Age of Beast Tamers and Exorcists

Zmey quickened his pace. He cut to a corner, and as he was about to take one step, he saw what was before him in the mean distance.

But he continued striding towards Nero, who was leaning against the wall of a building. He crossed his arms while he fixed his eyes on the entrance in the distance as if he were waiting for him.

Zmey patted his back for a brief moment as he reached. He apologised, though didn't stop walking. "Sorry for keeping you waiting."

Nero raised his brows. He looked to his side and saw Zmey walking before him. He left the building without delay and jogged to catch up with him.

He sighed. He looked at Zmey, whose countenance was plain and devoid of something. He asked, "Don't you feel anything deep inside there? Besides, we do not know our fate yet."

Zmey let out a quiet sigh. "Whatever. We have to face it first. If you fight, you will win. If you don't, you won't."

Nero reverted his gaze from Zmey. A wave of encouragement washed over him. He felt there was truth in those few words.

To motivate himself, he repeated in a mumble, "If I don't fight, I won't win."

Zmey, hearing him, chuckled out of a mix of disbelief and teasing. He locked onto Nero's face. "Come on. Don't you know you sound like a scaredy-cat right now?"

Nero glanced back at him. He forced a smile too, though to Zmey's face, this was the usual big grin he carried around.

They walked towards the imposing gate before them...

"Let's do this. "If we live, you not only have to weave magic like Captain Silvan Ferox. But also sell information in the Sanctuary," Zmey joked.

Nero kept silent for a brief moment. Then he asked Zmey, "Wait... aren't you curious about how we have got to the edge of the cliff a few days ago?"

Zmey turned his shoulder like he was preparing for a fight, as they got much closer to the gate.

He sighed. "Yes, I am. I also have some things to tell you about what happened behind your back in Frosthaven. But let's do it one thing at a time."

Nero's brows creased in confusion. 'What happened behind my back?' But he deemed it truly words of later.

They had to focus on whether they would soon call themselves magic practitioners, didn't they?

He glanced at Zmey with a smile. "Right. Let's talk about it later. From here on, we are dead men, beast tamers, or exorcists."

Triple choices there, isn't it? Haha." Zmey managed to crack a joke despite the tension pounding in his heart. You could expect his reaction. Besides, this was his first time in such a world.

Still, even if that were true, his past lives had taught him to face things head-on. There wasn't a reason to hold back because of getting hurt or dying. In the end, all humans would face death.

The kingdom was behind them as they marvelled at the gate of the legendary Magic Sanctuary. A cage of living testaments to strength. A troop of human weapons. A dimension isolated from the outside world that breeds soldiers flame-borne at heart.

The grey-rock-built gate stood as a massive obstructor at the sanctuary's entrance. The doors there were large wooden types, each with a slight arch at the top.

They reinforced them with black iron bands. Two high, square stones towered on either side of the gate. The warm wind drifted Zmey's and Nero's clothes... as they ascended the uneven cobblestone path to the gate.

Thick ivy climbed upon the stone walls and the flanking towers. And small patches of moss and lichen grew on the stones. It hinted at how long the sanctuary had existed during the age of tamers and exorcists.

Two watchmen, each clad in armour, stationed themselves at the gate. Zmey and Nero received a request to report their plan to approach the sanctuary. Nero took the lead, telling them exactly what they were there for. Nothing else but to take the awakening test.

The door creaked open a second later, with no more questions. The watchmen asked them to pass through. When they did, the sight of a stretch of gravel path greeted them. The path ended at rows of warrior statues, each with a different weapon. They flanked the path.

Zmey glanced at Nero. "Let's go on. This should lead us to the awakening section, I suppose."

Nero nodded his head in acknowledgment.

Thus, they plied the path. There was the sight of white, even golden birds over the roofs of buildings with dark corridors. Only the minds of the sanctuary would know what those buildings were. A few minutes later, they assumed they had arrived at the end of the path.

But without warning, they encountered a dead end. Zmey had grasped the handle of the door, but it wouldn't budge, not to mention open. To the left and right of it were thin air - the door floated in the air.

A set of characters inscribed itself on the door's torso without any warning. Their brows creased, and Zmey let go of the handle first.

It was a riddle.

Nero drew closer, finding the characters readable. It was in the common Felix language, not the Pharandelic one. People choose to learn the Pharandelic language.

"What? A riddle?" he wondered.

On the door was:

'I have no voice, yet I speak to you. I have no eyes, yet I show you the truth. I am not alive, yet I grow and change. What am I?'

Nero straightened his back and looked at Zmey. "Got any breaks around it? I have never been good at logic."

Zmey sighed. Then he lowered his height, looking closer at the riddle. He stared at it for a few more seconds.

'It's not the riddle that's important. But why are they asking? What do they want us to grasp from this? If we break the concept, could it change our mindset or would it harden our earlier one?'

Nero blinked at Zmey. Being a weakling didn't mean he didn't know to be silent while someone else was deep in thought.

Zmey said in a soft voice, "Can you tell me what you thought of before deciding to come to this sanctuary?"

Nero blinked. He pointed at himself. "Me?"

Zmey nodded back at him. "Yes."

Silence stretched for a few seconds. Nero lowered his head. Zmey held his gaze on him, waiting for him to answer out of his pondering.

Without notice, Nero raised his stare. Zmey could have sworn he saw a flicker of something in those eyes.

Nero affirmed, "I can't quite wrap my head around most things. It seems I know my reason for being here, but still otherwise. But one thing is for sure... I want to get stronger!"

