"Boy, are you sure his eyes turned black?" Eztli asked, raising his voice.

"Yes." Kael said, shivering. "I can still remember them staring at me…"

If this is really the Bloodverne...Eztli thought. I'll need to rethink my plan of leaving. At least until I can obtain it for myself. Eztli sunk into his memories.

Bloodverne. The true power of the Blood Legacy Sect.

Unlike what many believed, Bloodverne was not a disease, but a genetic disorder. One that began with Verne, The Progenitor, founder of the Blood Legacy Sect and creator of the Blood Arts.

Verne and three friends had been exploring a cave when they discovered four slugs encased in crystal—frozen in what seemed to be an eternal battle. Greedy, they had approached the crystal and shattered it. Releasing the slugs. The slugs had then latched onto them—dissolving into their blood—and had controlled them, turning them into vessels to continue their battle. The fight had lasted days, until only Verne had remained.

This had released him from the slugs control and had given him the power over his blood. The events had changed him—physically and mentally. He had been released from the slug’s control and been granted amazing power—engrained deep in his blood. However, it had been at the cost of his friends lives so Verne vowed to live a normal life. And he had. His sons, however, hadn't.

Unable to control the bloodlust and power that had been passed down genetically, they were driven mad and had killed each other. In his grief, Verne created the Blood Arts—a way to reign in bloodlust. His attempt had succeeded and his new children could control the power and do much more. They had experienced enhancements to their strength, senses and cultivation. They had risen to the peak fast, and others had not liked that. And so, he had lost his sons again—killed by the envy in men.

Maddened, Verne founded his sect and amassed and army; for his Blood Art was not limited to those afflicted with what he had dubbed Bloodverne—everyone could train in it, however, it only showed its true power if paired with Bloodverne. The Blood Legacy Sect had soon reached a powerful status and Verne had seven more children. After, they had gained the strength to protect themselves. Verne—aged and tired after the hundreds of years—disappeared; leaving his children in charge of his sect.

Striving for even more power, his seven children begun a breeding experiment. They impregnated slaves, passing the Bloodverne down. Having created hundreds of third generation members was not enough for them, however; Some of the Thirds didn't have enough talent and failed to reach the full potential of their powers. So, faced with the dilemma, the Seconds had researched a way to extract the Bloodverne from those without talent. It had taken them a hundred years and the process killed the person, but it gave them a way to choose. Choose those who they had deemed worthy of the power. Those who had talent in the Blood Arts. Eztli had been one of them.

He had reached such an astonishingly high level in Blood Arts, that a Second had taken him as his adoptive son and gifted him with the power of a Third. The greatest gift he had ever received.

I thought I was the last holder of the Bloodverne. Eztli thought, feeling his mind in chaos. After all, they hunted everyone down. I was only saved because of the Cursed Maze…

“Eztli, are you all right?” Kael asked, suddenly bringing him out of his trance-like state.

Shaking his head, Eztli asked. "When can we get out of here?"

Kael shrugged. "I don't know, it might take a while."

"Damn.” Eztli said, sighing, then shifted his weight. “Well, wake me up once we do get out."

"What about the art? You said you were going to teach me today."

"Boy, I would love to do that, but the formation here prevents any sort of qi.” Eztli said, praising looking at the drawings on the wall. They weren’t complex but they had been perfectly engraved in the metal. Even the door had been carefully crafted to seal the room completely once shut. If there had been the slightest crack, the formation wouldn’t have worked.

"You can still tell me about it so I can train once we get out. I mean we have the time right now."

Eztli laughed hard.

"Why are you laughing?"

"At your stupidity boy. You think just by listening you'll be able to cultivate in my art?”

“But isn’t that how you cultivate? You listen or read how to do it and then go try it yourself.”

“Don’t compare my Blood Art to your trash cultivation techniques. One explanation is not enough for you to grasp it. My art i-"

Eztli stopped when the door opened then shivered. Not because of the man that entered, but because of what he pushed. A wheelchair.

