Chapter 23 & 24: Baptized By Fire (Part I & Ii) (1/2)
Karnage: Here you go! Please don't forget to comment and sorry for the errors that may pop up!
Chapter 23 & 24:
A concentrated stream of fire from the stalact.i.te burning like a heart-sized pillar of fire shot into Sol's chest and pushed him downwards into the mana well! An explosion rung out and the entire cave collapsed-
**
Sol knew he would die and closed his eyes, all of a sudden his short lived life flashed before his eyes. An intense will to live sprouted in his heart as he was consumed by the devious flames and blood poured incessantly out of his chest. Thought for sure he would die from the explosion and if not then surely the fire, he thought he would lose consciousness and soon after die...that was not the case.
(It burns!...It burns so much!!!)
Sol wailed and screamed as the fires burned into his body and gave him indescribable pain, he gritted his teeth and decided he could only endure. Whether he dies or not, he still has to endure this pain. The strong will to live began to squeeze out all manners of hormones from his body. Adrenaline as well as others rushed into his bloodstream making it so that he could not pa.s.s out and experience everything.
All of a sudden blue streaks of liquid started emerging from every inch of his body, from his muscles, his tissue and even his bones! This was the X Factor within Sol's blood striving to keep him alive, It quickly made it's way all over Sol's body before finalizing it's position inside of his chest where the hole had been pierced.
This blue liquid was none other than the effects of the Eternity Pill, the purified and refined mana within the well as well as the flames started converging with the this blue liquid at an incredible pace! This process...was not painless. Sol's screams were blocked out as he was submerged within the mana well and was unable to open his mouth.
The blue liquid started drawing the refined and purified mana along with the flames into Sol's body! The mana well swirled and made Sol it's focal point , the flames erupted even higher and became even hotter! Sol could feel something forming inside of his chest but it was much too hot and painful to even guess what it was, he could only grit his teeth and endure.
Sol felt as though hot oil were being poured inside his veins and his body was being boiled. A light explosion happened in Sol's chest and his body started absorbing the mana and flames greedily! If one looked at Sol's eyes they would be shocked because those golden pupils now had a red smoldering fire inside them and they looked like a genuine sun.
Sol felt a light stab in the palm of his hands, the Fanged Blades in his hand began spitting out impurities through the hollowed hole in it's Fang. The handle of the Blades had grew a spike and had pierced Sol's hand to help with the refinement. A panicked hiss could be heard among the steam pouring out from Sol's hands.
Sol's body did not stop absorbing the mana, and if anything it got several folds faster. The typhoon of refined mana and flames directly covered Sol in an orb and his screams were not heard amongst the raging fires. The blue liquid within Sol's body fused and merged successfully with the rain of fire and purified mana and started becoming a single ent.i.ty.
As the pain intensified, so did his will to live.
(My parents gave me life!! They saved that life with their own!! The Queen gave me her children to protect!! I CANNOT FAIL!!!!) -Sol
Sol's thoughts invaded his brain he let out a terrifying howl and it was a howl of that refused to die! Sol rejected death with all of his will and all of his might-
[Ahh!!! Ahh!!!] -Sol
He struggled and struggled and finally was able to move a small portion of his body, he used the both runic rings in his possession and randomly took out medicinal herbs and shoved them into his mouth without even looking. Sol had separated his poisons and medicines from beforehand and didn't need to verify anything so he just wildly grabbed whatever herb or pill he could get his hands on and consumed it.
All the while, the refined and purified mana along with the flames dove and fused within his chest. His body greedily absorbed the refined mana along with his chest. The Fanged Blades incessantly let out steam and impurities from it's blade, the blade had become red hot and Sol knew the Queen herself was probably feeling pain and that made him grit his teeth to hold on even more.
The baby basilisk wailed and cried within Sol's body as they could tell he was under great amounts of pain but Sol had forced them into his soul to remain safe and they could only watch from inside as Sol burned alive.
