NOVEL NEXT 134 - The Truth Behind Exile
Despite it being night, Emerios' hall was shining with sunlight. A feat only possible for an advanced sun mage. Standing behind his dark lacquered wood desk, the commander of the Kheironite forces observed Div.
"What do I want?" Emerios asked. "You are the one who came to see me."
Div held back a scoff. He was talking to an Ascended Rank. He had to watch his mouth. He ground his teeth. "Elder Emerios, why are you torturing my friend?"
Emerios raised an eyebrow. "Torture? That's certainly not what's happening here. We're merely running some experiments. You have to understand, a bloodline changing after awakening is nearly unheard of."
"Dana's soul is fracturing!" Div spat.
"Diven," Emerios said, staring into his eyes. "I know your opinion of me must be quite low, but I'm not going to kill my own soldiers. It would be nothing but counterproductive. We can't figure out what you did to her bloodline if she dies."
Div opened his mouth to say something. Then, he closed it. What could he answer? Nothing that wouldn't offend the Ascended Rank.
Emerios sighed. "You know, Diven—or Div. I would appreciate it if you clarified which name you go by. Ascended Ranks like me live a very long time, a few centuries. One of the benefits of living this long is that even the skills you don't put too much effort into end up leveling up."
Div nodded, unsure what the elder was getting at.
"That is to say, while I have not bothered evolving it, my Inspect skill sits at the maximum level. I can easily pierce through your Conceal."
He had expected it, and there wasn't much he could do about that. The good thing was that he didn't care about his rot attunement being exposed anymore, especially to Emerios, who was already in the know. With Sundered Mind evolving into Bound Genesis, he didn't need to hide all that much.
"Two Evolved Rank skills at such a young age. You take after your uncle. It's a shame you had to be exiled. You would have been a great asset for the clan."
Emerios clicked his tongue and muttered, "Those fools, a child awakens an attuned heart bloodline, and they don't change their plans."
Div frowned. "What plan?"
"You don't know?" Emeirios asked, seeming genuinely surprised. "I thought Theaphilia would have told you."
"What are you talking about?"
Stroking his chin, Emerios let a small smile tug at his lips. "I'll tell you if you let me experiment with your bloodline-altering skill. Which one is it? Bound Genesis or Chorus of Renewal?"
Div paused for a moment. He wanted to know what Emerios had to say. He needed to know. But he also didn't want to help him.
Why?
Did it really matter if his skill helped Emerios in some way? Was it more important than learning the secrets behind his exile?
If Theaphilia knew, he could ask her… But she wasn't here, and he didn't know when he would get to see her again.
But every instinct screamed not to give in. His skills were not for Emerios to get his claws on. Yet, if he didn't do it, Dana's suffering would continue.
It wasn't just knowledge he was trading for.
He raised his head. "Fine, but not on Dana."
Emerios' smile turned wider, revealing his pristine white teeth. "Good, I don't particularly care about the test subject."
"So, about my question…"
Emerios took a deep breath. "Why do you think we exile young awakened from the clans?"
"Optics and safety," Div said. "Some bloodlines are detrimental to the prestige of the clans. Others are considered dangerous for the city."
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Emerios shook his head. "The first point is partially true, the second is just an excuse. If you look into it, you'll find a commoner has never been banished for their bloodline, no matter how unusual."
"Then?"
Emerios leaned forward. "The reason is pretty obvious. Take a guess."
Div racked his brain. His grandparents had never liked him; maybe they were the instigators? Both Helos and Gila were elders of the clan; they certainly had the power to sway the council into exiling him.
It just seemed too callous, even for them. What did they gain from that?
"I don't know," Div said, shaking his head.
"You don't? Didn't you hear that Basil ascended shortly after returning from the Wildlands, where he left you to rot?"
"You mean…"
"Ascending is difficult. Immensely difficult. If taking a skill to the Evolved Rank takes intent and dedication, going up to the Ascended Rank requires something more, something less tangible," Emerios started. "Listen well, Diven, few people get to learn of the secrets of ascension this early."