Eztli fell silent. He ignored Kael’s attempts at conversation or the fact that they were being taken somewhere. He could only focus on the chair. Fuck. He cursed inwardly. Why do I have to ride a cursed wheelchair again?

He was short of breath. His heart was beating fast and an immense pressure fell on him. He felt powerless. Withered. The old man he was started coming back. Only amplified by Kael’s worrying eyes. Rhett… Eztli thought. No. Snap out of it. He is not Rhett.

Eztli turned to the carvings on the walls to distract himself. They were elegant. Most had elegant curves and only grew more lavish as they approached their destination.

Two twin statues caught Eztli’s eye. Two Phoenixes. They seemed alive; if you focused you could see their chest move as if they breathed. Eztli noticed the formation embedded in them. An illusion. He thought. That’s the first I’ve seen on such shitty statues. Underneath, the statues were horrible. Broken. Deformed.

However, they appeared to be intentionally carved that way. Eztli laughed and nodded as he shifted his eyes down, focusing on the writing engraved on them. Fairness. Justice. Now that’s something I agree with. He thought, praising the ingenuity of the sculpture. Eztli knew from experience that fairness and justice didn’t exist in the world. Even those righteous people or sects only appeared that way on the outside. But inside, they were like the two statues.

Twisted and rotten in their core.

##

Kael sighed. The way to the Council Hearing had been long and quiet. Especially since Eztli ignored him ever since they placed him on the wheelchair. He stared at the huge doors as they entered.

The Council sat on their raised platform—looking down on the forming crowd of Elders. Kael felt their eyes lock on him immediately after he entered. He gripped the armrest on his chair as he searched for Dean.

He has to be here. Sal is already there with Brin… Kael thought as he got the urge to vomit. I-I d-did that to him.?

Brin had his whole body covered in bandages. Some tinting red. However, his face was the most gruesome. The bandages did a poor job at hiding his deformed left cheek. There was a large depression under his eye. Brin turned towards him. Kael saw his eyes flash black for a moment causing him to gasp for air. He felt Brin’s arm against his throat, choking him.

Calm down. A command rang in his head. The feeling left him, replaced by an eerie calmness. He glanced at Eztli and nodded. “Thanks.”

##

Damn it. Eztli thought, shaking his head. Now I have to deal with a traumatized child. Sighing, Eztli glanced at Brin and searched for any symptoms of the Bloodverne.

There were none.

That’s impossible. He thought. Once a person succumbed to the madness they couldn’t be brought back. Unless they brought someone who trained in Blood Arts, they wouldn’t be saved. Eztli urged to use his soul to examine Brin. He needed to know if he really had it. But he stopped himself.

The presence of the three elders on the platform pressed on him. He focused on the woman’s hand. A strange set of runes—ones Eztli was not familiar with—littered her hand and presumably her body. His eyes shined brightly and his curiosity bubbled.

Hurriedly, he used his soul and covertly wrapped around the woman; feeling and examining every inch of her body—taking in the runes. She only trembled slightly and narrowed her eyes, glancing around confused. Amazing. Eztli thought. These runes…the layers…their function…He got lost in them. Slowly, he managed to decode the outer part of them. It seemed to be an oath of some kind. If broken one would experience the worst pain then death, but that was just the surface. Who could craft such a formation? Eztli wondered, his eyes wide. Even in my prime, I wouldn’t be able to craft such a thing. Eztli pushed his soul deeper into her skin, reading the formation underneath.

“Who dares?” The woman whispered, expelling her qi.

Fuck. Eztli cursed inwardly, retracting his soul as it started to burn. That was stupid. I can’t believe I got carried away. He glanced at the platform. The other two elders turn to her with worry and discussed a few words. Then, they searched the crowd. Not noticing anything weird, they returned to their conversation. Well, at least now I know I can scan the kid without being caught.

Eztli closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Focusing his soul energy. It was harder as he had used up too much energy when he was attacked by the woman. He managed to form a concentrated sphere and sent it inside Brin. Quickly, it enabled him to view every minute detail of Brin’s body.

