Chapter 9 - Targeted! part 1

"Icy, my heart, under no circumstances can you repeat this to anyone." Said Lord Osiris solemnly.

Lady Isis and little Jodye Trill both nodded with grave faces. This made the Lord and Ke Si glance at each other in secret. This kid was just too much.

"I have awakened my second combat soul," a golden light shone in the Lord's eyes, and he took a deep breath before continuing, "It is a legendary Sky Wolf. So, naturally, the expert diviners of God Wolf Redoubt became aware of me the moment it awakened."

"But I don't understand! How is that possible? You've been a Sage for over 30 years. How did you suddenly awaken another soul?" asked the First Lady in confusion.

"This is my life's biggest secret. My origin pool was damaged in my youth, before my adoption. I was basically crippled." Said Lord Osiris with a dazed expression, as he reminisced on the past, "The old leader and Grand Patriarch of House Trilleck, Abercorn Trilleck, found the broken me and used a precious treasure of his to heal me over time. Because of this, I was eventually able to cultivate as a saint until I met Rocky, who became my combat soul and helped me refine an origin artifact. I wasn't a Sage until I was seventeen."

Lady Isis was silent as she processed this new information, shocked and a bit disappointed that she knew so little about her own 'man.' Their situation may be complicated, but she truly adored this man, almost to the point of worshiping the ground he walked on.

"Lord pops," suddenly, little Jodye Trill spoke up.

"What is it, son?" Lord Osiris raised his eyebrow, as he had nearly forgotten about the toddler in his wife's arms that was smarter than a five-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 Jodye Trill. 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. Joseph had brought her back to the crux of the issue.

Lord Osiris was a bit surprised but answered openly, "Indeed, it was, son. The Sky Wolf was my original Combat Soul. When my origin pool was crippled, and my cultivation wasted, I lost the connection with my Sky Wolf. By the time I learned what a Sky Wolf was, I had nearly forgotten about my own. Now, 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 Jodye only understood about 30% of the words spoken.

"This is also the reason I've brought you here, my son. To be honest, I have suddenly become wary of you. No, I am not kidding Icy," said his father, as his mother gave a questioning look.

"This is a feeling from deep within my soul. Many of the elders with wolf souls, or contracted wolf spirits, have also felt varying levels of this wariness. There is only one reasonable explanation for this." The Lord paused and observed his son again, deep meaning in his eyes. "The power inside of you, Joseph, surpasses us all...and by no small margin. Many feel threatened by this. The son of the Lord won't necessarily be the next lord, only those who win the qualifications can be such. However, with your status as a young lord, in addition to your talent, it makes you too intimidating."

As the Lord's words faded, so did the world of darkness and Ke Si along with it. The five elders still remained in their previous positions, as if no time had passed at all. This made Jodye Trill silently reevaluate the talent of this butler.

"Little Jo, what we are going to 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 soul. Once this happens, you will soon make your first attempt at subduing and refining a fate artifact." Said Osiris Trilleck 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 Trilleck, though his hair and eyes were entirely different. Even though he had some gray in his hair near the temples and few wrinkles, the majority of his shoulder-length hair was platinum blonde, giving his noble countenance certain youthful glow.

This was Heavenly Rain Fontaine, an Honored Elder of House Trilleck and a member of the Five Element Wolf pack. His official title was Heavenly Rain, while Fontaine Trilleck was his actual name. From inside of 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, Joseph," begins Elder Fontaine.

Jodye Trill'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?"

Elder Fontaine and others wore dumbfounded facial expressions before they all burst 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!

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. The little lady Kamila Trilleck, 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 among the group. Osiris Trilleck 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 Jodye Trill, imitating Lord Osiris' trademark laugh. Osiris Trilleck 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," while speaking Elder Fontaine opened up the tiny jade box. In a mere couple of seconds, the entire area was filled with a sweet fragrance, coming out from the box. "This, in my left hand, is the Fate Reveal Pill. We are going to have you ingest this. Your current spiritual state is at half step awake. 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 level 2 spiritual force, the Host Reveal stage. Perhaps, it may push you even further, as this pill was designed to help children who had yet to reach level 1 spiritual force. However, it's true that you are a bit young..." As he said this Elder Fontaine gave Jodye a peculiar look, "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 Jodye Trill to open his mouth. Little Jodye 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 might at night.

After confirming the third young lord had swallowed the pill, Elder Fontaine put one index finger on Jodye's glabella, and then placed the other index finger underneath his navel. Jodye felt a different spiritual sense probe his body, making him completely uncomfortable all over. This was like being touched on your insides by a stranger. Lady Isis saw her son's slightly pained face and grew instantly enraged, but was also immediately suppressed when Lord Osiris grabbed her hand.

The Lord had realized lately how protective this woman was over the boy, it was indeed on an abnormal level.

A pale violet light appeared on the tip of Elder Fontaine's fingers, as he guided the energies in Jodye Trill's tiny body. This was so Jodye 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, Jodye merely frowned as the process continued.

Jodye 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 his body, he couldn't 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 couple of minutes, Jodye Trill felt a wild energy tingle below his navel, then what felt like a spark. Dense milky white energy that he didn't know was there, started pouring out several different places in his body, traveling all over before it converged into that spot beneath his navel.

The Fate Gem in Elder Fontaine's hands begin to glow blue, and he immediately released it, as the gem starts to float.

"Magic force!" 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 to multicolored and prismatic.

"Voo...Voodoo Force," this time it was the House Lord Osiris Trilleck's turn to be shocked.

"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 that their bodies are naturally compatible with. The level of affinity, however, is different for all. Except for those who possess unique physiques, these primary forces are almost always Magic, Voodoo, or Pure Force. Chaos Force, however, is the result of having both Magic Life and Voodoo Death Force.

Although actually comprehending chaos force was unreasonably rare, just being to use 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 voodoo force. Lord Osiris made a firm decision in his heart. They must protect this boy, at all costs!

He was their future!

The fate gem suddenly started to spin. It shined dazzlingly and emitted and low hum for about half an incense stick of time. Next, the fate gem transformed into a multicolored electric sphere of power and floated there for another half incense stick of time. Afterward, the area around the fate gem slightly trembled, as the electrical sphere dissipated and shrunk back into its gem form.

The fate gem then emitted a sharp silver and green glow, as a wolf howl was accompanied by all the heaven-earth primary force in the surroundings being pulled into the gem. This howl which shook the soul of all the elders in the room, other than lady Isis, was powerful and unique. The fate gem then exploded utterly, in a multicolored mess of forces.

All the adults in the room wore stunned faces. Jodye Trill, himself, was staring at the spot of the explosion with his jaw hanging open.

"So much for a low profile…"