"Dame, I should have asked for directions from the General before I left them." Feng Xian sighed heavily. "Guess I'll just ask around. Excuse me sir do you know where the Retribution training grounds are."Feng Xian asked a middle aged man. "Sorry young man, but we civilians don't know where they are, but I'm sure if you ask some of the soldiers you'll be able to find it. Can I ask why your looking for it?" The middle aged man replied.
"I'm suppose to find them and join the Brigade." Feng Xian.
"Dear me, my condolences for you." The middle aged man replied "Good luck finding it."
"Huh.. Seems weird." Feng Xian thought to himself. "Sir. Do you know where I can find the Retribution training grounds." Feng Xian asked one of the passed guards. "Hmm.. Your looking for them geez you got guts kid. Anyway if you head down this street and head left when you get the square, there will be a Sten's Blacksmith store next to that there is an alleyway there you'll get there in that alleyway. Good Luck." The soldier replied and went back to his duties.
Feng Xian thanked the soldier and left for the alleyway.
[ Do you want to mark the location on your mini-map. Yes / No ]
"Yes." Feng Xian answered, then a red dot appeared on the mini-map next to Sten's Blacksmith. "OK lets head there then." Feng Xian said to himself as he headed to the red dot looking at the street venders as he walked.
Feng Xian arrived at the alley by about dinner time, it was dark and gloomy but with his keen sense he could see in. He saw a few boxes stacked to one side and a man sitting in front on them. "Is this where the Retribution grounds are?" Feng Xian asked the seated man. " Yes and I'm sorry about this but it procedure for new recruits." The man replied then an immense pain could be felt in the back of Feng Xian as he passed out.
Xian got woken up from a bright light coming from a door-way in the middle of the room, blinded from it all he saw was four rather large figures. "He's really disappointing... well compared to what he was." One of them said.
"That true Carnage. But he's still my man so watch your tongue." A women's voice rebuked Carnage for his words
"Either way we gave him an advantage with this game like system so he could realize who he was but he doesn't use it at all like we intended him to. Light brighten the light his eyes are adjusting. You think we should strip it from him?" Carnage exhaled as the light brightened up blinding Feng Xian more before his eyes could see their faces
"We should hurry with deciding if I stop time for any more the others will know something is up." A mans spoke then went back to chanting. "Who's in agreement?" Carnage asked, the others all replied yes but one. "But he might get hurt without it." The women's voice spoke again "It's alright my lady, if he gets hurt he might enter a rage saving us time on this matter." Carnage reassured her then touched Feng Xian's chest with a finger and pulling a white light out. "We really have to go now." the mans voice spoke in a worried voice "OK Thyme... lets go ladies." Carnage beckoned them to leave through the doorway. "I hope he get his body back soon it will satisfy me till he come back to me." The women's voice exclaimed as she looked back. Feng Xian got a view of her face as she turned around to step through the doorway, a beauty that was in describable, pure white blonde hair and raging red eyes. "Wait..!" Feng Xian yelled out as the door was closing. "I hope the see you again my love." The ladies voice echoed through the room as the door shut close and Feng Xian fell through the space where it once stood.
"What is this. Why is the room dark? Stat window.... Stat window.... What happen, that Carnage guy, said something about taking the system away did they really do it. More importantly who were they." Feng Xian was worried, without the system he'd most likely die here in the training ground let alone the outside world. "Direwolf come forth!" Nothing happened "They took everything. The ring." Feng Xian jerked his head down to his hands but to his relief the ring was still on there. Inside the ring was a note with a piece of silk cloth "What is this." Feng Xian grabbed the note and read it.
'Don't tell the other I left the ring for you, i hope it help you remember the memories we had. your about to go into a dark place just remember who you are and you will pull through. I'll wait for you my love. Yours truly Retribution."
"Oh... Your up." A middle aged man stepped through the door to his surprise Feng Xian was standing the middle of the room with a faint tear in his eye and a blank look on his face like he was trying to understand something.
"It's you." Feng Xian said in a shocked voice, it was the middle aged man from this afternoon that told him he didn't know where the training grounds for the Retribution Brigade were "Yes is me, I'm Grey by the way. I'm the general of this group of "monsters" I heard from Reaper Yin that you were a good choose to join my force, now show me this thrust you have that screams a beasts cry as it flies through the air and burst the target into flames on impact." General Grey introduced himself with an order. Feng Xian worried now knowing that he could no longer do it.
"I wish I could but... As I woke I felt something leave me like blood being drained from the body I not to sure what happened but I think I could no longer do everything I did before this day. So if you don't want me in this Brigade I'll understand and hold no grudge, but please show me mercy for wasting your time and let me live so I can prove to you in the future I'm fit to join." Feng Xian dropped to his knees cuffing his hands to the general that stood in front of him.