It was in a horrible state. Skin, muscles, and organs torn. Bones crushed, but what took Eztli’s attention was his blood vessels. They seemed to have expanded and had tears on the inside—going with the blood flow. Traces of the Bloodverne.

Eztli smiled as he turned his focus into Brin’s heart. He searched the walls cautiously—cell by cell. If the Bloodverne had survived on the continent for so long and only showed its effects the previous night, then it must be severely diluted. A sudden cell contracted as his soul passed through it. Weird. Eztli thought. The cell is definitely infected by the Bloodverne, I’m sure of it. But why isn’t its core in the shape of a slug? Then he noticed it. A small orange shell surrounding a ball. Fools. Eztli laughed. They must have used some kind of medicine to try and cure it. If only they knew what they have actually done.

Eztli grinned as he realized that the medicine was trying to crush the source of the Bloodverne. Something that would only make it worse. It would mask the symptoms as the source was crushed. But once it shattered it would only transform into new cells and it would come back stronger. I’ll give it a boost. Eztli thought, guiding his soul to crush the source. It gave no resistance and shattered.

Eztli’s soul energy ran out sending a wave of exhaustion through him. I really hate this body. He sighed, closing his eyes. His current form and lack of qi limited his soul greatly, but that would change once he refined his blood. Plus, now he had a way to increase his rise in strength. He smiled. Still, I guess I’ll have to stay in this place for a time. Hopefully, its only two or three years. I think that should be enough for the Bloodverne to grow back. Then I’ll extract it.

Eztli fell asleep.

##

Theo was beginning to grow worried. He had sent Rick to fetch Dean ten minutes ago, but he still didn’t show up.

“Initiate Theo,” Loki said. “Close the door, the Council Hearing will commence.”

“Elder, Dean is stil-“

“The Hearing will commence.” Tint bellowed. “We have waited long enough. Close the door.”

“Yes.” Theo said, locking the large doors and sighing to himself. I hope this ends well. Without Dean’s testimony…I’m afraid Kael won’t be believed.

“This hearing—requested by Theo—is to revise the events that occurred last night and to enact punishment on Sal, Dean, Brin and Kael.” Junn said.

Theo noticed the shock on Sal’s eyes as he stood to speak.

Junn, however, raised her hand to stop him. “Sal, it is not your place to speak, yet.”

With that Sal sat back, grumbling.

The introduction was long. It took turns to allow the parties involved and witnesses to speak their sides. Soon enough, Kael was being questioned.”

“Kael, you state in your interrogation that you inflicted the wounds on Brin out of self-defense? Correct?” Tint asked.

“H-he peeled the skin himself.”

“I didn’t ask you about that.” Tint said, showing a hint of anger. “Did you or did you not attack Brin?”

“He attacked my rabbit. So.. I stopped him.” Kael said, rubbing his hands together.

“So, you admit to causing the wounds?” Tint asked.

“Only the punches. And to defend my beast.”

“I don’t believe this.” Sal bellowed. “Your rabbit is not even hurt.”

Theo shook at the comment and glanced at Kael’s beast. He hadn’t noticed when he interrogated him. The rabbit was perfectly fine, not a scratch on him. In fact, it was peacefully sleeping.

“Sal does bring up a valid point.” Junn said, turning to Kael. “Kael, how did your beast heal? Or was it even hurt?”

The boy seemed shaken and he started to stutter and glance around. Not good. Theo thought. Say something. Anything. From the corner of his eye, Theo could see Sal smiling and Nori looking around awkwardly. Theo focused on her. She seemed to want to say something, but she would glance at Sal, blush then close her mouth. No way. Theo was struck with the sudden realization. She loves him. I need to get her to speak.

In the end, Kael said nothing.

A bad choice.

“Well, since you don’t refute it,” Junn said. “And there are multiple accounts that confirm you attacking Brin, we will return to our previous judgement. Kael, you are to be expelled from the sect and imprisoned.”

“I call Nori to speak.” Theo said firmly.

“Theo,” Junn said. “The judgement is set. There is nothing more to do.”

