Perturbations 2

"Have you seen his Lord's son? His name is William! I've seen him trip and fall, resulting in a very bad bruise, I thought he was going to cry just like the other young masters, but he did not even frown!"

"I know right, that little demon has always been odd! I've heard rumors going around the ancestral mansion that when William was born, he did not even shed a tear. At first, the elders thought there was a problem with his lungs, but after thorough inspections, they figured that there's nothing wrong with him."

"He mastered Draehan in just two months, becoming an adept at reading and writing. I swear to God that the Lord's son is a monster in diguise, perhaps he is the reincarnation of an ancient demonic being or an evil god."

"I can't believe a toddler who is not even six months is capable of understanding and deciphering all the knowledge and books in the library."

Similar whispers were going back and forth between the maids and servants of the Godfrey Clan's estate, ever since William was born, he displayed such an extraordinary cleverness and aptness, allowing him to master the language Draehan in just two months.

Such qualities allowed him to garner the attention of the Godfrey Clan's upper echelon, the council of elders, while at the same time inspired fear and terror into the hearts of the surrounding servants and maids.

The servants and maids of the Godfrey Clan are uneducated to a certain extent, they can easily mistake the six-months old toddler, William Godfrey of the Tome branch, as the reincarnation of some evil god or fiend. Thus resulting in all sorts of rumors, regarding that, the council of elders stood to the side, not bothering to dispel them because, after all, the knowledge pertaining to extraordinary qualities of Immortals's progeny must be kept a secret.

In a corner, the six-months old William stood against the wall, listening to the servants's murmurs and whispers, as well as their slanderings and defamations.

It made him feel isolated and segregated, completely removing any sense of belonging to this new-found world, which further agitated his melancholy and loneliness.

No matter what, to him, Earth is his home, and his parents over there are his true parents.

He does not regard the kind-hearted Cecilia and the cold yet soft Dustin as his mother and father, the feelings he has for them are complicated and could not explain it properly with words.

And although this mysterious world is filled with Gods, Immortals and Devils, he finds it foreign and alienly, it doesn't have that sense of belonging and safety Earth provides him.

'Sigh.', William sighed silently, he picked up a linguistics book as he made his way to the library.

Instead of indulging in the delicacies and aristocratic-perks his status bring, he figured the best way to spend time efficiently was to study in the clan's library and try to accumulate as much knowledge as possible.

First, he finds this world extremely intriguing, Gods and Immortals walk these lands.

Second, if he wants to solve the mysteries regarding his transmigration, as well as the secrets behind the silver orb, then he has to look for clues and become sufficiently powerful enough.

Third, he has family and friends in Earth. He could not bare to part away with them, therefore he has to look for ways and methods to go back to where he came from.

'Those uneducated and illiterate servants think of me as an evil god's reincarnation, a walking monster disguised in the flesh and skin of a human toddler.. Hehe, I wonder what their reactions will be if they knew that what they're saying is partially true?', William chuckled to himself self-mockingly, 'And I wonder what stance the council of elders will take if they figure that out? And whether Dustin and Cecilia continues to love me or not...'

'I really have the habit of letting my thoughts go astray, do I have ADHD?', William shook off all his distracting thoughts as he focused his attention on the linguistics book he has in his hands, 'Draehan is apparently the simplified version of the ancient language of Dragons and Wyrms, Dovahzul.'

William continued walking in the library, summarizing the knowledge he gained from reading the book, 'Dovahzul is said to be a language that is capable of stirring the energy of Heaven and Earth, the dragons and wyrms of ancient eras apparently used it to hold rituals and sacrifices for their god.'

'Unfortunately, there is no linguistics book about Dovahzul. I can only learn Draehan since the majority of the areas surrounding the Godfrey Clan's territory speak it.. Oh, apparently the founder of the Draetrohan Empire is the one who simplified Dovahzul, converting it to Draehan.'

'It has been hundreds of years since that happened, ancient-Draehan used to have powers that stir the energy of Heaven and Earth but not anymore, slowly but surely, through the effort of generations upon generations, the ancient language Draehan turned to what it is today.'

