"Next up is your ticket to paradise, brother." Ares picked up a scroll that was lying on the second pillar and showed it to Aejaz who read the contents aloud.


    "Phoenix Flames Cultivation Manual?"


    "Corrrrrect. Although variety, standard, and dedication cultivation are the most common and readily available cultivation methods, they aren''t the only ones out there. There are a fair few heavily specialised cultivation techniques like the one on this scroll that can massively benefit a person who learns it. They usually provide a passive bonus of some kind that''s tailored towards a specific pillar and this one is going to be insanely good for Allie."


    "... But she just switched to dedication, she can''t swap off..."


    "Nope. Normally you can''t, but some cultivation techniques are considered ''enhanced dedication''. They still function by the same rules as dedication, meaning you can only use pillars you''re affiliated with, but provide the benefits I mentioned earlier in addition. Swapping from dedication to any other ''enhanced dedication'' is A.OK. Allie can learn this, and boy will she be glad when she sees what it does..."


    Aejaz peeked at the scroll but there was too much information to digest immediately, plus he wasn''t familiar with the alchemy pillar anyway so it all looked like gobbledygook to him. "Erm, mind filling me in?"


    "Sure. If what my Omniscience is telling me is correct, and it always is, this will let Allie passively have a chance of refunding every ingredient she uses in her alchemy. Of course the rarer the ingredient the less likely it is to work, but that can be mitigated when she raises her cultivation. In other words, free rare ingredients! Also, don''t forget you exist! if you steal a rare ingredient and make it even rarer, if Allie gets to duplicate that ingredient... You two will be like an ingredient printer that keeps generating extremely rare ingredients and pills!"


    "... HOLY HELL WE''RE GONNA BE RICH!"


    "Uh, that too, yeah, but I think Allie will be more excited about being able to produce more mini-pillies and their upgrades... Well, whatever. Give this to her and who knows what she might feel like giving you in return. She is obsessed with alchemy after all."


    Aejaz dived at the scroll like he was trying to score a last second touchdown that would decide whether he lived or died. Aejaz could feel the manual within his fingertips when it suddenly vanished and he went flying into the opposite wall with empty hands, slowly sliding down the wall with his ass in the air.


    "Relax, I''ll keep hold of it until we get back. It''s a rare item. If people suspect you have it, they''ll go to any lengths to take it. At least it''s well hidden in my Primordial Blade and I''m far more capable of defending myself than you are. If anyone else thinks we''ve made it out with treasures, they''ll attack us and what then? Do you want to potentially lose your gift to Allie because you simply had to have it in your possession an hour or two earlier than you would have otherwise? When we return to the sect, I''ll give it to you, so be patient you muppet."


    Aejaz got up and kept staring at his brother with narrow eyes. This was the first time he''d ever had the courage to fight his brother to the death if need be! There was a lot at stake here! If his brother tried pulling a fast one on him, he was going to get it!


    "Geeze, you don''t have to look at me like that. I''m seriously not going to get in the way of your relationship with Allie. Plus I treat Allie like family anyway, like hell I''d let anything happen to something that could make her stronger than she is currently. If anything, we all stand to gain by having an alchemist with her talents around, so I have zero... No, negative intentions of ruining this. You have my word."


    "Fine." Aejaz grumbled. "Well, what''s the last thing anyway. Looks like a dagger?"


    "And that''s precisely what it is. It''s also easily the rarest treasure in this place. Its value is incomparable to everything else in here combined, even including the cultivation technique."


    Aejaz looked at the dagger. The sheath was made of plain black leather and featured a leopard insignia front and centre, right in the middle. The leopard''s gaze was piercing and yet its aura was calm, like a tranquil predator lying in wait without taking even a single breath to avoid disturbing its prey. The dagger handle was fashioned in the shape of Celtic knotwork, giving it countless comfortable places to rest one''s fingers when gripping the weapon. The knotwork was pitch black, resembling intertwining shadows dancing in a vertical helix. It was impossible to tell what the blade connected to these shadowy helixes looked like as the weapon was sheathed. Overall, the weapon certainly stood out from your normal, everyday dagger. Even compared to the Black Ice Acrimony, Aejaz could instinctually tell this thing was stronger. How? He had no clue, he just felt like it was. Weirdly enough, he also felt a kind of closeness to the dagger. A longing to hold it sprouted within Aejaz for reasons he couldn''t understand. he still didn''t pick it up though, this belonged to Ares, even if he really wanted it... Whatever it was. "Is it weird that I feel a connection to this thing? Like I should really own and use it?"