Theo walked and placed his hand on Kael’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I won’t let them bring injustice.” Theo whispered at him. Then, he raised his hand. The set of runes of his hand glowed purple and the room shook. “I call forth the Oath. I place my life on the line for this boy. I can’t stand for this unfair judgement. He is innocent. I know he is. I call Nori to speak.”

The Council elders nodded as their bodies glowed with purple and in unison they said. “Oath accepted. Nori step forward.”

“N-no I can’t.” Nori said and backed away. “I can’t.”

“Step forward and speak” The council members moved their arms until their fingertips touched. The room lit up and a beam of violet light descended from the ceiling, shrouding Nori.

Immediately, she spoke in a monotone. “I lied in my report. Brin caused the wounds himself.”

The light then faltered and shattered, sending particles of violet across the room.

“T-the judgement was wrong.” Loki said, his voice wavering. “Initiate Theo, you have proved worthy of the Oath. I resign.”

The words shook Theo.

“I resign.” Loki repeated. “Initiate Theo, you are to take my place.”

Why? Theo asked himself, his face confused as he stared at a smiling Loki. No. They were all smiling.

“W-why?” Theo finally managed to utter.

“It was your test.” The Council elders said. “Loki is dying. We didn’t have the time to wait a decade for you to finish engraving your Oath. So, Loki proposed…this unorthodox method. We were to rush a false judgement to test you. And he was right. You are indeed a man of justice.”

“But doesn’t the Oath prevent a false judgement?” Theo asked.

“Only if we really did enact the punishment. The Oath would read us and if we did intend it—knowing it was wrong—it would end us.” Junn said. “We knew from the start something was not right. We even started the Hearing without Dean. In fact, we sent Rick to fetch him because we knew he would not go immediately.”

So that’s why…Theo thought. That’s why Loki always called me by Initiate. That’s why they actually allowed the hearing without Dean being present. They waited for me.

It was stupid to think that the Council didn’t notice the inconsistencies of the stories. That they proceeded without Dean.

“Do you accept your Oath. To uphold Justice and Fairness above your own life. To be selfless and to dedicate yourself to the sect?”

Theo took a deep breath. “I accept the Oath.”

“I bear witness.” Junn and Tint said.

Loki then raised his hand and his runes glowed. A light shot and surrounded Theo. Runes began forming around his body. However, there was no pain. It wasn’t an engraving. It was a transfer. The runes on Loki’s body moved and turned into the very light that shot at him. The process soon ended. Theo glanced at Loki—now runeless except for his Right hand. He nodded then retreated out the back entrance, leaving his seat.

“Welcome the Council. Now stand with us. So that time can proceed.”

Theo walked forward unconsciously. Then, he noticed. Everyone was still. Frozen.

“H-how is this possible?” Theo asked.

“There are many things you will have to learn. We are pressed for time right now. We must enact the true judgement. Sit.”

Without a further word, he sat. The world began ticking again and everyone fell back into time.

“You might notice Theo sitting with us. He has passed his test and accepted the Oath. All this happened under the eyes of the very Oath. Only for us—Oathtakers—to witness. The previous judgement was a ruse. A test. So, with our new member, we shall enact the True judgment.”

Gasps filled the room, but quieted once Junn raised her hand. “The Hearing shall commence.”

“Sorry for making you suffer like that child.” She said with a warm soft voice as she turned to look at Kael. “You are not going to be expelled.”

“Really?” Kael said, his eyes lighting up.

“However, you shall still be punished for hurting another sect member so severely. Thirty days confined to your room. No contact with anyone. That will be your punishment.”

“That’s preposterous.” Sal screamed. “The judgement was set and he nearly killed m-“

“Oh Sal.” Tint said. “do you think your little plan would fool us? We could literally see you grinning stupidly when we pressured Kael. You shall be punished for false reports. Colluding against other members and hiding the sickness of your son. Then there is the matter of your outburst with Dean and almost killing Robin’s disciple.

“For that you will lose your position as Elder. You will be confined in the Discipline Hall for a year and must provide the funds for the disciple’s wounds.”

