In the blink of an eye, a year passed by.
"House Lord, here are this quarter's financials."
"House Lord, here are the innate records for this year."
"Reporting to the House Lord, this year's Young Wolf Celebration dinner was a great success! Aharon Abasi took first place, while second place fell to Levi Magnolia. The third place was Hathor Lukman. They will both enter the main House for training."
"Unfortunately, my lord, the second young mistress has made her tutor cry again."
Seated in the main office of a luxurious mansion, behind his desk, Osiris Trillwolf sat buried in official documents. Behind him, an elder butler with white dreadlocks appeared from the shadow of the window's drapery.
"My lord," Ke Si announced his presence to his master and stood at attention.
"Leave us," Lord Osiris waved his hand as he reviewed the financial papers.
"Yes!" The various aides hurriedly rushed out of the room. Suddenly, the room was swallowed in shadows as Lord Osiris raised a brow and looked toward Ke Si.
"My Lord, the third young Lord continues to spend his nights surrounded by a strange energy. I cannot fathom what he is doing, but it seems he is using this energy to study the serenity crystal you gifted him," Ke Si said the moment the shadow domain formed.
"You cannot even fathom this energy source? How could such a thing be coming from the boy?" Lord Osiris wore a severe and grim face. "Has he never avoided your gaze?"
He was starting to worry about his son's Fallen status. It was essential to identify whether it happened naturally before his birth or was happening slowly after birth.
"Indeed. As much as I've probed, I've never been discovered at all," Ke voiced his opinion openly, hoping the Lord wouldn't make any rash decisions. "In addition, Fallen or not, Josiah remains your heir. He is the same boy he's always been. The only thing missing is the vacant look in his eyes that we often saw right after his birth."
Lord Osiris briefly closed his eyes and pondered before replying to Ke Si, "You are not wrong. However, the elders of the House will not feel the same as us. These suspicious points will become fuel for a fire. We must get to the bottom of whatever is happening within the child before it grows worrisome. There are already whispers."
"It is this humble one's opinion that little Josiah may have the main family's bloodline," Ke suddenly said. "The strength of his blood seems to overshadow your own." Ke Si responded honestly.
"Higher purity than me, huh? A Sky Wolf so powerful… may very well be capable of making one fall. Ah, my poor boy," Lord Osiris sighed.
Josiah was already two years old. Osiris was confident he was a Fallen. He just needed to know the nature of the fall.
"Even if he is Fallen, it doesn't mean misfortune. The Sky Wolf will bring us all prosperity," replied Ke, fanatic. Osiris frowned but said nothing. Ke continued, "Young master Josiah may be your ticket to returning to the main branch."
"Hmph," the Lord snorted and stared Ke Si in his eyes as an ancient pressure filled the room slowly. The killing intent in Osiris' eyes was enough to freeze a mountain. Even Ke's shadow domain threatened to burst apart. Lord Osiris spoke slowly, emphasizing each word, "Until that man dies or I die, I will forever hunt him. What dog shit main branch? If they will not help me, they can wait for me to storm their lands myself."
"But don't you see, my lord?" Ke responded in a strained voice, his excited tone unblemished. "If the boy is truly a Sky Wolf… then they will help you against your brother."
"No matter. We cannot test him without a suitable reason, or we will incur major suspicion. It may even harm him if we aren't careful enough." Osiris pondered his familiar's words for a moment.
Before long, he waved his hand, ripping away the shadow domain like he was opening curtains. Ke was stunned, as he didn't even receive a backlash from the force of his ability after it was broken.
How much control did it take to accomplish this?
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A little boy in white clothes sat in the small bedroom of a beautiful palace. His long, wavy hair was braided to the back, and his brows were furrowed as if he were contemplating something. The room was adorned with velvet and silk furnishings, marvelous artwork, and a few of Jody's evening doodles. Strange drawings of guns and machines didn't exist in this world. There were also drawings of weird gangs and armies.
Anyone who walked in the room could only call this brat creative. They would have no clue what he was drawing. Of course, the more intuitive would notice that these pictures were far too detailed to be made-up concepts.
"It seems in this world, there truly exists multiple planes of existence. It is an intriguing concept somewhat reminiscent of a particular train of thought in my old world's philosophy. Our mortal bodies, as well as the raw energies of the earth, exist in the physical plane. In comparison, the natural spiritual energies of the skies exist in the ethereal plane.
"Furthermore, these two planes combined are only the first layered sky. Several layers of sky and forms of energy exist in harmony with one another." Josiah Trillwolf was sitting with his legs crossed on the bed, muttering to himself. "Through deep meditation, in addition to a sufficiently powerful soul, one can sense the existence of these energies. If one can direct those energies inside their body, then they could refine their bodies with the energy!"
Body refinement was the starting point for all mystic or arcane arts. A common saying was that one must have a healthy body before having a sharp mind. Fighting relied mainly on how efficiently one could control one's body to attack and defend.
Back on 21st century Earth, most martial artists spent their entire lives strengthening their bodies, improving their power in small increments. One could pretty much use their eyes to see how many bulging muscles a fighter had, and they would be able to determine their approximate level of strength.
There were legends of men training until their bones were as hard as refined metal. After fusing with the Titan's memories, Jody possessed an innate disdain for such boastful men. So much more could be obtained on the path of pure power. From his memories, his old homeland was far behind in the power trends. They were missing one crucial element.
Knowledge of the void of the sky and the heavenly powers within!