Soul test

Days became months and finally, Drake was able to walk on his own. His daily life up until then was mainly sleeping, eating and getting herb treatment for his hair colour as his grandmother called it.

Whenever he was awake he was focusing on trying to understand how these monkeys are able to communicate. It wasn't long until his mother, Gillian, explained to him that they are able to communicate through a mind technique that allows them to relay their thoughts to everyone around or even to specific persons. The more he thought about this technique the more he realised the profoundness of it, as long as you were proficient enough you could avoid being overheard by others. Gillian also explained that when he reaches his first birthday they will test his soul power and if it is strong enough, he will also learn the technique. Drake couldn't help but look forward to it.

Immediately after taking his first steps, he started trying to get out of the house but his mother was always preventing him from doing so.

"Little one, you can't go out yet, I've told you many times that the first time a kid goes out of his house is when the soul test takes place. Before that, you are not allowed to go out or else the array covering the village will treat you as an outsider. Only when the test has taken place will you be marked as a resident of the village and you will be free to roam around."

He only saw his father once after the day of his birth. It was when he brought some special herbs for him and he immediately left after taking a good look at him and smiled proudly.

Soon the first year passed and the day for the soul test arrived. Drake was both excited and curious. It was the first time going out in this new world and the first time he was going through such a test.

"Little one, are you ready to take the test?" asked Gillian caressing Drake's head. "There is no need to be anxious, I am sure my little boy will astonish everyone with the results!"

Even if Drake was an old man in a baby's body, he couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes when his mother asked him. He rushed to the door and stood by it waiting for Gillian to open it for him.

"You can't run around just yet, so give mommy your hand so we can walk there." Gillian reminded him while opening the door.

He was not sure what to expect of the village but he was definitely thinking something more majestic. As soon as he got out of the house and checked his surroundings he was clearly disappointed. All the houses in the village amounted to around thirty and all of them were the same. Dome-shaped, built from mud houses. Outside of every house were two sticks connecting each other with a string where you could see dried meat and fish hanging from it.

"Come on little one, we are going to the centre of the village. Do you see that big monolith? That is where your test will take place." Gillian mentioned while pulling Drake's hand to move faster.

The closer to the monolith they were, the clearer the architecture of the village was. All the houses were built in a half circle facing the monolith. Behind the monolith was a bigger structure built from stone. You could also see the same engravings in the building as they were in the monolith.

"Do you see the engravings in the monolith?" Gillian asked. "Their meaning is the name of our village. Sun village, that is the name of our home. There is a story behind the name, but that is a story you will hear right after the soul test. That is a responsibility for the village leader, your father, Darth."

Soon, they arrived in front of the monolith and you could see that nearly all the villagers were gathered around it.

"Since the second and last participant for this year's test has arrived, we are ready to start. My name is Darth Sun, son of Rogan Sun, a direct descendant of Sun Wukong" Darth's voice rang in everyone's mind. "Before we proceed with the history of our lineage and our village, I would like the two children to proceed and touch the monolith."

Drake and another baby monkey got pushed gently by their mothers to proceed to the monolith. While the other monkey was clearly hesitant and afraid, Drake was more curious to see what will happen. Soon both of them were standing in from of the monolith and slowly raised their hands to touch the monolith. It was cold and hard, that was the only feeling it gave. It seemed like a normal rock with some engravings.

"Soon the ritual will start," Darth continued. "The monolith will light up and both of you will start feeling some pain in your soul. The pain will steadily increase. Fear not, youngsters, the more you can stand the pain, the higher your soul power is. In order to start learning our method of communication, you have to hold on for ten seconds. If you hold more than a minute you can start learning our ancestor's breathing technique which helps with your body training and martial arts. If you can hold for more than one hour you will be eligible to start learning the Sun cultivation manual. It is a cultivation manual specific for our species. It is considered one of the best cultivation methods in all the beast species. It is good enough to rival the cultivation techniques of the descendants of the four legendary beasts, the azure dragon, the white tiger, the black turtle and the vermillion bird. The purer your bloodline, the higher cultivation realm you can reach. But you are both too young to even think about cultivating for now. You two should focus on passing the first hurdle and resist the pain for ten seconds. From today onwards you will be taking this test every year in order to test your progress. Sooner or later both of you will be able to resist more than one hour and you will be able to start cultivating. Now then, without further delay, let us proceed with the test! "

The moment Darth finished his speech, four staff holding villagers approached the monolith and sat down in lotus position with the staff balancing on their legs. Soon after, a continuous golden ray of light stemming from each of the four villagers shot to the top of the monolith. Suddenly, the engravings on the monolith started brimming with light. The letters, that were now golden rays of light, slowly detached themselves from the monolith and started circling around the two examinees.

Before Drake had a chance to marvel at the spectacle, he felt a sudden pain coursing through his soul. From what he understood from his father's description the pain should have been quite a lot, but the pain he was feeling right now could only be described as a minor discomfort.

Therefore, he turned his attention to the other kid which was obviously in a lot of pain. He could see the other kid gritting his teeth and the kid was already sweating even though not even 3 seconds have passed since the start of the test. As soon as Drake moved his sight from the other kid, his eyes connected with his father's and it was clear that they were filled with astonishment over Drake's relaxed look.

Darth knew that nothing was wrong with the trial because some warriors were tested yesterday. That could only mean that this little son of his had an extremely strong soul for his age. His soul power could rival at least a five years old.

'My son's soul is probably strong enough to start learning the breathing technique. Now let's see how long he can hold out for.' he thought proudly.

Meanwhile, the eyes of all villagers were focused on Drake. They could already see that this child was destined to become a strong warrior for the tribe.

Soon the ten seconds passed and the pain they were feeling suddenly intensified. The boy next to Drake screamed and took his hand off the monolith. Drake, on the other hand, was now in the same position as the young boy was previously. The pain was extremely intense. He instantly dropped to his knees but he was focused enough to still keep his hand on the monolith. He gritted his teeth while sweating profoundly.

'I have to endure, the more I endure the faster I will start the training, the sooner I'll meet her again.' Drake steeled himself by thinking the injustice he suffered by Delia.

Five minutes...Ten minutes...Twenty...Soon, half an hour passed and Drake couldn't handle it anymore. His soul might be extremely resilient because of all the tribulations he survived, but since his body is still that of 1 year old, the power he had was limited. Some may think that the soul has nothing to do with the body, but that is a clear misconception. The body is the vessel of the soul. If the vessel is weaker than the soul then it is bound to break. Therefore, even if the soul is way stronger than the body, it will only be showing limited power.

As soon as he let hold off the monolith, he tried to stand up but he staggered and he could feel his body dropping forward before losing consciousness.

"Today, you made me extremely proud, son." Darth whispered as he was catching Drake's body.