Chapter 19. Cheater

'And who could that master of yours be?' Alaric asked.

' You,' the voice replied.

' And what makes you think so?' Alaric asked.

' You still are not ready to learn about certain truths. Some truths become clear with your increase in power,' the voice spoke.

' You said you know how to destroy the seal...' Alaric inquired. He had just gotten into the cultivation realm only to realize that his origin source had been sealed. It was frustrating and annoying.

'Yes. That is something only you can do. You are too powerful that the seal is having a hard time sealing your origin source. The only reason the seal is able to work, just like I said before is that you are weak. The only way to destroy the seal is by getting stronger. You may not have realized before but the moment you entered the Cryptic Plane you were able to unseal a 5%. Something that took a long time to seal. To completely destroy the seal you have to get to the peak of martial realm. That is to become a God. By then, you will be powerful enough to resist the power of the seal thus rendering it useless.' The voice replied.

' Do you know who did this to me?' Alaric asked.

'As I said, some truths only become vivid to you as you progress in the cultivation realm. Whoever did that to you even I have no power to know,' the voice said.

'You know I can tell that you are lying...' Alaric teased.

' There is a seal in your memory. That one, even those who sealed your origin source cannot unseal it. Only by getting a strong mind can the seal open on its own,' the voice replied. Alaric felt his anger rise again. After sealing his origin source, they saw that it was not enough and proceeded to even seal his memories.

'Seal here, seal there. Whoever did this to me will pay. I swear to make them pay one day,' Alaric spoke but the voice silent. 'Or was it you?' Alaric asked.

'You will one day regret you swore to punish them,' the voice said a hint of sadness in it.

'The only thing I regret is that I was not aware to stop them,' Alaric said but he was met by silence again. 'Do you have a name?' he asked after realizing the voice did not like talking about the ones who sealed him.

'Yes. My name is Sarah," the voice replied.

'Sarah is a beautiful name,' Alaric spoke. There was unmatched sincerity in his voice that that the voice found out at the moment.

'Why do you say that I am you master. You were created before I even existed,' Alaric continued.

'These are the things I tell you that you can only find out on your own. At the moment I think you should be thinking of how you can improve your cultivation and destroy the seal. No one wants a weak master, you know...' Sarah said.

Alaric kust nodded and walked out. He needed to get a bath and then visit his friends. Sarah had said that she was going to sleep and she would only speak when Alaric needed her. Alaric went to his room and after he took a shower he lay on the bed facing the ceiling. He still could not get over the thought that someone just saw it fit to seal his origin source. It seemed like getting stronger to him would only cause him pain. From what the voice kept saying, he was sure that he was not ready for what was happening behind the scenes. Some truths were dangerous that they could cause one a mental breakdown and become insane.

Alaric started using array to form a new pair of clothes. A golden array appeared infront of him and after what seemed like ages he was able to create a single sweatpant. He proceeded to create a T-shirt. Now this was one fun fact about arrays. He was never going to buy clothes anymore. He put on the newly formed clothes and proceeded to Rey's room. What was even more fun was the fact that they would start receiving missions. Alaric had decided against joining factions. He was better off as a lone wolf. He knocked at Reys door and after a while Rey walked out dressed in pyjamas. Alaric laughed hard. Was Rey not already too old to be putting on pyjamas?

"Took you long enough?" Rey spoke.

"I did not know that the final set would take that long. I see you are growing the same height as me," Alaric said. Rey just nodded like he was not happy to see his friend. But how could he be? All those sixth months and he had only managed to fill a mere two meridian. Yet... He had just realized that Alaric was in the second stage though having not filled any meridians. His first set was already filled.

" What's with that look?" Alaric asked but Rey was still not happy. It was not that he was jealous but that he felt played.

