Void of light, the path towards the northern Payrici suffered from low visibility and endless peril. None of the Guardian Sword members needed to illuminate a light to feel the vast amounts of Umbras that plagued the land. Given how the Hall of Whispers had even detailed a good number of traps, it would be suicidal for any of them to charge forward without a plan. Fortunately for them, they had the apex king of analysis by their side.
"Team Alpha, move into position. Team Beta, wait for my signal." Shin gave the order. The Celestial Dragon's aura was radiating out spiritual energy, ensuring that none of the traps Isadore had signalled out were about to set off. By his side, Ella and Emma had activated their hawk eyes, giving Shin a sniper's view about the path his men were taking.
"Any irregularities?" Shin turned to Emma and asked.
"Nope, all clear," Emma replied with a smile. "I'm actually quite astonished… Not only were there no traps, but the Umbra count is also staggeringly low. Are you sure this isn't a trap?" Ever the sceptic, the master huntswoman turned to Shin with cynical eyes.
Shin shook his head, chuckling at Emma's conjecture. "Isadore marked it with Fionn and Elyse confirming it for themselves. You should know how thorough they are."
"Yeah, but..."
"Even if it was a trap, I have confidence in the Hall of Whisper's ability to bail us out." The Leader of Guardian Sword bared his teeth, turning his eyes towards the three faces watching from the ground. Isadore was giving out the orders while Fionn assisted him from the side. Elyse, on the other hand, was acting all on her own. She was preparing the escape route for Guardian Sword with her fifteen faithful subordinates in tow.
Watching what a well-oiled machine the trio had become brought a tear to Shin's eye. The Hall of Whispers had long become an elite organisation that could easily branch away from Guardian Sword if they wanted to. It was the manifestation of Isadore's dream, the very same one that he had since he was the prince locked inside a palace.
'What about my dream?' Shin wondered to himself. To enter the Immortal Realm was no easy feat. Even the Lady of Water, the Celestial Dragon's prior host, wasn't able to take that final step. Furthermore, there was something innate that was bugging Shin.
Yes, Shin was powerful. Strong enough to take on Spirit Saints and Primordial Beasts. With his latest spiritual ability, Shin might be able to give the Allfather a run for his money as well. However, recently, Shin felt that his progression was inadequate. Something was screaming inside him... Screaming that it wasn't enough.
Then, Lukman's words resonated within his mind.
'So… You've abandoned your element...'
The duel with the Prince of Sand had ended with Shin's resounding victory. A win that unquestionably placed Shin at the apex as the Elemental King. Yet, Shin felt hollow. He felt that there was a hole ripped apart from his heart and each time he thought about Lukman's words, the hole became bigger and bigger. It seemed like… He was missing something.
'Whatever, let's just take down the Allfather first.' Shin shook his head, steering his thoughts away from matters that he couldn't solve. What Shin could do was conquering the Payirci that stood in front of him. After all, it was Guardian Sword's bread and butter before the final battle.
Slowly but surely, the first wave of Guardian Sword elites made their way through the well-marked route without any hassle. Of the hundred elites from Guardian Sword that were participating in the raid, seventy of them had made it through safe and sound. They were just inches away from the massive door that separated them from the Paradise Heart and weakening the barrier.
"Almost all of them had made it through," Ella remarked. Turning her eyes back to Shin, the master archer said: "It's about time that we move."
"Yes... Kanari! Elrin! Isadore! Come over here!" Shin barked. Three beams of light flashed up towards the floating Shin all surrounding him within seconds. The original six heroes had assembled, each one battle-hungry and ready to go.
Shin closed his eyes, peering deep into his inner psyche. Vast amounts of Space-Elements rose to the surface, and they slowly manifested themselves into two distinct, butterfly wings behind Shin's back. Though they were of a physical form, it seemed like the wings held the entire night's sky within their small surface area, all while Space-Elements glittered down from them like stardust.
"Ready?"
"Ready!" Anticipating the call, all five of them shouted back with conviction.
The moment the words left their mouths, their vision became blurred as the scenery around them morphed into something else entirely. Ella and Emma, the most sensitive ones among them, closed their eyes and shut their senses. On the other hand, the other three were as awake as can be. They personally watched as Shin's cosmic butterfly wings enveloped their bodies like a mother bear hugging its cub, and watched as their spatial coordinates changed in an instant.
"Uerrghhh!!!" Ella hurled, not able to stop her nausea. Emma was in a similar state. Pinching her nose, the bob-haired twin tried her best not to turn into Spitting Beauty. But it was turning out to be harder than she'd thought.
"Teleportation… I can never get used to this..." Ella cursed right after she emptied her breakfast. "Later on, I'm taking the vacuum tunnel back. I can't deal with that ability anymore."
"Haha, sure thing." Shin beamed. Although his Spirit Venerate ability could call out the power of five Old Titans, Shin decided to reveal only one of them. The teleportation ability that was granted to him by the Space Titan. He'd even hid it from all of his close associates, including Kanari and the high-ranking members of Guardian Sword and the Alliance. After Saint Heigui's betrayal, Shin started to doubt many of the elites that stood by his side. No one knew where the next traitor was going to come from, and Shin wanted to keep his new abilities a secret for now.
Thus, the whole world mistakenly thought that Shin had only learnt teleportation as his ninth spiritual ability. Little did they know that there were four other equally powerful abilities lying in wait.
While the twins were still recovering from the retching, the final members of Guardian Sword made their crossing. Suji, the one leading them all, took to the front and saluted Shin in earnest. "Team Alpha and Beta have made it through! We're ready to attack!"
"Good!" Shin smiled, putting both his hands on the heavy doors. Guardian Sword had hunted Payircis for about a decade now, and Shin roughly knew what to expect after he opened those doors. However, as the stone gates opened up, an odd chill crept down Shin's spine.
"This is..."