"Icy, my heart, under no circumstances can you repeat this to anyone," said Lord Osiris solemnly.
Lady Isis and little Jody both nodded with grave faces. This made the Lord and Ke glance at each other in secret. This kid was just too amusing.
"I have awakened my second combat soul." Golden sagelight shone in the Lord's eyes, and he took a deep breath before continuing, "It is a legendary Sky Wolf. Naturally, the expert diviners of God Wolf Redoubt became aware of me the moment it awakened...or re-awakened."
"So that's why they reconnected with you...but I don't understand! How is that possible? You've been a Sage for over twenty years. How did you suddenly awaken another soul?" asked the First Lady in confusion. But her husband's last sentence caught up to her mind, "Wait, did you just..."
"Oh my love!" The lord cackled arrogantly. "Why didn't you know that I possess exceptional powers? Haven't you heard about the incredible power of Lord Osiris? Ha!"
"But isn't that impossible?" gasped Isis in surprise.
Lord Osiris simply shot her a mischievous smirk and replied, "I'm the Lord of House Trillwolf! Nothing's impossible for me!"
Lady Isis immediately snatched Osiris' ear in frustration, demanding a proper explanation. Jody was amused as he had never seen this side of his parents before. Was it because their actions were well hidden thanks to this darkness? Did they trust Ke Si so much?
"This is my life's biggest secret," Lord Osiris declared dramatically, as if about to confess his darkest sin. "My matrix was seriously damaged back in the day, when I was just a wee thing. It was such a huge blow I was basically left crippled, unable to formulate energy at all."
Lady Isis couldn't hide her displeasure at this revelation, feeling that there were too many secrets between them. However, she had grown quite fond of this man and secretly adored him enough to worship the ground he walked on.
"This is my greatest humiliation. I was a damaged product, not even fit to be thrown away," Lord Osiris mused, his eyes glazing over as he shrugged off past memories. "However, Abercorn Trillwolf had the benevolence to rescue me from destruction and heal me using a valuable relic of his. He adopted me, raised me better than his own wastrel son. I eventually became a Saint, even reaching Sagehood once I met Rocky in my seventeenth year."
"You became a sage with a damaged hollow soul through use of a spirit of formulation? Your soul accommodated an addition hollow soul without backlash?" Lady Isis gawked at him with admiration, her heart beating faster than ever before; she was deeply smitten by the man's talent.
In Isis' opinion, this man was incredible. By all accounts, Osiris should have been a nobody. But he continues to climb heights that his peers could only envy.
Suddenly, little Jody spoke up.
"Lord Pops," he inquired in earnest.
"What is it, son?" Lord Osiris raised his eyebrow as he had nearly forgotten about the toddler in his wife's arms who was smarter than a six-year-old Sage brat but hadn't yet learned when not to speak.
"Was your second combat soul also crippled when you were little?" Asked the ever-inquisitive Jody.
He was particularly curious about this point. Lady Isis' eyes seem to flash momentarily looking at her son. She hadn't even thought this far yet, as she was distracted. Josiah had brought her back to the crux of the issue.
Lord Osiris was slightly surprised but answered openly, "Indeed, it was, son. The Sky Wolf was my original combat soul. When my matrix was crippled and my formula wasted, I lost the connection with my Sky Wolf. When I learned what a Sky Wolf was, I had nearly forgotten about my own. The link between myself and it has been reestablished due to a lucky encounter."
Lord Osiris might as well have been talking to his son in another language, for Jody only understood about 30% of the words spoken.
"I called you here for a specific purpose, son," stated his father gravely. His mother shot him an inquisitive look. "No, I am not joking, Icy. It's a feeling coming from deep in my soul. Many elderly people with wolf souls or contracted spirits of that kind have felt different intensities of this alertness. There can be just one reasonable explanation for this."
"What is it, my lord?" asked Lady Isis, her eyes wide with concern.
"I have a strong feeling that there's something ominous brewing in the shadows," replied Lord Osiris solemnly. "The Sky Wolf's senses have been heightened lately, and it has picked up some strange energy fluctuations. I fear that something terrible is about to happen, and I must leave for the main branch to investigate."
Lady Isis nodded in understanding, her own intuition telling her that her husband was right. Jody, however, didn't fully grasp the gravity of the situation. He was sad that his father would be leaving so soon and for a long time.
"When will you be back, Lord Pops?" asked Jody, his voice small and timid.
