The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Oscar screamed so loud that his throat began to tear itself apart, only to be put back together by the rampaging Night Raptor's blood in his veins. A constant cycle of destruction and reconstruction tortured his body. He could not help but slam into the hard rocks, breaking his bones which healed back together.

It was a horrifying sight to behold. Frederick and Emily nearly gagged from witnessing Oscar's struggle and exited to caverns to leave Oscar alone. There was nothing they could do to help from this point on.

Emily dragged Greg's lifeless body while Frederick glanced at Oscar. "You must survive, you idiot."

His words reached the tortured Oscar. In the vast torrent of anguish, Frederick's words were like a refreshing dew that dropped onto his heart. Oscar clenched every part of his body in response.

'I will live!'

'I will live!'

He repeated the words in his mind like a crazed lunatic. He had an inkling that if he gave in to the pain and lost focus, he would die. The Night Raptor's blood kept up its rampage, tearing through his body. But Oscar could feel some trace of malice within them.

'The Night Raptor?'

Oscar was shocked. A remnant of the Night Raptor's intent was in the blood. It directed the blood to try to do more damage than it was healing.

'Shit! It's trying to go for my core!' Oscar could feel the Night Raptor's intent invade his inner space as the blood spread inside his body.

Ignoring the pain, Oscar focused on his inner space and manifested himself inside. There he saw his core, the orb with geometric shapes, and a beastly figure resembling the Night Raptor.

The Night Raptor came close and bit down on his core.

The pain from the blood was bad enough, but this attack on his core was unlike any he had ever felt before. Every inch of his nerves felt like it was poked with a needle, and his head felt like it was splitting.

"STOP!" Oscar came forward and repelled the Night Raptor, observing his core. It was too big for the Night Raptor to bite properly, but Oscar noticed small cracks on its surface.

The Night Raptor started at Oscar's astral body. Its nostrils flared as it remembered this boy was one of the people who killed it. It growled and pounced toward Oscar.

In this inner space, there was only the manifestation of the soul. There were no spells or punches to use here, only one's will. Oscar willed his deer anima to step right before him.

The Night Raptor let out a massive screech, containing its malice. Oscar was blown back, and the deer had to support him.

'My will must be stronger than it.'  Oscar concentrated and clutched his hands in the air. The Night Raptor started to choke as if something had caught its throat. Oscar exerted his will on the Night Raptor. In this battle between minds, the stronger one would prevail.

The Night Raptor forced itself out of Oscar's choke and swiped its claws in the air, letting out three streaks of light. Hit by those lights, Oscar felt he was torn apart by real claws, but his soul clung together. He could not break apart here.

If an outsider could witness this scene, they would find it amusing and weird. A man and a beast motioned in the air as sparks flared between them.

Oscar and the Night Raptor were grappling with their souls. Invisible tendrils of will and Ein constantly collided as they tried to get the advantage. Oscar, struggling with the power of the Night Raptor's will, strove to break this stalemate.

The deer let out a bellowing yell that shook the Night Raptor's grasp from Oscar. Taking advantage of the gap, Oscar leaped on top of his deer.

'I'll be dead while playing mind games with this raptor. Let's confront it directly.'

The blue astral man and deer charged straight at the Night Raptor. Their wills united and focused on their front. All of the Night Raptor's mind attacks were easily deflected.

Realizing anything else was futile, the remnant will of the Night Raptor charged forward, baring its teeth. The inner space trembled from their clash. However, there was no direct collision.

They were about a half meter away from each other. The space between them started to crack from the collision of wills. Oscar roared as the Night Raptor glared maliciously.

'I will live!'

The deer took a decisive step forward as it pushed Night Raptor back. Startled, it tried to struggle, but it could not stand its ground.

The will of the Night Raptor was beginning to crack more. Although it was a Middle Apprentice Exalt, its will and tenacity could not compare to Oscar's.

CRASH

Oscar and his deer broke through the Night Raptor's exterior, exposing its vulnerable piece of soul. The deer skewered through the helpless remnant, causing it to crack into several pieces before disappearing.

It was a victory.

In this battle of wills, Oscar won against his terrible foe. But cracks appeared on Oscar and the deer as well. The pain of his soul cracking made Oscar's physical body recoil.

"That was close." With a cracked face, Oscar patted the deer on his side. It was also cracking throughout its body. "Thank you."

The deer licked Oscar's face before retreating to its spot on top of the core. It had done all it could. It deserved to rest now.

Oscar found that the blood's temper had dwindled slightly. It was very aggressive earlier due to the remnant will that lingered in it. But now, it was undirected and not as wild, making the pain a little more bearable.

Oscar struggled for a while as the blood did its work. His mind was exhausted from the ordeal with the Night Raptor, but he could not blank out at such a crucial moment. Finally, his body had recovered.