'Hmm.. If I were to compare it to some languages in Earth, I'd say it looks similar to Hindi because of the symbols... Perhaps Dovahzul, the language of Dragons, is Hindi or some sort of Indo-Aryan language from Earth?', William put on a pondering expression as he seriously thought about the matter, 'It is totally possible, after all, some myths and legends here are also in Earth, such as the legend of Buddha or Archangel Gabriel mentioned in the Bible.'

The Godfrey Clan's library was situated in the middle of the Godfrey Clan's estate, surrounded by a green and well-trimmed park.

It was a gothic-style building with statues, depicting the founder and ancestor, decorating the two sides of the door. No matter how many times William looks at the library, he couldn't help but have a hard-to-explain ancient and antique feeling well up in his heart.

True Immortal Godfrey's statues were so surreal and life-like, William felt as though they were going to move and pounce at him at any moment.

William greeted the two guards stationed at the doors as he made his way inside.

The library felt more like a large cathedral, instead of the typical seats, there were rows upon rows of bookshelves containing all sorts of knowledge collected by generations of Godfrey members.

There were stained glass that served to let in hazy illuminous light that made the place seem as though it is a paradise.

In the middle of the library, there was a statue of a man who held a quill and a book. He had an upright posture as he seemed to be tutoring his progeny in a sagely-manner. It was none other than the ancestor and founder of the Godfrey Clan, True Immortal Godfrey.

The founder insisted that all his children should pursue knowledge and literacy, he gathered a plethora of books and put them here in the Godfrey Clan's library in order to enlighten and guide his descendants.

Obviously, since William is nothing but a six-months old toddler, his clearance was not sufficient enough to be privy to matters regarding immortals and cultivation. At most he can get rudimentary knowledge such as the importance of having high-quality spiritual roots, etc...

'How truly extravagant, I can't believe a mere family that consists of a hundred members or so is capable of building such an architecture and amassing this amount of knowledge.', after making his way to the clerk in charge, William returned the linguistics book he borrowed as he made his way to the second floor, 'The atmosphere here is serene and calm, and the servants don't dare to come up because this area is only designated for Godfrey Clan members, hmph, I don't have to hear their filthy and slanderous rumors.'

Sometimes, being a genius at such a young age is not a bad thing, it can garner the attention and nurturing of the Godfrey Clan's upper echelons, allowing him to grow into an extraordinary adult.

But sometimes, being a monstrous-level genius at the age of six months will garner the envy and jealousy of his peers, alongside the fear and horror of the ignorant.

This is entirely William's fault, he made an error when he first came to this world. He was stupefied and lost, he did not know what was going on at all, so he put all his attention on gathering information and learning more about his situation. It became his first priority, and didn't think further about the consequences.

'Sigh, if I knew it was going to be like this then I would've stayed lowkey and only shine with brilliance when I'm three or four years old. Thankfully, people believe I inherited one of my parents's extraordinary qualities, resulting in me having enhanced-intelligence. I believe that's true, but only for a tiny part.'

When William climbed the stairs with difficulty, he nearly cursed as he forgot an important matter, 'Damn it! I really have ADHD, I'm so easy to distract! I forgot to pick an appropriate book!'

Then he made his way down the stairs again, 'Now that I have rudimentary knowlege regarding this world, I should study the myths and legends. Perhaps other deities here are connected in some way or another to Earth's.'

'Tsk. Myths and legends fall into the history category, I have to go all the way over there and find a suitable book.', William forced his six-months old toddler-body as he made his way to the history section.

Getting used to a baby's body is not an easy matter, after various trials and attempts, he finally gained somewhat acceptable-movement abilities. The only problem is that his speed is way too slow, and he runs out of stamina very fast, causing him to take breaks mid-way walks.

'True Immortal Godfrey, huh?', William said to himself silently as he approached the statue depicting the founder and ancestor, the history section was on the other end.

However, just when he was about to pass by the statue...

