'Okay then, then how the hell do I get to that ruin over there. I don't see any kind of bridge I can use to cross this dirty ass lake.' Rey said as he kept looking around for a bridge, thinking that the heavy mist might be hiding it.
'That is because it is hidden, Young One. Even though this whole area is hidden within a pocket dimension, just in case someone or something accidentally stumbled in, we can't just have them walking up to the keep and ransacking it. To reveal the bridge, you must recite the spell, Yawklaw!' Jinbe explained.
Excited to try another spell, Rey didn't bother asking anymore questions. Taking his time to tap into his mana again, Rey slowly opened his now glowing eyes. Before he spoke the spell, he caught a glance at himself from his reflection in the water and jumped back with a start.
"Holy fucking shit! W-was that me?! Why the hell are my eyes glowing, Jinbe?" Rey asked out loud, too stunned to worry about caution.
'Calm down, Young One, that is a very simple explanation. I'm sure you've heard the term, "Eyes are the window to the soul," But, for those in connection with their mana or Chi, that phrase takes on a more literal sense. Whenever someone taps into their mana or Chi, their eyes take on a glow. For most people, their pupils have a somewhat dull glow whenever they use their mana or Chi, but you are a unique case. For some reason, your connection with both your mana and your Chi is so strong, your Ki, which is the physical representation of Chi, that resembles an aura of sorts, is so dense, that even your whole eyes glow intensely.' Jinbe said, shocking Rey again with this new revelation.
Rey had no idea that he had a special quirk like that, and was starting to feel like a main character with how things were happening around him. Looking back at his reflection again, Rey was thinking that he actually looked pretty badass. With his Jett black fur and mane and his glowing green eyes, he had the making to become a cool looking game or anime character. After a few more seconds of admiring himself, Rey refocused on his task. Still tapped into his mana, Rey prepared to say the Incantation.
"[Yawklaw]!" Rey said just a bit too loud out of excitement. He still couldn't believe he was performing magic.
Feeling his mana stirring again, Rey looked around, half disappointed as he didn't see anything happening. But, after a few seconds, Rey started to notice the heavy mist in the air strangely gathering in one place in front of him, before it began taking shape into a bridge wide enough for 3 Orcs to walk side by side comfortably.
'Oh hell no, you want me to walk on a shady ass bridge made out of mist?! Come on man, this just feels like bad news.' Rey immediately rejected. Though he may look like a lion now, deep inside he was still a black man, and his instincts were telling him not to take his black ass over that bridge.
There's no need to be afraid, Young One. I assure you that this bridge is perfectly safe, and there is no danger of it ever malfunctioning. A Grandmaster Inscriptor helped construct the keep and the bridge himself.' Jinbe said with complete confidence.
But, when Rey looked at the broken down ruin he was heading to, his confidence in this Grandmaster was rocky at best. Still, knowing that he basically had no choice and that complaining wasn't going to help, Rey took a deep breath and started bouncing around to shake out all of the nervousness.
After hyping himself up as much as he could, Rey slowly walked forward and placed one foot on the bridge, surprised that it actually felt solid. Placing the other on the bridge and hopping around to make sure that there won't be any mishaps, Rey was now more confident in the bridge.
Starting his journey to Sky Keep, Rey started walking along the bridge, making sure to look nowhere else besides straight ahead, as he felt that his fear might make him start seeing things. When he was about halfway over the bridge, Rey froze, as he heard a suddenly bubbling coming from the water. Horrible thoughts immediately began to surface in his mind, but Rey calmed himself down, decided to not wait until he heard something again and just ask Jinbe the pressing question he had.
'Jinbe, I know that we both heard the motherfucking water just make some noise. Please tell me it's just regular small fish in this lake that have somehow survived despite this dark, dirty water?' Rey asked, knowing that it was a stupid question.
'Well, we did have some koi and other fish in this lake at one point, but...with the Spirit Vein in the lake being corrupted as it is, there might be a slim chance the fish in the lake became corrupted as well.' Jinbe said in an apologetic tone.
