On the Prowl

— Saint Anubis City

It had been several months since Josiah stepped onto the platform of destiny. Since the boy had stopped yelling and thrashing in his sleep, the family felt assured that he was handling his awakening properly. It was only a matter of time before he woke up. However, there was no guarantee how much time that would be.

Or who the boy would be when he woke up...

All the sages present that day know the dangers of a soul battle on Destiny's platform.

Saint Anubis City was the largest city in the entire West Ward of Pangaea. Only the capitals of the other three wards and the ancient cities from the Central Ward could hope to compete. Seeing it from a distance, this towering city was shrouded in fog and snow, and it looked like a fairyland. There were hundreds of towering structures and elegant stone buildings.

There were golden pathways that floated in the sky, continually shifting and making new paths in an organized system. They all lead to different temples that honored one of the legion of pharaohs. Hieroglyphs danced on the walls of the temples and in the air of the city itself. Experts could be seen in almost every inch of the city.

This heavenly city was the home of a pharaoh!

This was possible only because the West Ward was the largest ward outside of the central territories. The imperial city was separated into four significant districts. The Magus District, where the four Sage Families lived around Lake Nicaea, and the buildings were all grandiose and tall. The Magus District had beautiful architecture all around and all sorts of magical array formations that made things float or ignite, and many other things.

Then, there was the Northern Imperial District, where the Imperial House Congo was located at the southern end of the lake, directly south of the ruins of House Shu, where the land was littered with large imperial palaces, jackal statues, and shrines, and the vast and majestic Temple of Anubis, office of the West Ward's ruling pharaoh, Saint Anubis.

South of this district was the Southern Imperial District, home to many Silver and Gold Rank sects and aristocratic families. The buildings were luxurious but straightforward up until one reached the several lower districts scattered all throughout the territory, which were collectively referred to as the slums.

All the buildings of the slums were either old and falling apart or built by the residents with materials that they recycled out of more wreckage. In most parts of the lower district slums, one could still see lights and people out on the streets. Some were poor and stranded in the extreme weather, while others were visiting taverns, partying, or soliciting many different "under the table" type services.

Meanwhile, the streets of the more upscale Southern District were silent and serene as people huddled together indoors to escape the cold. However, if one looked closely enough through the hazy moonlight, they would see many silhouettes blending in with the shadows as they swiftly navigated through the alleyways and back roads, all running towards the Northern District.

Deep within a secret chamber of the most magnificent construct in the entire Saint Anubis City, the Temple of Anubis, there were four men dressed in black hooded robes. The faces within the hoods of these robes looked out of focus and couldn't be seen clearly. This was a common type of magical array. The four men were seated at a rather large war table, deep in conversation.

"And little uncle, you're certain that it's your elder brother who is the traitor? This seat's...father?" the middle-aged man who spoke had a gruff but majestic voice full of bass, and he sat with such poise.

Although his facial features could not be discerned, he had an imposing air that seemed to exist as naturally as the clouds and an intense yet inactive atmosphere of death force surrounded him. It was as if the grim reaper hid within his shadow at this very moment.

"Indeed, great sage nephew," came a noticeably younger but similarly majestic voice that instead had a heroic air. He handed the middle-aged man a Magic Gem Slip, "This is the intelligence report we received from God Wolf's Redoubt."

The middle-aged man used his soul consciousness to examine the magic slip before frowning and passing it to the silent elder to the right of him.

"That damn animal! He has glamoured 176 women in the imperial capital alone. White Demon Castle must be suppressed at all costs!" Said the elder after scanning the magic slip with his perception.

"Their security in the castle is impeccable. Approaching that force field is simply courting death." The younger man waved his hand, and rukh spiraled a net, condensing into a 3-D projection of a floating White Castle. The young man solemnly pointed to the land beneath the castle and said, "This structure is built of a wondrous material that allows it to float. As long as there is enough power being supplied, it can travel through the cloud anywhere."

Waving his hand again, the White Castle rotated, allowing the people at the table to examine its features.

"As you all know, these Jackal God statues are sentinels that operate by absorbing dense death energy. The energy they produce is actually part of the Infinity Jackal's divine heritage, Reaper Force," the younger man turned his head to glance at the middle-aged man again. "We believe that your father received these powerful guardians as a gift from you, yourself, great sage nephew."

The aura of the two gentlemen in front of the young man darkened considerably as the middle-aged man spoke unhurried, "What are you suggesting, little uncle?"

"It is not that we doubt you, Saint. This just proves that Basalt's glamour abilities have reached a truly terrifying boundary," replied the young man calmly.

The middle-aged man's face seemed to contort, though no one could be sure heavily. After a while, he sighed, "If these are actually our missing Death God Statues if Basalt truly has the means to control them…to control me, then it means he has already become a holy messenger of Anubis.

"Which means he will know the truth about Josiah the moment he can clearly identify the boy's aura. The war between us is inevitable, but we now have no way of planning a successful invasion. We must find a way to draw him out," said the elder to the man's right.

"As long as I am alive, he will emerge on his own to deal with me eventually. I will protect Josiah. Basalt's various lackeys, even the few assassins hidden inside my House, cannot stop me. They have neither the intelligence nor the strength. He will be forced to make a move himself," said the young man as he stood up, placing his hand on the shoulder of his majestic companion who was rising up with him.

"At that time, we will invade his shadow and commence the second phase of our plan. We have paid an astronomical price to get the Lady of the Mist to participate in this plan during phase one. Merely, you see what she has had to endure. You also know what she will have to endure later. I was even forced to seal her memories and change her identity, all to avoid detection.

"To make this deception airtight, I sealed my own memories along with hers. From a certain perspective, Basalt's end goal is directly related to her. His obsession with her, however, can be used to our absolute advantage..."

"Little uncle, do you not have a child with the Lady of the Mist? Are there truly no personal feelings involved here? What, then, of your exceptional son?" The middle-aged man, as well as the elder next to him, also rose from their seats.

"It is not exactly the Lady of the Mist I have a child with..." the younger man paused in his steps, seemingly frowning, with a pained expression. Though his face could not be seen clearly, his tone was grave, "I have a plan for the boy…but ultimately his fate will depend on himself. Given enough time, I can send him to be with his older sister or brother.

"However, if the time is not enough…then he can only be sacrificed. My Eye of Destiny tells me that my son and I are fated to be separated for nearly a decade, but he will survive. This team has come too far for mistakes. We must not fail when we are this close to success."

There was an elderly sigh, the origin of which came from another companion to the left of the younger man. He sounded exasperated, saying, "Such potential is worth the risk. Perhaps we should seek out Fort Master Goldwolf."

"This…" the younger man was momentarily flustered before his eyes immediately brightened.

This thought had, in fact, escaped him at some point.

The young man's mood hit the ceiling as he laughed boisterously. "Hahaha, indeed! There was still this route. Yes, once my…once the Fort Master is informed about the boy's potential, he will not sit idle."

"This is for the best." The middle-aged man appeared to be smiling as he turned and started walking toward the back wall of the room, where an entrance appeared after the elder by his side muttered incantation runes that flew into the wall. The middle-aged man spoke with majesty and authority, "Now, some annoying flies have been buzzing around our imperial district."

Stepping through the entrance and walking down the pathway, a heroic air surrounded the young man as he laughed boisterously. The young man revealed a dazzling smile that almost shone through the magic that blocked his facial features.

"Since they have come, then naturally, they will never be able to return," as the young man's words faded, the four companions seemed to disappear into the shadows utterly.