"I do not know, my son," replied Lord Osiris, placing a reassuring hand on Jody's shoulder. "But I promise you this - I will return and bring the knowledge that will keep our family safe. In the meantime, you must awaken your alertness."
Jody watched his parents, trying to piece together what his father meant. He had always known that his father was powerful, but this conversation was on a whole different level.
"The alertness of what, Lord Pops?" Jody asked, his voice small compared to the commanding tone of his father.
"The awakening of the pack." Lord Osiris looked up with a fierce determination in his eyes. "The Sky Wolf is a pack animal, and the alpha's heralding will summon the masses. I feel the presence of a new alpha and can feel the other members of my pack awakening as well."
Lady Isis looked up, her eyes wide with shock. By 'my pack,' Osiris seemed to refer to a pack of Spirit Wolves. "Surely you can't mean-"
"Yes." Lord Osiris nodded. "The Trillwolf pack is already awakening. I must retrieve them. But now there is another call. The call of the Goldwolf Alpha, the second since my father."
Jody looked at his parents in confusion. He had heard stories of the legendary Trillwolf pack, monstrous Desolate Beasts trapped in enchanted stone, but he had never thought that they would come to life. Now, it seemed like his father was about to embark on a new journey that Jody couldn't properly fathom. Nor could he fathom the other pack his father mentioned.
The Lord paused and observed his son again, deep meaning in his eyes, "The power inside of you, Josiah, surpasses us all… and by no small margin. This is a difference of natural Life Order. You possess a stronger life order than us. Many feel threatened by this. The son of a Lord won't necessarily be the next House Lord. Only those who win the qualifications can be such. However, your status as a young lord and your talent make you too intimidating. There would be no problem for me to name you heir to the House."
As the Lord's words faded, so did the world of darkness and Ke Si along with it. The five elders remained in their previous positions as if no time had passed. This made Jody silently reevaluate the talent of this butler.
"Little Joe, what we will do next is called a Source Spirit Assessment. You're currently in what we call a 'half-awake' state. If the assessment is successful, you can awaken your host's soul. Once this happens, you will soon make your first attempt at subduing and refining a fate artifact. By doing so, the heavens will brand you with their power, allowing you to formulate and sharpen it," said Osiris with a hint of excitement in his voice. "Elder Fontaine, if you would do the honors, please."
The blonde-haired and blue-eyed Elder Fontaine had pale white skin and was holding a folding fan-shaped origin tool, which he snapped closed at this moment. He was very handsome, tall, and imposing, with a blonde beard that hung to his mid-chest. His face was identical to Mercer's, though his hair and eyes were entirely different.
Even though he had some gray in his hair near the temples and a few wrinkles, most of his shoulder-length hair was platinum blonde, giving his noble countenance a certain youthful glow.
His official title was Heavenly Rain, while Fontaine Trillwolf was his actual name. From inside his blue and black robes, Elder Fontaine pulled out a transparent gemstone the size of a child's fist and a small jade box.
"Please listen carefully, Josiah," Elder Fontaine said softly.
Jody's little face turned solemn, and he straightened his back, leaning back in his mother's arm. He was accurately and very clearly imitating his father's previous posture.
"Elder Fontaine, when we are in these chambers, you will refer to me only as Little Lord. Do you understand me, Elder?" Jody said imperiously.
Elder Fontaine and others wore dumbfounded facial expressions before bursting into laughter. Rather than upset, they were all highly impressed. Such a learning speed was unique to this child alone, amongst millions. He was already imitating his father's demeanor flawlessly!
Even the tone and delivery were the same. He didn't even have to be told to do so. He probably just wanted to be like his old man. You couldn't teach some kids this if you tried for all their lives. Kamila Trillwolf, for example, was wild and near uncontrollable unless she was around her little brother. This had become well known in the entire Saint Anubis City.
All the elders felt delighted by this, especially Elder Fontaine, who had previously had the least amount of contact with the child in the group. Osiris Trillwolf was like a god among men on the battlefield. Having such an abnormal heir seemed to be fate. "Yes, that is this one's mistake, Little Lord. Forgive me."
"Bwahaha, come, Elder Fontaine, tell me what you want to say," said Jody, continuing to imitate Lord Osiris. Osiris didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he ruffled the hair of this little blue-eyed clone. They say you shouldn't favor one child over the other, but the House Lord found himself growing ever fonder of this kid.