As if to answer their question, the water began bubbling even more, as ripples started appearing in the water. Without wasting any time, Rey was already booking it towards the keep, as back towards the shore was not only the longer distance, it was surrounded by an unknown forest full of all types of beasts. Several seconds later, Rey heard the water crashing behind him as the bridge rumbled slightly. Against his better judgement, Rey glanced back.
The place he was standing a few moments before was now completely destroyed by what Rey could only describe as a sea monster. It was a gargantuan fish with an elongated, snake-like body that towered nearly 30 meters tall and had the head of koi fish mixed with as shark, as it had 2 thick tendrils hanging down the sides of its face and a mouth filled with rows of deadly, sharp teeth. Orange and yellow scales covered it's body while it had two orange fins on its side and two yellow fins come out of it's back that looked like wings. To Rey, it looked just like one of the Sea Dragons he used to see in some movies and anime.
Facing back towards the keep, Rey ran as fast as his lion legs would go, as he did his best to not let the soul-shattering roar it unleashed fill him with fear. Hearing the Sea Dragon crashing back into the lake, Rey began cursing himself for ever buying that old, dusty scroll that day. Feeling his instincts go haywire, Rey took a mighty leap forward, as the Sea Dragon came crashing through the part of the bridge he was just at.
Rey landed and never stopped moving, trying to will his legs to move even faster. But, as he thought that he might actually make it to the Island that housed the Keep, Rey's instincts yet again were blaring at him. Looking over his shoulder again, Rey's face took on a look of horror as the Sea Dragon now had it's maw opened, as a giant ball of dark water swirled violently in it's mouth. Rey was an avid gamer and anime watcher, so he knew an energy blast when he saw one, and this Sea Dragon blast was starting to look like an Ultimate Move.
'Dodge, Young One! Whatever you do, don't let that corrupted blast hit you!' Jinbe shouted in his head, but it was too late.
With a roar that'll make even the toughest of warrior's blood run cold, the Sea Dragon shot the blast at Rey, it's size nearly doubling his. Watching the blast fast approaching him, Rey's body moved on autopilot to leap backwards, facing the blast, as he crossed his arms over each other. Just before the blast connected, a glass-like green barrier emerged before Rey's arms and took the burnt of the attack.
Before Rey could begin to process what just happened, he felt himself getting blasted through the air, speeding like a bullet before he crash landed against something hard, as puffs of white cloud filled the area before it floated back down. Pain immediately wrecked Rey's body, as a pained scream tore through his throat. The pain was so intense, as he was almost certain that several bones shattered in his body.
Suddenly the memory of watching Master Jory healing countless patients over the last couple of days filled his mind, in particular, one spell he had been working on memorizing religiously, it was one of the spells Jory used the most. Too pained to think about whether it will work or not, Rey pushed himself to tap into his mana and then channel that mana to his right index finger. To Rey and Jinbe's surprise, it worked, but Rey was still too in pain to celebrate.
Knowing that his slipping consciousness wouldn't allow any mistakes, Rey carefully drew out the Rune in the air that he had been practicing for days, and with the last stroke of his finger, his mana swirled, as he felt a warm sensation cover his body, and much of the pain he felt quickly eased. Since he wasn't able to cast the Rune perfectly like Jory, he wasn't completely healed, but for his first time and under the conditions, Jinbe was greatly impressed by his successor.
Rey wanted to cast the spell again, but thanks to his poor mana control, just that one spell nearly sapped all of his remaining mana. Still, he was mostly healed and could finally move around and breathe properly. Struggling to sit up, Rey saw the Sea Dragon far into the lake, glaring at him. Anger rose in Rey's heart as he thought that he was nearly turned into fish food by the rampaging Sea Dragon.
"Just you wait, you big bastard! When I get strong, I'm going to come in that water, turn you into sushi, and shit you back into the lake where you belong!" Rey bellowed furiously.
"Not if I eat you first, Little Lion." The Sea Dragon said in a deep, sinister voice as he slowly sank back into the murky lake, never breaking eye contact until his head was underwater.
Rey was speechless, as he felt chills all over his body. What he just saw and heard was definitely going to haunt his nightmares for some time.
'Jinbe...' Rey called.
