TDE Book 6 Chapter 14 - Interlude 2

The sound of a tree snapping in two resounded as a ball of mass crashed straight into it. The splinters were drenched in blood as the wounded creature almost got impaled during the snap.

“Stop running, you dimwit!”

A childish girl’s voice hollered behind the injured creature, as a purple ray blitzed right out of the creature’s shadow, revealing the figure of a petite 10-year-old girl. The young child’s purple hair danced through the breeze as her bone daggers slashed at the open wounds on the already bleeding bear.

The enraged bear roared in pain, fear flashing in its eyes as it trembled before the dark purple demon.

“You are the one who attacked it out of nowhere, Inheritor. Even a predator knows when it is about to become prey.”

A ghostly alpha wolf morphed beside the young girl and chided her. The alpha wolf towered over both the petite girl and the bear, its translucent fur humming with dark power as the wolf appeared to merge in and out of the nearby shadows.

“We needed dinner for the night, and it was either this ball of lard or the venomous salamander we found earlier. I don’t like the taste of reptile meat, so it had to be him.”

The girl placed her bone daggers between her teeth, using her free hands to tie her long purple hair into a ponytail.

“Be quick, daughter of Rahsool. Your companions are waiting for you.”

The ghostly wolf dissipated into the girl’s shadow.

“Stop calling me that, Shadow. I only have my birth mother, and the human father that adopted me.”

Avi scrunched her cute nose. She triggered her soul power to freeze the bear’s movements and slid both the daggers straight into its beating heart.

“It matters not, Inheritor. Just like how your birth mother was determined when she carried you in her womb, your relationship with the Dark Primordial was established when her element blossomed in you.”

The wolf’s voice echoed through Avi’s shadow. The bear crashed to the ground with an audible thud as the young girl withdrew her daggers and stored them back into her ring. She then grabbed the bear by its front paw and hurled it over her tiny frame. After breaking into the Saint stage, her beastial heritage further augmented her body along with her Divine Element.

It was only thanks to Shadow that she was able to cultivate so fast, and finally obtain her human form. In contrast, Leor and Gorek had yet to cross that boundary. In the years since the Divine Element first appeared in front of Avi, it had been on a race to quickly get her cultivation to en par with the other powerhouses of the mortal realm. Whenever Avi inquired about what the Divine Element was afraid of, the alpha wolf would abruptly quieten down.

However, there was one topic that irked Shadow to no end.

“Forget about that human that abandoned you, Inheritor. He’s no father of yours. Associating with that scrounge will only bring you pain.”

“He didn’t abandon me. Didn’t you see in my memories? His friends were searching for him as well. Felice said her brother was also looking for him.”

Avi shook her cherub head, her purple eyes glancing at her shadow with a reproachful look. She was sprinting across the uneven terrain to head back to their camp location where Felice, Leor, and Gorek were setting up for the night.

“We’ve been through this many times, Inheritor. If my fears are correct, then that man is most likely the Divine Element Inheritor of Lightning. That’s the worst possible outcome. And if the Gods discover your ties to him in the future, they will mercilessly hunt you down.”

The ghostly wolf emerged from Avi’s shadow and galloped beside her. A mirage of dark smoke exuding from its fur.

“I don’t care. He’s my father.”

Avi huffed as she jumped over a large boulder, dragging the bear’s corpse behind her.

“He’s a traitor, Inheritor. Please, I beg of you, at least don’t say his name outside your friends.”

Shadow whined, its voice in distress. How was it supposed to relay to its young Inheritor the implications of being connected to the Lightning Primordial? The King of the Seraphs committed the greatest sin and had his entire race exterminated due to his actions.

But that wasn’t enough to quell the Primordials’ fury. They even destroyed part of the element, so no human cultivator could ever break free of their bondage. It was a reminder to the whole sector of what could happen if they ever defied the will of the Primordials.

The only reason that man was alive was because the Gods haven’t found him yet. There were examples of various beasts and special bloodlines that had different colored elements, so unless it was in close proximity to another Divine Element, it would be difficult for even an immortal to discover Calron.