All of a sudden, the tornado of refined mana and flames began s.h.i.+ning and taking form in Sol's chest-
*BANG*
A loud bang rung out, as Sol felt his entire body violently tremble and his chest started regenerating at an incredible rate, Sol could have sworn he saw an object in his chest right before it healed but was much too dizzy to see clearly. Sol's complex DNA had awakened and started to directly force his body into evolution!
The medicinal nutrients within the herbs and pills helped a great deal with healing the wound as well as supplying Sol with energy and so he had a bit of strength to hold on to. The blue liquid directly grabbed those healing nutrients within Sol's bloodstream and forced it to the parts needed most.
As the hole in Sol's chest became healed, the purified mana and flames had absolutely no where else to go and was absorbed by Sol's body who was under it's absorption effect! Sol felt his body compressing the refined mana and the Fanged Blades also helped Sol to purify his body.
All of a sudden, the place the inferno that was as hot as h.e.l.l started feeling much cooler and Sol's pain greatly eased. Weirdly enough the fire had not dissipated one bit, and Sol had no idea why the temperature changed, but he noticed he was feeling much more comfortable than before.
What he did not expect, was that there was something in his chest making the purification go much more smoothly than ever before. There was no difficulties or sick feelings like when he had practiced before, it was actually the opposite and it felt started feeling quite enjoyable. As his senses cleared up more Sol could feel a sense of power welling up inside his body, more precisely his chest.
He had never felt this feeling before, the intense refined mana that entered his body which made him curse it to death became like a gold mine instead and became fuel that would increase his cultivation.
(Could it be...? A Dantian?) -Sol
A look of utter excitement appeared in his eyes as he felt that this was indeed correct. He could feel two external sources of power, yet he did not touch them. Right now what he needed to do was focus on consuming these valuable resources quickly and then investigate himself later down if he survives, thinking about it now wouldn't help in any way and decided to help his body refine it.
He closed his eyes exhaling impurities every second, as he struck a meditative position amidst the swirling vortex of refined mana and flames. The refined enflamed mana along with blue liquid, merged into his skin and increased it's toughess, it increased the st.u.r.diness of his organs as well as increased the density in his bones! The power kept rising and Sol's body shuddered-
*BANG*
Third Order warrior .....yet his body kept on refining with the help of Sol's Bhuddist meditation, his Dantian and the Both Fanged Blades....his bones grew stronger and more dense, his muscles grew more slender but the power within them grew ever more powerful, his organs became thicker and denser and a bit more rough. The sensation of increasing power within his body still kept on rising higher and higher -
*BANG*
Fourth Order warrior...Sol felt his body violently tremble and felt incredible power soaring through his limbs. He felt as though his fist could rip apart steel and his body could digest iron. Sol then noticed something strange...he could direct the refined mana to another part in his body and after sending a strand of refined mana to it and probing it, he understood.
(This is surely a Dantian I can't be wrong...the way it refines mana and this feeling of control of mana..I can't be wrong!!) -Sol
What Sol didn't know was that, he didn't have a Dantian. He had something much much different.
It was said that a regular Dantian was created over the hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution, the same way humans were created from prime-apes. After the human body encountered mana for so many years it had developed a way to refine mana generation by generation it had grew stronger until finally the Dantian was created within the body. The same with all other wildlife within Magnolia.
A Dantian is a mana network capable of issuing commands using mana, as well as a filter of sorts that refines this mana. That was the purpose of a Dantian, and it was the work of millions of years of evolution. However, those millions of years of evolution proved futile in the face of Sol's physique which carried with it an even longer history and science of world-breaking proportions.
Millions of years of evolution and nature, was overwritten in a single hour by science.
If Sol's body is an advanced version of the base body of a human hundreds of thousands of years ago before the evolution of a Dantian, then how could his Dantian be simple and lose out to the outdated version? If the inferior human base body of hundreds of thousands of years ago could develop what is called a Dantian. Then what can a supreme base body of an advanced human create?