Sal fumed, his face turned blood red and his left eye twitched. “I will not stand for this. I wil-“

“You will do nothing Sal.” Theo found himself saying, his voice strong. “You will comply with our judgement.”

“What about Brin. He was the victim here. He was accused of having the Bloodverne by Dean.”

The word made him wince. For a moment, Theo stared into Sal’s eye he could see the defeat in them. And sadness. Theo’s heart softened even more when he glanced at Brin. He sat there with empty eyes.

“As for Brin...” Tint said. “He will be given the best care. And placed under observation for thirty days. If there is no…Symptoms, he will be set free.”

Junn nodded with his judgement and added. “Nori will be placed under six months of imprisonment for her false reports. As for De-“

Suddenly, the large doors rang. A crack formed on the lock and another bang sent the lock flying and the doors flung opened.

A bloodied, wounded and tired Dean waltzed in. His left foot dragging. Behind him lay a mountain of unconscious Discipline Hall members. His right hand held onto a robe as he dragged someone and threw in the center of the hall. Rick.

“Where is Kael?” Dean asked, rubbing the blood off his eyes.

“Dean,” Kael said, almost crying. Hearing his voice, Dean rushed towards him and embraced him.

“Don’t worry Kael.” Dean said. “I won’t let them hurt you. I won’t let them.” Then he turned and stared viciously at them.

Theo felt chills run down his spine. Those eyes weren’t the usual happy Dean. His robes, yellow and filled with blood, only enhanced it. “I heard from that bastard,” Dean said, pointing at Rick. “That you took Kael without informing me first. You dragged him here. I know the rules and those actions clearly broke them. Explain yourselves.”

“We don’t need to explain ourselves.” Tint said. “What we do is always in the best interest of the sect.”

“So, scaring a kid senseless is just in your eyes? You sicken me. The Oath should take your life.”

Theo felt a sting in his heart as he recalled how he himself had scared the boy as he interrogated him. He began to doubt his position. Did he really uphold fairness in that moment? Was he being just? No. Theo told himself. I was only thinking about myself…

“Watch your mouth Dean.” Junn said. “Words cannot be taken lightly. You will be punished. Punished for breaking into a Council Hearing forcefully and for beating fellow sect members. You will lose your position as eld-“

Dean shot a glare again. His qi rose exposing his strength.

“Second Mending…” Tint and Junn both said, surprised.

“I’ll gladly accept punishment for my actions.” Dean said. ”If they were indeed wrong, but I’m sure you know who is just.”

Theo turned and saw both of the other Council members. They wore frowns on their faces. Their expressions, twisted. Conflicted and in pain. What’s going on? Theo thought.

“Everyone is dismissed.” Tint finally said. “The hearing is over. Judgement is set. Dean is to go free. It would…be unjust to punish him for our faults.”

Dean nodded and picked up Kael. “I expect compensation for the unfair treatment. In the form of a high-grade healing medicine—delivered to Kael of course.”

With that he walked out of the meeting hall.

##

Kael could only stare at Dean with wide eyes as he sat on the chair next to his bed. Dean hadn’t uttered a word, but he wore a guilty expression.

“Thanks Dean.” Kael said softly.

Dean sighed and turned to him giving a smile. “What punishment did they set for you?”

“Just thirty days in my room.”

Dean let out a laugh. “They really put the benefit of the sect before all.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, thirty days in your room, only means that you’ll have time to focus on bonding with your beast. Even in this situation they still hope for a genius.”

“So that’s why they also set Brin under Thirty Days of observation.” Kael said, with a sudden realization. “But how come they let you go without punishment?”

“They can’t lose a Second Mending Master. Too valuable.” Dean said, as he ruffled his hair.

A sudden deep hoarse voice rang by the door.

“Dean. We need to talk.”

Dean gave a sigh and stood. “Kael, I have to go. It’s important.”

Kael looked at him. He wanted to ask who the voice belonged to, but Dean shook his head and left.

I’ll ask him later. Kael thought, smiling to himself. Dean was really cool today. I hope I can get that strong soon.

He glanced at the Eztli, a fire of desire burning in his eyes and shook him.

“Wake up.”