“Fine~ I won’t say his name in front of outsiders, but he’s still my father.”

Avi groaned in exasperation, but refused to relinquish her ties to Calron. She’d rather give up her Divine Element than to break her relationship with her adoptive father. Avi was grateful to Shadow for all it had done for her. It was clear that the Divine Element cared immensely about her, and protected her from both friends and enemies alike.

“I guess that’s acceptable for now.”

The ghostly wolf relented and retreated into Avi’s shadow as it sensed the camp ahead.

The young girl darted over the illusion arrays placed by Felice and followed the pre-allocated stepping stones to make her way inside the barrier. Once she felt the familiar pop, the young girl let out a relieved sigh. Soon, she spotted the back of an inferno ape, and a cheeky smile etched on her face.

Avi flung the bear’s carcass over her head, causing it to land right in front of Gorek. The inferno ape yelped before poking the bear to make sure it was dead.

“Bear fat has a terrible smell. Couldn’t you have picked a doe or some boar, Avi?”

Gorek sniffed the bear with disgust.

“You hunt next time, then.”

Avi stuck her tongue out and went to find Felice. She was still getting accustomed to walking on two feet instead of four, and the Axier family’s young lady was teaching Avi on proper manners and etiquette between humans.

“Gross…”

Avi snickered as she heard Gorek curse while he began to skin the bear.

“Welcome back, Avi. We’re set to depart tomorrow morning.”

A flash of lightning dashed beside her, revealing the lithe form of a golden jaguar. Leor addressed Avi cheerfully as he once again bolted away from sight. The young jaguar was on the cusp of breaking into Saint stage, and spent most of his time trying to cross the threshold of maximum acceleration that was possible with lightning.

He’s a worthy companion, Inheritor.

Shadow noted within Avi’s mind. For reasons known to everyone, the ghostly wolf preferred hard-working Leor over the glutton, Gorek.

“Your walk is getting better, pup.”

Felice noticed Avi had returned and walked over to the young girl as she playfully patted her head. Felice had the demeanor as expected of a noble woman, but that didn’t hide the playfulness when she interacted with Avi.

“Hmm.”

Avi closed her eyes at the praise and let Felice pat her unruly hair. Their relationship had grown much closer since their first encounter and both girls had gotten fond of each other.

“We really need to do something about your hair.”

Felice ran her delicate fingers through Avi’s hair.

“No haircut!”

Avi puffed her cheeks. She was afraid she’d lose all her fur in wolf form if she cut her hair in human form. Despite multiple reassurances from both Felice and Shadow, the young girl would not be dissuaded.

“Well, wha-“

Felice was in the middle of a sentence when suddenly a bright pillar of light broke through the barrier and destroyed the arrays she’d placed. Leor and Gorek rushed towards them at the sight of the imposing golden pillar.

RUN!

Shadow’s cry rang inside Avi’s ears as the alpha wolf coalesced beside her. There was true terror in the Divine Element’s eyes, but the wolf pushed Avi away and charged at the golden pillar.

Avi bared her daggers and ran after Shadow. She was no longer the weak wolf pup that trembled in fear. She wouldn’t abandon Shadow.

“Stay down, mongrel.”

A deep and regal voice sounded from the golden pillar, as a hand reached out to grab Avi by the neck. Before Shadow could bite into the stranger’s hand, a massive golden draconic claw grasped its body and began squeezing the Divine Element.

“Pesky mortals.”

Gradually, a figure emerged from the pillar of light. It was a golden-haired man with two gigantic wings behind him. The man casually fended off Felice’s Ice Beam and dispelled her array traps. Both Leor and Gorek could barely move, as the mere aura of that man was enough to incapacitate them. If not for the sneer on his face, they would have thought it was an angel before them.

“Lumos.”

Shadow gritted through his teeth as its fellow Divine Element strangled its whole body. There was too much disparity between them. Shadow’s Inheritor was still a mortal, while Lumos already had its full awakening with an immortal Inheritor.

