If the world wanted him dead, he would raze the world to the ground.
After a month of contemplation, Chaus made his decision. He became numb to emotion, and his soul turned darker and more sinister. The air around him radiated coldness and death.
A cold voice echoed through the air. "Dru."
The air fluctuated and Dru appeared.
Dru stared at Chaus and nodded. Chaus had undergone a fundamental change since the last time Dru saw Chaus. Chaus was colder, more rational, and cool headed.
"If you're transmuted into me, what would happen?"
"I will die."
Chaus nodded. He guessed that Dru would die, but now he was certain.
"When I'm transmuted into you, my soul will serve as a cover up for your soul. That way the world will be unable to find you. As for other effects, I don't know. However, this is currently the only method to protect you from the will of the world."
A transmutation circle of this magnitude and type had never been performed before because there was no need. This was the first time something like this was happening so Dru didn't know all the side effects of the spell.
"When will we begin?"
"Now." Dru motioned with his hand. "Stand where the dragon stone is."
Chaus walked to the dragon stone.
"Now close your eyes and let go of your thoughts."
Chaus did what he was told.
Dru started chanting with a booming voice. Thousands of symbols began appearing in the air. The air began to churn and take the shape of engravings. Dark clouds gathered above Chaus and lightning rained down from the sky. It was a true scene from hell.
The dragon stone began glowing and started to merge with Chaus. Blood started to drip from Dru's orifices. He started glowing and his soul came out of his body. Dru's face was distorted from the pain, but the chanting continued. The transmutation powder floated in the air and created a whirling storm.
It was hell, but Chaus didn't hear or feel anything. Only nothingness surrounded Chaus. Hours passed like this until something silver emerged in the nothingness. The silver began wrapping itself around Chaus, and the nothingness began to fade away bit by bit until silver filled the world.
In a dark cave
A massive being rose up from its slumber. It felt the appearance of something that was once his enter his blood stream. The massive being heaved a long sigh and went back to slumbering.
Later near a river.
A clear, blue river flowed through a land filled with green grass and trees. The riverbank was littered with pebbles, and the sun created a harmonious glow on everything it touched.
A young girl holding an empty bucket walked down the riverbank. She bent down and started filling the bucket with water. When the bucket was halfway full, an object hit it. The girl looked at it and screamed. She dropped the bucket and scooted backwards.
The girl shakedly stood up after seeing the object float without any movement. She slowly walked towards the object and took a closer look at it.
To her surprise, the object was a male human. He had long black hair and a pale face. His clothes were drenched, but the outline of muscles were seen. He looked tall, around 170 centimeters, and a chilly aura surrounded him.
The girl went towards the human and tried to drag him onto the river bank. She struggled immensely, but after a large amount of effort, she managed to drag him onto the riverbank. She stood up panting for breath. If she wanted to drag him all the way to her village, it would take hours. She thought for a while and after making a decision, she ran off towards her village.
After a while, she came back with her parents. With the help of her parents, they dragged the male back to their hut.
The next day
Chaus woke up in a hard wooden bed. He sat up and looked around. He was in a simple room that had nothing in it except for the bed. The walls were made of wood, and there was a door that led to another room.
Chaus got off the bed and walked through the door. He saw a door directly in front of him and another door to the left of the one he just went through. A square wooden table with four chairs rested in the middle of the room, and sitting on the chairs was a family of three eating porridge.
There was a young girl, around 12, with brunette hair and brown eyes. On both sides of her sat her parents. They were a relatively young couple. The male was tall, had brown eyes, short black hair, and a toned body. The female was short, had blue eyes, blonde hair, and a slim body.
Everyone looked up when Chaus entered the room.
"He's awake!" the young girl exclaimed with a smile.
"Come, sit down and eat." The mother said. She got up and brought another bowl of porridge to the table.
Chaus cautiously scanned the room. He didn't know what happened after he blacked out, but he figured that these people saved him and wouldn't harm him for the time being. Besides, even if they tried to, their souls were only at the initial stage while Chaus's was at the…
Chaus felt a chill run through his body. He gauged the level of his soul. It was at the lower revolution stage. His soul had regressed! Was this one of the side effects!?
A male voice took him out of thoughts. "What were you doing floating around in the river?"
Chaus began thinking. No one knew who he was so he could make up a believable excuse and gather information.
"I...I don't remember. I don't remember anything."
"You don't remember anything? Nothing at all? Not even your name?"
Chaus scrunched his eyebrows in thought. After a while he responded. "No."
A female voice entered his ears. "He must've hit his head while floating down the river."
The male nodded in agreement. He then proceeded to introduce himself and his family. "My name is John. This is my wife Jasmine, and this is our daughter Jessica."
Chaus nodded in greeting.
"Since you don't remember you name, is it alright if we called you Lumen?"
Chaus smiled. "Yes, that would be great."
The family continued eating and made occasional conversation with Chaus.
