"ARGH!!" Reaper snapped awake as he was subjected to yet another bash to the skull.
'Where am I?' Reaper looked around after the initial pain subsided, only to realize they hadn't moved.
The Spirituals didn't bother cleaning up the area, setting camp directly over the dead bodies.
The contrast between the snowy plains and the soaking blood of the bodies creating a ghastly sight.
It was unclear at what point the sun went down, but apart from the stars, the only clear light source was a small bonfire in the middle of the camp.
'Shit.'
Despite having scanned around for a good while, it didn't seem like an escape would be easy.
Spirituals.
Or as they were colloquially referred to as 'Superior Humans.'
It was said that Spirituals were descended from humans. Allowed their unique nature, due to a special method their ancestors practiced.
Eventually, those techniques began to manifest as traits in their genes, boring into a deeper part of their constitution, becoming not much unlike the other races.
But when Humanity, their ancestor race was prosecuted, they separated themselves abandoning their lineage to form another.
The story while much more complicated than that, gave no justification for such betrayal.
If not for the Elves, who were also part of the Spirituals race, maybe humanity would have sacrificed all, in a bid to destroy them.
"Khan…"
His cognitive abilities finally began to work function properly, and when it did his expression turned. Solemn.
The Spirituals had 5 major Clans. Not much was known about these 5 clans.
Despite their relatively short history, they had somehow managed to ingrain themselves in history, becoming no less mysterious than those Ancient clans.
But even if all other of the 5 clans were ignored, there were two of their clans whose names spread far and wide.
The Khan and the Elves.
If the Elves were the Royalty of the Spirituals, the Khan were the Cold-blooded Warriors.
They had rough grey skin whose texture shifted and changed with the wind. Almost as if it were alive, it moved, adapting to the surroundings, masking their presence.
It was said that if Khan wished to kill you silently, you would be dead before you noticed.
They had, White hair, dark irises, and yellow pupils, making them seem more demon than human. And of course, the trademark of the Spirituals Race, though shorter than the Elves, they too had pointy ears.
"What… are… Khan… Spirituals doing here..." Reaper muttered to himself.
His hands hanging above his head, as blood dripped down his face.
There was no way he could have possibly accounted for this. The Khan moved as they pleased, and if he was right, then it's possible they were here the last time he came as well… He just hadn't noticed.
When he had this thought, he became covered in cold sweat. How much of him had they seen through?
His mood fell through instantly, his visage excluding a cold expression.
It seemed he would no longer be able to take full advantage of this place by himself. He had let his guard down, and now he would pay for it.
"Again."
BANG!
A wooden club was smashed into the side of his head for maybe the fourth or fifth time, since his interrogation began, the control evident in the fact he didn't faint directly, leaving him just barely conscious enough for another round of questioning.
"You humans are strange." Tusk who was seated on the snow in front of him frowned. Were humans usually this resilient?
He had asked the same question 4 or 5 times by now and yet he had yet to get a reply.
He had come across enough of this 'parent race' to sum them up in 3 simple words.
'Cowards Seeking Benefits.'
Humans were incapable of anything honorable. He had watched a father abandon a child to save himself.
He of course killed the man, in turn sparing the child, but he couldn't help but wonder if it would make any difference.
Would she appreciate what he did for her? Or would she hate him for killing the father who left her?
She was human after all… And more often than not, rationality was beyond them.
Fortunately, on this trip, he was honored with the title Khan. It was temporary, but he would use it to prove himself this time.
Despite being the youngest of them here, none would dare say they would win against him on any front.
It was a sense of responsibility, purpose, and comfort, superiority.
Something that humans couldn't possibly understand. A human would kill their loved ones when faced with enough benefits.
"Hehehe... You Khan are pathetic hypocrites…"
"You run away from truth… forcing your people to conform to a… reality they do not wish to, attaching it to some greater reward as if… you are truly the end all be all…" Reaper spoke with bated breaths, small huffs of exhaustion mixed in between them.