It is only natural than the advanced biology of Sol be equipped with a higher grade Dantian, otherwise it would ignore the inviolable laws of nature and his body would become imbalanced. What made Sol's physique terrifying, wasn't its adaptability but it's way of integration.
It literally integrated things on the molecular level and made it so that whatever Sol's body integrated would become a part of him on the natural level as if he were born with it in the first place. In other words, Sol possessed the most powerful Dantian among humans and it was something that could be inherited. If others possessed a Dantian, then Sol had a Divine Dantian.
After probing his Dantian with the refined and purified mana, Sol immediately sent half of the incoming resources towards his Dantian and half towards his body....
(So I can condense mana within my body, and also within my Dantian...Haha..Good, Good!) -Sol
After absorbing gleefully for a while, Sol noticed the well drying up and this Dantian of his seemed like a void as the rest of the purified mana within the well evaporated like a fog.
His Dantian was only at the First Rank and absorbed so much refined mana and still had not broken through, however he was not worried in the slightest. Sol didn't mind, he knew his power was obviously much greater than a First Order Warrior and this was just like a sweet desert after a delicious meal.
It wouldn't be wrong to say Sol's physique was rather closer to a mutated beast than a human in terms of durability and physical power.
As opposed to before Sol had a smile on his face as he gratefully accepted this enflamed purified mana. Shortly afterward, the intensity of the mana well died down and all that remained inside was a minor fog, Sol closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
The earth beneath him crumbled, revealing a hole which seemed to be a water way connected to a running body of water. Sol's body fell through the floor and became submerged in the water following it's currents to it's unknown destination.
**
Whilst all this was going, somewhere deep inside of a forest. A silver-haired young girl sat on a tree wearing beast skins and stared at the moon, her eyes reflecting the same beautiful angelic light as the moon as she looked at it longingly. If anyone saw this sight they would lose their breathes at it's glamour, the girl's eyes looked exactly like the moon as it gave off a silvery white light and her long silver hair fluttered in the wind.
Her hands rested on the pendant around her neck and fiddled with it gently, suddenly a hologram begun to play. Judging by the girls' expression, she had seen the hologram quite a few times already and it wasn't a surprise.
Judging by the warm smile on her face and her reactions, the hologram was of her two parents, she paused it for a moment and looked at their faces longingly. She then fast forwarded towards the ending-
[You must find him no matter what! He will definitely be close to you! The pods were designed that way!!] -male silhouette
[He's your only family remaining, I left a few memories inside the pendant and you should know how to unlock it my darling. When you see them, then you'll know you're not married to a stranger] -female silhouette
The girl had placed the pendant near her head and instantly memories begun to play, she had no look of surprise because the memories were already inside her head but she still played it like this because it was much more clean when seen with the pendant. Even though she wasn't surprised the longing in her eyes was surely present.
In these few memories that she were given by her parents she was young girl about five years old and she played with a young black-haired boy about the same age who always tried to impress her with stupid stuff. She giggled cutely as she watched the recording of the only person who she remembered and laughed at his antics.
She watched his prideful arrogant demeanor as a child and couldn't help but laugh out loud, however slowly tears formed at the corner of her eyes as she watched the recording. She didn't have any other memories but these and she greatly cherished them. Her hair fluttered in the wind, taking her tears away with it. A stubborn resolve was then born in heart -
[...Arin....where are you? I'll find you no matter where you are...Are you looking for me too?] -silver haired beauty
As the silver-haired girl thought these things, she looked down at her hands and clenched them.
[I may not be able to fight, but I can still condense mana and make myself stronger. I also have things that only I can do and I will use these to the best of my ability and one day I will find you...Please....be alive] -silver haired beauty
Suddenly a friendly feminine voice interrupted her thoughts calling out to her -
[Luna! It's time to go, they found the thing you were looking for!!] -???