    "No, that makes sense actually. I should really apologise because, honestly, this would be perfect for you but I''m stealing it because I have more important business to attend to than you and every bit of strength I gain is important. Plus it will do more for me overall than you, it''s just that it would be more thematically fitting for you, is all. As for what it is, this type of treasure is called an ''enabler''. To put it simply, enablers give you a positive affinity with their respective pillar while you wield them regardless of your normal affinity. Amongst other things, this lets people with dedication cultivation use the enabled pillar even if they normally wouldn''t be able to. This treasure, the Nyxian Prowler, is a darkness pillar enabler. If I use it, I''ll be able to use darkness pillar magic while I''m wielding the weapon. I can create unique arts or just use regular ones after I''ve learnt them, but it opens up a new pillar for me. There is a restriction, though, in that you can only ever use one enabler at a time. If I wanted to use a second one, I would have to put the first one away, but it''s still incredible nonetheless. The reason you felt a connection to it is because you have a unique aspect under the darkness pillar, but not an affiliation for the normal aspects. With this, you could have a pretty impressive degree of mastery of the darkness pillar, but you really don''t need it I think. Thanks to your bloodline, you can already turn invisible, and your unique aspect covers most things you would want from the pillar in order to be an assassin anyway. That''s why I said that, although it would be fitting, what you gain from access to the pillar is not equivalent to what I gain. Currently I''m locked to an incredibly showy pillar to which the idea of ''stealth'' is basically a funny joke and nothing more. I really need this, so again, I''m going to be taking it. Sorry, but that''s just how the cookie crumbles around here, brother." Ares shrugged. He really did feel a bit guilty, but he also wasn''t being unreasonable in the slightest. He wasn''t just lying to try and convince Aejaz, he was telling him an unpleasant truth that Ares had right of way here.


    "That''s ok, really. I do want it, but I''m not going to whine about not getting it. I really wasn''t expecting to get anything from this trip other than the Acrimony anyway. I also understand that you need it more than me and can put it to better use, so I won''t be difficult about it... Although I wouldn''t mind playing with it every now and then? I''m curious to know why my family values the pillar as much as they do. It''s the reason I was abandoned after all. In a way, its comical to me that this thing even exists. Better yet, a member of the clan was here not too long ago as well. It''s like fate is playing a cruel joke on me..."


    "Ha, try not to pay it much mind. I was being serious earlier when I said you really don''t need this thing, you have something better in your unique aspect. But yeah, if you want to play with it when I''m not using it, go ahead. Enablers always scale with the person wielding it as their effects are pretty universally beneficial. Still, I''m not letting you out of my sight when I borrow it to you! This enabler is worth at least a couple hundred thousand Aejaz-s! If you think I''m letting you run off with it just so you can lose it you''ve got another thing coming! This thing stays within a one mile radius of me at all times, you hear!?"


    "Sir, yes sir!... By the way, what with everything that happened, I almost forgot to ask. What was that thing the mimic gave you?"


    "The ever-shifting core? It can be used to make a pill for monsters that gives them special abilities. It''s great for tamed pets like Leo. I have no idea what he''ll get out of it, but the ability to change size is common. Leo being able to grow and defend Allie would be nice. Also, bonus points if the core is refunded thanks to Allie''s phoenix cultivation, then she could even make another pill with it. Still, Allie would need a few more ingredients to make it, but I have a solution for that. We aren''t going straight back to the sect just yet by the way. There are two matters I want to deal with first in Red Sun."


    "Ok... May I know what they are? You have a habit of dragging me into strange places and making me do strange things... Just once I''d like to know in advance... ESPECIALLY IF IT INVOLVES MORE ORCS!"