Zmey glanced back at the riddle.

"Same as I," he mumbled.

He sighed. He held his stare for a few more seconds. Then he said, "The sanctuary would want us to reflect on our mindsets.... before entering the awakening space. If so, I guess we have solved the riddle." He straightened his back.

Nero asked, bewildered, "Ei... that quick?"

"It's an assumption, though. The main focus here is 'reflection'," Zmey said, more to himself than to anyone else.

"Reflection??"

"The secondary focus to solve the riddle is the main idea in each line of it. Something that has no voice, no eyes, develops even though it is not alive. Yet, it can reflect something," Zmey mumbled. He glanced at Nero. "What do you think the answer is, Nero?"

Nero mumbled the key element over and over again. He couldn't wrap his head around it, as usual. A rough idea came to his mind. He knew he had to say it out anyway. It would be wrong; he was certain.

"... A mirror?"

Zmey glanced back at the riddle with a firm expression. "You're right. A mirror is the answer. It speaks through images. It reflects the truth, without eyes. It changes based on what it shows. A mirror is the answer to the riddle!"

The door vanished in an instant. It morphed into a path with a silvery, liquid-like surface rippling. The duo exchanged nods before stepping through it. They felt cool sensations when they did; though, upon appearing in the inner room, they didn't get wet.

The inner room was a circular type with vaulted ceilings. Natural light illuminated it, having filtered through a domed skylight.

A pedestal stood at the centre, surrounded by glowing sigils. Mirrors lined the walls all over. These mirrors shimmered at the frames with golden light.

In a nutshell, it was a circular hall with mirrors inscribed on its walls.

Far in the distance, Zmey saw a lady and a guy come out of two different mirrors. As they did, a woman in a red uniform on the left announced.

"400th and 401st candidates recorded. Candidates both awakened with red auras. Two beast tamers confirmed." She jotted something down in a brown ledger in her hand.

One mirror vanished from the wall, which surprised everyone. Zmey and Nero heard the woman say, "The 520th candidate has been reported dead."

Soon afterwards, two different sets of people in green dresses received them. They sat in a corner on a bench. The two guys brought out golden injectors from a metallic container. It contained a pure serum encased in crystal vials.

While seeking information around the kingdom, Zmey had learned of a serum. People said it was the Sable Mark, a serum that would make one unconscious after injection. This was a step to getting awakened, as the real business lies in the Soul Land.

A place where the living might perish. Filled with past experiences that the mouth couldn't tell.

They injected Zmey and Nero with it. Nero's chest tightened, while Zmey let out a sigh. He had learned to face things in whichever way he could. And this wasn't the first time he was attempting something dangerous.

He had shut his eyes, waiting for darkness to envelop him. But then, a rising shadow flashed through his eyelids. He heard a deep, masculine voice say:

"I'm giving you a tip now."

Zmey opened his stare and glanced up in wonder. It was one of the guys who injected them.

The guy continued, "After a few seconds, you will enter your different Soul Lands. You can regret your past, feel remorseful, and want to change things. But don't try to resist anything! I beg of you!"

The guy's tone shifted to a sober expression of concern. Zmey creased his brows, and Nero gaped in wonder.

"If you don't acknowledge your inner turmoil, you won't live to tell the story of today," the guy warned.

He clenched his fist, leaving Zmey wondering where that concern came from. Wasn't he required to administer the serum only?

"I have seen many people die! It's heartbreaking to sacrifice that much to blend into the magical world. The past can be taunting, and one would find it hard to keep. But you should hold onto it. Otherwise, you'd die in there!"

Zmey sighed. He lowered his glance. A sudden, nauseating feeling overwhelmed him. It was as if something was pulling from within him. Same as Nero.

Then, Zmey said, not looking up, "Thanks for the tip. I guess it's time for us to..."

Sigh...

Nero's head dropped downwards. His stare closed. Zmey fell unconscious as well. The guy couldn't help himself from looking at them with concern.

...

An hour later. Mirrors had vanished one after the other. Likewise, people had emerged from other mirrors too. The silence in the mirror hall stretched on for minutes, seconds... to the next two hours.

The ledger recorded up to a thousand candidates without failure. While the woman had recorded up to two thousand different ones as dead.

....

The walls grew scanty. Mirrors vanished more and more. There were a few left. If up to a hundred. The number of dead ones skyrocketed over the seconds.

At that moment, one mirror shimmered with intense brightness. Nero Norman stepped out, a sigh escaping his mouth before he even knew it, too.

The woman glanced at him, then at the ledger. "1005th candidate recorded. Awakened with a red aura. A beast tamer confirmed."

Nero's chest tightened, realising Zmey's absence. Did he awaken before him? Or... was he still stuck in the Soul Land?

There were two mirrors left.

'Where...'

.....

"... 1006th and 1007th candidates recorded," the woman's voice rang through the hall. Nero turned his glance. But it wasn't Zmey he saw; it was a lady instead.

"... What?" But as he leaned forward, he saw Zmey standing on the other side. A sigh of relief escaped his mouth. He grinned, jogging to Zmey. He grinned more. "We've made it, man!"

Zmey smiled with a gentle expression. "Thought I was dead?"

Nero chuckled. "Can't lie. Haha...!"

"Male candidate 1006th confirmed as a beast tamer. "And last, but not least, Miss Skyler Kingsley. Congratulations on becoming a beast exorcist!" the woman announced.

Zmey and Nero glanced at the lady to whom she had addressed. Why was she the only one to have her name called out?