"Reporting to the little lord," Elder Fontaine opened up the tiny jade box while speaking. The entire area was filled with a sweet fragrance coming out of the box in mere seconds. "This, in my left hand, is the Fate Revealing Pill. We are going to have you ingest this. Your current spiritual state is half awakened. This pill will push you the rest of the way."
Upon hearing this, the youth instantly got excited as his eyes shined. Wasn't this a free lunch?
Elder Fontaine continued his explanation, "Once you refine the energy within, it will push you to the second level of the psyche, the Host Revealed stage. Perhaps it may push you even further, as this pill was designed to help children who had yet to reach the first level psyche. However, it's true that you are a bit young…"
Elder Fontaine gave Jody a peculiar look as he said, "Well, do not worry. I will help you refine this pill. In my right hand is a Fate Gem. When this gem undergoes a change, that change will represent your soul force compatibility."
Elder Fontaine handed the pill to Lady Isis. Isis then reluctantly told Jody to open his mouth. Little Jody complied wordlessly and swallowed the pill. He immediately felt a burning hot energy journey through his small frame. However, this simply couldn't compare to the slow and torturous days of tempering his skin with astral light at night. It felt like a tickle to Jody.
After confirming that the third young lord had swallowed the pill, Elder Fontaine put one index finger on Jody's pineal gland and placed the other index finger underneath his navel at his root. Jody felt a foreign Spiritual Sense probing his body, making him completely uncomfortable all over. This was like being touched on your insides by a stranger.
How dare this old man molest him in such a way?
Lady Isis saw her son's slightly pained and disgusted face and grew instantly enraged but was immediately suppressed when Lord Osiris grabbed her hand. The Lord had realized lately how protective this woman was over the boy, and it was indeed on an abnormal level. If anything untoward happened to Josiah, Isis would nearly lose her mind. Osiris felt lucky that he hadn't doubted his son or this crazy witch may have slaughtered half of the House before she was gotten under control.
A pale violet light appeared on the tip of Elder Fontaine's fingers as he guided the energies in Jody Trill's tiny body. This was so Jody could quickly absorb the magical properties of the pill. Fontaine was impressed because many children would whine and complain during this process. Refining such a pill was not easy. However, Jody merely frowned as the process continued. Jody really wanted to cast his Spiritual Sense to check the interior condition of his body, but he decided against it in the end.
With a foreign invader currently operating his energy flows wantonly in Jody's body. The latter couldn't afford to be careless. He was still afraid of the consequences of revealing too much at his age; after all, who knows what they would have done if he had behaved suspiciously earlier!
After a few minutes, Jody felt a wild energy tingle below his navel, then what felt like a spark. Dense milky white energy that he never even knew was there started pouring out several different places in his body, traveling all over before it converged into that spot beneath his navel. It felt like Origin Energy of the heavens, except Jody himself was the origin.
This was mana!
The Fate Gem in Elder Fontaine's hands begins to glow blue, and he immediately releases it, as the gem floats higher on its own.
"Magic force! A child of mana!" exclaimed Elder Mercer.
At this moment, the Fate Gem changed from a bright blue to a deep crimson-purple. Then, it turned again to be too multicolored and prismatic.
"Voo…Voodoo Force." This time, it was the House Lord Osiris' turn to be shocked. "An emissary of the accursed rukh… phenomenal."
"Both Voodoo and Magic… he has the Chaotic Force potential," Elder Fontaine's hands were trembling as he stared at the Fate Gem with a feverish look in his eyes.
Every Sage is born with an affinity to the heaven-earth primary force with which their bodies are naturally compatible. The level of affinity, however, is different for all. Except for those with unique physiques, these primary forces are almost always Magic Forces powered by mana, Voodoo Forces powered by rukh, or Pure Forces powered by purity.
Chaotic Force, however, results from having Elemental, Life, and Death Forces simultaneously. Neon and dawn in a completed cycle would open the path to the secrets of primal chaos. This was the principle of twilight. Although comprehending primal twilight energy was unreasonably rare, just using magic and curses together was a tremendous advantage over those who could only do one or the other.
After all, Lord Osiris himself could only use the curse powers of the Voodoo Force. His inner sea was full of rukh. However, his son would be able to keep rukh and mana. By the time it was time for Jody to form his philosopher's stone, he would likely possess the strength of immortals! At this moment, Lord Trillwolf made a firm decision in his heart. They must protect this boy at all costs!
Josiah Trillwolf was their future! At this rate, his inheriting the legacy of their ancestors was inevitable.
The Fate Gem suddenly started to spin, drawing everyone's attention.