Arrival of a Menhir

In the far east of the human continent, Caelum, there lay a large barren wasteland, which was a small part of the great deserts of the east in the continent.

The desolate wasteland stretched as far as the eye could see, a bleak landscape devoid of life. Sparse herbs clung to the dry soil, their leaves withered and yellowed. Twisted trees stood like gnarled sentinels, their branches reaching out like skeletal fingers towards the starry sky above.

Under the vast blanket of stars, the night was eerily quiet, broken only by the occasional rustle of dead leaves carried by the wind. In the distance, a massive purple building loomed, its high walls casting long shadows that seemed to swallow the feeble moonlight. The structure exuded a sense of dread, its very presence a stark reminder of the desolation that surrounded it.

The wasteland itself was a testament to decay, with cracked earth and dried-up rivers winding through the barren expanse. Forgotten remnants of civilization lay scattered about, their crumbling facades a stark contrast to the oppressive stillness of the night.

In this forsaken land, time seemed to stand still, trapped in a perpetual state of emptiness and desolation. And at the heart of it all stood the ominous purple building, a silent guardian over the lifeless wasteland, its dark aura a haunting echo of a forgotten past.

On one branch of a twisted tree, a man was sitting with his back to the tree's bark. The man seemed to be in his early 40's with a large and bulky body ripped with muscles a result of rigorous training. His height easily spanned over 6ft 7inches and his face although physically smooth and fit, was a mentally hardened one as if been through years of war and bloodshed. He had shining golden eyes and shoulder length black hair that were unkempt as a result of spending a lot of time in the wasteland. He had a medium size beard and moustache that gave his face, a Dicilian look, the desert look, the dangerous look.

Unfazed by the ominous and imposing aura of the dangerous purple building, the man kept his golden gaze fixed at the vast blanket of stars while eating an apple. For a whole minute, his gaze didn't move an inch from the sky and the reason was soon given when a large hawk spanning over 2 meters swooped down suddenly from the sky towards him. The man wasn't afraid of the hawk, after all it was his own and so he extended his left arm outward for the hawk. As if understanding the signal, the hawk increased its speed and swiftly reached the arm and landed on it.

The reason the man was looking at the sky was not to spot the large bird. But rather, the scroll attached to it and with one hand he took out the scroll and unfurled it, reading its content. For a whole minute, he read the contents of the scroll with an impassive face. At last, he closed the scroll with the seal and his bird took off from his arm and set off into the sky again. He stood up on the branch this time his gaze fixed at the purple building while finishing his apple. As soon as his apple was finished, the man dropped the mesocarp and jumped from the branch. As if on cue, the man's hawk instantly appeared from under him and lifted the man on its back. As the hawk took off into the skies, the man's deep and cold voice finally resounded throughout the purple building located on the vast expanse of the Dicily Desert.

"Send the regards of Christopher Blade to your master."

And in tandem, a large explosion followed right after completely obliterating the large building, leaving nothing but a huge crater. No trace of what had been there was left and the hawk vanished into the large canvas of the sky.

******

Today, in the Blade manor everyone was in their formal dress and performing their duties to the best. Arthur's parents had worn their Blade formal military dress which was different from the one they had worn when going for his talent measurement, that was their ceremonial dress. The Blade soldiers were all standing at guard one each side of the entrance gate in a line that led up straight to the Blade manor.

Maids and butlers were all standing in two groups behind the soldiers on each side. Arthur was standing along with his parents in a formal dress once again and her sister was sleeping inside the manor.

Today was the day of return of Christopher Blade finally. Over 5 years ago, the former Patriarch has resigned from his duties and handed over the position of Patriarch to Nolan. Nobody in the house except Arthur's parents knew where he had gone. The man had told Nolan that he would be roaming Caelum to find and destroy Vortex Syndicate bases all over the continent. 

The Vortex Syndicate was an organization that formed mana contracts with Netherfiends to attain power and fame but that was all a delusion, as they lose their sanity and become a slave to the Netherfiends. Their stigmata and mana get corrupted and become a medium to channel Wither instead. On the request of Christopher, his Ashblade had travelled to the Dicily desert to take care of a Netherfiends base but unfortunately she died because of unknown circumstances. Christopher cared deeply about his family and to him, his Ashblade was like an elder sister and his love for her was unparalleled. For the one who had been under his service when he had turned 10, this had been a huge blow.

When the news reached his ears, he immediately gave up his duties and swore not to destroy not just that base, but every single base established over Caelum for the vengeance of his Ashblade and that too alone. Though one could say that the Vortex Syndicate was a huge violation of the truce that had been arranged between the 4 races, but unfortunately it was not, the human willingly gave their souls to the Netherfiends and so this was not a violation of the truce that had been arranged. But this organization proved one thing, it was that the Netherfiends were getting restless again and there will be a war again in the few years to come.