    "Muahahaha, yes, brother, it involves ALL THE ORCS! MUAHAHAHAHA. No. No it doesn''t. You must think I''m some cruel psychopath!"


    "YOU ARE!"


    "I am most definitely not cruel, thank you very much." Ares started retracing his steps back to the front of the tomb with Aejaz following along. He reached the elevator and called it back down because, apparently, the others were rude enough not to send it back down after they went up! This must have been a petty form of payback because they knew anything more than this minor setback was impossible. Give or take five minutes later, Ares and Aejaz made it back to the entrance of the tomb and had walked over to Hans. "I see Maro is long gone. Shame he didn''t wait for me, I would have waved him goodbye."


    Hans snorted. "I''m glad that bastard left. My hands were getting itchy. That aside, you get anything good outta your expedition?"


    "Oh absolutely, a real gold mine that tomb was."


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    "Really? A lot of the others were complaining about how this was a big ol'' waste of time. I''m guessing you hoovered everything up then? Good for you. If anyone was gonna get the goods, you''re the one who can use them to their fullest, no doubt. Well, I won''t pry, unless you feel like selling any excess, that is?"


    "No, sorry. Everything is useful to me, so that''s not in the cards. By the way, I figured I should mention this just in case; but that tomb belongs to Vargaraad. You recognise the name?"


    "Of course I do sonny, he was a relative of mine long ago."


    "... Really?"


    "Haha, nah, I''m pulling your chain. I have heard of the fella though, a real legend he is. I''m surprised he''s real, or was anyway. Damn, must have been some really good stuff in that there tomb then. Lucky you. I was just about to head back to town, you two want to hitch a ride?"


    "Thanks, but I want to get some practice in with an art I created, so I''ll pass. I''ll be off to deal with that request, then. See you around."


    "Alright laddie, take care now."


    Ares activated Voidwalk and picked up Aejaz by his collar before walking off into the sky. Hans'' cigar dropped out of his agape mouth as he stared in disbelief at the figure of Ares disappearing over the horizon. What in the blazes?... Never seen a cultivator that could fly like that before... Ha, Ares is as strange a kid as always.


    Ares had slung Aejaz over his shoulder as he continued Voidwalking to Red Sun and he was now finally checking out the details of the contract Hans had given him way back when. He opened it, saw the name and a few lines underneath it, and put the scroll away. Ares laughed joyously to himself as this really was a perfect target, he would have to seriously thank Hans for this one next time he saw him. Ares was about to go pay an old acquaintance a visit, one he hadn''t seen in over six years! "Hey, ''Jaz. I''m not expecting you to participate, but you''re going to watch what I''m about to do. You were curious what kind of jobs you''d be doing under Hans, right? Well stop number one of two will make for a good example, so pay attention... Not that you''d be able to miss it if you tried."


    "Um, ok?"


    Ares walked over the city''s gates and kept Voidwalking around above the city until he found the person he was looking for. Ares was high up but his Omniscience, yet again, allowed him to see with clarity what would have otherwise looked like a tiny spec. It also had a facial recognition-type effect which was how Ares found his target this quickly. Well, that was half the reason, the other was because Ares was familiar with his target''s habits and such. It was around 8pm which meant the person in question was no doubt visiting his favourite noodle place. He''d done this every single day, without fail, for upwards of 10 years at this point, supposedly. Ares could only vouch for a few of those years, specifically during the ones he''d lived at the Chen clan. Yes, this was a member of the Chen clan Ares was assassinating. How fortuitous! What an absolutely incredible day this had been so far! New arts, new treasures, killing the Chen clan! Ares hadn''t had a day this productive in a good while, if even ever! He was on a roll and the day wasn''t even over yet. Still, there was no point in thinking about what came next when he hadn''t even dealt with this issue yet, so he landed on the roof of the building and dropped Aejaz off. "Alright, my time to shine." Ares cracked his knuckles and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike.


    "Thank you kindly, Mr. Scratch. You noodles are wonderful as ever. Tell the wife and kids I said hi." A striking young man wearing plain blue robes was conversing merrily with a grumpy, middle-aged man standing behind a counter. The young man''s smile was genuine and captivating, effortlessly charming everyone else in the restaurant.


