Chapter 174

Lykan

Peak Mind Stage

For Lykan, when given his possible choices for advancement when he was given his Fifth Echelon blessing, only one of the options even seemed remotely worth the effort.

With [Advanced Sight of the Predator],Lykan already had advanced senses, better still, he had the ability to detect both mana and cultivation. Then when those two were limited, he could cheat and use the Air to help him understand the layout of a building.

When it came to [Advanced Skin of the Chameleon], here again this seemed like an option that would have made more sense to his younger self. But now he did not need to hide. Chameleon implies a want to avoid predators, and while Lykan was not himself a predator, nor did he consider himself to be one. His days of needing to hide from predators was well and truly over. For that reason, the Skin of the Chameleon, advanced or otherwise was useless to where Lykan wished to push himself into becoming.

As for [Advanced Wings of the Eagle], he remembered disregarding this one as being a far harder choice than it should have been. Now he would think the want for wings to be absurd, but at the time wings and more in particular the ability to control his flight didn’t matter. Now if he felt he needed to get more precision over his flight, he would just practice more.

In the end, there was only one clear cut answer to choose for Lykan. [Advanced Mind of the Psionic*].

This choice was even more apparent, when he considered the note that came along with the selection.

Note: Traces of [Mind of the Psionic] are already identified within host. Next stage (Stage 3) of adaptation is now available.

With having both the connection to his family, and his previous choice already laying the groundwork. It seemed only natural that Lykan choose to make this choice as well.

You have chosen [Advanced Mind of the Psionic*]. Assimilation underway.

That was the message Lykan received, before his treacherous pupil decided to strike.

The only problem was, Lykan had foreseen this event. With his mind opening, he was prepared for the inevitable betrayal of his pupil, Pentra the Titan.

Only after the battle with his pupil was over, did Lykan take a moment to read the new messages that had come up during his battle.

Warning: Maximum Psionic Tier Achieved. Future Echelon Evolutions unavailable. Blessing Bestowed: Maximum Psionic Tier. Maximum Psionic Tier: You have reached the universal limit to Psionic advancement. From this point on you and your descendants will all be considered peak mental cultivators and magic users. Rewards: [Universal Understanding]

That was all that appeared, the extent of the message given to Lykan by the gods. But that was enough for him to understand something. Some of the weaker concepts he had been weaving together to strengthen his understanding of Air and how it relates to the other elements was just the beginning.

At this point, he realized how limiting it was to focus one’s mind and consciousness down one path. He focused on his two pupils. Well, his one pupil and his newly decried wife.

A smile filled his lips as he realized what the blessing from the gods truly meant. It meant that the gods themselves had read both his and Brenna’s hearts and not only found them to be true with love for each other, but that it also meant that neither had sinned against the gods. Honestly Lykan had thought that such an old tale of star-crossed lovers who had their union blessed by the gods was an old wife’s tale. At least that is what he thought about most of the old myths that his father had forced him to memorize as a boy.

These of course were stories that many had forgotten. Stories so old that they had to be written on scrolls that had ancient languages, some of which people claimed predated even the gods. Lykan had read those stories and memorized them as if they were fact. Then believed in them, the way his father always pushed him to.

Looking back on his past, with the lens of being an adult, the signs were clear. His father wasn’t really his father. At least not in the biological sense of the word. Instead, his father had been more of a self-appointed figure of influence. One who was in Lykan’s life when he needed the man the most.

Now that his mind was expanding, he began seeing all moments of his past. Even the moments of his childhood, then the memories that were beyond even that.

His parents were Cerusians. At least his mother was.

His father, well he was a fledgling mage from an aristocratic family that was to be purged.

Looking at the pairing, it was clear why both sets of families were against such a joining. Lykan’s mother was an assassin sent to strike down the entire aristocratic family, but in the end, she failed in her mission. She left one person from that family alive, the one person she could not kill. The father of her child.

As a child Lykan heard his parents talk of their families, of what really happened. Then how they desperately tried to make their escape together.

Both planning to cut all ties to their families and just live life anew, in a distant land.

Unfortunately, they were not able to outrun the ghosts of their pasts.

An unknown Cerusian assassin found the two parents when they lay sleeping on the side of the road.

Lykan had been in a little bassinet by the impromptu campfire, and never heard a thing.

“What is this that we have here?” Father, or the voice Lykan always associated with being his father was the first to find him.

It was still night out, so the murder must have been recent. For all he knew the man could have been part of the murderer’s group.

The man picked Lykan’s small child body up, at which point he could now see the dead and bleeding bodies of his parents.

“There, there, don’t need to be looking at that. Sorry kid, I wish I had been just a bit faster. Perhaps I could have saved them.” Father said, as a sad look filled his eyes.

