Alma's Blessing

Reed smiled bitterly and started felt bad for the trio, but couldn't find any words of comfort to give them. The way Horatio described their predicament gave Reed the impression that it was a problem that would be solved so easily.

"I've never heard of princes and princesses being ostracized for having been born into power. There's a first for everything, I suppose," he replied.

"But if they fear you three so much because of your status, why were so many people sucking up to the crimson-haired ponytail and the girl with the ebony hair? You know, the ones that withstood the instructor's sneak attack. They also seemed like bigshots and everyone started sucking up to them without a problem."

Astor's face scrunched up and he angrily replied, "Those are the Ashborn and Dragoncrest bastards I told you about. Those thieves are from the eastern empire and despite their actions, they had the nerve to choose the northern training ground. They truly go wherever they want and do whatever they please, acting like they've done nothing wrong!"

Reed felt lost and did not understand why he had gotten so heated up about them. Sure, that whole bloodline fiasco was kind of messed up but didn't every powerful family intermingle and marry their kids off like that? Even in the mortal world, the aristocracy would only marry people within their social caste, so to speak.

"Is it such a big matter, the whole bloodline business that the two families orchestrated? I thought that was the norm, although I will admit they got a bit carried away with the whole thing."

"No, it's fucking not! The sovereigns personally might not care about what their descendants do, as long as they don't burn down the four empires, but we do! Aside from the Flower King's nanny act, the four royal families have been governing Mulia for thousands of years without change, but now these upstarts have started stirring up some very concerning talk."

"These bastards want to carve up the four empires for themselves using the bloodlines they stole as proof of their right to rule. Common folk and lesser noble families see the two families as a potential golden ticket, one that would have them set for life. If they supported the Ashborn and Dragoncrest families and they succeeded in their goals, they'd be rewarded handsomely for their contributions. Money, fame, and all the authority the could ever want."

"Enough incentive to win over those weak-willed bastards that you saw back then; they're nothing more than losers who are trying to scramble over each to please their potential masters. No respect, loyalty, or gratitude towards the royal families who've been protecting them for millennia."

Horatio and Ophelia sighed once they saw that Astor had let the topic get to his head again, and shrugged their shoulder in indifference. Horatio calmly said, "Don't let Astor's bitter ranting put you off, Reed. It's not as bad as Astor makes it sound; the truth is that only a small percentage of the populace are seriously supporting those two families.

"Most people are too lazy and weak-hearted to even put their feelings into action, let alone support a political revolution. Astor's just paranoid. Even grandfather hasn't made an effort to stop them, just goes to show that it'll probably die out sooner or later."

"I think we should call it for the night, guys, it's already past midnight," warned Ophelia. She stood up and said, "If we stay up any longer, we'll probably wake up late tomorrow, so I'll be turning in for the night," as she quietly walked back towards her room.

Horatio and Astor said their farewells as well and retreated to their rooms, leaving Reed alone in the empty hall. He originally planned to stroll around the spire, but this detour wasn't too bad either. He'd made acquaintances with some powerful people if they were to be believed and gotten a clearer perspective on some of the local culture and history. Couldn't have asked for a better situation.

Slightly tired, he decided to call it a day like his newfound friends and went back to his room. That night he slept like a rock for an unknown reason.

Morning came around and Reed was jolted into consciousness as his tome blared a piercing noise. It sounded like someone had run their nails across a chalkboard right next to his ear. Reed found that it was unpleasant but effective. He simply couldn't force himself to sleep through the damn noise no matter how hard he tried.

Forced against his will, he arose from his slumber and clothed his in his new uniform. Fit him like a glove. Also had him wondering how they had gotten his measurements down so precisely. Another mystery that had no discernible answer.

His tome began to shine and all of a sudden a sweet voice came out of it and it said, "Good morning, little chicks. Sleep well? It's time to start your training so follow your tomes to the designated location. I'll see you there." He took one last look in the mirror and headed out to the teleportation altar.

A small crowd of trainees were already teleporting over to the training site, but Reed noticed a familiar bunch were standing around waiting in front of the altar. Astor, Horatio, and Ophelia stood beside the altar and once they finally spotted Reed they called out to him happily.

"Heavy sleeper, man? You came out a bit late, most of the group has already left to the training site. We were wondering whether or not to barge in your room and wake you up ourselves," Astor said.

