Chapter 2

It was all supposed to be so simple. Jason left the safety of the valley through the formation— it was a sort of magical array that prevented almost anyone from seeing the valley. Even if they looked straight at the entrance, they wouldn't see it. If they walked directly at it, their brain would make their feet turn away. Walking out of it was simple, even without a key. You just kept walking forward.

Walking out of the valley was easy.

The elders had even given him a map, some supplies, and a task, though a simple one.

'Find the town and purchase a low-grade spirit stone for the clan heirs cultivation.'

A simple note scrawled on paper in charcoal, telling him to follow the path to the town.

Too bad there was no path left.

All around him, the ground still shook from the thunderous trampling of a hundred thousand Monstrous Beasts. He sat in one of the only trees left standing, a relatively giant tree, wide enough to build a house inside. He was there to use it as a landmark. Ten miles north of here, across the wide plains at the end of the forest where trees staunchly refuse to grow.

Everything, now, was plains, trampled underfoot by rampaging Monstrous Beasts. They looked much like hogs, and Jason briefly wondered if they tasted like pork. They were making a huge mess of the forest.

Jason always thought that forests were terrible, dirty places. The wilderness near the town was bad enough, where the dirt didn't hopelessly turn to mud beneath a horde of four foot tall pigs. To Jason's dull spiritual perception they appeared to Half Step First Ring, or First Ring at best.

It looked like they were fleeing from something. Jason didn't plan to find out what. It took half a day for the stampede to finally end, and only stragglers lazily meandered behind the rampage. Jason looked at his map, then up at the muddy ground all around him, trying to reorient himself towards the town. As he slipped back onto the earth, his biggest concern was how muddy his shoes were about to get.

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Jason was having a bad day. He was lost. Really lost. A few hours into his march across the muddy plains he realized he had gone the wrong way. The stampede had come from the east, but the town was to the north. He had been marching east, and was currently attempting to reorient himself to find north. He was no longer certain which direction would take him closer to the town. He headed left.

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Jason was having a bad week. His clothes were dirty, his hair disheveled, his boots caked brown with mud. He really hated mud. He had trekked into the forest looking for the path back to town, but it had taken him another night of rest and a day to find a road. He had been following it for a day more. So when he came across the towering stone walls of a town, his heart nearly leapt from his chest. Forget the elders spirit stone, Jason would be buying himself a bath.

That was what he thought as he entered the town. The roads here were paved with cobblestones, the walls a solid, towering surface of gray. Jason wondered how they produced such refined, clean walls, that stretched across the land like a mountain on the horizon. They didn't quite tower to the heavens, but they were more than enough to keep away stampedes.

He continued to admire the town as he entered. People looked between him and the sky, which he had noticed started to darken, before shutting their windows. He didn't know if it was because rain was coming, or if they just smelled him. He didn't blame them for either. He would do the same.

Shop owners all along the street hurried to pack up their stalls, scurrying away as fast as possible. They often left several less valuable things behind.

"How much for one of these?" Jason asked one of the stall owners who was rapidly shoving as many of his wares back into containers as he could. The man spared only a glance between Jason and the pie he was eying.

"Just take it. And get out of the street! They're coming!"

"Who is coming?" Jason asked between a mouthful of a sweet, berry filled pie. The air hard started to noticeably chill.

The man rose up to his full height. "The Starfall Sect!" he said with an air of finality, as if it answered everything and their name would ring true anywhere in the world. The man scurried away, not sparing any looks back.

Jason continued down the street. He had to look for someone who sold cultivation resources— a store like that wouldn't be a mere street stall. Although he thought the amount of street stalls odd, considering the street was near empty. And growing more empty by the minute. He continued down it, opening the note the elders had left him. Looking down at the note, he failed to realize that he was alone on the street.

Jason felt a cold breeze on his neck as something drifted past him. Then he felt a cold splash of water wash over him, all at once. Cold dug into his flesh, seeping to the bone. Then a blast of wind, and he was dry. It was warm and comforting, like he was wrapped in a blanket. He stumbled forward, catching the note that had been knocked out of his hands, and spinning around to see what had happened.

The street was still empty. He looked down, then around himself. His clothing was entirely clean, his hair tied out of his face, and the streets sparkled. The buildings could still have used a new paint job, but every bit of dirt had been scrubbed clean of the road. It looked like it was just made.

"Whats going on?" Jason called out. No one answered, but in the distance he observed a flurry of motion at the gate to the city. "This place is ridiculous."

A wave of deep blue and flashing gold poured through the gate like a river, washing over and passed him. On either side of him, men in robes lined the street, bowing. At him. "Hello?" Jason asked, earning disdainful glances from the men and women kneeling around him.

A man appeared in front of Jason, seeming to merely form out of thin air. He picked Jason up by the neck, like a kitten, and put him onto his knees in an empty spot among the rows of servants. Jason found that he couldn't move his jaw, or talk. A spiritual presence clamped down all around him, forcing his muscles taut. He couldn't even move his mouth to ask what had just happened, but he felt the spiritual presence disappear as soon as it had appeared.

A long time passed. Well, it felt like an eternity to Jason, since he was unable to move. He actually estimated it at around five minutes. The sound of footsteps had slowly grown closer and closer, along with an enormous spiritual presence.

It felt like a star falling from heaven.

Its every foot fall was a mountain descending to earth.

Jason's spirit shook like an earthquake, his aura pouring out like tsunamis around him every time it inched closer.

Finally, it stopped. He couldn't look up to confirm it, but its shadow fell right in front of his face.

"Sebas." The man spoke. His words were quiet and reserved, yet they echoed through Jason's mind.

"Yes, esteemed Elder Don." A second presence appeared next to him, casting another shadow.

"When I return to the Estate, I expect to see this servant in uniform. Honestly, what is he wearing? Are those rags? Is this how we represent our clan?"

"I will take care of it at once, honored elder!"

Jason felt a familiar hand grab his neck. Then the earth disappeared from under him. He could move again, though he strained to do so. The sound of wind rushing over his ears was all he could hear. Below him, the world appeared to be a river of colors bleeding together. It was as if someone had melted the entire world and it was sliding away. Then there was a boom, and the sound of the wind disappeared. Jason's vision went dark.