'Yes, Young One, it did talk. Unfortunately, it seems as though the fish has absorbed a great amount of the corrupted Chi, and has morphed into a corrupted spirit beast. All spirit beast have some level of intelligence. But, the silver lining is, it can't ever leave the lake. It's whole life now depends on the corrupted Chi that the Spirit Vein is pumping out. So, as long as you don't go in the lake, it can't harm you.' Jinbe said with a certainty.
'Jinbe, that damn bridge is the only way on or off this island. Are you telling me I'm stuck in this damn place?!' Rey asked, suddenly regretting leaving the farmhouse.
'No, you're not stuck. Within the throne room, which should be towards the center of the keep, is the Hub that is used to not only monitor everything in this pocket dimension, but it used to be able to monitor our members on the field, contact different bases, etc. Within that Hub is a Teleportation Array which was used to teleport whole groups to different locations. Like the bridge, it was formed by a Grandmaster, so it should still be functional.' Jinbe informed.
'Yeah, and walking on that bridge nearly got me killed. I'm not too confident in this Array of yours.' Rey grumbled as he struggled to stand up.
'Don't be petty, Young One. The Spirit Beast is what nearly killed you. The bridge functioned just as it was supposed to.' Jinbe retorted.
Not able to think about a good counter argument, Rey just dusted off his clothes and turned around, stopping in his tracks as he gazed at the landscape around him. Rey wasn't sure if it was some illusion he saw or whether it was the mist obscuring things when he was standing on the other shore, but now that he wasn't running for his life and could look around, this "island" was far larger and more magical than he thought.
The first thing Rey spotted was the huge fortress-like structure in the distance, floating in the air on its own separate cloud. a bridge of tall, majestic stairs made of stone led up to the front entrance of the grand structure. From what Rey could see from the distance he was at, it reminded him of the Taj Mahal mixed with a Japanese castle. Even with its many towers dilapidated and parts of the compound crumbling on itself, it was still breathtaking.
All around, as far as Rey could see were different clouds at varied elevations, but none matched the height or size of the main castle. Some had different buildings, some had strange different towers, and Rey even noticed a few floating mountains scattered around. It was truly awe-inspiring.
On the ground level where he was, Rey noticed what likely used to be a business district towards the west and towards the east, he noticed the remnants of a residential district with many different homes.
If Rey didn't know any better, he'd say he was looking at a grand city instead of just an abandoned Safehouse, as even with his new feline vision, Rey can't even begin to see the end of this city. It was really that massive.
'Jinbe, what the hell? You said this was a Safehouse to the sect, but this is clearly a city, and that big ass building is clearly a palace. What's happening here?' Rey asked, feeling like he wasn't being told everything.
Jinbe was silent for several long seconds before he released a heavy sigh and started speaking.
'I told you there were many things, namely corruption, that led to the fall of the Shinigami Sect. Well, the Shinigami Sky Keep, is the first place it's fall began. Built by an overly ambitious Elder of the Sect, he claimed it as just a safe haven to house many of the sect member's families, but his corruption soon showed as he built a grand palace, military formations, and having sect members roaming the district like they were common soldiers. He had even built himself a throne room like he was some king,' Jinbe said, his voice barely hiding his disgust as he mentioned the rogue Elder.
'When he started trying to sway the other influential members of the sect to his side and stir a civil war, was when my master, Grandmaster Oda, caught wind of the ploy. Taking me and his other loyal followers to go and put down this rebellion. Many of us died that day... It was that event and the teaching of my master where I first started to believe that if there were more Elders to keep the others in line, like a check and balance, then the sect will be free of corruption. The sect falling under my rule proved I was wrong.' Jinbe said in a dark tone. The heavy guilt he felt was clear in his voice.
'So, it's more like the ruins from a ancient capital than some random keep. Okay, that works perfectly for what I have planned then.' Rey said suddenly, bringing Jinbe out of his dark thoughts.
'What do you mean, Young One? What plans?' Jinbe asked.
'A sect, like the Shinigami Sect, only focuses on cultivation and martial arts, ignoring the world around them as it falls into ruins. I don't agree with that, which is why I won't be rebuilding the Shinigami Sect, I'll be forming the Shinigami Order. Where we'll cultivate and study martial arts to help bring order to this chaotic land.' Rey said, full of determination.