Chapter 8 - Heartcrest

It was the middle of September and temperatures were beginning to drop. Normally, there would be some days that would leave you feeling chilly at this time of year. There would be more wind and rain and you would then resort to wearing more layers to keep yourself warm.

"Cupcake, it is getting late and it is time for you to sleep but are you not cold, the windows are open", Oswald asked, it was indeed weird that his daughter wasn't cold but after giving it some thought, maybe it wasn't that weird after all. Perhaps the wind from the windows simply didn't reach her as she was seated on the couch furthest from the window. That is a plausible explanation and seeing how his daughter shrugged in confusion as she began to make her way to her room he left it at that.

Pheobe made her way to the stairs, they weren't that far from her, just a turn and there it was. Her eyes had started to become heavy and she was beginning to struggle to keep them open. Her parents smiled in amusement at her childlike behaviour, it was a long day and the aptitude testing would have left her tired and sluggish. It always made people feel weak afterwards.

The drainage of so much soul power so quickly was dangerous and it was only through specialised channels designed solely to lengthen the process and make it as smooth as possible that it had become 'safe'.

It wasn't exactly safe in the conventional sense of the word but safe nonetheless. It only helped that the children could only hold so much soul power before their aptitude manifested, it wouldn't kill them but it would weaken them.

It was easy to use soul power and manipulate it and with such as small quantity it could be removed without harm.

While yawning, Pheobe slumbered onto her bed and embrace it with glee, as a 13-year-old child, she needed the sleep and she looked as though the sleep would have been taken away from her with how seamlessly she went from being awake to sleeping.

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In a grand stateroom, a man stood smiling in front of his desk as he greeted those entering the room. He had heard the shuttle approaching the Manor and had received the news of their arrival from his assistants. He was very excited to meet them as they had produced extraordinary results. The copious amounts of money, soul potions, elixirs, and high-quality lord-grade soul-nourishing meat he had invested into the nest generations of his clan were showing returns.

The Heartcrest Clan was one of the 10 ancient clans in the Forkland Kingdom. They maintained a symbiotic relationship with the Syvernisi and the temple of Illios preventing power from slipping into other factions. They of course were no match to the might of the command centres simply because they had access to most of the regions in the world, headquarters stationed in every country and other smaller organisations such as the Novaium and the Soulnet having such large spread influence it wasn't hard to see why.

This wasn't a bad thing by any means. As the command centres were neutrally aligned, they were not locked to one country or region and had free reign because they weren't looking to conquer the land, they instead were 2 organisations focused on two different things, The Temple of Ilios controled the hospitals and the Library while the Syvernisi controlled the sanctum guards and the craftsmanship guild. Sure, they would be able to eradicate most that stood in their way but they weren't tyrannical. They had guidelines and those who broke them would be branded international criminals and hunted down.

They accepted people from many different regions of Wisteria which afforded them many different viewpoints, that would allow them to make the best possible decisions, in contrast, the clans were more homogenous.

They cared about public response and so they made sure to at least have a cordial relationship with the top brass in the countries. If they acted tyrannical who would be able to trust them to protect them and give them healthcare?

Children have a much higher chance of receiving better aptitudes if they are born to members of the command centres or the clans because their ancestors were people with high-tier aptitudes. When combined with all the resources put into training them and sending them to the best preschools possible it isn't that hard to see why.

Isaiah, Jibril and Penelope were raised in this environment. The patriarch of their clan maintained the just morals that their progenitor wanted his descendants to possess. This was one of the clan's traits and it matched with their fire-based clan. The fire had connotations with justice and strength, stopping at nothing until justice is served.

"Welcome back home, my children. It seems that you have all done a fine job for the clan and this has greatly pleased not only me but also the other members of the clan. Your parents have shown done a splendid job raising you and you will all be rewarded accordingly" said the Patriarch.

He was an old man; you could see the signs within in his speech, vernacular and the way he carried himself but he did not look his age. He only looked to be in his early 40s. And this is a show of strength. As you gain more and more soul power, your body ages at a slower rate. In the initial ranks, it makes so little difference as the amount of soul power you can hold is too small to affect your body much.

This was a trait possessed only by transcendence as it allowed you to remove your mortal chains, ones that locked you into a fixed relationship with death.

Others could match the strength of their Patriarch but not many. The pressure he exuded matched that that Grandmaster Sonic did and due to their familiarity they weren't as shocked to be in the grandmaster's presence.

The patriarch had asked them to follow him as he moved through the unending corridors of the Heartcrest estate, there were countless paintings hung on the red walls that matched the status of the family, each painting depicting either a heroic moment or portraits of high-ranking members of the clan. As they moved closer and closer to the treasure room, the paintings became increasingly more antique and they stopped recognising the persons in the portraits.

During this time the Patriarch talked to them about the various figures on the walls, he was a very friendly man and held the family in high regard. He spoke to the trio with such vigour and they couldn't help but exude the same traits as they become increasingly more enamoured by their ancestors.

Eventually, they arrived in front of a wall guarded by 2 guards on opposite sides of the wall, swords to their waists and impeccable concentration- a sign of their quality training. They asked them to stop and had that patriarch prove his identity by placing his hand on a high-tier Kastomas orb. This crystal resonant has the capability to be branded by a soul power and will then glow brightly in response only to that specific soul power. It has other functions based on grade but this specific feature was good enough in proving one's identity.

Once proving the patriarch's identity they saluted as a show of respect, "Now, now, please don't act so formal children.". The guards retorted in sync," That isn't possible patriarch, we have been taught to value our elders and family with respect.". The patriarch smiled in satisfaction and move to the middle of the wall.

In the middle of this concrete wall was a hole about the size of a grape, it was eye level and could only be opened by sending a sequence of soul power in a certain order and frequency. This was a high-level skill and if a mistake was made the surrounding area would have been put into lockdown preventing any trespassers from leaving if they even manage to make it there.

Once the correct sequence was imputed, the wall would begin to rise up, exposing yet another corridor, behind it. About ten meters ahead was a giant metal vault and as they approach it, the patriarch turned around. He had a serious look on his face and started talking, "Penelope. Isaiah. Jibril. Behind this door is the family treasury, collected throughout the history of the family. You have yet to achieve much you only be able to access the first floor. These are all items extremely compactable with our family and you can only pick one item. Make sure to pick wisely".