A Few Hours Earlier
…
"Khan! That's the last of them."
A Khan Spiritual called out giving his report on one knee.
It was the culture of the Khan to reply in such a way to an authoritative figure.
"Mmhm." Tusk frowned. Why were all these people suddenly gathering here?
He looked at the bloody mess in the snow field, his eyes hinting at slight disgust at the sight.
It wouldn't help their stealth operations if they were covered in blood.
'Have we been found out?' But almost as soon as he had these thoughts he dismissed them.
One day these people started showing up out of nowhere. Panicked, believing they had been found out, he figured eliminating the witnesses was in their best interest.
But thinking more deeply now he couldn't help but wonder if it was the right call.
'Who's schemes have I fallen into…'
Not only had they done nothing to reveal their movements, but it was unlikely that these many people would be willing to offend the Khan, even if they were aware of their operations.
'It must be that then.' Tusk narrowed his eyes, as he recalled something unpleasant.
Why now? When he was ever close to deciphering the requirements.
By now, they had been trying to decipher the requirements for a few months. Yet despite their efforts, they yielded no results.
He was starting to think maybe, the Fracture wasn't located here, but this movement was forcing him to reevaluate his stance.
"Khan. There is movement in the forest." Almost as soon as he had this thought, another messenger rushed to his feet, tumbling over himself.
Despite that, his voice remained even, his face stoned as he executed his duty.
"Capture them. We need more information." After a moment of thought, Tusk let out a devilish smile but quickly concealed it.
Whoever felt they could offend the Khan and get away with it, would be in for a rude awakening.
…
"The storm is picking up." Tusk frowned, noticing the weather change.
'It shouldn't be taking this long.' It had already been over half an hour but there was still no news from those he sent out.
Just when he was about to take action himself he heard sounds of fighting in the forest.
'It seems there's finally movement.' He stood to his feet. The snow on his garment, flaking off.
The garments of the Khan were often simple doing as little as possible to restrict movement.
Unless in international relations they rarely dressed formally.
Of course, there was a hierarchy to such things but for now, it wasn't important.
It was a simple garment, known as a shendyt*, which covered his lower regions.
The color of said shendyt was decided by their faction or internal group.
Khan's shendyt was colored a particular shade of teal blue, which was much closer to grey than said color.
"What's this?" Tusk frowned noticing the human, who had broken out of the forest, raising his guard.
Despite taking his stance and waiting for an attack, a minute passed without any movement from the perpetrator.
It was almost like he didn't register him despite him being no more than 30 meters away.
It wasn't the natural erasure effect of his race, but rather a total disregard for his existence.
"How peculiar. "Despite his calm appearance, he could feel a raging feeling in his chest.
What right did this human have to ignore him?
But despite taking multiple steps forward it wasn't until he was a few feet away that the human finally registered his presence.
By this point, all signs of amusement had vanished, a stout coldness replacing it.
It was then the memory hit him. A few months ago a strange individual had managed to infiltrate the area without any of them taking note.
It was almost as if the world didn't register his presence at all, they became alarmed making silent preparations to act, only to realize it was a mere human.
"Khan! In front of you!"
He looked into the eyes of the man who was now forcibly pinned beneath his men and yet…it seemed that he was looking through him rather than at him, almost as if he was simply an unexpected variable. Nothing more nothing less.
PAH!
The sound was crisp in his mind. "Tie him Up."
He would teach this one to respect an opponent. Respect Him. Respect the KHAN!
…
[Present]
Tusk slowly regained cognition as the scene around him changed.
BANG!
Almost immediately he felt a threat expelling him, forcing him to cough up a mouthful of blood.
It felt like his nerves were on fire and his whole existence was being ripped apart, his mind hardly clearing, with a bite to his tongue.
His existence felt out of place.
This place accepted him and yet at the same time rejected his existence.
This phenomenon was known as [Doubling].
It was a state rarely discussed when moving through the Planes of Reality, or, in this case, Fractures.
It was said that all existing matter had already been created, and therefore matter could neither be created nor destroyed but only transformed.
But the basis of a [Fracture] forced you into a created Plane in which you didn't exist.
By virtue of that, there was most certainly a price to pay.
Fortunately for him, the feeling subsided. After all, these worlds were artificial, the true effects of [Doubling] wouldn't take effect here.
Tusk, stared blankly at the ground. 'Doubling?'
He had never experienced it before. He had been warned but no amount of preparation could have prepared him for that.
Despite having been a few seconds at most he felt himself questioning his reality. Was any of this real?
Eventually, he managed to calm down. No… he forced himself to, burying the thought.
He looked towards the runic screen that had appeared before him at some point.
[Runic Fracture Entered]
[Fracture Title: Goddess's Sorrow]
[Progression Limit: 1st Limit]
[Entry Limit: 50]
[Trail Description: learn to wade the sorrows of the Heart. a biting cold, that pervades, even the brightest souls.]
[Trial Requirements: Survive.]
[Punishment For Failure: Death]
[Reward: ???]
"You will die." Recalling a certain youth, he felt a fire light in his eyes. No one had the right to dismiss him so easily.