"Can you truly call it living if the choice was not yours to make? Can you say anything you are doing is of worth?"
"But I guess a bunch of mutated apes could never under-"
Before he could complete his words the club smashed into the side of his face again. This time more forcefully.
His eyes rolled back, spittle mixed with blood and bone fragments flying out his mouth as he felt part of his skull fracture beneath the pressure.
His bleeding became more and more excessive.
He could barely keep his eyes open, and yet the pain was not his focus, his blood revving and boiling as he ingrained this moment deep into his psyche.
This was the price of weakness. The price of not having the bigger fist.
But instead of his anger growing, he started to cackle, his laughter showing signs of a broken mind.
He felt no hatred for them. This was not their fault. It was his. His blood began to boil, his heart fell into a rhythmic pattern.
BADUM! BADUM!
Tusk looked towards his fellow Khan. He had stepped out of line this time, but there was nothing to fault. "You will give an account of this."
"KHAN!" The Khan fell to the ground, his one knee being the only thing stopping him from accelerating further.
Seeing this, Tusk didn't push it further, slowly standing to his feet, measuring every movement he made.
He looked at Reaper, his expression unreadable. He had made his decision.
They would find another way to enter. "Kill him."
When Reaper heard the words his mind went blank…
'Me? DIE? NOO!!' He lost his cool, and his confidence seemed to wane, shattering to pieces as he struggled to break free.
His false bravado fell through in an instant, and maybe for the first time in his life, he didn't want to die.
'I am scared! I don't wanna be here! I won't! I can't!'
"Weak." he heard his father's echoing voice, but that only made him struggle harder. He wouldn't lose.
Maybe in another situation, his father's words would hit him harder, but he simply couldn't bring himself to care with his life on the line.
What use was proving someone wrong in the face of fear? Death?
His mind rushed, panic consuming him as his fear turned to anger directed at the world. Just how much did it wish to take from him?
This life was his own!
His eyes seemed to clear, as he remembered something more important than his goal.
SURVIVAL!
He could 'see' the cloudy veil covering his eyes, clearing up just a little, as the cogs of the world seemed to come into vision.
He saw a set of words, but as if tempting him it was foggy enough that he couldn't see through.
'NO! OPEN!' Forcing his intent, his eyes began to glow as they bled. The bland greys and blacks residing to reveal true [color].
The veil was forcefully opened, the words resonating with the surroundings, revealing themselves to him.
'Speak.' He heard the voice of a woman, compelling him, but not in the right, mental state he simply followed the intent shouting with all his might.
"GODDESS YADERA! HEED MY CALL!! I WISH TO SEE!" Reaper's anger turned into laughter and from laughter to a scream from the depths of his soul.
The words seemed completely out of place, and yet his laughter only increased in fervor.
Tusk's eyes narrowed as he prepared for the worst outcome. But despite waiting a while…
Nothing happened.
"No…NO, NO NO! I'M UNWILLING I WON'T DIE!!"
[Survival]
"Kill him. Now!" Khan didn't like this. Something about this bothered him.
The Khan whose name was Murk prepped it, lifting the club over his head, then dragging it down, forcing it to descend unto his head once again.
But just before it bashed in his skull the world froze. Space and time seemed to pause becoming non-existent.
A suffocating cold crept into the surroundings, as light fragments of frost and mist began to fill the already cold surroundings.
It didn't feel like a physical cold, but one that crept to their soul, reminding them of their insignificance.
[Runic Fracture Requirements Cleared]
Reality seemed to crack at its seams, space becoming unclear as to which point it began. Some of the captives fainted directly, some even dying, while warriors of the Khan shivered in their boots.
The only anomalies were the youth who believed he had failed, and Khan with a grin on his face, his eyes lighting up. She had revealed herself.
Finally.
[Runic Fracture Opening]
[Goddess's Trial]
Everything went black, what remained of reality shattering, as the immediate space became enclosed in a similar Ethereal Wall.