Soon everyone, including Chaus, finished their porridge. Jasmine stood up and took the bowls outside. Jessica also went outside leaving John and Chaus alone in the room.
John's face turned serious. "To be frank, I'm sorry about your memory loss, but my family is in a tight situation. We can shelter you, but you must work."
Chaus agreed. It was only fair for him to work if he wanted to stay here.
John had a satisfied look on his face. "Follow me."
Chaus followed John outside to a wheat farm. This is where I work, and this is where you'll be working too." John handed Chaus a hoe and they went to work.
They worked in silence, but Chaus's mind was churning with thoughts. He had to figure out why his soul was at the lower revolution stage, and how much power he currently had.
When John wasn't looking, Chaus tried to manifest a stick. The stick began taking form ever so slowly, and just when it was about to be manifested, it shattered. Chaus narrowed his eyes. He was almost able to use soul manifestation. He needed more time to figure out what happened.
After a long day of working in the field, Chaus went back to the room he woke up in. He waited until everyone was asleep and snuck outside. Chaus didn't pay much attention to the outside before, but now that he looked closely, he could see that John's house was the only one in the vicinity. Even if John was a farmer, he needed other materials that could only be bought in a town. Chaus made a mental note to visit the nearby town later.
A river caught Chaus's eye and he walked towards it. 'Rain of Fire.' A barrage of fire rained upon the river. Hot steam rose up like an army and covered the night sky. Chaus continued experimenting until dawn.
Sweat trickled down Chaus's body. He took his clothes off and started bathing in the river.
After a night of experimenting, he found out that his soul had regressed, but it had also grown stronger at the same time. Before, when he was at the lower revolution stage, he couldn't bring out as much power as he currently could. Somehow through the transmutation, Chaus's soul grew, and that growth caused his regression. If he were to reach the middle transformation stage again, he would be so much more powerful than he was when he fought the ziki leader. The ziki leader wouldn't even be a threat.
Chaus would have to regain his former power as fast as possible. He finished bathing and went back inside the hut.
A week later
Chaus had finished bathing and was eating breakfast when the door of the hut was kicked open. Three men, all with black hair, barged in. There were two soldiers carrying swords, both tall and muscular with shaggy beards, and the third person, who seemed like the leader, was short and had a round circular stomach.
John stood up with an angry expression and glared at the short man. "Get out."
The short man ignored John and took out a piece of paper. "Jessica Larsic, you have been chosen by Marvin Atmore to accompany him to Dragonsend Academy as his maidservant." The short man put away the paper. "One week from now, we will depart."
John roared angrily. "You have no right to take her away!"
The soldiers drew their swords. The short man signaled with his hands for the soldiers to stay back. "Marvin Atmore filled the sphere by 15%. We have every right." He stared coldly at John. "In the future, Marvin will become a key figure in this town. Can you afford to offend him then?"
John fumed in rage, having nothing to say.
The short man sighed. "This is better for her. Being his maidservant would improve her social standing. She can have more than a farm life."
With that, the short man left with the soldiers.
John smashed his bowl and went outside to vent his rage while Jasmine watched with sad eyes. Jessica clenched her teeth and said nothing.
Chaus broke the tension. "Who was that?"
Jasmine sighed. "That was Ventri. Every year we hold a test with an aptitude sphere. Anyone under 15 who can ignite 10% of the sphere will be sent to Dragonsend academy to become a warrior or a magician. Jasmine began picking up pieces of the broken bowl. "If you light up 15% of the sphere, you can choose to have someone accommodate you to Dragonsend Academy."
"Why did he choose Jessica?"
Jasmine's face showed a hint of anger, but she quickly reverted back to her passive face. "Marvin always liked Jessicia, but Jessica never reciprocated those feelings."
Jessica spoke venomously. "I would never like him. Marvin's rotten to the core. I'd rather die than be with him." Jessica stood up and went outside in anger.
Chaus understood most of the situation at this point. What he was most interested in, though, was being sent to Dragonsend Academy. He didn't know what the aptitude sphere was, but he was confident he could score high enough to be sent to Dragonsend Academy.
"And if someone scored higher than Marvin, could they protect Jessica from him?"
Jasmine smiled sadly. "This town is small. Talents who can light up 10% of the sphere are extremely rare, let alone 15%."
"But if they did score higher?"
Jasmine contemplated for a bit. "Then yes. But even if they could, it would be impossible."
"Why?"
Jasmine grew angry. "Marvin's family, the Vittoris, kill anyone who scores higher than them." Her face twisted. "Our eldest son was killed by them."
Chaus narrowed his eyes. This was deeper than he thought. "And no one stops them?"
Jasmine laughed with contempt. "The Vittori's house head is in the Revolution Stage. No one in this town can go against them."
The revolution stage? The power of Cazak was lower than he thought if a revolution stage human could rule an entire town.
If Chaus could get into Dragonsend Academy, he would get a better idea of the powers of the three lesser races. He had to get into Dragonsend Academy.