In the middle of a strangely barren forest, a handsome young man with golden brown features slowly came to.
He at first looked around in confusion. This place looked familiar, but everything looked like it grew a few tens of meters.
'Strange' He thought, 'If I remember correctly then this should be my forest, but everything looks so…. High.'
He tried to stretch his trunk out to grab onto a tree to see just what was….
"Hold on, why does it feel like I've done this before."
"That's because you have." Ray said with a smile, he wasn't angry any more after seeing someone almost piss themselves from a single glance from him, he was rather satisfied.
"Who are you, and what are you talking about?"
"What? You don't remember this." A fake frown plastered on his face. In his palm a golden brown flame was hovering. Since he could fully counter it he could naturally do it himself as well, it had been a full day-night cycle until elephant boy came to and Ray didn't waste that time.
He went over it multiple times in his head and after a little bit of adjustment he could mimic it perfectly. He would have made a flower out of it, but the heart flame was better in every way except elemental diversity so he wasn't going to do that if he didn't have to.
The heart flame flower would grow more quickly to the next stage if it was the only flower being cultivated, as it absorbs mana via the hundred flowers cultivation method that could only draw so much of his mana at one time, so unless it was just as or even more valuable that it he wasn't going to interrupt its growth.
"What are you talking about? Wait…" His eyes opened wide in shock as he sprung to his feet. He was going to continue attacking but he suddenly remembered Ray's gaze and that alone was enough to pacify him once more.
"Oh? I see you have learnt, elephant boy."
"Who are you? And what do you want from me? I can assure you that I don't have anything valuable to you." He still didn't like the name elephant boy but now he knew well enough that he couldn't challenge this mysterious person.
"Why don't you look inside yourself and see if you notice anything." Tapping on his own glabella(1).
Until one reached the deity stage and could separate their soul from their bodies without immediately dying, it was common knowledge that the weakest point for the soul was between the eyebrows.
Elephant boy looked confused for a moment, but he still looked inside himself, specifically his soul to see what he was talking about. Everything looked normal at first, except his soul projection being in human form and not elephant form, but after a constant nagging feeling he looked up.
Usually this space should be an empty void filled with a white mist, techniques having to do with the soul are a some of the most rare in the world and talents seem to be a human exclusive so naturally it was empty, but high in the sky there was giant seal that stretched farther than he could see; in the center of it there was a golden orb of light which he was directly under.
He didn't know what the orb of light was but any one would know what such a symbol meant. Especially because of how detailed it was, the more detail the more control.
"How?"
"How what?" Ray said, smiling.
"How did you manage to do this to me?"
"Oh, you don't remember this?" He shot a flaming palm out, missing elephant boy but a hairs with.
"I...It...It's you! You are the one that was challenging me!"
"Challenging you? Just because you don't want to move on, no one else can? Just because you are such a coward that you want to suppress everyone else to be lesser than you, it's challenging you to seek strength?" He got up and stood in his face.
"Just how many lives have you claimed in an attempt to preserve a false sense of security, how many have you killed because you are physically strong but mentally weak? Yet you have the audacity to say that I am challenging you? So what is it, is everyone stronger than you also challenging you, what are you going to do then, kill them too? And what about when you can't and they counter attack, hmm? Are you going to cry to the heavens and complain about your injustice?"
Being berated for the first time in his life, elephant boy didn't know how to respond. "Like you don't fear death" he said under his breath.
"Don't start with me. Everyone fears death and I am no different." He said with disgust.
"Fear death, embrace life, disdain weakness, covet strength. That is the motto that I have lived my life up until this point and will be the same far into the future. Until you learn that you will be known as elephant boy."
"Yes, master" He said in a pitifully weak voice.
Elephant boy already submitted. A combination of Ray's strength, dominance and control over him lead to him not even trying to resist, not that he could even if he wanted to.
"Ew, don't call me that. Think of something else."
"Eh... Um... then, My lord"
"No"
"Your highness"
"Also no"
"Young master."
"Hmmm, still sounds funny but that should do for now. Now let's go elephant boy, I have something to ask you. There is a hole in the ground with some ash in it which I assume is your nest, but below that there is a massive cave. Are you aware of that or did you just make your nest there at random?"
"I felt that the mana there was heavily fire and light aligned, and the fire element could nurture my physical body and bring it up to the saint tier."
'He calls it the saint tier as well huh?'
"Well that makes sense. I don't have to tell you but we are moving away from here, but I still have to ask. Are you okay with me destroying your nest so I can see what's going on?"
"What…"
"Don't look at me like that, you think just because I don't like your attitude I am just going to go around and destroy your stuff?"
"Yes, very much so."
"Well think again, if you are going to follow me then I will not tolerate any form of weakness. Be it physical, mental or emotional. Naturally I am not going to go around and be the cause of it myself. Do you understand."
"Yes, young master."
"Louder."
"Yes, young master!"
"Now drop the title."
"Yes!"
"Good, and when you learn to behave like that all the time is when you will get a proper name. Now let's go, and wear this." Ray pulled out a robe made out of metal strings and fire, which might be uncomfortable to others but to the golden flame war elephant it was as comfy as it could get.
He made it with careful consideration while he was still knocked out.
They started to walk in the direction of the nest as Ray said something without turning back. "Yogan."
"What did you say, young master?"
"Yogan, that would be your name when I deem you worthy. That is what you should work towards, elephant boy."
"Yes, young mas…. I mean, Yes"
"Good"