A war that would be mainly fought by Arthur's generation, which was why all the continents were giving their best to nurture and train this generation. The day before tomorrow, word had reached Nolan from Christopher, that he would be coming back today due to which is why the manor was quickly prepared for his arrival.

What Arthur was wondering was why the gates were closed? Won't the man come from that entrance. But he quickly proven wrong, as a huge wind travelled through out the manor from above. Only Arthur and his parents looked up to see a huge hawk flapping its wings high up in the sky. Suddenly, the bird stopped and made swoop towards the ground at full speed, but just as it was about to touch the ground, the bird shifted it trajectory and became parallel to the ground. It came at full speed towards Arthur and his parents before stopping at the last second and the hawk which a pure yellow, closed its wings and stood on its legs. From the back, a huge figure jumped on the ground with his back to Arthur and his parents.

As if on cue, everyone in the manor brought themselves down on one knee and bowed with their heads down and simultaneously shouting in unison,

"WE GREET THE FORMER PATRIARCH!!"

Without responding the man turned back and faced Arthur and his parents, before advancing towards them. His whole being radiated command and authority, it was like the environment was bowing down to him. With each step, it was like he was born to command and lead. The man Christopher Blade was a legend in the eyes of the public, and his stature spoke no less about him as well.

Arriving before his parents, he locked eyes with Nolan,

"It's good to finally have you back, Father." Nolan greeted his father with a small bow but Arthur thought that he just saw the mouth of his father twitch for a second

Christopher looked at Nolan in silence for a second before placing a hand on his shoulder and with really faint signs of a small smile on his lips he praised his son,

"You did well, I left the family in good hands."

Then he turned towards Alice, who also bowed but a little more than Nolan, and with the utmost respect and love in her voice she spoke,

"It's a pleasure to see you again Father."

This time, Christopher had a small smile playing on his lips, which Alice couldn't see, as he put a hand on her with love and spoke,

"I hope you have been good, Alice and I expect that this man isn't bothering you is he?"

Alice stood upright and this time a small chuckle escaped her lips, but Christopher didn't mind in the least, and she assured him,

"No Father, he's perfectly fine and causes no trouble."

Christopher nodded and then finally turned towards Arthur, who could feel his gaze like a thousand needles poking at his skin. For a minute, silence reigned in the atmosphere as Christopher scrutinized Arthur with his gaze and none, not even his parents made a noise. Contrary to his parents, Arthur did not bow down to the man and matched his gaze with his own.

Why? He didn't feel the need to, sure he must be the Patriarch but he was the former one not the current and sure his stature and presence made you want to bow down to him because of his command, but this was not the first time Arthur had met people like this. Arthur had never met the man, not since his birth so he didn't even know him or had even a word with him, so why should he bow down to him?

Suddenly, a cold and imposing pressure descended upon Arthur and him alone, which was willingly forcing him to sit down and bow to the man. Though not upon themselves, every person could feel the coldness of the pressure but none dared to say anything against the man. Even though Arthur's parents could say to Christopher, they knew that it wasn't with any malicious intent or forcing his will upon him, it was a pressure which was only high for someone of Arthur's rank. This meant that it was a test for him, a test to check for something.

For Arthur, the pressure was like a thousand bricks had just been put on his back, it was forcing his upper half to bow down and Arthur tried his best to grit his teeth and endure the pressure but to his dismay, his body was lowering itself slowly by the second. Finally, he chose to use the skill that could get him out this situation, the skill that would surely take away this presence like a feather,

'[Assassin's Apathy]'

Immediately, his eyes turned cold and the gritting of his teeth stopped, for the other people it was like he had given up and his body was going lower itself but they couldn't be more wrong. Only Christopher sensed something different, like his whole aura his presence his command had been changed in a second.

Slowly but surely, Arthur started to raise his body upright again, his body and pressure fought with Christopher's pressure and even though the latter was greater, his body was rising against the will of the pressure. His back and teeth started leaking blood but he didn't stop his back from rising. Christopher's eyes widened for a second before returning back to normal as he looked at the boy defying his pressure. Christopher couldn't help but a smile was forming on his face.

Actually, Christopher knew that Arthur would never be able to rise from that pressure since he had personally exerted the amount of pressure accordingly for this purpose. What he wanted to see was if the boy had the balls to endure the pressure for an amount of time, if the boy was a true Blade, but never in his wildest imaginations would he expect the boy to rise from that pressure enduring the blood and pain leaking from his body!

Arthur stood fully upright now and matched his gaze with Christopher's gaze without an ounce of fear, and in a cold and monotone voice he ordered Christopher,

"Remove your pressure."

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Hello! Author here. Just wanted to say thank you for the 30 power stones :) and for this there will be another bonus chapter today. Hopefully at the same time, that said I hope you continue to enjoy and support this novel! Thank you :) :>