    The man behind the counter, Scratch, simply replied with an unimpressed grunt. "Mm." It was evident he just wanted the other person to go away but couldn''t directly say it. Scratch''s rude behaviour towards the pretty boy earned him the ire of the customers who noticed it, but they didn''t complain because the food was really good and that took precedent.


    The young man chuckled. "Ah, you''re always like this. Is it my fault? Have I done something to bother you? If so, I do apologise... Maybe we can talk about it some other time? Until then, toodeloo Scratch!" Unaware of what was happening behind him, the young man left the building.


    As for Scratch, he was conversing with Ares whose upper body was dangling from the ceiling for reasons he couldn''t quite comprehend. Still, Scratch knew the ''little tyke'' meant him no harm as he used to be a frequent visitor, if anything he was probably here to solve his biggest problem.


    Outside, the young man had accidentally bumped into a group of children playing tag on the street. "Oh, I''m terribly sorry!" The young man knelt down, dirtying his robes in the process, and helped the two children who were on the floor get up. "I do apologise. I''m quite clumsy, you see. I''ll tell you what, how about I make it up to you? Here!" The young man handed the children some stardust. "Feel free to spend that on whatever you want. Food, candy, toys. Whatever your little hearts desire!"


    The children''s eyes sparkled at the generosity of this kind stranger and they gleefully accepted. "Thanks, Mr!"


    "Mr? Ha, I''m a little too young to be called that just yet, unfortunately. Most people call me Chen Prem."


    "Thank you, Mr Prem!"


    "Hahaha, you lot are adorable! How about I come back some other time when I''m not busy and give you some more stardust?!"


    ""YAY!"" A chorus of cheers rang out for Prem as he promised to indulge the kids.


    "Alright, I''ll be sure to catch you all around. Until then, take care and don''t stay out too late!" With an amiable smile and a polite goodbye, Prem took off. He walked down the road and turned into an alley, one that functioned quite nicely as a shortcut back to the Chen clan''s residence. It was a tad more dangerous, but Prem could hold his own against a drunkard or two if need be. Prem rounded another corner and stood stock still as something unusual was occurring. After rounding the corner, he''d stumbled into a completely dark alley. And not just dark as in, ''he had trouble seeing'', but rather it was pitch black and nothing could be seen even a centimetre ahead of his current position. Prem thought this was strange so he decided to play it safe and turn around, but when he did he realised the darkness had already completely surrounded him. Prem was in some manner of black space that expanded infinitely with not a single shade of colour in sight. No matter how he ran or dashed, the endless abyss was all that lay in front of him.


    "It''s ironic, isn''t it?"


    A voice whispered into Prem''s ear which made him spin on the spot and strike at empty air. He looked around nervously but couldn''t find the culprit. "WHO''S THERE?!"


    "I''ll say it again. It''s ironic, isn''t it?"


    Gulp


    Prem could feel his hands sweating as he started to panic before the unseen threat that was taunting him. "What is? What''s ironic about any of this? What do you want from me?"


    "It''s ironic that your initials spell out CP. It''s rather fitting for a paedophile, no?"


    Prem angrily kissed his teeth as he spat at the darkness. "That is a disgusting accusation! Come out and show me who you are! I''ll deal with a scoundrel like you personally!"


    "Ha, HAHAHAHA. You have the nerve to call others scoundrels? You who gains the trust of children with honeyed words and gifts before kidnapping them after days of stalking?"


    "This is defamatory. I am an upstanding citizen who adheres to every law this city has ever penned down! To accuse me of something so utterly vile is is something only a depraved, jealous man such as yourself would do!"


    "Prem. We''ve known each other long enough. Drop the act."


    A hand tapped Prem''s shoulder, causing him to swing around again. This time, he was face to face with his accuser who was floating upside down and looking him in the eye. As it sank in just who was before him, his prim and proper countenance deteriorated in one of malicious scorn as he stepped back. "Well well well, if it isn''t the rodent himself! Ares, you piece of shit! How long has it been? You know, it''s a real shame I never got my hands on you way back when. You''re a slippery little shit, you know that? I can''t pretend our games of hide and seek didn''t excite me, but never winning was a real buzz kill. To think you were clever enough even back then to flee into Lo''s room. You caught a beating every time, but I never caught you, so I guess you won out in the end, huh? What are you here for? I''m not interested in you anymore now that you''ve grown up, so go hassle someone else."