"Mercy... huh. Dame I like you even more. Saturn prepare a room for him and see to if his measurements are taken for his armor and then drag him to the Lady Statue and have him preform the Right if the lady wishes him to join then so be it but if not he'll die while preforming the Right." Grey glanced back and ordered one of the men standing behind him "Sir and the armor that he will wear, with no ability the armor will be nothing but a piece of metal." Saturn replied with a curious look on his face. "Shadowless. If he passes the Right his name will be Shadowless and he shall wear the armor that shares the name with him." General Grey replied to Saturn.
"But sir... That means." The other man spoke up in worry "Yes. And." Grey exclaim with a more stern voice then left the room they were in, leaving all three of them in shock. "What does that mean, Shadowless?" Feng Xian asked Saturn and the other man in fear more then curiosity. "Well Scout this boy might die from this, why's the general so hard sometimes." Saturn said to the other man. "Beat me, but please Lady have some mercy on this young boy soul. Saturn we have our orders you get him ready and I'll prepare for the Right." Scout then left after saying those words.
"OK Shadowless. Boy I hope you pass, first follow me, I'll be telling you everything you need to know about this while you getting your measurements done for the armor and then I'll lead you to your room so you know where to come after the Right for rest cause your gonna need it. Then I'll lead you to Lady Statue and for there it up to you." Saturn then beckoned Feng Xian out of the room with nothing but his back leaving the doorway. Feng Xian followed.
"Alright then first things first the code we run by is known as Retribution. Which is, Mercy for those who earn it, Justice for those who deserve it and Vengeance for those who can't archive it. Remember them, you will learn them, live by them and come to love them." Saturn finished saying them as we arrive at steel door with heat coming off it and the edge glowing red with heat. Opening the door, the once cold corridor that Saturn and Feng Xian stood in became hot with a raging flow of heat bursting from the room within. "Sten we need his measurements taken!" Saturn yell out as he entered the room pointing to a stand and motioning Feng Xian to go over there. As he started to walk over to the stand a big muscular man came out from behind a curtained doorway holding a blacksmiths hammer in his hand and a rope in the other. "Saturn how you been, I see you guy got a new recruit so which armor am I making for him?" Sten voice seemed to bellow but not outright boom "I've been good, yes he's new he'll be doing the Right soon I expect to see you there ready to slam the sword with the Hollow again. Any way you'll be making him Shadowless." Saturn paused before saying it. "Oh gods... No." Sten's face started to sweat. " Who's wielding Chaos?" Sten asked in a worried voice.
"Grey is. But I'm not fearing that, I'm more worried about this one." Saturn replied while pointing at Feng Xian. "True if he doesn't pass god knows what will happen."
"OK Shadowless no I'll you the three simple rules we have in this Brigade. Rule one we don't use our real names in here we are given our names after the rights we did on entree just like you. Rule two outside you will never mention you know where we are or what we do in here. Rule three follow the code even if it means you have to kill one of your brothers or sisters." Saturn explained the rules while Sten took Feng Xian measurements.
"OK all done I'll see you guys soon. And Shadowless Good Luck." Sten Exclaimed as he head back through the doorway to what seems to be his workshop. "Come on I'll show you your room." Saturn felt reluctant to leave to quickly in hope to delay what was gonna happen. They arrive a room in roughly fifteen minutes, it was rather bland, there was a straw bed and wooden chest and weapon rack nothing more.
"I'll give you five minutes to prepare then we'll head to the Lady Statue." Saturn spoke in a solemn voice then waited outside. Not knowing what happen Feng Xian sat on his bed and pulled out the piece of silk cloth that he got. As it left the ring it filled the room with a calming scent of a women's perfumes it stuck Feng Xian's nose and calmed his worrying nerves a blur of a vision glazed over his eyes then dissappeared again.
"Alright I'm ready. But can you tell me what will happen and why everyone is worried about whats going to happen?" As Feng Xian opened the door and asked the smell penetrated Saturn's nose almost knocking him off his feet. "I can't tell you everything but here's a hint Shadowless is the hardest Right to pass, all have die or turned into beasts that have turned on their brothers and sister of the Brigade that have tried to pass it. I'll give you some advise if you'll listen... Don't give in to what you see in there when it starts." Saturn then turned quite and motioned his hand out to beckon Feng Xian the way it was point. "I can't go any further from here. Good Luck Shadowless." Saturn then left Feng Xian standing there and headed back down the corridor.
Feng Xian then started to head down the other way, after five minutes he came across a large door that was open and what he saw inside the room behind was a statue of a lady only half robed with a sword sticking out of the podium it stands on point down the corridor he just came from. Both Grey and Sten stood in the center of the room holding longswords with words carved into them "Hollow" and "Chaos" both gleaming with a white spines and gloomy with black edges. Feng Xian stepped in and head towards them not knowing what was about to happen.