Reed shrugged his shoulders and said, "It was certainly weird. I don't think I've ever slept that soundly before. Thanks for waiting, guys." The trio grinned and Astor pulled him along into the altar, all the while joking about nonsense.

A flash of light enveloped them and they were instantly sent to the designated site, which appeared to be a massive sinkhole, so wide and deep that it was impossible to see how far down it went. It was wider than the spire itself, which should have been impossible in theory.

A question sprung up in Reed's head: Were they still inside the spire or had they been teleported somewhere else? It would make sense if the designated area was somewhere else, but if this sinkhole was actually inside the spire it would mean that this place was a dimension inside the spire itself. Perhaps it was the product of some god-like manipulation of Anima, another creation of the great guilds.

Reed wasn't too surprised anymore with these developments anymore, it was clear that the people of this world operated on a different level. He'd only limit himself if he still kept an outdated mortal view of what was possible here.

He had to continually remind himself that in theory, you could do anything with Anima. Given enough innate talent, practice, and effort, mortals could become gods.

After a couple of minutes passed, everyone had arrived as requested. As soon as people began speculating what the purpose of the sinkhole was going to be for, space fluctuated around them and a loud dull, crack echoed across the area.

Reality had been forcibly torn open; an awful tear in space hung above the sinkhole and a woman walked out of it. She had a gentle expression on her face, which made the scene even more jarring. Her long, flaxen ponytail bounced as she walked on pure air as if an invisible surface existed that no one could see.

Soon enough, she had made it across the sinkhole and stood in front of the group. Tense expressions could be seen everywhere she looked, and she sighed. Axtorius had done it again, she thought. Scaring them a bit was fine, but why did he always have to go overboard?

"Now, now. I won't hurt you, so you don't get so riled up, okay? I'm no brute like Axtorius, so you can all relax," she said. Her words carried a soft charm to them that many couldn't resist as her voice spread across the group. One felt secure and protected just hearing her speak.

Reed wondered what type of skill she had used as he felt himself becoming calmer by the second. A form of mental suggestion carried by words, some psychic ability, or something out the box? He shook his head and tried to mentally resist the woman's numbing words. It proved difficult but he was able to free himself of the forced state of calmness after several attempts.

He noticed that Astor, Horatio, and Ophelia had already broken out of the mental suggestion before had. Astor grinned and patted him on the back as if to congratulate him secretly. Horatio nodded quietly in approval and Ophelia giggled.

He had been dead last among the group, but they didn't care. Horatio silently pointed towards others and Reed saw that most of them were still stuck under the instructor's spell. They looked happy and content, albeit a bit absentminded. Sort of like how cows behaved.

A few others had broken out the spell, mainly the stubborn-willed types who hated being under the effects of the spell. The Ashborn and Dragoncrest duo had also broken out of the charm and kept indifferent expressions about it all.

The female instructor smiled as she looked at the rebellious few that had broken out of her suggestion and winked at them playfully, but soon paid them no mind.

"I welcome you all to the blessed grounds. My name is Angela Windsong and I will be your anima instructor for the duration of your time here. I will be teaching you how to use Anima properly and above all else, efficiently."

"Some of you might have...idealistic views on what Anima is capable of, given what you know about it. Yes, you can do anything with it, but that's only half of the story. You need to be skilled enough to shape Anima into doing your bidding, and you need to possess a strong enough body to withstand the forces that come with using this divine ability."

"Don't even think any of you will be capable of performing any of the feats you've seen conquerors do. Not only will you not be able to do them on a technical perspective, but your fragile bodies would also never be able to handle the massive amount of Anima needed to perform them.

"I'm telling you this right now because every couple of decades, a young pup always oversteps their bounds. They don't listen to my warnings and try to do something they aren't even remotely capable of doing, like warping space, trying to manipulate time and the like."

"They all died, I assure you. In extremely painful ways that you could never possibly imagine. Tampering with the domain of god, the natural laws of the universe carries the greatest risk of all the things you can do. Be aware that you tread a fine line between heaven and hell when you use Anima. No one will save you if you end up warping yourself into the void or some godforsaken dimension. Peace be with you should do so."

Angela paused for a while and pointed her left hand towards the sinkhole. "Today's going be a special day. You're going to receive your Alma and formally complete your registration as a contender. The sinkhole is an entrance to the soul of the world and will let you communicate with the will of the world. Form a pact with the Will and receive your Alma. That's all you need to do for today, so jump in when you're ready."