Div's breath was shaky as he inhaled, and he balanced on his feet. The hall seemed too large, too empty as the elder's words echoed around him.
"Ascension," Emerios continued, "can only happen after you experience intense emotions and, most importantly, process them. In theory, any emotion can work, but history has shown that grief and guilt were the most effective."
Div felt his chest tighten. "So I was always going to be exiled."
Emerios nodded. "From the moment you were conceived, your fate was sealed. Maybe if you'd awakened a powerful, sun-attuned bloodline, they would have changed their minds. But I'm not sure. If Sun Heart is anything to go by, your Rot Heart must be extremely potent. Yet it didn't dissuade them."
Emerios smoothed the cuff of his robe as if brushing away invisible dust. His voice remained casual, yet deliberate—as though recounting weather, not the destruction of a life. That smile of his never touched his eyes.
"And Uncle Basil went along with that plan?" Div asked.
"He sure did, and it worked," Emerios said.
"What about my parents?"
"I don't know," he shrugged. "I don't keep track of everyone in the clan. Maybe they knew, maybe they didn't. Regardless, there isn't much they could have done to stop it."
Div stammered. "But… Surely, not every exile is—"
"Every single exile is done to help someone ascend," Emerios said, cutting him off. "No exception. Of course, it doesn't always work. Some people are unable to push past the guilt, or simply cannot take their skills to a higher level."
His breath ragged and legs unsteady, Div looked left and right for a place to sit. He didn't find one.
"What about Theaphilia?" He asked.
"What about her?" Emerios asked back.
"Did she know about her sister's exile?"
Emerios nodded. "Of course. It wouldn't work as well otherwise."
"But it didn't work for her…" Div said.
"Did she not ascend?"
"She did, but she doesn't want to return to Kheiron. She resents you."
Emerios smiled. "It doesn't matter. She'll live a long life and come around eventually. Even if she doesn't, her presence in the druids' village is working out in our favor—whether she likes it or not."
Div didn't say anything. Staring at the ground, he couldn't even think straight. He'd come to terms with Rot Heart being too repulsive for the Kheironite society. Something that still held true, even with Emerios' revelations. But, some hope had lived, deep in his heart, that all of it was but an unfortunate coincidence. He'd awakened a forbidden bloodline, and the laws of the clan forced them to exile him.
But it wasn't the case.
His vision swam. Breathing was work now. He reached for a wall, but there was nothing to steady him.
All this time, Basil had known. As he was taking him up the Lien, as he was advising him on his spearwork, on survival, on the local wildlife. As he came to reassure him during his awakening ceremony. As he took him to the council, swearing he would defend him.
He remembered the warmth of Basil's hand on his shoulder, the quiet reassurance in his voice.
Yet, Basil had always known. It was all lies.
His parents probably knew too. Was it before his birth? Did they agree?
Theaphilia, too, didn't tell him anything. Another betrayal.
In a way, he regretted asking Emerios to tell him. It felt like walking into a trap. Some things were better left unknown. There was no benefit for him to be aware of that, and now he even had to pay for it.
Then it hit him.
En.
They'd always known that returning to Kheiron was a risk, but with this knowledge.
Div sighed. There was nothing he could do for his brother. He could only trust that he would come out of it alive and well.
After a long moment spent in silence, Div spoke again. "Did you do it too?"
Emerios closed his eyes for an instant. "I didn't. Whether it's fortunate or not remains to be seen, but I had other issues at the time that allowed me the breakthrough."
"I see," Div said. "So this method isn't strictly necessary to ascend."
"No, it's not. It's a shortcut. A tasteless one at that. But it works, so it will keep happening. Now, I've answered your questions. It's time to complete your side of our agreement."
Div swallowed. His throat was sore. "What do you want me to do?"
"Come with me. We have a long night ahead of us."