[I got it! I'm coming!] -Luna
The girl got up and dusted her beast skin skirt, she looked towards the moon once more and whispered something as she looked at the hologram of the youth once more and tried to touch his face....her pretty slender fingers slipped pa.s.sed the hologram on his face...she took it off and hopped off the tree chasing after the silhouette.
**
Kingdom of Earthernvale -
Inside of the courtyard of the Royal Family, four figures were moving at a rapid pace as the moonlight bathe them in it's alluring silvery light. The man in front was an elderly man with gray hair, he wore silver full body armor and his face was quite pleasant to look at and gave off a sense of reliability. This man was Nightmaster Duke, although the current circ.u.mstances were quite grim he kept a solid face and moved forward.
Beside him, A woman with blue hair hidden underneath a hood moved behind him steadily and one could not see her features except for the blue hair swinging loosely under her hood. If anyone saw her eyes then they would know the lady was quite sad. This was naturally the 2nd Queen, Lieren Ironspine.
The other was a brown-haired middle aged man who gave off an aura of dignity, this man was robust and had iron like shoulders and his eyes gave off a fierce light. The ring on his finger showed he had the qualifications to enter the inner palace and in his hands was an unconscious veiled young girl who wore a similar ring.
[Nightmaster Duke!] -Guards
The party hastily made their way towards the Royal Palace, As the guards noticed Nightmaster Duke they quickly saluted and dared not stop him as they could sense he wasn't in a good mood. The guards paid no mind to the visitors either as a form of respect and stood like statues.
After entering the palace they quickly made their way towards the Palace Dining Hall where the King and Former King would be at this time. The guards all saluted and did nothing more as they could sense the grave aura exuded by the party.
[Nightmaster Duke and company has arrived!] -Dorian
The doors opened and they quickly made their way in.
[Nightmaster you've returned] -King Ironspine
Within the dining hall, the entire royal family was present and seemed to be having their dinner. Dorian stood at the door like usual and was the one who opened it for Nightmaster Duke from the inside.
The four figures finally entered and they were all able to see one another. All manners of emotions were mixed in the air, but most of all was confusion.
[Yes your majesty..this servant has returned!] -Nightmaster Duke
Nightmaster Duke made a deep bow and then rose up, the King could see the mixed emotions in the man's eyes and s.h.i.+fted his gaze to the people Nightmaster Duke had brought with him. It was the the hooded blue haired female took off her hood with tears in her eyes she stared at the King and then at the Liore and broke out in even more tears.
[L-Lieren? Is it really you...Lieren!] -King Ironspine
The King lost his composure and flew across the room and brought his wife into a deep embrace, his arms wrapped around her slender back and could feel her body s.h.i.+vering.
[M-Mom...MOM!] -Liore
[I'm...back *sob* I missed you all so much..*sob*] -Lieren
The girl who was as cold as ice, melted in an instant and rushed over and squeezed herself in between the embrace. The rest of the Royal Family had joy plastered over their face as they ran over and hugged the 2nd Queen. The 1st and 3rd Queen hugged her and sobbed loudly, to them Lieren was like the youngest sister of all the 3 Queens because of her soft nature and kind ways, she was heavily doted upon by the 1st and 3rd Queen.
The only person who's face became dejected was none other than the Former King, from start to finish Nightmaster Duke's grim appearance hadn't changed and didn't fit his usual demeanor. By now he would have been crying bucket loads of tears and the floor would have been covered with his snot, but he just remained here staring at the ground with a hardened expression.
[That's right! Hahaha! I have to thank Sol, Nightmaster Duke where is he? Don't tell me that kid already went back to the Medical Ward to see Maria...I've been hearing a few things from the guards! Hahaha!......Y-You..] -King
The King had lost himself in his joy and had not noticed the dejected expressions of the party. Only when he had looked at the Nightmaster did he feel something was terribly wrong and couldn't help but look at him dumbfoundedly.
[I'm sorry your majesty!! This servant has failed!!] -Nightmaster Duke