stuck out the most to Kai was the second to last sentence Sitross had said. With his eyes brightening with comprehension, Kai asked, “What is the incentive for the student who collects the most cores?”

“Smart child.” Sitros said recognising the thirst for success and to be number one in Kai’s young eyes.

Cian saw this as well and explained it to Kai, “For the winner, they will receive a special pill called the Golden Phoenix Pill. This pill has the ability to stabilize a realm of any cultivator.”

“So if I have that pill we can leave here faster?” Even without his memory and personality fully unlocked, with just that first layer peeking through, Kai’s intelligence had soared closer to what it had been before. When he had all of his memory, he was smarter than the average person, with only the first part of his personality unlocked and many still remaining, he was still smarter than most.

“If you look at it that way, then yes.” Cian said with a chuckle, “But first, I need to teach you how to hide your manifestations. They cannot be left out at all times or they will sap you of all of your energy.”

Once Cian said this, Kai began to notice he was becoming incredibly lethargic, he wanted to curl into a ball and go to sleep.

“Ah, this is where I will leave the two of you. It seems as thought the exams have finished and the other teachers are calling for me.” Sitross pat Kai on his head with a grandfatherly look on his face. “Good luck young one. I cannot wait to see how you do in the Beast Event.”

Bright purple Element wrapped around Sitross before he disappeared from site. WIth only Cian and Kai in the room, the two looked at eachother, one on the verge of falling asleep, and the other filled with excitement. Cian knew that Kai would not be able to stay awake for much longer so he reached out and grabbed Kai’s pale hand.

Their eyes locked at the simple touch and Cian felt a spark of something flow through his system. He had never felt that feeling before and instantly became wary, but activated his Element as he teleported the two of them to his residence.

Once the gentle light from the magic dissipated, Kai found himself in a small house. Unlike the simple office room, the house was bright and cheerful. There were large windows on almost all the walls and the ceiling was high enough for even a giant to stand straight. The floors were a beautiful hardwood. There was a small table and couch along the wall with a pile of papers sitting off to the side. A small hallway vered off into three doorways, presumably a bathroom and two other rooms.

Feeling that the area was even farther from the academy then Sitross’ mansion, Kai asked, “Where are we?”

With a calm smile, Cian answered, “My residence.” His hands were still wrapped around Kai, securing him tightly to his body, hoping that this time the magic wouldn’t cause his stomach to revolt like it had before. Fortunately, this time it seemed as though his body had gotten accustomed to it and Kai looked around the small house with a curious look.

“I’m not going back to Sitross’?” He thought of the large mansion with the many maids and caretakers, it seemed like in this small house the only ones who were there were the two of them. No other soul was even near the small wood cottage in the middle of the forest.

“No,” Cian shook his head, unconsciously clenching his hands in the fabric of Kai’s shirt. The fabric crumbled in his hand sending a feeling of soft cotton through his fingers.  “You’ll live with me from now on, it will be easier to teach you.”

“Oh, ok.” Kai didn’t even question it. To him, a bed was a bed. As long as he had a place to sleep and food to eat, he was fine with most anything. In his ear, a soft coo from one of the dragons brought his attention away from his new living conditions. “So how do I hide these guys?” Kai asked waving to the dragons still circling him. Their little faces were staring around the room with interest.

Remembering this was the entire reason he brought Kai to him home, Cian moved his hands away from Kai’s waist.

“Close your eyes and feel inside your core,” Cian pressed the hand that had been around Kai’s waist against Kai’s forehead. Once those gem like eyes closed, Cian looked over the small boy before him. He was still thinking about that unexplainable feeling coursing through him. It was something he even had a hard time explaining. Almost like seeing a fresh apple on a tree after not having any type of fruit for years. It was like a gentle yearning that made his mouth water. It felt exactly the same as that intoxicating scent that wafted off of Kai every once in a while.

Lost in his thoughts, Cian’s eyes traveled all over Kai’s body. Such pale skin that rarely saw the light of day. He knew it could flush with embarrassment, but would it also change with other activities. Would his pale cheeks turn a bright red if he bent down and kissed those cherry colored lips?

“Cian?” Kai called out softly, the lips that Cian had been staring at moved gently as they called out his name.

As if struck by lightning, Cian cleared his throat and said, “Once you feel your core, you’ll find a connection there to the dragons. From there you can either call them back inside or forcefully pull them. Either method will work, but you can choose which one to use.”

Kai nodded and once again focussed inside of himself. He found his core rather easily and felt around until he found twelve little strings of energy that were originating from within. The strongest wisp of energy was closest to him so he reached out and touched it lightly with his fingertips. The dragon on the other end cooed beside his ear. Feeling a pleasant harmony echoing from that dragon, Kai whispered, “Come back.”

The small dragon rubbed his head against Kai’s cheek before poofing into a mist that seeped into Kai’s skin. Inside his core, the little dragon appeared before him flapping its wings happily before it moved towards the crystal clear marle behind him and settled down gently on top of it before closing its eyes and falling asleep.

Feeling the flow of elements as the little dragon returned, Kai understood the concept of returning the little ones back to his core. Slowly he began to call the other eleven back, and soon all of them were nestled beside one another atop his core, all sleeping peacefully. Smiling, Kai opened his eyes only to find that Cian still had his hand blocking his sight.

He’s been acting strange the more time we stay together, Kai thought before reaching up with both hands to gently tug down those strong fingers. Once his eyes were uncovered, he found himself being stared at intently by jade like eyes.

Those eyes reminded him of the first time they had met. There were the eyes of a predator, a cat waiting for the perfect chance to strike. Confused by how still Cian was and by the way his eyebrows were burrowing in on themselves as his mind turned, Kai called out, “Cian.”

The next thing he knew, his breath was stolen from him as Cian captured his lips in a soul stirring kiss.