Lykan used this moment to see the man, and seeing the absolute sorrow in his eyes, Lykan realized this man could have never been the assassin sent to kill his parents. That or if he had, he could never have been the one to make the final strikes.

“Come on o’child of destiny. That particular future may be gone, but you are needed for far more than dying by a roadside camp to starvation, or wolves. Say, did they give you a name?” The old man asked.

Then after giving baby Lykan a good look, he said, “well even if they did, I can’t rightly get it from you now, can I?”

With that his father, or at least the person who raised him every day as if he was Lykan’s true father pondered for a moment, then turning back to Lykan said. “You know what, I don’t think wolves could kill you. You are one of them after all. In fact, I’d dare say you are destined to be the apex of all wolves. With that, I will call you Lykan. What do you think?”

Coo.

At that baby Lykan cooed happily at all the attention the man was giving him.

“Well then, it is official. Your name will be Lykan, and I will raise you as my own.”

From there, Lykan could remember more moments. More details with beyond crystal clarity. Moments that always seemed off, but Lykan could never figure out why. Instead, his mind just accepted everything.

He saw the way his father casually managed to blend into the village of Abberty. Why the old man chose Abberty? No clue. All Lykan knew for certain was the old man traveled with Lykan strapped to his back for days, before finally settling in the small town in the middle of nowhere.

In fact, if Lykan had to guess, the fact that it was so far removed from everywhere, was likely why it was chosen.

“This here will be our new home, son.” Father said, though he still sounded rough when saying the word,son. It was almost like the word didn’t fit in his mouth for whatever reason.

Looking through his life, his father never got proficient at saying the word son. Instead, he always masked this shortcoming by saying other words like, “that’s my boy.” Or often just referring to him by name when it was convenient.

Also, the library that his father had managed to amass quite quickly was nothing to be sneezed at.

It seemed that the building had always been a part of the village. But it had long become overgrown with vines and fauna. His father promised to clean the place and fill it full of books so long as he and his boy could stay in the village.

After that, Lykan was left in his bassinet, while his father, went about clearing out the debris from the building. The man worked tirelessly day and night to clean the place.

During the day, he could be seen pulling out large strings of vines and moss.

Then at night when the villagers were asleep, his father would visibly cast nature spells to help remove some of the more stubborn portions. Lykan watched in awe as stone ceilings that were being slowly eroded away by vines were repaired in seconds.

He watched as spells turned the vine fragments into parchments that suddenly had words. The thicker vines were especially useful, as they were turned into the sacred scrolls that the library was so famous for.

Lykan looked at up his father who made many of the scrolls right then and there.

Then seeing that Lykan was looking up at him, his father smiled.

“Shh. This is our little secret alright.”

Coo.

“I know you can’t understand me. But I hope this stays with you. These stories here are sacred. They need to be preserved and passed down. They share ancient wisdom that will help our planet survive what is to come. Remember this oh king of the wolves.”

Coo.

“There, there. I Believe you have seen more than enough little one. Time for your eyes to sleep. Tomorrow will begin another great day.” With that, a gentle word of power hit Lykan’s mind, as he felt the stream of consciousness fade. The spell was so subtle and powerful that he felt the echoes of it, even in the present.

Realizing the strength of the suggestion, Lykan struggled against the spell. Only to jerk himself forward after feeling like he was slowly being covered with layer after layer of wet blankets.

Gasp.

“Are you okay?” Brenna was by his side in a second

Blinking.

Lykan blinked his eyes open as he struggled to recall where he was.

As he looked around, he saw the Titan training room, along with the still fully functioning dungeon. In a second, he realized he was still under the Academy of Sidhertha, and that a war was likely still being fought on the surface above. So much death was happening around him, but for the moment only one thing filled his mind.

“We need to go back to my home village of Abberty.” Lykan said, as he stood up.

“But it was burnt to the ground.”

“They tried to burn everything, but the base of the library remained. My father,” Lykan paused for a moment as he wondered if he should truly call the man his father. But then after a moment realized that yes, the man had never done anything but raise him as best he could. “My father left us something. Left me something in the library.”

“What?”

“A scroll.”

“What is on the scroll?”

“I don’t know. That is why we need to go and see.”

“Should we shut down this dungeon, while we are here?” Brenna asked.

Lykan looked around, then realized this was likely one of the last still intact dungeons with a training room still operational. “No, I think we will need it for what we find.”

Then Lykan turned to Pentra. “You, you are coming with us.”

Pentra paused as she looked like she wanted to protest, then nodded her head in supplication. “If master wills it. I will do so.”

Then with that, without even a questioning thought, the three left the Sidherthan dungeon to find the final stages of a war playing out right overhead.