"Wake up..."

"Wake up....."

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

His head was assaulted by a strong buzz that nearly made him faint, then a series of voices telling him to wake up overwhelmed his auditory senses. His vision turned red as blood poured from his orifices, he instinctively touched his face then looked at his palm, only to see it stained with thick crimson blood.

His mind went blank as he felt sick in his stomach, he wanted to vomit but he couldn't.

'Am I going to die here?'

For some reason, he turned around to look at the founder's statue... only to find that his ancestor, True Immortal Godfrey, was looking at him indifferently.

The ancestor's eyes were cold and apathetic, as though he was looking at a corpse. On the other hand, his mouth was moving at inhumane speeds.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

William fell to his knees, he felt as though his mental faculties crumbling, a feeling of being abandoned overwhelmed him... Why would his ancestor, the one and only founder of the Godfrey Clan, someone who is known for overprotecting his descendants and progeny, send him downhill into the path of madness?

Feeling the injustice and unfairness, William forced what remained of his lucidity to utter a single word.

"Why?"

...

The Decreed Punishers arrived at the military building where the imperial Draetrohan army was stationed. They've heard a distant scream and therefore intended to investigate.

Seeing the pool of blood seeping from the door, the Godfrey Clan's elite team instinctively frowned. Although they were not foreign to such scenes, they still found it to be pretty disturbing.

The beggar-looking elder motioned to his companions with his eyes before he approached the door. In his left pocket, he gripped a pendant tightly, as for his right hand, it was in a combat stance, ready to chop down at the opponent.

He slowly pushed the door open with his leg, and by relying on his footwork technique, he was constantly in a state where he is able to advance or retreat at will.

What welcomed him was a horrid sight that made his muscles twitch, he couldn't help but frown and cover his nose to prevent the foul stench from entering his body.

A team captain from The Decreed Punishers approached from behind and peeked inside, upon seeing the horrible sight of minced meat and brain matter splattered all around the room, his face paled as he dropped the sword that he was holding.

"This is akin to a... a human slaughterhouse."

Tome Godfrey was still seated atop that inconspicuous-looking tree, surveying the surroundings and making judgements according to the information relayed by the Godfrey Clan's council of elders and the deployed Decreed Punishers.

"I can still sense Dustin inside, he's doing fine and shouldn't get into any big problems as long as he's careful enough, if something truly unexpected were to happen, I will immediatey act to save him then retreat as far away as possible.."

"However, as for that child of his, I can't sense him anymore.. Perhaps he's imprisoned somewhere inside that blocks all outside interferences? Perhaps he died? No, if he were to die then me and Dustin would immediately sense it!"

The Godfrey Clan mastered a plethora of bloodline-related divine abilities, ki techniques and spells, giving them the ability and powers to sense the location and health of their members from extremely far away places.

If both members were nearby, then they can even communicate telepathically. For example, since Tome and The Decreed Punishers were both in the Kenley's Mosaics, they can send back and forth messages instantly without having the need to meet face-to-face.

Five minutes passed before the cautious yet calm look in Tome's face turned into that of astonishment and disturbance, The Decreed Punishers has relayed the news of the annihilation of the imperial army's forces.

Tome couldn't help but stand up as he blurted, "What? When I came here, the stationed forces were just fine!"

Tome quickly gathered his bearings as his sat down on the tree yet again and put on a calm expression, "Impossible, who could eradicate a team of Rank Two and Three immortals without disturbing the forest or letting out undulations?"

He looked at the ancient ruins of the temple before he sighed and said, "Is it really the Demon Continent's forces? No, it can't be. They're nothing but barbaric and savage wild beasts, they do not have the capabilities nor the means to carry out schemes and kidnapping, and definitely can not annihilate a team of elite forces silently without leaving any traces behind."

After making up his mind, he issued new orders of the team of Decreed Punishers and deployed elders, "Investigate. Figure out the culprit, cooperate with the Draetrohan imperial army and military, if you ever stumble upon the culprit, retreat and inform me."