Scourge of an Ancient War, The Final Phase!

The sun soon fell, and the night once more dominated the land, its darkness covering all things across these broad open skies. While dark, the lights from cosmic wonders and brilliant arrangement of stars illuminated the world below it, shining onto the sea of clouds and haze that drifted outwards in an endless fashion. Still, though this night sky was picturesque, it was also strange.

If any were to peer into these heavens at these hours, they would see a few unusual sights. Three round moons that hung high at its limits glowing with three different hues. If one looked carefully, they would notice that not only were these moons unfamiliar, the stars themselves had an odd arrangement as well.

They spiraled around these three moons looking like soldiers welcoming their kings, creating a circular pattern with multiple different layers. It was quite a marvelous feat at that, but in truth, it wasn't even the most outlandish sight. A massive rip or rather 'gorge' in space had separated these three moons and the stars surrounding it into two sides. This gorge stretched across the skies for as far as one could see completely dividing the night-time sky into two halves.

Rajen stood quietly on the deck as he looked towards the scene of the night sky and pondered, 'It gets me every time I see it! This strange night-time sky, I feel as if I have seen it differently before, but the question is where? Why is it that when I see it, I feel so out of place here?'

While Rajen was thinking to himself while staring at the night's mystery, a voice soon sounded from behind him, "The scar of the Division Shock, the scourge of the ancient war. Does it fascinate you, kid?"

The voice said as a figure had suddenly appeared, it seemed as he had been standing a few meters away from Rajen since the beginning.

Rajen hearing this was surprised as he looked towards the source of the voice, he then saw the figure of the slouchy man from earlier. Upon realizing who it was he couldn't help but smile as he asked, "Sir Examiner, they called it the scar, a scourge… and many other terms that signify a defect. But why couldn't it be something different?"

The slouchy looking man hearing Rajen's words raised his brows as he asked in a curious tone, "Something more? Heh, if not such, then what do you consider it to be then brat?"

Rajen hearing his words responded with a profound look in his eyes, "I say it is but a sign, a symbol of something that was long forgotten..."

As Rajen said this, his eyes shone vaguely as the three moons in the heavens similarly shone before fading, no one even noticed the change as it happened in an instant of time.

"A symbol you say... well now, I've never really given it much thought. Who knows... maybe things aren't always as we expect them to be," The slouchy looking man looked at the scar with a pondering gaze, after a while a smile rose at the corner of his lips he spoke once more with a different light in his eyes, "How very intriguing..."

Swoosh! Following his words, his body flickered and vanished, leaving the dazedly staring Rajen who pondered to himself, 'So fast, I couldn't even catch his trail; it's highly likely that this fellow is an elite of the B++ Class or even somewhere within the A-Class. Hmm, such strong persons a truly more than enough to make my boil for battle...'

As Rajen thought this, his dragon blood was stirred yet again, he tried to calm himself as he left the deck and went back to his room.

Once Rajen left the silhouette of the slouchy man could be seen standing at the top of the ship mast, he looked at Rajen and spoke with a voice that trailed away with the nightly wind, 'Rajen, huh? I look forward to seeing your results in high anticipation...'

*****

The morning sun shone brightly, as dawns light illuminated all once more, pushing away the darkness of the night.

As the airship sailed through the vast sky at a steady pace, its sleeping passengers were beginning to awaken one by one. Some of them even looked a bit haggard, as if they couldn't get a good night's sleep due to their anxiousness.

If one looked below the airship, they would finally see straggled pieces of land that floated in the endless sea of clouds and mists. Most of these broken landforms were the size of a few hundreds of meters, but the larger ones spanned a size of a few dozen kilometers.

Observing them more closely, one would notice that some had mountains on their surfaces, while others had forests with dangerous wildlife. There were even landmasses that were entirely water, connecting to other more giant lands that flowed with a continuous stream that fell into the cloud sea.

One particular landmass was even large than the reason being roughly a hundred or so kilometers in size. It was a land that had forests and swamps for as far as one could even notice. A few dangerous energies would rise now and then, as if a fierce series of battles were taking place underneath this high sky.

Rajen sat calmly inside of his room on the flat wooden floor in a strange posture. As he sat, he would regulate his breath while he held one hand downwards in a straight manner with his finger balancing his entire body on a tall needle that was seven inches long.

Carefully looking, one would see strands of his green force energy wrapping around his form as if they had a life of their own, filling them with a noble and dignifying presence that placed them above all things. This energy was entirely controlled and balanced at the tip of his finger allowing him to maintain his current state.

"Haaa...." With a deep exhale, all of the energies shrouding his form soon vanished into thin air, as his body now glowed in an even brighter light.

Rajen, feeling this change, smiled and thought, 'My force energy is still within its continuous growth period, maybe in a few months or less, I'll be able to achieve the C Class! Master was right; only by repeatedly tempering myself will I be able to adapt to its constant growth rate properly. Otherwise, if I were to slack off one day, I will find myself unable to control my body's power.'

'I must seek my true origins and find the ancient laws of my race, only then will I be able to properly wield my Dragon Force as it was meant to be utilized,' As Rajen thought this, he couldn't help but look towards the morning sky from his window.

"And thus, a new day arises," Rajen said as he picked himself up from the ground and headed towards the main deck.

Upon arriving at the main deck of the airship, Rajen saw that he was right about on time as only a few individuals were remaining. He walked towards Gust and Reya and greeted, "Good morning, Gust, Reya! How was your night's rest?"

Gust, hearing his words, was about to reply, but he was rudely interrupted by Reya once again. She complained as she grabbed one of her sizeable red twin tails while brushing it gently with her slender palms, "It was awful, I had to spend a lot of time to try and fix the mess caused to my hair! Look, even now, there are a few strands that are out of place..."

Her mouth curved into a frown as her large eyes looked at Rajen with a mood that sought pity, Rajen seeing this couldn't help but find it interesting as if he discovered a new world, he moved one of his hand towards the twin tail and touched it before saying, "Hmm, it doesn't look bad to me. I'd say that you've already fixed it as fine as it could be,"

"Really?" Reya asked with a bright light in her eyes as she looked at Rajen with a look of excitement.

"Mm!" Rajen said as he nodded his head, playing the hair a bit before letting it go, he then looked towards Gust who looked at them in shock.

"Is this my sister the 'Scorching Angel of the North,' when did she become so... tamed and mellow?"

As Gust's thoughts were confused, the scene around them become solemn as the slouchy looking man along with the examiners was seen standing a reasonable distance away from the main deck.

All of the gathered candidates looked towards them with confusion. However, this scenario did not last as the slouchy man spoke, "Good morning, candidates! Today is a great day, for we have finally found you all land, and while it may not be the capital of our Syndona Empire. It is guaranteed to become a wonderful memory for… well let's just say some of you all today, let the second phase of the Pre-Examination Exams commence!"

Not wasting a single moment to explain anything, the slouchy man snapped his finger, causing it to echo throughout the deck.

"What?" A few of the candidates said in a surprised tone. Soon though, they became distracted by the bright lights shining from the magic formation below their feet.

"Oh shit! Damn! This is a transportation method!" Another individual complained.

"Hahaha! Younglings don't go dying now! Your objective here is to survive until the rest of dawn, okay," The voice of the slouchy man soon faded as the groups of candidates quickly vanished into rays of light, beaming towards the unknown lands thousands of meters below the airship.

Rajen looked at the scene below him with flashing eyes as unlike the others; he only felt joy when facing a challenge. As his body vanished along with the others, he was prepared to take on his new challenge. However, far away from this land, in a distant ancient forest, there was another who had his own hurdles.