    With a deep sigh, Ares ignored all of Prem''s previous remarks. "In case it isn''t obvious, I''m here to kill you. Someone wants your head, and I''m the delivery man. Not that I wouldn''t have killed you at some point anyway."


    "Someone? Is it Scratch?! Oh, please, please, tell me its Scratch!"


    "No. And really, who the hell blackmails a noodle shop owner anyway? ''Give me free noodles or I''ll pay your children a visit'' is some seriously degenerate behaviour, even for a piece of shit like you. I know the food is good, but what the hell is wrong with you? Also, it doesn''t matter who sent me; you''re death is already in motion, so don''t concern yourself with trivial details and just enjoy the ride."


    Prem nearly buckled over forward with laughter. He barely managed to speak with tears in his eyes. "You?! You?! You, are going to kill, me?! Oh Ares, you''re too old for play-pretend, it''s not cute when you do it at this age."


    "There''s something I''ve been meaning to try. Do be a good little guinea pig for me, won''t you?"


    Prem was fed up with Ares'' ''charade''. Prem truly believed that it was all just an act and that Ares would crumble before him the second he got violent, so he ran towards Ares to strike him with a fist.


    Click


    Ares clicked his finger and the black space rotated upside down. Prem fell flat on his face, landing right next to Ares'' feet as he hadn''t moved even a single step. Ares put his shoe on Prem''s face and rubbed the dirt on his soles onto him. "I always knew you were the weakest of the Chen clan, but to this extent? Ha, maybe I don''t even need to kill you myself. Maybe one day you''ll try to kidnap a child with a cultivation base and they''ll do you in themself! But that''s not really your style, is it? You prefer weak children because its easier to bully them into submission and silence them. That''s what my employer says about you, and I trust his judgement, especially considering what I already knew about you to begin with. Don''t worry though, the things my employer wrote about you will be available for everyone to see smack dab on your fresh corpse. That fa?ade you spent years building. That reputation. That respect. All of it will die with you."


    Prem swiped at Ares'' shoe to remove it from his face before stumbling to his feet and charging at Ares again. This time he made it to Ares but his fist, and subsequently his body, went flying right through him, as if Ares was a mere phantasm. Prem turned around to face Ares again but he was gone.


    "Hmm, you''re clearly not as good at hide and seek as I was. I would have escaped by now. How do you plan on getting out of this place?"


    "FUCK YOU!" Prem roared at the void surrounding him, swinging wildly in a vain attempt to hit the ghost that was whispering in his ear again.


    "I really don''t see the excitement in this." Ares appeared directly in front of Prem with a sword in his hand.


    "You have to be a real freak to enjoy this." A second Ares appeared to his left.


    "Then again, that describes you perfectly, doesn''t it?..." And a third Ares to his right...


    "W.. Wait." Prem muttered weakly.


    "... A real freak." A fourth behind him...


    "I usually don''t enjoy killing people..." Above him a fifth...


    "STOP!" Prem''s cries fell on deaf ears.


    "... But you? I have enough reasons piled up to get a kick out of this." Even below him, underneath the invisible floor Prem was stood upon, another Ares was walking towards him.


    ""This is it Prem. You''re actions have finally caught up with you. Now it''s time for the consequences.""


    "NO. YOU CAN''T DO THIS. LO WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" Prem yelled as all of the Ares closed in on him. He felt a sword pierce his back and he coughed up blood. "THE CHEN CLAN WON''T..." Prem''s speech was cut off by another sword piercing his chest. "I..." The sound of pierced flesh and splashing blood drowned out his words as every remaining Ares simultaneously ran their swords through him.


    "Don''t worry Prem. The Chen clan WILL find your corpse. They won''t have to look very far at all. In fact, no one will. The entire city will be able to see it."


    "you..." Prem''s last words before death were interrupted one final time by Ares.


    "Crystalised Void: Yggdrasil."