When Alaric went to have secluded cultivation, he had filled the first meridian by the first two months. He had thought that he was going to be a step ahead of Alaric. When he filled the second, he was all smiles knowing that there was no way Alaric was catching up with him. Aurora was a bit faster for at the moment she had filled three meridians. They usually spoke of how they were going to look down on Alaric as he started the process of filling the meridians. But now... The heavens were playing rough. He could tell that Alaric had just come out of cultivation and opened his 108 meridians.

One thing Rey knew for sure was that even if Alaric had opened all meridians two months before, there was no way he would have fill 9 meridians. At most it would be five if not four.

"Explain yourself. How come you are headed to the second stage?" Rey asked.

Alaric explained how it took him six months to open his final set. He explained how painful it was and how after all meridians were open, the universe had decided to 'bless' him for his perseverance and sacrifice. He omitted tha part of Sarah and the sealed origin source. As he was explaining, Reys face just kept getting darker and darker. By the time he finished, only one word could explain what had happened.

"Cheater!" Rey blurted out. He felt like sending him away. Even if someone was lucky, it had to be a crime to be extremely lucky.

Rey remembered how Alaric did not require to be awake during the first time he was opening his meridians. Now here he was claiming that the universe had 'blessed' him by filling his first meridian set. Rey held his friend's shoulders and made him turn. He then pushed him out and stuck his head out through the narrow opening he left.

" Go to Aurora in the library. I bet she will be happy to see you," Rey said and locked the door. If he was left by an entire stage, bow was he ever going yo catch up? He walked to his bed and lay on his front burying his face in the pillow. It was not fair...

Alaric stood at the door for a while then decided to let him be. Maybe Aurora was going to be happy to see him. As he walked on the pavements, he could see girls throw glances at him. He could only shake his head. Now that his features were more refined, he kept drawing attention. It was fit to say that few reached in his class. At one point, a girl came to him and handed him a paper. He accepted and left as his destination was set. He did not read it though. When he entered the library, he could feel pairs of eyes land on him. He scanned everyone but she was not there.

He remembered that she was now in the Cryptic Plane so she was probably in the first floor. He climbed the stairs and he could feel that the pressure was no longer having a toll on him. He finally reached the first floor and after scanning the room, he saw the violet haired girl seated at the end of the library. He walked towards her and he could see the shift in the girls in that direction as they saw him approach them. Many watched him to see which girl had gotten his attention. They saw him stand next to a girl with violet hair who had not even looked up when he entered. They watched him take a seat opposite from her. It was then that she looked up to him.

Her first reaction was a smile but that smile was replaced by a look of defeat. Aurora let out a sigh when she realized that Alaric was in the second stage. She closed the book she was reading and stood from her seat. She then took his hand and dragged him from the library under everyone's astonished gaze. What had they just witnessed. The goddess of many had been fished. Some guys in the room clenched their fists when they saw this. It was clear that they had thought that studying the same room as her would make her notice them. Who would have known that a guy they barely knew would just come out of nowhere and make their goddess leave them.

If Alaric heard them, he would laugh at them. Not that he cared about trivial matters as such. Everyone looked at the duo leaving the library as the girl pulled the boy.

" So, opening nine meridians consecutively was not enough now you have filled all 9 meridians?" Aurora asked in defeat as they walked away. Alaric only sighed. Was this their way of saying they were happy or what was wrong with them. Aurora decided to ask what made him take so long but as Alaric explained everything, her features could only become darker and when he finished she had already given up on the idea of trying to compare with him. He was out of their league if the universe could personally fill his first set of meridians... And just like Rey she ended up saying the same word; "cheater'' Alaric only sighed. He did not like the fact that he was placing his friends in pressure trying to catch up with him.

"I know that you are faster than me. Just you wait and see once I start filling the second stage, my pace will match your's. Maybe you can catch up with me then," Alaric tried to comfort her.

" You can say all that but you know very well that its not true. You grasped the array with your fourth trial. Do you still want me to beleive you?" Aurora asked. There was no way he could refute her words.