A dragon’s roar reverberated in the surroundings as a faint image of it flickered over the sky. The dragon was so big that it couldn’t even descend to the mortal realm, leaving only its claw to materialize.

“Be nice to your sister, Lumos.”

The golden-haired man chuckled at seeing the ghostly wolf struggle in the pincer grip.

“The Order has signaled its summons. All Inheritors must convene in the Divine Realm at once. Since this one cannot enter normally, I came to escort her.”

The stranger spoke to Shadow, urging it to stop resisting. The golden-haired man then glanced at Avi who was trying to chew off his hand.

“What an insolent creature.”

The man released his hand and grabbed Avi by her neck, bringing her closer to his face. The young girl desperately tried to scratch and claw her way out, but it was to no avail. She saw the fear in Shadow’s eyes and knew this was not an opponent they could defeat. Even Felice was laying unconscious after the man struck her.

“Dogs are meant to be obedient. Never bark at your masters, wolf. You see, I have no use for Inheritors that don’t follow my commands. Now, keep this as a lesson for the future.”

The golden-haired man said slowly in a chilling whisper, as he used his other hand and pried open Avi’s mouth. Dread and horror flashed across Avi’s childish face as she realized that the man was going to rip out her tongue. Her cheeks became wet with tears at the impeding punishment.

Just then, a blast struck the golden-haired man in the chest, knocking him away from Avi. A pressure even greater than the one exuded by the golden pillar seeped into the area.

Avi panted, out of breath, as she gazed at her mysterious savior. It was a pulsating dark orb the color of midnight onyx. Streams of dark smoke orbited over its surface as the orb seemed to suck all the light in the vicinity.

The dragon in the sky shrieked as the claw clutching the ghostly wolf disintegrated into vapor. Shadow saw the orb and immediately bowed in reverence.

Meanwhile, the golden-haired man had a shocked expression plastered on his face. However, he promptly bowed, similar to the ghostly wolf, and spoke to the orb.

“Esteemed one.”

The orb pulsed in response, causing the golden-haired man’s eyes to widen even further. He glanced at the glaring Avi, and something seemed to pass through his mind as he listened to the orb.

No one around could hear anything, but it was evident that a crucial piece of information was being exchanged between the orb and the angel. In a few short minutes, the orb sunk into the ground, its pressure dissipating with it.

Felice, Leor and Gorek were all unconscious on the ground, leaving only Avi and Shadow.

“Come.”

The golden-haired man gazed at Avi and beckoned her. There was no longer any hostility in his eyes. Avi shot Shadow a look. The ghostly wolf nodded. He couldn’t refuse the order of the dark orb, just like the golden-haired man.

Avi looked at her friends on the floor.

“Can I stay they wake up?”

She turned to the man. Avi was aware that whether she wanted to or not, this man was going to take her away. Only thing she was certain about was that he didn’t intend to kill her. Who was the dark orb, and what did it say?

“No, I can’t hold back the World’s Law for this long. It won’t let a mortal like you to enter the Divine Realm, so we must leave now.”

The man shook his head. The way he looked at Avi appeared to have undergone a subtle shift.

Shadow treaded over to Avi and nudged her. It was better that her friends were not awake. The golden-haired man might have changed his perspective of Avi, but the same couldn’t be said for the three mortals.

“Will I ever see them?”

Avi softly asked Shadow, as the golden-haired man held her hand and forced her towards the golden pillar. Shadow was walking beside her. It looked at the angel to see if he was paying attention and flicked a small piece of paper towards Felice.

The Divine Element didn’t care much for the mortals, but eventually the Gods would find out about Avi’s ties to the Lightning Inheritor and when that day comes, his young protegee would need allies. The Lightning Primordial was a traitor, so he can’t be trusted. That’s why Shadow wrote down the optimal cultivation path for the three mortals.

Only if they become immortal.

Shadow sent his thoughts to Avi as their figures vanished into the golden pillar.