THE DARKER SIDE OF CULTIVATION..

     ***In the North-west area of the Continent, - 'Saccurrus'- known as the home of the wild.

*Early Morning..

     On on top of a Motel roof, A messy young man in simple blue robes is seen lazily lying down without a care in the world as the back of his palm rests against his face to shield his eyes from the wind.

     Soon sunlight begins to peep through the gaps of his fingers into his eyes causing him to squint his face in discomfort as he tussles about a bit before finally pushing his body up in annoyance. He spitefully supports his body weight by his elbows as he sits up.

     Despite being a cultivator, he's truly not a morning person but rather a night person as life in this part of the Continent only truly begins for him at night.

     The man with still sleepy eyes gives a carefree yarn before shaking his head rapidly to wash away his drowsiness as he looks towards the rising sun.

     Beautiful..

     Just absolutely stunning. Although he would rather catch some more sleep, he could never get used to the view of the sun silently rising above the seemingly endless Oceans while staining the distant horizon with shades of orange, red and pink hues that look even more stunning considering the scattered clouds.

     Massive ships on the distant ocean sailing away from the ports or just on standstill appears like toys considering the distance but they somehow added to the majesty of the natural morning art.

     Shaking his head once more, the man pushes himself off the roof before hurriedly and silently landing on the ground. The building he spent the night in or rather on is a Motel he's used to boarding that's built on top a hill.

     Despite cheap, they had the best views, privacy and policies yet unfortunately, one of those policies is that they take their payments very seriously. Last night like every other night, he has participated in a gamble or five and somehow gets left with only pennies worth in his robes.

     Ignorant of the fact that his rent is due, he stupidly bought a dose of one or five bottles of alcohol to wash away the pain of loss hence leaving him with nothing as he stumbled into his abode.

     One would know how the rest of the story goes considering he used the roof as a bed. Uncaring about his pitiful situation, Haniel silently fixed his slightly faded robes before circulating a dose of mana through his body for energy as he walks down the hill.

     For a Rank 1 cultivator of the warrior Pathway, a bit of hike spells nothing for him as he soon enters into the bustling streets of 'Saccurrus'(The city).

     The gruff males arguments over stupidity, the pirates preparation for voyage, the hooded men and women here to assign secret assignments, the fierce looking armoured guards patrolling the streets in pairs just to make their presence known without caring to make any actual initiative to maintain order. The thieves were practicing their arts, the perfume of beautiful yet shameless women looking for consumers in broad daylight and even the smell of a massive abomination being carried on a pole place on the shoulders of two fierce men!..

     Everything is as they always are and should be and Haniel happily takes in all of this into his senses with a smile. A talented thief collided into him only to keep moving forward in disappointment but Haniel wears a smile on his face as he pulls a small bag out of nowhere.

     'Thanks for the donations,.. what a good day to be alive'. Haniel think to himself with a smile as the thief who's completely unaware of the robbery that has just occurred keeps moving forward.

     Haniel soon finds his way to his second favourite bar. He would have gone to his usual number one bar but he's feeling too lazy to make the journey all the way over.

     As expected, the drinks never truly stop flowing in the bars as countless 'gentlemen' and 'gentlewomen' are seen drowning a mug or bottle at one chair or corner.

     "Haniel, my man *Burp*..", An extremely rugged voice belonging to one of the reason this bar stays his second favourite calls him out from the side of the counter.

     Haniel gives a small annoyed yet friendly smile as he walks over to the side of the voice. A dwarf as short as they come sits at the end of the counter with a mug of brewery in his hand. The dwarf is covered in such a thick halo is alcohol that it is completely distinct compared to the smell of the bar!.

     Scanty countable brown hair sits on the dwarf's pale brown head but a thick herd of knitted beard that falls all the way down to his pot belly lies on his chin.

     Eyebrows as thick as a finger rests above the dwarf's beady eyes which wrinkles everything time he gives a smile.

     Waving the mug of Brewery in his hands, the dwarf adjusts his sitting position as Haniel pulls out seat out right by his side.

     "Hey Akon, you seem to have grown a few inches since the last time I saw you..", Haniel mocks with a smile at the dwarf who somehow manages to kick his high stool with his small stick like leg.

     "Curse you..", The dwarf says with a roll of his eyes as he swirls his alcohol mug.

     "Da pride of ah dwarf lies in his beards mate and I have quite da heavy one..", Akon responds with his dwarfen accent as he takes another swing of his mug.

     Although, the dwarf is no taller than two feet he still feels pride in his anatomy because of some excess hair hung on his chin, this tradition is something other races cannot bring themselves to understand.

     Temporarily ignoring the dwarf, Haniel quickly orders himself a cup of something mild with the money he stole before taking a swing.

     "Boy have you heard da rumours?.. They say ah lot of martials and even da low ranked cultivators hav been disappearing all over the city..", Akon says to Haniel who raises his brow.

     "Da main powers has launched an investigation. Dey usually wouldn't care to bat a eye if de couple tens of people disappears so things has gotta run more deeply if dey r showing interests..", The dwarf says before drowning the rest of the liquid in his mug.

     "Do you think it's those cultists or evil cultivators?..", Haniel ask without much interest in his voice.

     "Who else is it gotta be?.. they cowardly folks in da shadows r most likely de cause. Nobody's be ah Saint but some of de things those bastards do make me somehow feel holy..", Akon spits out with disgust in each word.

     "Lower your tongue, you don't know who's listening..", Haniel warns before passively observing their surroundings.

     "Don't stress much man, No cultist comes out for a early morning drink..", The dwarf says as he pushes himself off the stool just after putting a coin on the counter.

     "I'll be off then man, I need to make money for my next drink..", The dwarf says while lazily waving goodbye as he walks out of the bar with his short legs slightly wobbly.

     Haniel sighs then shakes his head before giving a small murmur.

     "Fool..", He says as he quickly drowns down his last bit of brewery before walking out of the bar.

     He walks up to a secluded area clouded by a unnoticeable illusion array. With a specific  knock pattern that inserts mana, the walls give a faint blue glow that allows him to effortlessly walk through them.

     After walking into the wall, he enters a room filled with darkness as the only thing giving off light are sets of red candles set in an eerie arrangement.

     A person robed religiously in a red and white material is seen meditating in the centre of the eerie candle arrangement with her eyes closed and her aura calm.

     "I greet the daughter of the truth,.. I greet the vessel of redemption and cleansing,.. I greet the great servant of the greater one above,.. I greet Bishop Malaya", Haniel says faithfully with full bow as he knees down to the floor with his palm placed on the grounds in front of him.

     "Rise.. The great one be with you", The robed person says on a eerie voice that seems to continually echo.

     Haniel raises his head and straightens his back but he remains humbly kneeling.

     "Oh vessel of truth, I bring news from the others saying the blasphemers have caught their trail. They would need to go into hiding for a foreseeable future..", Haniel says without daring to look directly at the woman's face.

     "I see. Let them not worry, that is only a small part of our preparation. The ritual is not due till seven years so we have all the time to prepare and weather they want it or not, the truths would descend once more into the mortal realm..", The woman says calmly yet with obsessive passion in each word and breath.

     "The truth would prevail..", Haniel says with obsessive passion as the woman breaks out into an eerie chuckle.