Oscar sat up and saw a mess of blood and rubble around him due to his ordeal. Looking down, Oscar saw the wounds on his stomach had closed up. It was not a pretty sight; his lower side was full of scars and twisted flesh from improper healing.

Oscar felt a huge sensation of drowsiness. He had not slept the entire time since hunting down the Night Raptor, and his body could no longer take it.

His eyes couldn't help but close. However, this time, they were not preluding to his death but well-deserved rest. Oscar felt only gratitude and relief as he fell asleep.

Frederick and Emily were resting near the bonfire. Their faces were grim and weary. Oscar's screams kept howling for the entire afternoon, worrying them constantly.

Frederick's fists were still clenched. The bandages around his injured hand were coming undone. It was grim, but he still clung to hope. If Oscar was still screaming, that meant he was still alive. Rationalizing it in this way prevented Frederick from being overwhelmed by his fears.

'Teresa.' Frederick thought of the girl from his past. He didn't want to go through this once more. His hands clenched harder, undoing the bandages and opening the wounds.

"You shouldn't do that. You need to take care of your hand." Emily spoke over Oscar's screams. She noticed blood dripping down from Frederick's hands.

"It's fine. This injury is nothing." Frederick was stoic and spoke hoarsely.

"Give me your hand." Emily took out fresh bandages and moved next to Frederick.

"I said it was fine." Frederick was not in the mood. But a heavy flick to his forehead snapped him off his seat.

"What was that for?" Frederick shouted at Emily, who had her hand extended to him.

"Idiot! Your hand is in horrible condition. You're lucky it wasn't to the point of being useless. Now let me help you, or lose that hand!" Emily scolded Frederick harshly. There was no point in this. "Do you think ignoring this would help Oscar in any way?"

Frederick was silent and expressionlessly put out his injured hand. Emily grasped it and rubbed ointment on it. He wanted to stop her, to do it himself, but stopped after seeing her serious look.

After the bandaging was complete, Emily went silently back to her seat. All the while, Oscar's screams were still echoing out of the cavern.

"Thank you," Frederick said.

"It was nothing," Emily mumbled.

They remained silent until the screams had ended. The ravine was eerily quiet except for the flickering of the flames. Emily and Frederick rushed out into the cavern with anxious looks.

'Os! Don't be dead.'

'You better be alive. I won't have you die.'

Frederick and Emily hoped for the best. Their feet moved quickly since the rest had brought them back to peak condition.

In the distance, Frederick and Emily saw Oscar lying motionless. The vast amount of blood around him suggested the worst. Frederick rushed to Oscar and held him up.

"Os!" Frederick put his hand to Oscar's chest, sensing the regular beating of a healthy heart. He almost deflated as all the emotions settled down, leaving only joy and relief.

"He's alive! He's alive!" Frederick said with tears of joy falling down his cheek. The past day had been stressful, and he had reached his limits. Now the long wait was over.

Emily stared at him with a softened expression; her eyes were slightly watery. "We need to take him to camp. Let's have a good rest."

The two returned to the camp and put Oscar down tenderly. Like something snapped in their minds, they felt a flood of drowsiness.

It was like a dam broke down, and all the tension flowed away. They fell to the floor in blissful sleep with smiles on their faces. The mission was difficult and full of surprises and frightening moments.

But all of them survived.

Instead of screams and pain, there were only the sounds of light breathing and loud snoring with the pleasantry of rest.

The next morning, Oscar opened his eyes to the refreshing light of the two suns beating down on his face. The smell of fresh wild greenery mixed with the saltiness of the rocks tickled his nose.

"Water…." His throat was parched.

Oscar saw his two friends nestled in their spots, sleeping peacefully. Gratitude and comradery swelled in his heart. He thanked them in his heart for being with him through this.

After satiating his thirst, Oscar began bandaging himself. The Night Raptor's blood may have fixed the crucial wounds, but they could still reopen.

The sounds from Oscar awoke Frederick. Rubbing his eyes, he yawned before finally seeing Oscar. Frederick shot up in excitement.

"Os!" Frederick smiled heartily at his friend and hugged him. The sight of him being up and alive was far better than the horrid look before.

"Fred!" Oscar hugged back in response. "You're either insane or a genius, using the Night Raptor's blood like that."

"Insane? Say that to yourself. You were already near death and even withstood the blood. I hear it's incredibly painful." Frederick snickered.

Oscar did not continue speaking. His mouth could only let out joyous laughter. But the pain from his side made him stop a few times.

Emily woke up to see two boys laughing their butts off like morons. Seeing the heartwarming sight, she could not help but join in with a few chuckles.

"You're alive!." Frederick shouted, pointing to Oscar.

"I'm alive!" Oscar's smile went from ear to ear. He could not believe it.

"Be grateful we hunted down the Night Raptor," Emily said before resuming her giggles.

The laughter of the three was a sight to behold. There was no enemy, worry, or despair, only bright happiness. The two suns almost seemed to dance with their delight.